I’ve read all 8 of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s other books (and loved them all) so when I got an advanced reader copy of her 2022 release, I lost my shit. It lived up to the hype I had built for it - I read it in one sitting and it had me fully immersed the whole time.

TJR has such an innate ability to quickly transport you into the worlds she creates - I never feel like I’m reading her books but more like watching it in my head, lol.

In this story, Carrie Soto is the #1 tennis player in the world, holding the record for highest number of female grand slam wins (and she was a tiny spinoff character from her most recent novel, Malibu Rising!). Her dad, Javier Soto, was also a professional player and coached her all her life. When she’s 37, she comes out of her 6-year retirement when a rising tennis star ties for her record, dethroning her title. Carrie and her dad begin training again to regain Carrie’s title.

To the public, Carrie is cutthroat, competitive, and only cares about winning, but the limited number of people she allows in closer knows that’s not entirely true. Her drive for being the best is really misunderstood by the public.

When I started this, I had little to no opinions/knowledge about tennis and now I’m a full-on tennis girlie, crying while reading these match scenes, thinking about starting lessons, and looking up tickets for Wimbledon this year. This book makes you want to find a passion and commit to excellence in it - It was really entertaining reading about a character like that.

I also love that TJR’s most recent books have all been in the same universe and how she expands on stories of minimal side characters. There’s a character in Carrie Soto that I’m hoping is the muse for her next one…

The amount of research that goes into these stories to bring them to life is remarkable. It stresses me out sometimes thinking about what would go into writing something like this. TJR is truly so talented and I loved this book. Comes out Aug 31st this year!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy and the chance to read this ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

Carrie Soto is back, is another absolute banger from Taylor Jenkins Reid. A fast-paced and intense character study of an older athlete coming out of retirement to reclaim her grand slam record. I have a weird thing in that I find most sports boring in real life but then I’m captivated by fictional books about sports. In reality, I don’t like watching Wimbledon and if I have to, I only want to watch the Women’s match since they are only three sets long, quite frankly five sets is excessive. But I can never resist a book all about a competition/tournament and Reid infused this trope with her trademark character depth and tumultuous relationships. I love characters who are completely obsessed with their chosen field, and you get that from Carrie and her dad. Their love and passion for tennis bleeds through the page and even got me, a spots hater, to care about it too.

But again, what really got me and had me crying once again during a Taylor Reid book were the complicated relationships. This is the first Reid book I’ve read that’s focused on a father-daughter relationship. Before this Reid’s fathers have either been neglectfully absent or downright abusive, but Carrie Soto’s dad is a gem. Javier Soto believes in Carrie's potential but doesn’t place her worth on how many trophies she gets. When she was a child Javier tells her that she is not playing against her opponent but against herself to play her best game of tennis. I loved that message, and the big loving presents he was in Carrie's life.

This is another great summer read from the master of fictional celebrity biographies that you will fly through. And hey maybe this will get me watching Wimbledon this year.

Taylor Jenkins Reid latest offering gives centre stage to a character we first encountered in Malibu Rising in this gripping portrayal of life and drama at the top levels of tennis. When the legendary Carrie Soto retired from her glittering career in tennis, she had won every accolade going, claiming a record breaking number of 20 grand slams. A few years later in 1994 at the American Open she sees the current tennis star, Nicki Chan, equal her grand slam record, and the fiercely ambitious Carrie at the age of 37 sets her sights on returning to her former career with every intention of being the successful Comeback Queen. However, her body is not what it used to be, although her dedication and passion for the game burns as strong as ever. As she embarks on this mission, it becomes clear that others do not rate her chances of success, the 'battleaxe' is not a popular figure in the game.

Those who do have any interest in tennis as a sport might find this a tough read, but I would like to say that it is the human aspects of the game, like what it takes to rise to the top, the rivalries and competitiveness, that dominate this narrative. The flawed Carrie's climb to the top of her profession did not come without sacrifices, a heavy price had to be paid. She is not the most likeable of characters, she is ruthless, driven, and willing to do whatever it takes to win, she has attitude to spare and does not care what anyone thinks of her. Having said all that, as we learn of her past, what made her who she is, her tenacity and resilience, her pivotal relationship with her coach and father, Xavier, her training with Bowe Huntley, Carrie becomes someone we want to root for through challenges that come with her return to tennis.

