My favorite writer of contemporary fiction is back, and this time, she's bringing tennis phenom Carrie Soto along for the ride. I have to say, I was a bit surprised at the outset, as Carrie's world seems so far removed from what I would've expected from TJR. It bears little-to-no resemblance to her previous efforts, such as Daisy Jones, Evelyn Hugo, or One True Loves. Then again, that's exactly why Jenkins Reid is such a literary unicorn-- she can seemingly write anything, and refuses to pidgeon-hole herself or be defined firmly by any one genre or subject matter. It's actually difficult to attach any sort of 'branding' to her, which is why I just automatically read anything she writes. The only real through line is that she's putting out quality writing, with compelling and complex females navigating different environments. I suppose the closest relative in the TJR family of books would be Malibu Rising, which makes sense since this is set in the same world as that book and features some of the same characters. But that was a more sprawling ensemble piece, with big set pieces and a raucous party, whereas this is far more focused on the interior life of a perpetually 'difficult woman', as she navigates the world as an aging woman.

Don't like tennis? Don't worry. Sure, there's a lot of descriptions of the game, but Jenkins Reid masterfully uses it to create a complex, typically male-dominated world that thrives on youth and whiteness, and she also utilizes the four matches to amp up the stakes. I dare you to read this and not think, even once, 'maybe I should get tennis lessons'.

As usual, I loved this book b/c I love everything by this author. In this story, Carrie Soto is the most accomplished woman in tennis (although also the most prickly) when she retires. After a younger player ties her record, she stages a comeback.

When I get lucky enough to get an early copy from Taylor Jenkins Reid, I can't wait till publication time to read it. I have to read it now! This one comes out in August so pre-order away!

Carrie Soto was the top tennis player back in the day. She is going to make a comeback so her record of most Slams is not taken by someone else. She is in her late thirties (which is old in sports). She is training with her father Javier. He trained her from a little girl, always telling her that she was going to be the best tennis player ever. But then there is a time when she dumps him as her coach in her effort to be the best, the most important thing to her. Now she knows she needs him. It has always been the two of them against the world after her mother dies young.

Carrie is a hard nut to crack. She is unlikeable at times. She is not very nice to others. Carrie is labeled Battle Axe and the Bitch by everyone. I love her growth throughout the novel. Her relationship with Bowe is one you root for.

As much as she made me mad at times, I really warmed up to her as time goes on. You understand why she feels the way she does.

Another plus is the connection between Malibu Rising and this book and even a Daisy Jones mention. Love it!

I don't think you can ever go wrong with a book by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I am always satisfied.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for and advance copy for review of this wonderful book.

The perfect book doesn’t exist… @tjenkinsreid writing this book

Thank you @penguinrandomhouse and @netgalley for my #gifted eARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎾 genre: contemporary fiction
🖊 author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
📖 format: kindle
📚 read if you like: tennis, sports, bad*ss female protagonists

Thoughts:

I’m calling it now, Carrie Soto is Back is my favorite book of 2022 🎾

I do not have the words to describe how much I loved this novel and just how good it is. As soon as I finished the eARC, I preordered a physical copy, and I NEVER do that.

Carrie Soto is the best tennis player in the world. She’s fierce, determined, and a bit b*tchy. She doesn’t care what other people think; all she wants to do is win, and she does. She and her father and coach, Javier, have given everything up to make sure she shatters all the records she sets her mind too.

But a few years into her retirement, Nicki Chan is set to break Carrie’s record and win the most Grand Slams. Determined to take back her title, Carrie and her father come out of retirement with the goal of winning one more Grand Slam.

TJR is brilliant. This book moves quickly, but does a phenomenal job of showing how Carrie grows throughout the novel. Carrie Soto is Back is a character driven novel, and while, Carrie, at times isn’t the most likable character, I dare you to not cheer for her.

If I could be jumping up and down rooting for her from the stands, I would. TJR writing is so spot on that I actually felt like I was watching Carrie play.

Through Carrie’s story, we see how male and female athletes are treated differently and how that affects how they are seen.

I feel in love with all the characters of this book and so wish that it never ended.

The ending was a bit predictable and I guessed it at around 80% into the book, but it was so perfect. It really brought Carrie full circle.

Honestly, this is such an amazing story, and I can’t wait for Carrie Soto is Back to be released in August. Definitely make sure you preordered a copy of this one!

