Hello, fellow bookworms!<\/p>\n
Today, one of our talented reporters, Ella Heydenfeldt, takes a break from the hard-hitting facts of news writing to bring us a roundup of titles by the talented Taylor Jenkins Reid. Her books may be popular on BookTok, but I can assure you, they\u2019re not overhyped. Reid has an incredible knack for making her characters feel so real, you\u2019re tempted to Google whether or not they actually did exist. And no matter what time and place she\u2019s writing about \u2014 the glamorous, star-studded world of Old Hollywood; the sex, drugs, and rock \u2019n\u2019 roll whirlwind of the \u201870s; or the sun-soaked shores of Malibu in the \u201980s \u2014 she brings it to life so beautifully you find yourself nostalgic for a life you never lived.<\/p>\n
Happy reading!<\/p>\n
\u2014Tessa,\u00a0allbooked@independent.com<\/a><\/p>\n This is Ella Heydenfeldt here from the newsroom. I think it\u2019s time for a break from writing about the chaos of our actual world to focus instead on the lovely, messy, cinematic worlds found in books.<\/p>\n You gotta love an author who draws from history in order to set up a fictitious series with incredible This is my favorite type of book. Maybe that comes from my original love of authors drawing from Greek history and myth in order to write something fantastic.<\/p>\n But now, I am loving this Old Hollywood, \u201950s through \u201990s set of books written by a Ms. Taylor Jenkins Reid. They are based on notorious actors, actresses, singers, and songwriters \u2026 all the greats. The characters have new names, however, and occasionally interweave throughout all her novels.<\/p>\n So, let\u2019s dive in. I\u2019ve read three of Reid\u2019s major works:\u00a0The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,\u00a0Daisy Jones & The Six, and\u00a0Malibu Rising.<\/p>\n The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo\u00a0by Taylor Jenkins Reid<\/a><\/p>\n My gateway drug. And what a way to start.<\/p>\n Evelyn Hugo is a star so big she bends time around her. Aging and reclusive, she finally decides to tell the truth about her life and her seven infamous husbands. But instead of going to a big-name reporter, she chooses a relatively unknown journalist named Monique Grant. Cue the intrigue.<\/p>\n We hear Evelyn\u2019s story through a series of interviews and tabloid articles \u2014 a structure that gives the book this eerie realism, like she actually existed. From her early days fighting to break into Hollywood in the \u201950s, to the glittering highs and devastating lows of her career and relationships, Evelyn is complicated in all the best ways. Ruthless, charismatic, selfish, brilliant.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t feel regret for the things I\u2019ve done \u2014 at least, not the things you might expect.\u201dThat line kind of sums her up.<\/p>\n This book absolutely tore me up. There\u2019s a twist at the end that had my jaw on the floor. The whole thing left me feeling conflicted, like I\u2019d been punched in the heart and then gently hugged. That\u2019s how you know it\u2019s good.<\/p>\n Daisy Jones & The Six\u00a0by Taylor Jenkins Reid<\/a><\/p>\n Coming in very strong (this one might be my absolute favorite, and do not even get me started on the TV show), is\u00a0Daisy Jones & The Six. Before I go any further, you must know, for bias\u2019s sake, that Fleetwood Mac is one of my favorite bands of all time, and Stevie Nicks is, in my head, the ultimate witchy woo-woo goddess divine. She is my religion of choice, and that woman can do no wrong. \u201cSilver Springs\u201d? My anthem. My sacred text. The anger, the rasp, the ethereal nature that balances everything out.<\/p>\n Okay, time to get off my soapbox and back to the book.<\/p>\n Set in the 1970s, this is the fictional oral history of a rock band \u2014 think\u00a0Behind the Music\u00a0meets\u00a0Almost Famous. Told entirely through interview transcripts, it follows Daisy, an effortlessly magnetic singer-songwriter, and The Six, a band on the brink of fame. The magic really starts when their producer throws Daisy into the mix with the band\u2019s leader, Billy Dunne. Tension. Ego. Chemistry. Addiction. Art.<\/p>\n It\u2019s written so well that I had to keep reminding myself: This is fake. These people are not real. The lyrics? Not real. The band? Not real. And yet I felt the loss when they split up. Like I\u2019d actually watched them fall apart.<\/p>\n Every character is beautifully messy. Billy is trying to be a good husband while being pulled into a life not conducive with reliable, sober, picket-fence husband material. He is, at the end of the day, a rock star. With an addiction problem. Then you have Daisy with her pain and brilliance and self-sabotage. Two sides of the same coin, Daisy and Billy. Then you have Camila, Billy\u2019s wife, who is her own coin, whole and complete, and in no need of help. But she still selflessly loves those around her and wants to have a complete family. It doesn\u2019t all wrap up cleanly, but that\u2019s kind of the point. Like most legends, it ends in fragments.<\/p>\n It\u2019s complex, and you do not exactly know who to root for, but that you are invested in each character and want the best for them. And maybe that is why it\u2019s so easy to get invested. Because it may be fake \u2026 but Fleetwood Mac was not.<\/p>\n Malibu Rising\u00a0by Taylor Jenkins Reid<\/a><\/p>\n And, last but not least:\u00a0 my most recent read,\u00a0Malibu Rising.<\/p>\n This one took me a little longer to fall into, but by the end, I was in it. I loved the West Coast nature to it, especially as someone who lives a mere hour and 20 from Malibu and loves to surf. That said, it was a bit harder to get through. Alcohol, drugs, men letting women down. Classic tropes that haunt both the written word as well as the world around us daily. That trifecta is embedded in most people\u2019s family history and lives, and of course, the rich and famous seem to just intensify this to the max.