I have loved TJR since her first book came out, and while this one fell a little short, it was a fast-paced read nonetheless.

Carrie Soto is a record breaking tennis phenomenon out for blood, glory, and most importantly, Slam title wins. 6 years into retirement, Carrie's record for 20 Slam title wins is about to be jeporized. The only thing to do? Stop Chan from beating her record by getting back into the game she loves so much.

A very motivational read, with plenty of great tennis action. However, I wish it had more of a plot development between characters and less play by play tennis matches.

Thank you to @netgalley for giving me this opportunity to read this title prior to publication day! Look for this sporty read to be published August 30th!

I love Taylor Jenkins Reid and Evelyn Hugo is one of my favorite books. This novel, however, did not live up to
Reid’s previous work. I liked the characters and the tennis plot line, but there seemed to be something lacking…

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60435878

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel. I’d give it 2.5 stars. It’s not up to par with Jenkins Reids’ other novels. Most recently, I read Daisy Jones and the Six and although somewhat rambling, I did enjoy it. This book tells the story of Carrie Soto, star tennis player in the 1970’s and 80’s who decides to come out of retirement in the mid-90’s.

I love tennis and I’ve played tennis forever, but even for me, there was just too much tennis in this book. Very descriptive scenes of practices and matches, which got repetitive after awhile. There also wasn’t much tension, nothing to make you want to pick up the book to find out how it will end. It was enjoyable, a nice beach book, but no substance.

Was this Reid's best book? No. Was it still amazing and deserves five stars? Yes! It was truly a great read and wonderful to finally get a book dedicated to Carrie. She is a bad ass! Strong-willed and strong-minded female. This book also made me find a strong desire to want to go learn tennis at age 37....the same age that Carrie comes out of retirement. Coincidence? I think not!

After absolutely loving “Malibu Rising”, I was so excited to see that Taylor Jenkins Reid was bringing Carrie Soto back for us to get to know better.

Carrie Soto returns to take a shot at reclaiming her title and records, and in doing so, she learns so much about herself, her dad, life, love and the sport she has centered her life around.

As a lover of tennis and TJR novels, this book was absolutely fabulous! But if you’re not a big tennis fan, never fear - there is far more to the story than just tennis! I was hooked from page one and couldn’t put it down - can’t recommend this book enough!

I LOVED this book—Taylor Jenkins Reid is back with another winner! The plot was tight and focused. The action was quick and propelled the plot forward. The television commentators were funny and created a sense of suspense. The heart of the book was the sweet relationship between Carrie and her dad. It was so refreshing to see a strong, determined woman, both unapologetic and uncompromising in her pursuit of her goal. Carrie had some emotional blindspots, too, and it was satisfying to watch her mature personally. Such a great summer read!

A novel about the best female tennis player having her record shattered by a new best player and she doesn’t like it. I learned a lot about the game- like half the game is studying your opponent’s weaknesses and exploit it. A quick and a perfect summer book.

I flew through this! I have yet to read many of the popular TJR books -- but this and One True Loves have been some of my favorites I've read in the past year.

I was enthralled with Carrie Soto from the beginning. I love sports, and who doesn't love a good comeback story? Carrie's determination and drive to be the best was awe-inspiring and I found myself rooting for her time and time again. The descriptions and character traits felt very relatable for women in sports and I appreciate the perspective.

At a few points, I did feel like it could have been a little shorter but whenever I felt that, it would pick back up. It was easy to read, kept me wanting more and I loved it! Highly recommend!

*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review*

4 5 ⭐️ I love Taylor Jenkins Reid, and when I found out she had a new book, I jumped at it. As always, she did not disappoint. This book is a little different than most of her others, but I loved it just as much. I adored Carrie and Nicki- TJR is fantastic at creating captivating, powerhouse women in her books. If you love tennis, this book is definitely for you. She does a good job at explaining the rules and scoring, if you don't know them so you can keep up. There is a lot of Spanish speaking within the book between Carrie and her dad. I could understand the majority, but there were still parts I had to look up words to understand what they were saying. Overall, I loved it. And cannot wait for it to be out so my best friend can read it!

I’m not sure if this book will appeal to a large number of readers. Its theme is tennis, tennis, and more tennis. And Carrie, nicknamed “the Bitch” by the media, is not a main character a reader would normally root for. That being said, I actually enjoyed this book.

In the real world, Carrie is one of those sports stars I can see myself cheering against. She comes across as self-centered and ruthless. However, as the story unfolds, we learn how and why she developed her hard-nosed determination to be the greatest of all time. Her relationship with her father is complex. He drives her incessantly and loves her ferociously.

The tennis scenes run rampant throughout the story, but are very well written. I actually felt like I was watching the matches, rather than reading about them. To be able to go behind the scenes and realize the amount of physical and mental work involved in being a professional tennis player amazed me. (For example, running ten miles barefoot in heavy sand. Really??!) I loved the father-daughter relationship. And it was nice to watch “little miss hard ass” find romantic love which she had so cautiously avoided throughout her life.

All in all a good read. Thank you Ballentine Books and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I don't know a whole lot about the tennis world, so I was a little nervous going into this. But of course TJR does it again! Obviously Carrie Soto wasn't painted in the best way in Malibu Rising, so for her to get her own book and to see her story was everything I didn't know I needed. I loved this book so much and I feel so grateful to be able to get my hands on this and read it. I cannot wait for this to be released so everyone will know how AMAZING this story is.

