I think that this was undeniably the best book I have ever read in my life. It is currently 2:20 AM and I have to wake up in less than 7 hours. Yeah, it's that good. When I saw this book in the bookstore, I was intrigued because I remembered Carrie Soto from Malibu Rising! I knew then and there I had to buy it immediately, and boy it didn't disappoint. This was one of the most balanced books out there — it had an amazing storyline riddled with challenges and failures along the way and an internal struggle to become the person she was destined to be. The character development is nothing short of amazing, and I really enjoyed the crossovers starring Daisy Jones and especially Brandon Randall. It's nice to see that he's still the villain in this book, and I thoroughly despise him.
If you read the summary before reading the book (I haven't), then you'd see that this is a classic "I'm going to prove myself to the world" trope. Personally, I loved it. I mean, it's brutal seeing someone so engrossed in pure metrics and personal success, but it's hard not to draw connections to myself too. Sometimes I consider myself to be a workaholic, and I guess this book is a reminder of what not to do. At first, I thought that I wasn't going to enjoy this book because 1. I knew nothing about tennis and 2. I. never expected sports to be portrayed in such an exciting way. But wow, I have never been this wrong before. If you want a thriller, romance, self-help (kinda), and pure enjoyment ALL IN ONE PACKAGE, then this is most definitely the book for you! It will not disappoint! After all, I would never give bad recs...
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!
I felt really bad for Carrie in the first part of the story when she was always undermined by Stepanova. I mean, wow, she is one of the most unpleasant sore losers I have ever seen. And when she's being called names like "battle axe," and "b****" it's hard not to emphasize with her. Especially when no one wanted to be her hitter in the beginning part of the book. But I really loved the part where Bowe Huntley came in and changed her whole entire life. I mean, it's pretty much the textbook romance changes lives theme, but it's still very satisfying to experience. What, you mean you weren't excited and lighting up in joy when they finally acknowledge their desire for one another? I think their relationship was skillfully implemented in the story, and I appreciated every second of it.
It was also very sad to see her dad die, even though it totally liberated her from her expectations of being the greatest. I really did predict that she wasn't going to be the actual record holder (this isn't a very hard trope to predict), but her dad dying really made that point so much more powerful. Life is ruthless, and way too short to be preoccupied by such things when — hint — you can be something else.
Oh, and I got to say, Nicki being nice was one of the funniest things that I have ever seen in my life. Carrie clearly despised it, and her reactions made me laugh. Every. Single. Time. I mean, wow, I never thought that Taylor Jenkins Reid was that much of a comedian. And Carrie being her coach was such a good touch. An amazing way to honor both characters. This deserves to be made into a movie. And I would watch it 100%.
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