Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha are an elite pair of ice dancers, but they didn't get there easily. This story is told as an anniversary interview documentary of the shocking event that abruptly ended their partnership, right after winning Olympic gold. It's also told from Kat's POV, filling in the gaps that the interviewees aren't privy to.
Kat and Heath grew up together and became each other's partners, lovers and obsessions. There's a definite Wuthering Heights comparison (not just with the names). This story has everything and you won't be disappointed. I cannot express how much I loved this book. Drama, romance and a story that will have thinking about even after finishing the novel.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House for this digital e-arc.*

Two weeks ago I didn't know this book existed. This week, I found myself sitting in my driveway, unable to pause because I had to know what happened next. I LOVED the full-cast audio! This story is as intense as the main character herself, Katerina Shaw. With heartbreak, ambition, and obsession all rolled into an unforgettable book you won't soon forget this one. The chemistry between Kat and Heath, both on and off the ice, is electric, and twists kept me guessing until the very end.

I ate this right up but also didn’t want it to end. Olympics, scandal, live, drama….ate. it. up. I loved it from start to finish and loved the way it was told and showed how differently things can be behind the scenes and how women olympians/athletes are held to different standards. Thank you Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Layne Fargo for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Is it too early to say this is going in my 2025 top books for the year? I loved this so much! Its docustyle ice skating edition. I was apprehensive as this seemed much different than her last book but she crushed it.

At times I found myself holding my breath scared to find out what would happen next in the saga. It has it all: glamour, gossip, betrayal, love etc. I could see this being a movie or maybe tv show! Everyone was multifaceted and there were many times I was rooting for or against the characters.

I also got an audio copy from Libro fm on 1/1 and switched back and forth between audio and e-read. For this kind of story the audio takes it to another level! All the narrators were amazing and had me laughing, yelling and crying. I can't wait to see what Layne Fargo does next! :)

If you enjoy friends to lovers romances, rival cutthroat sport teams, hot gossip mixed with some sabotage check this story out!

Well that was the perfect book to binge during a snow/ice storm. Through a documentary lens, this looks back at a troubled couple who dedicate their lives to competitive figure skating and all the drama of their career. Scandalous! Soapy! Gossipy! I completely inhaled this without coming up for air.

Didn't see that coming! NO spoilers from me about Kat and Heath, Bella and Garrett-two star crossed ice dancing couples competing in various combinations for the Gold. Kat and Heath are the small town team driven by Kat's ambition while Bella and Garrett are the glamorous twin children of Kat's ice skating idol. There's a fair amount of melodrama here as Kat and Heath mature as skaters (but not necessarily as people) and as they compete with both themselves and others. There's romance, there's envy, there's someone who wants to be champion and will do anything, anything to achieve that goal. Know that all the back stories are a bit vague but that it doesn't matter because Fargo has created realistic (sadly) characters. I only watch skating during the Olympics but that was an impediment to my enjoying this and I learned a great deal about the sport (even though, to be honest, it's not really deep on details). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This was a page turner for me. And there are surprises!

4.5⭐️! Even though it’s only January, I can see this book being one of my favorites of the year. I loved the documentary format and the writing style was very reminiscent of Taylor Jenkins Reid. The characters felt real and I could connect to each of them in different ways throughout the story. The plot was incredibly engaging and kept taking unexpected turns that just kept getting better and better. I will recommend this book to anyone and everyone and will most definitely be purchasing myself a physical copy on release day.

This was an intriguing and gripping read. From the very first page, I was hooked by the suspenseful plot and the complex, multi-dimensional characters. Fargo's ability to craft a story filled with twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
What really stood out to me was the depth of the character development. Each character felt real and relatable, with their own unique struggles and motivations. The dynamics between them added layers of tension and emotion that made the story even more compelling.
Fargo's writing style is sharp and engaging, perfectly capturing the mood and atmosphere of each scene. The themes of ambition, jealousy, and the quest for recognition resonated deeply with me, adding a thought-provoking element to the narrative.
Overall, The Favorites is a must-read. It left me thinking about the characters and their choices long after I finished the book. If you're looking for a story that will keep you guessing and leave you pondering life's complexities, this one is definitely worth picking up.

