chrisljm's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As someone who knows nothing about tennis, seeing the events of the tournaments play out was riveting. Carrie is a tough personality to love but I can’t help but hope she accomplishes all that she strives for. What makes this tough is it’s also difficult not to root for her main opponent Nicki Chan. Both characters have such compelling reasons to fight for their legacy, and still the end results are so satisfying.
However, I did wish TJR gave more depth to Carrie and her tennis career prior to her comeback, in a more showing and less telling way, but even so, I was able to feel her strength and determination with the sport, as well as the love between her and her father.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, and Addiction
Minor: Infidelity, Blood, Sexual content, Racism, and Bullying
laguerrelewis's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is my first book by Jenkins-Reid, and what an introduction. She has a masterful understanding of character, and crafts a beautifully moving story about success, meaning, love, ambition, identity, and resilience. The tennis matches have been praised consistently, and for good reason—they thrill, and are understandable to the layman and enjoyable for the fans. Carrie Soto is a rollercoaster of emotion that had me grinning ear to ear as tears rolled down my cheeks. Bonus points for a romantic plotline straight out of an Austen novel. Great showing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Cursing, and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
kfquarium's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing and Grief
Minor: Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexism, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Medical content, and Misogyny
allisonz6's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity
booksalacarte's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
5⭐️ 2🌶️
Tennis
Professional Athlete
Loving the dream
Comeback
Older MC’s (mid-late 30’s)
Underdog
Unapologetic female elite athlete
Misogyny
Second chance Romance
Grumpy/sunshine
Biggest fan parent
Single father
Self discovery/rediscovery
Did I know anything about tennis before reading this book? Absolutely not.
Do I know anything after reading?….. maybe? I could probably watch it and not be bored now.
Did I love this book? Yes. Yesyesyes.
The structure was so interesting! TJR never fails to set books up to be structurally interesting in a way that enhances the story. Having the FMC’s POV broken up by sportscasters commentary about her game and competition was an awesome way to build tension and get the feel of the nature and stakes of the story.
I always love TJR’s Easter eggs for her other books. That they all live in this alternative universe together.
Carrie was an unapologetic, hard as nails, powerhouse of a character and I loved every second of balancing on the edge of her sarcasm and intensity while her inner monologue showed us exactly how insecure she is. It made her superhuman abilities more human.
The romance in the book was so interesting in how it was presented as iron sharpening iron. Both were so flawed and watching things develop was great. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Carrie’s relationship with her father was so beautiful and my favorite thing about the book. It was dynamic, full of ups and downs, heartbreaking. I was fully invested. The grief represented in the book was so well done. I found myself adoring her father which made the arc of the story so amazing.
This is a favorite. But TJR’s books always are for me.
Tennis
Professional Athlete
Loving the dream
Comeback
Older MC’s (mid-late 30’s)
Underdog
Unapologetic female elite athlete
Misogyny
Second chance Romance
Grumpy/sunshine
Biggest fan parent
Single father
Self discovery/rediscovery
Did I know anything about tennis before reading this book? Absolutely not.
Do I know anything after reading?….. maybe? I could probably watch it and not be bored now.
Did I love this book? Yes. Yesyesyes.
The structure was so interesting! TJR never fails to set books up to be structurally interesting in a way that enhances the story. Having the FMC’s POV broken up by sportscasters commentary about her game and competition was an awesome way to build tension and get the feel of the nature and stakes of the story.
I always love TJR’s Easter eggs for her other books. That they all live in this alternative universe together.
Carrie was an unapologetic, hard as nails, powerhouse of a character and I loved every second of balancing on the edge of her sarcasm and intensity while her inner monologue showed us exactly how insecure she is. It made her superhuman abilities more human.
The romance in the book was so interesting in how it was presented as iron sharpening iron. Both were so flawed and watching things develop was great. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Carrie’s relationship with her father was so beautiful and my favorite thing about the book. It was dynamic, full of ups and downs, heartbreaking. I was fully invested. The grief represented in the book was so well done. I found myself adoring her father which made the arc of the story so amazing.
This is a favorite. But TJR’s books always are for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Cursing, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting
grunbean's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Another Taylor Jenkins-Reid book, another book that can’t be put down. I’d describe a lot of her work as ‘sleeper’ books’. I was unsure when I first started reading (partly because I know nothing about tennis), but once I hit the midpoint I couldn’t stop reading until it was done.
There is something so unique about how this author can bring so much to stories I wouldn’t have blinked twice at. A really good read - perfect for the summer!
There is something so unique about how this author can bring so much to stories I wouldn’t have blinked twice at. A really good read - perfect for the summer!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Racism, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, and Sexism
strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this book! It is so heartwarming and I was rooting for Carrie the whole time even when she was unreasonable. I loved her relationship with her dad and how they had to work for a balance between father/daughter and coach/player. I lowkey wanna start playing tennis now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, and Medical content
Minor: Misogyny
hdoomk's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Cursing
sefrahudman's review against another edition
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked this book a lot for how unlikable the main character was for most of the book. She was written that way and so it made her very real feeling and somewhat enduring at times. I like that she got some good growth near the end of the book. I also really appreciated that. I spoke Spanish, because as I listened to the audiobook, if I had not, I would have lost a lot of what was being said. Most of the exchanges were probably pretty easy to follow even if you didn’t speak Spanish, but it is definitely an asset in the audiobook being able to just listen and know what was being said. Speaking of the audiobook, it was perfection. They had all the different voices and clips that sounded like it was actually a newscast, and it was awesome!