The author immerses the reader into the elite levels of tennis with her realistic and vivid descriptions of what it is like to be part of that world, I felt as if I was there on that court and engaged in all the drama and nailbiting tensions of the games. The way women in tennis are treated if they attribute their success to their hard work, talent and abilities, and who refuse to hide their ambitions is highlighted, yet these very qualities are openly accepted and celebrated when it comes to men. This is a wonderfully entertaining and riveting read, with complex characters, touching on issues of identity, father-daughter relationships, and love. I think this novel will appeal to many readers as well as existing fans Taylor Jenkins Reid. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Very enjoyable, although probably only for those who love tennis!

Carrie is a world class retired tennis player who comes out of retirement because she can't bear that her record is about to be beaten by someone else, even though she's been retired for 6 years.

The story is about her coming out of retirement to play the top tournaments and try to keep her record, so bear in mind that it is so full-on tennis that if you're not a fan I'd give it a miss, but if you do like tennis then it was surprisingly good. I initially felt it was too descriptive of all the practicing and tennis matches, but I really got into it as the story went on and although Carrie wasn't an easy character to like I was really rooting for her to win.

The other main characters of her father and her practice partner Bowe, softened the story slightly and gave it more depth, even the side character of Nicki Chan worked really well, as Carrie was hard work most of the time!

The ending was perfect for me, and even though I wanted Carrie to win, whether she did or didn't was immaterial by the end of the book. You just wanted her to accept who she was and be happy with her life, instead of constantly striving to be better all the time. She was certainly a very, very driven character. A very enjoyable book.

Taylor Jenkins Reid can do no wrong in my eyes. Every book of hers I have read is gripping, immersive, perfectly written and paced and with relatable, realistic characters. Carrie Soto Is Back is no exception.

Carrie is such a nuanced character - featuring briefly in the authors last book Malibu Rising and known in the tennis world as the "Battle-Axe", she is cold, ambitious, ruthless and will step on anyone to reach the top. However, the reader gets to see another side of her this time around. At first, I thought her cold demeanour would potentially spoil the book for me but as we get to know her, I ended up loving and rooting for her. Her father/coach Javier and love interest Bowe were also excellently written - supporting characters but nonetheless well developed and relatable with their own stories rather than just being there to further the plot.

The only downside for me is that I know little to nothing about tennis so the pages that focused purely on the matches didn't mean much to me and I ended up skim reading them as despite knowing little about the game, I was still rooting for Carrie and really wanted her to win!

Gripping, well paced, excellent characters and perfectly written, Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again and I can't wait to read her next book!

Thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone, Hutchinson Heinemann and NetGalley for the ARC.

She’s done it again. Such a brilliant, immersive read. I’m not big on tennis, but I’m into Carrie Soto’s tennis- so much drama.
I loved the perspective TJR brought to how women are treated in sport compared to their male counterparts. Also I love a good Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones mention.
Highly recommend.

I always do a small happy dance when I’m accepted for a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel so I was thrilled to be accepted for this one.

And what a book! Loved every second of it. The author has a brilliant writing style which hooks you in from the start and makes it difficult to put down. I raced through this in two nights, it’s easy to read, has a good pace and plenty of drama and tension to keep you involved.

This time the plot focuses on the highly competitive world of women’s tennis. Carrie Soto stormed the circuit when she was younger, setting world records for the number of grand slams, until injury and age start to catch up with her and she retires from the sport. As she turns 37, a younger player matches her record and Carrie decides to launch her comeback.

This story tells of the ambition, drive and focus of someone who needs to win at all costs- breathtaking.

It explores her complex relationship with her father, who is also her coach and her other relationships.

It was a brilliant read, also loved the little nods to Daisy Jones and the Malibu Rising crew.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book despite the fact it is only about tennis. Games are described in great detail and it’s only towards the last third of the book that the heroine, Carrie starts to show signs of being human. From that point, her journey out of tennis and into the reality of not being a competitor made it the most interesting part of the book for me.

As a huge fan of the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo, this book was a must read! It had similar vibes, with Carrie taking centre stage, chasing ambition and ruthlessly going after what she wants, much like Evelyn. And as similar to the other book, I fell for it hook, line and sinker and I couldn’t stop reading it!

This book had a really addicting quality to it. I found myself so invested in following Carrie journey to the top, to becoming the greatest and then to her subsequent return to hold her title.

I honestly can’t believe how much this book held me. It captivated me. It completely owned me for the entirety that I was reading it. Putting it down was a wrench but every page was utterly brilliant and incredibly enjoyable. I found I was so entertained, it was like I had a prime seat, watching the tennis unfold in front of me. The writing was outstanding, the story was brilliant and wow was I absolutely on the edge of my seat.

