Thanks to Random House Publishing Group, the author, and NetGalley for the free gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I read Carrie Soto is Back before I learned about how controversial this book became. My review is solely based on what I read and has nothing to do with the author!

This was a great TJR read, but it was not my favorite and was decently slow at times. I know nothing about tennis but I very much enjoyed the tennis competition plotline. I saw SOOOOO many 5-star reviews for this read and a very high Goodreads rating.

I was on my toes throughout the read because I needed to know what was going to happen with her tennis career but it was kind of easy to guess where it was going.

I enjoyed the relationship parts with her father as her coach and her closest family member. We got to see the ups and downs throughout the years and it felt very realistic.

I will continue to read TJR books but Seven Husbands and Malibu Rising are still my top two reads.

I'll be honest, I went into this not expecting to like it. I'm not a tennis player nor do I know anything about playing tennis. I wasn't sure how I would enjoy the book when this isn't an interest of mine, but it turns out that this is an excellent story of redemption. Carrie is known as being Queen B in the tennis world and she's perfectly fine with that. If I'm being honest, I probably would as well if I could play tennis or any other sport for that matter. You can play to win any sport without letting it go to your head, but I mean if you put in the work that it takes and you're good at it then I could see where that would give one a big head about it. Carrie isn't the first Queen B and she won't be the last in a sport competition. I thoroughly enjoyed this story of her comeback especially since this is the week of the U.S. Open and Serena Williams is retiring. This book just put a smile on my face that I wasn't expecting! This is exceptional on audio with the full cast and I appreciated it.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is exceptional. It grabbed me from the very beginning and never let go. I’m watching the US Open tennis tournament as I write this and thinking about the training regimen and life on the tour as described in the book The detail is incredible, from the match play by play, the crushing emotions of defeat, to the high of winning.. The writing and plotting are excellent. I highly recommend this book, 5 stars

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

Literally obsessed with this book. While I know nothing about the sport of tennis, I felt like I learned a ton reading about Carrie's career and training and enjoyed every second of it. I loved that the main character was at sometimes really unlikeable and hard to root for. She was bull headed and did what she wanted, not what other people wanted her to do.

I think I enjoyed this book even more than Malibu Rising and would LOVE for TJR to write more books set in the 90s!

I will start off that I do love TJR’s writing; however, this story fell flat for me for so many reasons. For starters, I felt the use of a Latina main character in this situation inappropriate. Her being Latina really didn’t have much to do with the story and many times I had to remind myself that this was written by a white author. I love diversity, but I did find this to be crossing the line.

Putting that aside, I felt there was no real story. It was just Carrie and her tennis. She did not change as a person and she was extremely difficult to root for. She was egotistic, self-centered, and only cared about her and being the best at tennis. You can strive for greatness but also be caring to others.

I was recommended this book by a friend and as I have never read any Taylor Jenkins Reid books decided that I needed to start now and I was so glad I did because I loved Carrie Soto and need to now devour the rest of the books within this mini universe

I am a huge Taylor Jenkins Reid fan, so I was beyond thrilled to be provided an advanced ecopy of her new book, Carrie Soto Is Back. (I still bought a hard copy. Haha.) I see a lot of reviews saying the readers loved Carrie Soto is back better than any of TJR's last three. I am going to be a slight outlier on that because Daisy Jones and The Six is still my favorite TJR novel. I would definitely put Carrie Soto Is Back next, though. My favorite part of the story is the relationship between Carrie and her father, two people who love each other so much, but don't always understand each other when it counts. Frankly, the most aggravating character in the novel for me was Carrie, herself. I just couldn't relate to how she saw the world or why she was so closed off to other people. In fact, I liked the personalities of all three other significant characters in the book, Bowe, Nicki Chan, and Carrie's dad much better than I did Carrie, but I think that was intentional because that is how the world felt about Carrie's character.

