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Carrie Soto Is Back

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Start date: July 1, 2023

Finish date: July 31, 2023

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What Members Thought

Apr 29, 2023 Bonnie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction-post-wwii, 2022-books

Reid always writes fascinating books about powerful women who are standouts in their field who must brush off the misogyny and difficulties they face (actress in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo; singer in Daisy Jones & The Six; surfer in Malibu Rising and now tennis player). They are easy reads that pack an emotional punch.

Carrie Soto played a minor, antagonistic role in Malibu Rising, as the mistress of Nina Riva's husband. When I learned that she was getting her own book, I was thrilled. I l Reid always writes fascinating books about powerful women who are standouts in their field who must brush off the misogyny and difficulties they face (actress in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo; singer in Daisy Jones & The Six; surfer in Malibu Rising and now tennis player). They are easy reads that pack an emotional punch.

Carrie Soto played a minor, antagonistic role in Malibu Rising, as the mistress of Nina Riva's husband. When I learned that she was getting her own book, I was thrilled. I love a good unlikeable heroine. And Carrie Soto is just that. She is a sore loser and a gloating winner, driven by a singular goal to be the greatest tennis player of all time. She makes no attempt to befriend or even be kind to her fellow competitors and believes that no man actually sees her as more than a dalliance - so she treats them the same right back. Her father, once upon a time a tennis star in his own right, was for many years her coach. In the beginning, I assumed he would be a stage parent. Driven to make her succeed due to his own failed dreams, pushing her and berating her to be the best. In fact, her father is kind and patient and repeatedly urges her to be a human and not a tennis star. It falls on deaf ears, because there is nothing Carrie wants more in life than to win.

Now 37, Carrie Soto decides to return to tennis to defend her record of winning the most titles in history from fierce up-and-comer Nicki Chan. No one believes a woman her age can do it, but no one really knows Carrie Soto. Of course, this is not only a career turning point but an emotional turning point in Carrie's life. She is back with her dad as her coach and she is paired with a past fling and fellow aging tennis champion Bowe Huntley as a training partner. If you don't know where this is going, you've never seen The Cutting Edge.

There is, unsurprisingly, a whole lot of tennis in here. I'm not a sports person, so it sometimes does get overmuch, but Reid makes sure that the tennis action is intertwined with Carrie's emotional state and journey. I would love to see Carrie Soto return in another book - I'm not ready to say goodbye to such a prickly, blunt heroine. ...more

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Sep 13, 2022 Amy rated it liked it

Carrie Soto is trying to win back her title after leaving the world of tennis. Taylor Jenkins Reid gives us a character that is strong , competitive and closed off to love and friendships. Her journey to Wimbledon and the US Open is filled with finding her true self & happiness . I enjoyed the book but I did feel like it lagged when describing the tennis matches. Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this copy.

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Feb 20, 2023 Seahorse Library rated it it was amazing

Shelves: genre-romance, genre-contemporary, genre-adult, theme-sport

This author always writes books that I think I’m not going to like, but end up liking immensely. She has such a way of creating characters, and her words are always so simple, and yet so effective.

A wonderful story, beautiful characters - I really enjoyed this book.

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