I love playing tennis and so when I read this book I knew I was going to love it. This is yet another winner for Taylor Jenkins Reid. She is a master storyteller and her books never disappoint. Her characters are amazing and you are rooting for them and loving them!

4.5 stars

prior to reading this i was not a huge fan of carrie based on her appearances in malibu rising. but boy did this change my perspective. i am absolutely in love with carrie and her story. this book deep dives into her rise to fame and the struggles she faces following her initial tennis career. i adored the characters and the found family that carrie built. and that ending... let's just say tjr delivered a heartwarming story yet again.

I love reading fiction. I love tennis. I absolutely adored reading every page of this fictional tennis story. We first met Carrie in Malibu Rising and now she’s back as the lead character in this tennis champion comeback story. She’s older and has been out of the game, but she’s determined to maintain her Grand Slam record.

I loved the relationship between Carrie and her dad, her coach. This relationship resonated with me since my dad always coached me in athletics- basketball, swimming and softball. I wish he were here now to watch me start the new sport of tennis at the ripe old age of 46. I’m pretty sure he’d be my biggest fan, just like Javier was Carries strongest supporter. Javier Soto reminded me of my dad in so many ways. I’m so grateful I got to read this book and spark the memories I had of practicing with him as a young girl.

I also loved the relationship between Bowe and Carrie. He understood her like many couldn’t and the way their relationship matured over the course of the book was so enjoyable.

I didn’t want this book to end. Pick this up if you love a good comeback story with all the most perfect characters. It wouldn’t hurt if you love tennis too.

Recommending this one to my entire tennis team. Five tennis balls from me. Now excuse me while I go look for the cure to my book hangover.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing and TJR for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

"We live in a world where exceptional women have to sit around waiting for mediocre men."

Things I loved
- Carrie Soto - powerful female main character
- The tennis details
- Carrie Soto and her relationship with her dad
- The media interviews breaking up chapters

TAYLOR JENKINS REID IS BACK. I absolutely loved this entire book. Nothing was disappointing. Not one part of this. I would highly suggest reading Evelyn Hugo and Malibu Rising before you get to this book. You can read it as a standalone but it's worth it to reads the two previous books. We follow Carrie Soto as she makes a comeback to reclaim her Slam record & BOY did she have you rooting for her.

Carrie Soto is unapologetically strong and takes absolutely no s****. I loved her from the first to the last page. It was highly relatable as someone who played softball and did competitive gymnastics. You really felt her drive and tenacity for the sport of tennis. You also felt her love for it & it did show the uphill battle women face women it comes to how we are compared to men.

My absolute FAVORITE part about this book was Carrie's relationship with her dad. I loved it. My dad coached me throughout my entire life and this just felt so spot on. The honesty with each other, even when it hurts was something that really warmed my heart. Javi (The Jaguar) loved his daughter so much and pushed her to be the best while also teaching her to play with joy. I really enjoyed how TJR incorporated Spanish in their dialogue-it showed just how close the two of them were.

This TJR takes the cake for me. My favorite one to date. GO PRE-ORDER THIS NOW!

Carrie Soto is a legendary retired tennis great. When her record is in danger of being broken, she comes out of retirement to keep her record intact. Carrie is one of those characters that you have to peel away the layers to get to know her. I have seen many reviews comparing Carrie Soto to Daisy Jones and Evelyn Hugo. It's like comparing apples to oranges. I am not a tennis fan but found myself unable to put this book down til I read the last page!

Confession... I didn't read Malibu rising OR Daisy Jones. I enjoyed Evelyn Hugo but must've been in a weird headspace because I didn't understand the hype. But I have serious book FOMO and had to request this when I saw that it was available.

I'm not a tennis fan. I've watched one match in my life and it was because the boy I had a crush on wanted to watch. This book got me INVESTED in the sport and Carrie. Every single thing about it was perfection.

Carrie Soto is a badass female and you can't help but to fall in love with her. Reid did an amazing job of showing us how sports ability does not directly correlate to being a fan favorite or celebrity status. I really love Reid's ability to give us a glimpse into celebrity lives.

The relationship between Carrier and Javier was the highlight of the book for me. I liked seeing now they navigated the relationship between coach/player and father/daughter

The love! Wow the love between Carrie and Bowe was a slow burn but had me screaming! I love the whole reformed bad boy falling in love and showing why Carrie acted the way that she did.

Now I'm stoked because I know the next couple of books I'm reading next!

As the mom of a former athlete, I get it now.. I see the pressure we placed on you; that coaches placed on you and that you placed on yourself. I see it; and I am so sorry.

