I'm sad because I love magical realism and soulmate AUs, but this really fell flat for me.

I found myself skimming through entire portions of the book just to try and feel something for these characters. While I did like some of the anxiety rep, Juliette being in consistent denial, disapproval, and annoyance was really frustrating to me.

I just couldn't vibe with this no matter how much I tried.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Backhanded Compliments is a sapphic Challengers-esque novel set in a universe where your soulmates’ name is marked on your wrist. For Luca, it’s a romantic and lovely notion. But for her tennis rival Juliette, it would only get in the way of achieving her tennis goals. Juliette is from a big and talented tennis family, and the pressure is on to measure up to her sisters. As the two circle around each other and inevitably grow closer on the journey to the Grand Slam, Juliette must decide between a sport she loves and the woman she is beginning to.
I liked this book! It was definitely tennis heavy, especially in the first two chapters where we are introduced to Luca and Juliette, but it felt very Challengers-esque and fast-paced. I wish we dug into Luca’s emotional background a little more, because Juliette definitely gets more center stage attention as we explore her relationships with her father and her family. The conflict resolution between the two in the 3rd act left something to be desired, but overall, this was a fun, easy romance. The two girls did grow and mature throughout their relationship, and it was very cool how much research and detail the author put into the tennis tour experience.
An honest ARC review, Thank you to NetGalley!

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria for the ARC!

I was intrigued by a romance about rival tennis players and I enjoyed the sport as a backdrop to the story. I’m a fan of enemies to lovers but I felt that the animosity between the main characters was pretty childish and the fantastical element to the story felt jarring. Once the romance started it was pretty enjoyable.

3.25 stars rounded up

I somehow missed the soul mark part of this book when I signed up for the arc. I’m shocked this trope made its way into published media. Overall it was a good read thought and I enjoyed it.

Review also posted on goodreads.

The way Katie Chandler wrote the tennis matches was completely captivating - there was so much tension radiating off the pages that I felt I was sitting there front row. Initially when I started the book, I was unsure about the magical realism aspect and how it would play out throughout the book. Sometimes magical realism can just feel too out of place in a book and really makes it difficult to connect to what is happening. But in this case it is a small aspect in the grand scheme of things and I didn't think that it felt too unrealistic. The two characters, Luca and Juliette, were so dynamic and even though they were soulmates, their relationship developed slowly and naturally, and they made a conscious choice to love and support each other. Honestly, really enjoyed this one and look forward to seeing what else Katie Chandler writes in the future.

Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the ARC!

The fated mates thing in a contemporary sports romance was a unique twist, but it didn't really do it for me. If that's gonna be a trope, I would rather it just be in a fantasy setting.

I would like a book about Octavia and Leo, please and thank you. Because THAT is an interesting twist...👀 (no spoilers)

Backhanded Compliments is a tennis romance with a twist…soulmates! I absolutely LOVED the soulmate aspect of this book. However, there were some things I disliked about this book.

The characters were the saving grace of this book. Luca is everything to me! She is complex and not cruel to Juliette. I liked how the pressure social media and family can place on an athlete was handled. I enjoyed the side characters! They offered so much to the story, especially Livia!

This book is very tennis heavy in the beginning and I really struggled to get through it. If it weren’t for Luca, the angst, and the tension then I wouldn’t have finished this one. I was super excited for this because it’s sapphic and I enjoy sports romances–this just fell a bit flat. Juliette was not my most favorite character. I think that Luca is way too forgiving because Juliette was quite awful to her at times. However, I did like her more towards the end of the book.

Overall, I didn’t love this. I think some of the best parts of this book allowed me to overlook most of the things I disliked. Once I got past the heavy tennis parts, I really did enjoy it. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the early copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A sports romance with a magical realism twist? Say less.

This book reignited my interest in tennis (shoutout to Carrie Soto Is Back for starting that hyperfixation). The on-court tension paired with off-court chemistry made for an entertaining read. Juliette and Luca were genuinely cute together. It’s the author’s debut, and while the writing could use some tightening, I’m excited to see what she does next.

A big criticism I had though was that I thought the fated soulmates concept was underutilized. It felt like it was put on the back burner as the story progressed and didn’t feel essential to the plot. I also wasn’t a fan of the dual POV; Juliette’s side felt way more developed compared to Luca’s.

I still had an enjoyable time reading, and would recommend this book for anyone who wants romance, tennis, and just a sprinkle of magic.

