*My original review is below. However, after further reflection, and after hearing feedback from the Latine community, I have adjusted my star rating to reflect the fact that the author has not only written outside of her lived experience (which can theoretically work if the story is crafted with care and sensitivity) but has profited off of harmful stereotypes. Whenever this is the case, I always assign at minimum a two-star rating.

The marketing campaign for this novel (namely the alternate Spanish title version that equates Carrie with the b-word) is cringeworthy and surprisingly ignorant for 2022. Had Carrie been a white woman, this book would have worked well, and the author could have stuck with what she knows rather than what she projected onto the Latine community. Frankly, throughout most of the book, Carrie read as white to me, anyway. As someone who holds a ton of privilege, I try to be as responsible as I can when reading and reviewing a book, but obviously, I am still a work in progress. This adjustment in my rating is an acknowledgment that I let my own personal blind spots affect the way I consumed and reviewed this story.*

4.75 stars

What happens when a tennis legend stages a comeback in order to defend her Grand Slam record? ‘Carrie Soto is Back’ takes readers back in time to explore just that. And author Taylor Jenkins Reid once again shows readers how deft she is at world building and character arcs.

Carrie Soto has always been driven to be the best tennis player in the world. Her brusque, no-nonsense approach has always had a polarizing effect, but Carrie can’t allow herself to care. Five years into her retirement, another player threatens to take away Carrie’s crowning achievement—her Grand Slam record. With the help of her father/coach, Javier, and aging tennis player, Bowe Huntley, Carrie will attempt a comeback to try to keep her record intact. Along the way, she’ll be forced to deal with her inner demons and her insecurities, and figure out if she’s brave enough to put herself out there, without the guarantee that she will succeed… both on the court and off.

Of all Jenkins Reid’s work, I think that this book might be my favorite. Those who have read ‘Malibu Rising’ are already familiar with Carrie Soto as a peripheral, but impactful (not to mention, antagonizing) character. Seeing her through a new lens in this book was an absolute treat.

Carrie is super flawed, yet so relatable. Her stubbornness and tenacity are wielded with laser-like precision. And her journey to self-acceptance is wonderful to read. It’s a book about tennis, sure. But it’s also about relationships—parental, romantic, fraternal, and internal. The way in which Jenkins Reid explore sexism in all its forms is also impactful without being heavy-handed.

If you enjoy a story that is full of great exposition and character development, this is definitely the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love tennis so I expected to enjoy a narrative that centers the sport. There was definitely a lot of tennis, but it almost felt like a case of someone doing so much research on a topic that they just transcribe as much of it as possible and forget to actually curate how they use it or build a compelling narrative incorporating it strategically/thoughtfully. It read as though the author wanted to show off as much tennis knowledge as she could, and tried to think of some narrative details to put around it to make it a story--rather than the other way around. The story itself lacked teeth for me, and I never found myself caring about it (despite my predisposition to care about tennis).

I also felt weird about a white author writing a Latina protagonist. I kept waiting to see the purpose that necessitated this perspective and the reason why this author in particular needed to tell the story of a Latina woman, but it never became clear to me. The incorporation of Latinx culture felt stereotyped and reductive told by someone who doesn't share the identity.

Ultimately this book didn't have much to recommend it--I didn't care about the story or about the context, the characters or their relationships. It felt too formulaic without any heart.

I'm a huge Taylor Jenkins Reid fan, I love all of her books. I was unsure if I would like this book or be able to get into it because I'm not a fan of tennis, nor do I follow, or know anything about it. I still found that I enjoyed this book, I just didn't love it as much as I have some of her other books. The beginning was great, It sucked me in and I had a hard time putting it down. Midway through, I feel it got a bit repetitive, but since it's about tennis and tournaments, that's pretty unavoidable. Again, I liked this book. I just didn't love it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine, Ballantine Books for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Get ready for a hot take y’all.

I went into this one pretty blind. I didn’t want to read any other reviews or know anything other than this was about a woman named Carrie Soto who comes out of retirement to play one last year of tennis.

Like many others, I was excited. I had enjoyed TJR’s previous historical fiction, so I thought this one wouldn’t be any different. However, I was wrong.

The overall premise was good- a woman making a come back when literally everyone and their mother didn’t think she can do it. A female empowerment story, I can get behind that. It was when Carrie wanted to get back into the game because an Asian woman was going to beat her record that made me pause. Using that as another reason to pit women against each other rubbed me the wrong way.

Then, it was how TJR decided to write Carrie as an Argentine-American woman as a white woman that *really* did not sit well with me. It seemed like every other sentence of dialogue was in Spanish so that TJR could remind the reader that she wrote a non-white character. I’m all for diversity in books, but this just felt wrong. It did not seem sincere. It just seemed like a bestselling author who was told “yes absolutely” for every idea she had, even when it would harm the overall story, not to mention detract from fantastic stories written by Latin American authors.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

4.5 ⭐

Carrie Soto já foi a tenista número 1 do Mundo e ficou conhecia com The Battle Axe, mas se aposentou aos 30 anos após uma lesão no joelho. Cinco anos depois, ela vê o seu recorde de títulos de Grand Slams ser alcançado por Nick Chan. Esse é o maior feito da carreira de Carrie e ela sente que não pode ficar sentada vendo seu recorde desaparecer assim.

