Carrie Soto was the greatest tennis player in the world during the 70’s and 80’s. She was so powerful, so fierce, so brutal…so much so she was known as The BattleAxe. Retiring with an all time record of 21 Grand Slam titles, Carrie simply was the best. However, back on the circuit, superstar tennis player Nicki Chan is about to break Soto’s record, forcing Soto to come out of retirement and play one last tour in the hopes she can retain her status as the greatest player of all time!

OH MY GOD! THIS BOOK IS SO DAMN GOOD. Ngl I am a bit of tennis fan, I love watching Wimbledon, so I knew this book would be right up my street. However, even if you’re not a tennis fan - DO NOT BE PUT OFF - this book will literally make you want to go out and get some tennis lessons!. I was hooked from the get go, and TJR writes so incredibly well that you feel like you’re in the book yourself. I honestly felt like I was right there on centre court in Wimbledon watching Soto play!

A truly fabulous read which I CANNOT STOP THINKING ABOUT!!! This is one of those books that you truly don’t ever want to end 🥺 and I can’t recommend this enough!

Sadly I had to put this one down, I didn’t understand the Spanish language in the book (and there was no translation of the text available…) and I soon got bored of the constant tennis with nothing else happening vibe of the book. I wanted romance, I wanted drama, this could have been so much better. I love TJR, her other books have all been FABULOUS, so I’m not really sure what went wrong here, sadly it’s not for me.

Thank you to Hutchinson Heinemann for sending me an e-arc.

TJR is and has always proven to be a fantastic author. She reduced me to a sobbing mess through Evelyn Hugo. My heart was never the same after Daisy Jones and the Six. But while Malibu Rising was more on her style, it lacked the depth and Carrie Soto, her newest novel, lacks complexity.

So what is Carrie Soto Is Back about?
Tennis Slam Record Holder, Carrie Soto the Battle Axe, comes out from retirement to defend her title as the newest queen of Tennis ties with her record. With her prickly personality and sharp attitude leaving her with no practice partners to train, the media never friendly to the Battle Axe and her own insatiable need for greatness driving her, will Carrie defend her title?

The first thing about Carrie Soto is that it lacks the anticipation and urgency that all other TJR books have. You want to discover what happened to the Six in DJ, why Monique and who did Evelyn love in Evelyn Hugo, and the family drama that burnt the house down in Malibu Rising. Carrie Soto carries no such such stake and if this was not a TJR book, I would have DNFed it for lack of interest.

Carrie is unlikable and she also gives us very little reason to root for her at the beginning. Her flashbacks don't endear her to you, you just feel so much pity for this sad woman chasing after the gleam of great, never satisfied and ever hungry, to fill the hole in her.

But damn, doesn't it turn around! TJR has this uncanny ability to make me invested in shit I never gave a damn about, like Rock Bands, Pop culture and now, tennis. The final few matches felt so real that I felt myself in the stands at the 1995 Wimbledon screaming for Carrie Soto and cheering Nicki Chan on at the US opens. Carrie's relationship with her father is also heartbreakingly complex, with so much love and resentment hidden deep inside but so much affection too.

I didn't give a damn about the romance and felt like the book could have done without it or taken the left towards the sapphic lanes but sadly that didn't happen. I also felt like the book did too much telling over showing and would have benefitted from some drama.

Anyway, Carrie Soto is Back is still a stunning testament to TJR's untraditional storytelling mastery but fails to hit the same mark as her previous novels due to the lack of urgency and complexity. Thank you to the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.

Phenomenal! I didn’t want to stop reading, the pacing of the book is superb. It is a very satisfying read from start to finish, even more so than Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I love how Reid can immerse the reader fully in a character’s life and story. I already can’t wait to read what Reid writes next!

Great book! I loved the plot, the pacing (I flew through it) and the fact that the drama and excitement is maintained right up to the last few pages.

I will remember our main character Carrie for a long time. Someone who one minute would irritate me, then the next, I was entertained by and rooting for. Her passion for tennis is infectious - I was playing with my husband just yesterday and tried to embrace my inner Carrie Soto with every hit .... and failed quite miserably. But the point is - she inspired me! Her 'tough as nails' attitude and sharp tongue were off-putting initially but in time, I grew to love this about her.

