TJR might thank Serena Williams for her retirement, announced this summer in an emotional American Vogue essay and a cover shot by Alberto Rodrigues. On it, the muscular figure that has won her 23 Slams is wrapped in a pure blue Balenciaga gown, her five-year-old daughter Olympia hiding behind its long train: a reminder of all her life’s complexities and contradictions. It all signifies an evolution; a fresh start. Now, I was not a tennis player and I never played to the level Carrie did, obviously. However, I WAS a collegiate scholarship athlete who spent the majority of age 5-21 on a sports field with a VERY dedicated and involved father. As a result, I felt VERY connected to Carrie...her competitive nature...her perfectionism...and her fear of failure. The books in Reid’s famous women quartet stand alone.... But each of the books centers a vibrant protagonist managing the tensions between her glamorous life in the public eye and the pressures she feels in private... with Reid meticulously collecting minute yet meaningful details to help build immersive worlds” — Time Taika Waititi Says Donald Trump Submitted A "List Of Demands" While Filming A 2012 Super Bowl Commercial, Including A Particular Camera Angle To “Make Him Look A Little Thinner”

Carrie Soto is an athelete who aims to be the greatest tennis player in the world. To achieve that goal, there a lot of hindrances in her way, one of it being her own self. Will she be able to be the GOAT? What will it cost her? This book feels more than that. It feels like it was written for me. I actually had a conversation with a friend recently about how we find things we love and then later, sometimes years later, we realize we loved that thing so much because it was a part of us we weren't ready to accept yet. The reason this feels more is because I've been constantly learning how exhausting expectations are since I started therapy in 2019. That journey has been long, and hard, and will be something I travel through for the rest of my life... and to see that so eloquently written into a book. I truly don't have enough words to thank authors for the visibility, strength and ownership they give us readers. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.

while i think the takeaway here wasn't so in your face, it did feel like the only part of the book that mattered. half baked romance, relationship with coach/dad, carrie's reputation in the media... all things that could have been explored deeply. but weren't. just so we could watch this process of carrie slowly losing her ego.

Carrie Soto, the greatest player in tennis history, knows the joy and sacrifice of victory. Trained by her father since she was a toddler, she holds the record for the most Grand Slams to her name. But that achievement has come at great personal cost. When a new crop of upstarters threatens her legacy, she is left with no choice. Now she is coming out of retirement to defend her record, working with her father one last time to show herself and the world what she is capable of. Taylor Ann Green Confesses That She "Initiated" Kiss With Austen Kroll On 'Southern Charm': "I Caught Him Off Guard" All that said, this book was quite bogged down with a lot of tennis jargon, tennis strategy...just tennis PERIOD. While that wasn't an issue for me (in fact, I quite enjoyed it), I could see it being an issue for some readers. 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 Slam titles. And if you ask Carrie, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father as her coach. Javier—a former champion himself—has trained her since the age of two.

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If you don’t like tennis, this book will make you a big fan by explaining the basic rules smartly. Each chapter keeps you on your toes, and you feel like you've been transported to the tennis matches, sitting on the benches to watch the games live with your heart in your throat! The narration couldn't be more exciting! You jump up and down, scream, cross your fingers, and wish so hard to see Carrie win! I also found out later that there are some references to Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Malibu Rising and Daisy Jones and the six. I had not read any of those books, this is my first TJR book and reading it as a standalone worked for me. Obviously, I didn't get any of those references but hey, it was a beautiful journey. TJR writes so brilliantly, the writing is so immersive. It's tough not to picture Carrie's aces. TJR’s heroines are flawed, but brave enough to rise from the ashes, learning from their mistakes by taking risks and challenges. Sometimes you really hate them or resent them, but they always find a smart and unique way to get under your skin and charm you with their power, endurance, resilience, and bravery. 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. Jenna Bush Hager Reveals To Hoda Kotb That Her Daughter Asked Her Husband Why He Was "Lying" When He Said She "Never Looked Better"

After 'Evelyn Hugo,' I never thought I would write a famous person again," she told TODAY. "Then I had the idea for 'Daisy Jones' and felt like I had so much more to say. But as I started populating another book with fictional famous people, I realized the books could exist in the same universe. And that started to feel really fun." A world of believable rivalries and intrigue infused with the whiplash suspense of a nail-biting tennis match. Even in "Carrie Soto," Carrie sits down to read and finds herself fascinated with the story of "Daisy Jones and the Six" — but if you don't read closely enough, you could miss it.I wondered why anyone would want to build anything out of sand, when tomorrow it will be gone, and you'd have nothing to show for your day. Nearly every Taylor Jenkins Reid novel reads like a survey course in some flagrantly glamorous specialty and era.... Come for the King Richard–level attention to the art of the game; stay for the more personal soap operas unfolding off the court, and the final score.” — Entertainment Weekly With all of these overlaps and coy additions of past characters to new stories, one wonders whether Reid was planning for this level of interconnectivity all along.

I could probably go on forever. I could quote so many things and explain their meaning to me. I could write about celebrity vs expectation vs self. I'm a writer, a book lover, and a huge advocate for loving what you have and knowing what you deserve. But what this review boils down to is that you are the master of yourself.

When Will ‘Carrie Soto Is Back’ Be Released?

The first time she realizes that her love for tennis is the only thing that matters... I cried. I cried a lot, honestly. Because while this book is about tennis, about being the best and wanting to remain the best... it's more so about realizing you can't be number one forever, and accepting that. It's a journey we all take with ourselves constantly. Or, it's one we should take constantly. I was very emotional towards the end, sobbing so bad because of Javier, but rooting all the way for Carrie and Niki, and also for Bowe. The topics Taylor selects to write for each novel are all entirely different, and every time she convincingly wins the heart of the readers who are fans of those specific topics. I think that is the true quality of a great writer, and I am sure we will see many more amazing books from her. A fascinatingly realistic look into the world of elite sports where driven and flawed characters' private lives are just as intriguing and controversial as they are on the court Business Post