✨CARRIE SOTO IS BACK ARC REVIEW✨

This story is not a romance but it is most definitely a story by @tjenkinsreid I always say her writing is like a breath of fresh air because it is! It’s so easy to read and she puts feelings and thoughts you’ve always had into words in a way you didn’t know was possible!

The story was quite heavy on the tennis but I never once felt that I didn’t like it. I loved learning about Carrie Soto and why she is the way that she is. Her and her dad were so fun and sad to watch at the same time, a beautiful relationship. And don’t get me started with Bowe 🫠

TJR writes these “bitch” heroines, but you see who they really are and that they don’t deserve that title - they are successful woman that fight for what they want with all their being and you grow to love and cheer for them the whole way thru!

Thank you to @tjr @netgalley @randomhouse for this ARC! I was so happy to receive it and thoroughly enjoyed the story.

I wasn't sure what to expect of this book, but I ended up loving it! It tells the story of powerhouse tennis player Carrie Soto (introduced in Malibu Rising) who is the best there is, but has to retire due to age/injury. However, she mounts a comeback in an attempt to beat her previous record, which was recently beat by player Nicki Chan. The story highlights her lifelong love of tennis & how hard she had to work to be the best, pushing herself even further than her father/coach. The book also shows the intermixing of their relationship and tennis, which was also his great love and how it forged their strong bond, especially after "spoiler alert" the death of her mother when she was young. Combine a story of tennis, a strong father/daughter bond, and a strong female Latina lead & you get one fabulous book, the perfect summer read!

Are you into sports? Tennis in particular?🎾

It’ll certainly help if you are…but not necessary. This book will appeal to anyone fond of reading about strong characters. The sacrifices it takes to crawl your way to the top – and stay there.

I am a huge sports fan, and do enjoy watching (and playing) tennis so this was a great fit for me. The fact that Serena Williams is my favorite tennis player helped, as this book felt as though it was loosely based on her life.

As a little girl Carrie Soto watched from the sidelines as her father played tennis. Once she was old enough to grip a racket, he had her on the courts. Quickly his focus turned from his dwindling career to the rise of his daughter’s. Knowing in his heart-she had what it took to be the best in the world.

But after countless injuries and years of endless matches, time caught up with Carrie. It was a stellar career, but she was begrudgingly forced to retire.

Now, with her records on the line and about to be broken, Carrie prepares for the biggest comeback in tennis history. Like so many former champions she’s driven to hold on to and extend her records.

As mentioned, I love Serena so I was naturally drawn to Carrie too. The incredible strength, dedication and focus to become a world champion. Every aspect of her life revolved around tennis.

Throughout this read, I felt like I was on tour with Carrie. The French Open, Wimbledon and the US open. Right there front and center for each of her matches, cheering Carrie on as loud as I could! Impossible to put this book down. I’d sneak in every chapter I could when I had any moment of downtime.

My only negative (and it's a small one) was that her father spoke to her primarily in Spanish with no translation offered. I tried using the translation option on my kindle but it became frustrating, slowing the tempo and flow of my reading, eventually I resorted to just skimming over the Spanish.

A buddy reading with Susanne.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Ballantine

