4.5 ⭐️ Loved this one! I enjoyed the interviews interspersed with the story and all of the drama. Would have been five stars but I found the Bella/Heath storyline a bit disjointed toward the end.

Loved how different this was from They Never Learn, while being equally as propulsive. I loved getting to be on the inside of their love story from the beginning. Life is messy!

As someone who is always complaining about the Olympics, I enjoyed reading about the passion for ice dancing from Kat's perspective.

I really liked the format of this book! The documentary side of it was such an interesting and unique way to cover a long period of time.

I literally devoured this book in a day - a twisty, entertaining read. Preposterous? Yes, at times, but I was willing to let it go to keep reading about Katarina and Heath. I really enjoyed the format of the book - told through "interviews" and comments and also through Kat's point of view. It wasn't the deepest book I've read all year, but it certainly kept me turning the pages!

A complex and intriguing story. I loved the complicated two stories of the past and present coming together in a surprising way at the end. I liked the romance and seeing how it unfolded with the backdrop of the book research process.

I loved this so much. I didn’t think I would because I don’t particularly care about figure skating but this surprised me! I was so invested in the drama, the romance, all of it.

The Favorites is an epic love story set in the world of elite figure skating and is reminiscent of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Carrie Soto is Back. This story follows Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha and their rise (and fall) to the top. This story was emotional, gripping, and messy but I loved every moment of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest opinion/review.

This was hands down one of the best audiobook performances featuring multi-media and a full cast that I’ve read lately. It was a fun drama that transported me to the cutthroat figure skating world and I loved it.

Featuring toxic friendship, troubled characters, and alllll the drama!

*many thanks to PRH/Randomhouse, PRH audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

The drama. The chaos. The satire. The nostalgia. The toxicity. The romance. I was here for all of it, and couldn’t put this book down. Katarina has dreams of making it to the Olympics with her partner Heath (both on and off the ice). However, their partnership and romance abruptly ends and ten year later, Katarina wants to clear the air and squash additional rumors. The interviews combined flashbacks prose create a dynamic and compelling read, I was wholly immersed for the entire duration. 4.5 stars

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR!!! There is a reason this is so popular! It made the inspiration novel (Wuthering Heights) feel modern and accessible, but also felt like its own story. I’m still absolutely obsessed with this book — the messy characters, the toxic relationships and friendships, the OLYMPICS as the background plot!? A recipe for success and this author hit it out of the park. Everything about this was perfect to me and I’d give it 6 stars if I could.

This was toxic drama perfection & I loved it! I also loved the interview style that the story was told in - it made the book fly by & I was flipping the pages so quickly to get to the next interview! The characters were diverse in their attitudes, the storyline was unique, the relationships evoked emotion, and the ending was amazing!

The Favorites was a gripping and emotionally intense read that kept me hooked from start to finish. Layne Fargo delves into complex friendships and dark secrets with a sharp, compelling narrative. The characters were flawed and deeply human, which made their struggles feel real and raw. It was a powerful, thought-provoking story that stayed with me long after I turned the last page.

I tried to enjoy this deep dive into the figure skating world and the drama-filled relationship of the MCs. I understand the comparison to Daisy Jones and Carrie Soto and it was a well-deserved comparison. However, it just didn't hit the same notes as Taylor Jenkins Reid manages. The incident which ended the partnership/romance wasn't that shocking and more important, was just so disappointing. I wanted this to be so much better than it was.

I very much enjoyed this novel set in the world of competitive figure skating, specifically ice dancing. Katarina and Heath, along with the many secondary characters, are messy, troubled, accomplished, and memorable, and I kept turning the pages to see what would happen next. Recommended.

Unfortunately,I read about 1/4 of this and found it was alittle too soap opera drama and decided to DNF. I normally adore Layne Fargos work so this will be a deterrent from future work. It was likely just a me issue. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early.

