Thank you, NetGalley and Random House, for allowing me early access to Carrie Soto in exchange for my honest opinion. Carrie Soto Is Back is a thrilling novel that is full of heart. I did not want to put it down, and found myself thinking of the characters when I had to take breaks for adulting. Carrie, Javier, and Bowe so well developed and are now so dear to me. I rated this novel 4.5/5 stars. The lengthy descriptions of Carrie’s many matches were somewhat repetitive for me, and the ending was slightly rushed. Overall, I feel that TJR knocked this out of the park (or court), and left me wanting more.

I received a copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first TJR book and I unequivocally understand the hype. This book is one of the best books I have read all year, and easily will be one of my favorites of all time.

There was so much to love about this book, between the plot, the characters and their development, and just TJRs storytelling abilities in general.

To begin, I love how the timeline and plot is done in this book, with us beginning in her youth to see past events that led up to where she is today. It was well done and pushed the story along at a good pace and we still got enough detail from her childhood to understand who she is today. With the plot following different major events and opens, it flowed well and kept the reader excited and intrigued throughout. I also really enjoyed that there were the sportscaster clips woven into the storyline. Not only were we getting Carrie’s thoughts on things, but also the “world’s” view on what she was doing.

I also have to applaud how well the sport itself was written too. I am a big sports fan, and this story gave me the anxiety and excitement that I get watching or attending live sports events. I truly felt like I was there, experiencing Carrie playing at all these slams. Feeling the anticipation of will she or won’t she play well and win. It was amazingly written for sports junkies like me. As someone who played tennis as a teen, I LOVED all the description of the sport, going over rules and fundamentals for those who don’t know them, but done in a way that was well written into the story. Bravo for such great storytelling and plot development in this one!

When it comes to the characters, I am so in love with them. Carrie's relationship with her father is so beautiful, and I love that we get to go through their full history and rough patches. I think everyone wishes they could have a relationship like that with their own father.

Then we come to Bowe. I would like to protect him at all costs, he is a man who has grown and learned from his past and is a force of nature. I love Bowe and Carrie's relationship. They supported each other and made each other better people, both on the court and off. While this didn't have a huge love story, it was enough to give my heart some butterflies.

I also to touch on Carrie herself. She is not a fun loving personality that people are drawn to. Her nickname is The Battle Axe, and she’s called a bitch frequently throughout the story. She isn’t someone who is out there trying to win fans or be a bubbly person. She is strongwilled and focused, determined on winning and strategy. I love that Carrie is 100 percent herself and never apologizes for it. I think often women are made to feel like they have to be nice and friendly, and while she could be a bit harsh in interviews, I still think there is something to be said about her utter confidence. She never wanted to act surprised that she won because she KNEW she was better. I admire that in her character that she was confident and showed it. However, I love the growth we still see in her. She is still strong and confident and knows how good she is, but through this year back, remembers what's truly important. I think her character arc was so so well done without changing who she fundamentally was either.

Overall, such an amazing book. I loved everything about it and have nothing negative to say whatsoever. I'm officially on the TJR train!

I will post a review to my Instagram linked below during the week before this is published.

✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨ Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

~ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ~

To say I screamed -OUT LOUD- when I got this eARC is an understatement. TJR is an auto-buy author for me, as she is for many and as always, she truly exceeded every expectation. I grew up playing tennis my whole life and though never great at it, I adored reading about the aces, the types of courts, the finesse and talent while living vicariously through Carrie Soto on the court 🎾 I feel like a broken record, but I love TJR’s world and how thick and intertwined her web of characters is (hint: anyone remember Carrie’s name from Malibu Rising?)! In true TJR fashion, the characters in this novel are beyond complex, though Carrie Soto may be my favorite (and least favorite) of TJR’s mains. She’s absolutely flawed in a way that makes her relatable, affected by trauma in a way that closes her off, and ambitious in a way that makes her a “battle axe 🪓 “ aka “a b*tch”. Despite and because of all of these things, she has DEPTH. I adored this story from the first page, so much so that I think anyone could read it knowing nothing about tennis and still fall in love with the drama, competition, and story.

