This is one of the worst reads of the year. This novel has no plot and is extremely boring.. I loved every book I've read by TJR and was really looking forward to reading this one. I'm so disappointed. Apparently, a lot of people is loving it and she is a great writer but my opinion is that with this one she missed the mark.

Pardon my pun, but Taylor Jenkins Reid just served us another ace!

Ok, TJR. I see you developing this strong, driven, determined woman and centering a completely character driven novel around her. I have read a lot of reviews for this one and after reading it I can see why it works for some people, and not for others. Personally, I really enjoyed it!

I do disagree though, with anyone who says this is about tennis and tennis only. I think this is about

- a father-daughter relationship
- a woman who was coached to focus on one thing her whole life, learning to expand her horizons
- a woman who was told her whole life to not build relationships with others, now learning how to do that as well
- an independent woman learning to let someone help her

I found so much value in Carrie Soto’s journey between tennis tournaments and I hope most readers do as well.

I think TJR is so incredibly talented. She knows how to make you love a character, hate a character, empathize with a character. She certainly knows how to draw you in to someone’s story and engross you from start to finish.

I would read literally anything written by TJR. That being said, this may very well be her greatest work yet. Whether you care about sports or not, whether you've read her other stories or not, you NEED to read this. The character work and the plot are both A+ solid.

Short synopsis: Carrie Soto had a lifelong dream of being the best tennis player in the world. She achieves that goal in the early ‘80s and goes into retirement. Now it’s 1995 and Nikki Chan is breaking all the records, Carrie Soto comes out of tennis retirement in attempts to remain the best.

My thoughts: Wow, this book was a lot of tennis and as someone who knows nothing about tennis i was surprised how much i loved this story. I may have actually held my breath during the final matches because I was so into it.

TJR has such an amazing way of creating such real lifelike characters that you may find yourself googling their stats, even though they are completely fictional.

This one was such a story of reaching for the stars, with the best cheerleaders on your sideline fighting for you the whole time. I loved the relationships explored in this (romantic, father/daughter and rivals).

I did a mix of audio and physical reading of this and loved both versions. The audio does have a full cast which I absolutely love!

Read if you’re a sucker for:
* Sports and especially tennis
* Unashamed to be the G.O.A.T.
* Cameos from other of TJR main characters
* Unexpected romance
* Rise to Greatness with amazing growth

Who would have thought I’d ever enjoy a story about TENNIS?!?! But here we are!
TJR proves yet again to be the GOAT of character development! I enjoyed seeing Carrie change by the end of the book.
I loved Carrie’s special relationship with her dad. What a sweet bond.
I enjoyed the pace of the novel. I enjoyed reading through the highlights of each match. The Easter eggs of the characters from other TJR books are so fun! Thank you for including us in this special world you’ve created.

I almost didn’t include this one because if you like TJR you most likely plan on reading it. BUT, it was just so. good. And I know some folks are either nervous it won’t live up to the hype or didn’t love Malibu Rising and are afraid this might be more in line with that one. Rest assured, in my opinion, this feels like Evelyn Hugo/Daisy Jones TJR – and it’s definitely in my top three favorites of hers, if not top two. (I even plan on rereading it via audio pretty soon because I just want to experience it again.) I cried multiple times, and it’s been a while since a book made me cry, and hugged it at the end. Pairs well with Open by Andre Agassi.

As far as I'm concerned, Taylor Jenkins Reid can do no wrong - this was amazing.

I refused to put this down after I started, but I desperately didn't want it to end! I read the majority of this in one day and basically got nothing else done.

I LOVE this book, and I love Carrie. I love that she's unapologetic and determined and refuses to quit. And I love how aggressive and abrasive she is! I don't read too many books with female leads who I could describe as "aggressive," but they're always some of my favorites; they're powerful and fierce, which I love, but all else, they're just so relatable. TJR does an incredible job of creating well-rounded characters with so much depth. Carrie, like TJR's other famous leading ladies, isn't necessarily "good" or "bad," but that's what makes her realistic.

