Taylor Jenkins has done it again! Carrie Soto grips the reader right from the start and holds your attention as you follow Carrie's career and comeback.

Without a doubt, the best book I have read this year. I was heartbroken to get to the end because that meant the story was over. This type of writing can only come from the unmatched Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Carrie Soto was born to play tennis. The child of a tennis star, Carrie spends her days with her father learning the beautiful fundamentals of the game. Carrie does what no other man or woman has done for tennis, and sets herself apart as the greatest tennis player to ever live. Now, in retirement, but still loving the game, everything Carrie has achieved may be on the line. When Carries record is tied she makes the decision to come out of retirement and defend her record against someone who might just be as talented as she is. I loved Carrie’s relationship with her father. I empathized with Carrie and rooted for her. I will miss this book, and especially Carrie, and think it’s a must read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the gifted ARC.

I love tennis! I play and watch matches all summer long, so I was excited when I learned TJR’s next book centered around the game!

That said…I wasn’t a fan of the female MC. 😬

This was otherwise enjoyable. The beginning was a bit slow, but I found myself immersed in the story. In TJR’s typical fashion, there were tie-ins from other books and I loved that! I even found myself tearing up a couple times.

Overall, this wasn’t my favorite from this author, but definitely a good read!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC of Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid. When a world famous Carrie retires from tennis, she expects to remain the record holder. Her record is broken 6 years after she retires and she can't take it. She comes out of retirement to reclaim the record. She must do some things in order to reclaim her title but she is willing to do pretty much anything to be the best!

Taylor Jenkins Reid knows how to spin a tale centered on a strong woman, and "Carrie Soto Is Back" delivers on its potential. The novel, focused on a retired tennis superstar who decides to attempt a comeback in her late 30s, is fun to read while at the same time exploring serious subjects such as the challenges of women in sports, racism and the death of a parent. Will Carrie pull off a Grand Slam win? Once the story gets going, that's almost beside the point. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this! It’s hard to pick a favorite between this and some of TJR others but this is at the top of my list! Carrie was flawed and relatable and I loved her journey! The audio was also amazing with all the voices!

I read this book at the perfect time and I don't think I've ever cried harder reading anything in my life. It was so good. It's so rare to see a MC as obsessed with her dad as I am with mine, and the whole comeback story definitely resonated. I also love how TJR's latest books are all woven together. After Malibu Rising, I didn't expect Carrie Soto to become my favorite character from this universe. This will probably be a book I read regularly when I need a motivational pep talk. Also, suddenly I need to take tennis lessons again.

Jenkins Reid has done it again. She has created another strong female character who goes through a life changing journey. Carrie Soto was born to be the best tennis player ever. Her father was El Jaguar, an amazing male tennis player, and her mother is a dancer. From an early age a tennis racket has been in her hand. By the time Carrie retires in her early thirties she has the most slam titles, 20, and the most Wimbledon wins. Five years later, Carrie's record is matched by Nicki Chan. At 37 Carrie has come out of retirement in order to make sure everyone knows she is the greatest tennis player ever.

This is a story of growth and how we can always come back from let downs. Like other Jenkins Reid books this one is another that you cannot put down. I highly recommend.

Book Review 🎾✨

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Summary: Carrie is back from retirement to play again as a professional tennis player. She knows what she wants which doesn't always make her everyone's favorite. Follow along in her journey between now and the past to see how it ends.

Wow, I absolutely loved Carrie. 🤍 Dare I say that I loved her more than Evelyn 🤯
Carrie's authenticity was contagious. I loved the 90's background which made it so nostalgic. Carrie's love her for dad and how she comes to find love in the end had me speed reading to see how it ended. You do not need to be a sports fanatic to love this story. TJR did an amazing job of exploring women in sports and the pressures we feel such as how we behave at all times that males do not have to think about.

So, that being said please RUN to get this book now.

Seriously, go!!! 🏃‍♀️💨🛍️📚

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book 🤍

#netgalley #bookrecs #fivestars #tbr #readmore #womensfiction #booksta #bookstagrammer #fictionlover

I loved this book! Extremely well written and fast paced story that kept me on the edge of my seat… and I don’t even like tennis. I started this book yesterday and couldn’t put it down until it was finished. Excited to read more of TJR’s books.

