The Favorites is a drama filled story about two Ice Dance partners and their rollercoaster of a career. When you read this book it feels like you are watching a documentary about a famous Ice Dancer that was popular in the 2000s. There were multiple times that I found myself wanting to google these characters or search on Youtube their routines. The author does a great job of sucking you into the drama and making it feel real.

The relationship aspect of this story is similar to like a Magnolia Park story - messy, passionate and toxic... With the plot of this book the relationship matches the vibe.

I really enjoyed this book and was invested the whole way through!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While this isn't my normal kind of read, I was drawn in by the beautiful cover. I'm glad it drew me in because this book was great. There was so much going on, in a good way.

The Favorites follows Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha, a pair of childhood sweethearts who ran away from Katarina's abusive brother to be Ice Dancers at the school owned by Katarina's figure skating idol. Once they get there, they meet the Lin Twins (Katarina's Idol's children) and continues on through their tumultuous relationship with each other and the twins, culminating in a tragic incident.

The story is told as if its a documentary about Katarina and Heath, with Katarina's side of the story interspersed. I've never read anything like that and it was so entertaining.

Overall I would recommend this to those who like their romance more on the mystery side of the genre.

I received an ARC from Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

WOW. I don’t even know how to explain the feeling that this book gave me. I could not stop reading. It was addicting, like watching a tv show. The way that the story was written made me want to keep reading and mostly about the characters to see if they would make it or not. I loved the backstory of the main characters SO much. I was fighting for the mmc because he is honestly the best, and even though I wasn’t a fan of the ending doesn’t mean it wasn’t PERFECT for the story. I wished it ended differently, but at the same time it was so beautifully done. 5/5 stars!

Katarnia Shaw dreamt of winning a gold medal in ice dancing since she was a girl and watched her idol win gold at the Olympics. She met Heath Rocha as a girl, he was a lonely boy dealt a rough hand and in foster care. From the moment they met it was decided they would play a huge part in each other's lives. Over the course of their lives they were everything under the sun, friends, partners, lovers, enemies, and champions.

On tenth anniversary of their final official appearance an unauthorized documentary is releasing, rehashing all the high, lows and scandals of the couple from the perspective of all those who witnessed it first hand from friends, rivals, coaches, and professionals. Katarina is ready to tell her story in her own words on her own terms and reality may be more scandalous than anyone could have imagined.

This book was the book of my dreams. Like the rest of the world I become absolutely obsessed with figure skating, and ice dancers every time the winter olympics comes around. Also the video of Tessa Virtue, and Scott Moir skating at the 2018 olympics is a video I watch regularly. So a book about an infamous ice dancing team who happen to be messy lovers felt like a dream come true, and it was. The characters in this book were so messy and cutthroat, I did not want to stop reading this from the moment I picked it up. This book truly felt like real life, it felt like I could google the characters and find out all about them as though they were real people and I was reading a tell all memoir. I truly want everyone I know to read this book and love it as much as I do.

Thank you to PRH Audio for a complimentary audiobook and to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha. It’s their story, on and off the ice, before ice skating and while on their way to the top—and after. It’s an epic love story, filled with a bunch of drama.

This is told in alternating format of first person POV from Katarina and 3rd person interview format of those involved in their story. The book is so engrossing and interesting, but the multi-cast performance audiobook sealed it as a five star read for me.

wow I was gripped!! thank you Random House and PRH Audio for the gifted ebook and audiobook!

the favorites follows katarina in her obsession to become an olympic skater. at every turn, she makes selfish decisions and stepping over everyone possible to reach her dream. even heath—they were all, after all, the star-crossed childhood sweethearts of u.s. figure skating.

while katarina makes every selfish decision possible, so does everyone else. I could not find anyone to root for in the best way. I was raging, sad, and every emotion in between.

by the end of this grueling book, I just wanted them to WIN.

I got daisy jones and the six vibes with not only the writing style of mixed media but also with the deep character studies. I was locked in the whole time even with the longer page count.

🎧 the audiobook is phenomenal!! it’s a full cast, with different voice actors for the interview sections. I cannot even express how engaging it was. each voice actor brought their own flair to their characters and I loved these sections so much. if you pick this one up, highly recommend reading to it with your ears!

what to expect
⟢ toxic love story
⟢ ice dancers chasing olympic gold by any means necessary
⟢ multicast narration with interview chapters

First 5 star read of 2025 and going down as one of my favorite books! This book is magic, I can't stop thinking about it. I have dreams about this book (no joke). All of the characters are fleshed out and beautifully written (although I did want a little more from Heath). The interviews interjecting the narrative add so much depth to the story, really giving readers intel about what people adjacent to Kat witnessed. Reading Kat's own perspective as her passion and desire to be the best and the mental, emotional, and physical toll that takes on her was heartbreaking. Overall, just a fantastic story that will live with me for a long time.