As a moderate sports fan, I can tell you a pet peeve of mine is a player or coach who tends to win often, but still seems miserable all the time, only focused on the next win. That is exactly how Carrie is portrayed. She lacked any visible grace or humility about her skill, which seems to be something society won't accept in women, though it is often forgiven in men. That said, I grew to love Carrie over the course of the novel and I think the story played out practically perfectly in reference to it being both realistic and satisfying all the way around.

Taylor Jenkins Reid doesn't seem to be able to miss these days as even her weakest recent novel, IMO, Malibu Rising, had me hooked on it. Carrie Soto is destined to be considered one of her best.

You just can’t go wrong with TJR. While this wasn’t my favorite by her, it was certainly an enthralling read. I actually did the audio and loved the narration. Each narrator was excellent and the news bits were perfectly executed.

This book is tennis, tennis, and more tennis. I like tennis well enough but don’t follow it on TV or know a whole lot about it. If you’re ambivalent about tennis I think you’ll still like this novel and if you love tennis, you really can’t miss this one.

I like that the novel discreetly addressed major issues in professional sports like sexism and racism. TJR has faced some heat in having an Argentinian protagonist but I thought she handled it tastefully and respectfully and didn’t let that narrative drive the story. The recurring theme of sexism was more the focus and I appreciated the strength and power and humanity of Carrie.

Carrie was a complex character and not one I overly connected with, however, I loved how TJR developed her. She overcame obstacles, wore a hard shell but had a soft heart inside, and we really got to see her insecurities and drive to overcome them.

Much of the novel reminded me of the recent movie King Richard with Will Smith about Venus and Serena Williams. If you enjoyed that movie, I also definitely recommend this book!

All in all, I really enjoyed this one and absolutely recommend the audio.

Thank you to Libro.fm, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for the copy of this novel.

Loved everything about this, and also love that it was released during the US Open! How cool! I know TJR fans will eat this up. Love the entire universe she's built.

Taylor Jenkins Reid needs to write faster. That's all there is to it. I have been a mega-fan for years. Evelyn Hugo drew me in. Daisy Jones sent me raving (that audio version is next-level). Malibu Rising kept me there, but Carrie Soto re-instated me as a super fan.

In typical TJR fashion, her newest release lived up to the hype. I love that her recent stories have all been in the same universe, moving through the decades and even intertwined in a lot of ways. In Carrie Soto, we spend most of the time in the 90s, which is always a fun setting.

As with all of her books, you can tell TJR did a TON of research. I feel like I learned so much about tennis with Carrie as she was growing up and getting better and better at the sport. And yes, it was a lot of tennis but in the same way the Queens Gambit is a lot of chess. Tennis is Carrie’s life, so we get the good and the bad of her obsession with the sport. I liked that the matches are relayed in a way that gives such an adrenaline rush as you follow it point by point.

My favorite part of this book is that Taylor Jenkins Reid has taken one of the most unlikable characters from Malibu Rising and helped us understand her and eventually even root for her. And not just in her tennis matches. Carrie is so ruthless and cutthroat on the court and a lot of times that can bleed into her personal life and relationships. Pretty much all of her relationships are rocky, but she has a very dedicated and lovable father who sticks by her no matter what. Their interactions bring so much heart to the story.

I can’t wait to see what’s coming next from TJR!

Book Review: Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Carrie Soto is back is a novel about a champion tennis player that comes out of retirement in her late 30’s to defend her title.

Carrie Soto is a character that appeared in Taylor Jenkins Reid’s 2021 novel Malibu Rising. In that book Carrie was a tennis champ and the “other woman” in the main character’s high profile marriage (and split) so this reader wasn’t that sympathetic to her. Now it’s several years later (1994) and Carrie is so burned by that experience that she is no longer doing relationships. She’s retired from tennis, running a successful foundation and has the best selling celebrity endorsed sneaker when it’s announced that another female player is about to break her record. But Carrie can’t handle it and has only one choice...so she pulls her coach/father out of retirement and they are training to reenter the world of women’s tennis with her at the ripe old age of 37.

