I would read TJR's shopping list if you let me. She just has such a beautiful way of writing well-rounded characters. I am a huge TJR fan, so Atmosphere was one of my most anticipated reads this year and it did not disappoint.

One thing I love about TJR is her ability to capture such raw human emotion. I swear I connect so deeply with her characters and the way they view the universe. Sometimes the simple musings in her stories become some of my favorite quotes.

Atmosphere follows the story of Joan, a young woman who is navigating family life, a nearly nonexistent love life, and her dreams of being an astronaut despite NASA's rigid views of who brings in space. Throughout the book, we see Joan really learn who she is and also learn to love herself as much as she loves others. TJR writes well-rounded female characters and Joan is no exception. Joan is driven, but prudish at the beginning of Atmosphere. Yet as she gets to know her fellow astronauts, she becomes more confident and unapologetically herself. I loved watching Joan grow into the woman she is at the end of the book.

I won't say much more other than the fact that Joan's relationships, both familial and romantic, were beautifully written. This book is a celebration of love of all kinds--and not just between people but between people and their passions too.

I am looking forward to future books by TJR! Thank you for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of my favorite authors & I have been waiting to long for a new book. This one did not disappoint. I gave it 4 1/2 stars. I am not a huge fan of books that go back in time & foward throughout the book, I prefer them to go in time order. Growing up in the 80s I was one of the kids who wanted to go to space camp after seeing the movie, like so many kids of my generation. My father is a pilot and so many things in this book resonated with me because of my personal experiences on that front. I loved the deep family friendships that formed within the group of astronauts who all stated their time at NASA together. I loved seeing Joan & Venessa’s love unfolding so naturally and so beautifully, how they truly were meant to be together. At the same time I was completely heartbroken they couldn’t live their loving happy relationship out loud like the rest of the team. I found myself googling when gay marriages were legal (2015) and hoping that Joan & Vanessa along with Frances were there at a courthouse the very day it was legal to make their relationship official to the rest of the world. This is a book I would absolutely love to have a part 2 to see what happened next. This book also shows a reminder on how far the LGBTQ community has come since the early 80s & how hard they had to fight and how much pain they had to endure to get to this point, which still isn’t perfect buy any means.

ugh, this is a confusing one for me. on a macro, structural, thematic level, this is a really, really beautiful and meaningful book. like yes it is top gun with space lesbians, but it is also just a really thoughtful exploration of what it means to be a person looking for a place, a home, and meaning in life, love, space, science, etc etc, especially when the world is prejudiced against you for things far out of your control. it’s truly lovely, i think a lot of people (myself included) will find meaning in it, i bet it will work a bit better on audio, and i cannot wait for the inevitable tv/film adaptation.

unfortunately, it is simply baffling on a line level. i’ve read and enjoyed most of taylor jenkins reid’s previous work, and never remembered her sentences and dialogue being *this* clunky. everyone says exactly what they think in the most strangely stilted, through google translate and back again, paragraphs. no one uses contractions. exclamation marks abound. it’s the 80s, we don’t need to be going for old timey Ye Olde English. and then every time i wanted to run up a wall and put this book down and read something that didn’t make me want to tear my skin off, she’d drop one of the most beautiful paragraphs i’ve read in a minute. are her previous ones like this and i just didn’t notice?? what happened here????

additionally, some of the themes were a bit repetitive and heavy handed, side characters stilted, the ending a bit abrupt, and there was a strange harping on God/religion that was at first lovely (how do you have faith and also be a scientist? is a gorgeous conversation) but eventually felt a bit uncomfortable for me—but the overall strength of narrative and joan as a character would easily have offset these if not for the really, deeply strange prose.

also: i am deeply, violently, existentially afraid of space, so i was definitely not setting myself up for success here.

I loved this book. I am an author and I am speechless at how to accurately convey my love for this book in my review. I thought the story was extremely compelling, I could NOT put it down, and I was on the verge of tears for probably the last fifty pages (in the best, most excruciating way). I cared so much for the main characters (although one of them I thought could have realized something a bit faster) and I thought the incorporation of space, NASA, etc. was so well researched and well done, and I am so appreciative of all the hard work Taylor Jenkins Reid put into this book. A masterpiece.