I felt like the explanations of tennis were very accessible for somebody who didn’t really understand very much about tennis before this book. I still got sort of confused sometimes with the difference between a game, a match and a set, but it was fine, and I was able to still get excited about the matches or games or whatever they were.
I felt like the explanations of tennis were very accessible for somebody who didn’t really understand very much about tennis before this book. I still got sort of confused sometimes with the difference between a game, a match and a set, but it was fine, and I was able to still get excited about the matches or games or whatever they were.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Cursing, and Death of parent
Moderate: Fatphobia and Body shaming
Minor: Lesbophobia
david_slack110507's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Back with Taylor Jenkins Reid books and this one was unsurprisingly another hit and incredibly well written. I will preface this by saying that I cannot say whether or not this is a good representation of a Latina character and the Latino community, but I do wish that for those that can give an accurate account of this aspect, that she has done this in a careful, well thought out and well-respected manner to the community and its culture.
I really liked this book even though it is based on a sport I never thought twice about: tennis. The way that Reid wrote the tennis matches and the tennis rules was extremely engaging even if I did forget some of the rules sometimes. The tennis aspect was kept as a constant focus and was well used as a means of facilitating the larger themes and developments of the story, something that reminiscing on Malibu Rising, cannot really be said as if my memory serves me right, the surfing aspect of the book became less critical as the book went on and the party started. I also really liked the return of news articles and interview/talk show transcripts which we last saw that type of documenting format in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which allowed for there to not only be breaks in the story but also see the larger world's view on the current events and state of tennis.
Something that I also found quite strong was the themes of the book and its characters. The discussion on the difficulties faced by women and people of colour in sports in the past such as when this book is set (E.g. the mid-1990s) and even now was remarkably interesting and is a very topical discussion now and in my opinion is dealt with very well. It expertly highlighted these issues as well as those affected by these issues and how they must hide their anger with this system to appear their absolute best for the public eye. The book has a very focused look on a few characters rather than having a wide stretching one allowing for the story to feel much more intimate as we only really focus on Carrie, Javier (A standout in this book to me due to how willing he was to train his daughter and not be jealous at her success and actually understand her better than she did herself - their relationship and father/daughter bond was probably the best-written part of this book), Bowe, Nicki, and Gwen.
Carrie has to be one of my favourite protagonists that I've read about in a long time, not only does she have the fiery attitude that many of TJR's female protagonists have but she also has incredible character development. She goes from being someone who must win every single game she plays even if it means coming off as an awful person to the public and those that she cares about to being someone who still wants to win but also recognises that losing is not the be all end all of the situations and that it is the journey and the game itself that is the most important part of it all. I also really liked how Carrie developed emotionally as well going from being perceived as cold and remorseless to being someone who gives genuine thanks and appreciation to those who help her and even respect to those she is facing off against.
I really liked this book even though it is based on a sport I never thought twice about: tennis. The way that Reid wrote the tennis matches and the tennis rules was extremely engaging even if I did forget some of the rules sometimes. The tennis aspect was kept as a constant focus and was well used as a means of facilitating the larger themes and developments of the story, something that reminiscing on Malibu Rising, cannot really be said as if my memory serves me right, the surfing aspect of the book became less critical as the book went on and the party started. I also really liked the return of news articles and interview/talk show transcripts which we last saw that type of documenting format in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which allowed for there to not only be breaks in the story but also see the larger world's view on the current events and state of tennis.
Something that I also found quite strong was the themes of the book and its characters. The discussion on the difficulties faced by women and people of colour in sports in the past such as when this book is set (E.g. the mid-1990s) and even now was remarkably interesting and is a very topical discussion now and in my opinion is dealt with very well. It expertly highlighted these issues as well as those affected by these issues and how they must hide their anger with this system to appear their absolute best for the public eye. The book has a very focused look on a few characters rather than having a wide stretching one allowing for the story to feel much more intimate as we only really focus on Carrie, Javier (A standout in this book to me due to how willing he was to train his daughter and not be jealous at her success and actually understand her better than she did herself - their relationship and father/daughter bond was probably the best-written part of this book), Bowe, Nicki, and Gwen.
Carrie has to be one of my favourite protagonists that I've read about in a long time, not only does she have the fiery attitude that many of TJR's female protagonists have but she also has incredible character development. She goes from being someone who must win every single game she plays even if it means coming off as an awful person to the public and those that she cares about to being someone who still wants to win but also recognises that losing is not the be all end all of the situations and that it is the journey and the game itself that is the most important part of it all. I also really liked how Carrie developed emotionally as well going from being perceived as cold and remorseless to being someone who gives genuine thanks and appreciation to those who help her and even respect to those she is facing off against.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Moderate: Medical content, Cancer, Death of parent, Racism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Addiction, Bullying, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, and Infidelity