TJR has first obliterated me with Daisy Jones & the Six which I inhaled in a day and have since then spent months wishing this fictional band had released a real album I could listen to. Then the film geek in me devoured the somewhat overhyped-though-gut-wrenching classical Hollywood memoir Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Last year, despite my scepticism, she made me not not only want to read but also care about Cali surfers and models & their punchable father, and made me hate a briefly mentioned side character, Carrie Soto.

This year, my loyalty and belief in TJR were truly tested. You are not likely to encounter a person less into sports than myself. I avoid any vaguely sports related content – and activities – like plague. Couldn’t care less about the Olympics or any World Cup Championships, if that’s what they’re called, but, y’know, good for the winners! However, in TJR we trust and all that, and NetGalley and Hutchinson Heinemann kindly approved me for an e-ARC, which I’m very grateful for because now I get to shout about this book from the rooftops before its release.

Written in 1st person POV, Carrie Soto will tell you her life story, from her Argentinian father‘s immigration to America, early childhood and family tragedy, which would spark her relentless discipline, ambition and drive for excellence, guided and supported by her loving father and tennis coach; her early rise to fame and record shattering results on courts all over the world, to her early peak and abrupt retirement – which all happens in the first quarter of the book. You spend the majority of the novel with embittered, cynical 37-year-old Carrie Soto and witness her trials and tribulations, the casual sexism and ageism she experiences as she attempts to reclaim her hard-earned top spot in the world of Women’s tennis with unwavering belief that she deserves it. This includes her rivalry with the current champion, Nicki Chan; training with another retiree fallen from grace, and her journey to acceptance and proving her worth, among others. What particularly stands out, however, is Carrie’s relationship with her biggest fan, determined and resourceful coach - her father, Javier, who certainly has his work cut out for him. It’s a gripping story about ambition, fame, female athletes, double standards, and a stunning exploration of a dynamic father / daughter relationship that will tug at your heartstrings.

Carrie is not a particularly nice or likeable person one would enjoy being around but she’s a fascinating protagonist. Her drive, desire and determination to succeed are so genuine and desperate that you cannot help but root for her too, no matter how misguided or narrow-minded her reasons are. I’m constantly impressed by how Ms Jenkins Reid manages to craft engaging stories about such authentic flawed lovable women and I honestly hope she never stops.

If you’re like me, and sports content usually makes you grimace, I must advise you: there IS a lot of tennis in this but it is all character motivated and you don’t need any prior knowledge of the sport to understand the plot as TJR conveys the stakes very clearly. Did I understand all the match methodology and tennis jargon? Nope but a lot of it can be gleaned from the context and those who are familiar with tennis will be able to visualise things quite well, in my opinion. Did it affect my enjoyment of the book? Absolutely not. If I didn’t have work and life commitments, I could have easily finished this in one sitting.

It did not make me want to watch or play tennis but it did make me want to wish Carrie Soto was a real Grand Slam record breaking superstar whose begrudging public appearances and headline-making interviews I could browse through, just as it had made me want to lose myself in Daisy Jones’s music and Evelyn Hugo’s movies.
Ms TJR, can’t wait to meet another one of your inspiring creations.

I love love LOVED this book - by far my favourite of all the Taylor Jenkins Reid books! As someone who knows very little about tennis and generally has zero interest in any sport at all, I was less than enthusiastic when I heard about the plot of this book. However! I found the entire book so fascinating! It isn't overly sporty, and terms etc are explained in such a way that it doesn't make you feel stupid or like you are being mansplained to. Really loved the characters and way in which the story developed. No spoilers, but a certain section involving Javier had my crying in an airport terminal as I read while waiting for a flight! Will definitely recommend!

This has definitely been one of my most highly anticipated reads of 2022. I love TJRs writing style and I love how her books often look at different career paths that’s i would not normally read, so the fact Carrie Soto is a tennis player really didn’t bother me when I started reading.

However, this book is almost entirely about tennis, there are very few sub plots, no real twists or turns, it is very much like reading a sporting autobiography. Now that is obviously one of the merits of TJRs writing, that fiction can read and feel like non-fiction, but this one was just missing something for me.

Ultimately, Carrie is a deeply unlikeable character which made it hard to warm to her throughout. The things she says and the way she acts makes it very hard to relate to such a character for the majority of the book which in turn ended up manifesting as me being quite disinterested in the plot.

