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

The Favorites by Layne Fargo was like watching a real housewives episode, but in the caddy world of ice dance. I never imagined I'd be so engrossed in a story like this but I couldn't put it down. Great characters and such a beautiful love story at its core.

This book is incredible. I was completely enraptured by the writing from the first page. There's a lot of comparisons to Taylor Jenkins Reid and I definitely see it, but Layne Fargo is able to write an intensity in her characters that is incomparable.

This follows a pair of skaters, Katarina and Heath, who have been friends/lovers since childhood and their toxic relationship throughout their career trying to make it to the Olympics. There's also a documentary aspect that introduces characters on the sidelines giving their speculation/gossip on what really happened with Katarina and Heath during their highly scandalous career.

There's SO much that happens in this. So many times the story makes you think it's going in one direction and then switches up and leads you down another path. At times I physically could not put this book down I was so invested in Katarina's life and her story. This is one of those books that brings its characters to life in a way that makes you want to google them and look up their performances online when you put the book down.

I was feeling like this was a complete masterpiece up until the last 30ish percent of the book. There were a couple points where it felt like 'okay the story should be wrapping up now...' but it just kept going. Leading me to feel like a few things that happened in the end were drug out and unnecessary. I still really loved this and I would reread it in the future. Also an adaptation is a NEED.

4.5⭐️

<b> <i>So say what you want about me. Call me a bitch, a cheater, a loser, a whore. I may not have an Olympic gold medal, but I have something better: a life where I spend every day with my favorite people in the world, doing exactly what I love. If that’s not winning, I don’t know what is.</b> </i>

This book was the perfect mix of adrenaline rushing dramatic plot movement, undoubtably flawless character work for very flawed characters, and carefully interwoven themes connecting everything that unfolded. Layne Fargo’s storytelling was next level and I really enjoyed every second of my time with this one.

It was obvious from the beginning that the author took her time learning about the sport of ice dancing and the hardships Olympic athletes face when striving to achieve greatness in a system that is riddled with corruption. Much of the events that occurred throughout the novel felt like real life. The "interview" parts from documentary were a welcome addition to this story that provided enough perspective to drive home the issues Katarina and Heath faced.

<b> <i>“Happiness couldn’t be won. It couldn’t be hung around our necks while a crowd of thousands cheered. It wasn’t a prize, something we had to suffer and toil to earn. If we wanted happiness, we had to create it ourselves. Not in one shining moment on a medal stand, but every single day, over and over again.” </b> </i>

The character work on Katerina was what truly carried this novel. I felt all the emotions across the spectrum watching Katerina learn how to accept her drive, achieving her need for success, and then watching her grow into her realisation that there is more to life than everything she had ever really strived for.

<b> <i>“It isn’t a competition.” I reached for her hand. “There are lots of different kinds of love.” Love like a steady, warming campfire that keeps you alive in the cold. Love like a raging blaze that burns down everything in its path until nothing but ash remains. </b> </i>

I also really loved seeing the development of friendships and frenemy relationships in this novel. Katerina’s relationship development with Bella and Garrett were some of my favorite parts to read, even when they were the most toxic. The characters felt palpable, real life people. It really showed how relationships can be tested to the very limit when competition and comparison come between and tear them apart.

<i> <b> Yes, he was used to change. He was used to loss. He was also used to anything that seemed too good to be true—anything that seemed good at all—being ripped from his grasp as soon as he touched it. No wonder he held on to me so tightly.</b> </i>

The one part of this that really lost me was the development of Heath and Katarina’s relationship and love story (and Heath as a character on his own) for the first half of the novel. A lot of the relationship building happened off the page and we were told, whether by Katarina or third party’s about how attached and toxicly madly in love they were but never really got to see it first hand through dialogue and first hand interaction. We also never really got to see Heath stand on his own until the 2nd half of the novel, which did a disservice to his character arc. He always felt a step out of reach for me as a reader, which made it hard to empathize with him when bad things happened to him or when he created messes.

Overall, I sincerely implore everyone to pick this up. It was such a fun read. If you love drama filled, fast paced character driven stories you will be sure to love this one.