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest book Carrie Soto is Back is, as per usual, phenomenal. I read and loved Daisy Jones and the Six (I can’t wait for the movie!) and adored Malibu Rising as well, so it is safe to say I had high expectations for Carrie Soto. To say this book knocked them out of the park would be an understatement (sorry, I tried to think of a tennis pun for this but I fell short…haha). Long intro short, Carrie Soto is my new favorite TJR book and I have a feeling it’s going to blow up bestseller lists and For You pages shortly. I’ve had trouble in the past pinning down exactly what makes her books so special, but Carrie Soto spoke to me in a way few other books do, and my conclusion is the obvious time, effort, and research that goes into her works. Carrie Soto is a story about an incredible woman, in the past and present, as she deals with love and loss in her mid thirties. But, it’s also a story about tennis. I am guessing TJR wasn’t an elite tennis professional in the eighties and nineties, and yet readers feel like they are reading a biography of one of the greats. The level of detail is an essential piece of the deep immersion readers feel when they pick this book up. I highly recommend this book to anyone--it’ll make the perfect gift for all your friends and is sure to be one of the books of the summer. A very special thanks to Ballentine for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Carrie Soto is back! Wow. I just finished this new novel by TJR and am blown away. I don’t like sports novels, I know nothing about tennis, and I was less than excited when I found out that was what this book was about. But Taylor Jenkins Reid makes it clear that it doesn’t matter if her book is about a rock star, a movie actress or a tennis star— he style and characters shine through whatever the story line. I really enjoyed this story. It had me feeling deeply for the characters, holding my breath as the story unfolds and crying for their successes and their struggles—in a way that is so familiar with TJR’s style. I am so grateful to have experienced this book, however my only critique of this is that I don’t speak fluent Spanish— only a word here or there. There is more than a little banter between Carrie and Javier in Spanish. And while I could get the just of much of it, there were several times I could not and needing to translate these lines did detract some from the story for me. Still a great emotional read— Reid does it again! Thank you NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine Books for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest opinion.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has quickly become one of my favorite authors, and I was so excited to get an ARC of Carrie Soto. Much like her previous books, this book did not disappoint.

I have never been a huge fan of tennis, but TJR has me wanting to go watch Wimbledon in person! This book details the career of Carrie Soto, one of the greatest tennis players in the world, as she attempts to make a comeback in her thirties. Her relationship with her father (and coach), is mesmerizing. Her relationship with Bowe is one you root for, Her relationships with fellow tennis players, well, that is complicated by her "Battle Axe" demeanor.

This book has an ebb and flow of whether you are rooting for Carrie or are against her. It details what it takes to be great, and the sacrifices that come with being at an elite level in sports.

TJR has always had a way with words. She is a phenomenal storyteller. I hope everyone runs out and picks this book up when it's out because you will love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Copy!

Another fantastic read from TJR--even better than the last in my opinion! I could not put this book down. The story was so compelling, and so realistic! I learned a ton about tennis and can only imagine how much research went into writing this book. The MC was not supposed to be likable, and she technically wasn't, but I rooted for her all the same. While there is a romance, it does not take center stage, and really, this book is for anyone who loves an underdog story, a badass woman story, a redemption story, or a sports story.

Carrie Soto Is Back is such a compelling read. I could barely put it down! While I found the plot largely predictable, I was enjoying the ride so much that it didn't matter. I found fewer twists and surprises than, say The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but the characters are so well developed and intriguing. You may recall Carrie Soto making an appearance in TJR's 2021 novel, Malibu Rising, but we learn so much more about her in these pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC.

<i>thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the eARC of this book</i>

<b>rating:</b> 5 stars

everytime i think reid cannot top a previous book, she amazes me with another new release that remains stuck in my head even days after finishing it.

<i>carrie soto is back</i> is such an incredibly powerful story and reid does a beautiful job telling it. she's always written amazing & powerful female characters, and carrie is no exception. her story is one that keeps you hooked–even as someone who's not a tennis/sports fan, i was attracted to the story and wanted to keep reading. i read almost 60% of the book on a flight, and i didn't want to stop foe a second.

i've always believe reid's best skill is writing family, and this book only confirms it further. the dynamic between carrie and her father is done SO beautifully, and there were so many moments where i was in tears and just staring at my kindle screen highlighting lines. the way she captures the love between them is just everything, and i love how its written. on top of that dynamic, the romance was also well done. i didn't care for it much in the grand scheme of things just because i loved the main plot so much, but it was definitely a romance that had me gushing <3

all in all, i don't think i could ever read a reid book and hate it. tjr is such an incredible author, and i can't wait for this book to come out so i can gush about it to anyone who will listen

Another great read from Taylor Jenkins Reid! I learned so much about tennis and Carrie Soto felt so real. She was someone I disliked, yet found myself rooting for because she had a lot of valid reasons for acting the way she did. Cannot wait for the next book by this author!
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for providing me with an ARC I'm exchange for an honest review.