There are a LOT of tennis references which make it quite hard to follow if you’re not super into the sport. I thought I had a basic knowledge but still felt stumped at times! Similarly, Carrie and her father regularly talk in full sentences of Spanish and there is very little offered from TJR by way of translation. I speak no Spanish so I found myself skipping these sections but worried I was missing a key interaction between the characters. But without stopping reading and getting out google translate I was a bit lost.

I had high hopes for this one and it fell a little short but I would say that it is still written beautifully and if you like tennis then this one might be a winner for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the ARC! I left review here voluntarily.

Actual rating is 4.5 ⭐

This book is amazing! I can't stop reading this book because I can't wait to see what happens to Carrie.

From the title we know that this book will tell us about Carrie wanting to go back to tennis tournament after her retirement. Her only target is to maintain her Slam Record.

To complete the story, the author gives us a glimpse of Carrie's story since a little, how she became the legend of tennis. That's why we know how obsessed she is with this tennis thing. Because the main story is about Carrie wanting to maintain her record, this book will be full of tennis from her practice and her tournament. But I'm not bored at all while reading this. I feel like I'm watching the real games! I'm also excited about Carrie's journey. Whether she succeeds or not.

I love how real this book can be. As someone who enjoys this kind of tournament I can feel the excitement on the court. How frustrated Carrie and how hard it is for her to reach her goal. I even love the ending!

Carrie herself is not easy to like. Her obsession, her cold heart, her sharp tongue, everything in her is so hard to love. But as I already know her story since childhood, I know why she behaves like that. And she is doing a great development on her character. I also love her relationship with her dad. The only one she has. Not an easy relationship, they threw up and down but I love how her father is always there with her, despite how mean she can be.

We are also given about her little love story. Because Carrie is a hard person, it is also hard for her to open her heart but I love how her partner is still with her, understanding her and loving her despite everything she told and acted to him. We can see how mature their relationship is.

One thing I hate is the Spanish word here. Sometimes Carrie and her father will converse in Spanish with no translation! I don't understand a thing and it's even harder when I read this offline. After a long time I just gave up trying to understand.

“we live in a world where exceptional women have to sit around waiting for mediocre men.”

taylor jenkins reid is the only person that could make me read a book about tennis. she really aced (get it?) this novel.

carrie soto, our former tennis player, witnesses the current tennis star tie with her milestone records. with the support of her father, she comes out of retirement in attempt to prove that she is the best female tennis player in the world.

as well as this being a gripping story about ambition verging to obsession, it is also being a woman in sports - the sexism, the racism, how mens tennis is ‘incomparable’ to womens and their achievements aren’t as valuable. everything was written so beautifully (which isn’t a surprise, this is TJR), including the father-daughter relationship that was both heart-warming and heart-breaking.

i really love how every novel taylor has written is set in the same (mick riva) universe. they’re all connected and we meet our favourite (or mick riva) characters again which i love sm.

the sprinkle of romance in this book was honestly enough for me. i loved how slowly their relationship developed and it was written magnificently <3

“you are perfect, even in your imperfection. you are completely insufferable and i can’t stop thinking about you. i want the real thing this time.”

Taylor Jenkins Reid is an author whose previous books I have enjoyed, most notably The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Malibu Rising, but I have to admit that when I heard her most recent offering was about a professional tennis player who was a minor character in Malibu Rising I was not particularly excited but oh how wrong I was. It turns out that this story of a strong determined woman fighting the odds to make a comeback was exactly what I needed.
The set up is the world's once greatest, if least likeable tennis player coming out of retirement and being coached by her father to defend her record.by winning one more Grand Slam title. There is a wonderful sense of urgency as each opportunity comes and goes that really builds the tension and raises the stakes, keeping the reader gripped and turning the pages. I appreciated that Carrie was a complex character, she was often unlikeable yet I still found myself rooting for her. Her relationships with the supporting characters, most notably her father (and coach) Javier and potential love interest Bowe were complicated and compelling. Even though I am not much of a tennis fan I appreciated the descriptions of the matches and the physical and psychological techniques needed to compete with her various opponents.
Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again, and I highly recommend it to fans of her previous books .
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

3.5⭐️

If there’s one thing that TJR can do wonderfully is to make her characters feel like they are real. As always, her writing gives life to a fictional character and through masterful narration makes Carrie Soto seem like a real legend of tennis!

