Absolutely loved!!!!!!! This was exactly what I needed to read right now, and I will read anything this writer puts into the world. Very reminiscent of Taylor Jenkins Reid—fast paced, so well written, amazing characters and character development. As a bookseller, I love a book I can recommend to so many different types of readers. Bravo!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Random House and Layne Fargo, for this ARC of The Favorites that came out on January 14, 2025!

This book was incredible. 5 big stars! I loved the unique way this story was written and loved all the characters. What a fantastic romance, drama novel about Olympic Skaters. I couldn’t put it down!

⭐️Overall Rating: 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This novel was provided by the publisher, via Net Galley, in exchange for my honest review.

This book falls victim to "over hype". It very much is like TJR Daisy Jones mixed with Carrie Soto. I kept thinking something big was going to happen based on the way each chapter ends on a cliff hanger, but nothing really did. I finished it to write a review, not because I cared about the ending.

I loved this book so much. The reader follows Katarina Shaw, a determined ice dancer, who has Olympic aspirations at a young age, and her partner, Heath Rocha. Partners both on and off the ice, Katarina and Heath must fight tooth and nail for every victory. They soon enter the world of high level competitive ice dancing, which is cutthroat and high stakes.

Told in a documentary style, fans of “Daisy Jones and the Six” will enjoy this novel, filled with romance, intrigue and the pressures of living a Olympian-level athlete’s lifestyle.

The Favorites by Layne Fargo is the story of Katarina, Heath, and figure skating at the Olympic level. I enjoyed journeying with these characters and really enjoyed the backdrop of elite-level athletes. The story is told against the backdrop of a documentary, though I didn't find that the documentary pages actually added that much to the story.
This was a book that I enjoyed coming back to during the week while I read it, very readable! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The Favorites is available now.

THE FAVORITES by @laynefargo is making a huge splash this year for EXCELLENT reason. I can’t compare it enough to the legendary sports story CARRIE SOTO IS BACK meets the storytelling and toxic romance of DAISY JONES AND THE SIX.

Alternating between the fictional documentary and first person narrative, the book tells the story of Katarina Shaw’s ice dancing career — the good, the bad, and the bloody.

The story follows Katarina Shaw through her intense figure skating career with partner Heath Rocha. Katarina is determined to make it to the top and become an Olympic gold medalist, but what is she willing to risk along the way?

This book was amazing! There wasn’t anything I didn’t like about it. The story is told through Katarina’s point of view along with interviews from a from an unauthorized documentary. The interviews lend themselves to the gossip and scandal that surround Katarina and Heath and their skating career. As a fan of figure skating, I found the plot to be absolutely intriguing as there is some insight to the figure skating world. In addition, I really enjoyed the development and intensity of the characters. If someone wants to be a champion, what lengths will they go to?
Thank you Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was an emotional rollercoaster!

I enjoyed all the twists and turns!
My jaw dropped so many times!

I basically read this book in under 24 hours.
I’ve never read anything like it!

Absolutely incredible! It’s only January and I think this will be my favorite book of 2025.

Having grown up in the era of Kristi Yamaguchi, Nancy Kerrigan, Oksana Baiul, Tara Lapinski, etc, this book gave me ALL the nostalgic feels while also telling a story completely original. Katarina and Heath are childhood soulmates who naturally also became ice dancing partners at the age of 13. For Katarina. Nothing matters but skating her way to the top. For Heath, nothing matters but what Katarina wants. We get to grow with them, win with them, lose with them, and everything in between. This is a beautiful story of friendship, love, passion, and what it’s like truly growing up and older with someone. There weren’t enough stars for this one. Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy.

One of my favorites of the year so far, an absolute banger! I went into this with the highest expectations, as a certified Taylor Jenkins Reid fan, and I was obsessed. Not in the way everyone else was, but I get the hype. There is zero reason why I should read a 448 page novel and still crave another 448 pages. I wanted all the nitty gritty details about our character's lives, despite how unlikeable and toxic they are throughout. And that's my main qualm with this: although I loved it for the drama, a lot of it was surface level and the payoff for all that drama just never happened. There were a few directions that would have made sense but what Fargo landed on was kind of a cheap thrill. But I'm not a hater, it was still a damn good book. A definite "I support women's rights but also support women's wrongs" situation. Contrary to popular belief though, Heath is the villian in this story and I hate him. He is the ironic thorn in Kat's side for decades and I never rooted for their romance. Too many betrayals on his end for him to be redeemable. Also THAT ENDING WAS A CRIME. I threw the book across the room and stared at the wall for hours. I'm still thinking about them weeks later, which is a feat!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for allowing me to read an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book reminded me a bit of Magnolia Parks, but with the added elements of skating, reckless ambition, and heated competition. I don’t know that this book was a romance, so much as it was a book dedicated to the pursuit of victory. There was perhaps less passion between the two characters as there was a passion for the sport. If you’re looking for a fluffy romcom, this isn’t it, but if you’re looking for a fiery documentary-style read about skating and heartbreak, pick this one up immediately.

