I expected to find this drier than an out-of-date cracker, but it was absolutely incredible; I couldn’t put it down!

I’m not a sporty person: I don’t watch many sports, I don’t play many sports and the most competitive I get is playing a round of Monopoly at Christmas! If there’s a Trivial Pursuit sports related question, I hope to God it isn’t about the rules of tennis. So I didn’t pick this book up because it’s about something I love; I picked it up because I LOVED Evelyn Hugo, and I trust TJR to make even a shopping list compelling.

Carrie Soto was the best female tennis player of her time. She’s since retired following an injury, but is about to lose her title as the highest number of Grand Slam wins. Carrie is competitive, highly motivated, reasonably cold and entirely convinced that she is the best - I think it’s fair to say she isn’t likeable at all, actually. But because of that she’s probably one of the most fun character perspectives I’ve read from in a really long time. I both loved and hated her, I totally rooted for her and I one hundred percent wanted her to give the younger players an ass kicking!

For someone who knows nothing about tennis and would probably need to be paid to watch it, I absolutely adored this book.

I am of the handful of people who ONLY liked The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and then felt TJR lost her way after that. But I have to say that Carrie Soto’s return to tennis is absolutely also TJR’s comeback! Wow! It blew my socks off; I read it in a single sitting and I didn’t bother coming up for air. She’s back on my “auto-buy” list.

Short chapters, hugely compelling plot, great pacing and an absolutely exceptionally written book. What a way to end 2022!

I'm a huge fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid so was very keen to read this new novel and I'm so pleased to say that I really enjoyed it. I loved the character of Carrie and seeing how her career got to where it was and how she became such a huge success in tennis. It was such an interesting read and I was fascinated by the way the media viewed Carrie and also the relationships between the women in the tennis world. This was such an engrossing novel and I definitely recommend it!

I've been a fan of Andre Agassi and thus seen many matches in the 90s. But solely of men playing tennis, and besides Agassi I wouldn't say that I'm a tennis fan. Although some matches are truly very exciting to watch. But I don't read this book because tennis interests me so much but rather because Taylor Jenkins Reid is so gifted writing stories that she can get me interested in any topic. This already worked very well with "Daisy Jones and the Six", a ficticious-documentary novel about the music industry of the 70s, and also with "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" about the 'Golden Age' of the movies. Now we have a novel set in the sports world.

Because of the competitive nature of the sport, this has a certain amount of thrill. And of course I rooted for our titel character Carrie Soto, even though she is not liked by many people in this book (and I could relate to that on some accounts considering her remarks to opponents or the press). Still, I kept my finger's crossed for her. But in the end, it (almost) didn't matter who was the winner of a match in the end. I just enjoyed the whole story and Jenkins Reid's way of telling it.
With the news articles and transcripts of sport shows inserted into the narrative it also became a touch of authenticity.

I have now read six Taylor Jenkins Reid books and she is yet to let me down. I definitely should mention that I recommend reading Malibu Rising before Carrie Soto. Malibu Rising is a chapter of Carrie’s history, so it gives readers a bit of previous knowledge and makes the reading experience of Carrie Soto Is Back a lot richer.

Carrie Soto is the greatest tennis player the world has ever seen. She will stop at nothing to win titles and defend them. That’s why despite retiring from the game six years ago, she is now determined to defend the records that are in danger of being taken away from her by the new wave of female players. So she comes out of retirement at the age of 37 and resumes coaching with her father in the hope of sweeping the Grand Slam circuit again. Even if the media can’t stand the Battle-Axe and ridicule her for coming out of retirement. Even if it means training with old flame Bowe Huntley because none of the women want to practice with her. For one final year, Carrie Soto is back.

Carrie is definitely the most competitive, determined character I’ve ever met. Losing is the biggest failure imaginable for her and it’s fascinating to see that even after six years away from the game, that hasn’t changed. While I can’t really understand that level of competitiveness, it did make me admire Carrie. I can definitely see how this trait might make her appear immature, petty and annoying to some readers but the context of her story caused me to see it in a much more positive light. She just wants to prove her many critics wrong.

