My favorite Taylor Jenkins Reid book ever! Carrie was relatable, fearless, and a force to learn from. I have never tabbed a book so much.

Guess who's back?! Taylor's back! Tell a friend. Not gonna lie I'll read anything TJR writes, but after her last book Malibu Rising being a tad underwhelming I was praying to the book gods that this one would be golden. You know what? I didn't need to be concerned. Carrie Soto is Back was unputdownable. I can't remember the last time I was so glued to a book that I devoured it in 24 hours. For those of you that think a book about tennis won't be your jam I implore you to read it anyway. My knowledge of tennis is minimal, but this book will have you cheering for Carrie.

Another beautifully written novel by TJR! She yet again created an unforgettably strong and complex female character whose ups and downs through relationships and her tennis career kept me turning the pages. I would not normally be interested in a sport themed read however this was excellent.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read an electronic ARC copy in return for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Calling alllllllllll tennis players! Or, anyone wanting to learn tennis. Or, anyone who loves to watch tennis.

This book is HEAVY on tennis. I’m biased because I’m borderline obsessed with the game, so I loved it. But, if you’re not into tennis - this book may not be for you. Tennis is arguably the main character and a solid 1/3 of the book reads like match commentary. I’d even venture to say, if you don’t play or otherwise understand the game of tennis, you might be a teeny bit lost. Maybe I’m wrong! If you’re not into tennis and you loved this book, lemme know!

This book was released to the public a few days ago and the timing could not be more perfect! There are many similarities between this story and Serena Williams’ history and retirement.

Purposefully (I’d imagine), Carrie Soto is a difficult character to “like.” She is singularly focused on winning, nearly to the point of destruction. I'm a competitive person, so I enjoyed this vivid aspect of competition. Carrie has a close bond with her father, a former tennis champion turned coach, but her ambition strains the bond. This father/daughter relationship plot line was one of my favorite aspects of the book as it’s very realistic in nature.

For all the TJR fans, there are several fun Easter eggs referencing her fictional universe within the story.

I recommend to all the tennis fans!

My favorite TJR book to date! This started off a little slow for me and Carrie Soto and Carrie Soto is a difficult character to like. She is a bit robotic and cold, and doesn't really care what anyone else thinks. 6 years after her retirement and, after shattering every record and claiming 20 grand slam titles, carry attempts a comeback. And she comes back with her father as her coach once again. As the story develops we see a softer more human side of Carrie Soto. Before I knew it I went from ho hum on this book to can't put it down! Anyone who has ever competed at any level oh well love this book! Reading it while they're there is a Anyone who has ever competed at any level oh well love this book! Reading this during tennis season just lent authenticity to this book. That along with the announcement of a long-time tennis great retiring, really made this book feel real, current, and relevant. Vent. I absolutely love the story, loved how the character of Carrie developed, and loved the surprising outcomes that you don't really expect. Keep waiting, you're going to fall in love with this book, Love wins 😉

TJR YOUVE DONE IT AGAIN

carrie soto is for the overachievers, the perfectionists, and the girls who get told to chill but do twice as much just to prove the others wrong

Carrie was an Argentinian tennis player that was well known from moment one. Her father bred her to be the best she could be. He taught her how to play tennis like no other was able to do. Tennis became her life. She was the best.... until she wasn't the best anymore. Once her records were beat, she decided it was time to get back into the game. Only this time, it wasn't as easy the second time around. Would she be able to reach what she set out to achieve?

Taylor Jenkins Reid has a knack about her as she writes about specific characters. Every time I read one of her stories, I always feel like I need to google the person to see if the character is a real character. TJR has a way to make be believe in any character no matter what their goal is. I am not going to lie. I wanted to read this one from day one, but I was hesitant when I found out that there was so much tennis involved. I don't know much about tennis - well other than what I learned in my tennis elective I took one summer in college. After reading the first section, I knew I wasn't going to be able to put this book down. Carrie is not a likeable character, but she drew me in so much I forgot I didn't like her.

I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoyed Evelyn Hugo or Daisy Jones. To me, this book had the same feel of connection with the character as those books did.

Thank you to Netgalley for an electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I always love a Taylor Jenkins Reid title, so I was anxiously awaiting this one. Candidly, when I started reading, I was annoyed to find it was about tennis, as I am the least sports-interested person alive. But by the end of the book (which I tore through in a day and a half), I found myself tuning into the US Open. Reid has an uncanny ability to write complicated women in a way that isn't trite or predictable. Her characters are fully-formed and flawed, much like real life. The ending was wrapped up a little more neatly than I'd have liked, but it's a fantastic read.

One of my new favorite books. I love how Taylor Jenkins Reid ties in all the books she writes. I read Malibu Rising after this and love the connection between the two.

This story is a great sports story that will entice any reader. The relationship between Carrie Soto and her father makes this a book you can't put down.

TJR does it again! I wasn't sure how I would feel about a book about tennis but despite having little interest in the sport, I was pulled in from the first page. I loved this book as much as I have every book by the author. Carrie Soto is a great character that makes you wants to root for her every step of the way. I also loved the relationship between Carrie and her dad.

Carrie Soto has been coached by her father Javier since she was a little girl, him once being a highly ranked tennis player in Venezuela. She is dubbed “Bulldozer” by the press and the players she routinely defeats, after all she is on the court to win not to make friends. Carrie knew she was the best but always wanted to win more than any other player on the circuit which she was until a knee injury forced her to retire in 1989, however 5 years later when her record is broken by Nicki Chan she stages a comeback with her dad as her coach and Bowe Huntley starting out as her practice partner but ends up being coached by Javier and old sparks begin to reignite between Carrie and Bowe. . The critics have their doubts as to how well she’ll do at 39 years old against players 15 years her junior, but she surprises everyone including herself because after reading her fathers notes and seeing herself through her fathers eyes she realizes as long as you play your best it’s not really about winning or losing, with these new found revelations about herself she has a new confidence to forge a new path and let someone else do the winning. I give this book 5 out f 5 stars. I rooted for Carrie the entire book, I didn’t always like her but as I watched her hard core starting to melt I loved her and wanted her to win.

