this was an unique romance (with some spice). it had an interesting premise of “soulmates” in this universe, it explains the importance of “soulmates” which is something i have never seen / read before. i found myself feeling like some parts dragged, also since e not a huge tennis fan some of the tennis talk did feel a bit boring to me. however , for fans of tennis i would highly recommend. i enjoyed the sisterhood between one of our fmc’s and her sisters. i also liked the side characters & seeing / getting to know their relationships with our fmcs. i enjoyed seeing the vulnerability of both our fmcs. overall, it wasn’t my favorite sapphic romance, but it was still good.

I really enjoyed the authors writing style with this book! The dual POV was really fun and necessary based on the plot of the book. This was overall very enjoyable. I do feel like the conflict went back and forth a few more times than necessary but overall a solid read.

Cannot resist a good queer sports romance! Only criticism is I wish it was hockey! I’m mostly joking. This was great, thank you so much!

I put down this book for a bit and ended up picking it back up to finish. Unfortunately I don't think this book was for me, but I definitely think it could be a fantastic read for others!

I found the character development fell a little flat and in its place was a lot of background and lots of tennis that didn't quite hit the mark. I feel like I got so much information about what was going on in random events, that the characters got let behind. This made it really hard to get behind the chemistry or root for Luca and Juliette - and I personally found Juliette pretty hard to root for anyway as she felt a bit unnecessarily bratty for a lot of the book for me.

Additionally, although the soulmate trope was a major part of this plot, I found that it fell a little flat in this specific case. I felt it could have been simplified with the general enemies to lovers plot-line. I personally don't love the soul mate trope so please keep that in mind for this review - but objectively I do not think this specific context was one that it really made sense in for me. It made the relationship feel really forced for Juliette and Luca.

Overall I felt that there was too much that was attempted in this book and it would have been a fantastic read as a cute sapphic sports enemies to lovers plot - with some extra character development and a little less tennis and soul mates .

I loved the concept and the idea - but unfortunately felt the execution was a little off for me!

Looking for a tennis/athletic heavy sapphic romance? Look no further! Katie Chandler has crafted a lovely soulmates AU with two rival top tennis players. I really enjoyed the book, even though I know nothing about tennis - and it does get pretty into tennis details.

In a world where fated soulmates have one another's names on their wrists, top tennis rivals find themselves at odds.
One FMC is just excited to have found her soulmate, even if she is bratty and spoiled FMC2.
FMC2 is steadfast in her belief of choosing the love of her life. This belief makes her pretty anti-soulmate - between this and the rivalry, she has moments of nastiness toward FMC1.
As the two must spend more time in one another's vicinity at tournaments, they learn that they have more in common than they expected and the personalities they thought they had, were just media facades.

A beautiful love story of not judging a book by its cover, finding priorities in life, and learning who you are as an adult.

I want to say it’s my own fault for not reading the description closely (I saw tennis and sapphic and jumped!) but the more I think about it, the more I think it’s not just me.
Because the first two chapters almost certainly confirm that our main characters are soulmates, and do not provide any conflict beyond their upcoming match, there is no tension. I could foresee no reason they could not be together. They was no implied homophobia, neither seemed against their soulmate-just intrigued- and the fact that they could be professional rivals falls flat in this day and age of great sportsmanship. Women, especially, don’t throw tantrums or fists when they lose. Moreover, I belief soulmates don’t have to be romantic….so even if one of them had a boyfriend we don’t see in chapter 1 or 2….I don’t see how it’s a problem.
Personally, I’ve spent A LOT of time thinking about soulmates and these tropes where one can know who their soulmate is, so perhaps it is me. Perhaps others will jump right in and need to know what’s stopping the two from being together and see them through to the end. But as fast as the cover and title grabbed me, the first few chapters lost me.

I was really excited for this sapphic enemies-to-lovers story, but I found it to be just okay. For one, I struggled with some of the tennis play-by-play, but I don’t know anything about the sport, so that may be a me problem. Secondly, I couldn’t get over how terrible Juliette was to Luca at the start. I realize there had to be some animosity, but if I were Luca I don’t think I could fall in love with someone who treated me that way. I did like that the story came full circle, starting and ending with them playing against each other, and I’m glad Luca got a happy ending, even if I think she deserves better.

Thank you to Atria Books, Katie Chandler, and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC.

I really enjoyed this! This is a sapphic enemies to lovers romance with a an unexpected magic realism twist that I didn’t necessarily love but didn’t ultimately take away from the story. I really enjoyed the tennis aspect, it was probably my favorite part. Overall I’d definitely recommend this so sapphic romance fans.