TJR has done it again! At this point it’s safe to say, I will read and love anything she writes. But Carrie Soto is Back was different from the start and I was worried if I would connect to it, as someone who knows nothing about tennis. The story is VERY tennis heavy, with a lot of history about the sport, the competing side and of course Carries upbringing. With that said, the way TJR, she had he hooked and also confident I could be a tennis star too (no joke, I signed up for lessons about this book, I was not intrigued).

I loved reading about the father daugther dynamic, and the feelings around aging as a tennis star, tough exterior, finding love, no matter how hard Carrie fights it and the dynamic relationship that developed throughout the book, between Carrie and Niki, her biggest competitor.

So well thought out, researched and written. And as a true TJR fan, I truly appreciate the tie in to Malibu Rising.

Taylor Jenkins Reid tells a story and creates characters that are rich and complicated. Carrie Soto is not likeable, and she knows it but you root for her all the way!

I didn’t know I could be so riveted but a subject I never cared about but Carrie Soto’s story made me interested in tennis. Taylor Jenkins Reid does an amazing job of making us care about someone we don’t really like and has us asking if women have to be singularly focused and emotionally cold to be successful in our society.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t quite feeling this one at the start. I LOVED Daisy Jones and really enjoyed Evelyn Hugo, but Carrie Soto felt lukewarm to me at first. The story itself didn’t really start to pick up until later in the book, but by the end I was on the edge of my seat, crying and cheering for Carrie as if I were really watching her matches.

The real star of the show is actually Carrie’s father, Javier. He was such a wonderful character and added so much to the story. I liked everyone actually, it was a great cast, and this story was heart wrenching and nerve wracking and quite inspiring!

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

Taylor Jenkins Reid always opens my eyes to a lifestyle I had no prior knowledge about. Loved this book as much as all of her others. Tennis and the life of Carrie was a hard to put down at the end of each chapter. Highly recommend for a great read. I love reading a book that is also informative!

Everything about tennis I didn’t know I needed to know and really didn’t want to know but I just could not stop turning the pages of this book. Somehow this book hooked me and I’m not even sure how except that I really needed to know what was going to happen to Carrie Soto. She was so compelling and so was the writing of this book. The descriptions were amazing and the feelings and drama kept me right on the edge of my seat. Somehow this book worked for me and I really enjoyed it!
I recommend this book to lovers of Sport and lovers of a really well written cast of characters.

Not quite done with this title yet since I didn't want to read it too early before the publication date. I do want to vote on it though! I'm enjoying this book so far and love/hate Carrie at the same time. Her determination should be applauded and I am cheering her on. Hoping that she will become less brusque as the novel develops and discover what other than tennis makes her happy. I also am loving the father/daughter relationship and the niche references on how to be the greatest tennis player!

There's something about Taylor Jenkins Reid. Her books are impossible to put down, and Carrie Soto is Back is no exception.

Carrie Soto, in her prime, was the best tennis player in the world. When an up and coming player threatens to beat Carrie's record of most Grand Slams won, Carrie, now in her 30s, comes out of retirement to defend her title. With the guidance of her tennis pro father and her maybe boyfriend, maybe male rival, Carrie has to overcome not just her age, but also her own ambition and reputation to once again rise to the top of her game.

Reid hits it out if the park with her newest novel about the retired, aging, tennis star, Carrie Soto, who returns to the game for one year to win a Grand Slam and regain her record. This novel is a fantastic study of human nature and touches on motivation, determination, resilience, triumph and defeat. Carrie’s comeback year is filled with changes that will have an everlasting effect on her life and the reader will go away with a sense of satisfaction!

A good page turner that gives an interesting glimpse into the world of professional tennis. Fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid will not be disappointed.