Trained by her father, Javier, since age two, Carrie Soto rose to be the world's greatest female tennis player, setting every possible record. Carrie's single-mindedness to be the best female tennis player to the exclusion of everything else has left her with little else in her life upon her retirement at 31.

Six years later after watching her Grand Slam record of 20 wins beaten, Carrie decides to attempt a comeback with her father once again coaching her. Included in her story is Bowe Huntley who she once came close to giving her heart and is also on the comeback path adding romance to the story.

A key element as a reader is the thoughtful way Taylor Jenkins Reid explains the differences in the types of tennis surfaces and how it impacts play for the casual tennis fan. Once again, Taylor Jenkins Reid does masterful work telling the story of a protagonist in a world that most readers see only during major events. Thank you #NetGalley!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for the advance copy of Carrie Soto is back!
Carrie Soto retired from women’s tennis as the holder of the most slam titles. To say that she was great would be an understatement; she was the best, and she knew it. At 37, Carrie relaxes with her endorsement deals and investments that set her up for like. And just like that, her slam record is tied and Carrie knows she must make the choice to return to the game she loves, but the road to being the best is not always easy.
Once again, Taylor Jenkins Reid transports the reader to a different era flawlessly. I loved the structure of this book as it took us through Carrie’s tournaments, past and present. Overall, this book is a solid read, albeit a bit too heavy on the tennis side.

"Carrie Soto Is Back" and yes she is! Carrie Soto is a world champion tennis player, who's records just got beat by a newbie, so it's time for her and her father-coach to step back in the ring even though they're "old" and "out of the game". Carrie isn't shy, she's boastful and brassy and fabulous. Carrie is a no bullshit kind of girl and I adored her relationship with her father.

It is so hard not to compare "Carrie Soto" to her other books so....is it my favorite of the Mick Riva Universe collection?? No, but I did really enjoy it. (& yes, that's what we're calling it!)

To be honest, the first 25% of the book was slow-going and I was nervous I wouldn't get attached but it was important to set the stage and background for the rest of the story. From there it was a page-turner that I couldn't put down, as expected from TJR.

The 90's tennis vibes were fun but I do wish there was MORE of it - the story really could've been moved to be set in any time period and not felt out of place and I REALLY just wanted to be immersed in the 90's preppy tennis world.

Overall, another TJR book I enjoyed, but not my all-time favorite. Carrie was a fun character that showed a lot of growth and the supporting characters were really interesting as well! The ending wasn't quite what I wanted but that's ok. Definitely the perfect beach read for the summer and I will be adding it to my collection! I sat down and read it in one sitting.

Pub Date 30 Aug 2022 |Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Anything by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a must read for me.

I went into this book not knowing much about tennis, but I devoured Carrie Soto is Back.

The relationship dynamics are so beautifully written - with her father, her agent, how you see her respond to the competitors on and off the court, they really made the book. I felt Carrie’s character was so well developed, her flaws are exposed in a way that makes you want to root for her.

When you read a work of fiction that seems so authentic and real you want to do an internet search about the characters, that is when you know you have been transported into the world the author has created. TJR does such a fantastic job of weaving in sports journalism coverage - loved that addition.

Highly recommend this book! The hype with this one will be justified.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

I do like T7HOEH a little bit more as a book, but Carrie Soto is a masterpiece and potentially a better book. The highest compliment I have for this book in comparison to Evelyn is that while Evelyn's story was one that intrigued me to the point where I would read it from any author, I do not care at all about a 37-year-old tennis player. TJR MADE me care though, which is why I think Carrie Soto Is Back is so phenomenal.
I can't praise these characters enough. The element TJR always seems to portray the best is ambition, especially in women. Throughout all of this book, I LOVED Carrie's pursuit of her record, and I was never once thinking, "she's deluding herself" or that she was unlikable. I love seeing women take what they want, and Carrie didn't change that. Additionally, Javier Soto and Bowe were amazing to read about. It warms my heart to see a character that's understood so well among her loved ones like Carrie is by Bowe and Javier. They had their own goals for her career (and Bowe for his own), but these characters were both unwavering, supportive, and fiercely unique in another character's story.
The primary relationships in this book are between Carrie and her father and Carrie and Bowe. One thing that always bothers me in books with "unlikable" protagonists is people faulting them for their nature that they've maintained for decades. Celia should've known that Evelyn was willing to do anything to keep their secret, but these characters truly understand Carrie as a person. It wasn't always like this as Javier was separated from Carrie for years and Bowe and Carrie wanted such different things, but they understood her behavior and what she could handle. I loved seeing Carrie repair her relationship with her father and create one with Bowe, even while she prioritized her tennis career over both sometimes (and later on, this changed).
Lastly, our plot. As I said at the beginning, I could not care less about tennis. I didn't know anything about it, and I still don't know much. However, TJR made me CARE. I was feeling everything Carrie was, and I was completely consumed by this plot. There's no real world-building to talk about since this is a realistic fiction book, but I'll never get over how seamlessly TJR incorporates people who have never existed into this world to the point where I feel like I'd see their photos and Wikipedia page should I Google them. This book was beyond amazing and captivating.
I'd recommend this book to fans of TJR's other book, but even more to people who might have zero interest in it. I hate expanding my horizons, but Carrie Soto Is Back was a PHENOMENAL story that I think would cater to so many people, young and old, athlete or lazy like me. GO READ THIS.

Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again. Everything she writes is pure gold and Carrie Soto Is Back is no exception. I was a little apprehensive at first because the story centers around tennis, a sport I have not much interest in, but I am so glad I didn’t let that stop me. This novel reminded me in many ways of the come up story of Venus and Serena Williams and their father Richard. Reid’s stories just seem to flow like a river and there is just something about them that draws you in and makes you not want to put the book down til the end. She could write one word on a page and I’d probably give it 5 stars lol. Another must read from TJR.

I LOVED this book- most definitely my favorite from Jenkins-Reid since Evelyn Hugo. It's hard to describe what I enjoyed about this book so much, and I'll admit that I'm not a tennis fan and the description didn't necessarily jump out at me.

Despite all of this, I was deep in this story from the beginning, not only feeling invested in the father/daughter relationship but feeling like I was a fan on the sidelines of every match described.

I especially loved the story following an older athlete and how it feels to lose that identity and develop a new one. Carrie Soto is my favorite character from this author yet- I highly recommend this powerful and inspiring read!

Thank you to Random House & Ballantine Books for my gifted copy.

I had high expectations for this book. I've read three TJR books in the last six months and loved them all. That was not the case with this one.
Though this book was meticulously edited for grammar, it did not seem like it was edited for story or craft. The chronological match format was dull and the news articles added nothing. An editor or early reader should have caught the lack of story and suggested a different format. I would not be surprised to find out that this is a well-edited third draft because it literally listed the years and what happened in those years in the same way a writer would format a timeline for a novel.
It felt like reading a poorly written tennis stars' memoir mixed with a tennis match run down. I have read other books based on sports and loved them. Carrie Soto is Back fell short. There was nothing at stake for Carrie Soto. I had no emotional attachment to her father and did not care that he passed away in the last ninety percent of the book which was the one and only big event for the book. The tennis titles meant nothing. The writing in the tennis scenes was good in that it was well described, but it was boring and gave nothing to Carrie's character development. The tennis matches could have been cut by 95% and paraphrased making this into a short story or a short chapter in another book.

This book will sell well, I'm sure. TJR's other books have established her fandom. Hopefully, she does not have to have a TJR is Back moment for herself after this flop.

I desperately wanted to like this book because I loved the last three books I’ve read by TJR! I really stuck it out for as long as I could, but I just couldn’t end up finishing it. Perhaps if I were a fan of tennis, I would’ve enjoyed it more, because it is filled with descriptions of tennis matches and general tennis lingo. But it just kinda fell flat for me. I still really love TJR as a writer though, and can’t wait to see what else she comes up with down the road.

I received a free arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is back. Just kidding, she never left. This was fantastic.

I know nothing about tennis so I didn’t think the matches would be my favorite writing, but they were so lively and fun.

Carrie Soto was not a particularly compelling character to me when she showed up in Malibu Rising, but I loved her in her own book. She is like a Katniss Everdeen tennis champion— unapologetic about her skills, careful with her heart, and fiercely loyal. There was also romance and a beautiful father daughter story. Both character and plot driven, this book has it all!

