*Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books for E-ARC via Netgalley, in exchange for a honest review*

4.5 ⭐️

I had always loved sport romance. In the past year, I got back into sports romance, and there is something about those books that I can’t seem to get enough of. Even though I've only played tennis once, it's my favorite sport after baseball and hockey. My great grandmother used to be a tennis instructor and taught me about the game and rules when she was still alive. I've read a few sports romances in the last year, but there aren't many that focus on tennis, which is one of the things I love about this one: it is different. Chandler's description of the tennis matches was so vivid that I felt as if I were there, rooting for Luca and Juliette. . To be honest, I cheered more for Luca at first because I wasn't sure if I liked Juliette. By the middle of the book, I found myself rooting for both. I hoped one would win.

I love books with magical realism. I didn't think it was a major focus in this novel, but it worked so beautifully with the plot. I like that it is about soulmates; my friend and I are working on a series on soulmates, but ours is more fantasy-based. So, I couldn't help but love it! I wondered if the two of them would get together, especially given how Juliette acted and treated Luca at the beginning. One of the reasons I had conflicting feelings about Juliette was the way she acted. As I read more of Backhanded Compliments , I began to question if Juliette's behavior was due to her denial of her feelings. It was difficult for me to put the book down since I was curious about what would happen between Juliette and Luca.

I enjoyed how this book focused on anxiety. I can really connect because I've had anxiety since I was a teenager. I admire books with mental health representations.

The title is what drew me to the book first and made me curious about the story. Backhanded Compliments was far more than I expected. There were a few slow parts and several tensions that were resolved far too quickly, but I enjoyed the majority of the story. I couldn't get through the pages fast enough. I liked how you fell in love with not only Juliette and Luca, but also with the minor characters; there weren't many people I disliked Katie Chandler done a wonderful job with character development and making people fall in love with the plot, characters, and even the game. After reading Backhanded Compliments, I found myself pursuing for more tennis books to read. I'm really grateful for the opportunity to read this amazing story. I can't wait to see what Chandler has planned for us next!

First things first, I was initially drawn to this book when I saw it was a sapphic sports romance! Rivals-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes, and I loved the idea of being transported into the world of professional tennis. However, once I started reading, I realized it wasn’t quite the story I had expected. The forced soulmate element caught me off guard, and it didn’t entirely work for me here. It felt like it removed a lot of the tension that usually makes rivals-to-lovers so compelling. Their banter, which started fun and sharp, quickly became repetitive, and I struggled to stay emotionally connected as the story progressed.

Juliette was a particularly tough character for me. Her bitterness and refusal to grow past particular grudges made it hard to root for her, and I found myself more frustrated than invested by the third act. Luca had some great moments, and I appreciated the vulnerability we got from her side, but overall, I didn’t feel like their dynamic developed in a way that felt fully earned.

That said, I did enjoy the setting and the traveling experience for the tournaments. Overall, this book had potential and a few intense moments, but it fell flat for me. Fans of the soulmate trope or lighter contemporary romance with a sports backdrop might enjoy it more than I did.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

I want to state that I don't typically read romance books, so this was a bit outside my preferred genre.

I feel that once I saw that this was a sapphic sports romance book, I automatically decided that I wanted to read it without looking at all the details (something that I should have done). I went into reading this book thinking that it was going to be the rivals-to-lovers trope, and was disappointed when it turned out to be forced soulmates. I loved their banter at first, but it quickly felt repetitive and flat, and I ended up disliking Juliette as the book continued.

Overall, I think this was an okay book, but I just wasn't able to connect with the characters like I have with other books.

-Thank you Netgally for the ARC-

3.5 stars

I love a rivals sports romance, especially if it's queer, so I was so excited for this one. And it was so fun! The soulmates aspect? I actually loved. I don't mind a little paranoraml/magical element to an otherwise contemporary story. Where this book gets a bit frustrating, though, is in Juliette's character and how she is so adamantly against being WITH HER SOULMATE because she beat her in an important tennis match. This continues to be a conflict throughout the story, no matter how much Juliette and Luca spend time together and actually start to like each other. Which means the third act break up was a bit frustrating. But I really had fun reading this one and think it's the perfect romance to pick up during the summer. They travel all over for tournaments, really do become vulnerable with one another, and realize what is really important in life. If you love rivals sports romance, you have to pick this one up!

