Malibu Raising by Taylor Jenkins Reid won Goodreads Choice Award in 2021 and has been massively popular in the past few years. Thousands of people have loved and cherished its pages, however, I am not one of those people. 

I read this book back in February last year, and I wish I could get back those days I spent and the energy I wasted. I know many people gave a five-star rating, and I applaud them for that. If a book brings a person into the story, then that’s a good thing. 

For me, this book made me want to cry unhappy tears. There were so many characters in the book that felt unimportant, and each and every one of them, I hated. Either they complained too much or had problems with infidelity, but no matter what it was, the characters were awful. When I read any book, I need to have at least one character I can connect with, relate to, or root for. I could not do that for this book. 

The lack of communication also irked me. Communication, in my opinion, is the foundation of life. If you can’t communicate, then life will be so much harder. 

The plot fell a little flat for me too. There was so much cheating, and I hate that trope more than anything. I had to force myself to finish Malibu Rising.

I gave this book a one-star.