Endless thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the E-ARC.

The Favorites by Layne Fargo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I fell in love with Fargo’s writing after They Never Learn, so when I saw this one I immediately requested it. I was blown away. This book was about passion, rage, female power, forgiveness, connection. It was everything.

I always adore when books make me feel like the characters are real, and this one picked me up and made me think this was real life. I was absorbed. I was cheering the characters on and cringing at their mistakes. They were flawed, but I wanted them to succeed.

The push and pull of this one was spot on. It was a great reading experience. Fans of Carrie Soto, strong characters, and stories that span many years will adore this one.

WOW WHAT A BOOK!!!!

I couldn't read this one fast enough. I actually need this to be implanted into my brain so I will never forget a single detail from this story.

I was immediately hooked from the opening sequence and I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything else until I consumed every single word Layne Fargo had written. I think I sat and read 60% of the book in a single sitting because I couldn't look away from the drama, heartache and emotional draw from these characters. Do yourself a favor and listen to The Last Time by Taylor Swift on repeat while reading this one. If you loved Daisy Jones & the Six and the way the story was told through interviews you're really going to love this one. The Favorites switches between interviews from people who were there for the entire story of our FMC sprinting (or should I say Ice Dancing) to the Olympics and from the FMC herself as she finally shares the true story of her downfall after 10 years away from the public eye.

I have a feeling this one is going to shoot to the top of every list once its been released and for good reason!! Everyone needs to read this.

Thank you Random House for the arc!

So there are not enough ice skating stories out there. I’ve enjoyed Layne Fargo stories so I was happy to see a new one coming out. Katarina and Heath not only felt like the perfect dance partners as early teens but soulmates. An endless love kind of thing. Told in documentary style, it was easy to picture the moments, from competition to heartache. Once they get an invite to prestigious academy, the real gossip begins. And the elite world finally feels like it’s in their grasp.

The book doesn’t explore anything new for the skating world- that it’s elite and you need a good amount of money to get ahead. And Heath and Katarina felt like the perfect couple on the outskirts looking to break in. Heath’s obsessions started to feel repetitive and a little tiresome- like it would have been nice for him to have a different side. And for the first half of the book, he felt very one note. I would say the highlight may be the side characters; intriguing and always leaving you wondering their true intentions.

This was nicely written, adding a little more drama to already intense competitive, athletic world. I wouldn’t have minded a little more suspense or having a twist somewhere. But I did enjoy it overall and found it easy to read through.

Daisy Jones and the Six but make it figure skating.

I was obsessed with this book. At some point I hated almost every character but was so in love with all of them by the end. This book made me laugh, cry, and feel every single feeling in between. Highly recommend if you like to be emotionally tortured (in a good way).

So far my favorite book of the year, this book was so good I could see it easily making my top 10 list. This is my second book by Layne Fargo and it did not disappoint. She is quickly becoming one of my must buy favorite authors. While this book was vastly different from They Never Learn, it was just as good if not better. The writing style was very unique and made this book a compulsive read. In this book we follow a viral docuseries that is released about a scandalous ice dance couple. The chapters themselves followed Kat but at the end of each chapter there would be parts of the docuseries and comments from other people in the story.The characters in this book were amazing they were well fleshed out and I was really rooting for certain characters by the end of this book. This book kind of reminded me of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books like Daisy Jones and the Six with it theses of fame and the unique writing style. I cannot wait to read whatever Layne Fargo comes out with next! I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Holy. Crap.

I am generally the first one to guess a plot in a book or movie, and this book legitimately had me gasping out loud at parts. This felt like a real memoir and not just fiction to the point that I almost googled these characters just to make sure it was in fact nonfiction.

This book had so much heart and passion (and drama), and I went from rooting for characters to hating them and back again a few times throughout the book.

I absolutely loved the chapter layouts intermixed with interview transcripts, and I feel like I read this even faster because of the quick back and forth between formats. Also loved the little Taylor Swift nuggets throughout.

This would be such an interesting book club pick and open up tons of topics for conversation. 10/10 would recommend and will likely read this one again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for my digital copy!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for an advanced copy of what will definitely be a BUZZY 2025 read! As someone who grew up obsessed with Nancy Kerrigan, I loved the drama of this book! Katerina and Heath are childhood best friends who are each other’s rocks. They start skating together and realize how good they are when they partner together. We see the path they take to skating greatness and what they have to go through to be considered the best. I genuinely loved this book and learned a lot about skating and its politics. It was a little longer than necessary but I found myself getting sucked into the world of skating

Sometimes books just don’t turn out to be what you expected, and that’s okay.

Is The Favorites a bad book? Not really. Is it a good book? Not really.

The storytelling format of first-person POV alternating with pieces of another media format (in this case it’s a documentary but most often in the past few years it’s been podcasts) has never been a favorite of mine. I find it annoying and feel it takes away from the narrative flow of the story. In the case of this book I felt like it boiled down the supporting characters in the story to cookie cutter stereotypes, making it easy to guess certain plot twists ahead of time.

