We arrived in South Carolina on Saturday afternoon and by noon on Sunday I was deeply into Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid and had already told my niece and sister in law that they would have to read it after me. That often happens to me with Reid’s books-I can remember reading Daisy Jones & The Six at my parent’s house one weekend and then telling my mom she had to take the book and read it as soon as I was done. Her books are so compelling, with complicated characters that you root for even if you’re slapping your palm to forehead over the choices that they’re making. I thought it would be fun to do a ranked list of all of her novels, but I’m honestly having so much trouble deciding how to rank them, that I think I’m just going to say that you have to try Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. They’re all that good-especially if you’re traveling or on the beach or wanting a hit of glamour, interesting characters and intimate storytelling. Her earlier books are also solid reads, which are worth reading if you just can’t get enough TJR, so I’ll break them down after my favorite three.

(click on the images of the books for links)

The Earlier Works

Taylor Jenkins Reid also wrote several earlier novels that are decidedly less glamorous-the protagonists have normal jobs, no rockstars or movie stars are dropping by for coffee, and there are a lot less drugs everywhere. They’re heartfelt novels about the choices that people make in love and how it shapes their lives. While her most recent novels all get A’s from me, I would put her earlier work in the B’s range-still solid writing but just a little less compelling. But if you prefer books about people that have a little more in common with your every day life, then I think you’ll really enjoy these too.