My honest rankings, as quite possibly Taylor Jenkins Reid’s biggest fan. I genuinely changed this list probably ten times, and I’m still not certain I’ll stand by it in the morning.
- One True Loves
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It was truly difficult to land on a book to put in last place, but I had to go with the most clichĂ©. Not that it’s a bad book, but Emma choosing between her childhood best friend turned fiancĂ©, Sam, and the popular, adventurous Jesse she married while the former was pining over her? It’s not exactly atypical. Not to mention that thrill-loving Jesse was actually trapped on a desert island for several years, and wasn’t the most sympathetic of Emma’s situation when he shockingly returned during the celebration of the engagement. The story, as is true with all TJR novels, is well written, but it felt too predictable for my taste. It was easy to pick sides, and the conclusion of the story felt very rushed. But I can’t be too critical, I’ve read this book over five times. No matter how basic the story, Reid will keep you enticed the entire time.Â
- Maybe In Another Life
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Picture this: You move back to your hometown with your childhood best friend and her boyfriend. You decide to go out to celebrate, and you run into your high school boyfriend. When your best friend is ready to stay home, do you stay out with your old flame, or do you head back as well? This is the crisis that Hannah Martin faces in Maybe in Another Life, and TJR explores how each decision would uniquely unfold, revealing dramatically different results. She essentially asks the reader an unanswerable question: “is there such a thing as a soulmate?” and attempts to answer it through the love stories of Hannah, differing in each timeline. In both universes, our protagonist believes she has found “the one”, truly forcing the reader to ponder about the ideas of love and chance, and whether anything is truly meant to be. As someone who loves a good book to make you think, Maybe in Another Life impacted my life immediately after the first read. So much so, actually, that I wrote my UGA supplemental essay about it. From the bottom of my heart, the only reason it’s so low is due to the process of elimination. These other books are just too good.
- Malibu Rising
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Malibu Rising revolves around one forgettable night for the most famous family of the eighties: the Rivas. Every year, eldest daughter Nina throws a party in their Malibu home with the biggest celebrities of the time, supported in the home by her three siblings. But in August of 1983, everything takes a turn, and TJR dissects the insanity of each sibling’s experience. We have Nina, whose husband just cheated on her with tennis star Carrie Soto; Jay, who spends his days pining over the girl of his dreams; Hud, who has a terrifying secret to reveal to his brother/best friend; and Kit, who is discovering both sexual inequality and her sexuality. These four siblings, tied together by their childhood difficulties and absent father, become closer than ever after the horrors–and eventual peace–of that one night. TJR truly knows how to make a mundane-sounding story the most interesting piece of fiction I have ever read. She can make anyone’s life story sound like a profound fairytale–or even just one night of their lives, in this case. While this may seem like it is just the tale of four rich divas, TJR finds a way to personify them, leaving them at nothing less than perfectly relatable. Somehow, I can connect to each and every one of these siblings, and I read this book over and over again to discover more skimmed-over details and key words that alter my perspectives yet again.Â
- After I do
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After I Do is not a love story, but rather a story about what happens when love fades. It dives into the journey of Lauren and Ryan’s marriage, and how the once sparkling passion turned to unwavering hatred for each other, with the things they used to adore morphing into their biggest pet peeves. Their relationship finally reaches a breaking point, and they decide upon an unusual plan: to take a year off from their marriage (not divorce, just separation), to see if the distance brings them back together. They could not contact each other at all during this time, leaving us solely with Lauren’s perspective. I could not recommend this book enough, with TJR finding the perfect way to explore the insanity and loss that overwhelms Lauren through their year apart, completely contrasting both the anger and lust once flooding through her. She keeps you on the edge of your seat, never knowing how Ryan truly feels, and never knowing if the pair would ever find their way to happily ever after.
- Carrie Soto is Back
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Now it’s getting real: the top three. Carrie Soto is Back is the story of tennis player Carrie Soto’s rise to fame, and how her groundbreaking record of 20 Slam titles could be shattered by Britain’s up and coming Nicki Chan. Despite being past her prime at 37 years old, Soto decides to come out of retirement to protect her achievement, re-entering the tennis realm full of both determination and unsafe amounts of pride. Carrie Soto is the most pure and realistically written character I’ve ever heard of, despite her insane talent and sportsmanship. Soto fights through sexism, shame, and the judging eyes of the public for a purely selfish cause, and you can’t help but root for her. You see her raw emotion in every chapter, especially through her familial and romantic relationships, and you ultimately sympathize with the actually quite troublesome character. As someone who couldn’t know less about tennis, I love this story so much simply for the character development of each person involved.Â
- The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo
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If you’re going to start reading TJR now, I’d definitely recommend starting with this book. A huge fan favorite and remarkably written novel, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo would take home the prize nine times out of ten. This story follows Hollywood legend Evelyn Hugo’s life story, as journaled by specifically selected and quite unknown author Monique Grant. The public has always wondered, “who was Evelyn Hugo’s true love?” Out of the seven husbands displayed to the public, which man held her heart in his hand? Monique Grant will be the first one to find out, and she lays it out for all of us to read. I’m not exaggerating when I say the plot twists in this story were insane. I was absolutely gagged when I first read it, and I continued to be starstruck the million times I reread, as if I didn’t know what was about to happen. Seriously though, my mom is definitely sick of hearing me talk about it. TJR makes everything tie together in the most stunning way, leaving me thinking about this novel 24 hours, 7 days a week.Â
- Daisy Jones & the Six
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This is it: my favorite Taylor Jenkins Reid novel. Within this story, Reid recounts the rise and fall of 70s rock band Daisy Jones and the Six. It is written in an interview-type format, with each character recounting their own personal view and opinion on different events during their time together. We see the romance, the hatred, the sparks, and the eventual extinguishers of the band, with each member’s perspective coming together to solve the puzzle of what truly occurred. I could not love this novel more. While it may turn some readers away simply due to the formatting of the writing, I think you should all give it a chance. The feminine strength of the women in the novel, the struggles through addiction, the moral complications in so many senses, all of these factors add up to make the most beautiful story. All of the characters are so genuinely flawed, making them all the more understandable, but potentially leading to their own downfall. This Fleetwood Mac-inspired band is perfectly encapsulated by TJR, making me feel like I’m right there with them in that 70s rock scene, absolutely having the time of my life. I could not recommend this novel more if I tried.
