Wow. All I can say is Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again.
Carrie Soto Is Back is a compelling story surrounding a tennis legend coming out of retirement to defend her record which is currently being threatened by powerhouse player Nicki Chan. Going into this book, I knew next to nothing about what it was about but I could not have been more pleasantly surprised. Reid's ability to write fascinating plot lines with relatable, authentic, and perfectly flawed characters is unparalleled to any other author I've ever encountered. This is an instant new favorite for me and I can't recommend it more.

I literally screamed when I received an ARC approval for this book. My excitement was palpable. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022.

I absolutely LOVE the Mick Riva universe (especially the fact that he is always the least interesting thing about them). I’ve read them all and I have to say, Carrie is my favorite protagonist. She’s complex, gritty and absolutely ruthless. She is unlikeable yet you want her to succeed. She is phenomenal.

This book completely lived up to my expectations. It is the 83rd book I’ve read this year, and much like Carrie Soto herself, it is the very best.

After reading Malibu Rising, I immediately had to jump into Carrie Soto Is Back. Taylor Jenkins Reid does a phenomenal job of implementing crossover characters and it has me swooning at how all their lives are intertwined. The cameo Carrie had in Malibu Rising had me wanting to dive head first into her own story.

This was a sports book about tennis, but so SO much more. World renowned tennis star, Carrie Soto, finds herself six years retired on the sidelines watching her record about to be broken by up and coming tennis star, Nicki Chan. This immediately sends her into a comeback of the sport she loves and has given her entire life to with her father by side ready to coach her to victory. The ups and downs and strength and determination to get there gives Carrie this fierce edge. After all, they didn't call her "The Battle-Axe" or "The Bitch" for nothing. I absolutely loved the relationship with Carrie and her father, Javier. There were moments of sweet tender father/daughter love and also the tough love of being her coach. The side of romance with tennis star Bowe Huntley, who was making a comeback of his own was "chef's kiss". All the perfect elements of adrenaline pumping energy had me gripping the book to find out what happened next earned this a happy 5 stars from me.

Wow, what an incredible read! Carrie Soto is 37 years old, retired from tennis for the past 7 years, and stages a comeback because her record is broken by Nicki Chan, the current top woman's tennis star. I know nothing about tennis. I don't watch tennis. I have no interest in tennis. But I could NOT put this book down! Because when all is said and done, this is a book about inner strength and relationships. And its fantastic.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book set to be released at the end of August is fantastic! Set in the 1980s and 1990s, Carrie is a professional tennis player who comes out of retirement when one of her records is about to be broken. She simply cannot tolerate the thought of that. Her father, Javier, is her coach and their relationship is close, loving, stressful, all of it. It’s one of the best things about this book. Carrie is really not lovable. It seems like she doesn’t feel worthy of love. But I liked her so much. She is tough, strong, motivated and driven. This book is set around the game of tennis and the tennis world but Reid makes it accessible to everyone. I couldn’t wait to see how it ended and also, I didn’t want it to end. I was really lucky to get an advanced copy. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Ballentine. 5/5

4.5 / 5 stars.

I don't know how she did it, but Taylor Jenkins Reid made me care about tennis!?!

I'm just going to copy and paste my notes from when I was reading instead of trying to organize them.

cw/tw - content/trigger warnings:
alcohol (brief mentions)
alcoholism (side character, it's not talked about it a lot of detail)
body image issues
bullying (making fun of Carrie's body - specifically her broad shoulders)
car accident (parent hit by a car)
parental deaths
medical (cancer, heart issues, hospital, surgery)
misogyny - (Carrie's nickname by a male sports commentator involves the word Bitch. He's very misogynistic and tries to pin another woman tennis player against Carrie)
racism (it's two poc discussing how hard it is to be women of color in sports, not about specific racism in deep detail)

Representation:
Asian (side character)
Black (side character)
Immigrant (father was born in Buenos Aires)
Latinx (main character)
Lesbian (side character)

Mick Rivera Universe:
Celia St. James
Daisy Jones
Mick Rivera
Nina (Carrie is the woman Nina's husband leaves her for)
Spanish (it's spoken throughout the book in short phrases)

Carrie is cocky, kind of mean, and has a smart unapologetic mouth on her... yet is completely lovable. I was frustrated with her at times, but mostly I just wanted to hug her. Her relationship with her dad was equally as frustrating and lovable.

Seeing Carrie Soto grow up from a kid who wants to be the greatest tennis play of all time to becoming the undisputed greatest tennis player was fun! I honestly didn't know anything about tennis before reading this, but TJR explained everything in a way that it actually made sense to me. The death of a parent, the pressure of becoming the tennis god your other parent wants you to be, the endless strive for perfection, the physical demand of sports - it was all very interesting to unfold.

