An amazing and engaging read! I officially love everything written by TJR.
I wasn’t sure I would like this book because I’m not a tennis fan and I honestly don’t know anything about the sport. But, wow, this book is about so much more than tennis. I loved Carrie Soto and Javier Soto. The story was engaging, powerful, and inspiring. I hope we see these characters again.

WOW. I've been been a TJR fan since Maybe in Another Life, and it's getting harder and harder to pick a favorite. Carrie Soto is a tangential character from Malibu Rising, brought to "life" (as in, I wanted her to be real and began to believe she was real a la the feelings while reading Daisy Jones) and is a force to be reckoned with in her titular novel. As a child of the 80's who grew up watching the era of tennis portrayed in the book's timeline, I was immediately transported to the days of Graf and Evert and Navratilova giving way to Seles and Hingus and... (and the male stars of Bjorg and Becker and McEnroe rang true to the male characters of this novel as well). And I.loved.it. Every word. Every bit of nostalgia. Every match. Every complication. My heart rate went up in Carrie's matches, and I adored watching her growth off the court over "time," down to the very last page. Solid recommend to everyone!

<I>Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this book in exchange for my honest opinion.</I>

🎾 Wow. I LOVED this. I'm not one to read a book with lots of sports stuff.... but I am one to read a book with a strong female lead. And that is Carrie. However, she's kind of a B-word and really unlikable. (Which made me love her even more).
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🎾 This book is about a tennis pro returning to the sport she loved to prove she's still the greatest in the world.... at age 37. It's about family, love, loss, determination, and so much more. I loved every second. I also loved the dynamic between Carrie and her dad. Major King Richard vibes.
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🎾 Read this. You won't be disappointed. Thanks @netgalley for the ARC!

Another amazing showing from TJR- but, let's be honest, are we even surprised at this point? Carrie Soto may be my favourite of her characters yet- stubborn, blunt, obstinant, persistant to a fault and single-minded. You wouldn't think those things would make you root for a character so much, but here we are. While some of the details in this book are lost on me- a lot of the Spanish without translations and much of the tennis terms which to be honest I didn't care enough to Google- this was still a five star read for me.

Wow!!! This was page-turning, thrilling, heartbreaking, propulsive...

While I've been a TJR fan for years, when I learned about the focus on the tennis world of her new novel, I was skeptical. I knew absolutely nothing about tennis, but it didn't matter at all. Carrie is NOT a likable protagonist, but you can't help but root for her redemption and success throughout her comeback story. The structure of Carrie's background, then telling her story through the four grand slam competitions as she claws her way back to her world record we utterly captivating. I could not stop reading and had to find out what would happen next.

Five huge stars, and a favorite of the year for sure!

I loved this book. I'm not really one for sports stories but I gave this one a shot anyway. Carrie is a young tennis prodigy in the 80s, coached nearly from birth by her father Javier. After setting a world record, she retires, only to be lured out of retirement nearly a decade later by Nickie Chan threatening it. The story covers her rise to greatness, comeback, relationship with her father, the press, public, and other tennis players, and specifically, with her rival, Nickie Chan. It delves into the way we expect female athletes to behave and the way we treat them when they ignore those expectations.

Things I loved:
The relationship between Carrie and her father. The end of the book felt like a love letter between the two (not in a weird way).

The relationship between Carrie and Nickie. Neither one sacrificed any part of their strong personalities and fought tooth and nail to be the winner, but they still developed a special kind of relationship with each other.

Carrie's personality. I adore female characters who are not "likeable" and this book portrays that with such care and candor.

Things I didn't love:
Not much!

This was my favorite Taylor Jenkins Reid yet, I'd recommend it to anyone. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Ballantine for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ever since I met this character in Malibu Rising, I have been praying that there would be a book starring Carrie and the author delivered. I’ve said it before and I will continue to say it, this author is phenomenal at creating characters that feel real with stories that just blow you away. You forget at times that Carrie isn’t real nor is her world because it feels authentic. There’s a fluidity to the author's writing that sucks you in from the first pages and makes you forget the word “fiction”. She has an incredible ability to tell stories that put you at the end of your seat and create sentences that just wrap around your heart.

Meeting Carrie I knew there was more to her story than just the “cold and robotic” tennis phenomenon that we were introduced to. There was a softness that the author brought to Carrie that was unexpected. She was ruthless in her pursuits and her domination was backed with an undeniable talent. As the reader, you find yourself completely invested in her comeback, fighting and struggling along with Carrie on this uphill climb.

There’s a lively excitement with this book. The vivid imagery makes you feel like the game is playing right in front of you. Your heart is racing as if you are on the edge of your seat watching a match live. I love an underdog and Carrie’s tenacity and determination makes it so you are completely invested in her journey. The author humanizes Carrie's character in a believable way and that is unique to her personality. It makes the personal wins extra sweet and her losses completely heartbreaking.

I knew going into this book I would enjoy it because of who wrote it, but this author blew me away with the book she created. It was imaginative, thrilling, and captivating from start to finish. You will not be disappointed when you start this book, only when it’s over and you sadly have to leave Carries world. A million thanks to Netgally and Ballantine Books for this ARC

The only thing that made me give this 4 stars instead of 5, was the fact that there were SO many Spanish words that I had no idea what they meant. It wasn’t the worst for me because I did read it on my kindle and could easily translate, but it was a lot of stopping for them. If I were reading a physical book or listening to the audio (which I plan to do because it’s read by a full cast and TJR’s audiobooks always hit it out of the park) I would have been super annoyed to have to stop and look them up. Still, fantastic book and Taylor Jenkins Reid remains my favorite author and she killed it again. I laughed and cried. I LOVE how all of her newest 4 books have connections to the others. Many thanks to NetGalley for the arc!

i loved this so so much. i was a little skeptical going in, both because tennis is not really my thing and also because as much as i love tjr, i don't think i will love anything the way i love dj&ts and i try to keep my hopes low so i don't end up disappointed. i started this book yesterday and read most of it in one sitting. it was the first time in a long time now that i've felt desperate to keep reading something, unable to put it down, and i'm so beyond grateful. this book was exactly what i wanted it to be. i love carrie with my whole heart, she was everything !!!

