wordsofclover's Reviews (2.16k)

Carrie Soto is 37 years old, and is ready to return to the game of tennis she retired from several years earlier to take back her titles and record from new hotshot Nicki Chan. But Carrie 'The Battleaxe' Soto was known for being cold and ruthless in her game, and while the tennis world is excited she's back, there are many waiting to see her fail.

This was so so good. This book easily surpassed Malibu Rising for me in terms of enjoyment and reached my top tier of TJR fiction. She does what she does best in this book, creating a persona that feels so real, you want to look up Carrie Soto and watch those famous matches back, or go to a store and buy Javier Soto's book 'The Beautiful Fundamentals'.

I loved Carrie's character - she is cold in many ways because she is so serious about what she does. She knows what she wants, and how to get it - even if it means hurting the people around her to do it - which has happened in the past. She holds herself very closely, and is afraid to let anyone close enough to hurt her - especially if this is a romantic interest. But as Carrie's journey to another Grand Slam goes through a series of ups and downs, we see so much character growth as Carrie starts to really examine what is important for her and why winning is everything for her - and most importantly, what comes after this?

I'm not a massive tennis fan - though I genuinely think I might be now, and next time Wimbledon or the US Open is on, I will be a lot more likely to sit down and watch the matches. The matches were so exciting, and I loved the real time playback from Carrie as she was in the middle and the moment she knew she was going to win versus when she realised she was going to lose.

One of my favourite elements in this book is the father-daughter relationship between Carrie and her dad/coach Javier. I loved how much he loved her and supported her but the relationship wasn't without its difficulties especially when Jav said things Carrie wasn't prepared to hear - and the heartbreak that followed those moments when Carrie wasn't mature enough to work through them properly.

This book had me on the edge of my seat, making me feel like I was part of the crowd watching the US Open as Carrie and Nicki faced off against each other. 

When Mush, Helen and Joe all find themselves back in their hometown of Kinlough (or in Mush's instance, he never left), they are haunted by memories of their intense friendship as teenagers and their relationship with Kala who disappeared when she was 15, leaving devastation and confusion in her wake. When a body is found on a building site and confirmed to be Kala, everything her friends thought they knew is thrown into the air and questions need to be answered.

This was brilliant reading for me. The story is so tight, and the writing superb - I loved how Colin Walsh was able to build this town of Kinlough which, during certain times of the year, is busy and rowdy due to heavy tourism but sleepy at other times. The feeling of the story is tense, and it has so much atmosphere and with the past storyline leading up to Halloween, this book has all the vibes you want for autumnal reading without being 'in your face' about it.

I loved the characters and how well we got to know them - mysterious but insecure ands vulnerable Kala, Helen who appears cold but is full of heart, Aidan the exact type of brash, vulgar teenager you see everywhere but is actually hiding a world of hurt and abuse inside of him, Joe who is handsome and successful in the eyes of others but is actually a coward and then Mush, sweet Mush who is kind and courageous, and loves fiercely.

This isn't a mystery book that is about the 'whodunnit' but it's more of a brilliant gaze at the town of Kinlough itself, how it's run and who really holds all the power and the money. It also looks at the intensity that is teenage friendship and first love - those hazy, mad days you can run around town with no expectations or responsibilities in a way you're never able to replicate as you get older and life changes you, hardens you.

The book also in a way explored misogyny from the expectations men and young boys may have on women in their lives, and the dangerous way of this thinking - as well as the type of slurs men will use to hurt and belittle the women in their lives. I absolutely loved the gentle friendship Mush had with the girls (both past and present) and the gorgeous picture of a young guy enjoying being around the softness and silliness of teenage girls and watching movies, doing hair etc without it being romantic or sexual. It was really nice.

I couldn't rip my eyes away from this story as we reached the conclusion and the reveals and everything broke my heart in a myriad of ways. I can't say I'm completely happy about some of the questions that remained by the ending but I just thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

It's hockey season once again in Beartown, and tensions are high between rival clubs Beartown and Hed as one club faces closure, and the other unrivalled success despite both sides sharing the same amount of passion and grit fir their teams. As a storm rolls into town, someone will be dead and by the time the A-Teams play in a week's time, another tragedy will take place and more young lives lost.

The final book of Beartown and this one did no disappoint - it was full of all the emotional angst and torture I would expect from Fredrik Backman who has skillfully crafted a town and its neighbour to life so well, I felt like I was part if it all. The characters in this book are so sad, happy, lovely and tortured all at the same time - every single one of them is going through something whether they be at the end of their long lives like Ramona and Sune, the middle like Hannah, Kira and Peter or at the beginning like Maya and Ana.

We see events from Book One which revolved around Kevin and Maya come back into focus as we learn about another girl who wasn't as 'lucky' as Maya and a brother who was left alone to be tortured about what happened to his sister. Backman shows what makes a hero and what doesn't - in acts of true bravery such as forfeiting a life for others, and other small ones like paving the way for others behind, admitting when you're wrong and swallowing down long-held grudges for the happiness of your children.

I thought I'd might have been 'emotionally manipulated' out by the end of this book as we all know what's about to happen - we have been told constantly what's going to happen since the start of book one yet when it did happen I was still devastated. And seeing the pieces of everyone left behind, and the shadow that was left, the friend they always felt walk beside them but could never see UGH!

I really loved this trilogy - so expertly crafted and you can tell the author put everything he had into this and all the characters. I'm not sure I'll ever be emotionally ready to read the books again but I do know I'm not ready to say goodbye for good.