Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for an arc in exchange for an honest review!!

I was really hoping that Backhanded Compliments would give Carrie Soto meets Cleat Cute. Chandler did an incredible job with the tennis aspect of this book, and I enjoyed reading about the matches and seeing our characters navigate this world. Our two main characters are tennis rivals, and the book begins with them in a heated match. After this, I felt like Juliette came off a bit like a sore loser during the first 20% of the book. She sorta 180’s after this point for the purpose of developing a relationship between the main characters. I will admit that the back two-thirds of the book struggled to hold my attention.

As other arc reviewers have mentioned, I think this book would’ve been better without the soulmates thing. Our main characters have each other’s names on their wrists, and they suspect going into the opening match of the book that they are soulmates. This definitely created the tension the author was going for, but I felt confused about how Juliette could be so mean to her soulmate. This trope was also very out of place in a contemporary sports romance. I feel like the more soulmates were discussed in the book, the more confused it made me. Spoiler-ish: soulmates have a healing touch for the other one?? Also being able to choose to reject your soulmate seems a little antithetical to the whole concept to me. Also how are you gonna third act breakup with your SOULMATE?

DNF.
Really interesting premise that I was exciting to get to.
However, found the tennis talk to go a bit overboard and genuinely didn't understand why these two would be together outside of the marks.

Immediately when I saw “challengers but make it sapphic” I was excited. I love a good sports romance and the magical realism concept was a welcome addition to the typical romcom vibe.

Reading the chapters as it was switching POVs without any indication of whose pov it was was a little jarring. Especially when the characters referred to the other by both their first, last, or nickname made it confusing. I thought there were a lot of names thrown around that didn’t seem relevant, but I could see why the author would use them to help establish the tennis world (?). Again, I love a sports romance, but this was hard for me to follow since there was a lot of tennis match play by play that I didn’t understand.

I wanted to get attached to the characters but the constant pov switch made it difficult to be invested in either one.

Final thoughts: more sapphic sports romances!!

I am not really a fan of books marketing themselves off of whatever may be trending at the moment (Challengers) but honestly I was even more disappointed with the tumblr-esque soulmark bs

This sapphic romance about two tennis rivals turned lovers was very cute and creative. I’ve never personally read anything that involves “soul marks” and I also do not know anything at all about tennis, so while I did enjoy those elements, I also felt a little lost at times. There were a lot of very descriptive passages about tennis matches that were a little overpowering for me, especially not having much knowledge about the sport. However, I really enjoyed the concept and it felt a little like a learning opportunity for me. I definitely finished this book feeling interested in tennis. The soul mark aspect was interesting, and like I said new to me. Because it’s not something I’m familiar with though, I did want just a little more about it to ground me in the story.
I enjoyed the characters and their journey. Juliette was a frustrating character at times, but in the way that leads to her development throughout the story. I really enjoyed her family dynamic, though, especially with her sisters. Luca’s character was more sympathetic, and I almost wanted just a little more about her history and family to further those feelings towards her. She had a friend, Nicky, that I felt was a little underdeveloped. He popped up once in a while and was mentioned here and there. I really wanted more from that. He plays a major role at one point in a scene, but then just disappears. It felt like a conversation or scene with him was missing. It wasn’t a major plot hole, it just was something that felt unfinished and brushed over.
I was very excited to receive this ARC, and I enjoyed Chandler’s writing style.

This was so much fun and now I feel like I need to pick up tennis or pickleball or just a sport, the banter was cute and the dynamics of the characters were a lot of fun.

I love tennis, I love the WTA, so this is right up my alley.

In a profession where love means nothing - what happens when you find your fated soulmate? It is a question that Juliette and Luca have to deal with when they discover that the names of their fated soulmates are each other. And - Juliette, in particular, does not care much for love or Luca. Just because you know who your soulmate is, it doesn't mean you have to love them or have anything to do with them.

I loved the tennis aspects, the extensive cast of characters, and the whole concept - are we bound by fate or our own choices?

It would have been an easy 4 star review had it been in one POV. There were a few times that I got mixed up/confused on whose perspective I was reading.

I realize this was a sports romance but my god there was too much tennis talk. Also are we not going to tackle the fact that they had soulmate scars? I get it was supposed to be magical but yikes it felt like an unneeded factor.
I will say the sex scenes were well written and it’s clear the author has had wlw sex before

Backhanded Compliments by Katie Chandler was a fun light read. This is a new author to me and she had a very great writing style with very minimal errors. The pages flowed very well and you weren’t left wondering what was going on. I don’t normally read lesbian books however I figured I’d take a chance and was surprised that it was interesting. I rated this book three stars not because the author didn’t have a great book but because this subject matter didn’t interest me or allowed me to relate to the content. Overall, for anyone who likes same couple romance this is a great book! Thanks #netgalley for allowing me to leave an honest review.

first; & always, a thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 💕

As a previous tennis player and LGBT community member I wanted to love this so much more then I did. The tennis was so heavy at times, I found myself skimming all the tennis talk, & I’m instantly turned off when my characters are instantly in love. Not only was insta lust in play at times here, but while I understood going into this books soulmates was a trope, besides tennis and “soulmarks” why were they in love? Also are soul marks a real thing, serious question I have now?

