"Falling in love is really quite simple...You want to know the secret? It's the same thing we are do all doing about life every single day...Forget there's an ending."

Carrie Soto- a decorated tennis player is back after retirement to defend her record. Is she up for it?

I really enjoyed this book! I loved Carrie- she is strong willed, determined, and not afraid to let everyone know how talented she is. Her confidence is thrilling. I was a little hesitant about this storyline because it is so tennis centered but TJR writes in a way that feels like we are literally on the sidelines watching each match. 

Although this was heavy on the tennis, the relationships that Carrie had really brought this story to life. I loved her relationship with her father. His love for tennis was passed down to her and they share so much together. They were truly a team, and he brought out the best in her. I also loved her friendship with Bowe. I loved that their professional relationship flourished into so much more. He was one of my favorite characters and brought out the softer side of Carrie. 

TJR never disappoints. She has a way of storytelling that is rare and beautiful.

Do not miss this one! It comes out 9/30!

This is the 4th book I've read by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I am always immediately entranced by her writing, constantly wanting more. When I heard this new book was focused on Carrie Soto (the unlikeable character from Malibu Rising), I knew I had to get my hands on it. This book, unlike the past 3 of TJR's novels, is very sports heavy - but don't let that sway you. Carrie Soto - a former (and unlikeable by many) tennis pro is setting out to defend her record against newcomer Nikki Chan. And although I yearn for stories and character about glamour and Hollywood, this one was much different. Carrie Soto may be my favorite main character of TJR's yet. I laughed, I cried, I learned so much more about what it takes to be a professional athlete and how it can really weigh on someone. I can't wait for the rest for the world to get their hands on this book.

Carrie Soto is Back, Taylor Jenkins Reid
Man, I love TJR!!! Daisy Jones and the Six, Evelyn Hugo, Malibu Rising, After I do….but unfortunately, this one is my least favorite.
Carrie Sotto has grown up with a tennis racket in her hand. She’s played her whole life, mostly in part to her father, former professional tennis star. In her prime, Carrie is unstoppable…the very best that exists, winning matches and tournaments all around the world. An injury forced her into early retirement and time goes by without Carrie playing. Now her records are being challenged and newbies are hot for beating her out. Carrie has only one option, get back in the game and prove she’s still got what it takes to be the best!
While I really liked Carrie and was rooting for her throughout the entire book, the book was mainly just about tennis.
Train. Compete. Win. Repeat
Train. Compete. Win. Repeat
Train. Compete. Win. Repeat
To me it became redundant after a while, and I have zero knowledge on the game of tennis, so it became uninteresting to me at times. Ironically, I read this right as Wimbledon was going on. I learned a lot about tennis by reading the book, and it was interning to see it play out as I was watching highlights.
Not my favorite TJR book, but certainly not my last.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

I can't remember the last time I read a book that this was this intense. I was absolutely captivated from start to finish.

Carrie Soto is difficult to like. She doesn't pander to the crowds. She isn't kind. She's abrasive and unapologetic. She's cocky and brash. She's also filled with doubt and insecurity. Carrie has built herself up to God-like status, but she's also incredibly human. I started out not liking her, and by the end of the book, I loved her.

Taylor Jenkins Reid created magic with this book. I do not know how she did it, but every time she wrote about one of the tennis matches, I felt like I was there. I rode the highs and the lows of the wins and losses. I was silently rooting for Carrie in my head, and sometimes, I would quietly set aside the book to take a breather. I physically needed a moment to gather myself before I could plunge back in.

The characters in this book are so well-crafted. I love Javier, Bowe, Nicki and Gwen. I love that they are so charming in their imperfections and that they are so supportive of a woman who is so difficult to care for. To love and admire someone who is so prickly and spiny because it's easier to be that way than be squishy and vulnerable.

"Carrie Soto is Back" is going to be one of those books that sticks with me. So, thank you Netgalley for this ARC. I greatly appreciate it, so here's an honest review for you.

Taylor Jenkins Reid can do no wrong.

I was ecstatic to receive this arc as I just can’t wait to get my hands on anything TJR writes. Carrie Soto is Back was *chefs kiss.*

Carrie Soto was the worlds best womens tennis player in the 80s. It’s now the 90s and she’s considered “middle age” and retired. But her record has been threatened by Nicki Chan. Soto is so competitive she can not let this rest. Tennis is her entire life and personality. She decides to make a comeback to defend her record.