I know there are so many TJR fans out there so I’m curious - what’s your favorite book of hers?? I may share my ranking soon, but I have one or two more to read before then 🥰 So until then, know that this is near the top of my TJR list 🎉

Stay tuned because this masterpiece of a book comes out at the end of the month! 🗓 Publishing Date: August 30, 2022

🔎 Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine Books for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The queen does it again. Another book I could not put down and finished in a matter of 48 hours (would have been much sooner but work and sleep got in the way!)

After reading the synopsis I didn’t think I would love it as much as I did. I have never played tennis, or for that matter, even watched tennis, but TJR just has a way with her writing that sucks me in every time. I loved the father/daughter dynamic throughout the whole story. As well as Carries take no prisoners attitude.

I will forever read every word that Taylor Jenkins Reid puts on paper.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.8/5⭐️ (eARC)

This review is currently available on Goodreads (link attached) and will be available on my Instagram (@aleasbooknook) on August 18th at 7:30 am EST.

I am one of the people that would 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒂 𝒋𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝑻𝒂𝒚𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝑱𝒆𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝑹𝒆𝒊𝒅.

I love Taylor Jenkins Reid. She is one of my favorite authors.

However, I have conflicting feelings about this book. Carrie Soto is a force of nature, but she is stubborn, mean, and ungrateful until almost the very end of the book. She has tunnelvision and can't see past her goal of winning. She doesn't see the bigger picture, doesn't see how far she has come. She just cares about being the best by way of being the champion. Her turnaround in the last 15% was fantastic, but other than that she was just a very static character. I found her uninteresting until I started to see her evolve towards the end.

Furthermore, there was 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐓 of tennis.

A lot. About 75% of this book is the describing of tennis matches. I get it, Carrie is a tennis player, but when I had to read more about how she played than how she blossomed as a person, I didn't like that. I don't like tennis. I think that speaks for itself and that's a "me problem," not a TJR problem. If you like or understand tennis, you will love this.

I loved the way Carrie matured at the end of the novel. I'd love to see where she goes after this novel and where her aspirations take her. That is what I liked the most. I want to see where Nicki Chan, her rival, goes as well. I found Nicki fascinating. I want more from that character.

This book reads like a movie. I think it may make a good movie someday. 🎾

I want to thank NetGalley, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Random House for giving me the opportunity to review this eARC.

“I don’t cry on the court. I don’t cry on the court. Maybe it's a lie that you have to keep doing what you have always done. That you have to be able to draw a straight line from how you acted yesterday to how you’ll act tomorrow. You don't have to be consistent. You can change. Just because you want to.”

This book. I am a huge fan of @tjenkinread and love all of her books, but Carrie Soto takes the cake. She is so unlikeable and misunderstood and somehow managed to become my favorite main character of the summer. I could not wait to see what happened to her. This book is for the sports lover, the perfectionist, the misunderstood, the romantic, the person that hates to explain themselves because those that love them should just know who they are, the worrier, the competitor, the deeply feeling without showing it, the warrior.

Truly this is a book you need to pre order immediately. I was on the edge of my seat and now love tennis, which I didn't think was possible

5 stars and one of my favorite books of the year

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for the early copy

3.5 Javier is a great tennis player whose wife passes leaving him to raise their daughter Carrie to become the next great player. The father daughter relationship has its ups and downs. Carrie is one tough athlete that does not come by relationships easy. After a decade of of one night sands there are changes on and off the court.

Gah. I swear TJR can do know wrong. She is a master at the craft of storytelling. She has a way is making you believe you’re right there in the story with her characters and this one was no different. I felt like I was right next to Carrie feeling every single thing she felt throughout this book.

Well done. Again.

Game - Set - Match. This was the best book I've read in a long time! I devoured it. Carrie Soto has my heart. This book is ALL tennis and yet I couldn't get enough. I cried; I smiled. I really loved this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Carrie Soto inicialmente apareceu no Taylorverso em Malibu Renasce como amante do marido da Nina Riva. Agora é a sua vez de ter sua própria história. (Chega de representatividade corna, agora é a vez das amantes).