Told in a mix of sport’s reporter’s transcripts, detailed accounts of Carrie’s matches and her first person POV of life outside the court the reader gets deep understanding of both the public and inner life of a champion. I never thought I’d be interested in sport’s fiction but Carrie’s journey is fascinating and it’s only through TJR’s skill that the reader is kept engrossed despite all the technical tennis terms. Carrie’s prickly nature, dry wit and inner drive made her even more real to me and I was rooting for her, her tennis partner Bowe (who is also staging his own comeback) and her father Javier as they all three try accomplish the impossible. I laughed a lot, cried a lot and basically went on a whole emotional journey with Carrie Soto.

I highly recommend this novel about what it means to be the best and how a champion can find joy and fulfillment in the moments outside of wins.

5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TJR’s latest novel is a stunner. Carrie Soto, the greatest tennis player from the 80s mounts a comeback from retirement when Nick Chan ties her record for most Grand Slam wins. Carrie will be damned if someone takes what’s hers. The title of Best Tennis Athlete of All Time.

Carrie is refreshingly blunt, sharp on the floor and off, and unapologetically herself. The novel is a love story to tennis, an unbreakable love between father and daughter and maybe even a love prospect for the protagonist. The chapters are quick reads. The characters memorable.

I was enthralled from start to finish and I liked the ending as well.

As much as I enjoyed Daisy Jones and Six and then Evelyn Hugo, I didn’t think Malibu Rising was anything special. Carrie Soto is special and might be my favorite entry in this universe.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

TJR does it again, The wasy==y that Taylor Jenkins Reid crafts characters is unparalleled to me. These characters become real people with thoughts, fears, dreams, flaws. Carrie Soto is back is a story about expectation, defiance, achievement, and legacy. It's a powerful story that gripped me from the very first page. I especially loved Carrie's relationship with her father, Javier - as someone who's incredibly close with their dad- this made me cry.

Carrie Soto is an Argentinian-American tennis player who not only sets the world record for the most grand-slam wins once, but sets out to do it a second time when her record is beaten.

The story was certainly a moving one. Carrie is single-minded in her determination to be the best. But to achieve her level of success she has to make a lot of sacrifices, and at some point her body simply won’t be able to keep up with her desire to win. Not only that, but she’s sacrificed her mental health and indulged in unhealthy behaviors that aren’t serving her in her retirement from tennis. She lost her mother at a young age, and decided that it's easier to push people away than let anyone have the power to hurt you like that when they leave.

After the loss of her mother it is just Carrie and her father. They're incredibly close, and her father ends up coaching her so they are always together. Carrie’s father was such a beautiful character. The way he not only cheered her on, but you could feel the love streaming off the page.

The story is set between the '70s and the '90s so it's just long ago that social media, cell phones etc weren't a thing, but not so long ago that the world is completely different. While it's hard for me to come to terms with something within my lifetime being 'historical' fiction, I enjoy the slight step back in time.

The Australian Open is a huge deal in Australia, and while I never got to go in person I have so many memories of watching the matches on TV, and it would be all anyone was talking about while it was on. I even played tennis for a while as a kid because I was so enamored with it all. (Spoiler, I wasn't very good).

It’s so surreal to think of elite athletes as having a full career by the time most of us are just getting started. One of my best friends is an ex-Olympic gymnast and it still blows my mind that she retired when I was still in college, and then started a whole second career from that point.

Once again, TJR writes an extraordinary book! Carrie Soto had a very different feel to me than Evelyn Hugo or Malibu, but was not any less gripping. I could not put this book down and I couldn't wait to see what happened in the Carrie Soto comeback story.

One thing I love about TJR is her ability to create characters that have "flaws," but are still extremely likable and relatable. Even though Carrie is known as a "bitch" in the tennis world and doesn't have the easiest time making friends, TJR makes her feel real and knowing her backstory helps you understand Carrie as a person. I loved the female friendship between her and Gwen and also Nikki. Female friendships do not have to be cookie cutter ideas, and I think this book explores different types of friendships well. I do not know much about tennis, but I still found this book fascinating. It was technical enough without excluding people who are not familiar with the game.

I also happened to be reading this book while Serena Williams is doing her final rounds at the US Open and it was just perfect timing. Two exceptional women making history. Love this book!

