Carrie Soto Is Back: From the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (California dream (crossover) serie, 4) Paperback – 6 July 2023

Carrie Soto is Back is another beautifully told story by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and I only wish I'd have gotten to this sooner on my TBR pile.Carrie Soto has been coached by her father, Javi, to play tennis since she could hit a ball. As she grew up, she became fearless - her only aim in life is to be the best tennis player the world's ever seen. After rising through the ranks quickly and playing a game that opened a pathway for other female tennis players to rise into, Carrie retired after becoming the best and having her knee giving out on her.Six years later, Carrie is in the stands of the 1994 US open with her father watching the matches when she sees her groundbreaking record being taken from her by a British tennis player called Nicki Chan. Carrie may be considered 'too old' to play at the championship level now, but after recovering from her knee injury and seeing her status and record being taken from her, she is determined to take it back. Carrie begins rigorous training with the aid of her father and old passing flame Bowe Huntley, she begins the journey back to the finals with the aim to take Nicki Chan down.Oh, how I loved each and every character in this book. As always with Taylors books, I feel like I've lived right through the events with a group of friends, and this was no exception. Carrie may come across as hard and unlikeable to the outside of her close knit inner circle, but she's actually a breath of fresh air underneath. She takes no nonsense and is quite whitty, too. I adored her father, Javi, and I did shed a few tears near the end. The bond between him and Carrie was beautiful. The book also taught me much more about tennis than I ever realised!

When Carrie Soto retires from tennis, she is the best female player in the world. Six years later however and the record she set is taken from her by Nicki Chan. Now at thirty-seven years old, Carrie is set on re-entering women's tennis in order to claim back her record.My second read from Taylor Jenkins Reid, this was once again one hell of a journey. The story starts with Carrie in 1994 watching Nicki Chan win the US Open, spurring her decision to return from retirement. We then flashback to Carrie's initial rise in tennis up until the point of her retirement, before continuing her journey as she makes her return.I'm not particularly a tennis enthusiast, however, I don't think you necessarily need to be in order to enjoy this book. Whilst there was certainly some tennis jargon and quite a few descriptions of matches played, at its heart this was a character driven story.It has to be said that Carrie Soto as the lead character is not always the most likable, she can be ruthless and single-minded in her determination to win, sometimes at the cost of relationships around her. However, I loved following the journey that Carrie went on in this book, and the growth to her character. It was lovely to watch her mature, and to watch her learn to actually just enjoy to play tennis again as opposed to be so fixated on winning all the time, something that she had lost sight of somewhere along the way. The Carrie at the end of the book seems infinitely wiser than that at the start, someone who is at peace with herself, and it is watching that personal journey of development that I think made this such an enjoyable read.Also a highlight for me throughout was the father-daughter relationship portrayed between Carrie and her father and coach Javier. Their relationship was the heart of the story, and even though they had their share of ups and downs together, the bond between them was always so palpable. Whilst the professional relationship between them did sometimes affect their father-daughter relationship, their shared passion and love of tennis was a joy to witness, and made Carrie's journey all the more special for the fact that it was something she shared with her father.I also enjoyed the relationship that developed between Carrie and Bowe, another older tennis player, who is giving it one last shot before retirement. Carrie and Bowe have a bit of history together, however, last time round it never really went anywhere. This time they are friends first and foremost, and I enjoyed the slow-blossoming romance that developed between them. I thought Taylor did a good job of showing how they challenged each other but also supported each other, stacked as they both were against the odds, and liked that their relationship had depth to it.The story showcases the stresses that come when playing such high level sports, not only the physical toll taken on the body but the mental challenges, the media scrutiny, as well as the intense pressure and competitiveness and the dangers that can come with striving for such perfectionism. It also shows the pay off of perseverance and determination, of being brave and taking risks in life. Thought is also given to what it truly means to succeed in life, that sometimes losing is not necessarily a failure, and that one has to accept that doing the best you can is enough.At times thrilling and exhilarating, but also insightful and thought provoking, this was a memorable read from Taylor. 4.5 stars

Right, that’s it, Taylor Jenkins Reid is now my must-read author! I’ve just finished reading ‘Carrie Soto is Back’, making that seven books that I’ve read by TJR so far. This author is fantastic at creating heroines with epic stories, women who have such vivid stories and lives, and she does so throughout time so seamlessly. It seems that she’s an expert at pretty much any time in recent history.“I have always known there is no mountain you cannot climb, one step at a time”In this book, Carrie Soto is a star tennis player. I don’t know anything about TJR’s interest in tennis, but if she didn’t know anything about it before writing this book, she knows absolutely everything about it now! The detail that has gone into this story is extremely impressive. It’s a very strong theme, but if you’re reading this and panicking, know that you don’t have to be a tennis fan to enjoy or appreciate this book.Thinking back to Daisy Jones (Daisy Jones and the Six), Evelyn Hugo (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo), and Nina Riva (Malibu Rising), many of TJR’s characters are flawed, and Carrie is no exception. She’s got a one track mind and she’ll do anything to be the best tennis player there is, even if that means stepping on the toes of others.I really liked that this story included some non-traditional media, such a news reports and radio audio before and after the games. This worked particularly well in the audiobook and makes for a really engaging read. I couldn’t put it down!I also enjoyed the crossovers as TJR dips into her other work, with Carrie reading about Daisy Jones and daring Nina Riva’s husband.If you couldn’t already tell, I loved this book and will add Carrie to my list of favourite leading ladies. I recently saw a trailer at the cinema for an upcoming tennis themed film and got really excited thinking it could be Carrie, but sadly not. For now, we can only dream!If you’re a fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid and her other work, I’d definitely recommend this.Overall rating: Another top notch book from Taylor Jenkins Reid, I absolutely loved ‘Carried Soto is Back’ and I’m adding it to my list of favourites. 5 stars!