Mild spoiler - there's a character that's a lesbian. It was mentioned briefly and Carrie mentioned liking her, but I think it was in the sports and personality way instead of the romance way? Anyway, I was kind of bummed out that they didn't end up together despite someone else clearly being the better match. I want my sapphic agenda met, dang it! :p

I guess my only issue is that we, yet again, have a TJR book where a white woman is writing poc main characters. That's something that's been spoken about a lot (Bowties & Books did a really good video on it) I can't speak to how well this representation is portrayed, but I was a bit hesitant about the idea of pinning two of the only woc in the book against each other. As the book comes out I'd love to hear some more opinions on it.

I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. I knew a bit about tennis, but I never thought of the players perspective. Just so good.

CW: misogyny, sexism, ageism, loss of a loved one, mention of racism, alcoholism and injuries

Carrie Soto Is Back is my new favorite Taylor Jenkins Reid book. Honestly, this came as a complete surprise to me, but I was riveted from start to finish. I just couldn't put it down. I never realized how much Spanish I actually understood or how much information I retained from watching tennis a lot when I was a kid, but this book was an utter delight - although I think it will work for people without any knowledge about the sport just as well. 

Carrie Soto doesn't start out as the most likable person, especially if you might harbor some resentment from Malibu Rising still, but she is a force to be reckoned with. She made tennis her entire life and when she decides to return from retirement, she is faced with relentless ageism, misogyny, sexism and just straight hostility. She never played the sport to make friends, she played it to be great and it swiftly became clear to me that there was no way I wouldn't root for her to succeed once more.
Told from a first person POV for the most part, sprinkled with transcripts of news articles or sports commentators, you don't just get to see the Carrie Soto the world thought they knew, but also the lonely and vulnerable person behind the tough facade. TJR just has a gift of creating very flawed characters, which you end up falling in love with regardless. They learn from their mistakes, they grow and you want nothing more for them than to get what they truly need.

While the story spans over decades, it never felt rushed or difficult to follow. We get training montages and certain scenes that make us understand what an incredible tennis player Carrie is, but I think most people will show up for the relationships she manages to cultivate over the course of the novel. Carrie has enemies and frenemies, but ultimately a very limited amount of people who really matter in her life. She was blessed with a wonderful love interest, but more importantly, there is a beautiful exploration of a father-daughter-relationship in Carrie Soto Is Back. Javier Soto is a legend in his own right and they weren't always on the best terms, he sometimes messed up as a father, but he was there when it counted. Those two really were the heart of the story.

I don't think this review does justice to just how invested I was in Carrie Soto's life and success, which doesn't necessarily look like what you would expect it to. My heart was thundering in my chest at every game she played. I was worried for her mental and physical health, while I also believed that she could do anything she set her mind to. I wanted her to open her heart to love, yet never relent to the people who told her she needed to be softer, kinder or more gracious. I wanted her to prove the entire world wrong and she. did. not. disappoint. I'm so grateful to have been on this journey with her.

Fazit: 5/5 stars! Fantastic and riveting!

P.S.: Yes, there are references to the likes of Daisy Jones and the Rivas. I just love the interconnectedness of these books.

I came for the magic that’s TJR. I stayed for the Easter eggs she’s notorious for delivering. This was no exception. We have snippets of Daisy Jones, Seven Husbands and of course a brief recap of how she met and had an affair with Brandon, Nina Riva’s husband from Malibu Rising.

The storyline, however, was unlike anything I’ve ever read from Taylor. It’s 100% about tennis. Even if you have zero appreciation for the sport, like me, you come away cheering for the love of the game and the growth of our main character — Carrie Soto.

In a nutshell, Carrie is a Bit@h. She will chew you up and spit you out… But just like anything else, there are reasons for that. Taylor does an excellent job, showing us all of the complex and flawed layers of Carrie. From the death of her mother, to the love/hate/love relationship of her father who also is her coach, to her disastrous love life and rogue image she portrays to the sports world.

The bottom line is this— I knew nothing about tennis, I didn’t care about it. But I couldn’t stop turning the pages! I wanted to know why Carrie was the way she was… I wanted to see her redeemed. I loved her dad and wondered what came next. I especially appreciated the closed-door romance almost as the third character. Growth. That’s what I found in this book—down to the very last page.

I’m giving it 4 stars simply because tennis as a storyline is really not my jam. But as noted above, I still cheered my heart out for Carrie. She quickly became one of my favorite characters of this year for her tenacity, ruthlessness, give no shits attitude and what I always knew lied beneath.