Better than Reid's last book for me.

I'll admit it, tennis doesn't really thrill me. I enjoyed the movie King Richard and the story about the Williams girls, but I don't know much about it otherwise.

This, however, while it's about tennis (and a lot of tennis I might add) it's also about more than that. It's about a father and a daughter and their relationship. It's about learning how to deal with failure and defeat, even if you're dragged kicking and screaming to deal with it. It's about determination and yes, even obsession, to reach your own goals, even to the detriment of everything else.

I didn't like Carrie through most of this book. I couldn't relate to her, I couldn't understand her drive to be the best at all costs. I couldn't identify with her single mindedness when it came to tennis. Yet, by the end of the book, I could see the changes in her personality, in her ability to relate to others and let others into her life. While I did like the romance portions of this book, that really takes a back seat to the tale of a father and a daughter and what their love for each other looks like. That's the absolute strength of this book for me and what kept me reading even when I didn't care for much else.

It was a fairly quick read and I didn't let myself get bogged down by the tennis terminology and descriptions of the games. I just cruised right by and was captivated by the relationships and the growth of the characters beyond the scores and faults and other tennis minutiae.

Worthwhile read.

Going into this book, I have never been a tennis player nor have I ever enjoyed watching tennis, BUT this book did catch my attention from the start and kept me interested, even though I have never cared for this sport. Taylor Jenkins Reid did a fantastic job of creating a book that is different from what I've read of hers before. Although I don't understand one bit of tennis, through her beautiful writing, I was able to at least get the gist of what was going on! The character development that happened throughout the story was phenomenal. I felt all of the feelings from happiness, hate, to sadness. There were many parts that made me giggle or laugh out loud. This was an excellent book to be added in the TJR universe where she brings in parts or just people from some of her other books.

Carrie Soto is the G.O.A.T. of women's tennis. Being taught how to play from a young age, by her professional tennis playing father, her life centered around tennis at all times. But once Carrie has retired, and has been retired for some time, another women's tennis player rises up in the ranks to be, possibly the G.O.A.T.? Carrie Soto is a player and does not want that title taken away from her, so she does what anyone would do: Come out of retirement and try to win back her title. Carrie Soto is back!!

I have read as much Taylor Jenkins Reid as I can get my hands on and I couldn’t wait to read her newest book, Carrie Soto Is Back. Tennis star Carrie Soto made an appearance in Malibu Rising and I was excited to hear more of the fictional famous athlete’s story.

I really love Reid’s writing, but I was worried about this one. The first third of the book details Soto’s rise to tennis stardom but there is just only so much tennis that can be interesting to read about. I was a gymnast, and my hand-eye-ball coordination is HORRIBLE so tennis may as well not even be in my vocabulary. My husband has never looked at me with more disgust than when we were on a tennis court together. And although Reid tries to explain the game, I still had to square the difference between game, set, and match with my husband to fully understand it (and maybe even then I still don’t get it).

So the beginning of this book is just cataloguing drills and games or matches or whatever they are and it was just plain boring. Carrie is a little spicy in the beginning but nothing to really hold onto. Then finally we get to the comeback and things start to get more interesting. The relationship with her father becomes more a centerpiece and other relationships enter the scene that make it overall more interesting to follow.

By the end I was almost crying over these characters so it really turned around for me. It was a slow start but it ended as a grand slam! (That is a tennis term right?)

Once again Reid had me, and this ended as one of my favorites by her. Daisy Jones & The Six will still be my all time favorite but this was very good.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine Books for an ARC of this book.

I am usually a huge fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid. Daisy Jones and the Six was one of my all time favorite books. This author's strength is writing character driven stories. Unfortunately, Carrie Soto is Back was not for me. I tried so hard to love this book. I really wanted to be swept away as I have been with all of the author's other books. Unfortunately, I felt there was way too much focus on tennis itself. I thought the story would focus more on the characters than the world that they lived in. I also really didn't feel that Carrie was a likeable character. I really struggled with this book.