Many will see this as chick lit, a great summer read, a continuation of a story. It is all that but it is more the insight to an athlete's mind that sometimes they cannot even explain.

I will say that Javier did have my new absolute favorite quote.... "I will be perfectly nice to his face, you know that....but it is my God given right to complain about him behind his back.".

Oh I loved this book! My favorite Taylor Jenkins Reid yet. I don’t even like or care about tennis at all and I was completely swept up in Carrie’s great tennis journey. Beyond that, the father/daughter relationship had me riveted and in tears more than once. Loved loved loved!

Carrie Soto is Back
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Pub Date: August 30, 2022
Ballentine
* historical fiction *Fiction
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
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. And even if it means swallowing her pride to train with a man she once almost opened her heart to: Bowe Huntley. Like her, he has something to prove before he gives up the game forever.

In spite of it all, Carrie Soto is back, for one epic final season. In this riveting and unforgettable novel, Taylor Jenkins Reid tells her most vulnerable, emotional story yet. This novel talks about the cost of greatness. I think this book will appeal to many types of readers even if you don't have a love of tennis. I highly recommend it. Readers who enjoy Katherine Center, Elin Hilderbrand, and Jodi Picoult will enjoy this book.
4 stars

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC!*
Taylor Jenkins Reid really accomplished something here, because she got me to care about a book that is almost entirely play-by-play of tennis practice or games. And I do not care about tennis! Because it is written in first-person, we get Carrie Soto's inner monologue through her initial career run and then as she mounts a comeback to defend her title. Wanting to see how it would ultimately play out kept me reading until 4 AM, the tension was real. Reid is so skilled at creating main characters who are flawed but making us root for them. The quick little tie-in to Malibu Rising was fun, but it's truly just a mention, you don't need to have read it for this. No spoilers, but I keep reading books unwittingly that have the dad storyline that appears here and I can't handle it anymore lol. But I really enjoyed both of the main male characters here too, and how persistently they cared for Carrie even as she fought against it. I overall enjoyed the read, but this won't be one I revisit because I still don't care about tennis.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Carrie Soto. I fell in love with Reid’s writing with The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and I’m tracking to read everything she has written by the end of this summer. I didn’t really know what this book was about when I requested it. It’s about tennis and not just any tennis but the highest level of competition there is. While I know the basics about tennis and dreamed of being Chris Everett when I was a kid this book brought you into so much of what goes on to become a number 1 tennis player. As has become what Reid is known for she us teaching us and giving us a story all at the same time. I will continue to read anything that Taylor Jenkins Reid writes. I look forward to the next one!!!

Thanks so much to NetGalley & Random House for the advanced e-Galley. I'll read anything Taylor Jenkins Reid writes (shout out Emerson College) and I was so excited to receive a copy of Carrie Soto Is Back. I found Carrie Soto incredibly fast-paced and I walked away wanting to watch and learn how to play tennis. The first quarter of the book is spent setting up the main plot and I was a little worried that it would rush through all the matches and Carrie's life, but once we got into her main challenge I settled in with the character and her mission. I really enjoyed the Easter eggs to previous TJR novels and will be recommending Carrie as the perfect early fall book.

This is Taylor Jenkins Reid best book yet! I loved every flawed, cranky moment of Carrie Soto. She had ambition and talent and was not afraid of it and completely unapologetic about it. Exactly how it should be for every woman who has an ambition and goal.
What makes this doubly brilliant is I love tennis, both playing and watching. I felt every point and the authors ability to put us right in the center of the action was stupendous. She has this wonderful talent for creating characters that are real, with annoying traits and heartbreaking vulnerability. Her dialogue is sharp and accurate and depicts everything we need to know and understand about the character and plot.
Brilliant piece of fiction. Well Done Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I love everything Taylor Jenkins Reid writes, and Carrie Soto is Back is no exception. At first I was certain I was going to like the main character, Carrie, but I definitely did. And still do.
As usual with her writing, I'll be left thinking of the story and characters long after I read the story. Perfect for summer, perfect for tennis fans, perfect for TJR fans, I highly recommend this book!

I've said if before and I will say it again, Taylor Jenkins Reid can do no wrong.

Carrie Soto is Back follows tennis superstar Carrie Soto from childhood to her late 30's, as she learns from her father/coach how to be the best tennis player there is. After a historically successful career, she retires at age 32. When a rising star emerges five years later and threatens to surpass Carrie's records, Carrie steps out of retirement in order to retake her throne.