Special mention to Carrie's father, Javier, who is such an endearing & lovable character. How they navigated their father/daughter & coach relationship was very interesting to read. Javier speaks a lot of Spanish in this book and I quite liked having to keep Google Translate open at all times to help me out.

I really enjoyed this book. It was just that bit extra special for me as a tennis hooligan.

Tennis star Carrie Soto has twenty Grand Slams to her name. When she retired she was the most successful female tennis player in history. At the age of thirty seven she sees her crown is being threatened by Niki Chan. Carrie decides to come out of retirement to deal with the upstart.

Carrie is arrogant, determined and ruthless just as a champion has to be. At the start she is pretty unlikable apart from in her relationship with her coach and father, Javier. That is the best part of the book. The plot is pretty much only based on Carrie's fight back to fitness and it does become a bit repetitive. There is a side story of 'will they, won't they?' with her tennis partner, Bowe.

All in all this was quite an entertaining read but, for me, it didn't light any fires.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Taylor Jenkins Reid just never misses, does she? When this book is released, RUN don't walk to your nearest bookshop to get it, drop everything you're currently reading to read it, because this is absolutely incredible. I was worried going into it that with all of the tennis/sports, that I wouldn't be able to get into it (because I am literally the least sporty person ever) but I needn't have worried, obviously TJR would make it so that I am now seriously obsessed with tennis for some reason and desperately want to be watching some? But specifically I want to watch Carrie Soto's matches. The way TJR wrote these matches had me on the edge of my seat as if I was watching them play out in front of me, it was so engaging, I want these matches to exist so that I can actually watch them please and thank you.

This was also my first 5 star book since nearly 30 books ago and it's no wonder, it was always going to be TJR who brought my 5 stars back, this is the fourth book of hers that I've read (and I've read them all in 2022) and there has not been a single one that deserves any less than 5 stars, and that stands true for Carrie Soto is Back.

There are so many fantastic elements to this book that just worked so well for me. There's so much personal growth and acceptance, a lot of discussion on the struggles that women face, that are still true to this day, even nearly 30 years on from when Carrie Soto is back in the tennis game; there's a slow building love story, and of course, most importantly, there's a beautiful father-daughter relationship that felt so incredibly healing and heartwarming. The love that Javier has for his daughter just shines through the pages and it was by far my favourite part of the story.

If this book is the last one set in this historical universe of TJR celebrities, then I will be devastated, but we will have gone out on the HIGHEST note, and I will forever be rereading this book and the others. Now to decide whether I love this more or just slightly less than Evelyn Hugo???? (Yeah, it's THAT good).

Well firstly I never knew tennis could be so interesting! Jenkins Reid has the fantastic knack of immersing you in a world and teaching you about it without you really knowing it. Like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo which I loved, her characters are complex and flawed, who pleasingly don’t need you to like them, but who you absolutely come to. Carrie Soto is Back is another smashing read. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

Taylor Jenkins Reid has a talent for writing fictional characters who are so real that I have to google several times to make sure they are, in fact, fictional.

Carrie Soto is an amazingly-written character, although unlikable in many ways. And I LOVE her dad. His endless love and support for Carrie just warms my heart.
Now on to the plot: I couldn't care less about tennis but the tension of the matches had me on the edge of my seat. However, aside from that... there isn't much happening plot-wise. Almost the entirety of the book is solely dedicated to Carrie's tennis journey and her point of view. I wish it dug a little bit deeper on other characters too,
Additionally, there are many hefty Spanish sentences that aren't translated, and it might just be me being a nitpick on my preference but I wish there were translations directly in the book.

All in all, Carrie Soto Is Back is intriguing for me who isn't familiar with the tennis world, and the writing is undoubtedly amazing as expected from Taylor Jenkins Reid. But that's about it.

Thanks to Random House, Taylor Jenkins-Reid and NetGalley for the ARC of Carrie Soto is Back.

She's only gone and done it again. Another AMAZING book from Taylor Jenkins Reid - a book that is so immersive, that you will not only fall in love with the complex character of Carrie Soto, but you will find yourself genuinely forgetting that Carrie isn't real. It reads like reality, it feels like reality, but this powerful story pulls you in. I laughed and genuinely cried. Loved it.

It's worth saying this book is about tennis, so whilst it helps to have a minor knowledge or interest in the sport (at least perhaps of the scoring system) it's definitely not essential.

