Emily May’s review of Atmosphere > Likes and Comments
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Curious about the 3-star rating. This one is sitting on my e-reader.
The beauty of reading. This is probably my second favorite book of the year
Thank you for this review, I was also under the impression it would be more about her being an astronaut. I've noticed publishers doing this a lot lately, misrepresenting the book and frankly it's getting old when you're spending a lot of money for a new book.
That’s a shame, I hope your next read is better!
Really nice review! Haven't read or heard of this book yet, but it sounds like a serious matter that you kinda have been tricked into a love story when the "image" of the book feels like something different. But in any case, it is nice to give stories a chance!
oh what a bummer! i have been looking forward to this as well but i'm also not a big romance reader. i'll temper my expectations.
Thanks for the heads up! I feel the same way about the Romance genre. They are hardly ever written well. So I may take this off my must read list. Thanks!
This is pretty much my review as well. I was disappointed as I'm not a romance reader. It was fine.
“vegan romance” love it! 🤣
I have enjoyed her other books but romance is not my jam (which *is* vegan lol) so I’ll probably skip this one
removing this from my shelf - does not sound like the book for me! thanks for the review!
Oh noooooooo I love TJR but this makes me nervous…
Sadly, I have felt this way about a few of her books…. To the point that I’m not rushing out to pick up any of her books. If someone has a suggestion for the ones that can’t be missed, let me know…. But for some reason, in my mind, her & Colleen Hoover are very similar and romance just isn’t my thing and so they just aren’t the type of authors I go for. There has to be a lot more side stories going on for me to be able to tolerate romance, or else a very slow build up. Protagonists that only obsessively think about their crush or that guy or that chick are boring for me. lol
ah heck
Thank you for the heads up. I detest stumbling into romance novels unaware!
Ártaë Ómalókë Silmaren wrote: "Really nice review! Haven't read or heard of this book yet, but it sounds like a serious matter that you kinda have been tricked into a love story when the "image" of the book feels like something ..."
Thank you! Yes, it is good to give them a chance, and I will also look out for her future books (but with a much closer look this time.)
Carolyn wrote: "“vegan romance” love it! 🤣
I have enjoyed her other books but romance is not my jam (which *is* vegan lol) so I’ll probably skip this one"
Haha, it was just a silly comment that came into my head and I thought: why not? 🤣
Katie wrote: "Sadly, I have felt this way about a few of her books…. To the point that I’m not rushing out to pick up any of her books. If someone has a suggestion for the ones that can’t be missed, let me know…..."
My favourites by Reid have been The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Carrie Soto Is Back. Everyone seems to love Daisy Jones too, but I struggled through that one. I made a number of attempts to enjoy Colleen Hoover and I think there was maybe one I could stand. I actually hated some of them.
There has to be a lot more side stories going on for me to be able to tolerate romance, or else a very slow build up.
I really relate to this. I think I need to not know if they'll end up together, if that makes sense. There's zero suspense for me in a book where it's clear from the beginning that the characters are going to walk off into the sunset together.
Agreed.
I wanted more from Joan, she didn’t have anywhere near the complexity or nuance of Evelyn or Daisy. The balance between her career as an astronaut and her relationship was all over the place, and the pacing was incredibly uneven pretty much throughout the entire book.
The ending was entertaining but, as you write, predictable and very Hollywood.
I feel like TJR had a lot more to offer in the field of women pioneers in NASA than selling out two characters who are clearly intelligent, talented and skilled, to be each other’s partners. It was actually very unlike her to create such a narrative.
Dominic wrote: "Agreed.
I wanted more from Joan, she didn’t have anywhere near the complexity or nuance of Evelyn or Daisy. The balance between her career as an astronaut and her relationship was all over the pla..."
Yes, exactly. Maybe it is a bit unfair to expect certain things from certain authors, but I was so excited for Reid to write about women at NASA. I wanted more of that.
Totally agree. It started so strongly and then it was about the romance. I felt a little duped.
Ahh, now I want to find a “vegan” romance, no cheese — but do those ever exist? And we seriously had the sand impression of this story. I would have wanted to see more with Barbara and Frances subplot, with a bit more payoff and deeper exploration of all the dysfunctional stuff in it. And more connection built with some other astronauts who died, so that their deaths would be more than just a body count. And deeper probe into forgoing future flights in lieu of CAPCOM — I get it that with space sickness and a kid flights are hard, but wasn’t she even a little bit shaken up by all the goal reshaping?
Ah bummer, I'm still excited to read, though!
I felt pretty underwhelmed as well. Some of the dialogue felt repeated and the story itself just didn't feel, completed?
