Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy. The Favorites by Layne Fargo releases January 14th!

I loved this book! I couldn’t put it down, yet I never wanted it to end. Katarina and Heath have been inseparable (and volatile) since they were 10 years old, climbing their way to the top of the competitive ice-dancing world. Their toxic relationship is so messy, so scandalous—you can’t help but be obsessed.

Told through Katarina’s perspective and interwoven with interviews from a documentary, the structure of this book was absolute perfection. The drama, the scandal, the high-stakes competition—I lived for every page. Were the characters likable? Not at all—but that’s the fun of it. You’ll love to hate them, just like the rest of the world in their story. While the ending veered a bit unrealistic for me, it still worked, and I closed the book feeling satisfied.

I 100% understand the comparisons to Taylor Jenkins Reid—this one definitely has that energy.

This book had me hooked! Ice sports? Drama? Lovers? Backstabbing? This book has it all.

Katarina Shaw is determined. She will follow in the footsteps of her ice skating idol and bring home a gold medal. Nothing can or will stand in her way. Without the funds or family to back her up, the only thing keeping her going is Heath Rocha, her everything. Friend, companion, and eventually lover, these two set off on an ice adventure that will keep your head spinning as quickly as their skates do on the ice.

The characters come alive and the drama is electric! I can't wait to see who picks up this one and all the awards it will win. What an awesome read!

This is a great book!

It would be a huge success if it was coming out during an Olympic season - but it is good enough it should be able to carry itself!

Suspense, romance, sports, intrigue all in one page turning book. I can't say enough about how well written this book was. I loved the documentary/real life back and forth. Could not wait to get to the end!

Honestly, I loved everything about this book. Except the ending--but I'll get to that. However, I don't agree that this is a romance. It's not ONLY a romance; it's drama, it's sports, it's passion. Fargo takes readers on a raw, ugly journey of athletes dedicated to a sport that gave them structure in a traumatic childhood.

Life's lessons get learned by living through it for the characters, not taught to them by someone. As Katarina and Heath grow up, they make mistakes and they keep moving forward. But it's full of pain, heartbreak, triumph, victory, lows, and everything in between. It's emotional and tense, and if you're like me, the ending will probably frustrate you. But it's real. And it's growth.

And the interview format was so much fun.

Kat and Bella had the best storyline. But the ending of Heath, Kat, Bella, and Mei was not for me. It was okay, but with that type of passion and love, even with Kat's new-found unselfishness at the end, *THAT* plot line just wasn't working for me.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc. I really enjoyed this book so much and was thrilled to see it as ebook of the month option for January. Obviously I chose it. I was surprised I liked this story as much as I did. Growing up I wanted to be a figure skater lol. I know this author is pretty popular, but this was my first book by her and it was very good. I really enjoyed the writing style and the interview style as well. I would recommend giving this book a shot. It deserves 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for allowing me access to an early review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I was both excited and nervous when I first started reading this book. Being a big figure skating fan, I was worried about how it would be incorporated. I need not have worried. I could tell by the dedication page of The Favorites by Layne Fargo that this book would be for me. Anyone who would dedicate the book to those particular skaters did more than just cursory research about the sport and I would be in for quite the ride.

That being said, I don't think a reader needs to be a fan of figure skating to enjoy this book as the story of passion, betrayal and obsession stands on its own. The documentary style embedded in the text ensures that any necessary skating terms are explained. The skating fan readers will enjoy the fun easter eggs sprinkled throughout.

I had a few minor quibbles about the focus competition and about the ending, but it did not take away from my overall enjoyment and I would highly recommend this both to readers and skating fans.

4.5 rounded up!

This book was one that I will think about for a while. It was so captivating. The first 30-50% was a solid gold medal read. The characters were relatable and it was easy to love some and hate others. Reading this book made you feel like you were right there in the story. The writing is incredible. I loved how Fargo mixed in the documentary interviews as well so that the reader could get the behind the scenes with other competitors and individuals that were involved. The last half was a bit more repetitive but still very hard to put down. I was very satisfied with the ending. I think if I would have listened to the audio, this would have been a gold medal. I am planning to reread the audio and I do believe my rating will change. I highly suggest reading the author's acknowledgements at the end. It made me enjoy the writing even more.