Kat Shaw knew from an early age that ice skating would be her ticket out of her mundane life. When she met foster kid Heath Rocha, she taught him to skate, and her dream became his as well. Together on the ice they were a formidable ice dancing duo, and they dreamed of a gold medal at the Olympics. But tragedy intervened, and the next time they met it was as competitors—each dancing with a different partner.
Fargo's book is an eye-opening look at the dedication, money, ego, and toughness needed to compete at the Olympic level, against those who would do anything to win.

This will be one of THE books of the year - calling that now!

Five star ratings are very few & far between for me. I am pretty pumped that book #1 for the year was just that - 5⭐️!!!

I read They Never Learn by Layne Fargo a few years ago & gave it 4.5⭐️ - it is a thriller that I still remember to this day (which def is not always the case- especially with my new mom brain, lol). I knew I would enjoy this one, but didn’t know just how much! From the first page, it hooked me, & I could not stop thinking about this plot/these characters.

Very different from the previous book I read of hers, The Favorites is a contemporary fiction novel with romance. From the beginning I got heavy Daisy Jones & the Six mixed with Carrie Soto is Back vibes.. how neat to see that Fargo thanked Taylor Jenkins Reid (the author of those novels) in her acknowledgments!

Things I loved about this one:
📝 Short chapters
🎙️ Interview/documentary style (a favorite style of mine)
⛸️ Figure skating
🏡 Found family element
🏅 Olympics/the competition storyline
🗣️ Full cast on audio (which was FAB)
🤫 Drama & scandal (definitely made me gasp on multiple occasions)
👎🏻 Unlikeable characters (some actions were truly despicable)
😍 Beautiful writing
✨ Lifelike imagery

I did a mixture of kindle/physical & audio, but if I had to choose- I’d suggest going the audio route. Like Daisy Jones (a top 3 fave audiobook of all time) the full cast + interview formatting is SO entertaining & feels like a movie.

Speaking of movie - I am DYING for this story to be turned into a series (@primevideo!!!!). 🎬🤞🏼

LOVE LOVE LOVE. Highly recommend. 👏🏼

I think this could be a perfect book for those who are looking for drama filled, kind of toxic environments / relationships and the constant ups and downs of playing the sport. Something similar could be another book about this band that I am not going to mention but you'll get it once you read it (it was written as interview style)

Something that I liked about the story, is that you can tell that the author did her reasearch because it was so much fun to learn about these athletes and how everything works in figure skating. What I didn't like about this book is that it was very repetitive. The constant twist in the end of every chapter had me bored and aching to be done with the story. We were constantly being introduced to new characters with little to no develop and it was hard to place two and two together. Another issue for me is that I couldn't connect with the characters and it was hard to root for them (tbh I never did) It also read as YA at times but other times it didn't, which was frustrating and tedious. I was expecting to see YEARNING and it felt short.

I would personally recommend to listen to the audiobook instead of eyeball reading because like I said, I think the writing was a bit choppy but if you don't care about that, I think you'll enjoying it as a form of escapism; mainly for the drama aspect.

I do wish I liked this one so much more but I just couldn't deal with Heath and his toxic, jealousy behavior or Katharina's lack of empathy for others well being as long as she got what she wanted. People will do anything to get what they want. Overall, it was entertaining but I didn't really care for any of them.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Favorites releases January 14, 2025

2.75

This will undoubtedly become one of the more polarizing reads of the year with its extremely toxic relationships and competitive environment that the story is framed upon, of which you’ll either love or hate as a reader.

Through a tell-all style, with added documentary transcripts interspersed throughout, <I>The Favorites</I> chronicles Katarina’s career as an ice dancer, and the many highs and lows of her personal and professional relationship with Heath, from when they first start skating together as kids, up until the Olympics that witnesses their last professional skate.

<i>The Favorites</I> suffers from being noticeably long-winded and monotonous. I desperately needed more suspense or another character pov to offset Katarina and the documentary transcripts, especially in the early stages of the story.

