"Mick Riva's kid? I can not stand that guy." - Javier Soto

If you would have told me that one day I would absolutely love Carrie Soto and the world of tennis, I would question if you even knew my reading taste. But you would have been right and I would have been pleasantly surprised.

"Carrie Soto is Back" gives us Carrie and her return to tennis to claim her title as world's best, to chase the most wins of any tennis player in the history of the game - male or female (that's important!). Carrie is hard to like, she's punishing with her thoughts and emotions, she has absolutely zero cares about what the world thinks of her. Her one weakness is her father, Javier, who is simply the best father figure in all of fictional writing. As Carrie chases perfection, we see under her hard exterior to the woman hiding underneath. Throughout the novel, we are able to see Carrie for the person she is: completely faithful, 100% committed - on and off the court. There is a romance in "Carrie Soto is Back" that is so subtle that it truly sneaks up on you. Between Carrie's relationship with her father and Bowe, you get to see the human side of the machine that is Soto.

TJR killed it with this story -- 100% the GOAT when it comes to historical fiction with women blazing their own paths. You can tell she did her research -- she single handedly taught me about tennis (I knew very little going in), that she truly wanted readers to find the redeeming parts of Carrie Soto. I am amazed by how quickly Carrie found a place in my heart next to Evelyn and Nina.

Very engaging book. Fans of her other titles will certainly enjoy this one. May be my favorite of hers so far.

Yes, you're not dreaming... Carrie Soto is BACK!

This book was so entertaining. The excitement you feel when you're reading the matches and hoping Carrie Soto wins all of them just to prove that she is INDEED the best player in the WORLD! Uff, I needed to breathe. And Carrie had to learn how to breathe too, learn that sometimes you need to say goodbye to something that once was very familiar to you but now it's not. Growing up has those types of decisions. Accepting. Accepting the change. Let. It. Go.

But when Carrie was born, she already had the winner badge craved in her thoughts. Javier Soto, her father, knew how promising she would be in the tennis world. He was right. Still, he didn't know how teaching Carrie that losing is part of the journey was just as important as practicing those aces. Life gave her that. And it's okay too.

You're probably wondering: Is Carrie Soto the new best tennis player in the world? Who knows, right? Maybe you need to read this book to find out. I did it. It's worth it. Carrie Soto is a badass!

Thank you Random House and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

I loved TJRs other books. This one was a little slow for me. There was a lot of tennis in it. It took me forever to get through this book. When I put it down I wasn't excited to get back to it. I ended up skipping the press releases and skimming most the tennis matches so I could get the book read quicker. I did enjoy the romance in it and the dynamic with her father.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again! An enthralling sports story, there's shades of Daisy Jones and the Six here. Carrie Soto has an empathetic, heartbreaking story and I was captivated by her comeback.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this book starting out, but it turns out that Carrie Soto is Back has currently landed as my 2nd favorite Taylor Jenkins Reid novel after, of course, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Carrie is incredibly abrasive, so it does take time to push through the chapters covering her early years, but I loved her character development. Carrie's relationships with others evolve in a really lovely way and bring lots of heart to the story. I also love tennis, so I wasn't bored at all by the intense focus on the sport - in fact, it actually drove much of the tension and pace for me.

I admit I went into Carrie Soto is Back knowing nothing about tennis and now know way more than I ever expected to. The first 1/3 is lots of backstory and heavy tennis, but once I plowed through that, i really enjoyed it. Carrie is a strong and often unlikeable main character, but I enjoyed reading about the various relationships between Carrie and her dad, Bowe, and Nikki.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free e-reader copy of “Carrie Soto is Back” in exchange for an honest review.

As a lifelong tennis fan, I *LOVED* this book about a veteran player’s comeback to defend her world record of most Slams won, which was a special treat to read during this year’s US Open and the focus on Serena 👑 Williams. Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing just gets better and better, and I enjoyed the story, the characters and the Easter eggs from other books in her metaverse sprinkled through this one. The full-cast audio is also terrific (with the exception of the main narrator’s affected English accent when voicing Soto’s nemesis, Nikki Chan). This book was not only a fun romp with a great story, but reading it made me a more educated viewer of the game. Highly recommended. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Carrie Soto Is Back is the fourth in Taylor Jenkins Reid's quartet of books about famous women in the same universe. We briefly met tennis phenom, Carrie Soto in Malibu Rising and this book documents her return to professional tennis to defend her title for most championship wins. I flew through the audiobook this weekend. The narration is phenomenal with a full cast it gives the novel a truly cinematic feel.

Though Carrie's story is captivating, she can be incredibly cutthroat and not the most likeable. I really liked her close relationship with her father who coached her most of her life. The novel largely follows her comeback, so there is a lot of tennis, which may turn off some. The writing is really propulsive and you get caught up in the excitement rooting for Carrie. I'm very sad that this is the last in this series, but can't wait to read TJR's next novel whatever it may be!

Thank you Random House for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Engaging. Riveting. Ruthless.

