While I did enjoy this book, it took me a while to get through it…partially because of things in my own life and partially because it just wasn’t particularly exciting. I do like books that get me interested in something I’m not normally interested in, so that was a bonus. It is not the first book I have read about tennis just because of the author (the other was by Lauren Weisberger), and I learned some new things. It was cool that TJR let us learn about a minor character from another book as the main character in this one. I never questioned if I was going to finish this one, just didn’t particularly love it…would still recommend for fans of TJR though.

Taylor Jenkins Reid never disappoints and CARRIE SOTO IS BACK was as good as I anticipated it would be. TJR is one of my favorite authors and CARRIE SOTO IS BACK reinforces my adoration for TJR’s novels!!

CARRIE SOTO IS BACK is about family, love and dedication above all else to achieve your goals.

The novel begins with Carrie Soto watching a tennis match and realizing HER record of wins is about to be shattered. Carrie comes out of retirement at 37, which is apparently old to be a professional tennis player Carrie works hard training and defending her title. Carrie has no life other than tennis and is deeply misunderstood in her quest to be the best.

Though the novel revolves around tennis, it is Carrie’s relationships that keep you rooting for her.

Though Carrie is a difficult character to like, TJR makes her likeable. I found myself engrossed in Carrie’s life, all that had been and all that would be.

This book left me missing Carrie, Javier, Bowe, and Gwen. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a masterful writer of characters. I cannot wait for her next novel.

I knew nothing about tennis before reading this book, but I now feel like I could follow a match. I learned a lot about tennis and any tennis lover will absolutely love this book.

Carrie is a character you will not always like but you will want her to succeed. She’s strong and persistent. I grew to adore her by the end. The father-daughter relationship between Carrie and Javier was what kept me going and really enjoying this book. TJR writes in a way that you feel these characters are real. I love her writing style and love the world she’s created. Looking forward to the next one!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine books for this eARC!

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Taylor Jenkins Reid writes compelling novels. Her new book, Carrie Soto is Back, is a fast-paced sports comeback novel that I found absorbing, even though sports comeback stories are not really my thing.

The heroine, Carrie Soto, was introduced to us in Malibu Rising as the tennis star who was involved with Nina Riva’s husband. Now we see Carrie’s side.

Tennis is Carrie Soto’s entire life. From an early age, Carrie was coached by her father to be the very best. And she was, setting the record for the most lifetime Grand Slam singles titles before injury forced her into retirement. Now, at the age of 37, after 5 years of retirement, Carrie is watching her record fall to tennis’ latest sensation, Nicki Chan. To defend her claim, Carrie comes out of retirement.

The novel traces Carrie’s rise and fall on the tennis circuit. It shows her rather one-dimensional childhood and her obsessive lifestyle. Carrie was always a focused competitor whose take-no-prisoners playing style and blunt response to reporters gained her the unflattering sobriquet of the Battle-Axe, or worse. She had a series of short affairs with male tennis players that ended as quickly as they began. She feels she has to get back into the game because she has nothing else. But given her reputation, it’s unclear tennis wants her back.

Her comeback year is a struggle, but it’s also full of life lessons. She asks her father to be her coach once again. And when none of the highly ranked women will practice with her, she reunites with a male tennis star, once promising but now also a near has-been, with whom she had a one-night stand many years earlier. The development of their relationship is funny and sweet.

It’s impossible not to see echoes of Serena Williams in this novel, just as it was impossible not to think of Fleetwood Mac while reading Daisy Jones and the Six.

Whether you’re a tennis fan or not, you’ll find yourself rooting for Carrie, not necessarily to defend her title, but to find herself. There are no real surprises, but this is a fully satisfying book.

Carrie Soto Is Back is an exciting story of what it takes to become the best of all time and at what cost. How do you even define the best of all time? This is a story of making a comeback when the whole world is rooting against you. Carrie is known as 'the Battle Ax' and 'the Bi*ch', she has sacrificed friendships, camaraderie, companionship and more to reach her goals. In her comeback, she learns how to open up while trying to make her way to the top. The question is... will she make it? #CarrieSotoIsBack #NetGalley

This book is perfection. I cannot remember the last time that I felt so moved and seen by a character. Yes, Carrie is the best tennis player in the world and comes to terms with not remaining the greatest. But the thirst to prove yourself and excel really translates to so many facets of life.

Carrie is perfect in her flaws. This book is fabulous.