I have to give credit to the tremendous amount of research on tennis terminology, techniques and tactics dutifully presented throughout the book. It isn’t an easy thing to make a book about tennis as interesting as this one!

However, I have a few issues with the plot/narrative that TJR have chosen.

I have to warn future readers about the extend to which it talks about tennis. Tennis isn’t a background here, it’s the main plot. It’s at the forefront, and unlike other TJR novels this one doesn’t focus on relationships but mainly on tennis. I don’t even think it focuses on Carrie Soto, as she seems to be more of a carrier for a tennis homage rather than an individual. Which was my main qualm about the book and why it’s not a perfect 5⭐️.

Carrie seems to be narrating her story from an almost clinical POV where she speaks mainly about her career and tennis and little of her personal life. It looks a bit like a documentary on her tennis career rather than her life and although events of her personal life are mentioned, they are really sparse and pushed into the background. It’s a very unusual angle to take for an author and I am quite sad to say that I was expecting so much more drama and relationships in this one, especially after the way CS was portrayed in Malibu Rising. The weird thing is that just like the media, CS seems to be as emotionally inept and a bit wooden. As this is a first person narration, it was a bit odd to see someone that wasn’t bothered in any way by anything except winning on the outside but also the inside. It made her look a bit one dimensional at times, even in her relationship with her father, which sometimes was really endearing but most of the times felt stiff and detached.

The character shift was also a bit too abrupt in my opinion and as much as I like to see a character develop, I would like some small steps happening over the years especially when we follow a character from childhood to late 30s, it would be expected to see some change throughout the years and not only at some point in her 37th year…

The ending fell a bit flat to me. It was so abrupt, I would have loved a bit more of her development and how she dealt with some situations that occurred in the last 20% of the book (no spoilers but if you know you know).

Overall, if you like tennis and you know at least basic moves and rules then go ahead and read it because it’s a light and quick read that feels like a biography! But if you don’t like sports or tennis and you wouldn’t watch a match… Maybe skip this one as it is way more technical than one would expect from TJR…

I haven’t always found TJR books to be completely gripping from the off for me but this was the exception. Although Carrie isn’t totally loveable for a lot of the book, I still wanted to keep reading about her and rooting for her both in her personal and professional lives.

I loved how this was written, the use of outside perspectives made this even more immersive. A brilliant read.

This was a fully immersive easy to read comeback tale. Carrie isn't an instantly likeable protagonist but you are quickly rooting for her every step of the way and she is deceptively complex. The tight cast of characters are all fully formed and the narrative is fast paced and interjected with transcripts and commentaries that really work. The actual tennis is described so brilliantly that I wondered who her tennis source was - you really feel like you are there on court with her. It has everything you would want - a brilliant personal and professional arc, tension, tears and high drama. I sped through it and relished every page.

I started reading this book and was completely absorbed within the first few sentences. I literally sat down and read almost a quarter of it without stopping, which with my dyslexia these days is a hard task. It wasn't that the plot was gripping because it had hardly started, it was the writing was just so enthralling that it dragged me in and held me there.

Carrie Soto is an interesting character. She's not very likeable, she's honestly called a bitch throughout most of the novel, but despite this I found myself caring about her a lot. I wanted her to achieve her goals. I wanted her to find love. I wanted her to make a damn friend! She needed more in her life than winning and I wanted her to find it.

There were some twists and turns that I didn't see coming and some I did, but I didn't know how the end would go until the very last moment. Was this a novel about winning? Was this a novel about learning to take loss? Was it both and she would learn to take loss and be rewarded at the very end by winning anyway? I literally had no idea. It made the final match thrilling because I couldn't guess the result at all.

I know I'm late to discovering Taylor Jenkins Reid, but I'm so excited to read the other books she's written.

I have really enjoyed this book. I'm not at all fan of tennis but I was sucked into its world from the very first page. It was really easy to follow and the characters were very loveable.

It takes a special author for me to be invested in a story centered around a sport that I have literally no interest in, it’s no surprise to me really that TJR managed to accomplish this. I HOOVERED this book up in less than 24 hours! Which is crazy because as mentioned, I really do not care about tennis and I was convinced I was going to regret choosing it to read. This was not the case at all, I was absolutely riveted - this author’s way with words is magical and compelling and I just loved the way the story bounced off the pages so vividly. I felt as if I was there with Carrie Soto each time she picked up her tennis racket and I was enjoying it.

