Thank you @netgalley and @BallantineBooks for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Carrie Soto (otherwise known as "battle-axe") is fiercely determined to be the best women's tennis player of all time. Her father, Javier, is her coach, mentor, and single parent as her mother has died. I enjoyed their relationship in the book, especially towards the end when her dad helps her understand herself better. While Carrie is not always likable, she does remind me of some of today's tennis stars. If you enjoy tennis, you will love this book. You feel like you're at the matches and reading it play-by-play. Even if you don't like tennis, you will enjoy this book for the story is fast-paced and well-written. #CarrieSotoIsBack #Netgalley

Well, it was missing depth for me. This book was missing that TJR magic.

Carrie was obsessed and narcissistic and mean to people and unlikeable. She was so rude to her opponents and people in her life. It made it hard to route for her. She was too one dimensional.

I get what she was trying to do but this completely missed the mark unfortunately. I expect more DEPTH from TJR

In this powerful novel about the cost of greatness, a legendary athlete attempts a comeback when the world considers her past her prime—from the New York Times bestselling author of Malibu Rising.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review an advanced readers copy of this book. This in no way affects my review, all opinions are my own.

I never thought I'd be so invested in a book about tennis, of all things. But wow, this one seriously had me hooked! I'm convinced that TJR can't write a bad book. Carrie Soto is a tennis star, who at thirty-seven years old decides to come out of retirement to reclaim her record and image as the world's best tennis player. Soto is such an interesting character because she is so cold and motivated towards only tennis and nothing else, but you'll still be rooting for her the entire time. TJR writes these really compelling heroines in her books but is never shy about their faults, and that stays pretty true to Soto as well.

There are times when I was reading and we would start one of Carrie's matches where I would just find my heart racing because it was so intense. I didn't know anything about tennis starting this, but I feel like I learned so much just being in Carrie's head and reading the play by plays of her games. Her passion for the sport made this story so much more enjoyable and exciting to read! I think that any TJR fans will fall in love with this book and Soto's story.

Did I just read a book about sports? About tennis? Yes, I did. And only TJR could do this for me. I like neither of these things and somehow I could not put this book down. I almost feel like I need and want to watch tennis now. When is tennis season? I learned so much about tennis because of the details in this book.

I have to admit I wasn't sure how I felt about Carrie at first. As in, the first half of the book. Then I just got really confused and conflicted and kinda loved her. I love Bowe. I love the strength of both Carrie and Bowe. I LOVE HER FATHER SO FREAKIN' MUCH. I was on the edge of my seat, I was happy, I was nervous and I even cried once or twice.

The epilogue had me surprised with another tear.

I really need to watch tennis now. This comes out 8/30/22 and if you are in any way a tennis fan, I highly suggest picking this up. It's a lot of tennis. But it's also so much more. And if you're not a tennis fan, I still suggest it. You may like it soon.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review

I was a little nervous before reading this one. I’m not a big sports fan and even though I love TJR, I wasn’t a big fan of Malibu Rising. Well let’s just say I loved this one!

This book was very, very heavy with tennis and tennis jargon, but it didn’t bother me at all. Carrie Soto is such an inspirational character, and I was so enthralled with her story. She was a sensational tennis player when she was younger and was the best in the world. Now at the age of 37, she comes out of retirement because Nikki Chan has broken her record, and Carrie wants to be the best in the world again.
It's a story about the game of tennis, but it’s also about Carrie’s personal growth. She’s such a strong and determined woman and I was rooting for her every match. This was a great comeback story and the ending was perfect.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is one of the most anticipated books of the year and for good reason! Taylor Jenkins Reid has a way of humanizing her characters and connecting us to them in a brilliant and original way. Her books always transcend genres and I never know what to expect, besides perfection.

Carrie Soto is a retired tennis great in her 30's. She's watching a tennis match, seeing her record be taken by a noob! With her father at her side, she decides to come out of retirement.

