I’ll start by saying, that this is one of my favorite books of the year so far! It has been a while since I have so thoroughly enjoyed a book from start to finish like I did this one. I tried to savor this book, but I didn’t want to put it down.

I began thinking how great it was that it was being released during the US Open, that plays so prominently in the book.

While I was reading it, Serena Williams announced her retirement from tennis. As my favorite player, I could already see some similarities with Carrie.

Carrie was known as “The Battle Axe” (& called worse), there aren’t even many people rooting for her at first. She’s not a friendly player, seeking the audience’s or the press’ approval. She cares about winning!

Six years after her retirement, Carrie is sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, to see her Grand Slam titles record broken by a younger, faster, & equally driven player.

So, at thirty-seven years old, she makes the decision to come out of retirement for one last year of Grand Slams in an attempt to reclaim her record. The sports media says it will never happen, but they never supported her when she was playing, so that isn’t a shock. She never fit into their mold of a female tennis player.

At its very core this novel is a story about a father and daughter. It has heart, grit, determination. Also, a love story with an almost-40 year old tennis player trying to stay in the mix on the circuit and is training with her. Bowe came to train for her comeback with her because no female player would.

Along the way, there were mentions of characters from TJR’s other books. I also loved a brief mention of Princess Diana watching her play at Wimbledon - “I know that so many people across the world feel a kinship with her. But right now, mine feels especially sharp. I want to win, today, with her here. I want to say to her, They can’t make us go away just because they are done with us.” Indeed!

That was just one of the tennis matches brilliantly described in the book, each match is a chapter on her road to reclaim her title as the greatest tennis player in the world.

There are many twists & turns along the way, but by the end she ultimately finds peace.

Like Daisy Jones, Evelyn Hugo & Nina Riva - Carrie Soto is a strong female character and I loved them all.
If you are a fan of TJR this is a must read!

Rating (5/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Release date - August 30th, 2022

Thank you NetGalley & Ballantine Books for this ARC in exchange my honest review.

TJR can truly do no wrong. In her now novel Carrie Soto Is Back, we meet another incredible and strong woman who will both steal your heart, and also frustrate you to no end. Carrie was one of the worlds most successful tennis players, until she wasn’t. Several years later with the help of her father, she attempts to rise from the ashes for another legendary win. Every win and loss Carrie feels, you feel it too. Taylor is truly a masterful writer who will break your heart only to mend it up again. Although it is not my favorite from the author, it is definitely a must read!

Taylor Jenkins Reid does it everytime! I’ve never been into the sport of tennis or even following professional athletes so I was a bit worried about getting into this story. Right away this story sucked you in. Throughout the story Carrie is obsessed with the idea of winning and I wanted her to win. you can see her mindset slowly beginning to change and then all a sudden you realize that you’ve also changed what you’re rooting for. TJR is an incredible author who just does it right everytime!!!

I want to start out by saying I love TJR and this makes me so sad to say but I just couldn’t get into this one. It was so heavy on the tennis and I found myself skimming large chunks of it because it wasn’t keeping my interest. And there was so much background. It felt like forever until she finally got to the comeback part.

Even though Carrie wasn’t very likable I still found myself rooting for her. I loved her determination and dedication.

This book was my favorite of Reid’s in a long time. She really sets you up to decide if you either love or hate Carrie. The father and daughter dynamic is exceptional and you can’t end the book without completely loving Javier. So great. Recommend to everyone

Taylor Jenkins Reid has a magical way of getting into the minds her characters. This is my 3rd of her books. Evelyn, Daisy and now Carrie are all strong women. And while we dont like them all the time, we feel like we know them personally. Perhaps it's the first person story telling, perhaps it's that we can sympathize with growing older and life not being exactly what we hoped it would be, or perhaps we just love a book where the main character adapts and grows.