She trains with her father, who is also her coach, and quite possibly the most adorable human ever. Readers follow her training journey and what that’s like as a 36/37 year old as well as how she develops as a person. Tennis and winning is all she knows. She not friendly to the media or competitions and has quite a reputation for that. Soto is unapologetically herself. It was so refreshing to read about a character who doesn’t really care what people think and says what’s on her mind. (Again- TJK worked her magic in creating Carrie.)

I don’t know a thing about tennis and loved this book. I honestly don’t know how TJK does that. I hope this will one day be a movie because this book was wonderful. I loved the way we read from each character’s perspective but also the news and sportscasters reports. Carrie Soto was such a badass. She was so determined. She also had to learn that there’s life beyond tennis. I laughed, I cried, I cheered. Another perfect book! BRAVO, TJK!

I literally worship the ground that TJR walks on, but the sports thing isn’t for me. I also wasn’t as drawn to Carrie Soto as a character as I have been with other characters from this author in the past. But this is still an enjoyable read and made me smile a ton!

I didn’t know I could become SO interested in tennis! I loved getting the full Carrie Soto story. It was beautiful.

I flew through this book. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened with Carrie Soto’s return to tennis after retirement. The extent of my knowledge about tennis is the little I can remember from middle school. However, TJR made it so easy to follow along and understand what was going on during Carrie’s practices and matches. If you’ve read her books about Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones and Nina Riva, you’ll be very happy with this story! And the ending was perfect.

Thanks netgalley. I have read every book from TJR. This one although wasn't my favorite was still a good story. I am not big on sports but was able to be a bit fascinated by the way she was competitive.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has always had an effortless way of crafting complex characters, and Carrie Soto is no different. Although Carrie falls into the “unlikable female character” trope, it’s easy to root for a woman with this much drive. I don’t know a thing about tennis but it didn’t matter, because the beating heart of this book is Carrie’s relationship with her father, Javier. It’s refreshing to read a story where a woman’s father believes in her and helps her achieve her goals. Carrie’s rivalry with Nicki was fun and unique too.


<i>Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an e-arc for an unbiased review.</i>

I guess this wasn't for me. I've really enjoyed Taylor Jenkins Reid's other books like Evelyn Hugo and Malibu Rising, so I was excited to dive into the life of Carrie Soto who we saw briefly in Malibu Rising and definitely left her mark. My biggest issue with the book however was Carrie's one-track mind about tennis. Everything was about tennis to the point where I never felt really invested in Carrie as a person. The book jumps from match to match and in between matches, there's just more talk about tennis and training. I really wish I could have loved this but it just fell flat for me. I will of course be reading anything else by TJR in the future since her other books have left an impact on me as a reader.

I was really intrigued by Carrie Soto's fairly small cameo in Malibu Rising so I was excited to see her get a book of her own. I don't know anything about tennis, and I don't have any particularly strong feelings about the sport, so I was a bit apprehensive, but I really enjoyed this. There is definitely a lot of tennis. Like, *a lot*. But even not always understanding the technical side of things, I was still immersed in the plot and characters - this is really just Carrie's book, and I liked the fact that we were with her basically the whole time, seeing basically everything from her perspective, rather than jumping back and forth between different points of view. Carrie is not a sympathetic or lovable or even really all that likable character, but she's super compelling, and I thought the shifting time frames in the narrative were really effective here. Like with Malibu Rising, I think it's hard to explain what makes this so good. With that one, "it's a book about some siblings throwing a party" doesn't come close to doing it justice, and with this one, "it's a book about a tennis player who wants to be the best" has the same effect. I can't wait to see what Taylor Jenkins Reid writes next.

Many people are calling this TJR's comeback, but to me she was never gone!

Beloved author Taylor Jenkins Reid is back (haha) with a new strong woman to love and hate- Carrie Soto. Carrie was the world's best pro tennis player in the 80's. She retired due to injury, but her life has been empty without competitive tennis. When a rival aims to overtake her record, Carrie decides to come out of retirement and wants to be back on top. However, she is older, her personality has not exactly won her friends, and her take no prisoners attitude is a turnoff to the media and much of the public. Can she find a more genuine side and take the courts again?

Carrie was a great character- you love her, you hate her, you'll root for her, and you'll want to sit her down for a Come to Jesus talk. But you won't forget her or this book. Way to go, TJR, for making me care about tennis (I don't; at all) and keeping me as a big fan. I also loved the father/daughter relationship. This is the pairing I wanted some other recent father/daughter stories to be.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

This book doesn't measure up to the author's other books of late. Taylor Jenkins Reid has set the bar so high that this was bound to happen. It's still a good book; it just isn't great in my opinion. While modern sports figure books are always intriguing, there is far too much time spent on the father/daughter relationship. I especially loved all the detailed descriptions of the tennis matches, but I do wish the author had spent more time on Carrie's personal life outside of the father/daughter dynamic.