Carrie lost her Mom at an early age. Her Dad, Javier, had been a very good tennis player and saw that Carrie also had talent. So he became her coach and pushed her to become the #1 woman’s tennis player in the world. Then she retired.However a younger top female tennis player was poised to overtake Carrie’s record of twenty Grand Slam wins.
So at 39, Carrie decided to return to competitive tennis 6 years after retirement. She wanted to keep her standing as the woman with the most Grand Slam wins. The story shows us the arduous tasks that Carrie or any other competitor has to go through to win tennis tournaments. Her father resumed his job as her coach.
Almost every page of book was filled with tennis terms. Since I have never played tennis and have no interest in the game, I found most of the book tedious. What is interesting is that right before the book was published, Serena Williams,the most winning women tennis player in the world, announced her retirement after playing in the US Open.
I received this ARC from the publisher and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars

I am no stranger to TJR books but honestly this one was probably my least favorite of them. Carrie Soto isn't a likeable character to me. I honestly didn't like this book that much. It was compelling to read because that is how TJR writes. I don't think that there is a book of hers that I haven't flew through.

I will say that I enjoyed the father/daughter dynamic in this book it was well written and reminded me of my relationship with my dad a little bit. I think that I am not really interested in all the tennis stuff, nor do I understand her singleminded focus.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is perfection. Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best. This also had the same vibes to me of the movie Wimbledon with Paul Bettany. I read this weeks ago and it’s still on my mind.

TJR has done it again. A fast paced read that brings great insight into the world of tennis in the 1990’s. Carrie appeared in Malibu Rising and I didn’t think I’d want ever read anything about her unlikeable character but Jenkins-Reid does a wonderful job making her into a pretty incredible character. I like how there have been cross over characters in her books. The only downside to this story was a lot of Spanish dialog that I really wanted to know what they said-so I’d translate it, Thank goodness I was reading it on my kindle.

I would read Taylor Jenkins Reid grocery list if she would let me. She never fails to write compelling stores with characters that pull on your heart strings. This story touches on sexism, the double standards women have in sports, and honestly that women have in general. It also show the heart of a relationship between a father and daughter both striving to do the best for one another.

This book teaches us that no matter how hard we hang on, or how hard we work; nothing lasts forever. In the light of the Serena Williams revival in the recent years, I think this books will interest people who loved the film King Richards. I found a lot of similarity, but not enough to take away from each stories uniqueness. I have no doubt TJR will find success with this story, and I continue to wait for what's to come.

𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙳 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚂 𝙸𝙵 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙻𝙸𝙺𝙴/𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴/𝚆𝙰𝙽𝚃:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
◾️ Taylor Jenkins Reid period.​​​​​​​​
◾️ Tennis​​​​​​​​
◾️ Powerful but flawed female MC ​​​​​​​​
◾️ Father/daughter relationships​​​​​​​​
◾️ Alternating timelines​​​​​​​​
◾️ 1st person POV ​​​​​​​​
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​​​​​​​​𝙱𝙻𝚄𝚁𝙱 𝙾𝙽𝙴-𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙴𝚁: In this powerful novel about the cost of greatness, a legendary athlete attempts a comeback when the world considers her past her prime.​​​​​​​​
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𝙼𝚈 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂: This book is heavy on the sport of tennis, but the book truly is more than sports. I gained more knowledge about tennis, and I had to impress my husband with my terminology since he plays in a tennis league. 😆​​​​​​​​
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I listened to this one on audiobook, and I HIGHLY recommend that you do as well! There is a lot of Spanish spoken by Carrie's father, which some of it did not translate. So that was the downside of the audiobook vs reading it on my @amazonkindle to translate. ​​​​​​​​
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The little bit of romance in the book between Carrie and Bowe was perfect. (closed-door) I love Bowe so much, and I liked how we got to watch him grow as well. . I haven't read Malibu Rising yet, but I guess Carrie was in that book. Now I need to go back and read that one!​​​​​​​​
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Oh and of course I cried. A lot. 😭😭😭 ​​​​​​​​
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Thank you @prhaudio for the audiobook and @penguinrandomhouse @netgalley for the eARC. I am going to be doing a reread of it on my kindle in the near future!

I have never watched a tennis match in my life, but I loved this book! It is so refreshing to read a book about a woman that doesn't center around a romantic relationship. Carrie is definitely a badass, but not always very likeable and, to be honest, I wasn't always rooting for her. But, I loved all the characters and really enjoyed the emotional journey she went on while trying to reach her goal. And the descriptions of the matches really keep you on edge. Reid was also spot on with the sports coverage, which was a fun part of the audiobook. Highly recommend!

