Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again. I was skeptical going into this book because I wasn't sold on the character of Carrie Soto but I loved her so much in this book.
She was a fierce character with incredible drive and knew what she wanted. You see her grow throughout the novel and I loved the relationship between her and her father

After reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and the Six I knew TJR would never fail me.

She masterfully creates this people you find yourself fully believing they are real, I usually catch myself trying to Google these women and then remembering they are just a book character. With Carrie Soto she created a character that I felt so connected to that it seems an impossible feat for any other character to make me feel that same way.

Carrie was raised to love tennis and be the best at tennis, her father coaching her along the way. Her relationship with her father was such an accurate depiction of the unsaid pressure a child, and maybe especially a daughter, feels to be the best at what their father loves when given the chance.

TJR captured the mania around female tennis stars in the 90s and the competitive disadvantages women faced in the media, something the world still needs to work on today. There was a moment when Carrie congratulates a new male Wimbledon winner where he mentions that she’s won before, Carrie holds the most Wimbledon wins male or female with 10 wins, and he has the audacity to tell her it’s not really the same since men’s sets are the best of 5 while women’s are the best of 3. It was that specific moment that “The Man” by Taylor Swift started blaring in my head.

Carrie Soto coming out of a 5 year retirement at the age of 37 to take on this newer crop of women in tennis to try and take back her slam title record was an exciting and emotional ride from chapter to chapter. Realizing she wasn’t a real tennis icon that I couldn’t Google to see if she did indeed keep her record drove me to read this book in two days!

If you are intimidated by a book about a sports player, or just tennis, this does a great job of explaining the game in a way that makes you feel like a tennis pro. And in truth it is a book about a tennis star, but I think her life surrounding tennis takes the main stage.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing for giving me access to one of the most anticipated books of 2022, and a book that has now become one of my favorites of all time.

I've been fortunate to read everything by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I admire the way her novels aren't formulaic, but each time she brings the reader something new. Carrie Soto is Back is no exception. Carrie Soto was born to play tennis, with her dad having been a well-known coach. Her drive, though, consumes her, and like most athletic success stories, she lives, eats and breathes the sport. After a period of not competing, she decides that she still has the drive to win, despite younger talent coming up the ranks, and despite her age. She's not beloved in the world of tennis, but the author brings Carrie to life. We watch her in all her ups and downs. I enjoyed this book a great deal. Thank you to Random House/Ballentine, NetGalley, and the author for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
#NetGalley #CarrieSotoisBack #YalorJenkinsReid

Who knew I could love a book about tennis. I don’t even follow tennis, but this book had me turning pages late into the night more than most thrillers. I loved Carrie and all the characters in this book. I think this may be my favorite book by TJR.

Ok, I’ll say it - I don’t care, understand, or even like tennis, but omg would I read more and more about Carrie, Nicki, Javier, and Bowe if I could. Without a doubt we have another masterpiece from Taylor Jenkins Reed on our hands! This is my first Reed book I actually read instead of listening to as an audiobook and I was worried that would change my love for her work, but I literally couldn’t put this book down.

Beyond tense matches and grueling training sessions, Reed explores complicated daughter-father, competitor-competitor, younger generation-older generation, and lover relationships while featuring possibly the most unflappable and powerful women: Carrie Soto. One of my favorite things about Carrie and how Reed wrote Carrie is that no one denied the fact that Carrie was talented, but she never relied on her talent alone. Carrie trained constantly and her dedication to improving her skills was both admirable and difficult to read about at times. Either way, this book does justice for all of the “prodigies” out there who spend endless hours practicing/training/studying/obsessing only for their victories to be credited to their natural talent.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Taylor Jenkins Reed, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Carrie Soto is Back and so is Taylor Jenkins Reid!! Carrie Soto is determined to become the greatest women's tennis player in the world. We follow her as a young woman dominating the tennis world and then again as her comeback to defend her title as the world's greatest tennis player of all time. Tennis has been Carrie's life for as long as she can remember. Her father, also known as Javier el Jaguar, one of the best Tennis players in the world, serves as her coach through her young career and mentor into her adulthood. This is the relationship so many envy. Carrie has a hard time getting close to anyone but her father. She is known for her cold-heartedness; "The Battle Axe" as she is called. But it works for her on the court. She dominates and doesn't look back. Carrie plays to win and defend the most important thing in the world to her, her title. But when is enough, enough. How do you know when your time on the spotlight is over and it is time to pass the torch? Is it ever time? Through this whole novel, you will be rooting for Carrie' both in her tennis career and her life.
I knew absolutely nothing about tennis and had really never even watched a tennis game in my life; but I still devoured Carrie Soto is Back. Taylor Jenkins Reid creates characters that you love, admire, cheer for and Carrie is no less than that. There is a small amount of Spanish in the novel, spoken by her father, but it is easily translatable and/ or the meaning is embedded in the conversation. It did not take away from the novel in any sense. In fact, it adds to her heritage and story.
I will definitely be recommending Carrie Soto is Back to everyone just like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Everyone must experience Taylor Jenkins Reid at the top of her own game and she is on it! I will always look for future reads by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Special thanks to NetGalley, Taylor Jenkins Reid and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. 5 HUGE stars for me!!
#CarrieSotoIsBack #NetGalley

This is a wonderful book but not replacing Evelyn Hugo or Malibu arising as my favorite TJR books. Here we follow Tennis champion Carrie Soto as she comes out of retirement to defend her record as most Slams won.