I’m a huge TJR fan and have been since I discovered her books. Her interesting and highly complex characters are a huge draw for me. However, it took me 2/3 in to get emotionally invested in this story. The ending was the best part- tense and full of emotions, and with tears in my eyes, I sadly finished. Disappointed to have to wait on her next book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the privilege and opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT ON EVERY LEVEL! This book was fantastic! The characters, the premise, the family relationships, the love and the sacrifice! STUNNING!
The setting of the story is the 1980's NASA space Shuttle program. At the heart of the story is Joan Goodwin, an astronomy professor with a passion for space and the stars. The story follows Joan's journey through the program and the relationships formed as a result. She must learn to navigate the grueling process while balancing her familial and personal relationships . To say anymore would spoil TJR's incredible story. She is able to weave the technical aspects of the shuttle program without sacrificing the emotion and love for these characters! Needless to say have tissues ready for the pulse pounding emotional ending! I wanted these characters to go on and on!
A must read!

Atmosphere is a breathtaking journey through ambition, love, and the boundless pursuit of dreams. Set against the backdrop of NASA’s 1980s space shuttle program, it captures the grit and wonder of those who dared to reach for the stars. Joan is a deeply compelling protagonist, her quiet determination colliding with the intense pressures of spaceflight and the unexpected complexities of love. The camaraderie among the astronauts, the razor-sharp tension of their missions, and the emotional depth of Joan’s personal evolution make this an unforgettable read. Taylor Jenkins Reid masterfully blends history, heart, and high-stakes drama into a novel that soars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC digital copy. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

Holy shit! My heart is bursting with love and anger along with a newfound interest in the interconnectedness of science and God.

“To look at the night sky is to look at parts of who you once were, who you may one day be."

Taylor Jenkins Reid is a creative genius. Daisy Jones helped me rediscover an appreciation of audiobooks. Evelyn Hugo taught me that real intimacy is being honest about oneself. And Atmosphere reminded me that when you love someone, you love all the versions of who they are. I can’t wait to continue learning life lessons from TJR.

4.5 out of 5 stars and my deepest respect to the author.

I never had the desire to go to space, but now I do! I love TJR and everything the writes, so I always go in with super high expectations. Probably not super fair, but she’s done this to herself! This book was so good. I loved the different timelines. I loved the characters and their development throughout the book. I loved it all. It’s not my favorite TJR, but it’s still a winner. She will always be an automatic read author for me. Love her!!

I recently read Adam Higginbotham's wonderful work on Challenger, which really opened my eyes to space flight and the challenges astronauts face, so I felt primed to read this! While I enjoyed the 80's space ambiance the actual story itself didn't do much for me. Our main character is Joanie, who after her sister mentions NASA is looking for astronauts, specifically lady astronauts, she signs up and gets selected. I would have thought that this process would have made for an exciting and interesting story but we almost immediately jettison that side of it for a formulaic love story and a niece subplot that lacked tension or nuance as well. She falls for one of the other astronauts, but a woman, which in no way was my problem with the relationship, it was just that it was very predictable and the dialogue between them was corny in my opinion, although I am not typically a huge romance reader. She is also dealing with her sister who had a child young which Joanie has always helped her with and even though the sister was the catalyst for her joining NASA she is written as resentful and an absentee parent. The longer this subplot went on the worse it go for me and again just didn't provide anything new or interesting. If I had known that this would be very light on space flight, heavy on romance I likely would not have picked it up, and I did enjoy a lot of what Reid had to say about religion and science and women's place in society, but this one just wasn't for me.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced reader's copy of this novel.
Once again TJR hits it out of the park with another awesome novel. She has chosen another strong woman to lead the role of her main character. This time an astronaut in modern times with modern challenges. Wow. This is such a great story. Another book headed to the big screen. Thanks TJR.

This is one of those books that makes you rethink your whole life. It’s hard to imagine how Taylor Jenkins Reid will top each new release yet here we are. There was something so honest yet meaningful (and also tragic) about this book and the characters and the storyline and the ending that even though i cannot say i’ll ever go to space, i still completely understand. If you need a book to remind you how short and insignificant but also extremely significant our time on earth is READ THIS (when it’s out of course hehe)

Wow! Wow wow wow! Taylor Jenkins Reid once again proves that she is capable of taking her readers on an unforgettable and emotional journey across the cosmos.