I have to start my review of Carrie Soto with the elephant in the room: why did TJR make Carrie Latinx? There’s the overall issue of if a white author should write someone of another ethnicity. Aside from that, almost nothing is done in the writing to show Carrie’s Latinx heritage, aside from having her and her dad speak Spanish. If anything, it often felt like TJR forgot she was Latinx- Carrie would regularly be in conversation with other women who were treated as minorities and seem to have no idea what it’s like to be a minority woman navigating the world of professional sports.

Outside of that, it took a looooong time for me to be invested in the story. Carrie is a one-dimensional character until late in the book when she finally starts getting some personality and emotion. It felt like the writing style I enjoy from TJR didn’t make an appearance until around 80%.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy!

SO.. I have some mixed feelings on this book. I REALLY wanted to love it, as I love all of TJR’s books, but this one fell a little short for me (I know, I know, I am in the minority here). I think I still had a bad taste in my mouth regarding Carrie Soto from Malibu Rising. At the beginning of the book I was still seeing her as a selfish, entitled person. She did grow on me throughout to the point where I was rooting for her, but was also kind of ready for it all to just end.

In this book you will follow Carrie as she decides to make a comeback to defend her record from a much younger cast of tennis players than when she retired. She reunites with her father, (WHO I LOVE), and ends up finding herself along the way.

This is a great book for anyone who loves a story about redemption, self-discovery and even a little romance.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED!!!! I cannot express my love for Carrie Soto Is Back! This was my fourth Taylor Jenkins Reid Andy far this was my absolute favorite! I am so into sports so the dialogue was A+ material! I was cheering along during all the matches and truly captivated!

I was surprised how much I love the story. I didn't like Carrie Soto when she was in Malibu Rising, and I also don't care about tennis but oh talk about how I was sucked into this book immediately and started to root for Carrie.

Look, Carrie is not an easy character to like, she's intense and deeply flawed, but I think that's how I can relate to her. The topic of trying to bridge the gap of who you used to be vs who you think you can still be really got me, and I think coming to terms with your failure is also something everyone can relate to but rarely think about. Carrie's relationship with her father is beautiful and touching, and the little bit of romance in there is also really sweet.

Thank you NetGalley for the free e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was my least favorite TJR I’ve read. It’s not to say I didn’t like it or enjoy it, I did. But man. I wish it focused a little less on the tennis and a little more on Carrie herself. This was the first time I finished a TJR and felt like I still didn’t really know the main character. It had all the other admirable qualities everyone loves about her writing but idk. Just didn’t love this one as much as the others.

Taylor Jenkins Reid does not disappoint her fan base with her latest installment of her winning formula: a female star's struggles with fame, fortune, love, and loss. Following the buzzworthy revival of "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo", TJR reconnects with Carrie Soto, a peripheral character from "Malibu Rising".

American tennis phenom, Carrie, was raised on the tennis court by her Argentinian American father and coach. Recovering from the death of Carrie's mother, they both suppress their grief on the tennis court and focus on honing Carrie's game to make her the best. After a successful career and endorsement deals, Carrie comes out of retirement to defend her record as the tennis player, male or female, with the most Grand Slam titles.

The writing was solid, the story flowed, but Carrie and her father fell a little flat for me. There is a lot of Spanish dialogue between Carrie and her father, and I expected that to bring a richness to the characters, but instead, it rang hollow-- akin to the awkwardness of middle-aged sitcom writers trying to create dialogue for teenagers or characters from "the hood". Carrie Soto is a "Battle-Axe" of a "Bitch" (nicknames given to her by the media) and I'd expect her language to be bold and brash in the way Spanish speakers can deliver cutting wounds with just their words.

It was a big move for Taylor Jenkins Reid to tell a story about an Argentinian American tennis player. She did her homework on tennis, but failed to connect me with the experiences and struggles of gaining entry and acceptance in an elite sport where privilege and whiteness are expectations. I didn't feel like I was in Carrie Soto's head; instead, it was more like reading a biographer's fictionalized retelling of Carrie Soto's story.

Absolutely loved this book and am not surprised because TJR can do no wrong in my book. While I wouldn't say this was my favorite of her books I still gave it 4 stars. Even though yes this book is heavily focused on tennis, it is also so much more than that. TJR knows how to draw you into a character's life and really make you feel like you know them. She dives deep into the inner workings of Carrie Sotos thoughts and mind which I loved. There is also some romance for those of you who like that aspect of some of TJR's books. I really recommend giving this a read and do not think you'll be disappointed.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing / Ballantine for sharing this digital ARC of one of the most anticipated books of 2022 in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.