The Bookish Drop 📚 Thursday 29 May 2025
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid review🚀Scariest book ever written, reviewed🤡Our pick of the best non-fics👀
📚 Hey, book lovers! We can’t believe it’s already almost June; is it just us, or is this year flying by? A new month, of course, means new releases, and with Taylor Jenkins Reid and V. E. Schwab’s latest novels on the horizon, June is looking strong! But we’re not quite finished talking about May releases, as last week, Talya was lucky enough to interview author Hazel McBride ahead of the publication of A Fate Forged in Fire. They chatted all things BookTok, with Hazel also talking about the inspiration behind her new romantasy. It came out earlier this week, so if fantasy is your thing, be sure to check it out!
❤️ What we’re reading this week…
Catherine: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Another re-read for me! This year marks 250 years since Austen was born, so what better way to mark the occasion than by re-reading my favourite book of hers?
Danielle: Savage Hearts by J.T. Geissinger - I did warn you all that I’d be tearing through this dark romance series, and as promised, I’m reading book three. These books are so addictive! I don’t know what I’m going to do when I finish the series other than pray she releases more books ASAP.
Talya: Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven - I always feel embarrassed to admit it when I’m reading a young adult book, but I need to get over myself because I’ve read some amazing YA novels this year and Our Infinite Fates is shaping up to be a five-star read for me!
Zoe: My Life: A Spoken Autobiography by Fidel Castro and Ignacio Ramonet - I’m currently on holiday and finishing off a book I actually started on my last trip to Greece! Moving this from ‘reading’ to ‘read’ on GoodReads is my only reading resolution this year so I’m hoping the sunshine will help me get stuck back into this epic.
⏰ What’s trending…
🛍️ Fast Fiction? The possible ‘Sheinification’ of reading is a hot topic on socials right now, with journalist Soaliha's thoughts on the impact of rampant consumerism and anti-intellectualism on the publishing industry dividing people in the comments. What do you think?
👀 “And Just Like That…I finished another book!” Sarah Jessica Parker raised a few eyebrows when she revealed how many books she read a day to prepare for her role as a Booker Prize 2025 judge. God forbid a woman can have hobbies!
📱 You might have seen the ‘propaganda’ trend on TikTok, where people share the ‘propaganda’ they’re not falling for. We saw this BookTok version of the trend which is proving controversial - do you agree?
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📢 The weekly review: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Talya: Set to release on June 3, Atmosphere is a love story set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program. It follows Joan Goodwin, an astrophysics professor who begins training to be an astronaut at Houston’s Johnson Space Center. As the new astronauts prepare to go to space, Joan finds both friendship and love, and begins to question her place in the universe. But then, on a mission in December 1984, everything changes in an instant.
As a big fan of both romance and science fiction, I had high expectations going into this. Luckily, it did not disappoint and I was absolutely enthralled. Joan’s friendships, relationships and rivalries are complex and all very believable, and the side characters are so fleshed out they actually feel like real people. I’m not someone who tends to cry a lot while reading, but this book had me in tears on multiple occasions, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the ending for weeks after reading it!
📖 Bookish news
🤡 Danielle shared how reading the ‘scariest book ever written’ will haunt her forever - and it may not be for the reason you’d think. Do you have any idea what the book could be before you look?
🧠- Looking for your next non-fiction read? This list of the top 10 best non-fic books might just contain your new fave.
💪Feminist author Sophie Gilbert explained how 2000s pop culture turned women against each other and how we’re still recovering from the fallout to this day. She questioned whether things have changed much between now and then, as we seem to live ‘in an era of OnlyFans and so-called involuntary-celibate (‘incel’) culture’.
🏳️🌈 Taylor Jenkins Reid has publicly come out as bisexual. Speaking ahead of her new queer love story Atmosphere coming out, the author opened up about her sexuality. You can read the full conversation here.
✨ Book Nook of the Week
This week’s adorable Book Nook comes from @firebreathing.bookqueen, and we couldn’t be more obsessed. From the gorgeous green couch to the eclectic mix of cushions, and of course the Jellycats (aka the perfect reading companions!), there’s so much going on, but we absolutely love it. Plus, the light reflecting off the disco ball is a whole mood. Everyone should have a disco ball in their reading space! Also, would you just look at that book cart that’s jam-packed full of books that are begging to be devoured ASAP?! We’re seriously jealous. If you’ve got a Book Nook you want us to feature, email thebookishdrop@reachplc.com
💸 Deals of the week
📚 Been wanting to read the latest bestsellers? Barnes & Noble are offering 35% off hardcover bestsellers, including novels from Stephen King, Harlan Coben, and Jojo Moyes!
🏆 If after reading our review of Atmosphere you can’t wait to get your hands on a copy, you could also get a whole lot more when pre-ordering with Waterstones. The retailer has a prize draw for those who pre-order the book, giving you a chance to win Atmosphere merch and a £250 SpaceNK voucher!
🎯 A range of YA books from Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club are currently on offer at Target! With some books priced as low as $6.99.
🛍️ Walmart’s ‘BookTok’ section currently has multiple titles on sale, including Ali Hazelwood’s Deep End, and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.
❓ Is there anything in particular you want to see from us? We’d love to hear from you - whether you want us to review the book you’ve got coming out, you’re organising a book swap IRL, or you have some juicy bookish gossip to share! We’re always all ears! Fill out this form to get in touch!