Carrie Soto fez carreira no tênis e após uma lesão no joelho, decidiu se aposentar. Porém, ao ver seu recorde de premiações ser ameaçado pela nova estrela do esporte Nicki Chan, aos trinta e sete anos ela decide voltar às quadras para defendê-lo.

Sendo sincera, eu achei bem aleatória esse protagonismo da Carrie. Talvez a Taylor queira dar uma redenção a ela por se envolver com homem casado e também ser trocada? Não sei... só sei que TJR entregou uma boa história (e sem aparições do Mick Riva ou chifres, devo ressaltar).

Carrie é uma protagonista que você demora a gostar. Ela é boa no que faz, ela sabe disso e faz questão de sempre ressaltar. E por conta disso ela não é bem vista pela mídia e nem muito popular entre os esportistas. Sabemos que a sociedade nunca aceita de bom grado mulheres que não tem cerimônia em não se diminuir ao ser muito boa no que faz e Carrie Soto é um exemplo disso durante toda a história.

Pela história se passar demais no ambiente do tênis, temos muitos termos técnicos e descrições da partidas. A autora até que explica brevemente como funciona o sistema de pontuação e tudo mais, mas é nas descrições das partidas que ela te ganha porque é impossível você não torcer por Carrie. Pela narração ser em primeira pessoa, vivenciamos suas emoções, seja dentro ou fora da quadra.

Temos bastante foco na relação de Carrie e seu pai, principalmente como o fato dele ter sido seu treinador influenciou na relação pai e filha. Temos também o relacionamento entre Carrie e Bowe, um antigo caso seu. Eu gostei demais do companheirismo que nasceu entre os dois, já que Bowe voltou na vida de Carrie para ajuda-la a voltar a forma para os campeonatos. Os dois se ajudam mutualmente, mas principalmente Bowe ajuda a tenista a ver situações por outros ângulos. Eu só queria um pouco mais de destaque dele, mas tudo bem.

I never imagined I'd be into a book about tennis players, though this is really so much more. It's the story of one woman's career, her body, her perseverance, and her stubbornness. Carrie Soto is a character that is tough to root for, I kept hoping she'd be less of a jerk! But she's also a character that is relatable.

I loved the setting in the 1990's. Having been a teen at the time, I found the references accurate and comforting, and I really enjoyed spending some time in that decade.

Besides tennis, this is also a book about family and grief, about accepting yourself as you are and allowing others to love you.

This novel had me feeling all sorts of things. TJR's storytelling and character development are always great but they are definitely top notch here. I highly recommend this one.

TJR has done it again.

How does she write so many realistic flawed and emotionally complex female characters who are all utterly unique?

Carrie Soto is not a traditionally likeable character. However, TJR writes about Carrie's motivations and experiences in a way that still had me fully rooting for her less than 15% into the story. I'm also not at all interested in tennis (or sports, in general), but I wasn't bored by all of the sports talk, which shows how magical her writing is.

I loved the relationships. Carrie and her father, Carrie and Bowe, Carrie and Nikki, etc. And I love TJR's books because they are genuinely emotional. I never feel like she's trying to elicit tears on purpose for a cash grab, like some other popular authors; it's the power of her words and characters.

Read this if you liked Malibu Rising or Her Last Flight.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has an incredible way of making you believe the characters in her novels are real—she did it with Daisy Jones & The Six, and she did it again just now with Carrie Soto Is Back.

Carrie Soto is a legendary tennis player who holds twenty Grand Slam titles by the time she retires. Only six years into her retirement, Carrie watches her record being taken from her by a fearless tennis player, Nikki Chan. Carrie ultimately decides to come out of retirement at age thirty-seven and defend her title as the world’s best tennis player and reclaim her record. She does this with the help of her dad, Javier, and his unique training techniques. Like Carrie, Javier is also a retired champion and has some tricks up his sleeve. Carrie has an admirable relationship with her father on and off the courts.

I don’t really know anything about tennis and I really didn’t need to go enjoy this novel. It may be a little easier to follow if I had, but TJR does a great job at nailing down the basics and keeping the reader engaged. This book was fast paced and riviting—I felt like I was on the sidelines watching Carrie Soto play at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. I loved witnessing Carrie evolve on the courts and in her relationships as she discover herself and her purpose.

