Carrie was an Argentinian tennis player that was well known from moment one. Her father bred her to be the best she could be. He taught her how to play tennis like no other was able to do. Tennis became her life. She was the best.... until she wasn't the best anymore. Once her records were beat, she decided it was time to get back into the game. Only this time, it wasn't as easy the second time around. Would she be able to reach what she set out to achieve?

Taylor Jenkins Reid has a knack about her as she writes about specific characters. Every time I read one of her stories, I always feel like I need to google the person to see if the character is a real character. TJR has a way to make be believe in any character no matter what their goal is. I am not going to lie. I wanted to read this one from day one, but I was hesitant when I found out that there was so much tennis involved. I don't know much about tennis - well other than what I learned in my tennis elective I took one summer in college. After reading the first section, I knew I wasn't going to be able to put this book down. Carrie is not a likeable character, but she drew me in so much I forgot I didn't like her.

I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoyed Evelyn Hugo or Daisy Jones. To me, this book had the same feel of connection with the character as those books did.

Thank you to Netgalley for an electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I always love a Taylor Jenkins Reid title, so I was anxiously awaiting this one. Candidly, when I started reading, I was annoyed to find it was about tennis, as I am the least sports-interested person alive. But by the end of the book (which I tore through in a day and a half), I found myself tuning into the US Open. Reid has an uncanny ability to write complicated women in a way that isn't trite or predictable. Her characters are fully-formed and flawed, much like real life. The ending was wrapped up a little more neatly than I'd have liked, but it's a fantastic read.

One of my new favorite books. I love how Taylor Jenkins Reid ties in all the books she writes. I read Malibu Rising after this and love the connection between the two.

This story is a great sports story that will entice any reader. The relationship between Carrie Soto and her father makes this a book you can't put down.

TJR does it again! I wasn't sure how I would feel about a book about tennis but despite having little interest in the sport, I was pulled in from the first page. I loved this book as much as I have every book by the author. Carrie Soto is a great character that makes you wants to root for her every step of the way. I also loved the relationship between Carrie and her dad.

Carrie Soto has been coached by her father Javier since she was a little girl, him once being a highly ranked tennis player in Venezuela. She is dubbed “Bulldozer” by the press and the players she routinely defeats, after all she is on the court to win not to make friends. Carrie knew she was the best but always wanted to win more than any other player on the circuit which she was until a knee injury forced her to retire in 1989, however 5 years later when her record is broken by Nicki Chan she stages a comeback with her dad as her coach and Bowe Huntley starting out as her practice partner but ends up being coached by Javier and old sparks begin to reignite between Carrie and Bowe. . The critics have their doubts as to how well she’ll do at 39 years old against players 15 years her junior, but she surprises everyone including herself because after reading her fathers notes and seeing herself through her fathers eyes she realizes as long as you play your best it’s not really about winning or losing, with these new found revelations about herself she has a new confidence to forge a new path and let someone else do the winning. I give this book 5 out f 5 stars. I rooted for Carrie the entire book, I didn’t always like her but as I watched her hard core starting to melt I loved her and wanted her to win.

I listened to this on audiobook & it was filled with a fantastic cast. It honestly made the book for me as I’m not interested in tennis, nor was Carrie Soto a likable character. That latter fact was by design though and the book focuses on her personal growth, as well as the professional comeback. The audio cast though was so great! Everything from the main character to her father to the sports center like news programs is what kept me invested in seeing what happens. I’m actually not sure I would have finished the book if it hadn’t of been the audio.

You must LOVE tennis to enjoy this book. Luckily, I played tennis in my early 30's so I also enjoyed the game and watching/following the players and all the major tournaments. I even got to see John McEnroe in a practice match.

It's an understatement to say that the main character Carrie Soto lives and breathes tennis.. She is consumed with it. She has no friends, no love interest, no hobbies or other interests. Her father raised her to be "the greatest tenni player in the world" and she is driven to attain that goal at all costs. So much so that at age 37 when her record is close to being broken she comes out of retirement in order to keep her record intact.