While I enjoyed the plot I didn’t enjoy how it was carried out. I guess you could say the plot was intriguing but the story that was told with the plot was less so. I expected something a little darker and more thrilling, and this read more like a scintillating soap opera. At times it kind of felt like I was closer to reading Danielle Steele than what I thought I was going to read when I requested this book. It’s juicy, with complicated relationships and a lot of drama.

I wouldn’t re-read this and I won’t recommend it because it simply doesn’t vibe with what I look to keep on my bookshelves, but if you like your reads dramatic, romantic, intense, and soapy, then I think you might like it a whole lot.

I was provided a copy of this title by the publisher and author via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Reviews rated three stars or lower will not appear on my social media Thank you.

Layne Fargo’s latest release, The Favorites, takes the gold! This was the last book I read in 2024, and I never wanted it to end!

The novel follows Katerina Shaw and Heath Rocha on their journey to Olympic stardom, marked by both personal and professional triumphs and turmoil. As young ice dancers from the wrong side of the tracks, their undeniable chemistry and raw talent eventually catch the attention of Kat’s idol, Olympic gold medalist Sheila Lin. Now retired, Sheila coaches her twins and invites Kat and Heath to train at her prestigious skating facility. Through a mix of Kat’s narration and interviews for an unauthorized documentary, the story that unfolds is one of passion, betrayal, and relentless ambition.

With the intensity of Wuthering Heights set against the high-stakes world of figure skating, The Favorites is a rollercoaster! The characters are complex and, at times, frustrating—but you won’t be able to look away. I loved the way the story slowly uncovered the rumors and truths surrounding Kat and Heath's rise to fame. This book was made for anyone who, like me, spent the early nineties captivated by the world of figure skating!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the advanced copy.

The Favorites is about Kat and Heath as they work to become Olympic skaters while navigating their complicated relationship over the years. I really liked the interview format of this book because I felt like I was watching a behind the scenes documentary full of backstabbing and relationship drama unfold. The cover contains a quote that reads, "To the world they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession," and this accurately sums up how I feel. I became obsessed with Kat and Heath's story to the point that the characters felt so real I wanted to Google them to find out what happened; I had to keep reminding myself this is all fiction. The ending with all the added twists was a bit much for me, but overall I really enjoyed this!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

The Favorites was a fun read. I was very excited to get an advanced copy of it because I have seen nothing but positive reviews and I agree. Kat Shaw loves 2 things, ice dancing and Heath Rocha but no matter the cost she wants to be the best, more than anything! The Favorites is a love story, a sports story, a story of revenge, friendship and of course, a comeback. The story was solid and held my attention throughout but I feel like the ending lost a little bit of edge that had been there. 4 ⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Likes + Dislikes

The Favorites
@laynefargo

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What I Liked:
⛸️ Cutting Edge vibes mixed with the fast paced, documentary style writing of Daisy Jones.
⛸️ As a child of the 90s, I was obsessed with figure skating. This book made those feelings come rushing back.
⛸️ I could not get enough of Kat and Heath. I love how their bond was written. It was developed so well and it felt so real. I was very emotionally invested!
⛸️ In the last quarter of the book, I worried I was going to hate the ending. But then I did not hate it one bit. It was an end I didn’t expect, but I completely loved.

What I Didn’t Like:
⛸️ Kat’s career highs and lows, at times, felt cyclical and repetitive. But at the same time, I couldn’t stop reading and never felt bored. It was either a 4.5⭐️ rounded up or a full 5⭐️read. I keep going back and forth!

And despite so much early hype, I was not at all disappointed!

💬 Is it worth a reread with the audiobook? I hear it’s amazing!

❤️ Thank you to @randomhouse and @netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

BOOK REVIEW: THE FAVORITES ⛸️❤️‍🔥❄️

“My story is mine and I’ll tell it the same way I skated: in my own way, on my own terms.”

So I could probably write a novel about how much I love this book and these characters, but I’ll highlight some reasons this was a standout 5🌟 read for me!

❄️the characters! Fascinating, complex, unique and lots of character development
❄️the storytelling - very TJR-esque with first person to interview style and the chapters were relatively short which kept me hooked!
❄️unique story - I had never heard of ice dancing but I was SO invested in that aspect of the book! I’m not usually a huge fan of sports books but this one really worked for me!
❄️the feels! This book really had me in my feels, from gut wrenching sadness to excitement to shock to happiness and everything in between!
❄️I just couldn’t stop thinking about the book and these characters. They will live rent free in my mind for a while and were unforgettable!

I read this in several formats - physical, kindle (thanks @netgalley and @randomhouse) and audio (thanks @librofm) and I was in love with all versions! The audio had a full cast so 10/10 recommend!