A true love story in every sense of the word - but drama, education and a true love of life!

This book has so many levels - so many great ideas, truths and feels! A love story to life and living it the way you were meant to!

Atmosphere is a novel about a fictional female astronaut who becomes one of the first American women in space during the 1980s.

Astronomer and astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin takes a gamble and applies for a position with NASA. They are actively recruiting women, and this is Joan’s chance to fulfill her dream of going to space. She makes the cut and joins a team of men and women preparing to leave Earth aboard a space shuttle. Among this ambitious crew, Joan finds acceptance, a sense of family, and even romantic love for the first time in her life. But even with the most capable team, accidents can happen. Joan must face unimaginable pressure and painful losses.

This is a heart-wrenching novel about discovering love in unexpected places and the possibility of losing it. It’s also about ambition and the smart, capable women who broke through the glass ceiling at NASA. Joan’s role in her niece Frances’s life goes far beyond what anyone would expect from an aunt. Her love is constant, her support unwavering, and she shows up for her over and over despite her career at NASA.

I found Joan to be a compelling character unlike anyone I’ve read before. Even Lydia, a fellow astronaut who always seems to say the wrong thing, was hard to dislike. The tense chapters about the Navigator flight and the brave woman trying to bring it home left me emotional and teary-eyed.

Overall, this is a fascinating story about space, love, family, and courage. I really enjoyed it.

I know nothing about space, and I was admittedly a little nervous that I'd feel too out of my depth to appreciate this story. But then I thought "this is TJR -- don't be silly! You know nothing about tennis and loved Carrie Soto!" and BOY AM I GLAD I TOOK A CHANCE.

As always, the character development is impeccable. How TJR manages to take already strong female main characters and build them up to be even better versions of themselves throughout a novel is incredible. I laughed, I cried, I suddenly developed an interest in space????

Another amazing book, and I'm not at all surprised by that.

Loved! TJR remains unmatched. A queer space love story in the 1970s/1980s is just the absolute best. This is a perfect summer read.

I am so in love with this book! It was beautiful and invoked such an emotional reaction from me. I was devouring those last few pages hoping for a happy ending. I'm so happy I got this lovely book from netgalley. I love this world and the beautiful characters that it contained.

This was a great read and I couldn't put it down! I wish some characters were fleshed out slightly more and a few of the time skips felt like they could use more of a smooth transition. That said, I loved reading this and I was absolutely hooked. Even without the finer polish I can't help but adore this story and the emotional aspects will stick with me for a very long time. I love the unique angle of space travel framing a romantic story and was very invested in the characters and main relationship. This will be a hit at my library! I would recommend it to romance readers and fans of "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo". I would recommend it to historical fiction lovers as well, but would let them know the emphasis is on the love story.

DNF @ 20%.

It could be because I was in a reading slump at the time, but I couldn't get into this one. I'm a fan of TJR's other books, but this one didn't grab me right away. I'm going to pick it back up when I'm out of my slump and see how I like it, because the premise is interesting and I know it's been a big hit.

It took a bit longer to get hooked in this novel compared to Taylor Jenkin Reid's previous novels - but when you do get into it, you can feel the emotional impact that she sunk into it and why she spent a lot of time learning about the intricacies of NASA and made it realistic.

TJR continues to not disappoint readers with a great balance of historical fiction, science, love, family, and friendship. Frances was my favorite character, and will stay with me long after the final pages.

On the cover of "Atmosphere" you'll see it says a love story and let me tell you -- this is a love story like I've never read before.

It's a beautiful love letter to Earth, space, science and the great beyond.

There's a love story about family and how motherhood is
a complicated love, while loving someone as if you birthed them yourself is a unique love that defies rules.

And yes, there's a romantic love story, which TJR writes with such respect, kindness and depth that had my heart heavy with want.