I agree. The opening had me hooked. The back story was entertaining and helped fill in the secondary characters. I just think the love story wasn't realistic to the opening of the book, and too much time was spent on the romance that wasn't even that romantic. I wanted to grieve Steve and Griff an Hank more. I would have liked less love confession in the end and more problem solving. I think maybe it was a me problem but it just ended up having an amazing opening and fizzling out as the story began more focused on the romance.
The book might have been better had it ended a few paragraphs earlier
I agree- I felt alone giving it a three star review. It felt very melodramatic and forced.
I'm not a big romance reader, so thank you for the heads up! Also, what is vegan romance?
Barbra is now up there as one of my most hated characters, what trash.
I do love romance books, but I still didn’t love this book. And that really hurts me to say because TJR is probably my favorite author. The were parts I loved, but I didn’t feel like I got into it until 90% into the book
“It’s hard to find vegan romance” 😭🥶
If you read the blurb it is a very clear description of what the book is. You just have to be open to in not being your first assumption.
Thanks for the heads up, excellent review 👏
TL wrote: "Thanks for the heads up, excellent review 👏"
Thank you :)
Agreed completely. And after reading Orbital even the space stuff seemed lack luster.
Just reading the sample it seems like the style is more thriller than later romance. Decent space writing but after orbital the bar has been set much higher. May leave for an airplane read someday.
Thanks for the great review. I’m no fan of this type of book either.
I didn't notice the love story bit ☹️ damnit, why is love the be all and end all?!?
Sorry this story was a disappointment, but I appreciate your thoughtful ad honest review, Lana. 😊
100% agree. I was looking for more of the cosmos/outer space portions to be more robust, and less romance to dominate the book.
sophia wrote: "crazy review during pride month"
Daft comment any day of the year.
I also felt like the blurb didn't give readers enough information about the book. I absolutely love TJR as an author, but this was not my favorite.
Couldn’t disagree more. If LOVE STORY is on the cover, why would you expect something else? SMH
AGC wrote: "Couldn’t disagree more. If LOVE STORY is on the cover, why would you expect something else? SMH"
Lol, did you even read my review? Smh.
Karen wrote: "I also felt like the blurb didn't give readers enough information about the book. I absolutely love TJR as an author, but this was not my favorite."
Yes, I think more care could have been given to set the right expectations in the blurb. Reid has written about women in male-dominated industries before, and that's what I thought I was getting from the description.
I knew as soon as Vanessa was introduced what was going to happen.
100% agree with your review - well said
Julie wrote: "100% agree with your review - well said"
Thank you, Julie :)
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Susan
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Jun 06, 2025 10:07AM
Curious about the 3-star rating. This one is sitting on my e-reader.
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The beauty of reading. This is probably my second favorite book of the year
Thank you for this review, I was also under the impression it would be more about her being an astronaut. I've noticed publishers doing this a lot lately, misrepresenting the book and frankly it's getting old when you're spending a lot of money for a new book.
That’s a shame, I hope your next read is better!
Really nice review! Haven't read or heard of this book yet, but it sounds like a serious matter that you kinda have been tricked into a love story when the "image" of the book feels like something different. But in any case, it is nice to give stories a chance!
oh what a bummer! i have been looking forward to this as well but i'm also not a big romance reader. i'll temper my expectations.
Thanks for the heads up! I feel the same way about the Romance genre. They are hardly ever written well. So I may take this off my must read list. Thanks!
This is pretty much my review as well. I was disappointed as I'm not a romance reader. It was fine.
“vegan romance” love it! 🤣I have enjoyed her other books but romance is not my jam (which *is* vegan lol) so I’ll probably skip this one
removing this from my shelf - does not sound like the book for me! thanks for the review!
Oh noooooooo I love TJR but this makes me nervous…
Sadly, I have felt this way about a few of her books…. To the point that I’m not rushing out to pick up any of her books. If someone has a suggestion for the ones that can’t be missed, let me know…. But for some reason, in my mind, her & Colleen Hoover are very similar and romance just isn’t my thing and so they just aren’t the type of authors I go for. There has to be a lot more side stories going on for me to be able to tolerate romance, or else a very slow build up. Protagonists that only obsessively think about their crush or that guy or that chick are boring for me. lol
ah heckThank you for the heads up. I detest stumbling into romance novels unaware!
Ártaë Ómalókë Silmaren wrote: "Really nice review! Haven't read or heard of this book yet, but it sounds like a serious matter that you kinda have been tricked into a love story when the "image" of the book feels like something ..."Thank you! Yes, it is good to give them a chance, and I will also look out for her future books (but with a much closer look this time.)
