“Luckily, I did not need to be pretty. My body was built to wage war.”
When Carrie Soto retired from tennis, she left the game as the best player the world had ever seen. However, six years into her retirement, she finds herself sitting in the stands at the 1994 US Open watching all her records and achievements being smashed by the brutal, stunning British player, Nicki Chan. At the age of thirty-seven, she makes the momentous decision to come out of retirement and reclaim her crown, even if it means having to train with the one man she almost gave her heart to: Bowe Huntley. Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Goodreads Choice Award-winning 2022 book, Carrie Soto Is Back, is a captivating tale of an athlete’s comeback efforts and the cost of greatness. If you love stories of passion, heart and sacrifice, join us at What We Reading for the best books like Carrie Soto Is Back!
Malibu Rising – Taylor Jenkins Reid
First up on our list of books like Carrie Soto Is Back is another one of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s biggest smash hits, Malibu Rising. The Rivas family are throwing a party for the ages. Mick is a world-renowned singer, his daughter, Nina, is a glamorous supermodel and her other siblings are all preparing for a star-studded end-of-summer affair. The only way to attend the event is to know already the location beforehand.
Split between the present and flashbacks to the past, the story unfolds hour-by-hour as the start approaches. By midnight, however, the party will be out of control and the Rivas’ beloved mansion will have gone up in flames. Malibu Rising is a story of one unforgettable night, the relationships between the Rivas siblings and their shared love for the water around them.
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The Singles Game – Lauren Weisberger
If gripping tales of tennis prodigies were what attracted you to Carrie Soto Is Back, Lauren Weisberger’s The Singles Game undoubtedly needs to be on your TBR list! Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Silver has always been a good girl; excelling at tennis under the coaching of her father and jetting off for eleven months of the year chasing Grand Slam titles and record-breaking achievements on the court.
But, after a devastating loss on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, she fires her coach and hires Todd Feltner, a legendary figure known for grooming champions. Charlie is his first-ever female player. He is determined to strip away her good girl image and replace it with a ruthless competitor, who not only wins matches and climbs the ranks but also nets the biggest endorsement deals and headline news stories. Filled with juicy behind-the-scenes details from the world of Tennis, The Singles Game is an addictive read that follows Charlie as she attempts to compete at the highest levels, whilst simultaneously juggling a world obsessed with good looks and Instagram followers.
Apples Never Fall – Liane Moriarty
Like Carrie Soto Is Back, Liane Moriarty’s Apples Never Fall is a sports-themed book nominated in the Goodreads Choice Awards. After running their elite tennis academy together for decades, Stan and Joy Delaney finally sell up and settle down for a comfortable retirement. Their four children – Amy, Logan, Troy and Brooke – are all tennis players, but none of them could ever live up to their father’s expectations.
One night a stranger named Savannah knocks on the couple’s door, bleeding after a fight with her boyfriend. The Delaneys are all too happy to help her out. That is until Joy goes missing and Savannah vanishes, leading to all suspicions falling on the one individual remaining: Stan. Two of his children think he’s innocent, but two of them aren’t so sure. As the two sides prepare to square off for the biggest match of their lives, this is the perfect book for anyone who loves themes of shared history and split family loyalties.
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Breath Like Water – Anna Jarzab
Susannah Ramos has always loved the water. Her early talent made her a world champion, and she was soon destined for greatness in a sport that demands so much from its young competitors. But, her trajectory is suddenly thrown into jeopardy when two new people enter her life: a new coach with an ambitious new training regime, and an enigmatic swimmer called Harry Matthews.
Like Carrie Soto Is Back, Anna Jarzab’s Breath Like Water follows Susannah’s painful climb back to the top of her game. Her friendship with Harry soon blossoms into a supportive love, but there are things of his own he is battling. Forces soon conspire to draw them apart, leading to Susannah understanding the cost of trying to achieve something remarkable.
Check Out The Best Books Like Lessons In Chemistry
Home Or Away – Kathleen West
Leigh and Susy were once best friends destined for Olympic greatness. But, when Leigh’s plan to make the final team backfired badly, she left everything behind to begin anew, including the one person who knew her darkest secret. Fast forward twenty years, and Leigh is a successful banker and mother to a hockey prodigy of her own. When opportunity comes knocking for her child, she takes it on their behalf, unknowingly putting her back into the path of Susy.
But, whilst Susy might be hoping Leigh will join her in the coaching box again, Leigh keeping her at bay is the only means of keeping her past with her coach, Jeff Carlson, a secret. Caught in an impossible situation between coming clean and playing Jeff’s game, Leigh soon realises that the woman she once considered her biggest rival may just be her biggest ally. If you’re looking for a read-alike to Carrie Soto Is Back that tackles the themes of overcoming our pasts and taking on our futures, Kathleen West’s Home or Away is for you!
Someone Else’s Shoes – Jojo Moyes
Nisha Cantor is used to living an affluent globetrotting life. That is until her husband announces he is filing for divorce and cutting off her spending. She is determined to hold on to her glamorous life, but she doesn’t even have the pair of shoes she had previously been wearing. At the lowest point of her life, Sam Kemp has accidentally taken her gym bag.
Juggling an array of problems herself that are threatening to upend and split her own family apart, Sam hardly has time to be concerned about returning the bag she’s accidentally picked up. But, after trying on Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, she is surprised by the sudden injection of confidence she feels. A confidence that leads to her reckoning with everything she had thought before. Jojo Moyes’ 2023 romance book, Someone Else’s Shoes is a funny and heartfelt tale about how even the smallest of things have the potential to change everything.
Shiver – Allie Reynolds
If you’re looking for another book like Carrie Soto Is Back that follows the world of ultra-elite athletes and the lengths their competitive spirits stretch to Allie Reynolds’ Shiver is a read-alike you’re sure to love.
The story follows five friends who are invited for a reunion of snowboarding in the French Alps. The group haven’t seen each other for a decade, not since the disappearance of the beautiful and ambitious Saskia on the slopes. However, when an icebreaker on their first evening takes a turn for the menacing, they quickly realise they don’t know who it is who has invited them there or what it is they want. Set in a picturesque and lonely lodge high in the mountains, all of the characters are hiding secrets from the past, and all of them will be brought to light.
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Furia – Yamile Saied Mendez
At home in Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan is the careful daughter, living under the shadow of her rising football prodigy brother, controlling mother and short-tempered father. On the field, however, she is the embodiment of skill and talent. And when her team qualifies for a regional South American tournament, she has the chance to see how far her skills can take her and bag a scholarship to a university in the States.
But, getting there is easier said than done. Her parents don’t know about her passion for the beautiful game, and would never approve if they did. What’s more, the boy she once loved is back in town. But ‘La Furia’ isn’t about to be denied. Yamile Saied Mendez’s Furia is a young adult contemporary tale about a football prodigy forced to face her secrets and find her way to her dreams in a world with no place for a girl like her, perfect for any fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid.
The Second Season – Emily Adrian
Ruth Devon was a star for Georgetown’s basketball team before she injured her knee, married her coach and found a new life commenting on games for the radio. Two decades on, she and her now ex-husband, Lester, are two of the most famous faces in sports broadcasting. When Lester announces he is retiring, Ruth attempts to secure his job and become the first woman to comment on NBA games for national television.
Similar to Carrie Soto Is Back, Emily Adrian’s The Second Season brings to life all the obsessions, drama, ambitions, pitfalls and emotions of what makes sport such an enthralling spectacle for us. As Ruth is immersed further into the world of the NBA finals, however, she makes a discovery that threatens to shatter her vision for the future. A discovery that pulls her between her two great loves in the world: the game, and motherhood.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