If it sounds like a sports book that’s because it is — A LOT. I’m a huge fan of tennis but there were some parts I found myself glazing over a bit (I find sports much more engaging to watch than be described). Other than that, I have no complaints about this gem of a novel and TJR struck gold again.

I especially loved the commentary about women aging, and the double standard between women and men - not to mention the commentary about a public figure’s serious demeanor / an athletes myopic goal of winning making them be labeled something nasty.

The relationship between Carrie and her father, a retired pro himself, broke me down in SOBS. This was such a gorgeous way to portray a parent-child relationship, and how dreams and happiness are not always the same thing. And the Latino heritage/Spanish weaves throughout was also impactful.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I adored the premise of this book in which a female tennis player who had retired after breaking the record of grand slams decides to come out of retirement because another player is about to break her record. It’s my favorite kind of heroine in that she is complicated and not always nice to everybody but if she was a male nobody would say anything because she is just being competitive. Having her find romance with a male player with him and she’s always had a contentious relationship is also fun to watch. The relationship between her and her father is complicated but heartwarming at the same time. I’m a big fan of tennis and I love this book very much

TJR is such a master of words and character development. All of her books make me feel so deeply. Only reason I didn't round this all the way up to a 5 star book is that I wish there had bit a little bit more then just tennis to the plot but that being said I truly loved it.

TJR does it again! Another amazing, un-put-downable story that captivated you from the beginning. If you’re anything like me, you might know little to none about tennis, but it honestly didn’t matter. I still loved this book and Carrie’s character dearly.

It’s a story about sports, but also about love and fame and family, and ambition and triumph and loss. Has a little something for everyone and will be recommending this one for a long time!

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc!

I had no idea that I loved tennis. Carrie's dedication to this sport was at once inspiring while being incredibly frustrating. And I loved every second.

Carrie Soto was raised a tennis player. And, throughout this novel, I went back and forth wondering how healthy her relationship to the game was. Particularly, if it took away her ability to live just basic life, to enjoy life without the intensity of being the best at tennis. As if that was her whole personality.

This book gave me everything, every emotion. Like other Taylor Jenkins Reid books this is a showstopper. (And, includes small links and references to other books by this author.)

I cannot recommend this enough!

Out August 30, 2022!

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for sending me and ARC of this book! Below is my honest review:

Sometimes a book finds you right when you need it to and speaks to your soul. This book felt like that. Carrie Soto is Back tells the story of tennis star Carrie Soto as she returns to tennis after retiring years before. The way this book explores how women are perceived in the court of public opinion, especially when they don’t fit into a certain mold, was so thought-provoking and interesting. This story also features discussions of grief that felt incredibly poignant to me as well.

The characters, the story, and the themes discussed all felt perfectly written to me. I highly highly recommend this book, especially if you enjoyed TJR’s previous works.

Another amazing read from TJR! She has such a way of writing to specific time periods that make you feel like you’ve been transported. Carrie Soto is not the most likable of characters, but she is real. Her relationships, or lack there of, provides depth to her character and how she’s had to give up a lot to be the tennis player that she becomes. I loved this book and I can’t wait for it to come out for everyone to enjoy!

**spoilers below**

TJR does it again! This immersive, historical fiction (let's pour one out for the fact that a novel that takes place partly in the 80s/90s can be referred to as "historical fiction) novel stars Carrie Soto, once called the greatest tennis player to ever live. When Carrie's Grand Slam wins record is about to be surpassed by a rival, she decides to come out of retirement to be coached by her father again to maintain her record.

Does this book have a lot of tennis in it? Yeah, sure does. I like tennis fine and mostly understand the rules and didn't feel that my lack of knowledge in that regard detracted from the book at all (though tbh I may have skimmed some of the sections specifically about the matches). The first part of this book is a lot of background so was a little slow to start.

I loved seeing the relationship between Carrie and her dad. I thought it was fleshed out really well. My main critique of this book is that I wanted to see more of her grief once he dies and that the ending is fairly abrupt. What we did see of her grief was heart-wrenching, ugly, and in my opinion pretty accurate. I think the story could have stuck with that and explored it more than it did.

Overall, not my favorite of hers but still a super solid book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the eARC in exchange for a review.