Thanks to #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Welcome Back Carrie Soto!! A secondary character in Malibu Rising, Carrie takes center court (literally!) in Carrie Soto is Back. The plot is a bird's eye view into the world of women's professional tennis-if you don't know the difference between a backhand and a backstroke, now is the time to learn. Carrie Soto is Back is feisty and fun, but also poignantly serious. Carrie was the number one female tennis player in the world during the 1980's, earning the record for most grand slam wins. But now it's the 90's-Carrie's been retired for five years, and rival Nicki Chan has Carrie's world record in her cross hairs. So at age 37 Carrie comes out of retirement in an attempt to keep her crown. Carrie Soto is Back is very entertaining, and has the suspense of a thriller. In a nod to the Venus sisters, Carrie's father Javier is her tennis coach (but he's no King Richard!). Taylor Jenkins Reid is beloved as a romance writer, so Carrie Soto is Back has "love" on and off the court. Carrie Soto is Back is fast paced and engaging-you'll root for both Carrie and Nicki. But it's Carrie who wins your heart despite her "tough as nails" exterior. You don't need to be a tennis fan to appreciate Carrie Soto is Back-its themes of overcoming great odds and learning to be gracious in both victory and defeat are universal. Glad to have you back, Carrie. Hope you can stay awhile.

Thank you, NetGalley for a complimentary ARC of this title. Publish Date: August 30, 2022
TJR did it AGAIN!
5/5. Perfection.
If I had read the blurb for this title without knowing the author, I might not have picked it up. I am not a huge fan of sports stories. When I tell you I was volleying through the pages faster than a tennis set--(look at me knowing jargon)

✨ 𝕒𝕣𝕔 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 ✨

𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝐛𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝

𝑀𝓎 𝑅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: ★★★★★
𝒢𝑜𝑜𝒹𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓈: 𝟦.𝟦𝟫/𝟧

It is not often that a book "wows" me to the point where my endephorphins skyrocket upon finishing a book; 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 did just that. She deserves every bit of the 5★'s that I gave her.

I am someone that loves fiction and fantasy is my 1000% my genre. I stepped away from these fantasy worlds only to fall head over heels for a girl and her comeback on the tennis court. That's how I know Carrie Soto is clearly a winner.

TJR has a way of making her characters feel 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋. I was more than convinced that I was reading a nonfiction memoir from the very real Carolina Soto. I feel that only someone with an inconceivable talent such as TJR would be able to make her readers feel this way. This is my second TJR novel, 𝑫𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒚 𝑱𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 & 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒊𝒙 being my first (another absolute banger by the way), and I am thoroughly convinced that TJR is incapable of writing nothing but pristine gold.

𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 releases on August 30 and this is one that is going to deserve every bit of praise it receives moving forward.

Thank you so much to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the chance to read this phenomenal novel!

TJR you are a 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! 4.5 out of 5 for sure. Who knew tennis could be so riveting to a non athletic person?! I don’t know how TJR does it but her characters are just so compelling. There were moments when Carrie drove me nuts, a 37 year old acting like she was 18 and being a brat. But that was all a part of her arc. Her personal growth throughout this book was just so well done. Carrie deserved everything she worked for and deserved even more to remember why she did it all in the first place.

Moral of the story, go get this book. Read it, learn from it, and enjoy the thrill of it!

Have you ever watched a cooking reality shows where the judges talk about how a meal is very garlic forward? Well this book is VERY tennis forward. That’s not all it is of course, but it is a huge component.

Unlike the last few TJR books, this is all told from Carrie’s perspective. The first 30% of the book is backstory, and it felt like I was reading a biography about a fictional tennis player until we caught back up to the present day. This was all important info, but it goes into minute detail around training schedules, events played, and stats which became tedious to read. I loved the inclusion of news articles and TV commentary, especially on the audiobook. I almost wish there had been more of this included, perhaps with interviews Carrie did over the years. But it did help to break up the monotony of the play by play from tennis matches and practices.

Carrie is a very complex character and while she grew on me by the end of the book, I had a hard time being in her thoughts. I loved her confidence, commitment and belief in herself, but I didn’t love how ungrateful and rude she was to everyone. I loved her father Javier, Bowe and Nikki and would have loved to see more of them.

There are some Spanish sections that aren’t translated which felt accurate for the characters and was fine when I was reading my kindle and could look them up, but difficult to follow on audio. While this is a full cast audio, it’s a little misleading because it’s 90% one narrator talking with only the news articles and shows being separate narrators. I did the majority of the tennis matches and news breaks on audio before switching to the book version for the rest.

I still really enjoyed this one, it just wasn’t the home run I expected. Pick this up when you’re looking for a slow burn character driven sports story. Thanks to Ballantine Books for the DRC. Carrie Soto is Back will be out on August 30!