4/5⭐️

I’ll never pass up a sapphic sports romance and this one is no different. A rivals-to-lovers, fated soulmates, tennis romance, Backhanded Compliments has single handedly convinced me to get into the tennis world.

The romance and characters were so complex, which isn’t too common with contemporary romance nowadays, and I loved the little fantasy aspects of soulmates added to an otherwise normal romance. Just something a little extra and I loved it.

I will say this story is very tennis heavy and if you, like me, have never watched a game of tennis in your life, you might find yourself lost or bored at times. That being said, if you, also like me, live off of sapphic tension, angst and eventual joy, you’ll also enjoy it.

Brb, going to go watch women’s tennis for the foreseeable future

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an open and honest review! All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

ARC Review: Backhanded Compliments by Katie Chandler
Pub Date: June 10th

I'll be honest that I don't always love magical realism in my books. The issue I usually have is that I don't feel like the magical realism really adds to the story - like if you took the magic away, it wouldn't really affect the book. But, I have to say, I did have a pretty good time with this one! I will say that if you don't read the description of the book carefully, the reference to magical realism is sort of "blink-and-you'll-miss-it". I had a heads up from a friend about the magical realism which I do think helped my enjoyment of the book.

I kind of love a rivals to lovers story - I really enjoy the tension and the real life forces keeping them apart. The reluctant soul mate aspect just added to that tension. I liked the depth that both Juliette and Luca had as characters and thought the evolution of their relationship made a lot of sense in the context of the story.

I listened to the audio from Simon Audio and really loved both narrators - I love when sapphic or MM books have two narrators and I thought the narrators did excellent jobs with the myriad of accents. I highly recommend picking up the audio for this one if you're thinking about reading!

Thank you to Atria books for the eARC and Simon Audio for the ALC

This was my first book by Katie Chandler. I thoroughly enjoyed Backhanded Compliments, both Juliette and Luca love and competitiveness were so entertaining.

This was a very fun introduction to Katie Chandler's writing. I enjoyed the characters and the story greatly. Having such detailed accounts of the tennis matches added so much competitive tension to the story! I will definitely keep my eye out for more books from Katie! Thanks to NetGalley and the publishing team for giving access to an early copy of Backhanded Compliments.

A fiery, high-stakes romance that serves up sharp banter, emotional depth, and serious chemistry.

Juliette and Luca are electric on the page—intense rivals with undeniable tension that builds with every exchange. The tennis backdrop is vivid and thrilling, and the emotional undercurrents of ambition, identity, and vulnerability add real weight to their journey. I especially loved how their animosity slowly gave way to understanding, with moments of humor, tenderness, and heat layered throughout.

The soulmate twist added a surprising element that deepened their connection without feeling forced. Watching these two fierce, flawed women navigate fame, pressure, and their feelings was both heart-wrenching and hopeful.

Perfect for fans of sports romance, rivals-to-lovers dynamics, and queer love stories with heart. I couldn’t put it down!

⋆.˚✮ 3 stars ✮˚.⋆

⤿ Thank you to Atria Books for the physical arc and finished copy in exchange for an honest review!

when this was pitched to me as reminiscent of challengers and carrie soto is back, but with lesbian romance i immediately jumped on the opportunity to read this book. i read carrie soto last year and was immediately the biggest fan, and watched challengers on a plane ride and thought it was such a fun movie! while the main characters Juliette and Luca were both high-rank tennis players, and were moving throughout their tournaments during this book, i wish there was MORE of that! the scenes with tennis felt choppy at times and i wish there had been even more about their training, tournaments, and other players (more like carrie soto) but i understand this was a romance and so obviously there's going to be a large focus on the main characters. i think it would just have elevated the story even more.