Carrie decide voltar as quadras, e mesmo que ninguém acredite que ela será capaz de ganhar novamente, a pessoa mais importante da sua vida acredita, o seu pai. Ela foi treinada por Javier Soto desde muito nova, e estar com ele nas quadras não era algo que ela imaginou que aconteceria novamente. Os treinos são duros, ela não é mais a tenista que um dia foi, mas está disposta a passar por todos os desafios para ter esse recorde em suas mãos novamente.

Taylor Jenkins Reid fez novamente, ela entregou mais uma história que prende a atenção do começo ao fim. Eu não entendo absolutamente nada de tênis, mas me vi inserida naquele cenário desde o primeiro momento, como se estivesse nas arquibancadas vendo Carrie Soto jogar. Mesmo sendo narrado em primeira pessoa, a Carrie não é uma personagem que se mostra logo de cara, mesmo achando que já estava entendendo ela, conforme o livro avança, eu fui descobrindo cada vez mais.

Para mim, a Carrie tem um pouco de Evelyn Hugo quando se trata de sua carreira e seus objetivos, e também de Daisy Jones pelo fato de que demorei um pouco para me apegar a ela. Assim como outras personagens, a Taylor Jenkins Reid não quer entregar uma protagonista perfeita, mas sim uma humana que comete erros, e que nem sempre aprende com eles. Outro personagem que eu amei no livro foi o Bowe, mas esse eu deixo para vocês conhecerem quando forem ler.

Six years into her tennis retirement, Carrie Soto sees her record on the verge of being broken and makes the decision to come out of retirement. Coached by her father, Carrie struggles. Her body isn't at the right fitness level and there is a lot to do to get her back into winning shape. Can she overcome it all to take back her record?

It's no secret that tennis is my favourite sport. I love watching it and I love attempting to play it, despite not being very good. I'm sure you're not surprised then that I absolutely loved Carrie Soto is Back. Tennis plus TJR can only be an amazing combination. If you're not a tennis lover though, I guarantee you, this book is still one you'll like. It has a lot of basic tennis definitions and you will be so swept up in the storyline and matches, that you just might find yourself becoming a tennis fan! Aside from Carrie's comeback, the father daughter relationship highlighted by TJR was the best part of this story, hands down. I did also love the author's nods to characters from her previous books - so clever! I'm such a huge TJR fan. I'm excited to see what she writes next.

I loved learning more about the tennis world through this book. The relationship between Carrie and her father had me throughly engaged and broke my heart in the end. I’m glad to watch her and Beau’s relationship develop throughout the book and loved the easter egg from Malibu Rising.

OH MAN. Daisy Jones & The Six step aside because Carrie Soto is Back has taken over for my favorite TJR book.

I love Taylor Jenkins Reed, but this one isn’t a favorite of mine. I actually struggled with the motivation to read it for the longest time, which is disappointing when I was beyond exciting to have the opportunity to read it early. To put it plainly, I was just bored. I was bored of the tennis training and of the character relationships. Towards the end, I started to gain a little more interest, but I had to power through 80% of the book to get there. I did like the glimpses into pop culture, though. That was enjoyable and reminiscent of Reid’s other books.

SO GOOD! Possible one of my favorite TJR books to date. I think I’ll be suggesting this book to people for months to come.

thank you to Netgalley, Ballantine and TJR for the e-arc!!

I have liked all of the TJR books I’ve read so far. I thought Daisy Jones was fun. Evelyn Hugo was good but I wasn’t blown away. Malibu Rising was interesting but I honestly forget most of what happened.

But this book? This is the one.

I used to play tennis as a kid. I was rude and had no filter in high school. I demanded to be seen and to be heard. Hey, I was even called the b-word behind my back.

But Carrie Soto is unapologetically THAT Bitch and it was absolutely glorious to read her story. She is the type of woman that we should all want to be. The type of woman that is entirely unafraid of being good at what we do and who dares everyone else to try to count us out. To show up, but also to SHOW UP and show everyone else what it means when we’re here.

I loved Carrie’s journey throughout this whole novel as well. I loved the commentary on women in the public eye and especially in sports. I loved that she was learning how to love the unknown. To be faced with an unimaginable situation and to continue on. I just loved all of it.

5 stars. I’m gonna go call my dad and tell him how much I love him.

4.5*
Wow, I’m honestly speechless. This book was exceptional. It’s definitely very tennis focused, you get a lot of the actual matches which I loved. Carrie is one of the strongest, most dedicated, fiercest female characters that I’ve ever read about. She is unapologetic in her actions and I love that about her.

I’m taking .5 off because I wanted a little more from the ending. It felt a little too abrupt for me. I definitely still recommend, if you haven’t read it yet please do so.

