I gave in completely and fell in love with this book.

I really didn't think I'd enjoy this given the strong tennis story that essentially was its own character. I played tennis as a pre teen, for a few lessons one summer. That's my entire history of Britany & tennis. I don't enjoy watching it, reading about it, or most sports for that matter. Something about the way TJR wrote this compelled me to keep reading, turning the pages because I was enthralled with knowing what was going to happen.

Carrie Soto retires in the 1983 after setting a world record of 20 slams. It's 1994 and she watches as Nicki Chan gets too close to tying her record and she decides this is it. She's going back in to ensure she's the greatest of all time. The question is can she do it? They call her the battle axe and she is such a narcissistic, unlikeable character. Somehow, through her dad- I managed to fall in love with her, and even crazier, found myself rooting for her to win.

Against all odds, once I got to about 60% I had to stay up late reading because I had to finish this one. The tension TJR manages to create, making a sport I'd never read about engrossing, left me wanting so much more. I laughed, I cried and my heart grew 3 sizes.

Carrie Soto has dedicated nearly her entire life to tennis. Coached by her dad since a young age, she quickly worked her way up the ranks to being one of the world’s most decorated players.

Although Carrie has always had the public’s respect, she’s far from the fan favorite. Due to her stern demeanor and inflated ego she’s not so affectionately known as the “Battle Axe”, earning a reputation as being the one to beat. It’s also a rep she’s unapologetically lived up to and even, somewhat, carved out for herself.

Then at 31 her body begins to tell her what her dedication could not. This is when Carrie begrudgingly retires from professional tennis. But six years later she watches on as another player replaces her at the top. Carrie has always been conditioned to be the best, so she doesn’t take being dethroned too lightly. So at the ripe “old” age of 37, Soto comes out of retirement, shocking the world, ready to tell a new generation they got served.

It should probably come as no surprise but Carrie Soto is Back has a lot of tennis lingo in it. I mean, it is a book about tennis after all. 😉 However, not being a fan of the sport (or any sports for that matter) I didn’t find it took away from the enjoyment or ease of the story, just like Daisy Jones and the Six was still enjoyable even if music isn’t your thing.

Carrie Soto is a main character who is also an unlikely leading lady. That’s because most of the book, she isn’t all that likable. Instead she is depicted as being just as harsh and relentless behind the scenes as she is on the court. But as her character is tested and the layers are peeled back, you begin to witness subtle changes and deep seeded insecurities.

All in all, TJR proves the ball is in her court yet again with her latest release, still the undefeated champion of women’s fiction.

OH HOT DARN!!!!

Carrie Soto is back and I loved every bit of this book. I read it over a span of a day and a half: I could not get enough! It was funny when it needed to be, hopeful, and even made me cry a few times. So many feels…SO GOOD!

Outside of tennis, the story of 37 year old Carrie who is supposed to be beyond her prime yet still searching for herself is so relatable - I will hold onto her story for sure.

Hope you love it too!

So obsessed. Definitely wouldn’t have guessed I’d be into such a sports heavy book but three days later I still find myself craving Carries passion and her story. Loved the subtlety of the romance. Bawled at the relationship she fosters with her father and ultimately herself. Highly recommend.

TJR has done it again!! Loved Carrie Soto. I love that she was exactly who she was without apologizing. This was compulsively readable- even though I don't know a thing about tennis. Her books are always a delight and I hope there are many more in her future.

4.5/5…There is recency bias here, but this may be my fave novel by Reid. And that hurts me a bit to say given my love for Daisy…and by the way, it gave me so much joy to read the passage indicating that Carrie lives in Daisy’s world (or vice versa)! As always, Taylor creates an amazing structure for her tales, though this one is way more straight-on than I’ve come to expect. And “Carolina” has such a great and begrudging arc. Great supporting characters here as well in Javier, Bowe, Gwen, and Nicki.

Cinematically to me this is a Rocky flick mashed up with the underrated Wimbledon.

Thanks for NetGalley for the early opportunity to get into this ARC!

This book! I think if it was on another topic I would've given it a weak five star, but as it were, it's getting a comfortable four star. I'm not a huge sports person, and this book is about SPORTS. TJR does a wonderful job in the writing to get you to feel really passionate about the sport -- but only really after the initial set up happens. And if I'm being honest, that set up takes about 25% of the book so it took a long, long time to fully hold my interest. It's necessary! But a little painful.

