It pains me to give a lack-luster review to a TJ Reid novel, but I really struggled with "Carrie Soto is Back", sigh... I enjoyed so many of TJR's works, and adored both "Evelyn" & "Malibu", so thought I would love yet another chapter in the M. Riva world, but sadly, I really, really struggled to get through this one, putting it aside for days at a time. I think primarily it was the over-whelming details of tennis, tennis, tennis - I really didn't need that much to enjoy the story - I got a lot out of that tennis movie about the Williams sisters without being bored to tears. And Carrie herself is just so very unlikeable that I found it hard to root for her at all. I also struggled with the Spanish convos & I even have a passing understanding of it. Of course, the writing itself is technically really good, even if it wasn't my taste, TJR is great about her characterizations & the 90's setting also appealed to me, along with the call-backs to previous works. I am still down for Ms. Reid's next! My sincere thanks to the publisher & Net Galley for the complimentary DRC, the exchange of which did not affect my review (obviously).

Carrie Soto watched her talented, widowed father coach tennis from the side of the court until she was old enough to hold a racket. Training daily, a champion was born. Ignoring the media that called her “the battle axe”, Carrie rose to the top and shattered records on her way before retiring from the sport. When Nicki Chan threatens to overtake her record of most Grand Slam titles, Carrie decides to come out of retirement at the age of 37 to break her own record.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again with this masterfully written book. I fell in love with each of the characters and was devastated when it ended, laughing, crying, and smiling along the entire way. This is a must read of 2022 and will have you signing up for tennis lessons and watching Wimbledon for years to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read and loved all of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books and Carrie Soto is Back blew me away! TJR writes beautifully flawed, strong female characters! You want to forgive their weaknesses, cheer their successes and mourn their losses. Carrie Soto is such a wonderful role, I can’t wait to see who plays her in the movie! This is a perfect summertime read! You can feel the sunshine, smell the asphalt, clay or grass, and hear the thwack of the racket and the thump of the ball. And for Pete’s sake, Julia Whelan must be one of the narrators for the audible version! Now I must go and read this awesome book again! I wish I could give it more stars!

Carrie Soto is Back tells the comeback story of retired tennis champion and Malibu Rising cameo character Carrie Soto. Faced with giving up her hard-earned Grand Slam records, Carrie decides to come out of retirement and defend her titles with her dad by her side as Coach. Regardless of the level of your own dedication to tennis, you’ll be on the edge of your seat for every match, inspired by Carrie’s sheer determination. There’s a little bit of a love story, too, and if I had any criticism of this book it’s that I wish Carrie’s romantic relationship was explored even more! But like any Taylor Jenkins Reid book, I couldn’t put this one down! Carrie Soto is Back will be a great addition to your summer bookshelf.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of Carrie Soto is Back in exchange for an honest review.

Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again! Yet another book by this author that I couldn't put down. I knew very little about tennis starting this book, but I came away with a new understanding of the game. The main character, Carrie, is very driven to make a comeback in the sport of tennis, often to the detriment of other aspects in her life. Does the name Carrie Soto sound familiar to you? Think "Malibu Rising".... Read this book, you won't be disappointed!

I came into this book fairly blind, but happy to receive an ARC as Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of my auto read authors.

This book follows the career and comeback of Carrie Soto, one of the greatest tennis players in the world. I was completely immersed in the story and invested in what happened to Carrie.

Carrie was not always a likeable character, but she was always true to herself and determined to achieve her goals.

I found this book extremely satisfying. It dealt with issues such as accomplishment, aging, love, and purpose. I think this will be a highlight of this year’s reading. Highly recommend.

Carrie Soto is my new favorite TJR heroine! I truly care nothing about tennis, but this book immersed me in that world and made me love it. It helps that Carrie is a woman of a certain age… ahem, my age, and still gets out there and kicks ass. Of all the TJR books (and I love them all), this is the one I’m dying to see brought to life on the big screen. I want to watch Carrie dominate IRL. And hey, we’d still get a small glimpse of a few of our Malibu Rising faves.

Taylor Jenkins Reid (TJR) knocked it out of the park, again. That's the wrong sports metaphor so I suppose the equivalent for this novel would be...she hit a grand slam? Either way, it's a great read. For fans of Reid who have read Malibu Rising, the name Carrie Soto might be familiar. Soto makes an appearance in Malibu Rising briefly as the woman who had an affair with the main character, Nina Rivas's, husband. in this brief appearance, Soto was the albeit brief villain in Nina's story which makes her an unlikely choice for leading lady in her won novel. But Reid has done it and she has done it well. And by the end I guarantee any reader will has respect for fictional Carrie Soto, and the women she represents.