There are so many important takeaways for me in this book, mainly around the power and strength of women in a male-dominated world and the freedom of not letting your passions and hobbies cloud other important aspects of your life. Also I loved and will always love the connections Taylor makes with her other books, it genuinely thrills me. If you’re not a fan of tennis, like me, do not let that put you off from reading this wonderful book!

Thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone & Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I don't think words can fully describe how disappointed I am. I love TJR. I love this odd world of celebrity that her books have created. But for me, Carrie Soto wasn't so much back as she was...bland.

Taking a minor character from 'Malibu Rising', this novel explores her attempt at a comeback after retirement following a young tennis player named Nicki Chan coming close to knocking her record of its perch. If you like tennis, you'll probably get on well with this book. If you don't....good luck to you. For me, there was something missing in this novel that was there in Daisy Jones and starting to dim in Malibu Rising. Maybe it's the world saying 'we've spent enough time here'.

The writing, as always, is great. TJR is a great writer, her prose is excellent and the story remains entertaining. But it's the context in which that prose exists that lets the book down time and time again. Throughout, I felt as though I was skimming the surface of a story. The same themes and ideas were getting repeated over and over again. Carrie, as a character, is often very one note, she doesn't get a lot of consistent development throughout. So much time is spent on the minutiae of a tennis match that I got bored very quickly and found myself skimming those scenes. There's a richness that's missing and it made the reading experience tough.

I started this book on August 3rd. It's 20 days later. THAT is how long it took me to read this because of how bored I was getting. I had to force myself through the second half. It lacked energy and intrigue that, ironically, the format of Daisy Jones and the Six would have jazzed up nicely.

I don't know what else to say really. I'm sad it wasn't great. I was rooting for it. People will love it, I'm sure. But this one was a swing and a miss for me.

Actual rating 4.5/5 stars.

Taylor Jenkins Reid strikes again! I don't dislike tennis as a sport, and used to play it almost every day for a period of my school days. My current interest doesn't stem past watching Wimbledon, however. So how has this author made me so invested in the career of a fictional tennis player and so eager to hold a racket in my hands again??

I loved every moment of this story, which chronicles Carrie Soto's rise to fame, descent into obscurity, and attempts to earn her place back on the courts, the tabloids, and the leader boards. I enjoyed exploring her character and uncovering the trajectory of her life, which was fraught with high emotions, insecurities, and anxieties.

The romantic aspects were lightly included, which only made me vye for Carrie and her intended to realise their fates were aligned far sooner than my actually did so. I adored both of their characters and my heart soared during every one of their interactions. This author knows how to craft authentic characters and make me fall in love with them, as they fall in love with each other.

This book was not without its fair share of heartbreak though, leading as many tears to fall as smiles were conjured. That only ensured this book to hold more of a special place in my heart and I know it is one which will long be committed to memory and often returned to.

We first met Carrie Soto in Malibu Rising as the husband stealing pro tennis player. That was in the early 80’s when she was in her prime. We rejoin her in the mid 90s as she steps out of retirement to prevent Nancy Chan from surpassing her as the greatest tennis player in history. Can she, as a woman in her late 30’s find her previous unstoppable form?

I was absolutely captivated from start to finish. Brilliant tennis throughout and I raced through the book and the matches as if I were at home watching Wimbledon. Loved the weaving of Spanish language throughout to give her Argentinian father authenticity.

Loved her relationship with her papa - such a great guy. And I loved how abrasive and unapologetic Carrie is. It was great to read about an ambitious and abrasive “older” woman who is confident and unashamedly seeking to dominate her profession.

Another master piece from TJR and possibly my favourite yet.

Carrie Soto Is Back totally opened up my eyes to the world of sport-themed books. I have never been driven to read such books, but with loving Taylor Jenkins Reid, I decided to give it a shot, and i’m so glad that I did! This book did such a good job at helping the reader get into the competitive feeling that so many of us have not felt since we played child-good sports.