"At thirty-seven years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. Even if the sports media says that they never liked “the Battle-Axe” anyway. Even if her body doesn’t move as fast as it did." - Jenkins

I am going to start with this book has alot and I mean alot of tennis in it, but it's not a tennis story. This is a relationship story. It's a story about finding yourself. It's about discovering whats important to you and it's about growth - real growth as a human being. Carrie Soto has always equated success to what she accomplished on the tennis court. She strives to be perfect, and on the court she appears to have it together, but as a person, she's flawed. In order to have success, she has shut everything else in her life out. The media doesn't understand her - calling her the "battle ax" and the "B." This is very realistic in today's world. Women focused on careers are seen as less than. Women without husbands and children are viewed as "somethings wrong with them." We forget the pure focus, drive and determination to reach elite athete status. It has to be all encompassing. Jenkins demonstrates this to perfection in Carrie.

Carrie Soto's story is told through time periods. We learn about her as a child and as a young tennis enthusiast. I appreciate the brief sports commentary spread through tennis matches. It's very realistic and entertaining to hear how each commentator feels about the participants chances at the various open tounaments. Carrie Soto is Back is well tied to together and shares all aspect of Carrie's rise, fall and hopeful rise again in the tennis world.

So, for a person who switches the channel when tennis is on the screen, I have to admit there was no putting down Jenkin's Carrie Soto. I loved the book. I loved the writing. I found myself rooting for her. I loved the relationships of newbie tennis players and aging tennis players. And I absolutely loved Carrie and her father. The love for each other and the love of the game translates so very well. I just loved it all. So to those who aren't fans of tennis, I challenge you to pick up this book. I'm pretty confident you will love it too.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Taylor Jenkins Reid for .sharing a book about life and the things that are worth going for in it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Carrie Soto is a highly successful tennis player who is coached by her father, Javier. Her mother died when she was young and it's been her and her father her whole life. She is known to be stoic, serious, and does not make friends with other tennis players. She retires and then comes back to the game poised to be the oldest women's player to ever win a slam (Wimbledon, US Open, Australian Open etc).

Taylor Jenkins Reid is my favorite author, but I like her older work better. The story was well written but I feel if you don't have a background of tennis it's slightly hard to follow. There was also some Spanish without translation sprinkled throughout the book that I only half understood (as someone who took several years of Spanish into college!) Most of the story takes place in the 80s and 90s before cell phones which makes it nostalgic. She watches tapes of her matches and gathers around the television with her father and Bowe, her colleague, to watch her opponents' matches, and receives faxes with her match-ups for tournaments.

Please take my review with a grain of salt as I read this book in several tiny chunks while doing night feeds with my newborn.

I think this is TJR’s best book so far. Carrie Soto is Back is a fast paced and powerful novel. I really enjoyed the formatting of this book and I heard the audiobook is also fantastic. I’m not a tennis expert by any means and while there was a lot of tennis talk, I still was fully here for it. The story of a powerful woman trying to make a come back really resonates with a lot of people. My favorite part was the relationship between Carrie and her father Xavier, their relationship is definitely the central part of the story. Personally I think this would make an excellent miniseries as well.

Thank you #Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Carrie Soto broke records as an amazing tennis player back in her prime. Coached by her dad, she set her sights on being the best and wouldn't take anything less. All her years as a fierce competitor did a number on her body, and she decided to retire once she stopped winning matches like she used to. Fast forward to Carrie at 37 years old. Another tennis player threatens to take Carrie's record. Carrie decides to come out of retirement, with her dad as her coach once again, to try and outdo her old record so she stays at the top. Will she be able to pull it off?

Full disclosure: I've never been a fan of tennis. It comes on TV and I immediately change the channel. But.... I couldn't put this one down and found all of the details to be fascinating. I have a new found appreciation for tennis after reading this. The athleticism and training needed to do this sport is so impressive, and Taylor Jenkins Reid drives this home in Carrie Soto Is Back. And this is why I will read anything that TJR writes - she has this way of pulling you into a story where you can't stop reading. If you've been leery of reading this because you're not a tennis fan, put that aside and read this book. It was fantastic.

Wow where to begin

Every single book TJR comes out with, I’ve loved more than the last, even when I think it isn’t possible to love a book more. Malibu rising was one of my favorite books that I read this year and I didn’t think Carrie Soto would edge that book out to be even better, but BOY WAS I WRONG. I just can’t wait to see what TJR writes next at the date this is going.

