At first, I wasn't sure if this was laced with the usual TJR magic that I know and love. The NASA world is fascinating but jargon-heavy, and there was a lot of world building. However in time I became very invested in the central relationship and ultimately thought it was great. I should have never doubted her!

Oh, I ADORED this book. Full of accurate space programme facts that made me go and do some research, full of information I didn’t know about (and I’m a space nerd), alongside a genuinely heart wrenchingly beautiful love story. What a triumph this book is. Thank you so much for the proof. I can’t wait to share this with customers.

Oh god this was absolute perfection, 10/10 I will never shut up about Atmosphere. What a gut-punch. I loved the NASA setting and the romance that kind of hits you from nowhere, even though you absolutely know that it's coming. Suspenseful and beautiful, I've recommended to everyone I know, I wept finishing this. Taylor Jenkins Reid never misses, she has done it once again.

This is absolutely everything I want from a TJR book and I’m so so glad she’s back!! There’s a bit of a slow start but oh I loved Joan so much and I thought the story was absolutely brilliant, no notes. I don’t know how much more I can say without a spoiler but this is a massive crowd pleaser in the making for sure!

A truly magnificent story about the exploration of life and its purpose, the discovery of one self and what it means to love. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a masterful storyteller and had me in tears at the end of this one. Absolutely loved it!

With "Atmosphere" Taylor Jenkins Reid once again manages to pull you into a world you've likely only ever wondered about before. You are pulled into the day to day life of an (aspiring) astronaut, who has to navigate life on earth, while dreaming of - and preparing to - leave the planet and its inhabitants behind and live among the stars for a while.
This is the kind of historical fiction, that emerses you fully in its set time, while still making you feel connected to the future you'recurrently living in.
The subtitle declares the book a "love story" and that is what it is. It is filled with romantic love, but also with platonic love, at times complicated family-love and self-love. It is a loveletter to space, to earth and to family.
And while the plot and the characters are winning over your heart, you might even end up accidentally picking up a few interesting scientific facts, to entertain your freinds with. It's beautiful and devastating and hopeful and might be her best book yet.

For once I didn’t set a tbr for my holiday and just made this the one book I’d focus on. I’m so glad I did. It is rich in content, historically fascinating and has a centre that you want to cocoon yourself in.

The first book I’ve read for a long time that has made me want to prolong the reading. I wanted to savour every entry of who these people were and the events that hit each of them in the future. The characters are real and raw, the relationships are somehow fractured whilst being the only thing known in its entirety.

4.5 stars!

I will read anything that Taylor Jenkins Reid writes, but I have to admit I was a little trepidatious about stepping into the great unknown with astronauts! However, I absolutely sped through this one, which kept me fully in its orbit from page 1 right through to the end. The central romance of Atmosphere is what really pulls it along: it is beautifully told, completely believable and immersive.

TJR has a special talent for drawing out the more private stories behind public figures, and Atmosphere is no different - though I would say I noticed a slight shift forward in her storytelling, for the better! I wonder what she'll do next - and I can't wait to find out.

Utterly, utterly obsessed. Admittedly, I had no knowledge or interest in astronomy going into this book, sold only by the author, but I came out of it with a newfound appreciation for our place within the galaxy. And the place that this book zooms into is 1980s Houston, where Joan Goodwin has just been accepted onto the NASA Space Shuttle programme as one of its first female scientists. As she tackles both the obstacles of the time period and her niece’s upbringing by her neglectful sister, she meets engineer Vanessa who will change her life in ways she could never imagine. Flash forward a few years to Vanessa’s first space voyage, where Joan’s voice from Mission Control is quite literally the only thing holding her together. I can’t possibly spoil anything further, but there were moments along this emotional rollercoaster where I held my breath, kicked my feet, smiled my goofiest smile, shed a few tears, forgot how to breathe at all. Though I haven’t yet encountered a Taylor Jenkins Reid book I didn’t love, Atmosphere might just be a contender for my favourite so far.

Another solid entry into the Taylor Jenkins Reid collected works. The characters hook you in and the unexpected narrative structure delivers brilliantly by making you fall in love with the cast of characters before you're even aware and drives the pace of the novel incredibly well. Yet another one that I hope gets the big screen adaptation treatment!

This book is truly one of her best! I was absolutely hooked and tears were shed.
A couple of notes though: throughout the book it felt a bit like the author was showing of how much research she'd done, and while it was very cool to get such an insight into 80s NASA, it felt somewhat overdone at times.
The ending was spectacular! I could've done with a couple of more sentences after the climax, though.

All in all, definitely a book I'm going to be recommending :)

Thank you, Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone | Hutchinson Heinemann, for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

“I feel like I could know you forever and still be curious about what you're going to say next.” This is how I feel about Taylor's book, I want them all.
Having read almost Taylor's entire bibliography (which I hope is the book equivalent of discography), I had high expectations for this book. Even then, those were far exceeded. This story is simply amazing, it left an imprint on my soul. I felt every emotion—joy, heartbreak, hope, despair—as if they were my own. I laughed, I cried, and when it ended, I was not ready to say goodbye; I was sobbing. It felt less like reading and more like stepping into another universe.