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing style makes me just devour her books. Carrie Soto is Back is no different. This was her first book where I (finally) made the connection that all of these books and characters are somewhat related at certain points in time. I am an avid tennis fan and thought the various players, their styles, different mentalities toward the sport and winning, and the changes that come as a player matures were all spot on from what I’ve witnessed historically. I loved Carrie’s complex relationship with her father/coach. I enjoyed Gwen the agent and think she could have her own parallel book! I can’t say I cared for Carrie throughout most of it because she came across as socially unlikable which had me doubting at the start whether I’d stick with it. Instead the supporting characters and relationships hooked me in. I loved that there was also acknowledgement of the additional challenges that professional players from different types of minority groups face. Again, this is real. The constant awareness of the media catching a celebrity’s every move, how it impacts any chance of normality is real Having to sometimes surrender to whatever the media is saying and let it go, true or not, is real. The misunderstandings perpetuated by the frenzy are real. The book is fast paced and I liked that the chapters with matches were pretty tightly written so that if you aren’t a tennis aficionado you’d be ok. Overall, another ace in the Grand Slam of books by Taylor Jenkins Reid!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Ballantine for allowing me to read and review his book.

Taylor Jenkins Reid does something remarkable in her writing and Carrie Soto is Back is no exception.

At 37, Carrie Soto (record breaking tennis player) decides to come out of retirement when a younger athlete breaks her record. Carrie trains with her father, Javier, in order to attempt the biggest comeback of all time.

I went in really nervous because Carrie wasn’t particularly likable in Malibu Rising but reading this book changed how I viewed her character completely. It’s not that she does a 180- her characterization in Malibu Rising is spot on but now you get to see the why behind the person that she is. And this is where this novel really shines because Carrie Soto is a REAL person. I was rooting for her not because she’s my favorite person but because she IS a person. She’s a lot of what women aren’t supposed to be- she’s abrasive as hell, competitive, and domineering. She does a lot of necessary maturing in this story and it’s impossible not to root for her.

As someone who grew up as an opinionated, competitive girl I couldn’t help but see myself in Carrie in so many ways, and not even mostly positive. Also as someone who played tennis for years this was like heaven for me- I will warn that this book is heavy into tennis/sports atmosphere. I loved it because I loved tennis but it is a HEAVY part of the book.

God, this book made me so emotional. Carrie Soto is the definition of a hard worker but she’s also one who believes winning is literally everything- the journey of exploring Carrie’s own worth outside of what she can achieve? I could start sobbing again. This book spoke to me in ways that I can’t even really put eloquently but for any over-achiever (even if you’re not/weren’t an athlete- this will touch your SOUL)

Greatness comes in accepting others (AND YOUR OWN!!!!) imperfections. Wow. What a great book. Already ready to reread this.

Thank you NetGalley, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Ballentine for the advanced reader copy of Carrie Soto is Back!

I think this is my favorite of Reid's yet. Carrie is just so... real. She's flawed and messy and kind of cold but in a way that you feel so close to. The whole cast of characters are perfection. It's different from Reid's last few but I think this is her best character work. Honestly the book as a whole is pretty damn near flawless.

Let me start by saying that I know absolutely NOTHING about tennis and I don't really care for it either. This book is extremely heavy on tennis lingo and would be perfect for someone who is a tennis junkie. TJR goes into depth on certain tennis games and Carrie’s background in tennis. At times I found myself skimming over these parts because they were boring and lengthy. I do wish there was more depth on the characters and their relationships and less emphasis on the actual tennis games. Aside from this, I liked Carrie’s character and her relationship with her father. Carrie can be a little feisty which was fun to read at times. I fell in love with her and Bowe. I was surprised that we did not get to see hardly any of Mick Riva in this one. While not my favorite TJR book this was a quick and enjoyable read.

Carrie Soto wasn’t a character I thought twice about in Malibu Rising, but I am here for this book!!! So excited we get to read her story! I didn’t like Carrie for much of the book but I loved Javier and I loved Bowe. Carrie grew on me by the second half of the book. I could not put this book down and I was so sad when it was over.

This book is a dream for tennis fans. Hopefully it resonates with readers who aren't familiar with tennis as well. Carrie Soto is the ultimate competitor. She's laser focused on her tennis career from a young age, and while the book goes into lots of detail about her games and training, it's clear that Carrie's approach to tennis has come with a cost. After her mom's death, Carrie's only meaningful relationship is with her dad/coach. Just over 1/3 of the way through the book Carrie starts her professional tennis comeback, and in the process faces her biggest personal challenges as well. She ultimately has to figure out what success really means for her, and what her happiness looks like.

Thank you Ballantine Books and #NetGalley for the ARC e-book to read and review.