TJR tells a fast paced story of why Carrie might be rough around the edges and leads into her comeback into tennis after being retired for several years. As she has done with Malibu and Seven Husbands, she gives the reader a glimpse into the glitz of the rich and famous and the double edge sword that fame can be. Filled with lots of tennis action, a little romance, and a touching father daughter relationship, and a lot of girl power, TJR reminds the reader that the world just works differently for woman. The rough exterior is only part of who Carrie Soto is. Her comeback is not just about her tennis career, of course.

Would recommend widely to anyone who has enjoyed Reid's previous hits as well as readers interested in sports, biopics, or family relationships. Reid intersperses narrative with fun newspaper article clippings and newscaster scripting to immerse the reader in the time and energy of the plot. She explains Carrie, as she does her other main characters, in a way that lets the reader feel like they are getting to know her as you would any other friend.

Carrie Soto Is Back is the latest book from author Taylor Jenkins Reid and it is scheduled for publication on Aug 30th - so mark your calendar’s, purchase your preorder, or get on your library wait list now! Reid is a thoughtful storyteller consistently crafting novels that are more consumed rather than read. Her ability to create interesting characters within a compelling story while maintaining a tempo that speeds the reader to a satisfying ending is very refreshing. The little ‘Easter eggs’ she sprinkles throughout connecting the reader to her previous books feels like a special treat too!
Carrie Soto is one of the best tennis players (or is she the best) in the history of women’s tennis. At 37 and retired, she sees her record of winning 20 Grand Slam titles fall to Nicki Chan, a much younger (and maybe better) tennis champ. Carrie decides to come out of retirement to recapture her title as ‘The Greatest Women’s Tennis Player’ - no easy feat for someone her age. Carrie isn’t very likable on or off the court and is known in the press as ‘the Bitch’ or ‘ the Battle Axe’, titles she doesn’t love but doesn’t dispute either. Carries greatest asset really is her father , Javier - a formidable coach and exacting father. Their relationship is the tie that binds this story into something worth reading. Can she actually do it - win another Grand Slam at 37? She’s confident she can but even her father has concerns. Javier’s love for Carrie and tennis is epic and this knowledge and coaching brings Carrie to the match point of her life. Carrie has some life lessons to learn she missed along the way to the top her first time around and that just adds another layer of interest to this story. This story is like a great tennis volley - you can’t look away!!

Thank you to Random House Publishing, Ballantine, and NetGalley for a free ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy to review, all opinions are my own.

Let me preface this by saying I know nothing about tennis. Never played, don’t watch it, nothing. Yet TJR made me feel like it was me playing this game! I was rooting for Carrie and her dad in this book! The tension I felt throughout, wow! I loved every page and couldn’t read it fast enough!!! This is my favorite book so far this year! 5 stars!!!

TJR is an automatic read for me. I love all of her work and this was no exception. Carrie Soto was a complicated character and it took me a while to connect with her, but once so did I was hooked. I wasn’t sure a tennis story would be enough to keep my interest but I could not put the book down and finished it in less than 30 hours. I loved the focus on relationships and grief. I loved how it explores the ways we all deal with disappointment and expectations. At the end, I found myself holding my breath and cheering at matches. TJR made me feel like I was sitting in the bleachers watching match point over and over.

I fully almost CRIED when I got the email notification that I was accepted to read an advanced copy of this book. This is easily TJR's best work. I didn't love Carrie in Malibu Rising, but I easily and quickly rooted for her. Carrie was flawed, tough, and just lovable as the main character. Reid does a phenomenal job of writing characters that you can see a bit of yourself in and stick with you for a long time. I didn't want the story to end, but I just had to know what happened. Even though my tennis knowledge is just the bare minimum, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time rooting for the characters. I loved the relationship between Javier and Carrie as father and daughter and as coach and student. I also loved the addition of transcripts of the News and commentators' perspectives of Carrie and her career to juxtapose who Carrie is and who the world thinks she is. I almost don't know what to do now that I've finished this book because all I want to do is pick it up and reread it.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I hate technical books. It’s a fault of mine. Unless it’s something I love, I do not want to know the ins and outs. But. Only Taylor Jenkins Reid can get me to care about tennis and all the technicalities. Only TJR could get me to happily read an entire book about a tennis player.