TJR books are such a delight, Evelyn Hugo is still very high on my bookshelf.
This book takes a different vein covering the life of a professional tennis player, and the journey of her comeback.
I’m giving this 5 stars due to it’s ability to grab you make you not put it down.
Many times I thought I would just read a couple pages and ended up reading 50. The characters crackle and I almost hope they make a movie just to see who they would cast in the roles.
I do have two small criticisms - the main character and her father speak Spanish to each other quite often. These conversations are not translated. My Spanish is very weak so I had to stop and look up the translations which was a pain. Also this book gets kind of technical about Tennis. I used to play so I could follow most of the descriptions. But if you have never played the game I think some definitions of the plays the are calling would be useful.
Despite these two flaws the story will pull you in and not let go, so read this book when you can.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has quickly become an auto-buy for me. I can count on her for impeccable writing, intense, character driven storylines and a window into worlds I know nothing about. “Carrie Soto is Back” is no exception. Although this book focuses heavily on tennis, you don’t need to know anything about the game to enjoy it.

I was surprised that the author decided to re-visit Carrie, out of all the characters that popped up in Malibu Rising. However, having read this story, I get it. Initially, she seems very one-note, but she is actually interesting and layered. It was entertaining to watch her change from an unlikeable and unapologetic superstar into something more.

As other reviewers have pointed out, there is A LOT of tennis here. I’d say the first 50% is tennis terms, strategy and play-by-play. However, it fits with the character-driven storyline because Carrie is 100% tennis for the first half of the book.

Again, I appreciate this glimpse of a world that I will never inhabit. That is why I read!

Many thanks to Random House – Ballantine and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When I heard TJR had a new book coming out and it was about a retired tennis star looking for a comeback, I was immediately on board. I will read anything she writes at this point and, while not a huge sports fan, I adore sports redemption story movies (I have seen The Replacements more times than I am proud of). However, despite being in to the concept of this novel, I had mixed feelings on the execution. I did ultimately like it very much, but I apologize in advance for this conflicted review because that’s how I felt reading it.

Reading Carrie Soto felt like reading several different books to me, so I am going to review it as such. The first 25-ish percent, I was bored out of my mind. It was entirely exposition and felt like reading a dull sports biography. It lacked any of the charm I come to expect from a TJR novel and, if I didn’t like her so much, may have caused me to DNF the book.

The story really took off in the next 25 percent. I think TJR did a great job of narrating the action of the tennis matches in a way that made you feel like you were watching it. I had palpable anxiety for Carrie and couldn’t help but root for her, despite the fact that I didn’t have a good handle on the character. And that is the downside of this section - Carrie is clearly a badass, but mostly one-note. I did enjoy that she is unlikable and unapologetic, and she reminded me a bit of Evelyn in that way. However, at this point, the reader doesn’t know much about her, which is a shame, though it also illustrates how talented TJR is because you still want her to succeed. While I was more into this section of the novel, I still wasn’t that invested.

All that being said, when you get to the second half of the novel, it blossoms. I LOVED the second half of this book. Carrie really opened up as a character; the side characters came into their own; the relationships became more complex; the stakes felt higher. It was a delightful and poignant story about what success means and the idea of legacy. And like any good TJR book, there were parts I full on sobbed reading, both happy and sad tears. The second half of this book was amazing and I wish the entire book read like this.

Thank you to Random House - Ballantine and Netgalley for the ARC

DNF 80%

This is probably a case of it being me as opposed to the book. I don't love tennis and this was REALLY about tennis.

After reading Malibu Rising, and seeing this as a Netgalley ARC knowing the Carrie Soto character, I was really interested in finding out why Carrie was so angry all the time. Well, after getting to 80% I understand she is just a mean person. No tragic incident happened to make her that way. She's just horrible.

What I didn't like about the story was it was mostly about tennis. How to play tennis, how to get good at tennis, how to be the best at tennis and every chapter detailed every match Carrie played. This got really boring to me. There was no real drama or plot that this author usually adds to the story. I decided to stop reading when I no longer cared about her or Bowe. I didn't want to wait for her to wake up and suddenly become a good person at the end.

Another aspect that took away from the story was her conversations with her father. This was mostly in Spanish with no interpretation from the author. For those non-bilingual people out there, like myself, you either have to Google translate or just skip it and hope it wasn't some kind of sage life changing advice. Her father was the only character that got me as far as I did in this book.

I guess if you read Malibu Rising and really love tennis this would be for you. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book.

*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Couldn't put this one down! I'm not a tennis fan and was a bit hesitant when I saw that was the focus of this novel, but I was hooked from page one. Much like Fredrik Backman's Beartown, you don't need to be a fan of the sport to find this one addicting. I enjoyed Malibu Rising and adored Daisy Jones and the Six, but Carrie Soto is Back is my new favorite Taylor Jenkins Reid novel. Carrie is tough as nails on herself and everyone around her, but you can't help but love her and route for her.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel. My review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

Carrie Soto is the world's best tennis player...until a young tennis star steals her record. Carrie Soto will not stand for this, and after 7 years of retirement, announces that she is returning to the tennis game. During her time playing, Carrie didn't make many friends. Her job was to win...and win she did, sometimes showing no mercy. Her return is unwelcome, but she does not care. With her dad as her coach, can Carrie retake her record?

Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again! She writes characters that you want to know more about and be in their lives. Carrie Soto's story is engaging and endearing, you'll be cheering for her and won't want her story to end.