I loved this. The tension and chemistry between the women was so good and I loved watching their relationship grow. I love sports romances and this was such a good one

I liked this. The setting was beautiful and different than Im used to. However, I dont think that the soulmate magical realism was necessary and kind of felt a bit like a copout. Plus, Luca and Juliette felt a little childish at times for 24+ year olds.

i enjoyed the first half of this more than the rest of it. even though i liked luca, i feel like she lacked a lot of depth. on the other hand, juliette was very immature and it was incredibly annoying.

i hated juliette and luca's break up and everything that happened after. it was like the author suddenly realized this book needed to have a conflict and just pulled it out. and the "resolution" was done very quickly. i saw another reviewer say it was like she was just checking off a list of things to write and i couldnt agree more.

Thank you Atria Books via NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I really enjoyed my time in the world of tennis with Luca and Juliette. I haven’t read a romance in a while so it was definitely a nice reintroduction to the genre. I honestly could have gone without the soulmark because it didn’t pop up a whole lot so I would be more engrossed in the tennis, but I appreciate that the author credited the fan fiction community in her acknowledgements. I’ll never be upset about seeing queer joy, so overall it was a quick and wonderful read.

This book follows two tennis rivals who discover their soulmates. I liked this cute sapphic romance! I’m not usually a sports romance person, but this one was well done. I rated this book 3.5 stars. Positives, it was sapphic representation. It was a cute easy binge read. Negatives, it wasn’t the most sophisticated piece of literature. There wasn’t much of a deeper meaning and it was very surface level. This is a good book to read if you’re looking for something to binge or want something sapphic, but don’t expect this to be your new favorite book or anything.

I was lucky enough to receive this book as an ARC and I thank Netgalley and the publisher for this opportunity!

Tennis? Sapphic? Rivals to lovers? SOULMATES TROPE?

Backhanded Compliments had everything I wanted in a contemporary romance. Juliette Ricci and Luca Kacic are tennis rivals, and unfortunately for them, soulmates. I adored Luca, especially her struggles with anxiety. Her and Juliette were everything, and I really enjoyed the tennis and competitivity aspects of the novel.

However, there was a pacing problem in this book. Even with the soulmate aspect of this book, I felt like Juliette and Luca got together too quickly. It could have used a bit more buildup to their relationship. There were also a couple of plot points that were dropped, especially with some of Juliette's sisters. However, I thought these were more minor issues, and the other aspects of the book shone past that.

Overall, Backhanded Compliments was a wonderful read, and I would highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC.

Backhanded Compliments is the story of two professional tennis players who are also destined to be soulmates. This book really dives into the pro tennis circuit and there are many scenes in multiple well-known tournaments. The two main characters are rivals on the court and in the press. Both are perplexed by their soulmarks that seem to identify each other as their soulmate. The soulmark concept has been popularized in fanfic, but the idea seemed out of place in this sports romance.

Luca and Juliette are competitors on the tennis court and both are ambitious and focused on success. Their dedication and work ethic were inspiring to read about, and a tennis lover would really enjoy the details of professional tennis that the author weaves in to the story. The love story didn't completely make sense to me. I found Juliette to be particularly antagonistic, almost cruel, to Luca. Their relationship evolves as they work more closely together as teammates, but I didn't really see their connection as one of soulmates. I love sapphic romance, and Luca and Juliette had great chemistry, and found their happy ever after in the end.

This book is a fast-paced sports sapphic romance set in the world of professional tennis. While it wasn't a good fit for me, It would be a perfect read for someone who is interested in romance and tennis.

Thank you to Katie Chandler, Atria Books, and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

I love tennis romance which is a recent development but this one is no exception. I loved their love. I will def read more from katie chandler

Katie Chandler's <i>Backhanded Compliments</i> is a sapphic enemies-to-lovers, soulmates!au tennis romance. The novel follows Juliette and Luca through the tennis season and on their journey of accepting their soulmate connection.

To me the soulmate!au is such a tentpole of fanfiction (and I've read a lot of it), but I haven't seen it much in romance novels. Maybe I"m just not looking in the right place, but it's new to me in this context! I'm definitely curious to hear how this book is received by people who don't usually read fanfiction. I'm not sure how much was explained or how much was assumed the reader would know about the trope coming into the story.

I'm totally on board with all of the tropes, but I struggled a little with the pace. I felt that everything in the third act was a little rushed and underworked. The breakup, reconciliation, and the conversation between Juliette and her father all felt like they were beats that were being checked off. I generally don't mind a third act breakup but this one did feel a little contrived.

Overall a fun read if you're a fan of any of the tropes in this book! And I can definitely see future spinoffs/sequels with more tennis players navigating their soulmate connections.

Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the ARC!

I enjoyed reading this romantic book about two tennis players who are bound to each other. It’s a trope that I have seen a lot of in fanfiction and I think I would have actually preferred if they had not known they were soulmates. However, I did enjoy the characters and the “will they/won’t they” aspect. Lighthearted romantic story that fans of Carrie Soto is Back and Challengers will enjoy.