The Fine Print

By: Lauren Asher
Published Year: 2021
Publisher: Bloom Books
Pages: 448

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Rowan
I'm in the business of creating fairy tales.
Theme parks. Production companies. Five-star hotels.
Everything could be all mine if I renovated Dreamland.
My initial idea of hiring Zahra was good in theory, but then I kissed her.
Things spiraled out of control once I texted her using an alias.
By the time I realized where I went wrong, it was too late.
People like me don't get happy endings.
Not when we're destined to ruin them.

Zahra
After submitting a drunk proposal criticizing Dreamland's most expensive ride, I should have been fired.
Instead, Rowan Kane offered me a dream job.
The catch? I had to work for the most difficult boss I'd ever met.
Rowan was rude and completely off-limits, but my heart didn't care.
At least not until I discovered his secret.
It was time to teach the billionaire that money couldn't fix everything.
Especially not us.

First Impressions

I heard about this series constantly on TikTok. Honestly, the cover didn’t appeal to me very much when I saw it digitally. In the store I was much more interested. I don’t know if I would’ve picked it amongst other more colorful covers, but it is unique. Honestly, what ended up convincing me to read it as that it was on a $5 shelf at a local bookstore!

What I thought

I can definitely see the appeal of this series and I wasn’t disappointed.

Rowan is the youngest of 3 boys who are heirs to the Dreamland fortune. When their grandfather passes away, he leaves them each a letter with conditions to how they would inherit their fortune. Rowan’s task is that he must present a life changing idea for Dreamland to a board in 6 months after working as the directory. While there, he meets and hires Zahra to help to create this idea. But he is surprised to find he is extremely attracted to her and feeling feelings he hasn’t felt in a long time.

This book is, obviously, the billionaires trope but also has some grumpy/sunshine as well. I wouldn’t say it’s quite enemies to lovers since Zahra likes Rowan pretty much immediately, but he definitely resists his feelings a lot longer than she resists hers. I appreciated the depth to this story that I didn’t expect. I didn’t realize that there was going to be a lot of backstory to Rowan’s childhood. However, this makes me look forward to reading the other two books in the series. Zahra’s character also had a bit of meat to her and her background which I also really enjoyed.

The one thing that felt a little odd at times is how much this book and Dreamland is supposed to be the Disneyland empire. I feel like if I was a little more of a Disney adult that I would’ve loved it more, but sometimes it took me out of the book. I also didn’t expect it Rowan’s company to be a Disney knockoff when I first picked up the book. Honestly, if I had known that I might’ve picked it up a bit quicker.

Rowan and Zahra have good chemistry. It is a bit insta-love for my tastes, but their banter made me like them a lot. This book is very spicy, so if you’re not into that then I would say don’t read this one. It was interesting that they kissed really early on but then didn’t kiss again for a while. I liked that it showed they had that physical attraction but that wasn’t the basis for their relationship.

This book was a solid 3.5 romance read for me. I liked the couple a lot as well as the background for the characters. It also is a series I want to continue. Something about the book wasn’t a full home run for me, but it was still very enjoyable and didn’t feel like a 450 page book. If you like spicier romance novels with a grumpy/sunshine trope this would be a solid book to pick up. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

All This and More

By: Peng Shepherd
Published Year: 2024
Publisher: William and Morrow
Pages: 469

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): From the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of The Cartographers and The Book of M comes an inventive new novel about a woman who wins the chance to rewrite every mistake she’s ever made… and how far she’ll go to find her elusive “happily ever after.”

But there’s a twist: the reader gets to decide what she does next to change her fate.

One woman. Endless options. Every choice has consequences.

Meek, play-it-safe Marsh has just turned forty-five, and her life is in shambles. Her career is stagnant, her marriage has imploded, and her teenage daughter grows more distant by the day. Marsh is convinced she’s missed her chance at everything—romance, professional fulfillment, and adventure—and is desperate for a do-over.

She can’t believe her luck when she’s selected to be the star of the global sensation All This and More, a show that uses quantum technology to allow contestants the chance to revise their pasts and change their present lives. It’s Marsh’s only shot to seize her dreams, and she’s determined to get it right this time.