Who doesn't love TJR??? Another fantastic book. I love how all of her characters live in the same universe so you get some of that crossover. Strong, flawed women are always at the center and I am here for it always.

I will say it again; I absolutely LOVE Taylor Jenkins Reid's writing. I have yet to read one of her books that didn't suck me all the way in and leave me questioning what to do with the rest of my life, and Carrie Soto is Back is no different. I think it's the way that she takes women who aren't necessarily super likeable (like if you knew Daisy Jones IRL she'd probably get on your nerves, and you definitely wouldn't be friends with Carrie Soto) but manages to humanize them in a way that means you can't help but wish for them to get their happy endings, even though it would be at the expense of someone else. I was both put off by and drawn into Carrie's story, and of course the end just cut me, because that's what TJR does best. I will say that this one wasn't my favorite of hers (Daisy Jones holds a special place in my heart) but it was definitely fantastic, and I absolutely would recommend that people read it.

Carrie Soto is PERFECTION. I loved everything about this book: the father/daughter relationship, the immersive sports story, the love, the failures, the incredible character growth. I could truly go on and on.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is known for her three-dimensional characters but I think she's outdone herself with not only Carrie, who is straight fire, but also Javier and Bowe. I think as a parent she taps into something with Javier that just moved me deeply from the very beginning.

As a plot, it is highly predictable. Did being able to guess how this would all play out make it any less of an absolute joy to read? Not at all. I've also seen some early readers comment that they were turned off by the level of "sports" content throughout. But I think if you are someone who gets hung up on the terminology or the technique, you're missing the point and beauty of this story. You don't have to know tennis (I still don't totally get the scoring myself!) to be able to feel like you're watching this and not reading it. It has that immersive magic that Daisy Jones (my now second favorite TJR book) had for me, but even better!

I had the pleasure of getting to preview the eBook and audiobook versions. The audiobook has incredible production value, supported by a full cast--from the intro music for a Sports show snippet to announcers that introduce key matches. Stacy Gonzalez brings Javier to life with a distinct voice and accent for him that absolutely blew me away. However, I did find it helpful to also have the kindle version to quickly translate phrases here and there that were above my HS Spanish level proficiency.

All in all, this is my favorite book of 2022 and my top Taylor Jenkins Reid story to date. I cannot recommend this enough!

Thank you to PRHAudio for the complimentary audiobook and to NetGalley, Penguin Random House and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this absolute gem. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wow. I wasn't sure how I felt about an entire book about Carrie Soto, after her not-so-positive cameo in Malibu Rising. I'm so impressed at how quickly I came to appreciate and root for Carrie. Even as this book has a lot of tennis in it, my lack of knowledge/interest in tennis didn't detract from the reading experience. This one is so much more about Carrie's drive, her relationships, the cost of success. I couldn't put this one down and loved it so much.

I am a huge fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid and was so excited to read Carrie Soto is Back. I really liked the character in Malibu Rising and was interested to see where she'd be in the '80s and '90s. Jenkins Reid does such a great job with all of her characters that I'd follow them anywhere.

One of my favorite things about this book is that Reid was not afraid to make Carrie somewhat unlikeable and didn't take pain to really "redeem" her-- she changes as she gets older in the same way we all do, but she doesn't lose her swagger, the ambition that makes her "the battle axe.". She faces the consequences of her behavior both on and off the court. She's a woman who wants to be the best and knows that she is and isn't ashamed of it. It was a relief. I also really enjoyed reading about her relationship with her father and how the Spanish parts of their conversation was treated as normal dialog. I don't speak Spanish but I was fine without simultaneous translation.

I am also not a huge sports person, but actual depiction of tennis matches was more interesting than I thought it would be (though I did smile a little whenever a 'Slam' was mentioned. I am still not sure what 'Slams' are vs. regular tennis but that's on me.)

In all, I would highly recommend this book to any hesitant non-sportspeople. If you enjoyed Daisy Jones or Malibu Rising, you'll enjoy this.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This has been my favorite TJR so far! Who knew I could fall in love with a book about tennis?!?

Carrie Soto is the worlds best female tennis player and when her record is threatened she comes out of retirement to prove she is still number one! With her dad/coach by her side, Carrie embarks on the comeback of a lifetime.

I was so entranced with this book; I found myself hanging on to every page. Every strike of ball, every return shot, every position, every jump. I was in it. I felt Carrie’s emotions. The elation of victory, the anger of loss. This book was so well written it felt like I could actually smell the clay, feel the dewy grass, sense the speed of the ball and hear the roar of the crowd! Tennis has never been more exciting! Does this “Battle Axe” have what it takes to reclaim her spot at the top and prove her doubters wrong?
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️