We know that going in, so then we get to hear her backstory. She lost her mom very early on and with her tennis legend father, she grows up practicing, drinking it in like water. She wants to be the best and won't stop until she is.

She is not without issues. She's not as beloved as some other tennis players because she's a bit cold and let's face it, full of herself sometimes. Her dad tries to humble her but he has to let her go on her journey. And what a journey it is!

I was afraid of this one because I hate sports. This fell into the actual sports genre so I thought this could possibly be the first TJR miss for me but wrong I was. I should have known better than to doubt! I wanted to put that out there for others worried about the same thing. I am now a bit of a tennis buff myself! Okay, just kidding, but seriously, this was amazing. I'm looking forward to hearing the audio version too.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review ahead of the release. 10/10!

Carrie Soto is a fierce and determined tennis player who has shattered all grand slam records. Since she was two, her coach and father Javier has ingrained the thought that she would be the best in the world.  After being the best for several years, Carrie comes out of retirement on a quest to reclaim all the titles and records. Carrie's life journey forms the premise of the book.

I love everything that TJR writes! We got a glimpse of Carrie Soto in Malibu Rising and she was amazing! It's great to read the ups and downs of a tennis player while keeping the story real and engaging. I loved the relationship between Javier and Carrie, it felt so real. I liked how complex and layered her relationship with Bowe was. TJR has a way of connecting you to her characters and keeping you so invested in their journey.

Thank you Ballantine Books for the eARC of Carrie Soto.

Not really quite sure how to feel about this one.

It hardly needs to be mentioned, but TJR's writing and character work is engaging, and she continues to play to those strengths in Carrie Soto is Back. I know nothing about tennis but I really admired Carrie's ambition and how unapologetic she was about her talent and drive to win. Reading about how the media drags her for not smiling enough or for not starting a family in her retirement was infuriating, and to watch Carrie throw it back in everyone's faces by doing the damn thing was incredibly satisfying.

However, I had two big issues:

First, there has been a lot of discourse surrounding this book and TJR's decision to once again write in the perspective of a Latinx person after being heavily criticized in the past for doing so. Full disclosure, I am a white person and I gave Evelyn Hugo a 5-star rating after I read it for the first time. However, I feel like I've learned a lot since then and after listening to several people's opinion on the matter, I agree that I would much rather have read a Latinx story like this written by a Latinx author. TJR attempts to flesh out Carrie and Javier's cultural backgrounds by throwing in Spanish into their conversations and the like, but if the two characters were white there would have been pretty much no change to the story overall. I'm certainly not the authority on these things, but this doesn't seem like good representation to me.

Second, I do not give one single hoot about tennis. Obviously, this is out of TJR's control and has nothing to do with her ability as an author. I'm a fan of hers, so I was interested in this book for that reason alone, but unfortunately she could not convince me to care at all about the world of professional tennis. The details of the matches were mostly lost on me, and at the 50% mark I was much more invested in Carrie's relationships with her father and Bowe, a male tennis player that Carrie trains with and gets closer to as the novel goes on. At the end of the day, this one just wasn't really for me.

Overall, I thought this novel lacked the spark that Daisy Jones and Evelyn Hugo both had. I enjoy TJR and plan on reading more from her in the future, but I'm hoping she makes different decisions involving how she handles POC characters going forward.

🎾Book Review🎾

Guess what tomorrow is…pub day for Carrie Soto is Back! Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the eARC!

I just finished a buddy read of Malibu Rising right before I started this one. So, I was somewhat aware of who Carrie Soto was in TJR’s world. Can we all just give a 👏 for TJR providing cameos from her other books?

Carrie Soto is a 37-year-old retired tennis great. Accepted as the GOAT in women’s tennis. Only this book starts out with her sitting in the stands with her father as a younger tennis phenom matches her record of all time slams. Carrie just can’t have that and announced she’s officially coming out of retirement to regain her title.

This book was a joy to read and I really enjoyed it. There is A LOT of tennis talk. A lot. Be prepared for that. Also, Carrie Soto is a Latina and a lot of the conversations with her dad are a mix of English and Spanish. I loved that!

