Review – Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Narrator: Stacy Gonzales, Full Cast
Published by Random House Audio on August 30, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Women
Length: 10 hours 29 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
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Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. But by the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Grand Slam titles. And if you ask Carrie, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father, Javier, as her coach. A former champion himself, Javier has trained her since the age of two.

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 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.

In spite of it all, Carrie Soto is back, for one epic final season. In this riveting and unforgettable novel, Taylor Jenkins Reid tells her most vulnerable, emotional story yet.

I ended up liking this book but I have to admit that it took me a bit to really get into the story. I knew that this book was going to be about someone who plays tennis but I was a little surprised by just how much tennis is in the book. I have never really watched tennis so it took me a minute to adjust to this sport that I don’t know a lot about taking center stage in the story. Once Carrie grew up a little bit, she grew on me and I did come to appreciate the story.

Carrie has always played tennis and she is determined to be the best and refused to accept anything less. I loved seeing just how much she put into the game during her eventual rise to the top. Carrie grew a lot over the course of the story and I loved the woman that she became as the story drew to a close. Carrie’s relationship with her father is a huge part of the story. He not only is her father but also her coach and they do go through some ups and downs. I found their relationship to be very realistic and I thought it added a lot to the story.

I thought that the narration of this book was very well done. Stacy Gonzales narrated the bulk of the book but there was a full cast of characters that added all of the sports media segments which was a really nice addition to the audiobook. I thought that the narrators did a wonderful job in bringing the book to life and I loved the various character voices that were used. I do believe that the narration of this book added to my overall enjoyment of the book.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that it was a well-told story of one woman’s determination to become the best at all costs. I think that I will remember Carrie Soto for a very long time.

I received a digital review copy of this audiobook from Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group.

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