Carrie Soto grew up playing tennis and became a professional player, with her father Javier Soto as her coach. How could she not? Javier himself was a famous tennis player as well and always taught Carrie to strive to be the best. This is Carrie Soto’s story about coming back out of retirement when she sees another player threatening her records for most grand slams won. BUT there’s so much more to this story than that. It’s about a relationship between father and daughter, about opening your heart up when you’ve been closed up for so long out of fear, about living and proving yourself as a woman in a world designed to be easier for white men, about accepting yourself where you are in life and enjoying the moment. UGH and even more but lemme recuperate from all the sobbing at the last 1/4 of the book to gather more thoughts.

I absolutely loved this book and wish I could read it for the first time again. Thank you so much to NetGalley and random house publishing group for this eARC in enchanted for an honest review. I can’t wait for my physical copy to come in so I can highlight all the quotes I marked on my kindle!!

It’s been over a month since I’ve read Carrie Soto, and when I sat down to write this review, any nerves I had because I’ve been so far removed from it, immediately evaporated. This book is so ingrained in my mind, I feel like I read it yesterday.

It’s one of my top reads not just this year, but ever.

I don’t know HOW TJR did it, but she took a completely unlikeable character in Carrie Soto and made me not only root for her but feel emotionally connected to her. And the way she was able to span so much time so efficiently, but still pack in so much emotion was masterful.

I loved her choice for the narrative structure, forgoing chapters for sections broken up into date ranges consisting of time frames, news articles, sports commentary, and matches. It made it so much more interesting to read and left me with that same feeling of awe I had while reading Daisy Jones.

I was blown away by how much research TJR must have put into the sport, and I learned SO MUCH. The training necessary to play at that level, the nuances of playing on the different style courts, the sexism, the media scrutiny, and player dynamics were so fascinating. I honestly worried I would get burned out by the amount of tennis depicted in the book (it’s A LOT), but I thought TJR did a great job of balancing the tennis with Carrie’s personal life making the story move along seamlessly. I became SO INVESTED in how everything was going to play out.

I really enjoyed Carrie’s relationships with her agent, Gwen, and tennis “partner” Bowe. I loved the push and pull of their relationship and how naturally their relationship progressed.

My absolute FAVORITE thing about the story was Carrie’s relationship with her father. I swear I was already tearing up in the first few pages as they discussed her possible comeback. I was a blubbering mess by the end of the book, and Javier’s character holds a special place in my heart. I highlighted SO MANY lines (life lessons) and moments in this book.

And the ending…🥹😭💯💯💯.

I just don’t know what else to say other than no one writes (powerful) women like TJR, and I hope she never stops. This book is perfection. Thank you, @randomhouse and @netgalley for this ARC!

Carrie Soto is Back lacked something...a like-able character. It got better as the book progressed. I know that a general characteristic of elite athletes is self-centeredness, you have to have this to be able to dedicate so much of your life to your physicality and upheaval to your family. All said, Carrie was just not like-able, until the end. I don't know anything about tennis so it was interesting to read about it, even if I didn't understand it all. TJR is so great at writing side characters- I loved them all and wanted more about them! Overall, I liked this one a lot but didn't LOVE it. Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

A Grand Slam

Carrie Soto is a tennis legend, claiming 20 Grand Slam titles. For years, her father, Javier, has been her coach. Now, it is 1994, and Carrie is retired. During the US Open, Carrie watches as Nicki Chan matches her record. Carrie wants to come out of retirement to reclaim her record. Will Carrie be able to affirm her place in tennis history?

First of all, let’s talk about how TJR, Taylor Jenkins Reid, is such a great author. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Malibu Rising, and Daisy Jones and The Six, all great books. Carrie Soto is Back is also very readable with short sentences and paragraphs. The pages were flying by, and I found the book easy to read.

Second, there is some depth to this book as we sort through Carrie’s relationships and feelings. Carrie unapologetically talks about how she is the greatest tennis player of all time and how much she works for her success. And people don’t like her outspokenness.

It really reminded me of a YouTube video that I watched recently. The commentator said that back in the 90’s, when women were asked about their success, they would often times blush, giggle, and say how they were lucky. Only until recently have more women been able to say, “I got to where I am because of hard work.”

I have also fallen into this trap before, thinking a person was successful because they were lucky. On International Women’s Day, my employer hired a wildly successful TV anchor to give us a pep talk. Like many people, I thought, “She’s just lucky.”