So romantic and swoonworthy; Brings you right to the edge of the ice rink for all it's emotional intensity and competitive spirit. Obsessed with this! I have been talkig it up to everyone I know. I also loved the documentary, Daisy Jones and the Six style format.

This was decidedly not for me, and it's entirely my own fault. I paid too much attention to the fact that this was a new book from Layne Fargo, and that it was about ice skating/dancing, and I totally overlooked the Wuthering Heights comp (and the names...more fool me!). I can't stand Bronte's toxic Gothic novel, so I really couldn't stand this tonally and narratively similar book. I'm sure others will eat it up though.

This book was good. It kept me interested, and I wanted to keep reading.

It's only in the last few years that I've become interested in ice dancing. That made this book even more fun for me to read. All the drama, backstabbing, and corruption. The blood, sweat, and tears. I mean, literal blood. Not to mention the relationships, oh la la.

I would recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this story. As someone who has always loved watching the Olympics, this took me back to watching Meryl Davis and Charlie White win Olympic gold in ice dance. My overall rating came down because of pacing. Some parts dragged a bit for me.

The audiobook is definitely the way to go. And how cool that Johnny Weir narrated one of the characters!

This book deserves all the hype and more!!! I was obsessed with unraveling the story of this ice dancing couple's romance through interview transcripts, and the Wuthering Heights vibes are spot on. Tense, romantic, and unputdownable—a total joyride.

Katarina Shaw was destined to become an Olympic skater. Her connection with Heach Rocha, a kid stuck in the foster system, was undeniable. Katarina’s father allowed him to move in with them to train with Katarina for couples figure skating. As the 10-year of their final skate approaches, a documentary reignites the public obsession with Katarina and Heath and interview friends and rivals to get the real scoop on the duo. Their rise to fame was ambitious and disastrous. Their relationship was real and toxic at times. She loved skating and he loved her.

This book was so good. Feels very much like a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel. You’re rooting for them, while knowing they drive each other crazy. I felt so bad for Heath so many times. The characters feel so real that you should be able to look them up and find their story online.

Katerina Shaw has always known she wanted to ice skate at the competitive level. Heath Rocha comes from the foster care system and once he meets Kat, knows that he always wants to be with her, doing whatever he needs to. The pair do everything they can to focus on ice dancing and Kat thinks her dreams have come true when they're discovered by her childhood idol, Olympic champion Sabrina Lin. Their lives are then catapulted into another world.
Their story is told in alternating chapters by Katerina and the transcript from an unauthorized documentary done 10 years after their final competitive skate. There are great details about the competitive and backstabbing world of ice dancing, along with themes of love, dysfunctional families, betrayal, ambition and sabotage.
Elements of the story and the story telling reminded me of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Daisy Jones and the Six, with some I, Tonya thrown in. Favorites will make a great movie!
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the opportunity to read The Favorites. I received a complimentary copy of this book and opinions expressed are completely my own.

4.5 rounded up to 5. Layne Fargo wrote one of my all time favorites with They Never Learn. That book will always have a special place in my heart, so I dropped everything to read this one when it came in. This one for me was very Taylor Jenkins Reid like so if you loved Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones I think you would love this one too. Im excited the author is getting lots of love with this one being a BOTM selection, so I hope some people check out her backlist. Her others books are different than this one, but great! Many thanks to the publisher for my copy!

This was addicting and so unbelievably frustrating at the same time.

This story sucked me in immediately and I was rooting for Kat and Heath from the beginning. I thought it was going to be some epic love story. This was not a romance and I think the HEA is subjective. For me, I was very unsatisfied with the ending and didn’t see it as a HEA at all. How can I? Talk about betrayal! I’m so upset with the direction this story went.

Garrett was the best character, period. Mostly everyone else sucked. I did like Kat though. She wasn't perfect, but I like imperfect FMCs. SHE DESERVED BETTER!!!!!

If you enjoyed this book, I'm happy for you. I'm not saying I didn't but I also hated it at the same time.

My full review can be found on Goodreads