It is simply impossible to not love a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel. She is the best we have, truly.

I read Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo recently and was obsessed. So I wondered how such a stark switch would feel. I can confirm, subject is only but an accessory for TJR. Whether the roaring 20's or a tennis match, the things I love most about her novels is 1) the pace, 2) the readability and 3) the way all characters become so fully fleshed that they can't help but be loved.

I knew nothing about tennis but found myself enthralled. I hope there are many more TJR novels to look forward to.

I absolutely devoured this book!

I absolutely love anything written by TJR and this book was no different.

I love how she makes you fall in love with the characters and you are so invested in them that by the end of the book you have a book hangover. I am seriously sad this book is over.

I appreciated Carrie so much, everything she stood for I related to. I appreciated the relationship she had with her father and with Bowe. Absolutely beautiful.

Of course, I highly recommend!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. Carrie Soto is a boss. She is the best in tennis, retires, and fears losing her status as best. Who of us can’t relate to that? Fear of being replaced, or not being good enough. Her motivation and determination at getting back to her previous level is commendable. The lessons she learns along the way are relatable to not only tennis, but life in general.

I love Taylor Jenkins Reid’s character development. She really makes you fall in love with the characters. I know next to nothing about tennis and I still really enjoyed this story. Carrie Soto will stick with me for a while.

At 37, Carrie Soto re-starts her professional tennis career after learning that Nicki Chan tied her record of twenty Grand Slam titles. I’m not much for sports, so the premise didn’t necessarily appeal to me and decided to give Jenkins Reid the benefit of the doubt based on enjoying her past novels. Carrie is ambitious, tenacious, ruthless, audacious, and aggressive, but I absolutely loved her (along with the other characters especially her father) because she felt so authentic. Plus, the tennis matches were thrilling and perfectly paced. The true star and heart of the book are the interpersonal relationships — realization, growth, and enlightenment.

The story of Carrie’s Soto comeback to tennis. I’m not into tennis, but I devoured this book! It’s such a strong story about Carrie finding her place in the world. Loved it!

I pretty much love all TJR books and this is no different. The weaving of the narratives from side characters in previous novels into becoming the main character they were meant just works when she does it. Carrie is a great lead character but be prepared to read a lot about tennis; it's interesting to me how that sport in particular has spawned so many novels revolved around it and the types of people that play it. Recommended.

Carrie Soto is back is the story of a very difficult character. Carrie is not an easy-to-love kind of person, she's more an easy-to-hate type. But here lies the magic of Taylor Jenkins Reid: she can make any character a lovable character, a person you can understand and empathize with. And that's exactly what you'll find in Carrie Soto is back: a difficult person that you'll get to know and accompany during her life journey, when you'll proud of her, mad at her and sad for her. You can see the complexity of her character, and I have to say that Carrie feels very real because you can identify with her, even if you're not a tennis superstar. And that's exactly what happened to me, that I saw myself in Carrie during most parts of this book, that I felt I was seeing myself.

The book itself is so easy and fast to read because of its building: it has descriptions, yes, but it also adds some interesting elements as interviews and sports programs' transcripts. But the best thing for me was how the tennis matches were described. It's a first person POV book, so you're inside Carrie's mind during these matches. And you can feel what she's feeling, you can feel the excitement and the nerves as if you were seeing her play. You don't want to stop reading because you want to know what's going to happen next, and next, and next, and so, you can definitely finish this book in less than 24 hours if you commit to it. Also, don't worry if you don't know a single thing about tennis, this book will explain it for you.

I loved how this book is the story of Carrie, but it's also the story of her father, how he's the root of all that happens next. I really loved him, loved their interactions and how important they were for each other. They made me cry more times than it should, but I loved them nonetheless. I really liked her other relationships, her very few friends, her "enemies", her reactions to the rest of the world. She is amazing and unstoppable, and seeing her meet people that appreciated her as she really is. And I also hated some people in the way, specially the male sportscasters. I really despised them.

So yeah, this is an amazing book. As I said, it's the story of Carrie, but also of her father, of her friends and her rivals, of the women tennis players that had an impact in a world made for men where it was still so hard for them to be truly appreciated. They made their own path and fought with all their strength to make their climb to the top. But it's also the story of loving the things you do in life, and of loving and accepting yourself with all the defeats and failures too. Carrie Soto, you're truly the best in the world for me.

PS: TJR's characters always feel so real, I had to stop myself from googling their names as if they were real people.

Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again! I don’t care about tennis at all, but I loved this book. Great story, great characters, there were times I didn’t know if I was rooting for or against Carrie! So good! So much growth! I really connected with Carrie and her internal journey.

Once again, Taylor Jenkins Reed does not disappoint! I went in with high expectations and was not disappointed! There is a lot of tennis talk and although I’m not a huge sports fan it wasn’t a turn off. TJR once again blew it out of the park with her story telling.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the eARC for my honest review.

The level of storytelling I've come to expect from Taylor Jenkins Reid was on full display here. I appreciated the pacing that added to the suspense as the drama of the story unfolded. It was very cinematically told. I'm a sports fan, so I especially loved the inclusion of transcripts from the sportscasters inserted periodically. My highest praise goes to the beautiful father-daughter relationship depicted. I think this is the perfect summer read -- it certainly distracted me from the insane level of heat we've been having.