This was a great read for anyone who grew up in the 90s during the golden age of figure skating! The main character, Katarina, also grew up in that era and fell in love with ice dancing as a child. She soon became an elite athlete in the sport, along with her boyfriend Heath. This is their story of competing and trying to make it to the Olympics, with many successes and failures along the way. The supporting characters are also fantastic and the interview aspect between every few chapters with those characters makes the book even better. If you loved the movie Cutting Edge, you will love this too!

This book had me hooked from the start. Not only am I a huge ice dance fan, but when you have a book with that much drama, plot twist, sabotaging, and drive… I don’t think it could have been written any better.
This read just like a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel- and she is one of my favourite authors. Everything was written so clearly and descriptive. I could picture every single word just like a movie. Like it was happening in front of me and I was there.
The characters in the book were all so different and you could picture their personalities and how they all interact. You could feel the friction and the tension, the drive, the hope, the yearning.
Layne Fargo is on my radar and I think at this point I will read anything she writes. Well done Layne.
Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this in advanced for exchange of my honest opinion,

Continuing my countdown of my favorite books of the year!

The Favorites by Layne Fargo - publishes January 2025!
@laynefargo

Yall I ate this UP. This was such an addicting book. I absolutely loved They Never Learn so I was thrilled to receive an e-arc for this one through @netgalley - this story has everything you could want - romance, drama, tension, mixed media, competition, incredible characters, the list goes on. It felt so good to binge a book this year when I’ve had a not so good reading year. I guess Layne Fargo is solidifying herself as a favorite writer 🙂‍↕️

I highly recommend picking this one up in the new year whether you’re an ice skating fan or not!

Wow this one was a rollercoaster of emotions! I think i felt everything the characters felt while reading. Excitement, anticipation, heartbreak, betrayal, you name it, this book has it. The Favorites definitely kept me on my toes and I never knew what would happen next. In some parts I was so proud of Kat but other times I just wanted to scream at her!! I loved that I felt that I learned a lot more about competitive figure skating although i hope it’s not as cut throat in real life lol This was a really fun read, but I wish it could have ended a little differently! Overall i really enjoyed it!

I found myself totally consumed by and obsessed with THE FAVORITES and the main characters, Kat and Heath's connection and wanting to know everything about them. With their troubled home lives (an alcoholic brother now guardian and living in several foster homes) they seek solace with each other and form a bond that no one else could understand. Kat and Heath are both intense, complicated people. Kat is fearless and ruthless when it comes to her determination to do anything it takes to get what she wants (Olympic gold for ice dancing) and Heath, only having Kat as his family, will do anything it takes to stay in her life, right by her side, even on the ice. Their relationship certainly may not be the healthiest in which they keep hurting each other, causing them to grow apart, but deep down there will always be that deep, raw love they share.

Giving the reader a behind the scenes look into ice skating Olympics, this story is filled with drama, suspense, chemistry so hot I'm surprised the ice rink is still frozen. I really admired the tastefully-written documentary-style theme that allowed the readers to understand the other characters more and their perspectives, keeping you guessing of what actually happened. The second half of the book, I did find myself not as invested as the plot starts to feels more fictional and there were some moments that didn't feel believable that had me asking questions, but overall a very good book with a passionate love story.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Oooh we have our first hit of 2025! This was fuuun! A zippy popcorn read that combines Tessa & Scott Moulin Rouge ice dance fan fiction with a whisper of Wuthering Heights (both the Gothic novel and the Kate Bush of it all!) Literally every chapter ended with sinister foreshadowing of chaos to come, and I was never disappointed! So bingeable and an actual emotional rollercoaster.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review. Be sure to binge this one yourselves when it hits shelves on Jan 14th!

