Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Carrie Soto Is Back

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

142 reviews

spellbindingtomes's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

5.0

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵.

Retired tennis champion and 37 year old, Carrie Soto, returns to the court to defend her record for most Grand Slam singles titles against the rising 'Beast', Nikki Chan.

My first TJR book and my new favorite read of 2024!

Carrie's passion for the sport is unmatched. And while she lives and breathes tennis, she is far from likeable. She's ruthless, arrogant, callous, and will do anything to be the best, even if that means leaving behind those that care for her. But her tenacity and her drive against all odds is what draws me to root for her as she embarks on what may be her final Grand Slam season.

TJR's writing was exceptional. How she captured the beauty in every match, built in complex relationships, and how she brought us inside the mind of Carrie Soto was both engaging and exciting. Carrie's own growth throughout the book was also brilliantly laid out.

My favorite aspect of this book was reading the bond between Carrie and her dad. Her dad's unwavering belief and support was simply endearing. So many of their conversations had me sobbing.

I listened to the audiobook and it was such an incredible experience. I loved how it executed the many different media pieces and Stacy Gonzales' performance was phenomenal 👏🏼 I'm not lying when I say I was hooked from the first 20 words.

Carrie's journey was every bit as beautiful as it was heartrending. TJR writes a captivating and inspirational redemption story that will stun you from start to finish even if you're not familiar with the sport.

Read if you like:
🎾TENNIS
🎾strong father & daughter bond
🎾retiree comeback
🎾bad ass FMC

Content Warnings

hmatt's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I have been having a time with 3.75 ratings, recently.

This is not my favourite nor my least-favouring TJK! It's a solid read and reliably intersects with the rest of the literary universe. I always appreciate this author's deep-dives into specific subcultures/topics, and this is no exception when it comes to the tennis industry of yore, especially with how it may have intersected with sexism and racism. The father-daughter relationship is particularly well-written and interesting and, as per usual, I could really take-or-leave the romantic relationship that's tacked on. I loved that the Spanish isn't translated, I don't think it needs to be.

Content Warnings

rachlincs's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

In my opinion this is one of the weaker books by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The story is dull and predictable. The motivations of the characters are either explored poorly or really are as vapid as they seem. There were so many issues and topics that those book could have explored in some complexity - ageism, sexism, xenophobia, pride, parental loss etc - but instead it felt like it just ticked them off with a shallow acknowledgement that was so unsatisfying.
The book also really fails Bowe - the character gets so little depth, there's a wasted opportunity to explore the parallel paths of Bowe with the lead character.

It was impossible to believe the romance, there was no chemistry between them.

Ultimately it's an easy read or listen. You won't be any the worse for reading it, but don't expect any impact on your life. In the future this will be the book on your shelf that you can't quite remember whether it's read or not.

Content Warnings

itsheyfay's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

kelseyfontaine's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-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

I absolutely LOVED this book! As someone who played sports their whole life, I had a special appreciation for it and could understand a little bit of what Carrie was going through. I felt connection with each and every character, and I especially loved how the time period tied into the entire plot. As a romance reader, I appreciated the development between Carrie and Beau, but I liked how it wasn’t the main focus. Not to mention, the relationship between Carrie and her father, Javier, was raw and beautifully written. I also thought the integration of news articles and interviews was super interesting, and gave an outside view to everything that was happening. My only complaint would be the lack of translation at some points when Carrie and Javier were talking in Spanish, as it could be confusing at times when there wasn’t much context surrounding it. But, despite that, I really enjoyed the book and it was an amazing change of pace from my typical romance novel!

Content Warnings