This was a good sporty wlw romance with a little magic. As someone who knows nothing about tennis, all the matches and sport lingo were well done and easily understood. Some of those matches had me on the edge of my seat waiting to see who won, especially that first game between Luca and Juliette. Then we get to see these rivals find their soulmate in each other, which was a magical twist. I liked Luca and Juliette as tennis players, but I don’t think their relationship worked. The only thing that seems to pull them together is being soulmates and beyond that it doesn’t seem like anything else draws them together. However, once they accepted their fate, I did like them together and seeing them and how they helped each other. This is good for a debut and would definitely read another book by the author.

I definitely had a fun time reading this book, but it could have been better! The pacing was choppy right from the start, and it was something I eventually got used to, but probably shouldn’t have had to. The character conflict started out as great banter, but overstayed its welcome eventually and started to not make a lot of sense. The setting, the wider cast of supporting characters, the inclusion of tennis, and the soulmates trope were all winning aspects of the book. If the story moved at a different pace and the conflict didn’t seem some contrived as it went on, this would easily be a 5 star read. For now, 3.

I DNF’d this book at 12pages in. It could be my mood reading or just that the story didn’t really capture my attention like I thought it would. Maybe I’ll give this another try in the future but it’s just not for me

This was a really enjoyable rivals to lovers story, with lots of queer joy and fun banter. The conflict of this one felt a little abrupt on both ends, but I still enjoyed it quite a lot!

I ended up DNFing this one at about 20% - I couldn't get past the choppy writing, and pacing that made no sense to me.

Overview:
Juliette Ricci has one thing on her mind and that is not finding her soulmate. Juliette’s only goal is proving to the world and her family that she is an exceptional tennis player. When all your family is tennis stars it is hard not to get lost in the mix, especially when your dad is your coach.

Luca Kacic feels like she has finally hit her stride in the tennis world when she really would like to find love. People keep calling her “Lucky” Luca but how lucky is she when the one person she wants to love her despises her. Seeing past their backhanded jabs at each other, sparks fly when Juliette and Luca connect. What is more important the sport you have dedicated your life to or your happily ever after.

The Vibes:

🖤Tennis
🖤LGBTQIA
🖤Italian FMC
🖤Croation FMC
🖤Soulmates
🖤Competitive
🖤Family Drama
🖤Anxiety
🖤Secret Relationship


ARC Review:
Thank you so much to NetGalley, Katie Chandler, and the publishing company for sending me an advance readers copy of Backhanded Compliments.

This was my first tennis romance and though I did not always understand what was happening during the matches, I had a great time. I thought this book was a slow burn it took me a minute to get into it, once it started I was locked in. This is the first book I have read by Katie Chandler, I enjoyed her blend of the real world with whimsical elements.

The museum scene really helped set the tone of the book and gave an in-depth history of what it meant to have a “soul mark.” I thought the idea of having the name of your soulmate on your body then one day finding them was romantic, with a side of unrelenting pressure. Even though some characters in the book did have soul marks they lived fulfilled lives without being with their soulmate.

I loved all the different relationships dynamics in this book, especially the Ricci Family. I want books about all the Ricci sisters and their relationships to have soul marks or not. One of the most relatable things about this book was that even if you are with your soulmate relationships are hard. I think there was a beautiful kaleidoscope of relationships in this book, I would love to read more about it.

Backhanded Compliments deals with sensitive topics such as anxiety attacks, performance anxiety, and abandonment/family issues. I believe this book is written in a way that handles these topics with care, detailing very human and realistic experience to all these topics. If it is triggering for you, please read with care.

To round out my thoughts this was a fun book that added a touch of magic to our everyday lives. A tennis romance that was thoughtful and steamy. Congratulations Katie Chandler on your new novel coming out June 10th!

Thank you again to the publishing house and NetGalley for my ARC.

Rating 3.5/5

This is going to be a short review, I'm sorry. It is just that this was the definition of a 3 star book for me. I don't really have any opinions on it. This book was just extremely mid. I adore soulmate au's in fanfic so I was excited to see that brought to live in a novel as well. I did like the way it was included in this book. So I am quite excited about that.
However, the rest of this book was just mid, as I said before. I feel like the romance was a bit underdeveloped, the conflict between them got very repetitive at well. At times this book felt very dragged out, and I was definitely a bit bored at times. On top of that it also never really managed to properly pull me in.
That all being said I still had a fun time with this book. As I mentioned before I loved the soulmate stuff. I also quite liked the cast of side characters, and I loved the focus on tennis. I don't know much about the sport but I did really like how much of it was included in this book, especially because it is such a huge part of both of our leads' lives.