However, the TV anchor passed her resume around, by hand, to hundreds of potential employers. Finally, one station allowed her to cover the traffic report. She spent her week driving around and covering potholes and traffic accidents. On night and weekends, she would wait at the station, ready to fill in for one of the TV anchors if there was a last-minute cancellation. It took her years to finally obtain her position. Luck had nothing to do with her success.

And I hope that Carrie Soto is Back inspires more of these conversations.

Third, Carrie Soto is Back definitely surprised me, and these surprises made the book stronger.

Overall, if you are looking for a captivating, engaging, easy-to-read book, pick up Carrie Soto is Back!

*Thanks, NetGalley, for a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and unbiased opinion.

Astounding!
Upon losing her mom quite suddenly at a young age Carrie Soto and her father make training her into being a tennis superstar their life’s work. They put absolutely everything into it knowing they will be successful.
In order to be the best she has to be trained by the best and her father is absolutely that.
Taylor Jenkins Reid reels you into Carrie Soto’s world of tennis. You immediately become involved and invested in her and her father’s relationship and everything it encompasses.
You absolutely fall in the love with the world created here and want Carrie to win absolutely everything.

I really, really wanted to love this book, but it fell flat for me. TJR is a master writer, and I will happily read every book she ever writes. But I was bored during so much of this book. I knew it would be focused on tennis, but I guess I expected more than that. It felt repetitive and rehashed the same issues over and over with little to no resolution.

As a competitive athlete (and perfectionist), I could definitely relate to Carrie in many aspects, but I didn’t feel like she grew or changed until very suddenly in the last 5-10% of the book. It was just so abrupt and didn’t seem genuine.

Carrie Soto is Back
And boy is she ever! Taylor Jenkins Reid is a master at bringing you into her world and holding you captive for the duration of her vivid storytelling. Fans of Malibu Rising will find several familiar characters in CSIB that have crossed from one book to another, Carrie herself being one of them. Brash, unlikeable, hard-hitting Carrie Soto is a force to be reckoned with and finds herself coming out of retirement from tennis when her world record is about to be broken. Carrie is a fighter and survivor and even referred to as “the bitch” who cannot give up and will defend her title at all costs. Now 37, she is the oldest woman to ever try to win an open, and seeks out the help of her father to train her to once again be the best.
The beginning of the novel has quite a bit of dialogue between Carrie and her father in untranslated Spanish. As a reader I chose not to attempt to translate, but just decipher what I could from their conversations. Some readers may find this annoying or want to translate, but I felt like if the story couldn’t move without me pausing to translate, then it wouldn’t be good storytelling. This is also during a point where the book is developing and setting the pace for Carrie’s story, telling her past history. As she rises to fame I found that the novel picked up quite a bit and the second half or “Comeback” had me reading compulsively to find out what would happen next. Unfortunately being known for being a “bitch” and The Battle Axe™️ makes finding training partners difficult—Carrie has always been a bit of a loner, not caring what is said in the media about her and not playing nice with other female tennis players. When her agent suggests flailing tennis pro Bowe Huntley (whom Carrie previously had a one night stand), she balks at the idea, but may not have much of a choice given her lack of willing partners. This is where the narrative bloomed for me. Carrie is supposed to be the hardened, competitive, unlikeable character, but she is really very vulnerable and just puts up walls and defenses so that she doesn’t get her heart broken. A few key characters are able to breach Carrie’s wall: her father, Javier, Bowe, and her agent, Gwen. Instead of disliking Carrie I wanted to root for her, cheer her on in spite of herself, and hope that against all odds she might succeed in winning back her title and believe that she is someone who could be loved.
Bowe Huntley may be my favorite hero that Jenkins Reid has ever written. He is unexpected and imperfect, but perfect and patient with Carrie. He exudes what love is and should look like without being sappy or mushy. Later in the book when Carrie is struggling, Bowe is present and there for her, keeping her together when she can’t even request help for herself. He doesn’t push, he just is, and is confident in himself and what he wants. But my favorite relationship may be between Javier and Bowe. It is not often that you read about men having a friendship and theirs is a beautiful example.
Carrie Soto is Back is about more than tennis; it’s about family, learning to let others in, finding a way back to yourself, and fighting for your life like it’s the only chance you’ve got. Tennis definitely does not play a back seat, in fact I found myself getting into it as I began to learn terms and scoring points. TJReid makes you want to pick up a ball and go try it yourself just to see if you can feel a little bit of what Carrie feels for the sport. I would suggest this book to anyone who has ever had an axe to grind, who wants to feel more than what they are, and who believes in all things of hope. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Penguin Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have once again fallen in love with a TJR character. This time, her name is Carrie Soto, and she is a uniquely talented, dominating, competitive, brutal tennis player who displays arrogance on and off the court, causing the media to give her the nickname "the Battle Axe" (or, when they think they're in private but are actually on a hot mic, "The Bitch.") Sounds like a person you would love to hate, right? Wrong. In Taylor Jenkins Reid's capable hands, we fall in love with Carrie, who, while on her lifelong streak of showing no mercy or vulnerability, falls in love with not only the game of tennis but also a male tennis player who might be almost her equal in abrasive personality if not in skill (think John McEnroe).

