although i'm not particularly entertained by sports, taylor jenkins reid made the concept entirely engaging and riveting. TJR is one of my favorite authors and like always, she seriously killed it with this book. carrie's development as the book was such a great sight to see. thank you to netgalley for the arc

I have tried reading this several times and cannot get into this one. Shocked as I love her other books. Sorry

This is just perfection. I love Taylor Jenkins Reid and this is just another book I can add to my list of books by her that I love. TJR writes in a way where you can connect with the characters based on who they are or what they do. she makes them seem so real and so human. I was worries about this book because I didn't really like Carrie Soto when she appeared in Malibu Rising (because of reasons, YKIYK) but now I get it. I get her, I understand and it all makes sense. TJR is a fabulous writer and I loved this. Well done again.

This book! I knew I was going to like “Carrie Soto is Back” but it not expecting to love it as much as I do. Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again!

Yes, Carrie is a hard character to like at first but by the end you can’t help but love her and her fight. I also don’t remember a novel that made me cry but this one had me sobbing. I can’t recommend this book enough!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for my digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

There is no fictional world I rather be in than Taylor Jenkins Reid’s. The intertwining of her stories through different decades is my friggin catnip. I’m so obsessed with every word she carefully crafts into a sentence. Brilliant.

A amazing book, full of love, passion, strong women's and Father-Daugther relationship that will make you cry. Carrie Soto in my heart.

Taylor Jenkins Reid does not disappoint! As someone who isn't particularly a fan of tennis, I was unsure at first if this would be my kind of book. It definitely was!! Carrie wasn't always likable, but I could help but cheer for her. Her dad was a great character too. I will continue to always read Taylor's new releases.

I've read Taylor Jenkins Reid's Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones & the Six, and Malibu Rising, and as in the letter from the editor at the beginning of Carrie Soto is Back, of all the female leads, Carrie Soto is my favorite. TJR has a way of writing famous women as relatable women. She explores all of their nuances, secrets, desires.

Carrie is an amazing character, who is actually introduced to us (briefly) in Malibu Rising. She is a tennis player of the 70s and 80s and unabashedly wants to be the greatest of all time. Carrie is so incredibly driven and unrelenting, but also guarded. Men (and others) call her a b*tch.

This book explores so many themes -- father-daughter relationships, how strong women are portrayed and received in popular culture, driving toward a goal, fame and sportsmanship.

As someone who has had to be focused in her career and made a childhood goal a reality, Carrie is particularly relatable. I LOVED her relationship with her father, Gwen, and even rival Nicki Chan.

I think Carrie Soto just bested Evelyn Hugo as my favorite TJR novel. She's probably proud of that.

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for my free ARC.

Once again, this author does a phenomenal job with characters. Carrie wasn't the most likeable person but as a reader, I was still rooting for her. And even though this is a fully immersive story about tennis, it was so interesting reading about the grueling training, sexism in sports, women athletes, etc. And I loved the relationships Carrie had in her life and how she grew as a person. My only negative is it took me a little to get invested in the story. I was a little bored at the beginning and wondering if this book was for me.

Carrie Soto isn’t letting go of her record without a fight, and she certainly isn’t going to let a little thing like retirement stand in her way. Never mind the fact she’s six years out of the game at age 37, and her knee and the pundits won’t let her forget it. Carrie’s hitting the court again to prove once and for all that she is the best. But is she trying to prove it to her fans, her sponsors, her opponents, the press, or herself? And which of those matters most?
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I have to start by saying I am not, nor have I ever been, either a tennis fan or a particularly athletic individual. Those of you who know me are surely not shocked by this. 😆 So I had a bit of a hard time really connecting to the tennis side of the storyline. Once I set that aside and let the story speak for itself, I was swept away by Carrie’s emotional journey to overcome obstacles, both mental and physical, as she trained and competed once again. Taylor Jenkins Reid created something beautiful with Carrie’s story. It’s not just about tennis or pride or ambition, though these are all central to the plot. It’s about the heart and soul of what and who fuel our motivation, and the joy of finally getting to know oneself.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the complimentary advance copy of this work! My opinions are my own.