the plot overall was a bit choppy, moving in and out of lots happening and almost nothing happening. i think the author could have made it flow a bit better and it wouldve made me feel more connected with the overall plot. as this is a romance, slight spoiler, of course there is a third act break-up which was so frustrating. i get frustrated usually anyways with the classic third act break-up, but this one was extra infuriating. there was just so much miscommunication between the characters the entire story, and it was frustrating to read about and constantly seeing it happening, especially over little things.

while i wanted to badly so root for this couple, as apparently they were soulmates, i just don't think they were a good match for most of the story. Juliette was very rude and acted like a brat in the beginning, she was mean to Luca for no real reason. Luca gave her so much patience that she did not deserve and it was weird to see this dynamic continue for the whole book. I did not see their connection romantically, beyond the predetermined "soulmate" title for them. I felt this was really an excuse to keep them together rather than promote actual romantic chemistry.

this book was not bad for a debut novel and i definitely think this author has some good potential to write some cute romances! there were just things for me personally that didn't fully click, but i look forward to seeing what she might write next.

↬ trigger warnings: death of a parent mentioned, controlling parenting/coaching, sports injury, miscommunication issues

I jumped at the chance to read Backhanded Compliments after discovering it was a sapphic Challengers meets Carrie Soto is Back. What I didn’t know before reading was that it’s also a soulmate AU, which I haven’t read before. Nonetheless, that didn’t deter me from finishing the book.

The novel follows Juliette and Luca, who are professional tennis players, rivals, and, on top of that, soulmates, the latter becoming the main source of conflict for both characters. In the world they live in, it is understood that some people are born with a soul mark (or two), and Luca enters her first match against Juliette, hopeful that this Juliette is her soulmate. After their first match, the pair find themselves in close proximity with each other and are forced to confront the unsaid.

There’s a lot of great banter and quips between the two, but unfortunately, it felt repetitive as the novel progressed. Their conflict also extinguished itself as quickly as it appeared, which felt like it was being swept under the rug too quickly. That made it especially hard to root for Juliette and Luca’s relationship.

A strong point of the novel was the conversations that centered on family and mental health. I enjoyed those scenes the most because that’s when the characters felt the most real to me, and I could connect to them as athletes who were under immense pressure and scrutiny. Additionally, I enjoyed how much tennis and its technical terms were included.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you Atria Books for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

I’ve seen mixed reviews for Backhanded Compliments but overall I enjoyed it. I did a mix of the ebook and the audiobook which was narrated by Mia Hutchinson-Shaw and Jeremy Carlisle Parker, two favorites.

This seemed longer than it was for some reason, but it still managed to keep my attention. Juliet and Luca start as tennis rivals, and then find out they have a soulmate mark with one another’s names. This has a little touch of magical realism which added a fun element to the story.

This starts a tenuous enemies to lovers relationship until Juliet and Luca get to know each other and start to develop real feelings. This has a lot of tennis moments, but I didn’t find it hard to follow as someone with little tennis knowledge.

Juliet and Luca’s romance felt a little too much like instalove but the magical realism helped it make more sense for me. I really enjoyed the ending and how they were able to celebrate each other’s wins. I would definitely check out future books from this author.

Backhanded Compliments by Katie Chandler
Genre: Sapphic Romance
Pages:352
Published: 6/10/2025

Synopis: Two tennis stars find out what happens when your soulmate is your biggest rival.

Thoughts:
*The soulmark tattoo was an interesting concept. I just wish there were more backstory on that.
*It was also interesting how different the two coaches were, Vladimir seemed more like a supportive father than Antony was.
*Liked Luca's character right away, Juliette took a bit more time. But, with her coach/father, you can tell why she's like that.
*Enjoyed the build-up between Luca's & Juliette's relationship and how they just made each other better.
*The way they announced themselves was my favorite part.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thanks to @atriabooks and @netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
#rivalstolovers, #backhandedcompliment, #sappicromance, #sportromance, #romancebooks, #netgalley

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this sapphic sports romance novel. This was my first time reading anything from this author and I don’t know if this is her first experience with magical realism (the soulmate marks) but I was obsessed with the subtle hints that aided in the story. I think that maybe the novel was a bit too long (it felt like conflict and resolution were a little too spaced out and we got a lot of “filler”) overall I did enjoy this and would consider reading more from this author!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC :)

This one was not for me. I was really excited for the tennis rivals aspect but their relationship lacked a lot of connection and depth for me. It just felt very forced and lacked chemistry.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and author Katie Chandler for providing me with the eARC of “Backhanded compliments” in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: June 10th, 2025
Reviewed on Goodreads

This book was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and I must say, it did NOT disappoint.
This story was
- Sapphic
- Enemies/rivals to lovers
- A dream come true
This was scrumptious. Delicious. I ate up every single word on every single page.