Leave it to Taylor Jenkins Reed to get me to binge read a story about tennis! At first, I was thinking— Wait, how am I going to get through an entire book about. a sport I know nothing about?! But I love TJR so much that I trusted her and didn’t give up. I am so glad I kept reading.
Carrie Soto isn’t lovable for most of the book— She’s not supposed to be, but it doesn’t matter because you’re rooting for her anyway.

One of the most fun elements of the book it that it has this intensely competitive sports vibe plus amazing character development. You feel like you’re at these tennis matches with these players. I didn’t think I’d love this one when I realized it was all about tennis, but wow— Taylor Jenkins Reed does it again.

Game, set, match! Look at me being all cool and using tennis lingo!

Taylor Jenkins Reid is back with a smash hit. Carrie Soto is a character you want to hate, but can't help cheering for. As a former tennis player, I really got into this book and could not put this down.

Carrie has been playing tennis for as long as she can hold a racket and holds multiple records, until she doesn't. Nicki Chan is the new champ, thus her biggest rival.

At age 37 Carrie is looking for the ultimate comeback to regain her title. What Carrie forgets, she is not 17 anymore and her body does not function as it once did. Carrie's dad is her biggest cheerleader, but also her coach which does not come easy for either one of them. Carrie has not made many friends on the circuit which makes it difficult to train. Carrie's agent eventually sways her to work with another washed up player, Bowe to get her back on track.

The book alternates between the past and present matches. TJR sucked me in right away with this one and I could not wait to see where it went and how it ended. This is definitely a summer hit for Reid,

The only thing I struggled with was when they spoke Spanish, but that did not take away from the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine for my ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I always look forward to Taylor Jenkins Reid books, but this one I could not get into. I found the main character extremely unlikable, and there was just way too much tennis talk that I didn't understand. A major miss, but would still read her next one.

Sometimes I read a book and I think it was written specifically for me. This is one of those books. Taylor Jenkins Reid has a way of writing that feels effortless to read and the characters are so well developed and authentic that you feel you've known them your whole life. Plus, on a personal note, I have a close and complex relationship with my own dad and I love sports. So, it is no surprise that this one is now a new favorite of mine.

It read like a love letter for fathers and their daughters. I loved the depiction of her relationship with her dad, Javier, and how it shaped her into the determined and tough as nails woman she was.

There is a lot of tennis in this book: play-by-plays, rules, strategy and technique. I ate it all up, happily. I could feel the rising tension during her matches and was on the edge of my seat. I had to stop my eyes from jumping down the page to find out who won!

Carrie is an incredible protagonist. She is not exactly lovable but her character growth was inspired. I understood her and was rooting for her completely.

Thank you @netgalley , @tjenkinsreid and @randomhouse for an opportunity to read an advanced copy! All opinions are my own.

This book was okay, but I didn't love it like I did TJR's last three books. I wish there was more character development and less descriptions about each time someone hit a tennis ball.

I loved this book. I'm not really surprised at loving it because Reid is an engaging, powerful writer who seems to take characters, no matter their interests, and bring them to life off of the pages.

I've never been a tennis fan, but this book made me want to be one. The only other book that has engaged me this thoroughly in the realm of sports is Richard Wagamese's "Indian Horse."

Like Reid's other books, this one features strong storytelling, powerful, flawed characters, heart-racing tension and mystery, and so much more.

I am a big fan of everything Taylor Jenkins Reid had written so I may've had a predisposition to enjoy this novel. But still... perfection. I loved every second of it, which is saying something since the author skillfully made Carrie quite unlikable. I think the character of Bowe said it best when he referred to Carrie and her father as "Bulls in a china shop." Even while I cringed often at what Carrie said or did, I rooted for her. I wanted her to have a happily ever after so badly. I enjoyed the evolution and growth she experienced from beginning to end. And, I look forward to the Carrie Soto Easter Egg that Taylor will likely put into her next novel!

oommggggg. Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of my favorite authors and she hit this one out of the park! (Or in this case, over the net? 🤣) TJR’s newest novel is about Carrie Soto, tennis legend, who has decided to come out of retirement after a torn ACL surgery and 5 years out of tennis, to defend her title as the Greatest Tennis Player of all Time. Y’all, I don’t even care about tennis (no offense it’s just not for me) and TJR made me pay attention to matches in the book and in real life! Not only that, but she takes a character who is hard to like and makes the reader love her. It was FABULOUS. I especially loved the Easter eggs to Daisy Jones and the Six and Malibu Rising. TJR proves once again to be a master of her craft and a genius with words. This book is an adult read, but I could definitely see it in high school libraries! Be sure to preorder!

This is a story about an athlete at the top of her game, who lives and breathes tennis to the point that she has very little else in her lives - no real friends, no great love. She sees competition everywhere. Even after she retires from tennis she cannot let her record stand; at 37 she has to come back for more.

This story is VERY heavy on the tennis. We almost understand more about the game than we do about the woman, at least for the first half of the book. But in true TJR fashion, she lays a lot of foundation for some deep character development and emotion. Can she make us feel connected to Carrie Soto? Can she make us care about this cold hearted tennis star? You'll have to read to find out!