Read this one! Classic TJR writing to fall in love with. And as a woman known as the ice queen at my old job since I have a major RBF…I empathized with this Battle Axe 🪓. 😏

After first reading about Carrie Soto in Taylor Jenkins Reid's Malibu Rising, and the not ideal story line she was involved with in that book, I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel. But Carrie Soto Is Back was sooooooo good! It's an inspirational story of a fictional tennis superstar who decimates the women's tennis world back in her younger days before retiring after injuries. However, now at 37 years old, Carrie decides to come out of retirement to uphold her records from a rising star determined to surpass Carrie. I don't know much about tennis admittedly but the way this story was written kept me fully engaged and following along with Carrie. I think my favorite part of the book was all of the developing relationships - Carrie and her father, Carrie and her manager, Carrie and fellow tennis player Bowe, Carrie and her tennis rival Nicki Chan. Carrie grew so much throughout this book, and I feel like this kept the readers along for the ride. At first, the reader likely doesn't even like Carrie. By the end, you are rooting Carrie on and cheering for her personal growth. As a 41yo woman, I was inspired by this story of Carrie, and her defying the odds and the critics to continue her passion, and possibly best work, at 37.

Carrie Soto is Back- Taylor Jenkins Reid
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I love me a good TJR book. This one just didn’t do it for me. I know nothing about tennis and I found myself skimming a lot of the tennis parts (which is a lot). I also don’t speak Spanish and there is a lot of Spanish in this (which I also skimmed over). I did like how it was told, with the transcripts in there. This just wasn’t the book for me.

“Never underestimate Carrie Soto. And to any other women out there, wondering if they are too old to play tennis, let the Battle Axe be all the evidence you need to get back in the game.”

Carrie Soto is fierce, and determined to win at any cost. Her attitude has not made her popular among other players. By the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every single record and has claimed twenty grand slams. She has sacrificed nearly everything to become the best.

But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself In the stands at the 1994 US Open watching her record be crushed by Nikki Chan.

At thirty-seven, Carrie had made the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year In an attempt to reclaim what she believes is rightfully hers. Even if that means swallowing her pride to train with a man that she (almost) opened her heart to – Bowe Huntley.

Carrie Soto is back – for one final epic season.


Let me preface by saying, I have read (and LOVED!) every TJR book….thus far. But unfortunately, Carrie Soto did not live up to the hype for me.

While is book was VERY tennis heavy, but that wasn’t even my issue. WE BARELY GOT TO KNOW CARRIE!!!! Yes, we can admire her grit and work ethic when it came to the name of the game but other than that???? ZIP ZERO ZILCH! It was mentioned like twenty times she drinks a blueberry smoothie and eats almonds for breakfast every day. That is the extent of how “deep” it got in terms of learning all about the GOAT Carrie Soto. Athletes live, eat and breathe whatever sport it is that they play – but there is more to a person than JUST the sport, but we never got to know Carrie beyond tennis. And for that reason, it was extremely hard to connect with her, much less LIKE her…which brings me to my next point.

I didn’t find Carrie to be a nice person. I obviously understand the competitive nature of her job – but kindness goes a LOOOONG way in life, and Carrie did not treat others by the “golden rule”.

I did find the last third of book to be better…Carrie’s armor was slowly chipping away, to reveal a “nicer” human but honestly by then it was too little too late.

This is a layered journey about father/daughter relationships, being a female in a male dominated sport, the expectations of females in media and even what happens when athletes age out. The pressures described in the story sometimes seemed too much to bear but Carrie, the Achilles, seemed to weather it all. I liked that Carrie wasn’t likeable and she wasn’t apologetic about it. She was driven and goal oriented. The story is character driven around her and her journey to self acceptance. How much is too much for the greatest athlete of all time. It was an interesting story that makes you question what you see in the media now set when tennis had their greats in the 90s. It was refreshing and inspiring. I loved all of it.