But even as she rises to become a famous lawyer, gets back together with her high school sweetheart, and travels the world, she begins to worry that All This and More’s promises might be too good to be true. Because while the technology is amazing, something seems a bit off.…

Can Marsh really make her life everything she wants it to be? And is it worth it?

Perfect for fans of Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library and Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life, bestselling author Peng Shepherd’s All This and More is an utterly original, startlingly poignant novel that puts the reader in the driver’s seat.

First Impressions

This cover is very intriguing. I was immediately drawn in. I loved The Cartographers by Shepherd and was curious when I read that this book was for readers who enjoyed The Midnight Library. The funny thing is it also said for people who liked Life After Life which is infamously one of my book club’s least favorite picks. I knew I needed to read it when it was available at my library.

What I thought

This book is definitely unlike any I’ve read before.

Marsh is the Season 3 contestant on a show called All This and More. The premise of the show is that quantum bubbling allows a person to try out whatever possibility for their life that they want within a bubble, and then choose which one is perfect for them. Now it is Marsh’s turn, but things aren’t turning out quite like she expected.

This book is sort of written like the Choose Your Own Adventure books of my childhood. You do have the option to read it straight from cover to cover until you get close to the end of the story. My issue that I’ve had with this style of story since I was a kid is that I don’t want to feel like I missed anything. So, of course, I read this book from cover to cover. I do think there is a way that you could essentially read every chapter even with jumping around, but I just went straight through. There were a few chapters right at the very end that were repetitive because they brought you back to the season finale, but I didn’t mind because I wanted to know every possibility.

It was so interesting to see all the different variations of life that Marsh could try and how things would play out. The problems that the bubble was having was sort of predictable to me. I had a feeling pretty early on that I knew what was going on and ended up being mostly right, with maybe a few minor details I didn’t flesh out.

I really enjoyed this entire story and couldn’t wait to see what Marsh was going to do next. The one thing I really didn’t like was the ending. There are three options that you can choose from and I read all three of them and only kind of liked one of them. I do think this could be a fascinating book club book but don’t know how it would work as an audiobook.

I am a sucker for “what if?” stories and this one was done in a unique way that kept me interested. I liked Marsh and the concept of quantum bubbling. I would 100% watch the reality show if it was real. I do wish it had a bit of a nicer ending but I also understand that it’s kind of a comment on society and how if you continually look for perfection you may never find it.

How to Sell a Romance

By: Alexa Martin
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 384

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Emerson Pierce loves everything about being a kindergarten teacher except the painfully low salary. It isn’t until she hears about Petunia Lemon—an opportunity to sell makeup products, make some extra money, and meet a group of skin-care aficionados—that she begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Sure, it sounds a little too good to be true, but what’s the worst that could happen?

Investigative reporter Lucas Miller didn’t always have a chip on his shoulder…until his wife joined Petunia Lemon, drained their savings, and filed for divorce. Now he’s a little bitter, a lot single, and determined to expose the company. After infiltrating their largest convention yet, the last thing he expects is to lose sight of his mission for one night with the gorgeous woman at the bar.

When Emerson and Lucas learn that she’s his daughter’s teacher, they decide to ignore their scorching chemistry. Until things with Petunia Lemon turn downright diabolical and Emerson turns to Lucas for help. They work together to bring the company down but can the two come out on top in this pyramid scheme of love?

First Impressions

This is not my favorite cover. I honestly would’ve passed it by if I didn’t know the author. Luckily, I really enjoy Alexa Martin so that overruled the cover. I think the summary would’ve caught my eye slightly more if I hadn’t previously read an MLM scheme book and felt meh about it.

What I thought

This book was cute!

Emerson is a kindergarten teacher. As is well known, teachers don’t make much money. When her principal invites her to a multi-level marketing skin care company event she decides to join up. After a few months with the company she realizes it might not be what it seems. On the night of the first event, she also had a one night stand with a very handsome stranger. They part on some rough terms and she gets the surprise of the lifetime when he turns out to be the father of one of her kindergarten students for the new school year.

Let’s start with what I enjoyed about the book. I really loved Emerson and Luke. I thought their romance was sweet, if a little bit quick on his end. I also just really liked Emerson. I thought that while she was a little naïve, she was genuine and kind. The romance side of the story was definitely my favorite. I liked the tension of him being the father of one of her students as well as some of the drama with his ex-wife.