Thank you to Netgalley, Ballatine Books, and Taylor Jenkins Reid for an advance copy of Carrie Soto is back in exchange for an honest review. First off, I am a big TJR fan because of her great ability to tell an excellent story. This is another example of her great storytelling. I enjoyed reading this one but did get a little lost in all the tennis talk, With that being said, if you know anything about tennis (which I dont) or love tennis, this is the book for you. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 rounded up.

I found this book interesting at the start, lost interest for about two months, then found the ability to pick it back up again later when it was picked for my book club. Maybe I relate too closely with the competitiveness of Carrie Soto, maybe I just found it to be lacking in my expectations for a TJR.

I recommend this one for TJR fans but not many others. I wasn't as invested and didn't enjoy nearly as much as I had hoped.

This is my favorite book of the year. I couldn't put it down from page one. Carrie Soto is such a well drawn character whose development throughout the book is so compelling. The tennis scenes are dramatic and have just the right amount of detail, not bogging you down with needless back and forths. Taylor Jenkins Reid ladies and gentleman. Great novel.

I would argue that the better title for this book would have been “Carrie Soto is Dead,” and you’ll know why when you read the book.

It is quite difficult to say how frustrated I was with reading this book. The story follows Carrie Soto, an aggressive tennis player with a gargantuan ego. It isn’t without the capacity of support; however, it does get into your nerves how much her pride eats her up and turns into such a toxic personality.

The beauty of the story lies within its illumination of the effect of environment on who people becomes when they grow up. Javier Soto was a proud father, but what his confidence gave him was a personality he wasn’t expecting.

A fascinating show, it was intriguing to see the father and daughter relationship crumble as Mr. Soto soon realize that his daughter is becoming overly consumed by her complexity with winning. She became more than what he wanted — a winner and a brassy woman.

The journey towards the end of the story is quite predictable. Despite that, I did not lose my footing. My interest in finishing the story was ever so strong. Perhaps part of it was the placement of the tennis tournament — it was such a huge part of the story and an effective way to keep the readers engaged.

I am in love with how the story slowly transforms Carrie — showing a person’s capacity to change and allowing us light on the kindness in ones heart. It is difficult to see something in a bird’s eye view when your first instinctive reaction is to judge someone, but if you give room for breath and allow yourself to get to know people better, you’d see that there is more to someone than what you see.

I just don’t vibe with TJRs newest books unfortunately. I wanted to like this one. But like with Malibu rising I was just bored out of my mind at times

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review

Wow. I absolutely loved this book. There are SO many things i loved about it.

Carrie is such an interesting character. You see so much growth throughout the story and the ending is absolutely perfect for her character. As an athlete myself, i was able to relate to many of the feelings she has. The strength she has throughout her life, physically and mentally is unmatched. She might just be one of my favorite TJR characters.

Another favorite of mine is her relationship with her father. It is so special and realistic. Her father is her coach, so we add an interesting dynamic there too.

There are also other relationships in this story that i love that I dont want to mention as they might be spoilers. But this book had my heart racing the entire story!!! I did not want to put this book down.

I started to read this and I couldn’t put it down!! Finished the book the next day. The characters, the plot, the writing are all top notch. I could not recommend this book enough. Amazing amazing read!!

This is hard for me to write because I love Taylor Jenkins Reid. I've read everything she's written (including her novella). The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo kept me up until 2am, bawling my eyes out. Daisy Jones & the Six had me listening to the music of Laurel Canyon, wishing the band was real and reading everything I could about Fleetwood Mac. I struggled with "Malibu Rising" when it came out, getting lost in the party scenes. So my expectations were middling with this one. On one hand, I loved the character of Carrie Soto and her father - I was rooting for her. But I also struggled with the tennis aspects. I do not understand the game and was lost during the scenes of the tennis matches. I understand that its my problem, not the authors or about the writing. I also just lacked some of the emotional connection with the character of Carrie that I had with previous TJR books. Would I recommend this one? Yes, though I would suggest learning something about tennis before diving into this work.

It took me a while to get into this book - mostly because I found Carrie Soto absolutely insufferable during the first third of the book. When we came to the second part, where she works on her comeback, I warmed up to the story and at the end I didn't want to put it down!

Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again.

This book follows Carrie Soto, a professional tennis player who learns 6 years after retirement that her record for the most grand slam wins is about to be broken by younger star, Nicki Chan. She decides to re-train and challenge Nicki Chan in the upcoming year's grand slam tournaments.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is an expert at creating incredibly complex leading characters that you find yourself rooting for. Reading this book felt like I was with Carrie Soto every step of the way.

It was easily one of the best books that I read this year. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Ballantine Books, Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!