I would give this book a solid four stars. I was raised watching tennis, so I was very excited for this book. Reading Malibu Rising, we are introduced to Carrie Soto as the woman who broke up Nina Riva's marriage. Carrie Soto Is Back is her journey through her tennis career. The rise and retirement and the subsequent journey to a comeback. I wish there would have been more description of Carrie's life outside of tennis, like the relationships. I feel like it was written like a sports memoir, which for some that is fine, but for me that is not exactly what I am looking for. Overall I would still recommend this book and I know it is going to be another Taylor Jenkins Reid hit!

This book was an experience for me to read. I know next to nothing about tennis- but you know what? That was really not a problem, TJR made it so that you could really get the gist of how to play and how the scoring works.
I had my worries at the beginning how this was going to go. I started out really not liking Carrie at all, her cockiness and overall attitude was just really hard to swallow. Carrie initially retires due to an injury but mounting her comeback with the help of her Dad/coach Javier, she really starts to reflect on why she is the way she is and maybe winning isn't everything. We start to see that her attitude is more of a defense than anything, that to be the best and win, she always felt that she could never let anyone in and maybe that isn't the best thing.
Javier bring in one of Carrie's old flames, Bowe Huntley to train with her as he mounts his own comeback. He believes in Carrie just as much as Javier and really starts to wear her down and makes her realize that she IS lonely and needs someone else to lean on and share her life with. It is nice that their relationship and eventual romance is very supportive but doesn't become the focus of the book or takeaway from Carrie's story. I loved the ending, I really thought it was a great full circle way for Carrie to honor her career and the influence of her dad as she moves on into the future. So in short, if you love a strong female character and love a good comeback story, this is a great book option for you.

Thank you for Netgalley and Ballantine for the eARC in return for my review. All thoughts are my own.

“One would hope by now she would have moved on to starting a family or running her own foundation.”

Carrie finished her illustrious tennis career as the winningest slam champion in history. When, five years later, a new player threatens her record, she knows it’s time to dust off her racket and get back to work with her father as coach. Carrie was never well-liked--she knew exactly how good she was and she wasn’t going to simper or perform false modesty just to make other people comfortable. So now all of the haters who were never supportive are chomping at the bit in anticipation of a very public failure. Add in a former one-night-stand as her practice partner, and it gets to be too much for her mind and body to conquer.

I was a little worried about this book. I’m not much of a sports fan and have less than zero athletic ability. However, I should learn to never doubt TJR—truly great writing can make any subject immensely readable (also, I was a huge fan of Sports Night, so I should really know better). Carrie exemplifies what most of us have gone through—smile more, don’t be too ambitious, make nice—just on a broader scale, which would have been even worse in the 80s and 90s. The way her single-mindedness stunted her romantic/emotional development was fascinating and felt real. I don’t think this book will be as universally liked as say Daisy Jones and the Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and that’s ok. For those of us who do love a true powerhouse, force of nature, badass, Carrie Soto is it. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the eARC. Available 8/30/2022.

If you’ve read any of TJR’s recent books (please say you have), you may recognize the name Carrie Soto aka the Battle Axe. This book is her comeback. Do you need more of a description? Probably not.

Let me start by saying I have ZERO interest in tennis. I took tennis for a PE credit in high school and I was absolutely terrible. It wasn’t a pretty sight. I’ve also never watched a tennis match on tv. However, this book made me feel like the biggest tennis fan.

TJR makes characters come to life in the most magical way. I always feel like I’m reading about real people. The mentions of old characters help me feel that way but it’s also how fully fleshed out everyone is. I feel like I know so much about them.

Carrie is nowhere near the most likable character but there’s something about her that makes you want her to succeed. Between her unparalleled determination and how harsh the critics are on her, I found myself so invested in her story.

This book obviously has a whole lot of tennis but it’s so much more than that. It’s about relationships, mostly one between a father and daughter, of feeling unwanted, the need to be the best, what comes after you retire, the toll professional sports take on you both mentally and physically. There’s a love story that sneaks its way in there too. Basically, if you’ve enjoyed any of TJR’s recent books, you’ll love this one too.