It seems that Carrie has been raised to put success above everything else. Her mother died when she was young, meaning her mother’s desire for her daughter to focus on kindness and finding happiness was never really a priority for Carrie. Her father is a very warm, caring man but his dream of Carrie becoming the greatest tennis player in the world really is the only thing that matters to both of them.

There is a lot of commentary on how successful women are treated by the press. Although this book is set in the 1990s, this certainly hasn’t changed in the last 30 years. Female celebrities are expected to look pretty and happy all the time and yet are called out if they’re deemed to be ‘trying too hard’. Once again, it’s evidence that women really can’t ever win and that criticism will find them one way or another.

The fact that Carrie is fully aware of the fact that she can’t win with the media is heartbreaking but it is perhaps a great strength for her. She knows that there’s no point in trying to ingratiate herself with the public or even with her fellow female players. They all have the idea that she is a cold, aloof Battle Axe and there’s not a lot of point in her trying to challenge that. However, there were times when I could see that she would have liked some female friendships within tennis and some good press for once. Perhaps that desire for someone to say something good about her further fuels her motivation to win.

Carrie and Bowe’s relationship was great fun to watch. They have an easy way of talking to each other and it’s clear that they have a lot of history and more feelings than either are willing to admit. They do flirt but Carrie certainly has her guard up with him, so I was never sure when or even if she would ever drop it and let him in. I couldn’t help but smile while they bantered and I was really excited to see what would happen between them.

Nina Riva and Brandon Randall are principal characters in Malibu Rising and although they’re only briefly mentioned in Carrie Soto, it gives Carrie’s role in the Riva/Randall story a bit of a backstory. I do wish Carrie had featured more heavily in Malibu Rising but perhaps if she had, it would have negated the point of releasing her own story. There are several years between the events of Malibu Rising and the events of Carrie Soto and I think I’d like to know what’s been going on in those years.

The book also features newspaper clippings, podcast scripts and bulletins discussing Carrie Soto’s comeback. One article that really touched me was written by a young woman who was clearly beaten down by the idea that women can’t achieve their dreams and win at life. She is inspired by what Carrie is trying to do and I was so grateful that it was included in the book. There will undoubtedly be women who have been forced to abandon their dreams in favour of supporting their husband’s or children’s dreams, watching Carrie fight against the odds. How amazing for them to see her win!

The fact that Carrie compares herself to Princess Diana was so moving and poignant. They are both women who the press love to rip into and who the public have strong opinions on. I would never have compared Carrie to Diana by myself but when she pointed it out, I couldn’t help but see the similarities. Both were just trying to live their lives well but were products of a society that teaches us that women are only useful or interesting for a certain amount of time and should fade away when that time is up.

Carrie Soto Is Back is a very powerful, thought-provoking novel that celebrates female success and explores the very real ripples that sends through society. It’s moving, inspirational and incredibly exciting -the chapters detailing Carrie’s tennis matches are truly nail-biting. My heart leaped and fell with hers and I thoroughly adored it.

I wasn't sure I'd enjoy this but I loved it.

A wonderful story of determination, family ties and competition and ultimately, love.

Throughly enjoyed the tennis industry setting and was rooting for Carrie all the way.

A strong tale to champion women's strength, grit and place in any world.

TAYLOR JENKINS REID DID IT AGAIN!!!!! I am a massive fan of her work, especially this multiverse she has created. I can't wait to see who we meet next.
Carrie Soto is such an interesting character, I worried she would be similar to Evelyn and the Riva's, but she changed that for me. I won't give any spoilers but Carrie's story is definitely worth reading, I swear I felt like I was reading someone's autobiography. You get so engrossed in these characters that it hurts to part with them at the end.

