Taylor. Jenkins. Reid.
I have stumbled across the best summer novels, my friend. I’ve been devouring them for the past month, waiting to get through all four before writing to you to sing their praises, and now I’m ready. Except all I can think to say right now is three words ⤵
Specifically, I’m talking about her first four novels — all four of which are rich, delicious stories about women navigating big life questions, big relationships, and big dreams. None of them are romance novels. They’re not mysteries or thrillers, either. They’re just about life — messy, complicated, painful at times, life.
I love them.
First, a warning — These novels by Taylor Jenkins Reid have summary blurbs that made me want to run the other way when I first considered reading them. One is about losing a husband to a freak accident. One is about how one small choice can completely change a person’s life trajectory. One is about losing love and making extremely hard decisions to find it again. One is about navigating hard questions, divorce, and self-discovery.
But once I read the first one, I knew I’d be reading all four and then diving into Taylor Jenkins Reid’s work in its entirety. She’s just that good. Not only are the stories rich, deep, and beautifully told, the personal growth questions that arise from reading these novels have been both challenging and healing for me.
They’re all really good. If you want my humble opinion about which are the best though, here it is ⤵
#2 — Forever, Interrupted
#3 — One True Loves
#4 — After I Do
If you know me, you know I read these with my earbuds via the magic of audiobooks while hiking, biking, and washing dishes. (If you’re new here and you need to know if audiobooks count as “real reading”, here’s my own audiobook love story about how and why I became a fan of audiobooks and how they help me read SO MANY MORE books than ever before and also a little something new about how kids + audiobooks = magic.)
You’ll be happy to know there’s something extra good about these particular four novels, too — The audio versions are read by the BEST narrator in the biz Julia Whelan and each one closes with the absolute sweetest author-narrator interviews I’ve ever heard. Check out the audio versions here.
And just in case you’re not a fan of women’s fiction set in modern times, more good news about the amazing Taylor Jenkins Reid is that she’s also written a whole host of historical fiction titles too ⤵
I haven’t read these yet, but you can bet I will!
And there you have it, friend — the books I’m calling the best summer novels of 2024. Books I suspect will always cause me to remember this particular summer when I run into them later in life. Books that are revealing parts of me that need to be challenged. Books that are healing parts of me that need salve.
If you decide to give them a go, I hope you love them, too.
✌🏼💓☀️
Celeste