More importantly than the romance, though, Carrie has decided to make a comeback into the professional tennis world, after going out on a high note with a reputation and list of endorsements unequaled by almost any other female player.... ALMOST. Because now in 1995 we meet the equally fierce and talented Nikki Chan on the women's tennis scene, breaking barriers and records for women of color the same way Carrie did back in the 70s. Carrie of course can't resist the chance for one last series of tournaments to determine once and for all who is truly the best women's tennis player of all time.

As a competitive person and a former athlete (ice skating in my case - I know nothing about tennis), I adored Carrie's drive, determination, brutal competitive vibe, and quest to be the best at a sport she absolutely loves. In Carrie Soto, TJR shows us not a "battle axe" but a character with a love and passion for her sport, an adoration for her father (who is her coach and strongest cheerleader), and an unexpected possible romance that might ultimately open up Carrie's vulnerable side for the first time in her life.

Don't worry about the subject matter of this book if it doesn't particularly interest you from the premise. It doesn't matter if you know anything about tennis, or if you even care at all about tennis -- the book exists in its own lovely and colorful universe, and as with all TJR books, the author shows you all you need to know about the sport and you see it as Carrie sees it. This book is about the characters, and they're all beautifully drawn and heartfelt. Another totally rewarding, emotionally full, and touching reading experience by Taylor Jenkins Reid, who writes female characters better than almost anyone else in the popular fiction world these days. Can't wait to meet my next new fantasy best friend in whatever book TJR is writing next.

Thanks to the author, Random House, and NetGalley for this wonderful book, which I loved and which will definitely make my Best of 2022 List.

I have never not liked a TJR but I just didn’t vibe with this one. Maybe I will read it again at another time 🥲

I just love how Taylor Jenkins Reid can make you feel like you are living next door to her characters, and that's exactly what reading Carrie Soto is Back did! And, while I didn't love Carrie Soto, I very much appreciate an author who can make me feel definite emotions about fictional characters. This was a wonderful view into the world of elite tennis and if I didn't know better, I'd tell you I actually watched the tennis matches in person. Real and authentic character building like only Taylor Jenkins Reid can do. Loved it!

Let’s start here: I don’t like tennis. At all. That is why I set this book aside three times just a few pages in — I just really didn’t think I could get past the tennis. 

But then I remembered how much I loved Evelyn Hugo after waiting years to actually crack it open because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get past the Old Hollywood element. 
 
So I decided to give it another try, and I’m so happy I did.  I don’t like tennis — at all — and yet I found myself flipping the pages so eager to find out what would happen next.  Will she or won’t she?  What’s going to happen here?
 
Let me also just say that Carrie’s character development is impeccable.  Does anybody really like Carrie?  I didn’t like Carrie at all.  So why was I rooting for her? 
 
Good writing.  That’s why we root for Carrie. 
 
I also felt that Carrie’s father was masterfully portrayed.  The passion and grief that shaped and drove Javier — and the lessons he learned and imparted — were profound. 

It’s all about the beautiful fundamentals, my friends (IYKYK).  And this book has it in spades!
 
My thanks to Ballantine Books @randomhouse and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book before its publication date.