Carrie Soto Is Back sings to it's own beat. Compared to TJR's other mcs, Carrie Soto is unlikeable. How her character is written makes it hard to relate ... until maybe the last 20% of the novel (which is frankly really late to have us in her corner). What I didn't like is how "being the best" is at the forefront of Soto's personality? I just wanted to see more depth regarding her character. There isn't much written about her identity as a Latinx woman nor is much talked about how women are treated in the sport, particularly during this time.

My favorite parts were the relationships in Carrie's like (i.e. her dad, Bowe, Gwen). Even though Carrie's ruthlessness is at the center of the novel, I did like the few times where she opens up to have sweet moments of understanding and comfort.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

This was an utterly phenomenal book.

I had heard mixed reviews about this book and to be honest, I wasn't sure how I would like it with my extremely limited knowledge of tennis. But holy wow, this book had me flying through it and crying at multiple points throughout.

Carrie is The Battle Axe, The Bitch, and she's a force to be reckoned with. After coming out of a 7 year retirement to defend her title of most slams ever won by a single tennis player, she's showing the world who's boss.

The character development was beautiful in this book. In the beginning you're not even sure you like Carrie, but by the end, you love her like you would a best friend. Taylor Jenkins Reid's ability to write truly flawed characters and have them feel as though they're real people is a talent I haven't seen in many other writers.

I'm sad to see that this is the last of TJR's "historical fiction series" (Okay but who said the 1990s could already be classified as historical fiction??) but I am glad to have gotten the chance to read, love, and live through these books.

A HUGE thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

WOW! I was ecstatic to receive an early copy of Carrie Soto Is Back. It was everything I wanted and more. The plot was phenomenal. The characters were easy to relate to and love. While it was tennis-heavy, I felt it added more to the story and immersed me in the games. Carrie was a true testament to how women are perceived if they are not lovey-dovey and over the moon happy. This book had me shedding tears near the end.

Overall, this was one of my newer favorite books written by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

I say this with no exaggeration, TJR is the absolute best. I have no knowledge of tennis and have literally never watched a game, and I was GRIPPED by this story. Carrie is such a phenomenal character. She may have even taken Daisy's place as my favorite.

Thank you to Ballantine, NetGalley, and the author for the eARC in exchange for my review.

3/5

this is the first tjr book that i've read, and it didn't impress me that much. i didn't connect to the characters and i didn't enjoy the writing style. my favorite parts were when there were the newspaper clippings or radio transcripts. that being said, i can see why other people would enjoy this book.

*My original review is below. However, after further reflection, and after hearing feedback from the Latine community, I have adjusted my star rating to reflect the fact that the author has not only written outside of her lived experience (which can theoretically work if the story is crafted with care and sensitivity) but has profited off of harmful stereotypes. Whenever this is the case, I always assign at minimum a two-star rating.

The marketing campaign for this novel (namely the alternate Spanish title version that equates Carrie with the b-word) is cringeworthy and surprisingly ignorant for 2022. Had Carrie been a white woman, this book would have worked well, and the author could have stuck with what she knows rather than what she projected onto the Latine community. Frankly, throughout most of the book, Carrie read as white to me, anyway. As someone who holds a ton of privilege, I try to be as responsible as I can when reading and reviewing a book, but obviously, I am still a work in progress. This adjustment in my rating is an acknowledgment that I let my own personal blind spots affect the way I consumed and reviewed this story.*

4.75 stars

What happens when a tennis legend stages a comeback in order to defend her Grand Slam record? ‘Carrie Soto is Back’ takes readers back in time to explore just that. And author Taylor Jenkins Reid once again shows readers how deft she is at world building and character arcs.

Carrie Soto has always been driven to be the best tennis player in the world. Her brusque, no-nonsense approach has always had a polarizing effect, but Carrie can’t allow herself to care. Five years into her retirement, another player threatens to take away Carrie’s crowning achievement—her Grand Slam record. With the help of her father/coach, Javier, and aging tennis player, Bowe Huntley, Carrie will attempt a comeback to try to keep her record intact. Along the way, she’ll be forced to deal with her inner demons and her insecurities, and figure out if she’s brave enough to put herself out there, without the guarantee that she will succeed… both on the court and off.

Of all Jenkins Reid’s work, I think that this book might be my favorite. Those who have read ‘Malibu Rising’ are already familiar with Carrie Soto as a peripheral, but impactful (not to mention, antagonizing) character. Seeing her through a new lens in this book was an absolute treat.

Carrie is super flawed, yet so relatable. Her stubbornness and tenacity are wielded with laser-like precision. And her journey to self-acceptance is wonderful to read. It’s a book about tennis, sure. But it’s also about relationships—parental, romantic, fraternal, and internal. The way in which Jenkins Reid explore sexism in all its forms is also impactful without being heavy-handed.

If you enjoy a story that is full of great exposition and character development, this is definitely the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love tennis so I expected to enjoy a narrative that centers the sport. There was definitely a lot of tennis, but it almost felt like a case of someone doing so much research on a topic that they just transcribe as much of it as possible and forget to actually curate how they use it or build a compelling narrative incorporating it strategically/thoughtfully. It read as though the author wanted to show off as much tennis knowledge as she could, and tried to think of some narrative details to put around it to make it a story--rather than the other way around. The story itself lacked teeth for me, and I never found myself caring about it (despite my predisposition to care about tennis).