And Joan Goodwin. She's now my favorite TJR leading lady (sorry Carrie, you're still my girl). Joan is smart and fierce and lonely and flawed and worthy and capable and you get to see all of this unfold in a way that leaves you aching with pure happiness for all Joan has and is. You see this character whose singular focus is space learning so much about herself and what’s worth fighting for, what she wants from her one shot at life on Earth.

"Atmosphere" delivered in ways I wasn't expecting. Reid always has niche topics in her novels and while that may be a miss for some, especially with one as dense as space and science, I have to admit, I'm itching to grab my boys and head to NASA in Houston. I mean, it's only 3.5 hours away from us!

Favorite quotes:

“But I want to go somewhere so few people have ever gone that you could name them all—and when people do name them, I want them to name me.”

“Bravery is being unafraid of something other people are afraid of. Courage is being afraid, but strong enough to do it anyway.”

Being human was such a lonely endeavor. We alone have consciousness; we are the only intelligent life force that we know of in the galaxy. We have no one but one another.

Because the world had decided that to be soft was to be weak, even though in Joan’s experience being soft and flexible was always more durable than being hard and brittle. Admitting you were afraid always took more guts than pretending you weren’t. Being willing to make a mistake got you further than never trying. The world had decided that to be fallible was weak. But we are all fallible. The strong ones are the ones who accept it.

Bravery, Joan suspected, is almost always a lie. Courage is all we have.

“I can’t imagine you ever being lonely,” she said. “I can’t imagine that everyone’s not begging to stand next to you all the time.”

“I want to do everything with you. I want to be so close to you that I’m worried I’m being creepy about it.”

In all of her time spent watching others, she hadn’t picked up on this part of falling in love, that someone could look at you as if you were the very center of everything. And even though you knew better, you’d allow yourself a moment to believe you were worthy of being revolved around, too.

“I can wake up every single day and choose you, over and over and over again. If you’re in bed next to me, I will take your hand. If you are not, I will go find you. I will spend the rest of my life, if I get that lucky, seeking you out. Not because I promised you or because you’re there. But because I will want to. I will want to be beside you. Every day. Forever.”

TAYLOR JENKINS REID, you have done it again!

ATMOSPHERE follows Joan Goodwin, a hopeful, star-lust scientist who receives the once-in-a-lifetime call to join a space expedition. Unsurprisingly, her entrance into NASA is met with very realistic depiction of sexism in the world of STEM. As someone who once dreamed of going into tech, I found her challenges extremely relatable, from having to code switch to finding more security in silence. Then, to have the silver lining of her dreams shattered was so beautifully written. But maybe, just maybe, the real point of the mission was to build these wonderful relationships Joan finds in Vanessa, John, Lydia, and Donna.

Beautifully written! Hit all the emotions. Can’t wait to sell in my shop. TJR does not miss. Five star read.

This is a historical novel set during the 1980s, as NASA is allowing women to enter the astronaut training program. Joan, the main character, has always loved space, in fact she is a professor of physics and astronomy at a university. She is close to her young niece who is an important part of her life, even as Joan is exasperated by her own lacksadaisical sister. One day Joan sees an advertisement looking for female scientists to join NASA's space program and she decides she wants to be one of the first women in space.

We learn about the training they went through, as well as the blatant sexism faced by women trying to enter such a male dominated field. Along the way, we meet the other astronaut candidates who become an important part of Joan's life, almost like family. She finds love in an unexpected place, and that love is put to the test not only during training, but during a catastrophic event in space.

This is a quick read that I recommend. I love the fact that it was set in the 1980s (but find it difficult to believe the '80s are historical fiction! LOL). Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Taylor Jenkins Reid does not miss with this romance set against the backdrop of NASA in the 1980s. At the same time a comment on women in STEM, homophobia, and the undeniable beauty of our Earth and humanity, Reid also just writes engrossing stories to get lost in.