The MLM portion of the story was a little harder for me. Earlier this year I read an MLM story that was a bit more of a murder mystery and the concept of these two stories with the “evil” skin care company preying on women just felt a little too similar to me. I get that these companies aren’t great and are lying to their companies, but these stories make them feel extremely evil.

I also got a little frustrated with how easily Emerson got sucked into the company even with her friends telling her not too. Personally, another struggle for me was her principal. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve had personal experiences with a manipulative and evil principal, but reading that storyline was a little stress inducing for me. I was a little frustrated with Emerson for trusting her principal to the extent of signing up underneath her in this company even with evidence directly in front of her as to how greedy of a human she was.

This one was closer to 3.5 stars than a true 4 for me, but I rounded up. I really liked the majority of the storylines in this book and Martin’s writing was fun. I think she’s a great romance author and I really enjoy her books. However, the MLM/principal storyline was a little over the top for me and kind of knocked the book down slightly. I think if you haven’t read a similar story, you will likely enjoy this more than I did.

Bones at the Crossroads

By: LaDarrion Williams
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Labrynth Road
Pages: 529

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): It's his freshman year at Caiman University, and all 17-year-old Malik wants to do is be a normal college student. Go to parties, choose a major, talk to girls, and learn some new magic. 

But instead, he's reeling from a summer of discovery, loss and betrayal, and still uncovering the truth about his powers and his legacy as the descendant of a powerful magical lineage. The family he only just discovered is already fractured beyond repair, and the mother he thought he knew—and risked everything to find—might be the biggest danger to the new life he's building. Malik is trying to find his footing in a world threatened by intertribal tension and the rising power of the Bokors. But how he can he use his power to protect a world he's not sure he'll ever fully belong to...

In a wholly unique and electric saga of magic, heritage, and community, Malik confronts the dark cracks of the magical world, and the darkness in himself.  Exploring the roots and secrets that connect us in an unforgettable contemporary setting, this heart-pounding fantasy series is a rich tapestry of atmosphere, intrigue, and emotion.

First Impressions

I was offered the chance to review this book before I read the first in this series. I had had the first book on my TBR list for a while and was very excited. I don’t personally love the cover art and wouldn’t be drawn to it just on sight alone. After reading the first book, I was slightly less excited to read the second but I was curious where it was going to end up.

What I thought

Sigh. I want to like this series so much.

This book picks up right about where the last one left off. Malik is starting his fall semester at Caiman University. Kumale, Alexis, and Malik’s mom are all missing and Mama Aya is dead. While Malik is dealing with the death of his grandma and the evil of his mom, he also has to battle with being a normal college student.

My biggest issue with this book is how similar it feels to other magical books I’ve read, specifically Harry Potter. There is an entire (unnecessary) storyline about the Homecoming at Caiman and it feels like it’s pulled straight from the Triwizard tournament and ball from the 4th Harry Potter. Chancellor Taron’s mom feels like a knockoff of Umbridge while Taron feels like a weaker version of Dumbledore. I got to a point where I just started skipping pages about the Homecoming because of how pointless it was. I get that Williams is using it as a storyline to address homophobia and mental health in the Black community, but when your book is 500 pages long do you really need 200 pages to be focused on that?

Malik’s love life also drove me nuts. I did like Dominique, though I don’t fully trust her, but him still being hung up on Alexis was so odd to me. I didn’t understand him falling so completely in love with her in the first book, so him still being hung up on her rather than feeling betrayed made no sense. I also do like D-Low, Malik’s roommate, but Savon is supposed to be Malik’s friend and he turns on him pretty quickly when he gets elected to the Homecoming Court.

Now when we look to theactual magical part of the story, I’m still confused as to how this world functions. Malik seems to be this all powerful magic wielder who develops powers at convenient times. His grandma somehow gifts him her magic when he dies too which makes him even more magical? I sort of started to understand his mother’s evilness, but then the way to handle it confused me again. There is also a scene where Malik gets blamed for murdering other students that felt so similar to the scenes in Harry Potter where Harry is put on trial and then has to flee with his friends.