Who knew that I would love a sports story so much?? I wouldn't consider myself a tennis fan, but Carrie's story had me on the edge of my seat.

I wholeheartedly recommend this to everyone, sports fan or not. All hail Taylor Jenkins Reid.

I've never in my life been interested in tennis and yet somehow TJR made me absolutely obsessed with this 90s tennis drama. Carrie Soto will easily be one of my favorites of 2022. You may recognize the character of Carrie Soto from Malibu Rising (she had an affair with Nina Riva's husband) but this book can be read as a standalone. Carrie Soto Is Back tells the story of Soto's rise to fame as one of the greatest tennis players of her time, her retirement and her comeback at 37 when her Grand Slam record is threatened by another player.

I could gush about this book for hours, but you should just read it. Carrie was such a dynamic character that was so unapologetically herself (for better or for worse) and I admired her for it. She's not a perfect character but she is certainly a compelling one and has such a great character arc throughout the story. Her complex yet endearing relationship with her father and coach, Javier Soto was also an essential part of the story.

It's about tennis, but it's also so much more. It's about how women are treated in professional sports and the media, failure, complex relationships and the never-ending question of what it means to be happy. TJR is a word magician and I will read anything she writes! Carrie Soto releases August 30th and you will not want to miss it.

carrie soto is back!!! yes she is!!

tjr writes books with magic in them - no one else has characters that feel more real and dynamic. carrie is messy, complicated, and insecure - all traits i could easily identify with.

let me get this out of the way - out of the big 4 tjr books, this is my least favorite for two reasons. first, sports are the topic i care about least out of the books (like sorry give me movie star bombshell any day) and this is a sports book. big time. two, evelyn/daisy/malibu all had some sort of plot twist that made me gasp. this one is genuinely just a book about an athlete and her struggles which even though it was done flawlessly was less of a rollercoaster to read.

now for what i loooooved!!! the writing. it’s so real and beautiful and poetic i had to put my hand over my heart so many times and take a breath before i kept going. the romance (sorry i am a romance reader at my core!!!) was precious. that one scene, the language scene iykyk - bawling my eyes out.

also what i loved??? a main character who is a bitchy woman who has immense talent and no time for niceties? obsessed. carrie is confident and knows her worth and even though she has a soft side she spends most of the book going after what she’s worked forever for. as she absolutely should!

the father/daughter dynamic is wonderful and beautiful and i felt carrie’s immense love and deep resentment towards her dad all at once. again - characters that feel so so real.

the tennis part, though not my everyday thing, was intense and dramatic. i felt genuinely nervous for carrie as she attempted this massive comeback. and carrie’s opponent, nikki, was another interesting female character who i really enjoyed.

something about these books about these women just connect with me on another level, and this is no exception. you will root for carrie with your whole entire heart on and off the court!

4.5 stars

cws: death of a loved one, grief, injury, substance abuse, eds, racism, misogyny, passing mention of lesbophobia

EXTRAORDINARY. My favorite TJR book yet. I love Carrie Soto so much. She is a woman perfect for the year 2022 living in the 80s and 90s. She is Rapinoe. She is Wambach. She is Osaka and Biles. I don’t know Jack about tennis but this book is to tennis as the Queen’s Gambit was to chess. Her relationship to herself, to tennis, to her father, to her competitors…it’s so evocative and made me cry happy and cry sad. Love it.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed are my personal opinions.

It’s unbelievable the way Taylor Jenkins Reid makes me fall for her books over and over again. Carrie Soto is Back is no different.

Carrie is the type of anti-hero you cannot help but root for. Her sheer determination and unwavering ambition almost leaps out of the pages and dares you to look away from the book.

Every time Reid puts pen on paper (or finger on keyboard), I know magic is about to happen. The way she crafts these stories and manages to still include some cheeky easter eggs from her other books is brilliant.