The Favorites by Layne Fargo is a riveting look at the cutthroat world of ice skating. Katarina and Heath met before they were teenagers and their love for one another was rivaled only by Kat’s love of the ice. Through tragedies, triumphs, and everything in between…. the only constant is their passion for each other.

Katarina’s sights have been set on the Olympic gold since she saw Sheila Lin skate on tv when she was a child. After years of emulating Sheila’s poise and strength, Katarina is thrilled to be accepted into the Lins’ inner circle when Sheila’s twins take Heath and Kat under their wings in an attempt to keep their competition close. As Kat’s desire to be a champion grows, she questions Heath’s commitment to winning it all. Partnerships change, loyalties are tested, and violence finds its way onto the rink in the most unexpected ways.

I was apprehensive about diving into this book because I knew nothing about the world of competitive skating, but I was drawn in by the very first page. Told from Kat’s perspective as well as through interviews of skaters, judges and journalists, this is a five-star read that would make an amazing movie or miniseries. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Layne Fargo’s The Favorites.

This is a multi-media, full-cast (audio) depiction of two figure skaters who were robbed of their Olympic gold medals.

Kat and Heath grew up together in separate, tumultuous households - Heath being in foster care and Kat’s alcoholic brother having custody of her after their parents died. Once Kat watched her first ice dancing competition at the 1988 Olympics, she was hooked and, because Kat was Heath’s life, he came along for the ride. Kat’s ambition and drive toward winning a gold medal never wavered, and it didn’t matter who got trampled on in the process. Over the years of training and competing, Kat and Heath came together and pushed each other away multiple times but always stayed in each other’s lives. Secondary characters, Bella and Garrett, were instrumental in Kat and Heath’s story, not only in a competitive way but also in a found family way too.

This story had many similar themes of striving toward goals and having them taken away only to come out a more well-rounded human after the fact same as in Carrie Soto Is Back from TJR…. And this book was a definite 5⭐️ as well!

This ARC was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Do you enjoy having all the gossip? Are you always down for a yap session and discussing the tea even if you don't even know the people involved? Do you love angst that hurts your chest and a plot that stays on your mind 24/7 while you theorize what's next or how it will end? If you answered yes to any of these - pick up The Favorites immediately!! For a book that didn't have the absolute perfect ending (in my opinion) that I wished for, this was easily five stars based on the author's ability to take up space in my entire brain the days I was reading this. The emotional turmoil was DELICIOUS!!! I seriously loved how many things I felt while reading Katarina's POV and the unraveling of her career and relationship with Heath. Seriously, 10/10 on the angst scale. Basically everyone is incredibly MESSY and I freaking loved it. I wish there was one minor change regarding the ending but believe it's realistic and the appropriate conclusion for our characters. If you haven't read The Favorites yet, what's stopping you??

Thank you to Random House, NetGalley, and the author for sending me an early copy!

The first 50% had me hooked, almost DNFd by 80% but was too determined to give up.

This is marketed as a mix of Daisy Jones and the Six and Carrie Soto is Back, but with ice dance. The comparison does not do those two books justice. This lacks the key components that make those stories so special. None of the characters has a single redeeming quality.

Also played into my biggest ick books nowadays where we mention popular music (specifically MULTIPLE Taylor Swift songs).

If you want extremely problematic characters and the messiest plot ever, be my guest and give this a try.

I am such a sucker for Layne Fargo's books. I've been a huge fan of her writing since TEMPER: there is something so delicious about how she writes messy, ambitious girls and women who will trample on anyone in their way. THE FAVORITES felt in many ways like a level-up to her writing, in complexity, structure, and scope.

I loved so much of this book: Kat's complex relationship not only to Heath but to so many of the other characters, the insider scoop on Olympic-level ice skating, the framing of interviews that contradict and complement Kat's own storytelling. My only qualm with the story was its slow beginning, but once the pace picked up, I could hardly put the book down. Extremely excited to see what Fargo writes next.