With a blend of figure skating, scandal and memorable characters, Layne Fargo's The Favorites is absolutely going to be a favorite novel of 2025. Her careful plotting and research in what is a retelling of Wuthering Heights (set mainly in the 90s and aughts) amid the back drop of competitive ice dancing is captivating. I flew through the pages and history of Kat and Heath, competitive ice dancers, orphans and star-crossed lovers. When an authorized documentary is released 10 years after the scandal at the 2014 Olympics, coaches, skaters, partners and rivals all take part-claiming to know the truth behind rival scandal. Kat, ever determined to forge her own path, decides to finally tell her story. Part documentary (think Daisy Jones and The Six) and part autobiography The Favorites is the book to pick up for 2025.

Thank you to the NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This book is written in a documentary style, and I've never read anything like it before. At first, it was a bit difficult to get used to the number of characters, but then I just couldn't put it down! It was messy, toxic, tragic, yet written so realistically that I refuse to believe these characters don't exist in real life! I was shocked by one plot twist, but I understand that it was a necessary detail because life isn't perfect.

I can't remember the last time I felt so emotional while reading a book. I feel like I'll be thinking about it constantly for the next few days.

So, it's a story about two figure skaters from a small town who achieved great heights through their hard work, determination and love.

𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬:
⛸️ figure skating
⛸️ childhood friends to lovers
⛸️ toxic relationship
⛸️ juicy drama
⛸️ documentary style

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy of this book!

This book was everything to me. It gave me exactly what I needed even when I didn’t. I was able to imagine everything that was happening in this book, which is usually hard for me to do. I loved Kat and the other characters were just crazy and insane. Ended up loving people I despised by the end. Can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy and the audio to do a re read!

Layne Fargo delivers an emotionally gripping and beautifully complex story in The Favorites, a tale of ambition, love, and the tangled dynamics of a partnership that burned bright before imploding under the weight of pressure and personal demons.

Katarina Shaw is a protagonist with grit and fire, whose determination to rise above her troubled beginnings is both admirable and heartbreaking. Her bond with Heath Rocha—equal parts soulmate and sparring partner—creates a magnetic center for the story. Fargo masterfully captures their journey, from childhood prodigies to Olympic champions, and their eventual downfall, making readers feel the dizzying highs and gut-wrenching lows of their partnership.

The use of an unauthorized documentary to frame the story adds a unique layer of intrigue, as readers are drawn into competing perspectives, sensational rumors, and a sense of voyeurism. Kat’s decision to reclaim her narrative allows for a raw and unfiltered look at the sacrifices, betrayals, and love that shaped her relationship with Heath and her career.

Fargo’s writing shines in its ability to balance the glamour of the ice-dancing world with the grim realities of Kat and Heath’s personal lives. The chemistry between the two is electric, both on and off the ice, but their volatile dynamic is as much a source of pain as it is passion. The exploration of ambition, identity, and the cost of success is thought-provoking and emotionally resonant.

While some plot twists may feel a bit over-the-top, they serve to heighten the drama, and Fargo’s unflinching portrayal of her characters’ flaws keeps the story grounded.

The Favorites is a captivating and intense read that dives deep into the complexities of partnership, fame, and self-definition. Fans of character-driven dramas with a dose of scandal will find it hard to put this book down.

For me one of the best things about the Winter Olympics is the figure skating. While I love the individual events, my favorites are the couples competitions. If you are like me, you will be glued to the pages of this new release chronicling the saga of Shaw & Roch.

Katarina Shaw and Heath Roch claw their way into the world of ice dancing. And they come as a matched set. For Katarina, her biggest ambition is to be like Sheila Lin -- an iconic ice dancing queen with two Olympic gold medals. Heath just wants to be with Katarina.

Their story is told with documentary inserts reminiscent of Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. If you are a TJR fan, this one will be appealing. I have also seen it compared to Colleen Hoover although I do think the spice is toned down quite a bit. Very closed door which is my style.


A big thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Pure perfection . Scandalous thrilling and an all around great read . Very much in the vein of Taylor Jenkins Reid in the best kind of way . This book was graciously provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review .

2.5 Stars. This is a soap opera of a book! I heard the audiobook is way better and I can understand that, but even still, the final 1/3 of this book shifted from believability to absurdity. Alongside the insane—and often unbelievable—levels of drama, the lack of development of most characters (especially Heath) left a lot to be desired.