Like I said, I WANT to like this series. I just find it to be unnecessarily long, overly complicated, and unoriginal. The first quarter of the book did interest me because it felt like we were getting more history but then it dove headfirst into the unnecessary Homecoming storyline and didn’t get back to the magical part until the final quarter and by that point I was over it. I won’t be picking up the remaining books in the series.

Book Club July 2025- Homegoing

By: Yaa Gyasi
Published Year: 2016
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Pages: 305

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A novel of breathtaking sweep and emotional power that traces three hundred years in Ghana and along the way also becomes a truly great American novel. Extraordinary for its exquisite language, its implacable sorrow, its soaring beauty, and for its monumental portrait of the forces that shape families and nations, Homegoing heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.

Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle's dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast's booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia's descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral, and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation.

Generation after generation, Yaa Gyasi's magisterial first novel sets the fate of the individual against the obliterating movements of time, delivering unforgettable characters whose lives were shaped by historical forces beyond their control. Homegoing is a tremendous reading experience, not to be missed, by an astonishingly gifted young writer.

What I thought

I can’t even really remember how this book crossed my radar. I just remember reading the summary and hearing rave reviews so I added it to my list. I had previously read Transcendent Kingdom b Gyasi and was underwhelmed but this one spoke to me. Especially as a Book Club choice.

This story starts in the 18th century in Ghana following two (unbeknownst to them) half sisters. One is married to an English general while the other is sold into slavery. The novel follows each of these familial lines through their offspring until the early 2000s. The story starts with a chapter from Effia’s perspective, then movies to Esi’s. From there, each chapter alternates between Effia’s descendants and Esi’s.

I didn’t pick up on the format of the story before I started reading it, so I was a little confused when the third chapter started with a completely different character in a new timeline, but I got used to it pretty quickly. It’s almost like a novel of short stories but there is a thread that connects every other chapter. I am a little surprised by how much I enjoyed th format since I don’t usually enjoy short stories, but I think Gyasi does an amazing job of still making it feel like one cohesive novel.

I almost feel like I’m not going to do justice talking about the importance of this book. It was fascinating reading about Ghana and their struggles against British Colonialism balanced against the slavery and Civil Rights movement in the US. I initially expected this story to tell more about how staying in Ghana was all roses and sunshine while the family line that was sold into slavery was all hardships and struggles. However, I was very surprised. The story showed struggles and successes on both sides.

While I don’t know if I would’ve appreciated reading this book in high school, it very much feels like a story that should be read and deeply discussed in high school. There are so many threads and lessons I want to analyze. I’m glad that I picked it as a book club book so that I have people to discuss it with!

What Book Club Thought

Book club all really seemed to enjoy this one! It was so nice to be able to discuss the history and growth of each of the familial lines. The interesting thing was that we did have a discussion about the audiobook versus reading the physical book and decided this was one of those rare occasions where reading the physical book made a difference/was a little easier. The physical book has a family tree at the beginning, and while I didn’t reference back to it, other book club members found it helpful to keeping everyone straight. I think this is one of those few books that lives up to its hype! I would highly recommend reading this one. It might seem a bit dark or heavy based off of the description but it definitely is not.

A Novel Love Story

By: Ashley Poston
Published Year: 2024
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 368

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Eileen Merriweather loves to get lost in a good happily-ever-after. The fictional kind, anyway. Because at least imaginary men don’t leave you at the altar. She feels safe in a book. At home. Which might be why she’s so set on going to her annual book club retreat this year—she needs good friends, cheap wine, and grand romantic gestures—no matter what.

But when her car unexpectedly breaks down on the way, she finds herself stranded in a quaint town that feels like it’s right out of a novel…

Because it is.

This place can’t be real, and yet… she’s here, in Eloraton, the town of her favorite romance series, where the candy store’s honey taffy is always sweet, the local bar’s burgers are always a little burnt, and rain always comes in the afternoon. It feels like home. It’s perfect—and perfectly frozen, trapped in the late author’s last unfinished story.

Elsy is sure that’s why she must be here: to help bring the town to its storybook ending.

Except there is a character in Eloraton that she can’t place—a grumpy bookstore owner with mint-green eyes, an irritatingly sexy mouth and impeccable taste in novels. And he does not want her finishing this book.

Which is a problem because Elsy is beginning to think the town’s happily-ever-after might just be intertwined with her own.