Finally. I fully respect the fact that Taylor manages to get her character reading one of her other titles in an almost seamless way. Perfection! :)

Will be recommending this title far and wide.

I have no knowledge of Tennis. So Taylor did a fantastic job of introducing me as a reader to the world of this Sport. from how Carrie's Father teaches her as a young child to the top tournaments.

I found myself to be highly immersed in Carrie's life.

I loved the little easter eggs mentioning other characters from previous books.

Taylor Jenkins Reid could write literally anything and I would absolutely love it and this was no exception.
Carrie Soto Is Back is one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 and it did not disappoint. I went into this book with insane expectations and I was so scared that I wouldn't love it as much as I love Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones and Malibu Rising, but Carrie Soto was so amazing that I couldn't help but fall in love with this story.
One of the main reasons why I was scared to start this book was because I know absolutely nothing about tennis and this book heavily focuses on tennis, but after reading this book, I still know nothing about tennis but I now really want to try to play it.
Carrie Soto was such an icon. She never let other people tear her down and she was such an inspiration. I loved how determined she was to be the best and how she set herself a goal and was determined to always reach her goals. Carrie was definitely on the same level as Evelyn, Daisy and Nina, all of whom are badass female main characters and I just adored them all.
I love how Taylor Jenkins Reid adds small hints and mentions of her other books within her writing and I just love that so much.
I don't even know how to describe the perfection that is this book. After reading this I tried to rank my favourite Taylor books but they are all my favourites and I just can't rank them at all.
I laughed, I cried and every time I read one of Carrie's tennis matches, I stopped breathing because of how much I wanted her to win every match. I can't wait to reread this already, but I might wait for my preorder to turn up before I reread it, but whilst I am waiting for that, I can definitely see myself reading Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones and Malibu Rising soon.

I loved every moment in this book! I have always enjoyed watching tennis but this felt like a behind the scenes look into the tennis world. To be honest I forgot that this was fiction and not a biography a couple of times.

Carrie is very similar to Evelyn Hugo in that she isn’t a likeable person but you can’t help but want her to succeed. The fear of failure is something I related to a lot and TJR did such a fantastic job portraying this.

Even if you’ve never watched a tennis match you will love Carrie Soto is Back!

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy.

"My heart hurts when you hurt because you are my heart."

Carrie Soto is Back gave me everything - tears, laughter, a character I wanted to get behind. While tough on the outside, Carrie Soto really develops into a well-rounded character throughout the novel, thanks to the geniusness that I think is Taylor Jenkins Reid. She has once again captured her readers in a way that is very hard to explain.

Carrie is a retired tennis player in 1994, watching her career grand slam record get broken by Nicki Chan. At the age of 37, she decides to come out of retirement to try and reclaim her record, but learns so much about herself in the process.

Lots of egos in this one, and it's definitely a book about sports (tennis, specifically), but I think that is part of what kept me hooked. The feelings involved in sports - how the participants can get so wrapped up in the action, that they can miss everything going on around them.

I also seemed to have skipped a couple of steps - I have read Daisy Jones and the Six, but have not yet read Evelyn Hugo or Malibu Rising. Seems I need to go back and read those too to be able to pick up on even more of Reid's genius.

A couple more quotes:
- "'Go out there...' He looks me directly in the eye with an intensity I have not seen in years, maybe even since I was a kid. ' And show them the the Bitch, the Battle Axe - whatever they want to call you - it doesn't matter. They cannot stop you. Carrie Soto is back."

- "Maybe it's a lie that you have to keep doing what you have always done. That you have to be able to draw a straight line from how you acted yesterday to how you'll act tomorrow. You don't have to be consistent. you can change, I think. Just because you want to."

- "I want to say to her, they can't make us go away just because they are done with us."

I’m not into tennis, yes I watch some of it when Wimbledons on but that’s about it.

This book, was brilliant, lots of tennis, amazing characters who strive to get to the top of their game. Never giving up but giving up other things to become the very best.

I loved the way it was written, it had transcripts as well, from the stands of the matches and I really enjoyed these. It had some Spanish in too, which to be honest, I just glanced over. I think I understood the basics of what they were saying, but might be nice to have some translation somewhere.

Another amazing read by this author. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Wow TJR does it again! I love all of her books and this one has become one of my favourites of all time! I love how the world TJR is creating in books connects and we get little mentions of other characters.
As a tennis fan this was a super fun read, I learnt more about the sport and gained a new appreciation for it. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about tennis from a fiction side of things. I think lots of people will enjoy this!

