I really enjoyed this book, and basically read it in one sitting because it was that good. The Favorites tells the story of Jessie, an Irish law student who has come to the US to seek revenge on a professor who somehow harmed her sister (we slowly find out what happened during the course of the novel). Jessie is a fascinating character! Of course we empathize with her desire to seek justice, but what does that really mean, and how far can she justifiably go? Jessie and the other characters are really well-developed and multi-dimensional. This was a remarkable combination of slow-burning thriller and meditation on the difference between justice and revenge.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh I loved this book. Teacher- student relationships are always fascinating because of the power dynamic, the forbidden factor and usually the May- December age difference. This story however, the relationship was plotted, deliberate with the purpose of revenge in mind, making the book unputdownable.

There were things I really liked about this book, all the ethical questions it raised and even the questions about her sister's state of mind and what really happened. It did get bogged down at times with details of the classes. A plan for revenge for the man/the professor who hurt her sister, and the sister eventually died in an accident.

The Favorites is described as “an edgy, feminist campus novel about justice, gender, and power,” which spoke to me immediately and is why I requested it. I liked the classes we get to sit in as the reader and the legal and ethical discussions touched upon therein. I also enjoyed revisiting Philadelphia on the page, and in general I liked the slight “mystery” of one sister trying to find out what happened to the other (although the mechanics of Jessie hiding her sisterly appearance/relation seemed way too convenient). In addition, I never felt the book rose to anything close to “edgy,” and the feminism of the work felt very 2016 (which, to be fair, is explained in the Author’s Note).

The Favorites is a story we’ve seen before (both in real life and in literature). A male professor or teacher crosses the line, ruins or attempts to ruin a female student’s life, and walks away with little to no consequence. Unfortunately, this story has also been done better before, and although I read to the 60 percent mark and skimmed to the end of the book, I would have properly DNF’d before the 25 percent mark. The story feels more like a play than a novel, with a fictionalized university that (although maybe based off UPenn?) comes off feeling overly generic and populated by Ivy League NPCs. Our main MC (Jessie) and antagonist (Crane) also feel a bit generic, to the point that their actions and dialogue are predictable (especially so since Jessie is essentially re-creating her sister’s experience with Crane some years prior). Nonetheless, I enjoyed the creative use of email throughout.

I devoured this book. I was immediately and completely pulled in by Jessie’s voice and found myself furiously flipping the pages. This book questions what justice means, who gets to carry it out, and what one might gain or lose in the process. It’s provocative, heartbreaking, and deliciously addictive. I could not put it down!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Graydon House for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Cool, inviting cover. Great description of a story I would normally love. I just couldn't get into it. The basics are all there but for some reason it did not connect for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for the purpose of this review. Two stars.

WOW!

If this isn't a book to brag about I don't know what is...

I started The Favorites late last night. Never did I anticipate I would be closing the book at 3am left in complete shock. There was no way I would be sleeping, my adrenaline was speeding. I got up and folded clothes, yes at 3am. I needed time to myself to grapple with what I had just read.

This book was insane! It was twisted, it was heartbreaking but it was so darn good!

The Favorites is a must read, out November 14, 2023, I strongly encourage you to pre-order this book!

Teaser:

An edgy, feminist campus novel about justice, gender, and power, following a woman who enrolls at a law school in Philadelphia and competes her way into an elite cohort of "Law and Literature" students to get revenge on the charismatic professor who wronged her sister

Most students would kill to be accepted into the prestigious Law and Literature cohort at Franklin University. But for Jessie Mooney, enrollment in the course is about more than elite campus status, rigorous thought, and professional connections. It’s her chance to get close to charismatic professor Jay Crane—and take him down.

From the moment she discovered their secret relationship, Jessie's been convinced Crane is to blame for the events leading to her sister’s death. Still haunted by their last email exchange—You know what you did—she'll cross any line to hold him accountable. But when Jessie finally earns Crane’s trust and the coveted position as one of his “favorites,” attracting the other students’ envy and suspicion, the truth becomes darkly twisted. Is it justice Jessie craves, or revenge? And what does she stand to lose if she gets her way?

Shimmering with tension, this provocative novel explores the nature of obsession, the inequities of power, and the ways that anger, desire, and love reveal the best, and worst, of us.