I absolutely LOVE a sapphic romance, so I was over the moon when atria sent this sapphic sports romance arc to me! Thank you Atria!

This book follows two tennis players on the brink of greatness. Neither has made it to a grandslam final, but they've both been SO close. When they finally both make it to the Australian Open finals, emotions are high and they say some things in press interviews that firmly establishes them as rivals. What the public doesn't know is they both have the others name inscribed in the soul mark on their wrist. When they shake hands at the end of the match, the soul marks grow darker, signaling they have met their soul mate. But will their being soul mates make a difference with these two rivals who are set on being the best, no matter what it takes?

I loved this one! I did it as a mix of audio and eyeball reading and had such a great time with it. The narrators for the audio were really good with embodying these characters, so if you enjoy audios, I would recommend checking it out!

The spin on soulmates in this one was so intriguing! I loved that there was this magical realism element to a pretty sports heavy romance. It was such a fun twist!

The two FMCs were such a good balance of each other as well and complemented each other as soul mates. I loved how they really made each other better players and people! And the spice in this was delicious! They had so much tension and chemistry both on the court and off, so when they finally get together, we see why its so much better with soul mates!

There were a lot of fun side characters in this as well. It really was such a good cast and fun plot. I loved the tennis elements as well and the tournament cycle. Overall this was sweet, spicy, and a great read all around! I highly recommend it!

Backhanded Compliments is a sapphic romance with touches of magical realism. Juliette and Luca are rivals on and off the court, but things get more complicated when their soulmate marks flash after shaking hands post-match.

I had fun with this one! I think the author builds characters and side characters very well, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each of them. I might’ve liked a few more than Juliette 😅.

I loved the match descriptions and felt like I was watching it happen on TV, trying to close my eyes at match point. I felt the nerves and release along with the characters, and I believe that’s what really shines in this book. Wanting to give it your all but also making small mistakes that cost you the game (great metaphor).

I do think the conflict came a little too late in the story, making it feel very out of the blue and out of character for Juliette. It’s built up that she’s accepting her soulmate mark, only for her to flip after one hard practice and hurt Luca like that. For that to have worked for me I needed a deeper conversation between them. It could just be my own bitterness shining through, but I think Luca forgives too easily, and they needed to go deeper with their convo about what needs to change for there to be a future with them.

Another thing I appreciated was the anxiety rep!! I connected more with Luca because of this and felt her experience was described really well. This also made me want to know more about Luca and her family/past, where I feel like we got a lot more from Juliette. With more of a balance between their development, I might’ve liked their connection more. Because of how Juliette acted through the conflict and leading up to them getting together, it felt like a bad match to me.

Last thing I’ll say is as a lover of magical realism, I would describe this as a dash or sprinkle of magical realism that left me wanting a littleeeee more, but that is my personal preference.

Overall, a great start for this author, and I hope to see more stories centered around some side characters !!(I’m looking at you, Octavia and Remi)

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for access to this arc

TENNIS!!! LESBIANS!!! SOULMATES!!!

I found my self grinning like a fool SO often. It was fun and I LOVE messy sapphics who are a little mean. This is specific type of soulmate AU's I eat up. This combined? I ate it up! Is it everyone cup of tea? probably not but suck to be them!

There is a lot of tennis, and personally I loved it. To me it felt like I was reading a Challengers novelization at those parts, I've got no clue what happening but obsessed with the energy.

I wanna give a shout out to amount of detail Chandler put in to each location. Specifically for me Cincinnati and Naples. As someone who lives around the Cincinnati Open i loved how real it felt. the only thing missing was the amusement park across the street.