Atmosphere is a book about family, love, loss, and the stars that made all that possible. Joan was a fierce narrator, though she wasn't without her flaws. Vanessa was an exciting addition to Joan's busy, somewhat chaotic life. They worked together better than most characters do in this scenario, and I think Joan's ignorance on her own preferences made their tension much more palpable and real.

This book made me laugh, cry, and want to smack Barbara in the face more times than I can count. Reid, who said herself that this book felt like a cultivation of how far she's come as a writer, reminded me how tiny, yet resilient, human beings are in the grand scheme of things. Joan and Vanessa's realizations about themselves once they reached the stars was heartbreaking while simultaneously giving me the warm and fuzzies.

'Atmosphere' may be Reid's best work yet. I only hope that she'll continue to reach deep into the universe for inspiration.

P.S.
The author's dedications at the end had me sobbing so hard I couldn't breathe. Reid's dedication to 'her' Frances was so touching.

Absolutely compelling! I finished this in 24 hours and was quite emotional by the end. I really feel like I got to know and care about the characters, especially since we get to watch them and their relationships develop over the course of several years. The backdrop of NASA in the '80s was super interesting to me... it was honestly what hooked me to read the book in the first place. But I found so much more in here to appreciate. I will definitely be recommending this one!

Absolutely phenomenal! Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again! This book is a breathtaking, inspiring, and deeply emotional journey through the early days of women in space. Joan Goodwin is a character you’ll root for from the very first page—her intelligence, determination, and quiet strength make her impossible not to love.

The training sequences are thrilling, the friendships between the astronauts are beautifully layered, and the challenges they face—both in the sky and on the ground—are heart-wrenching. Reid captures the awe of space exploration while also shedding light on the struggles of women breaking barriers. The historical detail and emotional depth make this story unforgettable.

What truly stole my heart was the relationship between Joan and her niece, Frances. Their bond was so touching and raw, adding an extra layer of warmth and depth to an already incredible novel. And let’s talk about the love story—unexpected, poignant, and perfectly woven into the narrative.

I laughed, I cried (multiple times), and I couldn’t put this book down. Reid’s writing is, as always, masterful—full of heart, hope, and a deep understanding of human connection. If you love historical fiction, space, or just a damn good story, this book is a must-read. Highly, highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Whoever said this book will wreck you wasn’t kidding. I devoured this, and it ended up eating ME alive. The book, fully nuanced and so perfectly done historically can strike a chord with anyone that believes in love. The early comments on this book are so spot on, and after fully bawling my eyes out and trying to explain the plot to my family, I am crushed that I have to wait until June to discuss this with anyone else! TJR, you’ve done it again. This is, in my opinion, her strongest novel yet and so so timeless.

Another great novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I enjoy her prose and felt the delivery of the information balanced well with the plot. Some of the dialogue was maybe a bit awkward/preachy at times, but it didn't detract from the story. This was a very fascinating topic and I enjoyed the love story alongside the tragedy. I learned a bunch too which I always appreciate.

uch an amazing read! So much depth of character, strong relationships and an amazing setting! I highlighted several powerful quotes about commitment, love and adventure. This book changed how i will look at the night sky. TJR showed incredible story craft with the shifting timelines at just the right suspenseful moments. I flew through the pages and didn't want it to end.

4.5 ⭐

Right from the start, Atmosphere grabs you with an intense situation set in space, keeping you on the edge of your seat. The beginning is a bit complex, with multiple characters both on the ground and in space, so I had to reread parts to keep track of who was where. However, once the story gains momentum, it never slows down. The emotional depth of the characters, especially as relationships and family dynamics evolve, carries you through the plot.
The narrative starts in space and then rewinds to reveal how everything builds toward that opening scene. Once again, Taylor Jenkins Reid does not disappoint with her storytelling!
The only reason I held back on a 1/2 star was because I would have loved to gain a bit more closure at the end.

Thank you NetGalley for the privilege of receiving this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is an author I always look forward to reading, but Atmosphere didn’t quite grip me the way her other books have. While it was interesting, the plot felt clunky at times, making it harder to stay engaged. I enjoyed the historical look at women becoming astronauts, but for a character-driven story, I found it difficult to relate to the characters at times. That said, I may be in the minority on this one, and it was still a mid-level read for me. Regardless, Reid remains a must-read author, and I’ll continue to pick up everything she writes. I will recommend to readers without telling my thoughts in hopes for true discussion and feedback. I was so looking forward to this one and I am truly sad that it did not connect for me.