I also felt weird about a white author writing a Latina protagonist. I kept waiting to see the purpose that necessitated this perspective and the reason why this author in particular needed to tell the story of a Latina woman, but it never became clear to me. The incorporation of Latinx culture felt stereotyped and reductive told by someone who doesn't share the identity.

Ultimately this book didn't have much to recommend it--I didn't care about the story or about the context, the characters or their relationships. It felt too formulaic without any heart.

I'm a huge Taylor Jenkins Reid fan, I love all of her books. I was unsure if I would like this book or be able to get into it because I'm not a fan of tennis, nor do I follow, or know anything about it. I still found that I enjoyed this book, I just didn't love it as much as I have some of her other books. The beginning was great, It sucked me in and I had a hard time putting it down. Midway through, I feel it got a bit repetitive, but since it's about tennis and tournaments, that's pretty unavoidable. Again, I liked this book. I just didn't love it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine, Ballantine Books for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Get ready for a hot take y’all.

I went into this one pretty blind. I didn’t want to read any other reviews or know anything other than this was about a woman named Carrie Soto who comes out of retirement to play one last year of tennis.

Like many others, I was excited. I had enjoyed TJR’s previous historical fiction, so I thought this one wouldn’t be any different. However, I was wrong.

The overall premise was good- a woman making a come back when literally everyone and their mother didn’t think she can do it. A female empowerment story, I can get behind that. It was when Carrie wanted to get back into the game because an Asian woman was going to beat her record that made me pause. Using that as another reason to pit women against each other rubbed me the wrong way.

Then, it was how TJR decided to write Carrie as an Argentine-American woman as a white woman that *really* did not sit well with me. It seemed like every other sentence of dialogue was in Spanish so that TJR could remind the reader that she wrote a non-white character. I’m all for diversity in books, but this just felt wrong. It did not seem sincere. It just seemed like a bestselling author who was told “yes absolutely” for every idea she had, even when it would harm the overall story, not to mention detract from fantastic stories written by Latin American authors.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

4.5 ⭐

Carrie Soto já foi a tenista número 1 do Mundo e ficou conhecia com The Battle Axe, mas se aposentou aos 30 anos após uma lesão no joelho. Cinco anos depois, ela vê o seu recorde de títulos de Grand Slams ser alcançado por Nick Chan. Esse é o maior feito da carreira de Carrie e ela sente que não pode ficar sentada vendo seu recorde desaparecer assim.

Carrie decide voltar as quadras, e mesmo que ninguém acredite que ela será capaz de ganhar novamente, a pessoa mais importante da sua vida acredita, o seu pai. Ela foi treinada por Javier Soto desde muito nova, e estar com ele nas quadras não era algo que ela imaginou que aconteceria novamente. Os treinos são duros, ela não é mais a tenista que um dia foi, mas está disposta a passar por todos os desafios para ter esse recorde em suas mãos novamente.

Taylor Jenkins Reid fez novamente, ela entregou mais uma história que prende a atenção do começo ao fim. Eu não entendo absolutamente nada de tênis, mas me vi inserida naquele cenário desde o primeiro momento, como se estivesse nas arquibancadas vendo Carrie Soto jogar. Mesmo sendo narrado em primeira pessoa, a Carrie não é uma personagem que se mostra logo de cara, mesmo achando que já estava entendendo ela, conforme o livro avança, eu fui descobrindo cada vez mais.

Para mim, a Carrie tem um pouco de Evelyn Hugo quando se trata de sua carreira e seus objetivos, e também de Daisy Jones pelo fato de que demorei um pouco para me apegar a ela. Assim como outras personagens, a Taylor Jenkins Reid não quer entregar uma protagonista perfeita, mas sim uma humana que comete erros, e que nem sempre aprende com eles. Outro personagem que eu amei no livro foi o Bowe, mas esse eu deixo para vocês conhecerem quando forem ler.

Six years into her tennis retirement, Carrie Soto sees her record on the verge of being broken and makes the decision to come out of retirement. Coached by her father, Carrie struggles. Her body isn't at the right fitness level and there is a lot to do to get her back into winning shape. Can she overcome it all to take back her record?

It's no secret that tennis is my favourite sport. I love watching it and I love attempting to play it, despite not being very good. I'm sure you're not surprised then that I absolutely loved Carrie Soto is Back. Tennis plus TJR can only be an amazing combination. If you're not a tennis lover though, I guarantee you, this book is still one you'll like. It has a lot of basic tennis definitions and you will be so swept up in the storyline and matches, that you just might find yourself becoming a tennis fan! Aside from Carrie's comeback, the father daughter relationship highlighted by TJR was the best part of this story, hands down. I did also love the author's nods to characters from her previous books - so clever! I'm such a huge TJR fan. I'm excited to see what she writes next.