You’ll want to grab yourself a copy of this when it releases on August 30, 2022.

Many thanks to Taylor Jenkins Reid, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What I Liked: I’ll be the first to admit that when I found out TJR’s next book was going to be about Carrie Soto, the woman we briefly met in her previous book Malibu Rising, I was not excited. My first thought was, “her?” Of all the fabulous women TJR she has introduced the world to, Carrie is not the one I would have picked to learn more about. Camilla from Daisy Jones and the Six? YES PLEASE. Tarine from Malibu Rising? SIGN ME UP. Literally any character from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo? I WOULD READ THIS BOOK IN A HEARTBEAT. But Carrie? Well, I should know by now to never doubt TJR (even when she has slight misses like Malibu) because this book was a wonderful surprise and Carrie has joined the ranks alongside Evelyn and Daisy as an incredible female character created by one of today’s most consistent and enjoyable authors.

What I liked most about Carrie is that she is not likable and doesn’t pretend to be something she isn’t for the sake of others. When she beats an opponent because she is the better athlete, she says so. It was refreshing to read a female character, especially one in the sports world, who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and say what she’s thinking. This isn’t always a good thing (as Carrie and the reader learn later in the book) but she never stops being true to herself and I loved it. TJR managed to find the perfect balance of describing the tennis matches just enough to understand the importance of them without letting the minutiae bog down the momentum of the story. I am not a tennis fan but she made me enjoy learning about the game and the ins and outs of what makes a great player! Even if you don’t know a thing about the game, you won’t be lost.

What I Didn’t Like: With the exception of one thing, I was able to predict most of what happened in this book. This didn’t take away my enjoyment of the story but TJR can usually surprise me once or twice a book.

Who Should Read It: I have a feeling fans of TJR will love this book, even ones that were disappointed in Malibu Rising. First-timers to the world of TJR will also enjoy this one.

Review Wrap Up: Despite my reservations about this one, I will read anything TJR writes so I was happily surprised by how much I loved this book. I devour her novels and this one was no different. Carrie is a hard character to like but an easy one to love and I was left wanting more time with her in the end. Her story, and by extension the story of all female athletes who struggle to feel good enough, to be the best, to be taken seriously, is a timely one and needs to be told. I loved this book.

Favorite Quotes:
“My heart hurts when you hurt because you are my heart.”
“And then he says, ‘Eres perfecta, incluso en tu imperfección.”
“We live in a world where exceptional women have to sit around waiting for mediocre men.”

4.5 stars!!!

i cannot believe i liked a book about a sport, but this is all tjr’s doing.

went in blind, so when i first saw it was about tennis i was not thrilled, and for the first 15%, still not thrilled but as the book went on i caught myself saying “carrie you better f*cking win this” and oh boy... staying up and reading at 2 am…

carrie is the definition of girl boss ✨ her determination to not only win, but destroy every opponent was admirable, truly.

i laughed, i cried, i felt EVERYTHING in this book. it was so well rounded.

but seriously, tjr’s writing will never fail to amaze me. read this book!!!!! asap!!!

I have to admit that I have not read a lot of Jenkins Reid's work as of yet. I have only ready Dasiy Jones which I enjoyed but found a little big over hyped and not as good as I was expecting. I have a few of her books to read, including Malibu Rising (crossover or prequel), but have been focused on other books for now. So, I was not sure really what to expect with Carrie Soto. The book started a bit slow for me, simply because I was skeptical post Daisy Jones. Friends told me that Jenkins Reid really shone in other books, and it was by reading this one that I learned they were right. The action, the pacing, and the development of the characters was well done. I loved Carrie Soto, warts and all! This book was enjoyable for me, even though I only have a passing interest or knowledge of tennis. I didn't feel like you had to know tennis to be able to read this, and that Carrie could easily have been an athlete in any other sport and made the story as good. The fact that tennis is a solo sport (aside from doubles of course) was of course important to the come back and to who Carrie was a competitor, but for anyone thinking this is a tennis book, I want to say that it is not, because it's truly a book about a woman fighting for her place in the sport history books. Yes, the book touches on the lack of equality between men and women, but again, not the only focus. The characters are so interesting and by the end, I was rooting for every one. I did find that as things rolled towards the last quarter of the book, I was pretty sure I knew some of the surprises, but the book did still pull a few "oh" moments out of me.