It’s unparalleled the ability she has in transporting the reader into the exact time, place, and state of mind of her stories.

This is my favorite book of the year. I loved every second it, and I love Carrie Soto. The writing is fun and sharp. I can't recommend this enough. For tennis fans and non alike.

Wow. Exquisite. I almost have no words. I had no idea what this book was about, and then when it starts and I realized it was tennis I thought "hmmm, okay?". This book is amazing. I can only imagine how much better I would have loved it if I understood tennis, at all. I have already pre-ordered it for my sister, who plays tennis a few times a week.

This is the story of Carrie Soto, a tennis player who is coached by her dad, Javier, starting from birth, almost. She goes on to be the best player in the world, for years, and then retires. Life goes on. Five years later she comes back to try to win another Grand Slam, she must get her record back from Nicki Chan.

This is a story of triumph, and perseverance, and love, and angst, and sore knees. It is magnificent, it is likely the best work from this author, at least in my mind. Absolutely loved it, can't wait to make everyone I know read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Carrie Soto is a bad ass bitch on the tennis court. Grand slam title winner who seems to have her life in check, when a competitor prompts her to return to tennis at 37 to defend her grand slam title she realizes that things are not the same as they once were. Will she be able to regain her title as the best women's tennis player ever, or will Nikki Chan overcome her? Will she remain the cold blooded bitch everyone thinks she is or will something soften her heart?

The character development of Carrie Soto is no short of amazing. At the beginning, Carrie is someone not many of us can probably relate to, but as we begin to understand her more we just feel sympathy. She does a complete turnover by the end of the novel, learning how to love and find joy in life, both of which were missing from her personality at the beginning. However, this was not my favorite TJR that I have read. I loved the character connection from her other books and the character development of Carrie Soto but it did not grab me as other TJR books have. Though I feel like I know a lot more about tennis now and would watch a match with a different perspective. Did she have to do a lot of research or was she a tennis player before author?? I love how TJR is amazing at creating her transcripts to be different from the normal flow of all books out there, breaking it up by matches and months until a big tournament instead of just chapters.
I also go back and forth on how I feel about the Spanish communication in the book. I know it is important to illustrate the character and her relationship with her father, but, as one who does not know Spanish, I felt left out of some of the conversation not having a translation as well.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book thanks to Taylor Jenkins Reid and Random House Publishing. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Carrie Soto Is Back

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Carrie Soto Is Back was amazing, and I loved every second of it. I didn’t love Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid’s last book, so I was a little nervous going in. She blew me away.

For those like me, who aren’t tennis lovers, don’t let that hold you back. This book expertly navigates even those who know nothing about tennis through Carrie’s original rise and return in the sport. You get an in depth look at the sport, as well as her surrounding relationships with her father/coach, her opponents, and a few close characters.

TJR is so good at getting you to relate to a character that you have no direct similarities to. Watching Carrie Soto’s struggles toward a huge goal remind me of the fierceness needed even for my seemingly small ones. I kind of love finding that connection in a book. Carrie’s personal growth is beautifully done throughout the book.

Lastly, the ending was perfect. I loved how beautifully it was written, and the exact spot it fades out.

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC.

I think that this title just solidified that Taylor Jenkins Reid is not the author for me. I find it interesting that everyone who loves her books says it is because they feel so deeply connected to her characters and like they are real, when in my experience that is what I am lacking from her books. Her writing is fine and there’s nothing inherently wrong with this book. In fact, I believe that people who have previously enjoyed her work are going to enjoy this one just as much. That being said, it just wasn’t for me. I found myself constantly checking how much longer until it ended. I was not invested at all in the plot and I felt completely neutral towards most of the characters, with the exception of Carrie Soto herself. I found the character of Carrie Soto bitchy and ungrateful. I am here for a “morally gray” character, but this entire book she felt completely insufferable. I decided to give this book 2.5⭐️ simply because it was written well, it is just not my thing. I always leave TJR books feeling disappointed because I WANT to love her and to understand the hype, I really do.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher, Netgalley, and Libro.fm for providing me with both an eARC and an advanced listening audiobook copy. All opinions are mine and are not swayed in any way by the fact I was gifted a copy.