Carrie was not relateable to me--I've never known someone so driven and completely obssessed with only one thing in their life. I didn't really like her and no one else did either! I really liked her father in the book, he was one of the few people who tried to get her to soften up a bit.

Even though I enjoyed the tennis talk, especially reading about the strategies Carrie employed with each opponent, about 2/3 of the way through the book I was growing tired of tennis. I kept with it and the ending was satisfying. While I enjoyed the book, it's definitely not a book for everyone and I have enjoyed Taylor Jenkins Reid's other books more.

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid is an amazing story about the comeback of a tennis star. This book also explores the relationships between Carrie and the people who are most important to her. TJR excels at really rounding out her characters; and as a reader, I really enjoy a story a lot when I feel like I know the characters that I'm reading about. Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

t took about 30% for me to get invested in this book. That's about when Bowe and she started training together. After that I had a hard time putting it down. The narrator did a phenomenal job and I easily switched between digital and audio.

Carrie had the women's record of most Grand Slam titles. She was the greatest Female player of all time. Until Nikki Chan tied her record. At 37 Carrie wasn't willing to give up her title. She decided to come out of retirement. Her dad, Javier, agreed to coach her.

This was some pretty intense character development with a lot of tennis. Getting into Carrie's head and understanding her passion for tennis and for being the greatest in the world was fascinating. She was single minded in her pursuit of greatness, and didn't have time for connection or relationships. She was brash and unapologetically ambitious. She owned who she was and what she wanted and she had no time for niceties. And yet, as her story continued, I started to root for her. And what she represented. There was a purity to her pursuit of greatness. And there was some incredibly realistic character development as she was on her hero's journey.

Thanks to the publisher for a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Taylor Jenkins Reid isn't a bestselling author for nothing - she knows how to put together a darn good story - but Carrie Soto is Back is a bit different from her other recent hits. Like her last few novels, Reid focuses on a famous woman. However, this time she takes us into the world of sports and focuses on a female tennis player. My unfamiliarity with tennis didn't detract from the story. I just wasn't as interested in this one, because it was less story and more tennis. Additionally, main character Carrie was too inconsistent and unlikeable, alternating between heartless athlete and selfish, spoiled brat. My favorite characters were the secondary ones. Reid's writing style is always enjoyable, but the heart of the story fell short this time by focusing too much on gameplay and not enough on the actual people playing the game.

Woooooow!!! Taylor Jenkins Reid did it again. I haven’t had so much fun while reading a book in a long time but reading about Carrie made me feel like I wasn’t even reading. It’s a short book so for those of you who are looking for something simple but not simple at the same time IYKWIM.

For tennis lovers this is the book for you and for those who are looking for an unconventional love story this is the book for you But if you’re looking for a Strong Female Boss character this definitely is the book for you!

Taylor Jenkins Reid knows how to write a good story. Was this my favorite one of hers? No but I highly enjoyed it. I know almost nothing about the game of tennis and I feel like you didn't have to know very much about the game to enjoy this book.

Carrie Soto is back! Or rather, she's making a comeback to try and keep all the titles and all the accolades. She just can't stand not being the best anymore after leaving the sport of tennis. Is it a character flaw? Yes and no. She grew up being told by her father, a tennis legend unto himself, that she was the best. So, naturally, she thinks that her self worth is tied to being the best. But her stubbornness to prove everyone wrong shows that it works to her advantage. It makes her work hard and try new ways to slam her way back to victory. Along the way, she might learn how to relax a little bit and open up to others in a way she didn't think she was capable of before.

Another enjoyable read from TJR.

Reid's books are compulsively readable -- this one, however, fell flat for me. I loved the idea of a tennis superstar protagonist, but the book was too jammed full of tennis research to feel organic. Similarly, I never got a firm handle on why Reid chose to write a Latina protagonist...too often the choices made in the construction of this book felt like ticking off boxes rather than building a compelling narrative.