This book was one of the best books I've read this year. It is packed with adrenaline filled tennis matches, a slow-burn romance, a super wholesome father/daughter relationship, and so much tension. Carrie is definitely a hard headed character but she was so easy to like (as a reader) and I was rooting for her the whole time.

My only slight complaint is that there is a bit of Spanish used in conversation between Carrie and her father. While I was reading on my kindle and could translate it fairly easily, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much in a print format not being able to know exactly what was being said.

All in all this was the perfect book for me. I blazed through it in less than two days and now I will surely be in a reading slump trying to find something comparable!

Thanks to Ballantine Books for the free book.
I inhaled this book in twenty-four hours. As someone who is not a tennis fan and knows nothing about the sport, I was worried that this book wouldn't work for me. But by the end, TJR had me tearing up over tennis matches - and that is a sign of a beautiful book. I fell hard for Carrie right away. I loved how she was a woman who went after what she wanted no matter what. The relationship between her and her father had so much heart in it, but it also wasn't easy and simple. I felt so many feelings during this book, and I'm sad I can't read it again for the first time. Carrie Soto will always have a special place in my reader's heart for the amazing character she is.

CARRIE SOTO IS BACK, and so is TJR with another 5 star read! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of my all time favorite authors.
If you remember Carrie from Malibu Rising, she seemed like an unlikable character. She's fierce, unapologetic, so confident that she's cocky, ambitious, and one of the best tennis players in the world. Don't let that deter you- Carrie is now one of my favorite badass female main characters! This was probably TJR's most emotional book for me. I sure hope someone snatches up the movie rights, bc this would be awesome on the big screen one day.
Dare I say... this is up there with Evelyn Hugo for me? I think Evelyn is still my #1 TJR, but Carrie has ABSOLUTELY snagged my #2 spot. I don't know much about tennis, but it didn't matter. There's a few Easter eggs about some other books in here, which I loved. I loved the relationship Carrie has with her father. I loved the subtle romance. I just loved it. So read it when it comes out in August, ok??

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a requested advance copy for review. All opinions are my own.

OMG TJR has done it again. This was FANTASTIC. As good as Evelyn, and better than Daisy and Malibu.
I’m not even into tennis and I was on the edge of my seat reading about all the training and each match. I cheered for Carrie’s victories and felt the sting of her defeats. And the discussions around the emotions women are allowed to show and how they are allowed to BE in comparison to the men were just so spot on. Plus Carrie’s conversations with Nicki were so insightful.
The real heart of the novel is the relationship between Carrie and her dad. They go through so much together, and I absolutely cried at points.
This book is an absolute triumph and I highly recommend it.

TJR does it again! I absolutely adored this book. It definitely played into my love of competitive sports and provided a real-life glimpse into the psyche of a top-level athlete tennis player, who is embarking on an unlikely comeback attempt from retirement at the age of 37.

Carrie Soto was a completely well-drawn character - flawed yet completely likable with a competitive spirit that you can’t help but root for throughout the novel. The tension of the matches was almost palpable and I oftentimes found myself afraid to read a line ahead for fear of spoiling who won that particular match!

I also deeply loved the relationship between Carrie and Javier - her father / coach - and it gave me all the feels. 5 huge stars for this one!

5 stars !!!!!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an advanced copy of this book! I’m so thankful to have gotten the chance to read this masterpiece.

This book is probably my favorite read of the year thus far. Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again and created a character full of flaws that you can’t help but love — I admire her stubbornness and her strength and growth as if it were my own. You don’t need to know anything about tennis to fall in love with this world and the journey Carrie takes, seeing it all unfold from the very beginning. I felt so connected to her character in a way I haven’t with a character before, in awe of her ability to speak her mind without concern, knowing and reminding everyone that she is in fact, the very best. However, at her core, she is devastatingly human. Her growth throughout the novel kept me so engaged with every word I was reading & had me so invested in every thought, step, & move she made. Taylor Jenkins Reid has created a character so full of life that you wish she was real so you could watch her greatness unfold in front of you.

I see in Carrie so many things I long to be, so many things I know other people may long to be as well, and I think that is what makes her such a breathtaking character — she is just the perfect demonstration of what it’s like to be human. To love and to lose, and to keep growing into yourself, feeling enough confidence in yourself that you’re able to keep going in the face of everything that is trying to hold you down.

Carrie Soto, I adore every facet of your being! You are my best girl forever <3 Thank you for existing and showing the world that there are so many things we can be great at (and it’s okay to admit we’re great at them).

P.S: this book WILL have you wanting to learn about women’s tennis (I have looked at tickets for the US Open more than I care to admit) it’s just a part of the journey!!!! embrace it!!!!