Before There was Evelyn: A Guide to Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Backlist

Where to Start with Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Books

Reid’s books tin truly beryllium divided into 2 camps: stories of each time women facing impossible, thrilling, and sometimes heartbreaking scenarios, and stories of Hollywood and fame. Evelyn Hugo marked the displacement into the latter, and portion each of Reid’s books are standalones, arsenic idiosyncratic who inhaled Reid’s full catalog implicit the people of a fewer months, I evidently person opinions astir wherever to begin! Let’s commencement by looking astatine Reid’s lesser known aboriginal work.

Early Work

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s archetypal 4 novels each made maine sob, and portion they each person wonderfully romanticist storylines, they aren’t each romances. My idiosyncratic favourite of these aboriginal books is Maybe successful Another Life, intimately followed by One True Loves, but who americium I kidding? They’re each great! They aren’t arsenic good known arsenic her aboriginal books, but for possibly One True Loves, which has been adapted into a movie starring Philippa Soo, but they’re each worthy reading!

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Forever, Interrupted

Reid’s debut caller is simply a existent tear-jerker. Elsie is simply a librarian surviving successful Los Angeles, blessed with her beingness but unfastened to emotion erstwhile she meets Ben 1 New Year’s Day and falls caput implicit heels. Ben has a analyzable narration with his mom, truthful helium doesn’t instantly archer her astir Elsie, and helium doesn’t archer her erstwhile Ben and Elsie elope 5 months later. So Elsie is caught wholly unaware erstwhile Ben dies successful a tragic mishap a week aft their wedding and she meets her caller mother-in-law, Susan, for the archetypal clip successful the infirmary waiting room. As she struggles with losing idiosyncratic she’s lone conscionable discovered, Elsie indispensable besides contend with what it means to stock a nonaccomplishment with a pistillate she’s lone conscionable met, who had nary thought Elsie adjacent existed.

After I Do

Lauren and Ryan person been unneurotic for 11 years, and they aren’t blessed anymore. Unable to look the anticipation of divorcing idiosyncratic she’s known and loved for a 3rd of her life, Lauren and Ryan travel up with a extremist plan: for 1 year, they’ll abstracted and they won’t interaction each different astatine all. At first, Lauren is uncertain. But arsenic she relearns what it means to unrecorded independently and adjacent starts dating, she is sent connected a puzzling quest to observe what it means to beryllium committed to a person, to a life, and to a imagination that mightiness beryllium evolving.

Maybe successful Another Life

When Hannah moves backmost to Los Angeles, it feels similar a weird homecoming of a sort. She has nary vocation and nary thought what’s next, but she’s blessed to spell retired with her champion person successful the world, Gabby. At the bar, she reconnects with her precocious schoolhouse fellow Ethan and the spark is decidedly inactive there. When Gabby is acceptable to leave, she asks Hannah if she’s coming with — and the remainder of the publication follows Hannah’s 2 antithetic choices, exploring what happens if she stays astatine the barroom with Ethan, and what happens if she leaves with Gabby. As her 2 simultaneous lives unfold successful 2 antithetic directions, Hannah indispensable look her problems caput connected and observe what she wants retired of life…and she whitethorn adjacent find life-altering, existent emotion on the way.

One True Loves

Emma Blair grew up successful Acton, MA arsenic the girl of an autarkic bookseller, and she’s wanted to get distant and question the satellite for arsenic agelong arsenic she tin remember. She marries and sees the satellite with Jesse, her precocious schoolhouse sweetheart, until 1 earth-shattering day, Jesse’s chopper implicit the Atlantic goes down and he’s lost. Bereft, Emma moves backmost to Acton, and arsenic she moves done her grief, she finds herself taking implicit the household bookstore and settling into a quiescent life. Two twelvemonth later, she meets and falls successful emotion with Sam. They get engaged, and past 1 night, Emma receives a telephone call. It’s Jesse. He’s been found, and he’s coming home. Now, Emma finds herself torn betwixt 2 men she loves desperately, and 2 divergent lives.

Recent Work

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s much caller books are the ones she’s champion known for, and you’ve apt seen them everyplace successful bookstores and libraries. However, if you privation to dive in, I urge speechmaking them successful work order. Many characters marque small cameos crossed her aboriginal books, making speechmaking them successful work bid satisfying, but they tin honestly beryllium work successful immoderate bid you like. Evelyn Hugo is my implicit favourite publication she’s written, truthful I urge starting determination but you won’t beryllium confused if you prime up immoderate publication calls to you.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Monique is simply a struggling mag writer who is shocked erstwhile she receives an invitation to interrogation the legendary surface histrion Evelyn Hugo. Evelyn makes her a tantalizing offer: Write her biography, telling her beingness communicative from her movie debut successful the 1950s, crossed 7 tumultuous marriages, and to the present. In exchange, Monique volition go a precise affluent woman. She agrees, tentatively, but Evelyn is guarding much than 1 concealed that she volition lone indulge connected her ain time, and 1 of these secrets could person devastating consequences for Monique’s idiosyncratic life.

Daisy Jones & the Six

Written arsenic an oral past astir 1 of the hottest stone bands of the 1970s, this communicative tells of the meteoric emergence of Daisy Jones, a talented vocalist whose one-time collaboration with the up and coming set The Six changed history. Billy Graham is the pb vocalist of The Six, but contempt the nationalist representation of intersexual hostility betwixt him and Daisy, Billy doesn’t truly similar her. And erstwhile the set abruptly breaks up portion touring to beforehand their archetypal collaborative album, it lone fuels the rumors. Everyone has refused to spell connected the grounds astir the interruption up…until now. This 1 is superb connected audio, and it’s narrated by a afloat cast, including Jennifer Beals and Benjamin Bratt.

Malibu Rising

The 4 Riva siblings — Nina, Hud, Jay, and Kit — person grown up successful the shadiness of their deadbeat, celebrated father, vocalist Mick Riva. The lone happening helium ever gave them was a location successful Malibu, but they’ve mostly learned to look retired for themselves, particularly aft their mother’s premature death. On the time of the Rivas’ yearly location party, the 4 siblings are facing large changes: Nina’s matrimony is imploding, Jay is keeping a large secret, Hud has conscionable received life-altering news, and Kit has invited idiosyncratic to the enactment she decidedly shouldn’t have. The nighttime volition extremity successful a occurrence that volition destruct everything, but who is liable for striking the match?

Carrie Soto is Back

Carrie is the champion tennis subordinate successful the game, and she has the Grand Slam titles, records, and cognition to beryllium it. She worked hard and sacrificed astir everything to scope greatness, with the assistance of her begetter and manager Javier. But six years aft she retires, she’s shocked to spot her satellite records breached by a newcomer…and decides that she wants to travel retired of status to reclaim it, adjacent if it means swallowing her pridefulness and facing her fears for her past chance.