This book could have had the possibility of being a boring one if you weren’t interested in tennis. But even if you hated the game, I think the book would still be an absolute winner for every reader. Carrie’s character is so wierdly endearing, even if she is an absolute battle axe and doesn’t mind who she steps on to get there. She’s such a refreshingly ambitious character and I loved watching her story in tennis.

I think this is going to be one of those books that stays with me. I’ll probably take a bit of this book around with me everywhere I go. Whether it’s Carries go get them attitude, her rising above the face of adversity or just learning to roll with the punches and get back on the game. I’ve just finished this book and already I want to read it again… wow and wow.

I've been going back and forth (much like the rallies in this book) over whether this is a 4 or 5 star read. I think I have rated most TJR books as 5 stars for the simple reason that she always delivers.

Regardless of the story, I always feel like I am not really reading her novels. I mean that in the sense I pick her books up and a few hours later I am 80% done and the afternoon has gone. It is a rare author that can do that for me and I could probably count them on one hand.

Here, we are introduced to Carrie Soto. She retired from tennis holding the world record for number of grand slams won and has to sit and watch as Nikki Chan equals her record. Carrie takes in that moment, and then decides to return to the court, seeking to take her record back.

Some have described Carrie as being unlikeable but I am not sure I would agree. I think we have a tendency to view people (particularly women) who are as driven and committed as Carrie is as being bitchy but we would not view men in the same way.

Don't get me wrong, she would not make a good diplomat but I probably wouldn't either.

Some other people have asked whether this is a book for sports fans and I don't think it is. Whilst the story is about a group of tennis players on the professional circuit, it is much deeper than that as you would expect with TJR.

The only thing preventing me from giving it a 5 star rating is some of the language was not quite in keeping with my understanding of tennis and some of the descriptions didn't make sense to me. In terms of language, the umpires constantly said "Game is Soto's" or "Set is Soto's" however umpires would generally say "Game Ms Soto" or "Game, and first set, Ms Soto" There were also descriptions of grand slam matches going to a tie break in the final set which I don't think would be the case in that time period. Finally, at one point towards the end of a match, a player is serving and Soto returns the serve with an overhead smash - it just isn't realistic or even physically possible for someone to serve in tennis and for the returner to return it overhead. The server would need to be 9ft tall. I understand that the use of tie breaks may be part of the story and a story telling device however I think more research could have been done around the game of tennis to make it more realistic.

Having said that, it was still a great novel and I was so pleased to be approved for the ARC so a massive thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone, Hutchinson Heinemann and Netgalley for providing this in exchange for an honest review.

I love Taylor Jenkins Reid and I love playing and watching tennis, so this book was always going to be a winner for me. And now I love Carrie Soto too, unlikeable and her own worst enemy though she often is.

Legendary player, Grand Slam record holder, now retired ("now" being 1994), Carrie as a player was ungracious, unapologetic and sometimes downright mean. Winning is everything for her. She's known as the Battle Axe or, more privately - though not always - as the Bitch. Now, Carrie at thirty-seven is tempted out of retirement to defend her record against upstart Nicki Chan, coached once again by her beloved father and mentor Javier.

Reid has some things to say about perceptions of women in sport and how they are expected to behave, and she says them powerfully.

"It was okay to win as long as I acted surprised when I did and attributed it to luck. I should never let on how much I wanted to win or, worse, that I believed I deserved to win... The bulk of the commentators… wanted a woman whose eyes would tear up with gratitude, as if she owed them her victory, as if she owed them everything she had."

I mean, she's not wrong.

There's a lot of tennis in this book, which may be off putting for those who aren't into tennis. But Carrie - a character briefly referred to in Reid's previous Malibu Rising, who gets her own story here - is fascinating and goes on a real journey here. It's a sports novel, but a lot more too, and there's at least one adorably romantic moment (you'll know it when you read it). I also loved the press articles and transcripts of pundit chat which are scattered throughout.

Fabulous.

Having just read Daisy Jones and the Six I was beyond thrilled to be able to read an advance copy of Carrie Sotto is Back and I loved it! I have not read Malibu Rising and I’m not a fan of tennis as the scoring and rules confuse me. Neither of these facts impacted my enjoyment of the story though.

In her heyday, Carrie Soto was the number one tennis player, and she won more grand slams than anyone else. There's a new player on the scene, Nicki Chan, threatening her title and as such, Carrie, her father and her coach, decide to help her mount a comeback and defend her title. Carrie is not a character you’ll fall in love with; she is driven, determined, and ambitious and doesn't care what other people think of her. She's a woman who doesn't let anything stand in her way!