If you like Jenkins Reid, pretty sure that this will be a great one for you. And if you have never read her or thought "so what" with the hype around her previous books, then maybe this one will convince you that she's worth the hype.

Let me start off by saying I absolutely LOVE all of TJRs other books. Some of my absolute favorites ever. But Carrie Soto is Back is not one of them. I ended up DNFing at 56%. It’s just SO MUCH tennis and I didn’t feel a connection to any of the characters, which is generally what I look for.

I simply think that this book is just not for me and I think a ton of people will love it! I will still continue to read TJRs future work!

Carrie Soto is Back has officially skyrocketed to my second-place favorite among Taylor Jenkins Reid's books (just after Daisy Jones & the Six, a tad ahead of Malibu Rising) and to me this is Jenkins Reid in her sweetest sweet spot. There's the complex heroine, who is equal parts self-assured, confident, talented, badass and insecure, fearful, aging icon. There are discussions of grief, a smattering of romance, and a complicated father-daughter relationship that goes one-step up from the ruminations on the subject Jenkins Reid started in Malibu Rising. I have seen some reviews that say the tennis scenes go on too long, take up too much of the text, that there is no plot but tennis. And to that I wholeheartedly disagree. I LOVED the tennis scenes. I gobbled this book up in one night, staying up way too late to finish, precisely because the tennis scenes in this book are so propulsively written. If you aren't a sports fan at all this might not be your cup of tea, but the peek into the mind of a supreme tennis player who is just. that. good. was so much fun and watching her come up against both outside criticism (often sexist and agist, which is unsurprising) and her own mental and physical limitations was just so entertaining. I do wish the first part of the book where we just get a recap of Carrie's career before her comeback were either fleshed out a bit more or just smattered throughout the text itself because it felt a bit rushed and it was very much tell rather than show. I also felt that the Spanish used throughout could have been better fleshed out in places. It felt at times a bit inauthentic, like Jenkins Reid just kept recycling the same few phrases throughout so she wouldn't have to do too much Spanish translation work. Overall, though, another smash from Jenkins Reid, and one of her best books to date, in my opinion.

I have been a fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid since reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, so getting Carrie Soto is Back as an Advance Reader Copy was a thrill. The book revolves around the tennis world which we were immersed in for years and I was distracted early on trying to determine who the players and coaches were patterned after. I was soon drawn in and finished the last third of the book when I should have been sleeping (always the sign of a good read in my opinion). Carrie Soto is Back appears to be about a fading tennis superstar who is attempting a comeback, but in reality it is a love story. The way Jenkins Reid writes about Soto's relationship with her father is so tender that it made me long for my own father (and cry a few tears). My main advice to readers is to endure the copious detail about tennis matches to get to the third portion of the book where the relationships are built. It is worth the effort.

There can be no pacts between men and lions. I will make you pay in full for the grief you have caused me.

The cut-throat world of professional tennis comes to life in this new TJR title. Carrie Soto comes out of retirement at the age of 37 to try and unseat the new golden girl, Nicki Chan. Carrie's father, Javier Soto, is her coach. Their relationship is one of my favorite parts of this book. Due to Carrie's reputation from her playing days, it is difficult to find someone to train with her. Bowe Huntley steps up and jump starts his career as well. I am not a tennis player, but I was riveted by the match descriptions. I could see that yellow orb streaking back and forth; hear the sounds of the court from the rackets, ball, and players; envision the crowded stands. As with Daisy Jones, this feels so real! I am ready to go Google Carrie Soto. And the cover! Will Carrie once again become the "Golden" girl she once was? How will Nicki Chan respond to Carrie's return? Will Carrie's agent Gwen remain at her side during this crazy year? My Sesame Street-level Spanish was a tiny bit of a deterrent in reading this book, but could not imagine the Carrie/Javier conversations happening any other way.

A big thank you to Random House-Ballantine for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.