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A review by bee_thebibliophile
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
5.0
Another immersive, emotional and incredible book by Taylor Jenkins Reid! Carrie Soto is Back hooked me from the very beginning, even as someone who knows nothing about tennis, and I absolutely devoured it in less than a day - I couldn’t put it down!
After the glimpse of Carrie Soto that we get in [b:Malibu Rising|55404546|Malibu Rising|Taylor Jenkins Reid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618293107l/55404546._SY75_.jpg|74581401], I didn’t know what to expect from her story but this was so different than I anticipated. Carrie Soto is a tennis legend, so of course this is a sports story, however it’s so much more than that. Carrie decides to come out of retirement years later to defend her Grand Slam world record and this story takes us through the ups and downs of training with her father/coach, Javier, the Grand Slam matches themselves, and most importantly, Carrie’s growth and realizations about herself and the game of tennis.
Carrie’s strength and determination are second to none but now that she’s 37, retired, and working to get back in the game, she’s realizing that being the best may not be everything she always imagined. Winning has been everything she’s ever known and been striving for all these years and her journey to reclaim her record forces her to rediscover her love for the game, accept the love and support of the people around her and recalibrate her expectations and priorities.
The characters in this story were incredible. Carrie is portrayed as a bitch by the media and the players around her, but she’s so much more than that - the “Battle Axe” goes a long way in figuring out what’s truly important and opening up. Javier was easily my favorite character with his unwavering love for Carrie, tennis and eventually Bowe - he was here for Carrie every step of the way, loving and supporting her all along. And Bowe is the kindest, sweetest, most patient man alive who understood Carrie on a different level and wore his heart on his sleeve through everything.
There’s just something special about TJR’s storytelling style - it’s all-consuming and immersive in a way that I can’t get enough of. I know nothing about professional tennis, but by the end of this book I was on the edge of my seat during both Carrie and Bowe’s matches. I was rooting for them, crying along with them and so happy to see where things ended up for both of them. Everything I’ve read by TJR is special in its own way, but Carrie Soto just hit different and made me love Carrie and the journey she went through so much.
As always, I’ll be (im)patiently waiting to see what world, story and characters TJR introduces us to next!
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC of this title!
After the glimpse of Carrie Soto that we get in [b:Malibu Rising|55404546|Malibu Rising|Taylor Jenkins Reid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618293107l/55404546._SY75_.jpg|74581401], I didn’t know what to expect from her story but this was so different than I anticipated. Carrie Soto is a tennis legend, so of course this is a sports story, however it’s so much more than that. Carrie decides to come out of retirement years later to defend her Grand Slam world record and this story takes us through the ups and downs of training with her father/coach, Javier, the Grand Slam matches themselves, and most importantly, Carrie’s growth and realizations about herself and the game of tennis.
Carrie’s strength and determination are second to none but now that she’s 37, retired, and working to get back in the game, she’s realizing that being the best may not be everything she always imagined. Winning has been everything she’s ever known and been striving for all these years and her journey to reclaim her record forces her to rediscover her love for the game, accept the love and support of the people around her and recalibrate her expectations and priorities.
The characters in this story were incredible. Carrie is portrayed as a bitch by the media and the players around her, but she’s so much more than that - the “Battle Axe” goes a long way in figuring out what’s truly important and opening up. Javier was easily my favorite character with his unwavering love for Carrie, tennis and eventually Bowe - he was here for Carrie every step of the way, loving and supporting her all along. And Bowe is the kindest, sweetest, most patient man alive who understood Carrie on a different level and wore his heart on his sleeve through everything.
There’s just something special about TJR’s storytelling style - it’s all-consuming and immersive in a way that I can’t get enough of. I know nothing about professional tennis, but by the end of this book I was on the edge of my seat during both Carrie and Bowe’s matches. I was rooting for them, crying along with them and so happy to see where things ended up for both of them. Everything I’ve read by TJR is special in its own way, but Carrie Soto just hit different and made me love Carrie and the journey she went through so much.
As always, I’ll be (im)patiently waiting to see what world, story and characters TJR introduces us to next!
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC of this title!