Slight spoilers but micro tropes that I was EATING UP. I don't normally add these but this was a second time I read both of these and they are IMPORTANT TO ME.
-for sapphic romances- Mid physical romantic encounter telling the other to go to therapy
- for tennis romance- shit happening in mason Ohio (shout out challengers)

Backhanded Compliments is a story about tennis and two soulmates. Luca and Juliette are rivals who ferociously compete whenever they meet on the court. In a world where soulmates have a mark on their body with the name of their soulmate, both Luca and Juliette have a mark. When they realize they are soulmates, chaos ensues as they continue to battle it out on the court. Will Luca and Juliette be able to find the balance between tennis rivals and soulmates?

The love of tennis is infused through this book! Katie Chandler clearly loves this sport. The worldbuilding around soulmate marks was very interesting! I liked how not everyone gets a soulmate or there are complications that may arise from finding your soulmate. I loved Juliette’s sisters and how supportive they were. Luca was my favorite and I found her more relatable. Juliette was definitely going through a lot, but her behavior was more immature. By the end, it was a satisfying conclusion to their romance. I’m hoping for more stories from this world!

Thank you to Katie Chandler, Atria Books, and NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.

I didn't love the soulmate trope but this was still cute. I appreciated how it dealt with the anxiety and panic attacks that both girls had and that they could support each other through these.

2.5/5 ⭐️

This ARC was provided by NetGalley and Atria Books. I was so excited for this book after reading the description on NetGalley but it did not do it for me. I didn’t like the premise of soulmates in this book and the “magic” of it in an otherwise real world setting. I also wish the author used more pronouns. It went from a weird 1st person and 3rd person perspective. I did like the tennis aspect and Juliette’s sisters being so supportive.

Backhanded Compliments is a fun and emotional romance between two tennis rivals with a fun soulmate twist. To be honest, I didn't read the synopsis past the part about sapphic tennis rivals because that was enough for me to be chomping at the bit for it. My little fanfic reader heart was so happy when I realized they have soulmarks!!

The subplots really add so much to the characters. I loved how both main characters grew and supported one another in that growth. The spice was a nice touch as well.

If you're looking for a book to give you back a Challengers summer, this is it!

Thank you to the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Atria for the advance reader copy and to Simon Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

Backhanded Compliments is more than just a sapphic sports romance. It's a magical world in which people have soul marks that tell them the name of their soulmate. And Juliette and Luca realize they are each other's soulmates after their first tennis match.

The book is heavily focused on tennis. It even includes an author's note at the start about how Katie Chandler changed the timing of tennis matches to fit her narrative.

The story raises fascinating questions about fate. I would have loved to see even more exploration of the soul marks and what it means to have them or not. It felt either like those were left unfinished or that there was a set up for future stories in this same world to explore them further/

Mia Hutchinson-Shaw and Jeremy Carlisle Parker narrated the audiobook. Both are phenomenal narrators, and the audio helped me telling the main characters apart, as the writing did not do that as well. The FMCs alternately went by first names, last names, and nicknames, so it took me a while to consistently recognize who was who.

3.75 stars rounded up

This story follows two tennis rivals who realize they are perfect for each other. This was not a bad book but I loved the sports romance genre. As the summary sounded good, the overall plot of the book was weak. It was a bit messy and wasn’t getting anywhere. There wasn’t much conflict to keep it entertaining but I did enjoy the constant bantering. This book is told from dual pov but from the third person. It won’t be so bad but since they’re both women, it does it hard with repetition of the names constantly being used since it also gets confusing with “she”. I think first person would have been good.

Luca is an FMC who is a romantic and wants Juliette to be her soulmate. Juliette wants to focus on tennis only. I enjoyed the characters for the most part but I just couldn’t connect with them. I did enjoy seeing them develop and finding their love for each other. There are a few side characters but none who took the spotlight from the FMCs which was good. This is a rivals to lovers and forced proximity romance with sapphic representation and is steamy. The romance was okay but not the best out there. I think for rivals to lovers, the whole soulmate thing got too far.

The ending was good, but it didn’t feel like a read a story. Like, what exactly happened? There’s a chance other readers will enjoy this book. I think if the third-person writing was first-person, this book would have improved the reading experience.

*this book was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

This was such a fun and romantic story. I really enjoyed the soulmate marks twist. The writing was smooth and I completely felt the difference in the story once Juliette apologized and embraced their special connection.