I read this during the last week of Wimbledon and I have to say, it was a great time to do it. While I’m not the world’s biggest tennis fan, I enjoyed the parallels between real life and fiction.

Carrie Soto is the world’s greatest female tennis player, arguably the world’s greatest full stop. Even though she retired a decade before in a blaze of glory, she still holds the record for most grand slams. Until one day she doesn’t, as younger player Nicki Chan equals and sets her sights on bettering the total to become world number one, a legend in her own right.

She simply cannot let that happen, so Carrie gets back on the court and trains harder than she ever has in her life, in an effort to stave off the competition and retain her legend status. Along the way, she meets new friends and old, as well as people who really didn’t expect or want to see her again. In the same vein as McEnroe, Soto speaks her mind and suffers no fool gladly. SHe’s also kept herself apart from the other players on the circuit, hyper aware that she will probably play and beat them. They’re competition, not friends.

I’ve only read one other TJR book and that was Daisy Jones and the Six (link), which I sadly didn’t enjoy as much as I expected to given the hype around it. I enjoyed this a lot more - she’s a great character and while I can see why she’s not well-liked, she’s relatable and human enough to enjoy her story. I also really liked Nicki Chan as a character, who is fun and a bit mischievous while being absolutely stone cold determined. Hopefully she’ll have her own story too, as more references to the TJR world pop up across the novels. Carrie Soto is in Malibu Rising, for example, and I chuckled at the reference to her reading Daisy Jones in this story.

Although this does centre on tennis, and details the matches, I never felt like it was repetitive or boring as each one moves the story on. She plays on clay, grass and trains on sand and despite knowing not a huge amount about the sport, I could see the games and her training sessions. It would indeed make a good six part serial, especially as it flashes back to her early career and dovetails in with present day.

A must for TJR fans and great for a summer read, either near a tennis court or somewhere else.
Thanks to Random House for the DRC and Netgalley, as always. This is available to preorder now and to buy from 30th August.

Carrie Soto is Back - Taylor Jenkins Reid

ARC received with thanks to CornerStone & Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Genre: General Fiction

Rating: 5/5 ⭐️

Review/What I Thought: When I finished this book I instantly thought I couldn’t fault it in anyway and I just wanted to go back to the beginning and read it all over again.

There is just something so compelling about the way Taylor Jenkins Reid & her storytelling. From the beginning I found myself hooked and wanting more. I read this book in the space of 24 hours and I think that tells you how much I enjoyed it!

This is a story about hope, relationships and sheer determination. I don’t follow Tennis and this did have a lot of Tennis in it as it follows Carrie Soto’s return back to the sport to defend her title. I didn’t care that it included so much of the sport as I found myself engrossed and rooting for Carrie.

I loved the development I saw in the character and it just added to the depth of the book and the plot itself. I loved the journey Carrie was on and adored her relationship with her father. There were so many beautiful moments in this. I also love a strong FMC and Carrie is absolutely that.

Taylor is now an autobuy author of mine and I will be reading all the work published so far!

An immersive story set in the tennis world. Just like all TKR great character combined with great plot, filled with tension, makes for addictive reading.
A basic understanding of tennis or lack of it may impact the reader's experience, perhaps.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

As a huge Taylor Jenkins Reid fan, I squealed when I got the chance to read Carrie Soto is Back. TJR is the queen of writing realistic, immersive and addictive writing that makes you have to check if the characters are real or not.

Synopsis: Carrie Soto was the best in woman's tennis- the best the world has ever seen. Shattering every record and claiming twenty Grand Slam titles, sacrificing everything to become the best tennis player, all with her father by her side.
In 1994 at US Open, Carrie's legacy was threatened when the beautiful British player, Nicki Chan, started to threaten her record of grand slams. Carrie makes the decision to come out of retirement and defend her record for one last time with her father, Javier, as her coach.

I adored this book, devouring each and every page. The plot was compelling, fast-paced and deeply immersive. I was moved by Carrie's relationship with her father and later characters and the sacrifices she makes. The book had me laughing and crying as all TJR books do. If you loved any of TJR's other works, you'd adore this one too!

Thanks so much to Random House UK and NetGalley for an advance copy of Carrie Soto is Back.