A family rents a house for a week to celebrate their mom's 70th birthday. 3 grown daughters and their families all gather with their parents. The first day they gather in the woods and a tree almost falls on all there daughters. In that instant, their father reaches to save just one, the one also least likely to get hit. The tree doesn't land on anyone, but the almost accident brings up many memories and a lot of drama for the week. It's very relatable and a good reminder of how memories vary from person to person, and no one is really sure what actually happened.

The premise of this book was extremely appealing. I think the sister relationship is one of the most fraught There is rivalry, competition, and insecurity all wrapped up in love and history.. There also is the promise of the closest relationship you’ll ever have. So, having a sister myself, I was intrigued by a book that promised a dive into complex emotional territory.

In a nutshell, three generations of the Fisher family gather at a glass house (metaphors everywhere) in the country to celebrate the matriarch’s seventieth birthday. Although it took me time to sort through who belonged to who, I’ll break it down. Vivienne and Patrick are the parents. Alex, the eldest is married to Luc and has three children. Next comes Nancy, a physician, divorced with a daughter. The youngest is Eva, very successful financially (she paid for the vacation house), her daughter, Lucy, and supposed boyfriend, Scott who she married but hasn't yet told her family.

The book opens in a forest clearing. They are having a naming ceremony for the youngest baby. A tree begins to crackle and before it falls, Patrick runs past daughters Alex and Nancy to protect Eva. Thus the story begins. How could he? Why did he? Why not me? Was she always the favorite? And so on.

I had a hard time getting the daughters straight in my mind. All three are pretty much traumatized by life, doubt all their decisions, and question their relationships and future. This, in spite of many successes in their lives.

The structure of the book also confused me. It flips back and forth through time. Present. A sister’s memory. A. stream of conscious reflection. An incident that happened in the past etc. Back to the present. There are no chapters and I had to keep flipping back and forth to figure out who I was reading about.

It wasn’t until three quarters through that the story took off. A long ago hidden incident is finally exposed and there is the promise of resolution. Because I was engaged at the end, I’ll move my rating from 2.5 stars to three.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Henry Holt and Company for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced reading copy and provide an honest review.

The Accidental Favorite, by Fran Littlewood, explores the age-old conundrum of what happens when a parent, whether accidentally or knowingly, declares their favorite child. Not only could such a mistake lead to sibling rivalry, anger, jealousy, and quite possibly disdain between the siblings, the parent/child relationship may suffer irreparable damage as well. Thus is the case in The Accidental Favorite, but the book really gets good when everyone realizes what is going on and tries to heal. This book is a fantastic family saga, dealing with lies, secrets, hurt, and all of the things that make a family saga such a terrific and enjoyable genre.

As a fan of the author’s debut Amazing Grace Adams, I found this one even more enjoyable.

I grew to love this flawed family almost immediately. The dual timeline kept my interest and filled in all the plotline holes in a very clever way.

Highly recommend if you like family fiction told in a non-traditional way. This will be an instant bestseller!

I loved this book! I didn't really know what I was getting into when I downloaded it, but I am so glad I read this one.

I seriously loved everything about it. The main strength of this book IMO is how well Littlewood brings the three sisters to life. Each is dealing with her own struggles while also facing the fallout from their dad’s favoritism. Their flaws and emotions feel so real, from Alex’s lingering bitterness to Nancy’s doubts to Eva’s need to stand out.

This book really hit close to home for me, bringing back memories of growing up with my own sisters (and a brother) and all the ups and downs of sibling relationships. I couldn’t help but laugh at how their memories of certain childhood moments don’t always line up with each other's! It's crazy how our perspective of certain situations can warp the actual memory in our heads. Littlewood accurately captures what it's like to have a "family story" - my mom and I were just going back and forth today about a specific memory of when and why we got one of our pets. We ended up agreeing to disagree!

The book also made me think about how resentment can build between siblings over time, but no matter what, the love and bond you share is something unbreakable. By the end, I found myself missing the chaos and closeness of growing up in a house full of siblings.

In the end, The Accidental Favorite is a heartfelt and engaging look at sisterhood, identity, and the complicated dynamics of family life. Littlewood does a great job showing that while no family is perfect, there’s something beautiful about the messy, imperfect connections that hold us together. If you’re into domestic dramas with sharp humor and emotional depth—like something from Celeste Ng or Liane Moriarty—you’ll definitely enjoy this touching and entertaining novel.