I really liked Carrie Soto as a character. She's not nice, known as the Battle Axe on the court (or a Bitch, as a hot micced reporter calls her). Which is so relaxing. I love reading about characters (especially women) who know what they want, know they're good, and are willing to steamroll over people to get it.

But sports.......?

You know, I will say, by the end, I actually cared about the matches. I really appreciated the relationship she had with her father throughout the book, and the relationship she had with her "friend" near the end. And even the relationship she had with her nemesis. It was real and raw and angry and I really did very much appreciate it.

So yeah. Good book! Probably would've been easier for me to do on audio, but reading it didn't stop my enjoyment of it at all.

Oh also - yeah there's a mention of the character from Malibu Rising and apparently a character from Daisy Jones. One is obvious enough I noticed it, and the other I did not because I have the memory of a gold fish.

Thanks so much to Ballentine Books and NetGalley for an early copy for an honest review!

At first I wasn't sure if this would live up to the extremely high expectations I had set for Taylor's new book. It took a little while to get fully into the story, but once I did I was sold. I was rooting for Carrie and living vicariously through her career. Time and again I am baffled by how TJR takes a mundane topic like tennis (which would never appeal to me in any circumstance, mind you) and spin it into a tale that has me wanting to keep reading. This was absolutely amazing.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I have read every single book by TJR and I will read anything she writes. I love how divers and talented she is. She has so much depth and spark to her writing. Every single character she comes up with, is so well written and intriguing, complex and beautiful.

This book was nothing short of entertaining and so very enjoyable.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is the new queen. My new favorite author. So glad she brought Carrie back. Finished it in one day. Highly recommended

Carrie Soto is a legendary tennis player ready to make a comeback 6 years after a career ending injury. This story follows her rise to fame and the subsequent rebirth of her career with her father as her coach. We get so much packed into this story! I really understood the perfectionism Carrie faces and the obstacles it puts in her way. The trouble of her dad being her coach and never knowing when to take which role is so relatable. The way female athletes were being treated during the times was heartbreaking and the frenemies between her and the woman coming for her title Nicki Chan is so entertaining. There was even a little love story plopped in there too. You don't have to know or enjoy tennis to enjoy this book. There is definitely a little something for everyone here!

I also, I got my hands on the audiobook and it is just incredible! I loved the production of it all. I think more and more audiobooks need to be moving into this format of casting multiple actors and playing them across chapters.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 8/30!

Six years after retirement Carrie Soto and her father, Javier are in the heart of the massive screaming crowd at the 1994 US Open finals in Flushing Meadows, NY. She is mesmerized by Nicki Chan, leading the way in women’s tennis as Carrie herself once did when she held the title of number one player in the world. At 37 Carrie has multiple world records, titles and quite a lot of wagging tongues as she was nicknamed The Battle-Axe back in her heyday. At this moment Nicki Chan is one win away from overtaking the most Grand Slam wins ever. By a stroke of fate or luck, Nicki doesn’t win that match and Carrie decides to come out of retirement with her father coaching to take one more victory. This incredible journey through the cut throat all-consuming world of tennis, beautiful relationship between father and daughter and most surprising friendship with top seeded men’s player Bowe Huntley who helps Carrie get back in the game and weasels his way into her hardened heart. I was completely swept away by this peek into women’s tennis which I know very little about. The pages turned themselves as I desperately needed to know what happens next. Great characters, a lot of passion and yes, surprise, Carrie Soto is the tennis player that had an affair with Nina Riva’s husband in Malibu Rising (clever clever!) Could not put down this fast paced story of a woman attempting to hang onto who she “was” while accepting life has changed. Absolute five star summer stunner!

Carrie Soto is Back and so is Taylor Jenkins Reid! I really enjoyed Carrie Soto!

Carrie Soto is Back is about Carrie, who retired from tennis at the top of the game. She had a record 21 slam wins to her name when she left the game. As the book opens, that record is about to be broken. So Carrie decides to make a comeback.

This book is about tennis. If you enjoy tennis, you’ll enjoy this book. BUT..even if you don’t care one bit about tennis, you’ll still love this book. Because Carrie is complicated. And she’s hard. But she can also be soft, and ultimately she just wants to be loved.

This is a story about pursuing your dreams. But it’s also about recognizing when your dream is right in front of you. It’s about relationships. It’s about empowering and uplifting women. All set against the backdrop of tennis.

Set in 1995, it’s also historical fiction, so it’s fun revisiting some of the people and things from that time period.