In this story we meet two rival tennis players, who happen to be soulmates (as shown by having each other’s names on their wrists). The two women navigate the challenges brought into their lives and into their careers, when the person you want to beat is also the person you want to love.

I should admit that I know absolutely nothing about tennis. I do not know the terminology or how the game itself even works… but these two ladies made me want to learn. There was a lot of tennis incorporated into the story, without it feeling overwhelming or annoying to someone who doesn’t understand it.
This was just so good.
I LOVE Juliette and Luca together. Luca is especially amazing. She is so adorable, sweet, and wholesome. Juliette was so mean at the beginning, so I feel like I wasn’t able to love her character as much throughout the entire story but I am so glad she finally
Their romance is cute, their rivalry is cute, they are just CUTE!!

The sunscreen scene actually had me on the edge of my seat. I felt the tension through the book. I didn’t know fictional characters could give me that much anxiety, but perhaps they should give me more.

Overall, I really adored this story.
Standing ovation for Katie Chandler. You have really done something here, and I am SO excited to see more from you in the future.

Backhanded Compliments by Katie Chandler was very cute. I enjoyed all the tennis sections and do love a good sports romance. A bit repetitive at times but still enjoyed the story.

I thought the fated mates trope was interesting. I don't know if it was necessary. There was something off about it throughout the book for me. Definitely added a fun twist though to your typical contemporary romance with some magical realism.

For someone who struggles with anxiety, I appreciated the representation and felt true to my experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc, I loved this! Sapphic soulmates enemies/sports rivals to lovers, yes please. This was so much fun. I’m not going to lie I hated Juliet for a while there but she really grew on me as the story progressed. This was such a lovely summer read. I recommend it for fans of Cleat Cute and anyone who loves the soulmate trope or sports rivals to lovers. I’m really excited to see what Katie Chandler does next. I did a hybrid read with the audiobook and both narrators were phenomenal, it’s one I highly recommend listening to if that’s your thing.

Juliette eats, breathes, and sleeps tennis. Ever since she was a child, she’s known she was going to follow in her older sisters’ footsteps and play tennis; more than that, she was going to win! Juliette will take on all the courts, vie for all the trophies, and bring them home. There are a few roadblocks, though, such as Luca Kacic, a player who might just be better than Juliette, and who is well on her way to a championship title. Unlike Juliette, who is doing her best to hold on to her top ten placement.

Luca has always been alone. With her parents dead, it’s only Luca and her coach, Vladimir, who is the only person to ever sit in her box and cheer her on. She doesn’t mind it, not really, and not today. Today, Luca has the chance to meet Juliette Ricci, the girl who may well be her soulmate, the person who will love her, support her, be there for her. Only … things don’t go as planned. Juliette takes losing the match very poorly, leaving Luca hurt and confused.

They’re each other’s soulmate. Why won’t Juliette acknowledge it? Why does she push Luca away in the cruelest way possible? When offered a chance to play in a charity tournament with Juliette as a teammate, Luca accepts. She has to know, once and for all, if there’s any chance of happiness for her, with or without Juliette.

