I highly suggest the audio for this book!!

This gave me that same competitive vibe where you’re in competition with your team mates. I would say the romance was more on the back burner as this truly explores the need for perfection and the toxicity of the environment of those also competing against you, your coaches, and all the things that get in the way.

This to me felt like a blend of Magnolia Parks with the toxic characters/decisions mixed with the movie The Cutting Edge (it’s an oldie) where it explores a relationship between an ice skater and a hockey player and their progress to get to the Olympics. Though there are no hockey players in this, that movie showcases the harsh realities that come with striving to be the best in the world.

I really enjoyed this!

This book wasn’t as “thrilling” as I thought it would be but it was most certainly a page turner. I was sucked in this world of professional ice skating and drama. If you enjoyed the movie I, Tonya this book is for you. It’s written kind of in the same style as the movie was done.

After reading They Never Learn by this author, I knew I wanted to get my hands on this one. It reminded me of Nancy and Tonya. I found this one very entertaining but thought it was about 100 pages too long. I also had a copy of the audio and I will say it was absolutely incredible.

Expect to see this book on lots of TBR lists this year! My favourite books list for 2025 is already starting!

This story is about the intense world of competitive skating and is full of scandal, secret, seduction, suspicion and the determination to win at all costs. Balancing personal and professional relationships proves to be extremely difficult as these characters face significant challenges along the way….what exactly is the end goal and what is the cost? This book grabs you from the beginning and won’t let go! Enjoy!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada and Layne Fargo for the gifted eARC! If you haven’t read this one yet, I suggest you grab a copy!

4.5⭐️/5
THIS WAS GOODDDDD
I don’t remember being this enthralled by other than the typical stories, this was different and I love it. Ngl I was scared reading throughout all the book but it was worth it. It gave me many emotions while reading it (mostly being scared like I just said and anxiousness obviously). But definitely recommend, it was time for me to read something different and this was perfect.

The world knew Kat and Heath for their award-winning ice dancing, but the media was just as captivated by their relationship. The world watched the childhood sweethearts through breakups, scandals, and tragedy, but no one knew what really happened at the shocking Olympics games that suddenly ended their careers. Now, ten years later, a documentary has Kat, her friends, and her rivals telling their own versions of the truth.

It took me a little while to get into this book, but once I was immersed in it, I was fascinated. Written in a similar style as Daisy Jones & The Six, we get to know characters through interview snippets and flashes of memories. This story felt wild, believable, and acutely relevant. One does not have to be a fan of the sport to enjoy this ride.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Romance with a touch of emotion and reflection. This book kept me wanting more while giving me a lot to ponder. The characters were developed to absolute perfection and you truly felt like you were living alongside them!

Not normally a romance person, but I have read other things by this author and enjoyed them. Despite being lengthy, I loved this book. The characters were so well fleshed out and the story felt so authentic that I couldn’t put it down. I also loved the documentary style writing.

The Favorites is a book that I read anxiously-- I was dying to know what would happen next.

It takes us behind the scenes of an ice skating duo from their childhoods to their breakup to everything in between.

It's nostalgic and emotional, watch them as younger teens making decisions they're not old enough to understand and then covering their emotions to protect themselves from the hurt from those decisions.

It's definitely a good read, especially if you liked "Daisy Jones and the Six."

I cannot say that I loved this book as much as so many have. It felt so slow to me. I wanted to just flip through the pages and find out what eventually happened. Glad I didn't.

Kat and Heath are lifelong companions who love each other very much. Kat has an even bigger love, so she thinks, to be the gold medalist in Ice Dancing. Things start to go her way when she finally meets her idol Sheila Lin and then things don't go their way. Lots of twists and turns.

I really enjoyed the interviews in the chapters with different views on who they were and what happens.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for a copy for review.

I was really intrigued by this one but it’s too long. and the characters just aren’t redeemable for me

I love reading about figure skating and the documentary vibe to this book. However I really struggled connecting to the characters and struggled with the toxic drama. Unfortunately wasn’t for me.

The Favorites by Layne Fargo
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hands down one of my favorite reads of the year! 👐 I kept hearing the buzz on this book, so I requested it. Ice skating ⛸️ really wasn't on my favorites list (pun intended), so I wasn't certain of how I would feel about this story.

Wowza! 😮 This was a PHENOMENAL read! There is so much twisted drama, an array of competitive relationships, romance 😍, cut-throat melodrama, back stabbing 🗡, and a roller coaster🎢 of emotions!!

This story involves a young woman, Katrina, who will stop at nothing to get a gold medal🏅, yet has no means to fund her ice skating career. She began skating with her boyfriend, Heath. Later, she manages to gain the sponsorship of her favorite ice skating coach, who doesn't think Heath is talented enough.

The passion and obsession with each other and the sport pressures them to act only in their own best interests. The storyline has so many twists and turns. You won't guess what happens next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advanced reader's copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #TheFavorites ##GeneralFiction ##WomensFiction #Romance #LayneFargo

I loved this book. I kept wanting to Google Katerina and Heath because they felt so real to me. I haven't read a "sports book" or a book about ice skating in a long time. I learned so much and truly felt I was reading a memoir. This story had heartbreak, and friendship, and loss, and love. A little bit of everything. As much as I was rooting for Kat and Heath, I had a love/hate relationship with them. I felt like I was on the roller coaster of emotions. I wanted to cry with them and laugh and yell at them all at the same time.

This is such a wonderful read!

This book!!!! A must must must read! Its was absolutely amazing! I connected to each of the characters! The story just blended so well together and you fully feel all the feels! This story was about everything! Family, first love, friendship, heartbreak! I highly recommend!

I started Out reading this on the kindle but got the audio and man the audio is so good. I would Advise everyone to listen to this one. It was very well done.

As a former ice skater, I knew I couldn’t miss The Favorites. This is an epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating about a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice. It begins with two young skaters whose instant connection makes them a formidable due on the ice. Clinging to skating-and each other-to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, until a shocking incident brings their partnership to an end.

Spanning decades, this book is told from Kat’s POV as well as an unauthorized documentary that claims to uncover the “real story” of Kat and Health through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. This story has it all: love triangles, family drama, and self-discovery, alongside scandal, betrayal, tragedy, and triumph. It was a fun and juicy ride that kept me hooked and didn’t take itself too seriously. This book is perfect for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, especially Daisy Jones and The Six.

I’m conflicted about my review of this book. While I really appreciated the documentary style approach, I felt that those chapters were the only parts of the story that truly moved the plot forward. That being said, I did enjoy the behind the scenes look at the cutthroat world of ice skating.
Katarina and Heath have shared a deep connection since childhood, competing for the affection of others, which they ultimately find through ice dancing. However, Katarina’s sheer determination and willpower begin to strain the bond she shares with the one person she truly loves and trusts. At times, I felt the story dragged, with a desire to see more from the characters in a quicker timeframe. I did, however, enjoy the evolving dynamics between them and the other ice skaters over time.
I do wish the book had introduced more characters to enrich the love story or delved deeper into the intricacies of the skating world. If you enjoy a romance tested by challenges with a satisfying, happy ending, this book will be a great fit for you.


*Thank you to Layne Farg, Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for the digital copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. My reviews can be read on my GoodReads account here: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly

thank you to netgalley for the e-arc. i understand how popular this book turned out to be but it was just okay for me. it was a lot of young love and back and forth between the two characters. i don't think the book needed to be as long and drawn out as it was but i did not DNF to find out what the fuss was about.