TJK does it again!! I am not a fan of tennis but this book was so good. I love following the career of Carrie Soto and her tennis career. It was a great to see a BTS on the dedication it takes to be a pro tennis player. I love all the references to the older times like the show ER and blockbusters. What I love most about this book is the relationship that Carrie has with her dad, I love how he was such an amazing coach and dad as well.

Taylor Jenkins Reid just continues to amaze me. I have been hooked to her writing since I first read Daisy Jones and the Six a couple years ago and am now a fan for life. All TJR stories are just so beautifully constructed and the characters are woven in seamlessly into the fictional world. I often find myself believing that her characters are actually real because they are just so darn vivid and lifelike. They stick in my mind long after I finish reading each character's story, and Carrie Soto was no different.

Carrie Soto might just be my favorite TJR character so far just from how flawed and raw she is. I loved her character arch, especially since I found myself desperately hoping for her to find happiness. The only criticism I have of this book is that I wish it delved a little deeper into Carrie's journey to accepting love from Bowe and herself because I felt that that was such a crucial piece of her character's story. I also would've loved to have seen a bit more of Nicki and Carrie's new relationship after the US Open when she starts coaching her. Each time Carrie would start to be a little kinder to others I always wished she would go just a step farther, but she is a human with her flaws, after all. Which is what I love about TJR's characters- they are human and she doesn't always give you everything you want in an ending or character because then the constructed world would be unrealistic.

This book was just so darn fun to read and I know I will continue thinking about Carrie Soto and her beautiful relationships with her dad, Bowe, Nicki, and Gwen.

TJR is incredible. Carrie Soto is Back is, at its core, the story of a girl playing tennis. This phenomenal book explores her relationship with the sport and with others in her life in a way that draws readers in. I may not be a fan of tennis myself, but I still found myself rooting for and empathizing with Carrie throughout the book.

Another marvelous read. I became obsessed with Carrie and her fight to return after injury and early retirement. The fire is here in this one as it was in Evelyn and I couldn't stop turning the pages. The character development is key and TJR does a phenomenal job of digging deep into background and making these characters the most interesting people we have in our pages. Can't wait for more!!

What I love most about his book is that it incorporates characters from some of the other books. I love when characters reappear.

I love the many women in the novel because they are flawed characters that are relatable, though they made some bad decisions they happen to learn lessons from them. I love the elements of tennis and sports in this book as I am an athlete, already telling all my friends about this.

Love means nothing. But this book is EVERYTHING. A stunning story for everyone, even those like myself who know little to nothing about tennis.

Carrie Soto has dedicated every waking moment of her life to tennis, earning title after title and claiming victory as the world’s greatest. Years after retirement, her title is at risk of being taken from her, and her and her father embark on a journey to resurrect her talent and once again reclaim her place - one slam at a time.

Not surprisingly, this story is captivating through and through. TJR’s writing immediately drew me in, and I felt like I was right back in Evelyn’s home hearing about her seven husbands and it was amazing. The characters, the backgrounds, and their connections are all so well done.

This story had everything from perseverance, love, friendship, overcoming obstacles and a sense of raw humanity that comes with dedicating one’s life and body to a sport. So many times I felt like I was right there in the stands or on the sidelines, watching and cheering Carrie on, both as a tennis player and as a person growing and learning who she is beyond tennis.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Full review to be posted on my IG: @manis.and.manuscripts on 7/29 and again on publication day because everyone should read this book!

Movie stars. Rock stars. Taylor Jenkins Reid has given us an intimate view into their lives. Now, with Carrie Soto is Back, she delves into the world of a professional athlete; but not just any athlete, Carrie Soto was once considered the greatest women’s tennis player in the world. Now, her records on the line, Carrie is determined to make a comeback and retake her crown, despite the injury and years that have kept her off the court. This amazing story takes us back in time to when Carrie, coached by her father, breaks into the tennis ranks as a teenager, with skill and determination that come at the cost of her personal life. I was fascinated not only by the tennis and the tense matches Carrie plays, but also by her growth as a person—a daughter, a friend, a lover. My heart beat a rapid pace when she was on the courts competing, and then slowed down again as she found peace within herself, professionally and personally. I cheered for her to win, I was crushed when she lost; at the same time cheering her on to open her heart to intimacy and possibilities. Game, set, and match to the author for bringing Carrie and her story to life.

I love most TJR books but I just couldn’t get into this one at all. I get it’s supposed to highlight some of the backlash females get that males absolutely don’t deal with and how hard it can be to be a strong and dominate female because people assume you are just being a jerk. And it’s also supposed to be how Carrie Soto became the best by being highly dedicated, committed, competitive and at times ruthless for her craft. And you appreciate how hard she worked and dedicated her life to being the best. I think if Carrie had all those traits just for tennis that would be one thing, however she was also awful to the people closest to her which made her wildly unlikeable overall. She didn’t have one redeeming quality which made the book hard to read.
The first half of the book you spend with every tennis detail possible to learn how she became the best which just wasn’t interesting and frankly boring.. After the 50th time of talking about how great she was I wanted to yell “yes we get it, she’s the goat.” The only saving grace in this book was Bowe and seeing him deal with Carrie. The last 100 pages were slightly better and the only reason it’s getting 2 stars because you see more of the human side of her and not just the person being terrible to everyone around her.

Tennis isn't my thing, but this book was compelling and (once I started) I couldn't put it down. Prior to reading the book, I feared ALL THE TENNIS descriptions would bog me down and take me out of the book, but I was (mostly) wrong. There was a tad too much tennis (for me) in the First Time Around section, but I got into the groove once Carrie was on The Comeback trail.