Do I believe in soulmates, or even fate or souls? Absolutely not. I am a firm believer in free will, big hater of essentialism, and any form of set destiny. Did I, at one point in my fanfiction writing career, write a soulmate AU? Yes, good luck finding it.
Did I see many reviews of this book complaining about the inclusion of the advertised soulmate trope? Please learn to read the summary before requesting an ARC. However, this is also a clear side effect of the utter lack of sapphic sports romance: people will read anything and then be disappointed by their differing expectations.
Despite being a hater of the concept, soulmates are to me such a great plot device to bring characters together, create tension, and (here) plot-mandated physical device, while having characters fight against fate.
In fact, the book is at it's strongest when it doesn't try to do any soulmate worldbuilding. It is an inherently problematic concept if you think about it too much so you're better off ignoring it beyond the plot device it is. 
At one point, our protagonists, Juliette and Luca, visit a Roman museum in Pompeii, and we are introduced to some soulmate worldbuilding (weak), which leads to tension between their differing worldviews on the topic (good). It's Juliette (I believe) who points out that it must have been hard to find your soul mate because Roman society had very few different first names. Do not make me think of bad worldbuilding! Of course, in a society where you only have the first name of your soulmate, people would drift towards having the most unique and different names possible. Your concept clashes with real world history but I can ignore it if you don't mention it.
Soulmate tropes (if defined by romantic love) always come with a baggage of amatonormativity to unpack, but that is true of the entire romance genre,e where by the time the leads meet, you know they are fated (by the author and genre conventions) to be together. However, I did appreciate the highlight that not everyone is with their soulmate in this universe or that not everyone has one.
I will say that I enjoyed this book for the exact reasons some reviewers disliked it. It is fully a "fanfiction" book, not only by the inclusion of the soulmate trope, mostly popularised through soulmates AU of various modalities, but the writing, both in prose and focus, is very reminiscent of fanfiction.
It is a book deeply concerned with how characters make each other feel, and that is my guilty pleasure in fanfiction. The prose may not be impressive, but the characters are hyperaware of each other's presence. Well, I like that. It's a romance I like, the hyper focus on reaction, whether physical or emotional.
The inclusion of Twitter (still called Twitter in a 2025 book) is also very reminiscent of certain fanfictions that are more focused on fan reactions to characters in Athlete AUs/stories. In particular, detailed tweets are included as pictures inside the text instead of being texts like in other books, the way you would do it on AO3. (If you don't know Outsider POV is one of the great accomplishments of fanfictions)
Now for another contentious topic among reviewers: Juliette is a brat. Yes she is. If you don't like bratty characters, this is not the book for you. She's petty and jealous of her love interest,t but to me it's what creates some fun tension in rivals to lovers. I found that I really appreciated that Juliette was bratty but not too childish. Sure, she says things just to hurt but she doesn't let that get in the way of her work or she tries to make amends and remain on professional speaking terms with Luca as her coworker.
Backhanded Compliments does lose some steam towards the end when the main romance and sports rivalry are diluted by the romantic conflicts of the side cast (no, you don't need two different side romantic plotlines of characters sneaking around). While opening strongly on tennis matches and ranking, the sports become a background device to justify travelling around the globe, and maybe some of the characters' anxieties with the classic sports romance breakup of "you're distracting me/I'm not focused enough on my game". This would have carried more weight if the characters had been together (or rather in a very tentative relationship) for more than 24 hours.
Fortunately, it picks up again past the 80% mark as the story refocuses on tennis, but foregoing the rivalry as Juliette never really peaks as a player and ends up in a satisfying conclusion.
The side cast, however, bogs down the overall story. There are many characters that the author clearly loves and wants to give development to, but unfortunately, there are just too many. One of Ricci sisters could have been cut because, besides their relationship status, it's hard to tell Claudia from Octavia, the side players are given too many times, and the older women cast is there for such a short time that I couldn't tell them apart.

Backhanded Compliments is for the Art and Patrick lovers, except let’s make it Sapphic! With a dash of magical realism, this is a fun summer read. I do think it’s a little longer than I anticipated, and I wanted it to wrap up just a bit sooner.

This book was not for me. The pacing was slow for me and wasn't engaging enough to keep me interested. Also, going back and forth between both the FMCs first and last names kept getting me confused. I ended up not finishing the entire book and stopped at 44%. I may give this a chance again later, but putting it away for now.