TJR has done it again!! I flew through this book and loved every minute of it. I love TJR's strong female characters. As a tennis player I loved everything about this book but I also think that if you aren't not familiar with tennis that it would still be an enjoyable read. The book is fast paced and engrossing. Thanks for the ARC and once again patiently waiting for all and everything that Taylor Jenkins Reid writes!

I loved Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones. I liked Malibu Rising and Forever, Interrupted. But, this latest work by Taylor Jenkins Reid, ""Carrie Soto Is Back," was a real disappointment to me. This book is 80% tennis and 20% actual plot. Most of the book is spent detailing tennis matches, or practicing for tennis matches, or mentally preparing for tennis matches. There was so much tennis that I found myself skimming huge sections of the book. What little plot there was after all that tennis was predictable and the characters were not developed enough to come alive to me. Other than tennis, this book really had no substance. I hate to say this, and never thought I would say this about a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel, but I was bored to tears. I kept waiting for something to happen that wasn't tennis! Carrie Soto could have been such an interesting character if more ink had been devoted to her actual character.

I eagerly await the next novel from this author and sincerely hope it is more on par with Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this book.

Y’all, I was not sure about this book during the first 100 or so pages. It was good, but I didn’t think I’d end up loving it.

I was wrong.

This book was amazing!

I think it’s my favorite TJR book! 🥺

Don’t read the last 1/3 while at work. Trust me.

📖 Carrie Soto is the best tennis player ever, according to Carrie Soto. But, after a knee injury, she retires to keep her record clean. Years later, after watching a younger player come after her record, Carrie is determined to come back and win again.

🎾 I hated Carrie and then was rooting for her and then loved her. She is a tough, badass chic but is also flawed. She is cocky and single minded and thinks nothing in the world is more important than winning.

🎾 This book had a lot of tennis in it but I was able to follow along for most of it without issue.

🎾 I loved the father/daughter/coach dynamic and how they had to work through it.

📝 I loved Javier.

❤️ I loved Bowe.

👟 I even loved Nicki.

Everything about this book is perfection.

🎧 I listened to a big part of it (maybe about half) and the audio was very well done! Parts of it are full cast for news articles and TV commentary. Even Julia Whelon makes an appearance, because, of course 😁.

This book will definitely be on my favorites list this year. ❤️

🎾 Thank you so much to @randomhouse @netgalley and @prhaudio for the early copies.

All the stars! ⭐️ Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review! I feel so honored to have been able to read this book and I CANNOT wait for it to be released this month.

I had high expectations going into this book and BOY OH BOY DID IT DELIVER! Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of my favorite authors and I love the way she writes historical fictions.

Carrie Soto Is Back did not disappoint!! I read literally 90% in one day, I couldn’t put it down. I knew as soon as I read about Carrie Soto in Malibu Rising that she was going to be a bad bitch and boy was I right! Carrie Soto is a bad ass and I am obsessed with how she didn’t care what anyone else thought.

TJR’s writing and story telling is always amazing, and I literally felt like I was there watching the tournaments and all the trainings. TJR perfectly created characters that feel so real that it makes you forget that they are a work of fiction. The power of determination and perseverance made it impossible to do anything but root for and care for the characters.

This story was incredible especially when you saw the relationship between Carrie and her father and how they bonded over tennis. You could see that her dad was trying to do everything he could for her!

Also Carrie and Bowe were fabulous in the story and I was obsessed with how they trained with each other and created the support system that they needed.
I loved that Bowe was there for Carrie through everything!

The character development, the relationships, the mentions of other characters in the TJR universe… were nothing short of great! The ending brought a huge smile to my face especially when you see how things come full circle.

There are times when I finish a book and just don’t really know what to say in the review besides: wow and beautiful and please read. Seriously, what an honor.