Juliette is always aggressive in her initial interactions with Luca, always angry, always jealous and cruel. At the house while they wait to compete in the charity tournament, it’s Juliette’s sister who speaks for her, trying to paint her sister in a kinder light. When Luca and Juliette finally have a bonding moment — well, a physical bonding moment — Luca backs off, saying she can’t get involved in a purely physical relationship again; she wants to mean something to Juliette off the court and out of bed, not just while they’re playing or fucking. Juliette thinks this is Luca trying to mess with her head. Juliette doesn’t have these thoughts out of nowhere, however; she isn’t a bitch by accident, but by emulation. Her father, her coach — always called by his name in every thought and interaction — treats her like an investment. He never apologizes for his cruelties or his curtness, for making her second guess herself, doubt herself, or making her feel like she can never measure up. Her entire worth to her father is her playing — no, not her playing. Her winning.

Luca, on the other hand, isn’t given as much background, or as much depth, in my opinion. It feels to me as if she’s set up to be the love interest, to be the excellent tennis player — beautiful, of course — who inspires jealousy, who is as physically attracted to Juliette as Juliette is to her, and to want love more than anything else. While Luca’s the one with anxiety, it’s Juliette who has on-page panic attacks; while we see Juliette struggle in her matches, it’s Luca who easily wins them. It feels like rather than to be a person on her own, Luca’s the reward for Juliette’s character growth. This isn’t a bad thing, and I do think the relationship is well put together and has a strong resolution, but this very much feels like Juliette’s story, with Luca there along for the ride.

As a character, Juliette is a messy, angry young woman who learns to put down the weight her father put on her, and to choose to love the game she plays rather than play the game she loves. She also chooses to be happy, to do what’s best for her rather than her career. However, I’m not certain I really think she did enough to deserve a happy ending. She was terrible to Luca in the beginning, cruel in the breakup, and her chances to apologize, to undo some of the hurt she caused were a bit lackluster. I wanted more of a redemption arc for her rather than just a romance.

There’s a thought here, in the book, a conversation to be had about how soulmates force you into a relationship with someone against your will, how sometimes physical attraction just isn’t enough to build a future on. In this world, some people have two soul marks, but it’s never given more attention than a comment, with the focus on Luca and Juliette, rather than the world around them. I am curious to see if there will be further books in this world to flesh out these ideas; if so, I’ll certainly be picking them up.

Even so, it’s well written and well paced, even with all the tennis scenes. Even as someone who has never played or watched, I was still able to get the gist of them. The tennis never lasts too long, and gave me the impression that the characters knew what they were talking about, even if I didn’t. I read this in a single sitting, and while the story didn’t do things exactly as I might have wished it to, I still enjoyed it, and do recommend it if you’re looking for a sapphic romance with quite a bit of steam.

I really wanted to love BACKHANDED COMPLIMENTS by Katie Chandler. A sapphic rivals-to-lovers sports romance with a touch of magical realism (the two leads are fated soulmates)? What more could I ask for?

Oddly enough, the answer is actually that I needed a little less:

- A little less of the actual tennis play, because as much as I do actually prefer sports romances to actually include a bit of the sports, this was so tennis heavy that the sections describing the play felt, to me—a person who knows nothing of tennis except ball goes over net—like they were narrated by the adults in Peanuts. Which is to say: I hope all the tennis stuff is true for tennis fans, and I hope they like the play-by-play. But it’s perhaps less approachable to the rest of us.

- A little less repetition, and also fewer adjectives. While I generally liked the flow of Chandler’s writing and the way she used present tense and third-person, the same sentiments (lines about Luca not trusting Juliette’s intentions, for one) were repeated so regularly I started saying “I know, I get it” out loud when they came up again. And as for the adjectives: it’s also the adverbs and also the similes. While some of them paint a picture, others actually felt like they distracted me from what was happening in the story.

- And finally: actually none of the magical realism. I’m sorry! I know it’s one of the major plot points! I know it’s the primary source of tension (Luca wants her soulmate and Juliette doesn’t want to have one/lose control)! But something about it didn’t work for me. It felt like the book was trying to do too much, and the soulmate aspect just didn’t always make sense to me? I feel like the story would have worked better if it was just a straight rivals-to-lovers tennis romance.

That said! I loved Luca (Juliette was ok). The anxiety representation felt very real to me as someone who has anxiety. And I did love that we got tennis for a sports romance. While I may know literally nothing about the sport, it was still fun to get something new compared to the other sports romances out there. But overall, this one was just ok.