Backhanded Compliments by Katie Chandler

Imagine having someone’s name written on your wrist, your fated soul mate, and finding out that this person is your arch nemesis in the sport that you play. That’s what happens with Juliette and Luca in this rival-to-lovers sports romance. They trade insults during their press conferences for months leading to the court. Juliette begins to yearn towards Luca; a feat she tries to let go. And Luca doesn’t notice a thing, until one post-match handshake, she sees her rival’s name on her wrist. It’s some cruel joke, right? Despite their professional and personal clashes, the two players grow closer while they enjoy one too many limoncello shots and late-night massages. Even though they want to deny any feelings.

I had such a great time reading this book. I didn’t realize there was a twist at all until it came about and I enjoyed it a lot. I love having fantastical elements sprinkled in.

One of the best parts of this was that I read along to the audio I borrowed from Libby, and I was able to hear the accents of the two female narrators and how they brought them to life. It was pretty cool and made the book seem more authentic.
Thank you to Atria Books, the author, and NetGalley for this early copy!

I want to start out by saying I did really enjoy this authors writing style and will be reading more from her in the future!

With that being said, I can't quite tell what my thoughts are for this book - i spent half the time just kind of coasting through, not really invested in these two characters (admittedly i don't know a whole lot about tennis, however i was very interested in this title). I also will admit I found the soulmate aspect almost taking me out of the story at times? I feel like i almost wish the soulmate marks were either a more in depth aspect, where we got even more history on why they exist in this world, or not included - i feel like the rivals/enemies to lovers storyline was strong enough without the soulmate marks and i almost would have liked that more. I didn't DISLIKE this faction of the story, i just felt it was underdeveloped or almost unnecessary.

I also am not quite sure how i feel about the reuniting scene after the third act break up - it felt like it was apology, kiss, over. I wanted more - the third act break up was rough and i would have liked for Luca to stand up for herself a little more here, where it felt more so like she just accepted the apology and moved on due to, once again, the soulmate marks. Like fight for yourself girl!

Giving 3 stars because i did enjoy aspects of this story, including all the side characters, the main characters, and i do think these two are great for each other (i will also make note i did not feel this way the whole book - the second half really sold it for me harder! the first half just felt a little too "enemies" but bordering on mean in their competitiveness). It just left me feeling a little underwhelmed at times. I think i might just not be the target audience for this one, but i would recommend it to other people depending on what they're looking for! Sapphic romance is a hugely underrepresented genre and for that reason i will always recommend it to others i think would enjoy!

Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own!

Juliette and Luca are long-term tennis rivals, constantly set against each other. Luca sees Juliette as spoiled, arrogant, and everything she's not interested in. Then they shake hands after a match and their names appear on each others wrists. Knowing they're fated mates changes everything, and nothing at all.

*****

I really wanted to love this one. Sapphic romance is such a great genre, and the twist of fated mates brought a touch of magical realism in that I was so excited for. I was surprised that despite being fated mates, miscommunication and animosity were leaned into so heavily. Although it kept the chemistry up in the first half of the book, it started to wane and get repetitive and frustrating as I didn't feel like rooting for them any longer. It made it feel like the fated mates aspect was pushing them together, but they weren't actually suited for each other at all.

I'm also not someone who knows a lot about tennis, and unfortunately there's a lot of information of the sport itself - which I could see being exciting for tennis fans, but I ended up feeling lost. Overall, this was okay for a debut novel, but the choppiness of scenes, awkward dialogue and characters I struggled to root for made it harder to get through than expected.

*****

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

We absolutely need more sapphic representation in the romance genre! I had lots of fun with this book and will defiantly be recommending it at my job.

Backhanded Compliments is a rivals-to-lovers sapphic romance with a hint of magical realism set in the high-stakes world of competitive tennis. I really thought this was a fun one, and I enjoyed the magical soulmates twist! As a reader, it was easy to feel swept up in their ultra-competitive world with hints of glamour and fun. I recommend this to sports romance fans and those who don't mind a little magic along for the read. Thank you to Atria Books for the advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

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

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-f/f speculative romance
-rivals to lovers
-fated mates
-sports romance

This book was such an intriguing premise. Sports with a slight magical twist of fated mates. Love a good rivalry and this added an extra element

Preview: It may not have worked all the way for me, but I would still recommend you give it a try, if it interests you.