Wow. This book was incredible!! I played college tennis, so I loved the tennis aspect. But even without that, the character development in this book is incredible. I love how TJR always picks an interesting way to write a book and just goes with it. I loved how this book was divided up into Grand Slams. I loved the play by plays of the matches. There were some unrealistic things with the tennis, but it was so enjoyable so I can forgive it. She is a must read author for me and I can’t wait to see what she does next!!

SO GOOD, AS ALWAYS. I literally hate tennis and do not give a single thought to tennis/sports/anything like that. Carrie Soto had me watching videos of tennis greats and wanting to learn how to play. Even for people who don't traditionally enjoy sports, TJR found a way to engage and entice. Highly recommend!

Carrie Soto is Back is the latest Taylor Jenkins Reid novel, set between the 70s and 90s majorly. It follows a tennis player's rise, eventual retirement and then return to the court to reclaim her title. Unfortunately, this book failed to bring the magic that TJR normally does. Carrie proved to be an impossible character to get to know, which is strange especially since the book is from her point of view. The ending also felt quite abrupt; while I understand what the author intended thematically, it never seemed to quite come together.

CARRIE SOTO IS BACK by Taylor Jenkins Reid (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo) is a LibraryReads selection for August 2022. The main character is a female tennis player who decides to try for a comeback, defending her championship, record setting performance from the 1980s. Yet, the story is also about finding oneself and what one values in life. The comeback occurs in the mid-1990s and Reid is not afraid to lash out at inequality for female athletes, such as in this side comment: "We live in a world where exceptional women have to sit around waiting for mediocre men." Soto is coached by her insightful father, a tennis legend in his own right. Through multiple flashbacks to Carrie's childhood and adolescence, Reid chronicles numerous tennis matches in an exciting manner and describes the pressurized training that is involved in the sport. Readers may initially feel little rapport for Carrie Soto (the media refers to her as the Battle Ax and other b-words), but she evolves as a tennis player and as a person in endearing ways. CARRIE SOTO IS BACK received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, and Library Journal.

Carrie Soto and Taylor Jenkins Reid are both back. While I am mostly a mystery/thriller reader, I cannot get enough of Reid's characters. How I just became fascninated by tennis is beyond me, and I found myself rooting for Carrie--even with all her flaws. I also love the Easter Eggs in her books when they refer to her other books and/or characters. Loved this one. Highly recommended.

Thanks Penguin Random House International for the free e-book.

Carrie Soto, la estrella del tenis, solo ha conocido lo que es el éxito a lo largo de su vida, pero esto, debido a mucho esfuerzo, dedicación y disciplina. Su carácter y personalidad nunca han sido fáciles tampoco, haciendo que mucha gente no simpatice con ella. Ahora, retirada de su carrera deportiva, ve su récord peligrar frente a otra jugadora más joven, sin embargo, ella no está dispuesta a perder ese récord, por lo que Carrie Soto está planeando su regreso a las canchas. Esto generará grandes críticas de la prensa y público en general, muchos de ellos creen que su momento ya pasó, pero ella está dispuesta a demostrarles lo contrario.

TJR ha logrado envolverme en sus historias, disfruté mucho de Los siete maridos de Evelyn Hugo y Malibú Rising y en Carrie Soto is back, TJR nos muestra nuevamente un personaje femenino interesante, una mujer fuerte y ambiciosa, con ganas de siempre triunfar, pero también nos muestra su lado real, con errores y defectos.

Antes de leer este libro conocía muy poco de tenis, tuve que investigar un poco ya que el libro tiene muchas referencias al tenis y quería entender a Carrie y su carrera. Todas las escenas de torneos y competencias están llenas de adrenalina y emoción por lo que, a pesar que no conozcan mucho de este deporte, seguro terminarán amándolo.

Carrie Soto y Nicki Chan me parecieron personajes maravillosos, fuertes y sin miedo a lo que digan, buscan alcanzar sus objetivos aun a costa de muchas críticas y comentarios desagradables, son valientes y ambiciosas y son características que he apreciado mucho en los personajes.

Este libro me convenció de que quiero leer cada libro que saque Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Believe the hype - I didn't know I could care so much about tennis until I read this book. A great story that I will remember for quite awhile. Multiple copies in various formats have already been purchased.