First Impressions

I read Seven Year Slip by Poston earlier this year and immediately went to read everything she had written. I love the colors on this book too. Of all of her books, I think this one would catch my eye first, followed by Seven Year Slip. I also love the summary.

What I thought

Eileen/Elsy is taking a trip to a cabin for her yearly book club vacation. However, she is the only one to make it this year. On her way to the cabin, she gets lost and winds up in the town of Eloraton. This town is familiar to Elsy because it’s the fictional ton of her favorite romance series. When she arrives, she meets a man named Anderson who she doesn’t recognize from the story. She’s forced to stay and meet all of the characters from the story and help them move forward while her car is fixed and she ends up falling for Anders as well

Recently, I read a book called Prime Time Romance where the girl and her roommate fall into the world of her favorite television series. This book feels very similar to that one. I really enjoyed that one and I did enjoy this one too. The only thing I didn’t love about this book was it almost made me want to read the fictional romance series the main character is obsessed with more than the book I was actually reading.

Even though I did enjoy this book, I think that it’s my least favorite of the three of hers. I found the writing to be repetitive. If I had to read one more time about the mint color of Anders’ eyes or how burnt the burgers were in Eloraton I was going to rip a page out of this book. In fact, I was able to predict the twist before I hit that halfway part. I think because of this Elsy got on my nerves because she wasn’t acting how I wanted her to given the knowledge that I had.

Elsy and Anderson were cute though. And I loved getting to know all of the book characters through Elsy’s eyes. I found her growth to be well written and I also really liked the ending of the book. I am trying to figure out what it was that was missing for me from this book, but I truly think it just spent so much time talking about the love and perfection of a fake book I felt like I was missing out. Whereas with Prime Time Romance, there were some flaws in the show and the show world and I never felt like I would rather be watching the show than reading the book.

If you like magical realism and books about books I still recommend checking this one out. If you haven’t read any of Polston’s books before, I would recommend picking up Seven Year Slip first. I do enjoy how unique Polston’s stories are and I think she is one of my new favorite authors. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Blood at the Root

By: Ladarrion Williams
Published Year: 2024
Publisher: Labyrinth Road
Pages: 432

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A teenager on the run from his past finds the family he never knew existed and the community he never knew he needed at an HBCU for the young, Black, and magical . Enroll in this fresh fantasy debut with the emotional power of Legendborn and the redefined ancestral magic of Lovecraft Country .

Ten years ago, Malik's life changed forever the night his mother mysteriously vanished and he discovered he had uncontrollable powers. Since then, he has kept his abilities hidden, looking out for himself and his younger foster brother, Taye. Now, at 17, Malik is finally ready to start a new life for both of them, far from the trauma of his past. However, a daring act to rescue Taye reveals an unexpected connection with his long-lost a legendary conjurer with ties to a hidden magical university that Malik’s mother attended.

At Caiman University, Malik’s eyes are opened to a future he never could have envisioned for himself— one that includes the reappearance of his first love, Alexis. His search for answers about his heritage, his powers, and what really happened to his mother exposes the cracks in their magical community as it faces a reawakened evil dating back to the Haitian Revolution. Together with Alexis, Malik discovers a lot beneath the surface at feuding covens and magical politics, forbidden knowledge and buried mysteries.

In a wholly unique saga of family, history and community, Malik must embrace his legacy to save what's left of his old family as well as his new one. Exploring the roots and secrets that connect us in an unforgettable contemporary setting, this heart-pounding fantasy series opener is a rich tapestry of atmosphere, intrigue, and emotion.

First Impressions

I can’t remember exactly how I heard about this book, but I remember hearing the description of it before the cover was even revealed and adding it to my to-read list. When the cover came out I was slightly underwhelmed. It kind of felt like a knock off of Legendborn to me, but I could see it being more appealing to male readers since it has the male lead rather than the female on the cover.

What I thought

Maybe I had too high of expectations of this story?

Malik is an orphan with magical powers. Once he turns 17, he decides to emancipate himself from the state so he can take his foster brother and they can run away to California. Along the way, they run into a man who delivers Malik a letter from the grandmother he didn’t know he had. When Malik shows up at his grandma’s house, he learns about a whole magical world and magical Historical Black University that he gets enrolled in. In addition to learning how to use his magic, Malik wants to find out who murdered his mom 10 years ago and whether or not it’s tied to the recent disappearance of young black boys and girls.