I really enjoyed the rivalry/relationship between Luca and Juliette. I will admit I didn’t care for Juliette I thought she was a stuck up egotistical spoiled brat who didn’t deserve Luca. I liked the twist with the soulmarks. The spice was the perfect amount. I didn’t know anything about tennis before reading this so it was fun to learn about that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Juliette Ricci and Luca Kacic are both at the top of their game in the tennis world. They have been trading barbs in the media for ages, but have yet to meet on the tennis court. When they finally do, their chemistry is undeniable - they realize they are soulmates. Everything they thought they knew about love and tennis has been thrown out the window.

A sapphic tennis romance? I am IN. However, the overlying theme of pre-determined soulmates really threw me off. In this world, some people are born with the name of their soulmate on their wrist, and when they finally meet them, the ‘tattoo’ turns black, and there you are! Your soulmate!!! It was hard for me to be fine with this concept because a. The mechanics of it all felt incredibly unexplored, and b. The rest of the world felt sooo regular that it just didn’t fit.

I did enjoy the character development and the great cast of side characters, but the soulmate thing took up so much of the story. There was a great book here without that inclusion. I would still love to read other books by this author.

If you want to read a book that has big fanfiction energy, in a good way, then I think this will be right up your alley. The tension building in the first half felt a bit drawn out (very fanfic), but it was still a fun time. I'm a sucker for a well executed rivals to lovers and I think this book accomplishes it quite well. Sports romance is such a great vehicle for that dynamic and I'm so happy we're getting more trad published sapphic sports romances. I also enjoyed how these character's personal and relationship struggles feel grounded in real emotions; it made for an interesting juxtaposition with the magical realism element.

I've read many a soulmate AU and I'm shocked that it's taken until now for me to see it in a mainstream romance. We all know how big omegaverse is so I'm surprised that this much tamer concept hadn't breached containment until now. I will say that the soulmate stuff felt a little clunky to me, but I was able to let it slide. If you've previously been squicked out like me by the idea of fated mates because of the cisheteronormativity of it all, I think that you could vibe with the soulmate concept. I do wish that we had gotten to see an example of soulmates that were not romantic in nature because it felt like there was an inevitability that these two would get together. As a result, it kills some of the tension because they're basically destined to be together. Overall though, I had a lot of fun with this and will happily read this author's next release.

CW: on page panic attacks, historical implied child abuse

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. Also thanks for the free physical ARC as a part of a goodreads giveaway.

As a longtime fan of sports romances and a casual tennis player, I was so excited about the premise of this book. The idea of two rival tennis players navigating both the professional court and a growing romantic connection had me immediately hooked, and I think that this book has the bones of something great.

However, one element threw me off from the very beginning: the inclusion of magical realism in the form of a soulmate mark system. This was mentioned in the book's summary, and I take responsibility for possibly skimming over it, but I wasn't expecting it to be such a central feature right away. I went into this book expecting fierce competition and chemistry on court, but the sudden pivot to fantasy made it hard for me to settle into the story.

I also struggled quite a bit with Juliette's character. She comes from a prestigious tennis family and has a lot of pressure on her shoulders, but her hostility throughout the book (especially towards Luca) felt overly intense and under-explained. Or, the explanations that were provided felt repetitive and overused. It made it harder for me to root for their romance, especially when things did finally come together. The emotional payoff didn't land for me, and the third-act conflict wrapped up a little too neatly given how tense things had been previously.

That said, I still think there's a lot here for fans of unique romance premises, especially those looking for a fresher take on the rivals-to-lovers trope.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review of this book.

bro this book was so disappointing. I think it would have been 10x better if the soulmate trope wasn't a thing. I feel like it was used as an excuse to not develop the romance between our main characters. They also need to better market that this is fantasy-esc

2.5 ⭐ Thank you Netgalley for the arc review! 🦋
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Backhanded Compliments had so much potential; a sapphic rivals to lovers tennis romance with soulmate tattoos? Yes please. But unfortunately, this one just didn’t quite work for me.

The premise was fun, and I liked the tension between Juliette and Luca. Their chemistry worked, and I appreciated the mental health rep around Luca’s anxiety. But the soulmate angle felt a bit underused, and the tennis descriptions got a little too in-depth for my taste, I found myself skimming to get back to the emotional bits,.. and I like tennis,

Still, it’s a unique, fresh sports romance with strong vibes and a solid emotional core. It didn’t quite hit all my sweet spots, but I can see this being a win for readers who love detailed sports scenes and sapphic slow burns.

dnf @ 18%

I’m so sad to say I just could not get into this. I have been in such a tennis romance kick recently, but something about this I just could not get behind. The writing itself was too direct (aka telling every single thing the characters did directly). I also feel like it started off in a weird spot, where the main plot had started but I don’t really care about either character or what happens to them.