TJR does it again!! Her female leads are incredible - and Carrie Soto might be my favorite one yet! if this book was a song it would 100% be "The Man" by Taylor Swift! Carrie is so strong and I loved her attitude - she doesn't put up with anything, especially sexism! I only wish it was longer! You definitely don't need to like tennis to enjoy this book, but I really loved it because I could connect to the competitive drive Carrie has!

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for honest opinions.

The way that Taylor writes characters is unlike anything I have ever read before, and when I saw the announcement for this book I was beyond excited to read it. Carrie Soto Is Back is about a woman that wants to prove to herself that she can still be something great, and I think it was a great ending to Taylor’s group of books about famous women. I absolutely adored the relationships between Carrie and her father, Carrie and Bowe, and Bowe and Carrie’s father, and I think they may be some of the strongest relationships that Taylor has written. I also loved Carrie’s “doesn’t give a damn” attitude. She is playing tennis to win and she will not back down and I love how driven she is. I think fans of Taylor’s will enjoy this book a lot, and I will definitely be recommending it to others. So far this has been my favorite book of the year.

Wow! This book was absolutely incredible and such a joy to read!

It follows the life of Carrie Soto, both as she grows into becoming one of the greatest tennis players of all time, and also as she fights her way back into a comeback after retirement.

She is a complex and nuanced character, and her relationships with others in the book, especially her father are fascinating and rich. I was hooked from the beginning to end of the book. The story is tight and somehow is deeply personal and authentic without becoming trite or overdone.

My new favorite of the authors books! Highly recommend.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC

Carrie Soto is the best tennis player in the world and she’s comes out of retirement just to prove that all over again against the new record holder Nicki Chan. With nods to characters from Evelyn Hugo, Malibu Rising and Daisy Jones this is TJR at her best (and oh man is she a master at her craft).

I’m not a huge sports fan but oh boy was I invested in Carrie and her career and this book kept me on the edge of my seat. It had the perfect pacing, tension and just enough drama to keep me flying through, as if playing cinematic stills in my mind.

One of the most special things in the book is Carrie’s relationship with her father, Javier Soto, both as his child and as her coach. It was a beautifully written dynamic that showed both of their struggles with both of these things existing simultaneously but the love was always there. Javier was born in Argentina and with Carrie as his direct descendant quite a bit of Spanish is spoken and used in the text.

This book had hard-work, new love, dedication, grief, acceptance and moving forward all encompassed within the pages and done with expertise.

The epilogue was also perfect, the cherry on top of an exquisite story.

This is easily a 5/5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank You to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! I am so sad that this is over.

Carrie Soto is the world's greatest tennis player, but her record for most slams is about to be broken by Nicki Chan. Carrie decides to come out of retirement so she can prove to the world that she's still the greatest and Nicki isn't able to touch her record.

I promise you don't need to know anything about tennis to enjoy this one! I was confused through all the sets, scoring, and matches... but it didn't take away from the novel at all. There are fun cameos from TJR's other novels (as expected), love, persistence, bitchiness, and everything in between.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine Books!

Taylor has done it again. After reading Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, it’s been continuously hard to find another book that even comes close to comparing. Although Evelyn is still my reigning favorite of Taylor’s, Carrie Soto is back is not far behind. I loved everything about this book. Carrie was such a great character. A “Battle Axe” if you will. Javier and Bowe were both so loveable. The thrill of tennis and competition was described so perfectly, I could FEEL the nervousness and excitement of game winning sets right from my couch. I flew through this book, as I always do with Taylor’s writing. This was beautiful.

I absolutely loved this book. I finished it in one night as I just could not put it down. Everything about this book is perfection. I think this might be new favorite! A must read.

After Malibu Rising I was not a fan of Carrie Soto and when I saw this book I didn’t know how TJR was going to get me to care about her. I was blown away by the writing in this book and how TJR quietly worked Soto into my heart and made me love her. She made beautiful characters. I loved Javier and Gwen and even grew to love Bowe and Nicki.
One other thing I loved about this book is the emphasis on Carrie’s age. I loved how she was 37 but pushed herself to keep going and becoming better.
I loved the imperfect characters that were created and how easy it was to love them as they grew.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I honestly can’t believe how MUCH I loved this book. Of course, I knew I was going to like it and enjoy the story. But I devoured the story. I really felt like I was either sitting in the stands, in front of the TV or I WAS Carrie Soto during a match. I cannot wait for the world to read this. Plus the Easter eggs from other TJR novels solidifies that she is one of my favorite writers. The fact that these aren’t real people she’s writing about?? I’ll never get over it. Bravo to TJR on another amazing novel

Another great book by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Carrie was a complex character that you can’t help but root for. I don’t usually read sports books but loved this book!

Just a warning- I’m coming in hot with all the gushing because Carrie Soto is Back is officially in my top 2 of the year.

I have never played a game of tennis. I have never even watched a full game of tennis. Yet, somehow, Taylor Jenkins Reed just had me enthralled with a book about tennis. I could not put this down. I loved Carrie and all her flaws. Her cockiness, her abruptness and her aggressiveness all made her who she is. This story is equally strong on plot and character. I walked away with a satisfying sense of closure from feeling like I know the characters, inside and out and their motivations. One of the strongest aspects of this book is the father/daughter relationship. I related so hard with this one. I also loved how Bowe, Carrie’s love interest, never tried to change her. She may have drove him crazy but he was always down for her. I cried, I sympathized and I wished this book would never end. Carrie Soto is Back gets all the stars from me.



#carriesotoisback #taylorjenkinsreid #taylorjenkinsreidbooks #ballantinebooks #randomhouse #penguinrandomhouse #bookfriends #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #igbooks #readersofinstagram #readingtime #bookcommunity #bookrecommendations #tennis #tennisplayer #tennisgame #tennisracquet #bibliophile #tbr #tbrpost