My one complaint was how TJR threw alot of Spanish into the dialogue. I’m not complaining about adding the Spanish-Javier Soto, Carrie’s father and coach, is Argentinian, so it’s great that the Spanish is included. But TJR adds the Spanish with no context provided for non-Spanish speaking readers, so the constant translating in my Kindle was annoying.

Overall, if you love Taylor Jenkins Reid, books about sports, books about father/daughter relationships, etc, you’ll love Carrie Soto is Back.

Thank you to @netgalley and #ballentinebooks for the advanced e-copy of #carriesotoisback.

Taylor Jenkins Reid can do anything, I think. That includes making me care so deeply to the point of tears about something I know absolutely nothing about- tennis. Everything about TJR's newest masterpiece sat right with me. The romance, the humor, the grief, Carrie's relationship with her dad... everything. Even if you hate books about sports or tennis or people who are famous, I truly believe that the writing will carry you through this one and will even have you in tears by the end. I don't even know what to say besides that I have the strangest urge to watch tennis now and act like I know what I'm talking about.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Carrie Soto is Back is definitely an overestimated book, even if it hasn't been released yet. When I got to know the author's work through Evelyn Hugo, I knew that it would probably bring a lot of fame, although it didn't work for me, and as this whole universe had been developed, I knew that the author's writing evolved but the story of her books would continue to be doomed, for me, to be something predictable and massive to read. It was exactly the same with this book as her writing skills have developed but her stories still have the same standard style and catchphrases to please her young readers - which is good for them and for her, but not for me.
2.0 stars.

Carrie Soto Is Back by Tara Jenkins Reid delves into the world of competitive tennis. I learned a lot about tennis from reading this book but it wasn't too overwhelming. I really liked the character development that had me caring about Carrie and her family/friends. Carrie has been coached for years by her father to become a champion tennis player. Now that her record is in jeopardy she decides to come out of retirement to defend her title. Along the way, we get to know what made Carrie the tennis star that she is. Read and enjoy!

Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again. This one is good but the plot has a lot to do with tennis and if that’s not your cup of tea, it might be a longer read.

I love everything TJR writes! She writes so beautifully and this book was no exception. While I felt like the talks of tennis were a lot (which makes sense since Carrie Soto is a tennis player) I did not feel that it took away from the characters or the story. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a well written book!

Wow. I loved this book. I didn’t intend to read it in one sitting… but I literally couldn’t put it down.

Carrie Soto is such an interesting character. I loved her, even in moments when I thought her behavior was the worst.

The relationship portrayed with her father was really the star of this book for me. Well that and Bowe 😍🫠.

While there is a romance, it took a back seat to everything else. It was a lovely little romance none the less.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers gif the chance to read this advance copy.

I read this book in a couple of hours and can I just that I'm.in love!! This book was just soooooo amazing! I loved Daisy Jones and the six but I can't help to think that THIS BOOK is f******** spectacular! I am in chills and literally tearing up! I want to be in this book and stay in this book forever! You know the types of books that at the end you feel this yearning feeling..like you miss it and you fear you’ll never experience all of the emotions that you went through ever again.. Like nothing can ever measure... This is EXACTLY how I feel right now! I miss Papá Soto so much! I feel like I can never live again! I miss his kindness and unconditional love and support, just everything about him made me feel safe and secured! I felt like he was my daddy as much as he was Carrie’s. Like he was teaching me something about myself and I was learning from him! He felt like a warm blanket on a cold night, ABSOLUTE comfort!
I miss Carrie and Bowe! I miss all of the games I experienced throughout this book, the passion and determination! I felt like I was apart of this journey! I absolutely loved Carrie! God do I love Carrie!!!!!! She is such an amazing character! Taylor did an amazing job with this book! I feel like I was fully immersed in this book! I am attached and I don't want to let go, I want to be here forever; with these characters, in this environment, in this world full of passionate, driven, hardworking people! Above all else I feel like I can relate to these characters; feel their wins and their losses, their battles, all of their emotions! This is definitely one of the best books of 2022 and best books I have ever read! I don't think that there is any book that can top this! I fear I may be in a slump after this! This has really brought back why I love to read and instilled the reason why I continue to! I am ABSOLUTELY in love with this book, it's characters, it's plot.... EVERYTHING about it was flawless to a freaking T! Please read this book and experience and fully immerse yourself in the wonders and powerhouse that is Carrie Soto!