Carolyn wrote: "“vegan romance” love it! 🤣I have enjoyed her other books but romance is not my jam (which *is* vegan lol) so I’ll probably skip this one"
Haha, it was just a silly comment that came into my head and I thought: why not? 🤣
Katie wrote: "Sadly, I have felt this way about a few of her books…. To the point that I’m not rushing out to pick up any of her books. If someone has a suggestion for the ones that can’t be missed, let me know…..."My favourites by Reid have been The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Carrie Soto Is Back. Everyone seems to love Daisy Jones too, but I struggled through that one. I made a number of attempts to enjoy Colleen Hoover and I think there was maybe one I could stand. I actually hated some of them.
There has to be a lot more side stories going on for me to be able to tolerate romance, or else a very slow build up.
I really relate to this. I think I need to not know if they'll end up together, if that makes sense. There's zero suspense for me in a book where it's clear from the beginning that the characters are going to walk off into the sunset together.
Agreed.I wanted more from Joan, she didn’t have anywhere near the complexity or nuance of Evelyn or Daisy. The balance between her career as an astronaut and her relationship was all over the place, and the pacing was incredibly uneven pretty much throughout the entire book.
The ending was entertaining but, as you write, predictable and very Hollywood.
I feel like TJR had a lot more to offer in the field of women pioneers in NASA than selling out two characters who are clearly intelligent, talented and skilled, to be each other’s partners. It was actually very unlike her to create such a narrative.
Dominic wrote: "Agreed.I wanted more from Joan, she didn’t have anywhere near the complexity or nuance of Evelyn or Daisy. The balance between her career as an astronaut and her relationship was all over the pla..."
Yes, exactly. Maybe it is a bit unfair to expect certain things from certain authors, but I was so excited for Reid to write about women at NASA. I wanted more of that.
Totally agree. It started so strongly and then it was about the romance. I felt a little duped.
Ahh, now I want to find a “vegan” romance, no cheese — but do those ever exist? And we seriously had the sand impression of this story. I would have wanted to see more with Barbara and Frances subplot, with a bit more payoff and deeper exploration of all the dysfunctional stuff in it. And more connection built with some other astronauts who died, so that their deaths would be more than just a body count. And deeper probe into forgoing future flights in lieu of CAPCOM — I get it that with space sickness and a kid flights are hard, but wasn’t she even a little bit shaken up by all the goal reshaping?
Ah bummer, I'm still excited to read, though!
I felt pretty underwhelmed as well. Some of the dialogue felt repeated and the story itself just didn't feel, completed?
I agree. The opening had me hooked. The back story was entertaining and helped fill in the secondary characters. I just think the love story wasn't realistic to the opening of the book, and too much time was spent on the romance that wasn't even that romantic. I wanted to grieve Steve and Griff an Hank more. I would have liked less love confession in the end and more problem solving. I think maybe it was a me problem but it just ended up having an amazing opening and fizzling out as the story began more focused on the romance.
The book might have been better had it ended a few paragraphs earlier
I agree- I felt alone giving it a three star review. It felt very melodramatic and forced.
I'm not a big romance reader, so thank you for the heads up! Also, what is vegan romance?
Barbra is now up there as one of my most hated characters, what trash. I do love romance books, but I still didn’t love this book. And that really hurts me to say because TJR is probably my favorite author. The were parts I loved, but I didn’t feel like I got into it until 90% into the book
“It’s hard to find vegan romance” 😭🥶
If you read the blurb it is a very clear description of what the book is. You just have to be open to in not being your first assumption.
Thanks for the heads up, excellent review 👏
TL wrote: "Thanks for the heads up, excellent review 👏"Thank you :)
Agreed completely. And after reading Orbital even the space stuff seemed lack luster.
Just reading the sample it seems like the style is more thriller than later romance. Decent space writing but after orbital the bar has been set much higher. May leave for an airplane read someday.
Thanks for the great review. I’m no fan of this type of book either.
I didn't notice the love story bit ☹️ damnit, why is love the be all and end all?!?
Sorry this story was a disappointment, but I appreciate your thoughtful ad honest review, Lana. 😊
100% agree. I was looking for more of the cosmos/outer space portions to be more robust, and less romance to dominate the book.
sophia wrote: "crazy review during pride month"Daft comment any day of the year.
I also felt like the blurb didn't give readers enough information about the book. I absolutely love TJR as an author, but this was not my favorite.
Couldn’t disagree more. If LOVE STORY is on the cover, why would you expect something else? SMH
AGC wrote: "Couldn’t disagree more. If LOVE STORY is on the cover, why would you expect something else? SMH"Lol, did you even read my review? Smh.
Karen wrote: "I also felt like the blurb didn't give readers enough information about the book. I absolutely love TJR as an author, but this was not my favorite."Yes, I think more care could have been given to set the right expectations in the blurb. Reid has written about women in male-dominated industries before, and that's what I thought I was getting from the description.
I knew as soon as Vanessa was introduced what was going to happen.
100% agree with your review - well said
Julie wrote: "100% agree with your review - well said"Thank you, Julie :)
