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A review by samarakroeger
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I think this book has a LOT of flaws (i.e., shoddy diversity representation handled poorly), but I am relieved to have read it in one sitting after really struggling through Malibu Rising (which I thought was a deeply disappointing read in need of some serious editing).
I think the first person narration was a much better choice for TJR here, and I think this book was better for only being tangentially connected to her previous 3 releases. Fewer characters and a more focused narrative were also smart choices on her part.
It was a bold move to write it from the perspective of such a deeply unlikeable character. Carrie Soto is such a whiny, insufferable bitch but I kinda grew to love her for it.
There were quite a few plot beats that were incredibly predictable if you’ve read her backlist (and I saw each one coming…) that I could have done without. How many books of hers include convenient car crash deaths of loved ones of the main character now? (it’s too many, that’s for sure — and the only book of hers I haven’t read is One True Loves).
I am glad to have actually read it — my expectations were on the ground after being continually more and more let down by an author I once thought was a new favorite. I only deigned to pick it up when my Libby hold finally came in, and it has renewed a small sense of hope in TJR after so many disappointments.
I think the first person narration was a much better choice for TJR here, and I think this book was better for only being tangentially connected to her previous 3 releases. Fewer characters and a more focused narrative were also smart choices on her part.
It was a bold move to write it from the perspective of such a deeply unlikeable character. Carrie Soto is such a whiny, insufferable bitch but I kinda grew to love her for it.
There were quite a few plot beats that were incredibly predictable if you’ve read her backlist (and I saw each one coming…) that I could have done without. How many books of hers include convenient car crash deaths of loved ones of the main character now? (it’s too many, that’s for sure — and the only book of hers I haven’t read is One True Loves).
I am glad to have actually read it — my expectations were on the ground after being continually more and more let down by an author I once thought was a new favorite. I only deigned to pick it up when my Libby hold finally came in, and it has renewed a small sense of hope in TJR after so many disappointments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Car accident, and Death of parent