The best Taylor Jenkins Reid books coming at you today!
Let’s talk about one of my favorite fiction authors, Taylor Jenkins Reid. (Rebecca Serle comes in a close second, by the way.)
I read my first Taylor Jenkins Reid book about eight years ago, and I really enjoyed it. Then, over the last two years, I’ve really dug in and completed almost all of her current novels.
While I love to read, I only read for about 20 to 30 minutes at night before bed, which means I need to truly enjoy a book or it’s not worth my limited time. And with Reid’s books — there’s so much enjoyment there. Because even though her novels fall into the light-fiction category, I often get so wrapped up in the story, they don’t feel light to me at all.
Today, we’re going to talk about the best Taylor Jenkins Reid books, ranked by me. And there are no spoilers here!
1. “Carrie Soto is Back”
I ate this book up! And it is definitely my favorite from Taylor Jenkins Reid.
“Carrie Soto is Back” is a fictional tale about a female tennis star named, of course, Carrie Soto. Soto lives and breathes tennis, and during her career, she earns more Grand Slam titles than any other female athlete in the sport.
Yet, a few years into her retirement, another superstar comes up in the sport and challenges Soto’s reign as the winningest player. Soto decides to come out of retirement to win back her title as the greatest female tennis player of all time. The bulk of the story takes place during the comeback.
And while this book has a lot of tennis in it (which I enjoyed, being a tennis player myself), it’s also about a lot more than just tennis. It’s about a father/daughter relationship. And about sacrifice. Determination. Ambition. And purpose.
(“Carrie Soto is Back” by Taylor Jenkins Reid)
Without spilling too much of the story, through Soto, we learn what it takes to truly be great at something. It takes everything. And we get to learn about that through Soto’s first-hand account of her life, from childhood through the close of the story.
I read this book in a little more than a week, which is fast for me. I loved the writing and how we not only heard from Soto in the first person, but we also saw news clippings to recap events and give depth to the story. It flowed so nicely, I often didn’t want to put it down. And on the last night I read it, I probably read almost 75 pages in one sitting.
What I liked about the ending is that I wasn’t sad either. I felt happy, and I like to feel happy when I finish a book. Whereas, sometimes, I get really involved in the storyline and end up sad.
This may be one of my favorite fictions books ever, and I’d definitely recommend it. If you’re not into sports, I think that’s okay, but it’s got a lot of tennis talk for sure (which is incredibly well done by an author who likely had to learn a lot about the sport to write it). It’s just a great story. Find “Carrie Soto is Back” here.
2. “Atmosphere”
I was so surprised by this book, and I felt like I learned a lot, while at the same time being wrapped up in the narrative.
“Atmosphere” is Taylor Jenkins Reid’s newest novel, and boy is it created with great care. Sometimes I read a book and truly wonder how an author can learn so much about an industry or world and then recreate it in fiction. In “Atmosphere,” Reid totally does that with the space program. And it’s just so impressive.
The narrative follows a young woman named Joan, as Joan enters the astronaut candidate program back in the 1980s, when women were first allowed to join. Joan and her fellow candidates go through a lot together, in both their personal and professional lives.
(“Atmosphere” by Taylor Jenkins Reid)
Honestly, I had no idea where this storyline would go, and it truly surprised me. But I loved it. The descriptions, the way the story was told in pieces from different points in time, and the way it made me feel — so much good stuff from a novel.
I was so moved, and I loved reading this book so very much. I’d say it’s definitely my second favorite Taylor Jenkins Reid novel. Once again, well done, Reid! Find “Atmosphere” here.
3. “Daisy Jones & The Six”
My friend and blog reader, Courtney, sent me her copy of “Daisy Jones & The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and I was so excited to read it.
And here’s the deal, while people love Taylor Jenkins Reid, a lot of people said they “couldn’t get into” this book because of the way it was written. I also struggled at first, but once I got in, I got really in!
This book is written like a news article with accounts from people, sharing stories from their past. And it’s about a rock band and how they came together, how they became famous and how they all felt about it after the fact.
At first, I was taken aback by the writing style, then I started to love it. We heard different versions of stories from each of the main characters, and it somehow flowed seamlessly. Truly, I soaked it up, and I stayed up really late the night before Thanksgiving finishing up the book. You know it’s a good book if it keeps me up late, because otherwise, I’m way out by 10:30 p.m. each night.
(“Daisy Jones & The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid)
When I shared a picture of this book upon arrival on Instagram, quite a few people told me that this book was turned into a show. And it was!
Right after I finished the book (because if I know I’m going to watch a show and read a book on the same story, I always like to read it first), Dave and I started watching “Daisy Jones & The Six” on Amazon Prime. And wow, even though books are always better, the show is actually just as good, if not better. I might want to watch the show for a second time one day, I loved it so much, so did Dave. The storylines vary slightly, but both work.
If you’re into music or good stories, this one is for you. And if it seems hard to follow at first, stick around, and it’ll be worth it. Find “Daisy Jones & The Six” here.
4. “One True Loves”
I loved this book, “One True Loves“!
It’s fiction. It’s light. Yet, at times, it doesn’t feel all that light, if that makes any sense. And I flew through it, staying up late a couple nights getting through this book in maybe a week.