Wow. What a fantastic book. I loved the way the author set up the chapters and structure of this story, from beginning to end of her career. I think this might be my favorite by Taylor Jenkins Reid.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of “Carrie Soto is Back.” All opinions are my own.

I really wanted to love this one as I have read the past three of Taylor Jenkins Reid's latest novels. This book was incredibly hard to power through to finish for many reasons. The reasons being there did not seem to be any research into what it was to be a professional tennis player or even how to play a basic game. Carrie was suppose to be a feminist icon, but she was more just a narcissist focused on herself and beating down other women. The last part that was unreadable was that TJR is a white women trying to write about latinx characters.

I would have not finished this book if I was not given a free copy from NetGalley.

I love TJR books ever since I read One True Loves. I look forward to her new books every year. I love how TJR pushes and expands her writing topics as she did in this story with the tennis. TJR is a writer who is masterfully skilled at giving you real life situations and making you see and feel things from different perspectives. Her ability to make you feel emotional about topics that don't even interest you is far superior to most all authors that I have read.
In this book our subject is a tennis star that has retired but will need to revisit the sport in order to deal with some of the relationships in her life. I was hesitant going into this but I shouldn't have been. TJR knows what she is doing and once I got into this I just had to sit back for the ride. One aspect that I really enjoyed in this story was that although there was a focus of romance as I think all her books have, the main relationship focus seemed to be with Carrie and her dad and I really liked that.

It took me a while to get into this book, to be honest, I almost gave up on it. So glad I didn’t!

Carrie’s story ended up being one that I will cherish for a long time. Don’t know why I doubted TJR’s power to deliver a story that will capture my heart.

I loved this book even more than Malibu Rising! Carrie Soto is a famous tennis player who is aging out of the game. However, she’s determined to make a comeback and show the world that age IS just a number. Along the way, Carrie will learn more about herself and come to peace with her retirement.

TJR does it again! Carrie Soto is Back is a story about tennis, but not really. I loved reading about her relationship with her dad -- and I know that this one will stick with me for awhile. Although her characters are always a bit unlikeable, they get under your skin until you can't help but root for them. 4/5 stars for me.

Every book Taylor Jenkins Reid writes is more amazing than the last. Carrie Soto is Back is no exception. I was hooked from the very first paragraph and couldn't wait to see whether or not Carrie would succeed in her comeback attempt. I loved Javier, rooted for Carrie and Bowe (both on the court and romantically), and loved the support Gwen gave Carrie both professionally and on a personal level. I cried at parts, I laughed at parts, I cheered at parts. TJR makes the reader forget these are fictional characters and that is part of what makes her stories so entertaining. This was 5 stars for me!

**ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Taylor Jenkins Reid delivers another excellent novel, this time focused on the world of tennis. Carrie Soto is a former tennis player, fierce and relentless. By the time she retires, she’s won numerous championships and shattered records. But at the age of thirty-seven, when a younger player threatens to overtake her record, Carrie decides to come out of retirement and be coached by her father one last time.

I really enjoyed this, especially after being somewhat lukewarm about the author’s last couple books. This is a wonderful story of ambition, family, and the cost of greatness. I never thought I’d find tennis so thrilling, but Carrie’s journey is truly compelling. She’s not always a likable character: she’s single-minded, driven, and focused on winning at all costs. She’s often rude and arrogant, but even so, I was rooting for her the whole way. She’s facing adversity not only because of her age, but because of her personality and how she’s portrayed in sports media. Her growth throughout the novel was done so well, and I found the ending truly satisfying. I highly recommend this to fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, even those who haven't loved some of her more recent books. This one is right up there with Evelyn Hugo (which I adored).

TJR is a must read author me!! While this was another great read, I must admit it wasn’t my fave. Rich in detail, but perhaps too much tennis. All in all, enjoyable & would recommend!

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!