Review: I wasn’t sure if I would be satisfied upon finishing this book but I have to say, I was pretty satisfied with how it ended. To begin, I was definitely interested in the fact that it was a sapphic sports romance, specifically tennis. However, the opening was disorienting. It opens in the middle of a heated tennis match. While I can appreciate how the style of writing mirrored the very back & forth of a tennis match, as someone that doesn’t play tennis, I was struggling. I was worried the rest of the book would be full of chaotic tennis matches but luckily, the story focused on the relationship of the love interests more than their actual competitions.

Speaking of, the relationship between these two was frustrating - a lot of overthinking and back-and-forth internal conflict. If one of them had just initiated a serious sit-down conversation about their feelings, the first half of this book could have been nearly eliminated. The actions of one felt impulsive and a little inconsiderate and I would have been quite disappointed if the last tennis match in this book hadn’t ended like it had. Luckily, it ended right, in my opinion and I really enjoyed finally getting to read about these two actually comfortable and happy together, in the end. Additionally, I was not expecting a sort of magical element to this story, but it was one of the aspects I enjoyed.

Other than that, I often found myself being pulled out of the story by the writing style. I felt there were a lot of unnecessary descriptive details and the emotions were incredibly heightened and quite redundant. Overall, I did enjoy my time reading this book. It wasn’t revolutionary, but it wasn’t a DNF. It may not have worked all the way for me, but I would still recommend you give it a try, if it interests you.


Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for providing me with an early copy!

I'm sorry, but publishing this terribly written sapphic romance during Pride Month has to be borderline homophobic.

Backhanded Compliments is a steamy sapphic romance between two bitter tennis rivals who realize they're marked soulmates. Except, the "soulmate mark" 2013 tumblr plotline in this was beyond corny. Here's the example, "Luca traces her fingers along the familiar curve of each letter of her soulmark, slightly raised like a scar. The twisting loops that slide into each other, the sharp slash connecting the double letters; they weave together to tell her who was made to love her. It appeared when she was a toddler, when her soulmate was born, the name drawn in barely visible silver. Now, it tells everyone she hasn't touched her soulmate yet. Not that she ever lets anyone see the mark. Soulmarks are secretive, intimate; no one likes speculation about their mark."

"Luca is as careful as she can be, covering it with a wristband when she plays." A wristband seems like a poor choice for a professional tennis player during matches, but I digress.

"Still, nearly universal secrecy is what makes the headlines so splashy when a celebrity does accidentally reveal their mark." What a riveting day for the unemployed.

Overall, the immaturity and problems between the main characters made me think I was reading a Wattpad story. Their repetitive arguments over the same concern irritated me to no end that I was no longer rooting for their success.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, Katie Chandler, and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

Juliette Ricci is laser-focused on one thing: becoming the top women’s tennis player in the world. No distractions. No excuses. Especially not in the form of Lucky Luca Kacic—her stylish, aggravatingly laid-back rival whose effortless charm and maddening talent have made her a media darling and Juliette’s personal nemesis.

Their upcoming match at the Australian Open is the most hyped showdown of the season. And while Juliette’s determined to crush Luca on the court, what she doesn’t expect is to feel a spark during their post-match handshake. A literal one. Complete with Luca’s name burning across her wrist in soulmate script.

For Luca, love has always felt out of reach—until Juliette. The only problem? Juliette is prickly, competitive, and wants absolutely nothing to do with fate, feelings, or Luca herself.

But with sleepless nights, stolen glances, and post-match tension giving way to something deeper (and far steamier), they’re forced to ask the question: what happens when the only person who can break your heart is the one fate chose for you?

Enemies on the court. Soulmates off it.
Get ready for fierce volleys, slow-burn steam, and all the feels in this deliciously queer rivals-to-lovers romance where destiny comes with a wicked backhand.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the eARC!
Unfortunately this was a dnf for me. I think the fantastical element in top of a sports romance was just too much happening for me. I loved the description of this one and was so excited to read it! The tension was fantastic. I loved that this was a sapphic sports romance! It’s not something I come across often (I should probably seek it out more because this was so much fun). I liked the rival to lovers element and they had good chemistry. I definitely think some will love this, it just wasn’t for me!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Atria Books for the gifted e-book ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this if you like: Dual POV, enemies to lovers, sports romance, soulmates, steamy

There was a bit of a twist I was not expecting from this. It was steamy. I just had trouble connecting with the characters. They just seemed extra mean to each other, beyond enemies to lovers. That was rough.

I was not expecting the magical realism element going into this, but I thought it was well incorporated into the story. Once I got into the meat of the story, I was afraid that would take away from the romance between these rivals. I was gladly proven wrong. It ended up being a fun element to add to their relationship. It was different yet fun and… steamy! Perfect summer read.

Thank you to Netgalley & Atria for sending me an arc!