TJR is so incredibly skilled at creating these characters that you fall in love with, that will stay in your heart for a long time. I still think of Evelyn, Daisy Jones, Nina, and now Carrie. Sometimes I hold those books and leaf through them, just to peak back into this universe. I hope that TJR continues to build on it.

I truly loved this book. I can’t wait to buy a physical copy and hug it to my chest.

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Rating (5/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publishing date - August 30th 2022

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine! I was shocked when I received an arc copy of this one! Loved this book! So far this is my favorite book by this author! I found it fast paced , compelling, and realistic. So realistic, in fact, I felt like I was actually watching a real tennis match! Themes include commitment, training, the media, competition, and family! I love how this book while centered around tennis , didn’t actually feel like a sports books. It was more about Carrie’s connection to the game and her relationship with her father / coach! Highly recommend this one!!

Taylor Jenkins Reid has this unparalleled ability to tell a story and completely immerse her readers in whatever topic, character, time frame she’s writing about. Carrie Soto is Back is no different. Once the greatest women’s tennis player, Carrie Soto watches as her career record is broken by an up and coming player. She comes out of retirement to prove she is still the best and will not be beaten.

Reid writes a character no one likes and somehow makes you love her and root for her from the stands. You are with her at every practice, every match, every swing. You are 100% in the game with Carrie from beginning to end. For someone who has never watched tennis for fun, I closed this book with a great admiration for those who play the game.

The only reason this book isn’t a 5 star read to me is that I feel that Reid’s other notable historical fiction books enthralled me more in their storylines (I appreciated the nod to Daisy Jones and Malibu in this one). However one thing is sure, no one tells a story like TJR.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advanced reading copy of this dynamic, unstoppable writer.

“Carrie Soto is Back” by by Taylor Jenkins Reid @tjenkinsreid; Expected Release Date: Aug. 30, 2022

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

**Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early digital copy of this book in exchange for my review.

📖➡️ Swipe for the synopsis!

📣 Review: There is absolutely nothing I love more in a book than for it to cause me to cry my eyes out. I pretty much live for those cathartic tears rolling down my face while I lose myself turning page after page of a truly great book. This is a story of resiliency, of passion and drive (even if it’s sometimes misguided).. of tenacity. Of love.

Carrie is an anti-hero. If you’re anything like me, you will love to hate her for most of this book. She’s frustratingly stubborn. She’s downright rude a lot of the time. But goodness, if this isn’t a story of growth and grace.

💥 One of my favorite books so far this year. Add this one to your TBR list and pick it up this summer!

#lovejoleen_reads

Carrie Soto is one fierce female who doesn’t care what you think of her. Call her a bitch or the Battle axe she is going to fight for what she wants and play by her own rules. She doesn’t conform to social norms and that’s what I love about this book. It thrills me to see smart, strong diverse woman featured in this book. She says things that shock others and it makes me laugh. I loved that they had Spanish sprinkled into the book.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again. There’s just something about the way she writes characters that you cannot convince me that they are not real. And Carrie Soto is no exception.

We first meet her briefly in Malibu Rising as the one who Nina’s husband cheated on her with, but this book proves that there is just so much more to her than that. Her absolute dedication to tennis is so incredible to read that even if you don’t know a thing about tennis, you’ll pick up a few things. This book captures her as she rises through the ranks and makes a great comeback.

This book also captures other themes that aren’t tennis-related such as an incredible father-daughter relationship which hasn’t been present in the other historical fiction works by Reid. There’s also a nice romantic subplot weaved in as well.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid's books, especially her most recent (Malibu Rising, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and the Six). I was so excited to read her new book about Carrie Soto, the tennis star mentioned in Malibu Rising,

At 37, tennis great Carrie Soto decides to re-enter the circuit to defend her record. This book talks about tennis, A LOT. I usually like fiction books where I learn about new topics, but this just bored me.

This book gave me all the feels. I absolutely loved Carrie’s no-nonsense, go-getter attitude. I found myself glued to the pages every time she played a match hoping she’d come out on top. There was a lot of tennis talk in this book, which I appreciated, but even if I hadn’t played tennis before I think I’d still love this book just as much. TJR is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and in my opinion this is her best book yet.