I do think that the concept overall was good, but the execution was just not my favorite.

Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

Unfortunately, this book was not a winner for me (2⭐). One of the largest reasons was the amount of tennis. I know in a sports romance you want them to be playing sports, but this felt uneven in that the sports made up 80% of the story and the romance the remainder. Which I guess would be fine if I understood anything about tennis which I don't, and the romance also wasn't good. Double fault! (lol)

So yeah, the romance was just not working. First of all, this story has ~soulmates~ and adding that fantastical element to a real world story made no sense. People get these handwritten magic marks on their bodies which turn black (inked in) when they meet their soulmates?? They talk about soulmates repeatedly, and it's the main (ie: only) reason for the 2 fmcs to get together, but being soulmates means nothing in the end because you can apparently straight up ignore your soulmate with no repercussions. So then what's the point of mentioning it over and over? It was made out to be this big thing, but in the end it didn't really have a point.

They tried to make the soulmate thing work when it's revealed that your mate can heal you of superficial (or serious?) wounds but that plot point is also only mentioned briefly and then dropped so again I'm asking, why??

Both of the fmcs were cardboard cutouts and boring. Having this be dual POV didn't serve it in any way. Luca is beyond boring and we see way more of Juliette who is insufferable. She's annoying, she's bratty, she's jealous, she's mean. Zero redeeming qualities that made me want to root for her and Luca together. Yeah, mean and nasty people deserve love too I guess but she stayed mean for way too long imo.

I get the point of this was supposed to be rivals to lovers but they were rivals for MOST of it, and then the parts in which they weren't...they weren't even interesting! The love moments didn't feel earned. Luca was down bad and Juliette didn't care until she had to in order to make the romance viable & "believable".

This also read like a 3rd book in an interconnected series. There are so many characters in this and they ALL have dialogue like omg. It was unnecessary. Most of these characters come from Juliette's pov which made it worse because we see more of her anyway which just means more time away from the central romance.

I appreciate the opportunity to read it early, but I wasn't a fan unfortunately.

I was genuinely surprised by the blend of magical realism and sports romance in this novel. It’s not a combination I expected, but it worked in such a fun, sexy, and unexpected way. Such a pleasant little surprise!!

The dual perspective of two tennis players navigating both a fierce rivalry and a fated mates storyline added some really fun tension and new elements to the story that truly felt so unique. Watching them wrestle with the knowledge that they’re soulmates, while still clinging to their professional rivalry, made for a really compelling dynamic. Juliette’s resistance to the match, her belief in choosing who we love, instead of just accepting the soul match was a nice contrast to Luca’s more hopeful, open-hearted approach. While I do wish the soulmate reveal had a bit more buildup for greater emotional payoff, the differing reactions between the two was fun to read.

Where I struggled most was with Juliette’s initial hostility toward Luca. While her frustration was understandable, the level of animosity often felt exaggerated, especially when paired with dialogue that occasionally felt a liiiiittle bit too cheesy. The soulmate connection introducing heightened emotions and sexual tension was an interesting concept, but the emotional progression felt a little rushed, making some of the character development harder to connect with.

Overall, this was an entertaining and original story with a fresh premise. Though the execution could have benefited from deeper emotional groundwork and more nuanced pacing, the concept alone makes it worth the read—especially for fans looking for something different in the sports romance genre.

I loved this witty, dramatic romance! The banter was sizzling, the tension was palpable, and I adored the tennis setting. Can't wait for what Kate Chandler writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

As a tennis player, I was so excited for this book! However, after 20% in, I started to feel a little disappointed. First of all, I definitely wasn't expecting the magical realism in this book, so it threw me off a bit. Once I got past that, the book started off strong with the conflict between Juliette and Luca. Then it just... didn't really go anywhere. I couldn't relate to either character - they both seemed so aggressive towards each other. The whole soulmate and soulmark thing seemed to be the only reason why they were together or even attracted to one another. For lovers of sports romance, especially sapphic sports romance, I'd say to give this a try, but it didn't wow me the way I'd hoped.

1.5 stars rounded down.
what a boring read. so heavy on the tennis nonsense and honestly Juliette was not very nice to Luca :/ and Luca just forgiving Juliette was BS. Loved the idea, did not love the story.