Thank you to NetGalley & Random House for the ARC it is truly surreal! 🫶🏼

Review will be posted on 9-4-22

My god, that was good. This universe TJR was created amazes with each story. While they’re all different, they all have a strong protagonist with a purpose and I love that. Carrie Soto is a undefeated tennis player until she was and decided to come back from her retirement and take her record back, following through the plot was easy and very enjoyable. The relationship between father and daughter was admirable, however rocky it might have been at times.

Growing up with tennis tournaments on my family’s TV, I had a lot of fun reading this book. It was a one sitting read for me! Easy book to fly through. TJR has a way of writing characters that feel so real. 4.5 stars ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am a bit conflicted on this book. On on hand, it has all the trademarks of TJR, complex characters, mesmerizing writing and a storyline that made me unable to put the book down. It is sure to be a hit!

But, I think this one relies a little too heavily on the tennis. There is a lot of strictly tennis scenes which while engaging, were a bit redundant. Also, there was so much untranslated spanish and the portrayal of Carrie's race made me a bit uncomfortable.

As per usual, Taylor Jenkins Reid delivers another phenomenal read! I was in a reading slump for most of August, but this fast-paced, exciting story about a tennis star coming out of retirement to defend her record, was so engrossing I couldn’t put it down!

Here are just some of the things I loved:
🎾 the sheer amount of research TJR must have done about tennis. The play-by-play of each of the matches was so well-written, I felt like I WAS Carrie playing the tennis myself. It was just such an immersive reading experience.
🎾 Carrie’s “take no shit” attitude. I loved how ruthless she was, and how she did not care about anyone’s opinion of her. The many references that were made of double standards towards women in the sports world was also refreshing to see.
🎾 Carrie’s relationship with her father. It was so sweet watching the moments of them not only as father and daughter but also as coach and player. I loved the Spanish interspersed in their conversations, and you could just tell the love and care that Carrie’s father had for her. 🥺

Honestly? You don’t even have to know a ton about tennis to read this book. It’s just such a great tale of overcoming the odds and showing up to be the best version of yourself. Bravo, TJR, on another fantastic book! 👏🏻

O.M.G! This was such a beautiful beautiful story!! Loved it from the first page! Faced paced and literally keeps you in the edge of your seat! Highly highly addictive!!!!!

An older tennis champion decides to go for one last season coached by her father. Carrie grew up playing tennis and being coached by her father, a former Tennis champion. The early death of her mother meant that it was just the two of them and their love of the game. Carrie is a hard character to get to know and the amount of information about the game of tennis can be off-putting. However, as the novel progresses and certainly by the end, Carrie becomes a relatable and deep character. It takes a bit to get into but worth sticking with.

Once again, Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it. She’s made an excellent book, about something for which I have no interest, and made it interesting. I don’t know or care a thing about tennis other than Serena Williams is the GOAT. But I came to care a lot about Carrie Soto the fictional all-time leading slam champion whose record is on the line and makes a comeback to keep that from happening. Carrie is the ultimate sports warrior, something I have seen in a variety of sports, including pro football.

Carrie is a flawed champion, one who doesn’t fit the cookie cutter expectation of a tennis pro, blonde, tall, blue eyed, says all the right things to the media. She’s exact opposite of that. She’s taught by her dad for most of her life. She doesn’t make friends on the circuit. And five years after injury forced her to retire, she sees her record of slams about to be beat. At the age of 37, she comes out of retirement, confident that she can win more slams and keep her record. (This really reminds me of the Packers’ Brett Favre and his unwillingness to retire gracefully.)

You don’t have to know a lot about tennis to like this book, you just like to have a good story being told. It’s the personal relationships that makes Carrie Soto is back work. I also really liked the “media coverage” of her comeback, showing just how shallow sports “reporting” can be, and how now it all seems to be about opinions and not hard facts.

In case you are keeping track of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s works, this book is also in the Mick Riva orbit, and there’s even a mention of Carrie reading an unauthorized biography of Daisy Jones & the Six. I’m wondering how many more books Jenkins Reid can weave into her little creative world. I think it’s ingenious and fun at the same time.

My only complaint, and I have this about all books that do this, is that there are many times when Carrie or her dad are speaking Spanish and there’s no translation. I almost failed Spanish more than 30 years ago, and subsequent attempts have proven that I have no ear for languages, so sometimes I had no idea what was said and had to guess at a translation. But like I said, that’s not unique to this book.

In short, if you enjoyed Jenkins Reid’s other works, you might want to check out Carrie Soto is Back. If you haven’t had the pleasure, there’s no time like the present.

5 Stars ⭐️

Carrie Soto my new favorite TJR book 🥹 this story was all about Carrie’s comeback to Tennis being led by her father. There were so many good tidbits from the book, I wish I regularly tabbed books. Much of this was from Carrie’s work to prove she was the greatest and struggling with public opinion and her own opinion of yourself. 💛🎾