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.

Yes, Taylor Jenkins Reid is a great storyteller, the World(s) they create are so realistic, the characters complex, the setting intriguing...but this wasn't for me. After being blown away with Daisy Jones & The Six' unique style of storytelling, nothing Reid writes quite compares and with this one in particular I just didn't connect to the topics or characters. Still, the style of writing is gorgeous and I would fully encourage people to read this, because of the immersive world-building the author nails every time.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for an early copy of this novel.

I cannot believe Taylor Jenkins Reid made me like Tennis.

I never really understood the thrill or the excitement over Wimbledon, and why people would flock to watch two people hitting a ball for a good hour or so. But I get it now. This novel was fiercely gripping, funny, and heart breaking. In just under 400 pages, TJR made tennis hot.

We follow Carrie Soto, who, if you're an avid reader of TJR's work, you will recognise from Malibu Rising. She was the rude, husband stealing, tennis star that we saw breaking down on Nina Riva's front lawn. But this is her side of the story, and so much more. We learn about Nina's true love, tennis, and follow her career from its infancy to its end, and finally it's resurrection.

I love an 'unlikable' character, and Taylor Jenkins Reid is masterful when building these incredible women in her books. I really enjoyed this book and will be not so patiently waiting for Taylor to drop her next.

Do I like tennis? Not particularly, but in loving TJR I will read anything she writes and it turns out, I really enjoyed Carrie Soto despite all the tennis chat.
Carrie makes a small appearance in Malibu Rising as isn't the most endearing of characters, but I couldn't help but like her whilst reading her life story and about her come back in the tennis world.
I liked her passion, her relationship with her father and her determination.
Loved the audio read by a full cast and would definitely recommend that as a way of reading this book.

An eagerly anticipated novel that packs a punch and how! Taylor Jenkins Reid knocks it out of the park with this wholly original novel and stellar, confident writing. This is Reid’s world and we’re just living in it. Only she could have a reader gasping when a character hits tennis ball and ramps up tension with each stroke. So much stake. So much heart too! It’s a classic story, a tennis player reclaiming her title, but along the way discovers a lot about herself and grows as a person as she realises what’s truly important. I did find it hard to get into this at first. Carrie reads so confident that she can come across as arrogant but then I realised if this was a man it wouldn’t have been a problem. And she has her soft spots, and she does get called out on her BS. A truly, spectacular novel. I enjoy those who get to enjoy this novel for the first time.

Five reasons you need to read Carrie Soto Is Back:

-the tennis matches feel so real and it’s like reliving Wimbledon all over again- strawberries make the best reading snack
-the Malibu Rising/Daisy Jones cross over
-the slow burn romance
-the beautiful and heartwarming father/daughter story line
-if you need that push in life to not give up on your dreams

This is quite tennis heavy but even if you’re not the worlds biggest tennis fan you will get caught up in the drive and emotion if this book. Carrie is so ambitious and a great protagonist that you really root for.
Now where is my tennis racket…

Thank you @hutchheinemann for my gifted copy.

I adore every book by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Carrie Soto is no exception. You can hear the thunk of the tennis ball, taste the strawberries and cream at Wimbledon, and feel the hot sun beating down on the court. I loved how Carrie was bolshy in such an unapologetic way, a truly refreshing character to follow. I'll just be eagerly awaiting the next book from this author, ready to devour it as soon as she's written it!

Easily 5 stars!

TJR is long becoming an auto-buy author for me! I love how each novel is different and follows a different character, but has similarities and common links to the last. I didn’t like this as much as previous novels (Evelyn Hugo is a tough act to follow!) but this was a perfect summer read and I couldn’t put it down!