My sister and I adore Taylor Jenkins Reid! I have to say that I was not as crazy about Daisy Jones and the Six as I was about The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but how many books can live up to that? Period. I have to say that I really enjoyed Carrie Soto is Back, however. I do not know much about tennis, okay, I do not know almost anything about tennis, but Reid is such an amazing author that she sucks you into that world, even if you do not know the most about the sport, like me.

Carrie reminds me so much of the Williams sisters, which I assume is the point. Trained by her father, she is a tough competitor, has a tad bit of a mouth that can get her into trouble, and always likes to win. Okay, more like she has to win. This is all about relationships and her relationship with her father is a huge part of that. It is also about letting go, even when it is the hardest thing to do.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have read many of TJR's other books and I really enjoyed them, especially Malibu Rising. So I was excited to hear about this book and learn more about Carrie Soto - who I loved from her brief cameo in Malibu Rising. I really wanted to like this book, but TJR's choice to make the main character Latina makes this book problematic. This is a problem that the author has been criticized for before and I am baffled as to why she and her publishers chose to do it again.

The writing and characters are beautiful, but Soto could have easily been a white woman who spoke Spanish. The culture and understanding and depth that a Latinx author would have added to this character are missing and the story is worse for it. The characters are whitewashed (again a problem that TJR has been criticized for before - namely in Evelyn Hugo). Just adding Spanish throughout and describing their skin color doesn't make for accurate representation by any means. I was also uncomfortable by how similar Soto's story is to Venus and Serena Williams' lives.

I wanted to like this, but the more I read this and listened to the conversation surrounding this book from the BIPOC community, the more uncomfortable I feel and I can't support this book. TJR is a wonderful writer, but stick to white characters please and get more sensitivity readers from the BIPOC community to avoid more of these.

▪️REVIEW▪️

Carrie Soto is Back ~ Taylor Jenkins Reid

🙏🏼 Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for this eARC a copy - Out TOMORROW, August 30th.

▪️READ IF:
* You’ve sipped a Honey Deuce at the U.S. Open.
* Your dad es tu amor.
* You love a good comeback!

▪️SUMMARY: When Carrie Soto retires from tennis, she’s the best the game has ever seen. But when she realizes that her records are soon-to-be usurped by the young and fierce Nicki Chan, she surprises the world with a comeback no one saw coming.

With her father and coach, Javier, by her side - Carrie is prepared to quiet the naysayers, push her limits, and win back her title, hence the apropos “Carrie Soto is Back.”

▪️REVIEW: I don’t usually do reviews like this but I’m so split down the middle so here’s the breakdown…

Love-Love:
* The ending - made it all worth it!! honestly wish TJR wrote this whole book like she wrote the ending. There was heart and an opportunity for the reader to reflect on their own triumphs.
* Character interactions - of course Carrie and her dad which was perhaps the greater storyline than tennis but also between her and Nicki, and also Bowe Huntley, her former fling and now current practice partner.
* The TJR Thread - I just love the way Reid connects all her books by a faint thread. Malibu Rising, Evelyn Hugo, and Daisy Jones are all evident in this read.

The Misses:
* It’s just a lot of tennis! - Ok, I get it. It’s a book about a tennis player. So there’s a lot of practice, matches, and…tennis. But I was really just wanting more of a story.
* The dialogue - Carrie and her dad have full conversations in Spanish and none of it is interpreted for the reader. Yes, some can be inferred but not all of it. And I don’t speak Spanish. So….yea. Skimmed those parts.
* Carrie - she’s a total bitch. Like beyond bitch. For about 85% of the book, I was just thinking like “wow” at how brutal and cutthroat she was. I recognize at the end that her supreme bitchiness is all part of the master plan but holy hell, she’s a tough character to like.

So there it is folks! A twist on the ‘ole Next Chapter review format and I don’t hate it. Might be onto something here.