‘The Malibu fire of 1983 started not in the dry hills but on the coastline.
It began at 28150 Cliffside Drive on Saturday, August 27—at the home of Nina Riva—during one of the most notorious parties in Los Angeles history.
The annual party grew wildly out of control sometime around midnight.
By 7:00 a.m., the coastline of Malibu was engulfed in flames.
Because, just as it is in Malibu’s nature to burn, so was it in one particular person’s nature to set fire and walk away.’
Nina Riva is throwing her annual end-of-summer bash, but it – like her life – is getting out of hand.
This is my second book by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and I adored it. The four Riva siblings love each other deeply, but they all have secrets of their own. There’s Jay, the professional surfer, Hud, who photographs him, Kit, the youngest who is often overshadowed by her siblings – and Nina, the eldest, who has not thought of her own needs in a long time. She is the heart of this story.
There’s not much to the plot, but there doesn’t need to be. We alternate between the lives of Mick and June Riva, their parents, and the day of the party as secrets build and build and then unravel. Under all the glitz and glamour, the Rivas are an ordinary family and it turns out they want quite ordinary things. I was rooting for them pretty much right away to get them. I know some readers did not like the inclusion of so many side characters in the story, but I quite enjoyed it – I like how it shows all the lives intertwined with the Rivas.
Overall this was a sweet read, maybe a little too sweet for some, but just right for me.