[REVIEW] CARRIE SOTO IS BACK - TAYLOR JENKINS REID (ENGLISH REVIEW)

 All reviews here are purely personal opinions and do not intend to degrade or glorify the work of others. Everyone has their own reading tastes. Thank you.

 

source: Goodreads

Title: Carrie Soto is Back

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Publication date: 30 August 2022

Pages: 369 pages

ISBN: 9781529152128

Language: English

 

BLURB

Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular.

By the time Carrie retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Slam titles. And if you ask her, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father as her coach.

But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning, British player named Nicki Chan.

At thirty-seven years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. Even if the sports media says that they never liked the 'Battle-Axe' anyway. Even if her body doesn't move as fast as it did. And even if it means swallowing her pride to train with a man she once almost opened her heart to: Bowe Huntley. Like her, he has something to prove before he gives up the game forever.

 

REVIEW

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the ARC! I left review here voluntarily.

Honestly, this is my first time reading TJR books! I already know how amazing her book is and some of them are already on my TBR but I don’t have any mood to read it yet. Until I saw this on NetGalley, when I read the blurb it’s about an athlete, retired one, wanting to comeback to play. I think this is interesting and a “fresh” one on my reading journey, but I believe I won’t get the book. Fortunately, I have my luck and got this book!

This book is a hardcore about sport especially in tennis. We will follow Carrie’s journey since the beginning until she decided to comeback after retired from tennis. I love how TJR explain to us how much tennis means for Carrie and her father. We know that her father is the main reason why she is so crazy about tennis. From she is still a little child, her father already trains her as tennis player. I also love how to the point this book is. In less than 400 pages we get all the journey of Carrie from beginning until she held the record, what kind of life she lives, the conflict on her journey until she trains again to comeback.

Like I said before, this book is full of tennis tournaments. It could be hit or miss for some people. People might be bored while reading this, but I enjoy every moment. It even feels like I watched it directly not just by words. I think this book is suitable for me because I love to watch sport tournaments (especially badminton) and I love the excitement on the tournament, the stress, the hope that the athlete we like will wins the match. And I got that excitement with reading this book. Following the match after match, all the hardships Carrie went through. It feels real because the comeback is hard for Carrie and TJR didn’t just throw the winning for Carrie. I even love the ending! Despite all the wishes for Carrie as I read the book, but the ending still feels great.

Carrie is not an easy character to love. She is cold, hard to open her heart, saying whatever she wants and didn’t think about others at all. She even called B**** by commentator. But I think she got a good development, not suddenly become nice or anything but she is progressing to open her heart and trying to understand other. I also love her relationship with her father. Her father really loves her unconditionally even when Carrie so means to him, but he always stands by her side. The way he always supports her decision, train her to be the best. We will see so many interactions between this father and daughter.

Even though this book will be full of training and tournaments, but the author beautifully inserts love story here. Fortunately, the romance is not covering the main story of this book. I think the romance become a fresh side from all heavy stuff about tennis. I love Carrie love story, actually I love the man. The way he always stays with her no matter how hard she rejects him. The way he stays with her when she is in the lowest, knowing her and accept her also unconditionally. It is so mature, and I really love this kind of romance.

 You are perfect, even in your imperfection 

One thing I didn’t like is when the characters converse in Spanish. But we didn’t get any translation of what they are saying. At first I will check online dictionary what the meaning is, but I read the book offline so sometimes I didn’t get to open the dictionary and just let it go. And this Spanish thing is quite a lot in this book so sometimes I didn’t know what they are talking about. Just hoping on physical book will be added the translation.

I give the book 4.5/5 ⭐ I think this one is for me. I enjoy everything and love to follow the tournaments here. If you love sport especially tennis maybe this book is for you!