The story is set in the 1980s and follows Joan Goodwin. Against the backdrop of the space shuttle program, she trains to be an astronaut at Houston's Johnson Space Center alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates. While preparing for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love that challenge everything she thought she knew about herself and her place in the observable universe. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is the queen of historical novels, having made a name for herself by creating intricate characters against the backdrop of compelling historical moments. She again transports us to this time and place, with richly layered protagonists and a beautiful exploration of love's transformative power. I was sobbing by the end of it (and for 10 minutes after)—in the best possible way. This story left a lasting impression on me, and I know it will stay with me for a long time. The words felt light and fluid, yet carried so much depth and beauty. This book is nothing short of phenomenal—you know that feeling when you finish a book and just sit there in awe? Yeah, that’s this book.

She never misses. The Queen of Fiction stops time again with this brilliant, addictive novel. Brilliantly talented at creating characters you root for, TJR remains at the top of her game.

This has such a gripping premise: the first female astronauts on NASA's space shuttle programme. But somehow the characters never came fully to life and there was lots of draggy domestic stuff as well as a rather cheesy and predictable love affair.

It's strange because the 1984 sections set on a damaged space shuttle had me biting my nails as the tension ramps up and even the intentionally emotive conversations here had me totally gripped.

But apart from that there's some interesting scenes in the NASA training but way too much homely domestic stuff. This also feels particularly American in the overtly Christian and hero ideas that underpin the story. Add to that the love vs. career ultimatum for Joan and Vanessa, the lecturing about sexism in NASA and the abrupt ending that left the women's careers in the air (ha!) and this just didn't gel with me. I love TJR but this one was sadly forgettable.

I had high expectations of this book and I wasn’t disappointed. The writing is flawless, the characters vivid and real, the story thrilling and full of tension and emotion. The NASA detail is fascinating - by the time I reached the end I felt as if I’d lived through the crisis with them. I’m sure this book will be a huge bestseller, and it deserves to be. Stunning.

TJR has done it again! I just love how she writes character relationships, building them up in such a real and genuine way. The last 5% of this book had my heart in my throat and tears so thick I could barely read. What an ending.

Atmosphere has undeniable shades of Lessons in Chemistry with its cast of astrophysicist women - and this is never a bad thing. I think it is a little different to the TJR style people have come to expect with Malibu/Carrie Soto, but it's fantastic and I can't wait to shout about it from the rooftops when it's finally here.

Where to even begin…. A love story that transcends time and space. I adore Taylor Jenkins Reid. Every time I read one of her books, I claim it’s a favourite and think to myself that’s it, she cannot possibly outdo herself. I was wrong once again.

As soon as I heard the theme of this book would be space/ astronauts, I was sold. But like most her books, the plot is second to the characters. I adored Joan. I cannot think of a single person who could dislike and not root for her. I connected with her character so much and especially her dynamic with her niece, Frances.
And Vanessa…. After reading this, you will find you are either a Joan or a Vanessa and both are a beautiful thing. I truly lost myself in this book and didn’t know how what the fate would hold for the two of them. The beginning of the book throws you straight into peril so from there on, you are anxiously awaiting the climax whilst falling more in love with the characters. Without spoiling anything, the last page made me breakout in goosebumps and sobbing to my colleague!

I am deeply moved. This book has stirred a profound emotional response in me. My admiration for it knows no bounds.

The relationships depicted in this narrative resonate powerfully, reflecting the experiences of a gay woman in the 1980s. Joan dedicates herself to her family yet struggles to express her true self around them. Despite being an exceptional worker, she feels similarly constrained in front of her superiors. The only times she experiences genuine freedom are with Vanessa or Frances, and even then, she must navigate the complexities of the child's needs. It’s heartbreaking to witness her efforts to satisfy everyone while shielding herself from those who seem indifferent to her feelings. It’s remarkable how this story could easily resonate with a character living in 2025.

Thanks to the publisher for the advance copy. I will be recommending this book to everyone I encounter for the rest of my life.

Taylor Jenkins Reid never misses! With all the obsession and intensity of Carrie Soto combined with the intoxicating and beautiful romance of Seven Husbands, this really is her best yet. I’ve never been particularly interested in NASA or the history of space travel, but I found myself completely swept up by Joan’s passion. TJR always writes such stunning, complex characters, you can’t help but love them.

A story about self discovery, following your dreams, and finding your place in the world. I can’t recommend Atmosphere enough.

A massive thank you to the Cornerstone team for giving me the opportunity to read this one pre-pub!

Wow, wow, wow. Right from the opening pages, Atmosphere grips you and just won't let you go. I was so engaged and suuuuuper anxious as we learn what was going on in the space shuttle through the eyes of Joan, who's working in NASA's Mission Control. And things just get more tense from there, in all the right ways.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has clearly done some SERIOUS research to get the details right on all the space science and engineering elements, and it shows beautifully - there's just the right amount of detail to inform and feel incredibly realistic, without feeling like an info dump or letting the reader get bored with technicalities. It's perfectly calibrated.

And then there's the romance. Oh, the romance is so lovely. It's rare that a book makes me cry, but this one did. Atmosphere is already my book of 2025, and it's hard competition to beat. Amazing. Highly recommended.