Atmosphere follows Joan Goodwin, a professor who has always longed for the stars, as she takes a job with NASA as one of it's few female astronaut candidates. Joan finds family with her trainee group, and she spends her free time with her beloved niece, Frances. As Joan learns more about the space missions she so desperately wants to be apart of, she also discovers feelings for a fellow astronaut, Vanessa. Trying to keep their relationship under wraps while training hard for their spots on the mission teams, Joan and Vanessa face many obstacles to love.

The pacing of this book is fantastic, jumping back and forth from their early days in training to a mission where something goes terribly wrong. TJR knows how to write compelling female characters who have a lot more going on than the romance plot. Always recoommend!

4,5
As a Taylor Jenkins Reid enthusiast (and proud reader of all of her books!), I could not wait to get my hands on her latest book, Atmoshphere. With all the period piece drama we've come to know and love (hello, being a gay woman in 1980s NASA), this story, at its core, is a story of love. Love of partner. Love of a child. Love of a friend. Love for life. Reid has created complex characters who you will love, absolutely hate, and characters you wish you got to spend more time with, While for my own selfish reasons I would have loved an epilogue (you will be left dying to know what happens next!), but who knows, maybe, in true TJR fashion, one of these characters will appear in her next novel.
Although it wasn't my favorite from Reid (it's impossible to compete with The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and the Six), it definitely is up there and will help solidify TJR as one of the greats!
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m sobbing at 1 AM—Taylor’s Jenkins Reid has me all kinds of messed up, and I love her for it.

Where to even start? This is an incredible work of fiction. It’s riveting, healing, messy, hopeful, sad, tense, and any other feeling you can think of while reading this story.

The way the timeline is set up is so heartbreakingly good. You fall in love with these characters, root for their success, and want them all to live out of their dreams.

Joan and Vanessa are such a beautiful couple, and I enjoyed reading about their love immensely. The side characters- Lydia, Donna, Griff, Hank, Steve, Francis—and even Barbara—were so well-done; what a beautiful family Joan had created for herself.

I’m just not over this one, and I don’t know if I ever will be, and that is what makes reading so wonderful. 

Bravo, bravo.

Rating: ★★★★★
By Kelsea Hamm], Media Journalist

Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again. With Atmosphere, she delivers a masterclass in emotional storytelling, blending glamour, vulnerability, and raw humanity into a narrative that is both intoxicating and deeply grounded.

Set against the backdrop of the glittering yet isolating world of high-profile creatives, Atmosphere is less about fame itself and more about what it means to breathe in the spaces between performance and authenticity. Reid crafts characters who are imperfect, achingly real, and caught in the tension between public persona and private truth. As always, her dialogue is razor-sharp and emotionally charged, making each scene pulse with energy.

What makes Atmosphere stand out is Reid’s uncanny ability to write about ambition and identity without ever slipping into cliché. Her protagonist—flawed but magnetic—pulls you into a world where success doesn’t guarantee fulfillment, and where love, in all its messy forms, still offers the truest sense of home.

This is a book that lingers. Long after the final chapter, you’ll find yourself thinking about its themes—how we define ourselves, how we’re seen, and what we hide to survive. It’s emotionally resonant, visually rich, and expertly paced.

In a media landscape oversaturated with superficial drama, Atmosphere is a breath of fresh, complex air. Taylor Jenkins Reid proves once again why she’s one of the defining voices of contemporary fiction.

5⭐️
One of my most anticipated books of 2025!! So thank you so much NetGalley for letting me read this early!!
This story was so good!
There was a lot of space talk but it is done in such a way that even I could understand it,
It’s got HF-the astronaut aspect-in the 1980’s. And it’s got family drama and then romance. I cried and got choked up-so much feelings for these characters.
So well done!

I finished this two weeks ago and totally forgot to write a review! The love story TJR crafted her is quite honestly her best. While the first half of the novel felt kind of slow but you can tell she did her research. The second half was a whirlwind but also absolutely heartbreaking. A no brainer for current TJR fans and I will definitely be recommending to my patrons.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of my favorite authors and this book is another hit. The story is sooo good and the writing is great.