This one is about a woman who finds herself in a completely unlikely situation. She thinks her husband dies in a helicopter accident over the Pacific. And in order to pick up the pieces, she moves back to her hometown and rebuilds her life, finding love again. Then one day, her husband returns after having spent years trying to get back to her from the deserted island he was stuck on. So, she’s presented with the decision to choose between two “true loves.”
(“One True Loves” by Taylor Jenkins Reid)
I just really appreciate the way Reid tells a story, because her writing is very easy to read and you feel like you get to know the characters really well. They’re raw, they’re imperfect, and they’re honest … and I can relate to all of that!
If you’re a fan of light romantic fiction, which serves as a great escape, this one’s for you. Find “One True Loves” here.
5. “After I Do”
“After I Do” is another good one from Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Her books are always super easy to read, the narrative flows nicely, and the subject matter is usually not too heavy, even if it does bring up a lot of emotions.
This book is about a married couple, who begins to grow apart, having been together since college. They come up with a plan to spend a year living separately with absolutely zero communication to decide if they want to save their marriage or not. During that year, we follow Lauren, the lead character and wife in the marriage, on her journey to find herself, while also finding out how she truly feels about love and marriage.
(“After I Do” by Taylor Jenkins Reid)
I didn’t devour this book quite like I did the first few mentioned above, but I still liked reading it. It was realistic, and it touched on a lot of real-life stuff like relationships, families and the introspection of deciding who you are, what you want and what you need in your life.
Taylor Jenkins Reid just nails easy-reading fiction to me. And this is a solid fictional novel. Find “After I Do” here.
6. “Malibu Rising”
I brought “Mailbu Rising” on a beach vacation a couple years ago. At the time, it was my third title from Reid. When you like a book from an author, there’s usually a good chance you’ll like the next one. And that is the case for me with Reid for sure. (Seeing as I’ve now written an entire blog post ranking her novels.)
This book is about the Riva family, who lives in the beautiful beach-side town of Malibu. During the first half of the book, we learned about June Riva, the mother and how she came to be. We also learned about the Riva kids, their hardships and upbringing, and we learned about Mick Riva, their famous father, who was a chart-topper, but not a very good parent. The characters were pretty diverse, and we spent a little time getting to know each of them from their viewpoints. And I loved this part.
Then the second half of the book is all about the annual Riva family party and how that particular year’s party was significant for all the family members. While they had always had a famous name, the Riva kids had not had an easy path, and yet, they always held their annual party. And many life-changing things happened in their lives on the night of the party, all of which are detailed in the story.
(“Malibu Rising” by Taylor Jenkins Reid)
I really liked reading this book, and I read it very quickly. With one marathon-reading session on the plane-ride back from the Dominican Republic, I got through this in maybe three days, which is super fast for me. It was just enjoyable to read. I shed a couple tears in the sad parts, and I turned the page quickly in the interesting parts. Reid’s writing style is so easy to read and absorb, which makes this book such a good beach read.
Also, something that is cool is that Carrie Soto was actually introduced as a character in this book, and the way she was described makes sense for her solo story, which came out after this book. Also, I don’t remember it, but apparently Mick Riva was also one of Evelyn Hugo’s husbands, so he had been mentioned before in that one. I like to see those storylines tied together, and Reid seems to do that well. Find “Malibu Rising” here.
7. “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”
I received “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” in a POPSUGAR Must-Have box more than eight years ago and hadn’t been reading a lot of fiction at the time (I was pregnant with Brady, so I was reading mostly nonfiction parenting and wellness books).
It was my introduction to Taylor Jenkins Reid, and I know I thoroughly enjoyed it. But I actually don’t remember how it felt to read it. And because of that, I can’t put this one higher on the list — nothing stands out in my memory about it, specifically.
(“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid)
Here’s what I wrote about this book, back in 2017:
I got lost in this story, all about a movie star lead character living a glamorous life throughout the years, with — as you guessed it — seven marriages, and with some twists and turns in the plot, which kept me totally interested. In fact, I would fight to stay awake just a little bit longer each night to read more.
So there you go! It was enjoyable, but clearly I wasn’t gushing about it. Find “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” here.
8. “Maybe in Another Life”
This book was definitely enjoyable, but it wasn’t my favorite of hers.
Even though it’s ranked toward the bottom of the list, I still always feel connected to the characters and eager to follow the narrative. I’ve never had to force a page in a Taylor Jenkins Reid book, because her books just flow.
(“Maybe in Another Life” by Taylor Jenkins Reid)
This book is one of her earlier novels, and I don’t think she had 100 percent fine-tuned her style yet. But the book was still entertaining, and I stayed up late reading it a time or too … ultimately ending up in tears (as I often do when I’m really into a story).
“Maybe in Another Life” is about a woman who moves back to her hometown, and upon her return is faced with a simple choice — that one decision sends her life in a certain direction, while the other decision sends her life in an opposite direction. The story follows both scenarios side-by-side, and it makes you wonder how life can unfold differently based on the smallest of choices. Food for thought, for sure. Find “Maybe in Another Life” here.
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And those are the best Taylor Jenkins Reid books, as ranked by me. If you’re wondering what to read next, I recommend all of these as light, easy-to-read, fictional feel-good stories.
Please let me know in the comments if you’ve read any of these books and enjoyed or not enjoyed. And please, come say hi to me on Instagram too!
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