By the time Carrie retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Slam titles. But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning, British player named Nicki Chan.
At thirty-seven years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. In spite of it all: Carrie Soto is back, for one epic final season.

I bought the audiobook myself before I was approved for a NetGalley review copy. That‘s why I ended up listening to the audiobook instead of reading the ebook. The audiobook is incredible! It‘s so engaging with the different narrators and I loved the main narrator Stacy Gonzalez. Especially since the main narrator could pronounce the Spanish phrases and words and produce an authentic Spanish accent. 😊
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Carrie Soto is not the most likeable character. She is selfish, highly ambitious, blunt and rude at times. She is a bad loser and she isn‘t empathetic. Yet I found myself sympathising with her over the course of the story. She lost her mother at a young age and her relationship to her father is difficult. Being a woman in the sports industry is hard because everyone expects women to be gracious and kind and definitely not overly ambitious. Carrie doesn’t fit into that box and she had to learn it the hard way. 😅
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This book has been criticised because it‘s about a Latina main character although Jenkins Reid is not Latina. I definitely agree that white authors writing about Latinx characters takes the spotlight away from Latinx authors. I can see that a lot of research went into the book, the father-daughter relationship was well done and the audiobook made the experience more authentic. However, I understand the criticism and I agree with it!
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I decided to give the book 4 stars because it was engaging and fun and it made me cry towards the end. I think Carrie Soto didn’t need to be a Latina character for the story to work.

3.5

This is my least favourite book by TJK however she has set the bar extremely high with her previous book. I still enjoyed the book I just found that whilst I enjoyed the story alot of it featured around tennis, something I know very little about and have very little interest in. I enjoyed the relationship between Carrie and get father and I liked how she made a come back despite what others thought. A nice story with a good message I just wish it had focused more on character development instead of so much tennis content.

Another brilliant book by Taylor Jenkins Reid!

I initially had a few reservations about reading a book predominantly about tennis, but I needn't have worried. The author has a way of describing the matches in a way that is exciting and engaging.

I loved Carrie as a character. She is strong, determined and ambitious. She's not in the slightest bit interested in changing her personality to become more likeable and I loved that.

I was completely invested in Carrie's story. I liked her more vulnerable moments and how she struggled to accept defeat and what she perceived to be failure. This ambition could often have a negative impact on her relationships, both with her dad and any romantic attachments. I enjoyed reading about how she learned to navigate that as the story progressed.

Carrie is such an inspiring character, and the story perfectly highlighted the struggles ambitious and successful women face. It wasn't enough for her to dedicate her life to tennis and become the best in her field, the media demanded that she should also be 'nice'. A demand that so often isn't expected of men.

I rooted for Carrie throughout the story. Not necessarily to win, but to find the happiness that had always eluded her.

My favourite parts of the book were the interactions between Carrie and her father. I loved how they managed the complexities of him being both her coach and her father.

Another brilliant read by Taylor Jenkins Reid and one I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

Very readable story. Didn't love it like I did Daisy Jones (which I adored) and not as pulpy and fun as Evelyn Hugo, but easy to read. There is a lot of tennis - thankfully I like the sport!

Taylor Jenkins Reid has the special ability to perfectly capture the essence of an era and get you completely invested in the special focus within her book. In Carrie Soto is Back we are thrust into the competitive world of professional tennis in the 90s.

I was hesitant to read this book at first. When we meet Carrie Soto for the first time in Malibu Rising, she is the other woman, the one who betrays the main character and you automatically want to dislike her on the spot. I think that was a brilliant choice. Taylor Jenkins Reid takes a woman we are supposed to hate from the get-go and tells her story, gives us the necessary perspective into her life and we find common ground with her.

Carrie Soto is unapologetically herself and throws the word ‘humble’ out the window. Time and time again people try to categorize her and put her in her place but she manages to rise above and strive for everything, anything. Carrie’s attitude is something that women are constantly criticized for. We are told to make ourselves small to make society feel more comfortable. They say the sky is the limit but Carrie is not limited to the sky. The sky just becomes another milestone for her to conquer.