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n As it turns out fame and money do not soften the blow of alcoholism. It just means you can buy from the top shelf. And you can buy more of it.<\/p>\n Back to the book. Aside from the occasional lulls, I really did love it, especially the ending.<\/p>\n Malibu Rising\u00a0bounces between the 1950s and 1983, tracing the rise and fallout of the Riva family \u2014 children of legendary singer Mick Riva (basically a mashup of Mick Jagger and Frank Sinatra). The Riva kids are all gorgeous and talented and deeply wounded. The story centers around their annual summer party, the kind that makes headlines and leaves ruins.<\/p>\n The book is full of sun-bleached glamour and broken glass. It tackles alcoholism, abandonment, and the kind of legacy that feels more like a curse. Nina, the oldest Riva, is a former surf model stuck being the responsible one. Her siblings are a mess in the exact ways you\u2019d expect \u2014 but they feel real, which makes it hit harder.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a slower burn than the other two books. The first half leans heavily into character study, and the second half descends into pure chaos once the party begins. Some side characters felt unnecessary, but by the end, it lands. It\u2019s a story about choosing yourself over your past, about letting go of what raised you in order to raise yourself.<\/p>\n There\u2019s fire, literally and metaphorically.<\/p>\n Three books. Three eras. All tangled in fame, family, and the consequences of reinvention. Because it could have been.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s the magic.<\/p>\n \u2014Ella Heydenfeldt<\/p>\n FROM OUR PAGES<\/p>\n We\u2019ve had some great author visits and interviews recently, so don\u2019t miss out. Here is some of our book-related coverage from the last two weeks! Read all this and more atIndependent.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cDive Into a New Book Club\u201dby Meaghan Clark Tiernan<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cLearn About Silent Films on the Channel Islands at Santa Barbara Maritime Museum Presentation\u201dby Alice Dehghanzadeh<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cPaul Levine Brings New Historical Thriller to Santa Barbara\u2019s Chaucer\u2019s Books\u201dby Alice Dehghanzadeh<\/a><\/p>\n UPCOMING BOOK EVENTS<\/p>\n Below, you will find a few bookish events coming up in Santa Barbara. If you are hosting a bookish event in Santa Barbara, be sure to submit the event to our online\u00a0events calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n Solvang Library Magpie Book Club The Drunken Library: A Book Swap & Brew Gathering In Conversation: Tess Sanchez & Max Greenfield:\u00a0We\u2019ve Decided to Go in a Different Direction Chaucer\u2019s Book Talk & Signing: David Starkey:\u00a0The Fairley Brothers in Japan Telling Our Stories: A Storytelling and Poetry Workshop On the Stage: Sheetal Sheth:\u00a0Anjali Can! Online Seminar Series: Monday Night Poetry Group Fiction Book Club In Conversation: Sarah Allaback & Monique F. Parsons:\u00a0Green Gold On the Stage: Kelly Sullivan Walden:\u00a0Dreamifesting: Harnessing the Power of Your Dreams to Create the Life You Desire Writers\u2019 Workshop S.B. High School 150th Anniversary Event: Children\u2019s Poetry Reading with Lee Wardlaw<\/a> Banned Books Week:\u00a0Fahrenheit 451\u00a0Book Discussion Book Reviews Courtesy of CALIFORNIA REVIEW OF BOOKS*<\/p>\n Thanks to the generous contributions of David Starkey, Brian Tanguay and their team of reviewers at California Review of Books, we are able to provide a steady stream of book reviews via our content partnership. Recent reviews at Independent.com include:<\/p>\n Gaza: The Story of a Genocide, edited by Fatima Bhutto and Sonia Faleiro; review by Brian Tanguay<\/a><\/p>\n Talking All Night: The New York Poets: Interviews, Photographs, Letters\u00a0by Mark Hillringhouse; review by David Starkey<\/a><\/p>\n *At the present time, all of the\u00a0Independent\u2019s\u00a0book reviews are provided in collaboration with California Review of Books (calirb.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n
layered characters, and a nostalgia that is both real and fake simultaneously.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/unnamed_fca157.jpg\")
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Taylor Jenkins Reid builds fictional icons so well, it should probably be illegal. Or at least regulated. She makes you nostalgic for lives you never lived, songs you\u2019ve never heard, and parties you were never invited to. And if you\u2019re like me, you\u2019ll devour them, then spend a few days wondering if maybe it was all real after all.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Thursday, September 27, 3:30 p.m.\u00a0| Solvang Library<\/p>\n
<\/a>Saturday, September 27, 4 p.m.\u00a0| Casa Agria Specialty Ales<\/p>\n
<\/a>Saturday, September 27, 6 p.m. | Godmothers<\/p>\n
<\/a>Sunday, September 28, 3 p.m.\u00a0| Chaucer\u2019s Books<\/p>\n
<\/a>Sunday, September 28, 10 a.m.\u00a0| Lompoc Theater<\/p>\n
<\/a>Monday, September 29, 6 p.m. | Godmothers<\/p>\n
<\/a>Monday, September 29, 5 p.m. | Virtual<\/p>\n
<\/a>Wednesday, October 1, 5:30 p.m.\u00a0|\u00a0S.B. Central Library<\/p>\n
<\/a>Thursday, October 2, 5 p.m. | Godmothers<\/p>\n
<\/a>Friday, October 3, 6 p.m. | Godmothers<\/p>\n
<\/a>Saturday, October 4, 12:30 p.m.\u00a0| Goleta Community Center<\/p>\n
Sunday, October 5, 3 p.m.\u00a0| Chaucer\u2019s Books<\/p>\n
<\/a>Sunday, October 5, 2 p.m.\u00a0|\u00a0S.B. Central Library<\/p>\n
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