Another 5* book by Taylor Jenkins Reid!! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Before I dove into Taylor Jenkins Reid's new novel, I revisited Carrie Soto's cameos in 'Malibu Rising'. I was quickly reminded of the unlikeable woman who steals Nina Riva's husband, and her stunning turn setting fire to Brandon's clothes on the front lawn. We already knew this is certainly a fearsome character who knows what she wants and is driven to win, no matter the costs. However, do not think that if you have met this Carrie Soto that you have the full measure of her; we have barely started to peel back the layers of Carrie's compelling story.

In 'Carrie Soto is Back', Reid is back on stunning form with a pacey and captivating narrative. We are some years past Carrie's run in with the Rivas (an unimportant footnote in her history) as we see her come out of retirement at age 37 to claw back her title of the most grand slams to her name. She had 20 until Nicki Chan drew with this record, seriously threatening to overtake Carrie, which she refuses to accept.

As someone who has only really had a passing interest in tennis, I raced through this book finding joy in the tension and release of every page of this novel. I spent my time either desperate for Carrie to win or desperate for her to find happiness beyond records and trophies. She may be driven but I was in awe of her unapologetic drive to be the best and crush her opponents. Yes, she is flawed but she owns her strength which makes her a complex yet fascinating protagonist. I loved how the relationship with her father, and grief at losing her mother young, brought a softer edge to Carrie's character, allowing us to develop an appreciation for her beyond our memory of her as the woman who "stole" Nina Riva's husband.

Overall, Reid has taken a character from 'Malibu Rising' who didn't seem to have more story to offer us and has written an incredible novel full of tension, heart and some fantastic tennis. I was slightly disappointed with 'Malibu Rising' but Carrie Soto is BACK to the heady heights of Daisy Jones and Evelyn Hugo. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again. She can write incredibly great escapist stories that I just want to crawl in to. Always solid on plot and character and Carrie Sotto doesn't disappoint.

What I thoroughly enjoyed in this story was that Reid didn't necessarily want us on Sotto's side, she isn't the most likeable character but it also makes you question why you don't like her. The levels to this story are brilliant as you can see that Reid is well aware of the hypocrisy of the media and how women are torn down in the press and the papers the minute they 'don't smile' for instance. The expectations on women such as to be the greatest tennis player in the world as well as be charming and lovely and grateful is ludicrous and Reid really delves into how women are character assassinated the moment they do not conform to how men expect them to behave. What a brilliant way of questioning this narrative through this story. Reid doesn't hold back and I adored her pulling apart a system that is still very much in place and she makes us question the internal misogyny that we can all be guilty of. A great story that also makes you think.

This is one for a sunny afternoon when you want to disappear into a story. Fantastic.

What a breath of fresh air. I've recently become increasingly frustrated with a sub-genre of fiction that I call 'Ambitious Women Meet Bad Ends': for some reason, ambitious women in commercial fiction, especially but not exclusively in psychological thrillers, are often punished for their ambitions or decide that love and family are more important and give up on their lofty career goals. It’s hard not to feel that readers are being told, over and over again, that women should just stop wanting things. So, what a relief to read Taylor Jenkins Reid's Carrie Soto Is Back, which demolishes this trope in its first few pages. Carrie Soto has already had an immensely successful tennis career in the 1970s and 1980s, setting the record for winning the most Grand Slams before her retirement from the game. Now it's 1994, and Carrie is thirty-seven years old. As she faces a challenge to her record from upstart player Nicki Chan, Carrie makes a brave and perhaps ill-advised decision: she's going to come out of retirement and defend her achievement.

The two books I kept thinking of while I was reading Carrie Soto Is Back was Lauren Weisberger's The Singles Game, which is the only other women's fiction book on tennis I've ever read, and Lionel Shriver's merciless but insightful Double Fault, whose protagonist has to face the fact that she'll never achieve what she wanted to in tennis. Weisberger's book is a great (read: terrible) example of the Ambitious Women Meet Bad Ends trope I described above: its protagonist gives up tennis in her prime for paper-thin reasons that suggest that you just can't be a nice girl and also be competitive. Shriver's brilliant book interrogates what happens to us when we pin our entire identity on achievements that we can't control. Reid walks the line between the two. Carrie is allowed to be satisfyingly, gloriously successful, but this book also questions what success means if you aren't playing the kind of tennis you used to love. Rather than posing a neat opposition between love/family and ambition, Carrie Soto Is Back realistically shows how the two are intertwined. Carrie's beloved father is also her coach, and while her love for him goes beyond tennis, tennis is also the ground on which they've built their relationship.