I’m not a fan when writers frame the outing of their character’s sexuality as a plot twist, so I was disappointed to see that here, especially with a character of colour.

I hated what became of Bella and Heath, both at the Vancouver games and in Boston. It felt like such a betrayal, and I really wish we had gotten a glimpse of some of their more intimate conversations as a way to better understand what their grieving process was like during the years Katarina isolated herself.

cw: physical abuse, cancer, drug overdose, infidelity

Ok, this book may be in my top 5 books of 2025! I absolutely loved it! It reminded me of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Carrie Soto is Back, which I loved. I really enjoyed the telling of Katarina and Heath. It was much more than a romance novel!

I absolutely could not put this book down. This is one of those up-until-5-am, texting-your-friends-they-have-to-read-it books. Kat and Heath's relationship was delicious and complex, the plot (for being a retelling) maintained a level of unpredictability, and by the time the book was over, I immediately wanted to look up fan edits because I never wanted to let these characters go.

I've read Wuthering Heights probably 10 times, so I'm protective of the story, but Fargo managed to do it justice while creating something entirely her own.

I'll be enthusiastically recommending The Favorites to absolutely everyone I know!!

OMG THIS WAS A TOP AUDIO AND BOOK FOR ME IN 2024. It was my last read of 2024 and I flew through it. I did this mostly on audio and the full cast was absolutely sensational. This was my very first Layne Fargo book and I will be running to her thriller 'They Never Learn' as fast as I possibly can. I LOVED the way she hooked you in the very beginning and kept the chapters fast paced. I literally couldn't stop reading because I needed to know what was going to happen next. Katarina and Heath were great main characters, but what I really loved was this was truly a story about Katarina. I felt like the romance was really backseat to this entire story. The documentary style chapters were so well done, and really easy to follow, especially on audio. IF YOU LOVE AUDIO PICK THIS ONE UP IMMEDIATELY. IT'S FULL CAST AND INCREDIBLE.

read if you like
- Carrie Soto is Back meets Daisy Jones & The Six
- emotional stories
- stories about strong athletes
- the olympics
- drama, drama, drama
- lit fic with a romance subplot

5/5 stars

For anyone who has ever imagined a romantic relationship between ice skating partners, this book explores whether it could possibly be real.

Katarina knows she has what it takes to be an Olympian, but she's going to need the perfect partner, and that search could take years, and it might end with romance.

This was a fun and fast read. I agree with the similarities between Fargo and Jenkins Reid.

I devoured this book. These characters are so real I feel like I should be able to look them up online. This is a harrowing tale of obsession and how it can change everything about you. This book was non-stop drama in the best way. I loved the way Kat and Heath struggled together and apart.

Do you like From Lukov With Love? Carrie Soto is Back? Daisy Jones and The Six? If you answered yes to any of those, please please pick this one up. It combines all the best aspects of those novels into something entirely its own. This novel is stunning from start to finish and is a 100% page-turner.

The small sections of interview between chapters of narrative were the perfect amount and really upped the suspense of what this whole thing was leading to. The chemistry between Heath and Kat was off the charts and the technical aspect of ice dance was presented in an approachable way. This is much MORE than your traditional romance.

Love everything about this!

Oh. My. Goodness. I had high hopes for The Favorites and I was not disappointed!! I could vividly picture every single thing that happened. It was so well written and I could not put it down! It was SO good and I’m so sad that it’s over! I highly recommend!! I’ll be thinking about this story for a long time! I’d give it more than 5 stars if I could!!!

A huge thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions expressed above are my own.

I love a novel about anything close to dance and this hit! We follow documentary style a couple that competes in ice dancing from humble beginnings to the Olympics. I thought the commentary between the chapters was so fun and added a lot to the story. I do think some of the reviews I saw overhyped how toxic this couple was, I was expecting something wild lol but that's on me. Definitely worth a read if you enjoy character driven stories that spans decades about a couple competing in a cut throat world!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an eARC of this book! Out 1/14/25