I listened to this on audiobook & it was filled with a fantastic cast. It honestly made the book for me as I’m not interested in tennis, nor was Carrie Soto a likable character. That latter fact was by design though and the book focuses on her personal growth, as well as the professional comeback. The audio cast though was so great! Everything from the main character to her father to the sports center like news programs is what kept me invested in seeing what happens. I’m actually not sure I would have finished the book if it hadn’t of been the audio.

You must LOVE tennis to enjoy this book. Luckily, I played tennis in my early 30's so I also enjoyed the game and watching/following the players and all the major tournaments. I even got to see John McEnroe in a practice match.

It's an understatement to say that the main character Carrie Soto lives and breathes tennis.. She is consumed with it. She has no friends, no love interest, no hobbies or other interests. Her father raised her to be "the greatest tenni player in the world" and she is driven to attain that goal at all costs. So much so that at age 37 when her record is close to being broken she comes out of retirement in order to keep her record intact.

Carrie was not relateable to me--I've never known someone so driven and completely obssessed with only one thing in their life. I didn't really like her and no one else did either! I really liked her father in the book, he was one of the few people who tried to get her to soften up a bit.

Even though I enjoyed the tennis talk, especially reading about the strategies Carrie employed with each opponent, about 2/3 of the way through the book I was growing tired of tennis. I kept with it and the ending was satisfying. While I enjoyed the book, it's definitely not a book for everyone and I have enjoyed Taylor Jenkins Reid's other books more.

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid is an amazing story about the comeback of a tennis star. This book also explores the relationships between Carrie and the people who are most important to her. TJR excels at really rounding out her characters; and as a reader, I really enjoy a story a lot when I feel like I know the characters that I'm reading about. Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

t took about 30% for me to get invested in this book. That's about when Bowe and she started training together. After that I had a hard time putting it down. The narrator did a phenomenal job and I easily switched between digital and audio.

Carrie had the women's record of most Grand Slam titles. She was the greatest Female player of all time. Until Nikki Chan tied her record. At 37 Carrie wasn't willing to give up her title. She decided to come out of retirement. Her dad, Javier, agreed to coach her.

This was some pretty intense character development with a lot of tennis. Getting into Carrie's head and understanding her passion for tennis and for being the greatest in the world was fascinating. She was single minded in her pursuit of greatness, and didn't have time for connection or relationships. She was brash and unapologetically ambitious. She owned who she was and what she wanted and she had no time for niceties. And yet, as her story continued, I started to root for her. And what she represented. There was a purity to her pursuit of greatness. And there was some incredibly realistic character development as she was on her hero's journey.

Thanks to the publisher for a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Taylor Jenkins Reid isn't a bestselling author for nothing - she knows how to put together a darn good story - but Carrie Soto is Back is a bit different from her other recent hits. Like her last few novels, Reid focuses on a famous woman. However, this time she takes us into the world of sports and focuses on a female tennis player. My unfamiliarity with tennis didn't detract from the story. I just wasn't as interested in this one, because it was less story and more tennis. Additionally, main character Carrie was too inconsistent and unlikeable, alternating between heartless athlete and selfish, spoiled brat. My favorite characters were the secondary ones. Reid's writing style is always enjoyable, but the heart of the story fell short this time by focusing too much on gameplay and not enough on the actual people playing the game.

Woooooow!!! Taylor Jenkins Reid did it again. I haven’t had so much fun while reading a book in a long time but reading about Carrie made me feel like I wasn’t even reading. It’s a short book so for those of you who are looking for something simple but not simple at the same time IYKWIM.

For tennis lovers this is the book for you and for those who are looking for an unconventional love story this is the book for you But if you’re looking for a Strong Female Boss character this definitely is the book for you!

Taylor Jenkins Reid knows how to write a good story. Was this my favorite one of hers? No but I highly enjoyed it. I know almost nothing about the game of tennis and I feel like you didn't have to know very much about the game to enjoy this book.

Carrie Soto is back! Or rather, she's making a comeback to try and keep all the titles and all the accolades. She just can't stand not being the best anymore after leaving the sport of tennis. Is it a character flaw? Yes and no. She grew up being told by her father, a tennis legend unto himself, that she was the best. So, naturally, she thinks that her self worth is tied to being the best. But her stubbornness to prove everyone wrong shows that it works to her advantage. It makes her work hard and try new ways to slam her way back to victory. Along the way, she might learn how to relax a little bit and open up to others in a way she didn't think she was capable of before.

Another enjoyable read from TJR.

Reid's books are compulsively readable -- this one, however, fell flat for me. I loved the idea of a tennis superstar protagonist, but the book was too jammed full of tennis research to feel organic. Similarly, I never got a firm handle on why Reid chose to write a Latina protagonist...too often the choices made in the construction of this book felt like ticking off boxes rather than building a compelling narrative.

Wow. This book was incredible!! I played college tennis, so I loved the tennis aspect. But even without that, the character development in this book is incredible. I love how TJR always picks an interesting way to write a book and just goes with it. I loved how this book was divided up into Grand Slams. I loved the play by plays of the matches. There were some unrealistic things with the tennis, but it was so enjoyable so I can forgive it. She is a must read author for me and I can’t wait to see what she does next!!