Reid is not concerned with making Carrie easily likeable, which I loved. Even more importantly, though, Carrie's opponents, such as Nicki, are also complex women, not cartoon villains. Nicki is potentially even more ambitious than Carrie herself, and yet we see what drives her. This narrative choice makes the ending of the novel, which could have been a bit disappointing ((view spoiler)) work, because Reid is still celebrating female ambition. And while there's a romance sub-plot in Carrie Soto Is Back, the tennis is rightly centre-stage. Some readers may find the close focus on tennis matches boring, but I was fascinated by the way Reid explores the psychology of the game (and I rarely actually watch tennis, so I'm by no means a tennis fan).

If I had any complaints about Carrie Soto Is Back, it's that Reid's writing is a bit more simplistic than in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and the Six: the use of voice is much more straightforward, with the whole novel narrated by Carrie in first person. The 1994-5 setting is also disappointingly thin: I only remembered we weren't in the present day when characters occasionally did things like use a landline rather than a mobile phone. However, this is so much better than Malibu Rising, and represents a return to form for Reid as much as for Carrie.

I loved this. I’m no fan of tennis and have little to no understanding of the rules and terminology but even that didn’t dampen my love for this book.

Carrie Soto was once the number 1 tennis player, winning more grand slams that any other. Now retired, there’s a new player, Nicki Chan, on the scene who is just about to take that grand slam title. Carrie, with the help of her father and coach Javier ‘The Jaguar’ Soto decides to stage a comeback and defend her title.

A lot of the time Carrie is an unlikeable character. But somehow that doesn’t stop you rooting for her! She is driven, determined, ambitious and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks. If Carrie Soto sets her mind to something, it is done. I totally loved the relationship she had with her father. The back story explained such a lot about her development and her attitude and we felt her grief along with her. I also loved the character of Nicki. She was such a good opponent for Carrie!

The book itself is well paced and superbly written. Even without knowledge or understanding of tennis, I wanted to know what would happen and was compelled to keep reading. I did enjoy the growing relationship between Carrie and Bowe too. They were good for each other!

This is a superb book and my daughter is supremely jealous I’ve been able to read and review it. I will definitely read more books by this author- like Carrie Soto I think I’ll try Daisy Jones and the Six next…. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

“She’s destined,” he said. “It is plain as day. With your grace and my strength, she can be the greatest tennis player the world has ever seen. They will tell stories about her one day.”

Carolina Soto, known as the ‘battle axe’ of womens tennis, had dominated the game for years. She retired six years ago after a knee injury and now Nicki Chan is coming to overtake her grand slam titles. Carrie decides to give it one more go, one year to extend her reign and prove she’s still the best. There’s only one man to help her do it - her father and coach, Javier.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has hit the mark again with this book. A simple plot, a fairly slow pace but great characters and a rush of adrenaline pumping through that wants you to see if Carrie succeeds. I will say, I watch the tennis every year and love the game so this book was so interesting to me. If you don’t enjoy tennis you might find it harder to get through.

I thought Carrie was a fantastic character; unlikeable, untouchable and aloof but with a deep passion for the game and a burning love for her father. The relationship between Carrie and her father was what made this book great. I thought the commentary on women athletes was tackled well and I also appreciated how we saw there wasn’t just a male/female divide but how the women fought and tore each other down within their own field.

I couldn’t put this down, it was so easy to keep turning the page. Like I said though, the heavy sports focus won’t appeal to everyone but it’s the relationships in this book that make it excellent. With references to Malibu Rising and Daisy Jones and the Six, this is another great tale for Taylor Jenkins Reid fans. Can’t wait to see what she does next!

✨Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! ✨

Taylor Jenkins-Reid can truly do no wrong in my eyes. I love everything that she does. Carrie Soto is back was no exception. Was it my favourite book ever? No. But I still really enjoyed it and tore through it. I love Tennis so I read it really easily but it is very tennis heavy with some pages just solely describing a tennis match so I don't know that it will be for everyone (where as I think all of her other books are). Stil 4/5 for me!

Just wow Taylor writes everything so wonderfully and there isn’t a book of hers I don’t love . This one is right up there with Malibu Rising for me just loved every minute of it . Thank you Netgalley and the publisher

So bloody good. TJR doing it again. Just love her work soo soo much!!
5stars!!!
She has outdone herself with this book. Carrie Soto is one of her best characters ever. Loved her.’