"Here's to friends & family," Vivienne smiles, "who knows us well, but love us just the same "

To sum it up, THE ACCIDENT FAVORITE, is a f*cked up family holiday taking place in a glass house that exposes the fault line in the Fisher family " it's a poignant book about siblings and family dynamics. The sisters have a rebellious solidarity, each more beautiful than the next although middle child Nancy thinks she's the ugliest.

The matriarch. Vivienne, is described as "vibrant, vivacious and vital."

This book felt similar to Hello, Beautiful & the tree falling made me think of Dani Shapiro's book Signal Fire.

Most of the characters are introduced all at once, making it a lot of people to get to know & keep track of. I originally felt it was a character driven book without a lot of plot. But there is an underlying story buried within the main characters. & What's that rotten smell permeating in the expensive house Eva rented?

If you have a sister you'll understand lines like "Alex's sucked lemon glare Nancy knows too well " &/or if you're hardwired for parental approval or accused of "having a special relationship with your parents." My younger sister & I used to constantly ask who was my parents favorite daughter. I can't even imagine another sister added to my family which would change birth order & are personalities.

There book is loaded with memories which serve as flashbacks. 40% in during the dinner with The Wilson's at a Korean-Chibese Michelin star restaurant is when I really started enjoying the book. Alex humiliates her successful sister Eva about picking up the check.

Alex, mother to 3 daughters of her own, and wife to Luc "doesn't want to think about therapy. Bills and difficult conversations. For once she is trying to put on her own oxygen mask first." She even knows how much her ex boyfriend Matt & his wife paid for their three-story Edwardian townhouse. Alex "has built an obsession out of Instagram posts and unstable memories, a house of cards from nostalgia and trickery, envy and delusion."

Nancy, the middle child and divorced doctor is no longer sorry nor will she "paper over the cracks of other people's shitty behavior."

Eva, who is viewed as "the golden child" (with a bank account that requires a prenup), "wants to believe her dad is about favorites. That he's better than that.". Is he?

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars due to the slow start and that I had to push myself to get into it. I recommend this book to fans of family sagas and those with sisters. I enjoyed it much more than The Blue Sisters.

“The Accidental Favorite” by Fran Littlewood is a poignant novel about family and sisterhood. It’s about understanding what happens in families when the realization of which child is the “Favorite” child becomes very clear. Sibling rivalry’s and their secrets are unmasked and finding the way to move forward as a family is relatable and told with touching honesty.

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Accidental Favorite by Fran Littlewood felt like I was being given a gift as I read it - I only have one sibling, but could connect with the sisters, Eva, Nancy and Alex, so much.

Family relationships, even the most loving ones can be hard and delicate at the same time. When the sisters families and their parents all vacation together in the English countryside in celebration of mom, Vivienne's birthday, everyone is excited and looking forward to their week together, but dad Patrick's slip that he has a favorite daughter causes ripples and chaos that no one predicted.

I could relate to the sibling rivalry and the wounds that can be decades old and feel fresh and painful. Only family can hurt you with words the way they are written in this all to relatable book - both the love and the angst.

You don't need siblings to enjoy this book. The author has a beautiful way of getting her points across and I can't wait to buy a print copy for my "keeper" books when this is released.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own. 4.5 stars.

To paraphrase the author - "who has the monopoly on memories?". One does not need to have sisters or siblings to enjoy this family saga taking place both over a few days, and also over years of their lives. The incident referred to with the title of the book, sets wheels in motion, but I suspect the various consequences would have happened anyway with some other trigger. Layered, touching, funny, family drama. There are so many situations that we could all relate to, but the detail included of the various sisters having differing memories of incidents was very real for me. The Accidental Favorite would make for excellent book club discussion.

4.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for ARC in exchange for honest review

This was a wonderful story about a family but most of all about three sisters. I do not have sisters so I love to have a peek into that relationship. There is drama and secrets from all. The writing is great and I felt like part of the family while reading this book.

The Accidental Favorite is a delightful mix of realistic familial relationships, family stories, and overall entertainment. No family is perfect and these sisters make me wish I had one of my own.

This book is a gem! I don't have a sister but two brothers. I adore reading stories about family relationships, and this title gave me a glimpse at the bonds between three sisters. It was entertaining, and the pace was perfect. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I like books about sisters (not having one myself) and I liked this book about three sisters: Eva, Nancy and Alex, who are spending a week's holiday with their families (including their parents) in a glass house in the country. All the sisters have secrets and resentments, some old, some new. A good family story that goes back and forth in time as we learn about each sister--I really liked this technique.

This was a beautifully done story with characters that was realistic and worked with the story being told. I thought the story was well done and loved the realism of the family ties element. Fran Littlewood has a great writing style and thought they were able to create a great story and characters that I grew to care about.