Carrie Soto - known as the "Battle Axe" or "The Bitch" - is the greatest player in tennis history. But her record is about to be shattered by Nicki Chan, and Carrie isn't ready to let that go. At thirty-seven and retired Carrie is ready to get back in the game to prove to the world she can do more than anyone else.

Training with her father and coach, Javier, from a very young age, Carrie has sacrificed everything to be the best. She doesn't make friends with other players - it just complicates things when she beats them - and she doesn't open herself to love, it only leads to heartbreak.

Told in then and now, Carrie's story unfolds as a tale of a woman's immense power, strength, dedication, family and love. As Carrie returns to tennis, it's the bonds of family and friends she may need to fight for the hardest to find herself.

This was another absolutely fantastic read from Taylor Jenkins Reid, and tied loosely to Malibu Rising with mention of Daisy Jones and the Six.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review. Pub. date 8/30/22

Carrie Soto is one of those characters I felt like I would hate in real life but the author wrote this in such a way that I’m still rooting for her during the whole novel. Not only in her tennis matches but in life. I enjoyed this book with little tennis background knowledge and I believe that someone with no tennis knowledge could enjoy it just as much. I only gave 4 stars because it wasn’t one of those books I found myself thinking about all day dying to see what’s next but it was a feel good read with great characters and life lessons

I was a bit skeptical going into this one based on the description… but TJR does it again! 4.5 ⭐️s

This author just has a knack for writing incredibly strong female characters. Carrie Soto is seemingly not an easy woman to love, but it is for that exact reason why I love her so much. She’s the b*tch of tennis… which of course just means that she largely acts a way that would be perfectly fine for a man but is of course not acceptable for a woman. She’s not humble, she doesn’t bite her tongue, and she’s uninterested in making friends. She has an unhealthy obsession with winning but learns and adopts a new perspective as the book progresses.

Her relationship with her father is lovely to read. It’s not perfect, but you can really feel the deep and respect there. Her father’s love just shines through.

The only negative for me was the overwhelming amount of tennis. I mean SO MUCH TENNIS. And I don’t hate tennis or anything… it’s just that I don’t care about tennis like at all 😂 so honestly there’s some parts I skimmed.

Great read. Great characters. Great ending. Highly recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for allowing me to review this book!

This quickly became my favorite TJR book, and I'm sure other readers will agree with me! This novel surrounds Carrie Soto, a minor side character from Malibu Rising. She was known for being the mistress of Brandon, Nina Rivera's husband, but we get to take a deep dive into her life.

Carrie is a tennis player, and not just any tennis player. Her entire life goal has been to become the best tennis player in the world. Now that she is retired, she is devastated when a younger player ties her world record. Carrie is determined to make a comeback and destroy anyone in her path to taking her world record back, no matter what anyone else thinks. This book brings such courageous feminist energy throughout.

I will be recommending this to people regardless if they like tennis or not. This book fully immerses you into the world of tennis, and I guarantee you will walk away with a newfound appreciation for women's tennis, just like I did.

Carrie Soto is the the world's best tennis player - arguably of both males and female players, and she has the titles and trophies to back it. After retirement, she is still restless and misses the professional tennis circuit. On the day Nikki Chen beats her world record, Carrie decides to come out of retirement. Coached by her father, Javier, and supported by a past love, Bowe Huntley, Carrie works to once again prove to the world she is the best.

I do love Taylor Jenkins Reid, and am always eager for her newest. This story is a lot of tennis, and knowing nothing about the game, it was still very enjoyable and actually made me want to learn more about the game. Carrie is such an interesting character - the best adjective I can think of to describe her is "complicated." She is a driven, hard-working perfectionist, yet is vulnerable, terrified of losing and scared of relationships. I was sad when I was at the last page, but the ending was just right. You must grab this one as soon as you can!

Taylor Jenkins Reid knocked it out of the park with Carrie Soto is Back.
This is a comeback story about a tennis champion. Carrie Soto decides to come out of retirement when her record of most Slams won is in jeopardy. She is a polarizing figure in the sport due to her abrasive and aloof personality, never letting anyone except her father get close.
I didn’t think I could love any TJR character as much as Evelyn Hugo, but Carrie Soto may have won my heart. Her relationship with her father is so beautiful and I loved watching her open up to the other people in her life.
TJR has redeemed herself with this book, and I cannot wait to see who we get to meet next!