I would highly recommend listening to Carrie Soto is Back on audio (actually just listen to all of TJRs books on audio). The full cast of voices brings the story to life and it feels like it really happened. When I finished the book, I wanted to google Carrie Soto and it took me a second to remember that she’s fictional. That is the power that Taylor Jenkins Reid holds. I had the same experience with Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones. These women feel so real and tangible that Reid’s books feel like biographies instead of fiction.

I had a great time reading this book and learning more about Carrie Soto. Taylor Jenkins Reid has again created a fascinating world filled with drama and intrigue. The book is quite tennis heavy so it wasn’t my favourite topic for this to be centred around. For this reason it isn’t my favourite of Reid’s novels but definitely still a great read!

Ihate sports in books. Hate it! But I also don’t like reading about musicians and I gave Daisy Jones five stars. So. Here we are. Here I am, giving a book about a tennis (of all sports!) champion an almost flawless rating. Carrie Soto is Back deserves all the praise and the hype, and I’m so happy to have read it.

I simply adore Taylor Jenkins Reid’s new era. I’ve heard rumours that it’s ending and that Carrie Soto is the final book in the Evelyn Hugo universe. I really hope that’s not the case. This universe has come to mean a lot to me, and I look forward to each new release.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has a real knack for writing unlikeable and successful women and making you love them. She writes them in such a way that you know you would hate them in real life, but when you get to know them over the course of a book you realise they’re actually kind of brilliant. I want more.

I imagine Carrie will be the least likeable of the bunch for many readers. She has no filter, she knows her own skill and talent, and her advice to her opponents is simply “Get better at tennis.” I love that. and I can’t explain how hard I can relate.

One thing I was not expecting from this book was a SLOWBURN ROMANCE!!! It was so lovely and it had my heart swelling. I won’t talk about it in case you don’t want to be spoiled about who the romance is with, but it was wonderful.

I also cried a lot and that’s how you know it’s a great book. Carrie had me crying, Javier was wonderful and made me sob, and Bowe was just so cute! The only thing I probably didn’t cry over was the mention of Mick Riva </3

I love Carrie Soto is Back so much! In my ranking I would put it fairly near the top, probably something like this:

Daisy Jones and the Six
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Carrie Soto is Back
Malibu Rising
Everything else
If you want to check out my previous ranking for all of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books, you can watch my video in which I read her entire backlist and decide which Taylor Jenkins Reid book is best.

Also, I think I understand tennis now? Maybe.

TJR is such an incredible author and writes the most immersive books and characters who somehow always feel real.

I’m not a tennis fan in the slightest but I really enjoyed reading about Carrie and the game, it felt so tense and I was really rooting for her.

It still doesn’t top Daisy Jones for me but it’s still a wonderful book!

WHAT CAN I SAY ABOUT THIS BOOK? It got me out of a hole, it reignited a love for reading. I felt like before I started this book that I was in a never-ending book slump, where I would pick up one book, put it down and pick up another without reading either. It felt like a tedious, unending cycle. But then, I put my headphones on and started with Carrie, because I knew if anyone could get me out of a hole, it would be Taylor. I wasn't wrong. Carrie Soto is Back, is about a world class tennis player, now, I know nothing about tennis and have an aversion to it. However, I found myself so engrossed in Carries life, that it didn't matter that this book was essentially about something I didn't like. I found Carrie frustrating and sometimes annoying, but I loved that she was so real, a tangible person that could be anyone. I LOVED IT!

I think this is my favourite Taylor Jenkins Reid book so far, my love for her writing just grows with every novel that I read.

Carrie Soto is back follows the legendary tennis player, Carrie, as she returns to the tennis world in an attempt to save her record. But, after being retired for years has she got what it takes to make the come back she is aiming for?

