Book Review: Atmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Rating: ★★★★☆(4/5)

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Introduction:

A love story set in a STEM field… sign me up. I love me a smart girly and this one gives me two! This story is set in 1980s when the world wasn’t exactly friendly to two ladies in love. Cue the drama.

After reading Daisy Jones and the Six I knew I would probably enjoy some more Taylor Jenkins Reid. I wasn’t disappointed. The characters were well written, and the plot had me turning pages (well it kept me listening because I did this one on audiobook through Spotify.)

Atmosphere is a quietly powerful, emotionally resonant novel that showcases Taylor Jenkins Reid’s talent for capturing human connection through small moments rather than grand spectacle. Set against a richly textured backdrop, the book leans into mood, longing, and the invisible forces that shape relationships—making it less plot-driven than some of Reid’s more famous works, but no less affecting.

Quick Facts

• Release: June 2025 Read: June 2025
• Pages: 352
• Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️
• Trigger Level:💀💀
• Best for readers who enjoy: character-driven literary fiction, emotional introspection, slow-burn relationships, and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s more contemplative work.

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Summary: A Brief Overview (Without Major Spoilers)

From Good Reads

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 easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted 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, it all changes in an instant.

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

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What Worked for Me:

Joan: Iconic. As far as characters go, she is very well written. There are so many layers to work through with her. She has a dream of going into space but her love for her niece keeps her grounded in Earth.

In Atmosphere, Joan’s identity as an astronaut is defined by discipline, sacrifice, and an almost ascetic devotion to something larger than herself, while her loyalty to her niece pulls her firmly back into the emotional gravity of Earth. Space represents purpose and transcendence for Joan—a place where rules are clear, emotions are secondary, and excellence is measurable. Her relationship with her niece, however, demands a different kind of presence: emotional availability, consistency, and vulnerability. What makes this conflict so compelling is that Joan does see her devotion to space as selfish, and the novel subtly reveals how that devotion requires others—particularly her niece—to absorb the cost. Reid presents her as someone caught between two forms of love, each legitimate and each demanding exclusivity. Joan’s struggle underscores one of the novel’s central ideas: that ambition, especially for women, is rarely about choosing between right and wrong, but between two versions of responsibility that cannot fully coexist. Her ability to change her dream to allow her to be emotionally and physically available to her niece was powerful to read.

Emotions: What Atmosphere does especially well is emotional realism. Reid excels at portraying characters who feel lived-in: people who are shaped by unspoken regrets, restrained hope, and the weight of choices they can’t undo. The writing is immersive and intentional, often lingering in silence and subtext rather than overt drama. This creates a reflective reading experience that invites you to slow down and sit with the characters rather than race toward resolution.

That said, the novel’s greatest strength is also what holds it back from a perfect score. At times, the pacing drifts, and certain emotional beats feel familiar—territory Reid has explored before with sharper narrative urgency. While the atmosphere (true to the title) is beautifully sustained, some readers may find themselves waiting for a deeper payoff or a more daring structural risk.

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What Didn’t Work for Me: Trigger Warnings and Criticisms

Her sister: That bitch. As a mother myself I cannot fathom putting my daughter on the backburner for a man. I cannot fathom letting my sister raise my child. She is painted as Joans opposite, and their dynamic makes me so uncomfortable.

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Final Thoughts:

Ultimately, Atmosphere is a thoughtful, tender novel that rewards patience and emotional attentiveness. It may not have the sweeping momentum of Reid’s most iconic books, but it offers something quieter and more intimate—a meditation on love, timing, and the spaces between what we want and what we choose.