The audiobook sincerely deserves a standing ovation, it was one of the most riveting audiobooks I’ve ever read and every single narrator did fantastic. Highly, highly recommend picking this one up on audio. It gave nuance and depth to the characters that I probably wouldn’t have been able to think up in my mind just reading it physically.

📖: The Favorites ⛸️
✍️: Layne Fargo
📚: Random House
Genre: Literary Fiction
Pub Date: January 14, 2025
Pages: 448 pages
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
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“There are lots of different kinds of love. Love like a steady, warming campfire that keeps you alive in the cold. Love like a raging blaze that burns down everything in its path until nothing but ash remains."
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💭 I LOVED THIS ONE! This was my first time reading Layne Fargo's work, and she DID NOT disappoint. There was not a single dull moment - pure drama from beginning to end! We see it all.. family issues, childhood dreams, betrayals, scandals, and much more.
We follow Kat, who is on her journey to achieve her childhood dream of becoming a gold medal Olympic winner. She meets Heath, who becomes a childhood love and an ice skating partner. Together, they start their journey to becoming gold medal winners but quickly learn that there is much more to ice skating and the elite than just having the talent.

The documentary style portion was also entertaining!

I was thirteen when all the crazy stuff happened with Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan prior to the 1994 Olympics. I remember we were all glued to the TV following that saga and all the unfolding drama for days, weeks and months. I've been a fan of figure skating ever since... ha!

The Favorites has all the drama of a real life figure skating saga and then a whole lot more. It's full of toxic relationships, backstabbing betrayals, suspense and tension and more. And I loved every bit of it.

As the story is told, clips from a docuseries including interviews with other characters are included. It is reminiscent of Daisy Jones and the Six, and this method was an excellent choice for telling this story! The interview clips were spot on and an excellent and unique way to help move the story forward and provide additional depth.

The characters are not likeable and the drama is way over the top, and yet this story was just so good. Similar to Daisy Jones and Carrie Soto (lots of Taylor Jenkins Reid vibes in this one), it sheds light on the cost of fame and victory and begs the question, "is it really worth it?" Whether you are a fan of figure skating or soap operas or both, this one is an excellent choice!

Not only is this book about obsession but you are about to be obsessed with this book. I couldn't put it down, I was completely sucked into the story and the lives of the characters. There were so many times that I wanted to throw the book across the room, emotions were high while reading.

Its probably one of the best books I've read all year.

Its set in the glittering, cutthroat world of elite figure skating, we follow Katarina Shaw, who, is determined to become an Olympic skater. Her bond with, Heath Rocha, makes them a fierce ice dancing team, captivating the world with their chemistry and rebellious style, on and off the ice.

Ten years later, an unauthorized documentary revives public obsession with their story. Now, Kat breaks her silence to set the record straight, revealing the truth behind their rise, fall, and the intense bond that shaped them. Inspired by Wuthering Heights, this is a story of passion, ambition, and what it truly means to win.

Ps. I need Layne Fargo to share her inspo for her characters because I could not stop picturing Tessa & Scott as Kat & Heath...

This is going to be a book of the year! DO NOT miss this one. The audio is fantastic, Christine Lakin (who is one of my favorites) is absolutely amazing at narrating this one! This is truly and epic love story between Katerina and Heath and the journey through cut throat work of Ice Dancing in pursuit of Katerina’s dream. The story was riveting and I could not put it down/stop listening.

So we ALL know how intensely The Favorites by Layne Fargo has been appearing everywhere!

This was truly one of the best books I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Think Daisy Jones + Carrie Soto + toxic relationship + ice dancing + documentary style narration. It was absolutely the perfect recipe for an obsession that continues to grow with every post that I see.

The drama was a vice around my neck and I could not look away from the betrayals and the ugly side of these competitive sports and these flawed characters. I’m begging you all, please give this one a listen. I promise you will not be able to put it down and will also join us in obsessing over Heath and Kat.

I have liked this authors other work so much so I was excited when I seen this. I don't know if I loved it as much as I wanted. It may be my fault as I may have overhyped it in my mind.