What a book this was! TJR manages to create such incredible and strong female leads in her books. I fall in love with the personal and unique power that every single one of them has. Carrie has a determination and motivation that I found incredibly inspiring. I loved the message of trying your best, having fun whilst doing it and excepting that it may not turn out like you hoped, but that is fine.

The tennis scenes in this sent me right back to my teen years when I used to play. Although you don’t need any knowledge of tennis to be able to follow what is happening. My only criticism was that the book frequently moved to Spanish without any translation. Luckily, I was reading on my kindle so I could translate it easily but this would be tricky with a physical book. Overall, this was a book that I did not want to put down, but it had a beautiful simplicity to it as well. At one point, I became incredibly emotional and actually couldn’t read on, it hit a raw spot for me but was handled so well.

I recommend this book to any fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid or those who love a strong female lead in their books! I want to thank Netgalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and Taylor Jenkins Reid for sending me a copy of this book so I could give my personal thoughts.

I’m not really sure how I feel about this book, but I am gutted that I didn’t enjoy it more. I liked the storyline - not the tennis part of it, but the story of Carrie. She was an interesting character to read about, but I wish we got to know her a bit better - I feel like I know her as a tennis player, but not what she’s like away from the tournaments. This book is really heavy on the focus of tennis - I hadn’t read the blurb before I started reading, but I hoped it would be character based like the other Taylor Jenkins Reid books I’ve read. I also really struggled because there’s a lot of untranslated Spanish. I don’t speak Spanish, so a lot of the conversations between Carrie and her dad were lost on me. I wish they were translated, because I skipped over a couple of paragraphs of their conversations and I feel like I’m missing out as I don’t know what they said. It was a really easy book to read and I was getting through it quickly, and that’s the main reason I didn’t DNF it. I wanted to know how the story was going to end, so I wanted to keep reading, but I wasn’t 100% interested. I will be reading more of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books, but unfortunately this one is my least favourite so far. Still good writing and I will recommend it to people, it’s just definitely not the right book for me.

I absolutely adored Seven Husbands, Daisy Jones and Malibu Rising so I couldn't wait to get stuck into the life of Carrie Soto. We were first introduced to Carrie in Malibu Rising but I was so glad that this book wasn't focused on that small scene and instead showed us her childhood, through to adulthood and showcased her difficult and complex relationship with tennis and her coach, her dad.

Honestly, I knew absolutely nothing about tennis before reading this but now I am 100% wanting to pick up a bat as well as watch every match possible. The descriptions were easy to understand but were also technical enough that it just all worked really well.

The character development was brilliantly laid out with both Carrie and Bowe, complete with a slow burn romance between them and a heartwarming connection between father and daughter.

This was a fantastic read, TJR truly can do no wrong.

Back in 2019, I read one of the most hyped and award winning books of the Year. The book?
'Daisy Jones and the Six' by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Now, the book was good, very good infact but considering the praise and reviews, it would always be difficult for any novel to live upto such incredibly high expectations. Especially for a Fleetwood Mac fan like myself!
Anyway, fast forward to 2022 and the release of 'Carrie Soto is Back' another novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, released to huge acclaim. I was crossing my fingers and hoping that I would love this book. And do you know what? I did. I do.
I'm a huge Carrie Soto fan. Go Carrie. My knowledge of tennis may be minimal (though I did gain a significant knowledge while reading), but I loved the flashbacks to her childhood and early career. These flashbacks were short and punchy, full of colour and excitement.
Carrie is not always likeable but the reader is given the opportunity to see her viewpoint and understand her vulnerability.
A brilliant, fast paced and character driven novel.

Aaahh TJR! Can you do no wrong?

Carrie Soto is brilliant. I don't even like Tennis and now I feel obsessed with it! If you've read Malibu Rising, you'll have already been introduced to Carrie Soto. You'll also know, she's not particularly likeable! But through this book you get to see how she's actually just focused and determined.

This book is excellent. Highly recommend it.