There was a heck of a lot going on in this book. I felt very thrown into a world that I didn’t understand but that I felt expected to understand? Malik enters the university not knowing anything about magic and he’s also slightly confused, but he seems to pick up on a lot of the terminology, magic, and history a lot quicker than the reader is allowed to. I wish that it had been explained better.  

This story also felt too similar to Harry Potter and Legendborn for me to fully enjoy it. I felt a lot of the Potter inspiration from the magical university, the main character being an orphan, and the flashbacks to when his mom died with a flashing green light. With Legendborn, it felt like a lot of the root magic explanations were similar, but Legendborn’s were more fleshed out and I understood where it came from a lot more. This story would use words like Kava magic and I still don’t know what that is.

Malik also had an insta-love story with a character named Alexis that I didn’t enjoy. They had met at a foster home or an orphanage when they were 7 and then she got adopted and they never saw each other again. Until he shows up at Caiman University. This story takes place over a summer semester and before the end of the summer she and Malik are saying “I Love You?” He claims he’s been in love with her for 10 years, which just felt odd to me.

The final issue I had I know is more of a me issue. This book uses a lot of black slang/African American Vernacular that I struggled with when reading. I think if I had listened to it, it would’ve felt a lot more natural. However, I know that the author wrote this book because he never saw himself in fantasy novels, so that is why he wrote it that way. Therefore, I know that issue is not one I truly have with the book, just something I struggled with from time to time.

While I still enjoy the concept of the book, I’m on the fence as to whether or not I will continue reading this series. I am curious to see how the main villain stories play out, but I don’t know how long I can read a series where I’m confused. I liked Malik and felt he was a strong main character, even with his flaws.

This might be a book that I hold onto in my mind to recommend to young boys and young black boys who are looking to get into fantasy novels. It is a YA, so probably high school age so they can understand what’s going on. I know I’m not the target audience, but I do feel like it needed to be fleshed out a little bit. I think if this was turned into a movie or TV series with some rewrites, it could go from good to fantastic.

Atmosphere

By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pages: 352

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars.

First Impressions

Taylor Jenkins Reid has been one of my favorite authors for a long time. I have read her entire backlist and will always add her newest book to my TBR. I was very intrigued by a book centering around space and female astronauts so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. I have seen some different covers to the American version that I prefer a little bit, but this one isn’t bad.

What I thought

Jenkins Reid did not disappoint. This book was so good and different from anything I’ve read.

Joan has always been obsessed with space and the stars. While working as a professor of astrophysics, she learns that NASA is accepting applications and they are accepting them from women. When she gets accepted, she starts her journey towards becoming one of the first female astronauts and sets her sights on a space mission. While learning about NASA, she also is dealing with helping her sister raise her niece and navigating the politics of being a woman at NASA.

The book alternates between 1984 and when Joan starts her journey at NASA in about 1979/1980. 1984 is a space mission where Vanessa, Lydia, Griff, and Hank are all in space while Joan is working at Mission Control. It’s, of course, a little bit stressful since all of her friends are now in space, but it was really interesting.

I loved being in the past and seeing Joan learn about herself and grow into the person she is meant to be. He sister did drive me insane, but I think that is sort of the point. I do wish that we had gotten a little more time with some of her fellow astronauts. There were one or two that we saw Joan interact with a lot, but there were a handful of others I enjoyed and would’ve liked more of.

This book isn’t a mystery, but there are definitely plot points I don’t want to spoil. It is written as a love story, and it definitely is. It is both a love story in the traditional sense, but also is a love story about Joan and space and Joan and her family. This book sucked me in right from the beginning and I didn’t want to put it down. While it might not have taken the top spot as my favorite TJR book, it is definitely up there.

I think this book is slightly more of a 4.5 than a true 5 stars for me, but I think that’s on me not on the book. I got busy and had to take a couple day break from reading. I think if I had been able to read it all the way through like I had when I started, I would’ve continued being sucked in and enjoying it. If you have enjoyed her other books, you will enjoy this one. It has her signature strong characters and plot as well as a unique setting.