The reader follows the experience of Carrie Soto, a 37 year old tennis super star, when she makes the decision to come out of retirement when she fears her world wide record is threatened by new fresh-faced player Niki Chan. TJR does such a good job at offering the reader an inner monologue of Carrie and allows the reader to feel as though they are there along side her on the court.

Carrie has always been destined to be the very best in the world; as her own father says. With her father, a world renowned tennis coach, as her own coach and motivator, we grapple with her struggle to return to the grueling training she submits herself to. With each match, Carrie not only faces the physical task of winning, but also the mental game of how to win, and what it all means as a whole. Match after match we move along through the years of her playing and has the reader rooting for her, even with her brute mentality for the game and the people around her. Her ruthlessness to be the absolute best in the game brings on its own troubles and inner struggles that we get to see her work out.

I was rooting for her the entire time and could not put this book down. Topics of women on sports, stereotypes and race were woven together to create a much deeper story and I couldn’t get enough. If you find yourself interested in sports, women in sports, inner growth and even familia relations, this book is definitely for you. Taylor Jenkins Reid definitely did not disappoint.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this eARC! Below you can find links to some of my other formats of review:

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRfP2BTT/
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRff35WM/
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4752502875

Carrie Soto is Back

Carrie Soto is briefly mentioned in Malibu Rising and what an entrance she makes there!
This, however, is the story of how the world record holding tennis player advances through the world of world class tennis. Coached by her father, Javier, from a young age Carrie takes no prisoners. An amazing athlete on and off the court, punishing herself to be the best.
She re-enters the Grand Slams after it becomes clear someone is about to break her record and Carrie Soto is not having that!
Being thrust into the limelight again and everyone not believing that she can be at winning level again, Carrie is belittled by pundits and nicknamed, not only The Battle Axe but also The B*tch.
I loved Carrie’s character development throughout this book, yes she’s tough, yes she’s straight talking, but we also see her softener, vulnerable side. Carrie is a complete force of nature and i loved her.
I had a few tears at one point, no spoilers but I wasn’t expecting something and i have to say it was beautifully handled and well written.
A mention of her reading a biography of Daisy Jones & The Six keeps us in the TJR-verse, i love these little hints to her other books.
Yet again, another blinder and I loved every second of Carrie’s tale 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Carrie Sotto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

4.5 STARS

Another classic by Taylor Jenkins Reid. She has an incredible way of blending the plot line, believable characters and building a world you're invested in, regardless of whether you've had any interest before.

TJR is fast becoming my favourite author. She can do no wrong in my eyes. Since I read the fabulus Daisy Jones & The Six last summer I have been devouring everything else she has read and loved them all. She just writes great stories in such a compelling and readble style. This was no exception. Add in the fact that I am a huge tennis fan too and it was always going to be a win from me.

Carrie Soto has retired form tennis but when her grand slam record is threatened she decides to come out of retirement and prove once and for all that she is the best. With her coach dad at her side (I loved him!) she goes back into full training to achieve her new dream. Utterly compelling from the outset.

Only Taylor Jenkins Reid could make me read a book about tennis. Seriously.

This is probably my least favourite of TJR’s books so far. It was good, but it wasn’t one that I devoured (unlike Malibu Rising).

Carrie Soto is Back, out of retirement to reclaim her ‘greatest tennis player of all time’ title. Known as ‘The Battle Axe’ Soto is a hard-faced, determined and hot-headed. She isn’t well liked, nor does she try to be. She is her own person and owns it. I loved this aspect of her character, she is unashamedly confident and wants to be the absolute best, no one will get in her way.

Her relationship with her father and coach, Javier, was the highlight of this book for me. He was my favourite character by far. I adored him. His desire to see her succeed, but also to see her ultimately happy, played out so well. Gwen, Nicki and Bowe were also great characters, I loved reading about them all. TJR writes characters so well, I honestly believe she could write stories (novels or novellas) about all of them, they are that well developed!

I know very little about tennis, but this did not detract from my enjoyment. TJR has this incredible talent of immersing you in whichever world she is writing about. I was in the world of tennis, for the entirety of this book. I could feel the pace, the action, the suspense and the thrill of watching a match. I liked how TJR highlighted some important conversations about misogyny and women in sport too.

Overall, an enjoyable and engaging read, once again with some wonderful characters. Highly recommend that you read some TJR soon (if you haven’t already!).

Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I will post a review to Amazon once book is published.