OH MY GOD THIS BOOK I CAN'T IT WAS SO GOOD AND HORRIBLE BUT GREAT AT THE SAME TIME!

This book had everything! Friends-to-lovers romance, sports romance, tragedy, and suspense! At no point could I have predicted what would happen on the next page. Truly no idea... and I loved it! I will never not think about this book. A six-star read for sure!

(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

A phenomenal story of aspiration, heartbreak, trust and betrayal. As a take on the tragic love affair of Katherine and Heathcliff of Wuthering Heights, Katarina and Heath manage to survive it all, making a name for themselves along the way.

quite possibly my favorite book of 2024!! if Daisy Jones + Carrie Soto had a baby, it would be The Favorites! i kept finding myself wishing that i could stalk the characters on instagram and watch their ice dance videos on youtube!! perfect winter vibes and a great post-olympic year read!

"The Favorites" pulls you into the dazzling world of competitive figure skating through the intense story of Kat and Heath. They weren't just skating partners; they were each other's everything, finding a lifeline in their shared passion after tough childhoods. You can feel the electric connection that made them Olympic sensations, even as their deep bond is clearly tangled with their personal struggles and the pressures of fame.

Then, something big happens at the Olympics, and suddenly their incredible journey grinds to a halt. Years later, the past threatens to explode back into their lives with a tell-all documentary. Kat, who's been silent for so long, is finally ready to speak her truth – about their complicated love, the early hardships that tied them together, and the conflicting dreams that eventually tore them apart. It's a story that reminds you how even the most dazzling successes can hide messy, human stories underneath.

Many thanks to NetGallery and Random House Publishing for sharing this wonderful part fiction, part documentary style read from Layne Fargo.

Thank you to NetGalley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review. I was honest delighted by this book; part Cutting Edge, part Wuthering Heights....I found it fast paced with an ending that I could not predict. I loved the competition element and the character development and all the behind the scenes of the cutthroat world of competitive ice skating. I would highly recommend this book.

Absolutely recommend this book for anyone who loved the show Spinning Out. The ice figure skating trope is so underrated and the romance in this was out of this world. Soooo good. It’s definitely a book I wanna reread!

This one will stay with me for awhile. Maybe not in perfect detail, but in, “Man, I really loved that book!”

Perfect for TJR fans, The Favorites is a story about competitive ice dancing, but also about love and obsession and found family and ruthlessness and sports and competition and what really matters.

I loved the format of Kat’s POV mixed with documentary soundbites from the 10-year anniversary. It made me really anticipate where the story would end. By the time we got to the Sochi Olympics, I was SO nervous. I nearly choked when… well, you know 😉

I used to watch skating on TV sometimes, so this book sounded interesting to me to read. I feel like there were a few spots where the descriptions of the costume and related details could have been shortened up a bit, but the drama and the politics of the skating made for an interesting read. I thought for sure I had it all figured out until the twist right near the end of the book. I found the addition of the transcripts from the interviews was an interesting choice for the book and I found it worked out okay, but sometimes I feel like it took me out of the reading a bit.

I’m obsessed. I have whiplash from this rollercoaster of obsession and betrayal and I need physio from how much my jaw was dropping. I did an audio physical combo read and would absolutely recommend that bc the cast of narrators is too fun but then sometimes you just wanna hunch over the book and eat it up. Layne Fargo, you write the best intensity!

If this seemingly endless January has taught us anything, it’s that there’s never been a better time for some (serious) escapism. We all need to take our joy where we can find it no matter what form it comes in, and refrain from judging others for their preferred methods for finding a way to think about literally anything else. When it comes to books, some readers find solace in the swoony worlds of romantasy, others in the fast-paced worlds of thrillers and mysteries. But no matter what our genre of choice is when it comes to comfort reads these days, I think that by the end of 2025, we’ll all agree on one thing—that the horny ice skating novel The Favorites could not have possibly arrived at a more perfect time.

This immersive, wildly addictive story of a pair of ice dancers and the drama that follows them both on and off the ice is the very definition of a guilty pleasure. (Which, truly, you should never feel guilty about anything you read, but that’s a rant for another day.) Fast-paced and full of colorful characters, it’s incredibly fun from start to finish, even if it hardly meets anyone’s idea of “serious literature”. The characters are compelling and raw, the scandals are juicy and shocking, and the unflinching view of the sport’s dark underbelly is as fascinating as it is horrifying.

Loved the drama and that this was a figure skating book! It was so fun reading about a sport I don’t know much about. I felt the first half of the book was stronger than the second, mainly due to how many random crazy things started happening towards the end that made the story become a bit unbelievable and the characters seem dumb. Overall though I loved it and thought it was a strong page turner!

When I finished this, I said out loud, “well, that was a good time.” And I think that’s a pretty accurate representation of how I feel about this book.

I loved loved loved how this book was setup, The documentary format that goes throughout the book just reeled me in and made me want to keep reading but also want to put it down because I never wanted it to end? The push and pull of Heath and Katarina. I was both rooting for them but also wondering if they should end up together to back to rooting for them. Then the ending left me in shock. The drama and storytelling kept me hooked the whole time.

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!