While this book is well written, it is not for me. It centers around two half-sisters and addresses themes of loss, grief, addiction and abandonment. It opens with a bang where Mickey learns that her recently deceased and estranged father has left her a fortune, on the condition that she attends therapy. Then we meet her half-sister Arlo at his somewhat chaotic funeral. From there the book switches perspectives back and forth.

There was an element of the “White Lotus” among some of the characters, who were loud, amusing, chaotic and highly self-important! For me, neither daughter was particularly nice, so I found it hard to empathize.

Despite the heavy themes, it is an easy soap opera kind of a read.

Firstly thank you for reaching out and giving me an e-arc for this book.
This book was so full of emotions, both the sisters were not good great people, they were both flawed, however i love when characters are written with such multitude. I loved the plot and how it was concluded and the core emotions of the books.
If anyone read and liked blue sister's by coco mellors this one is for them.

I really resonated with this, my dad died in 2022 from liver failure and I had only been in contact with his for 3 years beforehand as we were estranged grieving him has been difficult and my sister and he were really close- fab writing, really understood grief and addiction

American half sisters, drunken father who dies leaving his daughters barely capable of surviving in modern America.
Not the kind of book that I would normally read.
It is well written, with interesting characters, a good story line and an educational theme.
The author investigates the characters of the half sisters, who meet due to the deviousness of the father, and rub along and some how everything turns out alright in the end.
Lots of people will love this book.
I liked it.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a hilarious and tragic read about the legacy a dead alcoholic leaves behind.
Mickey's dad left her when she was little so she's shocked when he leaves her millions of dollars.
Arlo, also Mickey's daughter, expected to get the money, and goes to incredibly underhanded ways to try and get it from Mickey.
This is a tale of two sisters, and a father's messed-up dying wish to push them together.
I see it making an excellent HBO show.

This story about two estranged half sisters dealing with the death of their troubled father was well written and quite compelling. I had issues with the slightly contrived plot line whereby one daughter becomes the therapist for the other when they were strangers to one another but the book was readable and entertaining.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advance cooy

Favourite Daughter is an emotional masterpiece! 🎭💔 It follows sisters Mickey and Arlo, brought together after their dad’s death. Mickey inherits his fortune—but only if she attends therapy with Arlo as her therapist. 😳 This book dives deep into addiction, grief, and family struggles, with Mickey’s journey of self-discovery hitting especially hard. 🥃💡 I was hooked from page one—heart racing, tears flowing. 😭❤️ If you love raw, heartfelt family dramas about healing and forgiveness, this is a MUST-read📚✨

All of the characters seemed too closely knit, and kept showing up in each other’s lives so randomly, with paths crossing so conveniently (the sisters, the ex, the neighbour etc..). It helped move the story along, but I didn’t really engage with any of the characters enough to feel for any of them. This could’ve been a powerful story if it had more emotional depth when touching on emotional topics such as grief and addiction and family secrets.

Imagine that the father you were devoted to and took care of right until the end cuts you out of your will. Now imagine that the father who unceremoniously dumped you and your mother and who you had no contact with since left a veritable fortune to you in his will.

Meet Arlo and Mickey, half-sisters who have never met, and who are thrown together because of their father's stipulation that Mickey attend counselling before she can be granted her money, and Arlo ends up being the psychologist.

This sounds like a pretty contrived premise but somehow it works. The respective situations that the half-sisters find themselves in are deeply sympathetic. The father's presence is very real despite him being dead before the beginning of the story. Several sections make you want to shout at the main characters, but even that works well. There is a lot going on here and, without giving spoilers, I felt that the ending really pulled everything together in a very satisfying way.

Thank you to Penguin General UK and Netgalley for the ARC!

This is phenomenal - I read it all in less than a day

Favourite Daughter is a dual-POV novel that follows Mickey and Arlo, half-sisters who have never met, daughters of an alcoholic and verbally abusive father who has just passed away. Mickey and her mum were abandoned by her father when she was seven, but her life is still in many ways tied to his as she desperately doesn't want to be like him, but perhaps they're more similar than she cares to admit. Arlo was raised by her father and took care of him all her life. Even though she feels like she has things figured out and adores her father, perhaps she doesn't realise the impact he has had on her life. After passing away, their father leaves Mickey a lot of money, but the catch is she needs to complete seven therapy sessions before having access to it. Arlo is left out of the will and feels betrayed, but imagine how she'll feel when she finds out her new patient is the half-sister she's never met who was given the money that was initially meant for her.

This book is incredible!! These characters are so messy, raw and real that I couldn't help but feel such a fondness towards them; I kept rooting for them and also being mad at them...It gave me all of the feels. The pace of the novel, with its short chapters, amplifies this impulsive and chaotic vibe, and the dual-POV is an amazing way of getting a deeper understanding of these characters, as we have access to both their inner thoughts and external perspectives on them.

Raw, chaotic, and painfully real - Favourite Daughter is a book that you'll have a hard time putting down! I can't recommend it enough.

Thank you so much to Viking Books UK and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

This was such an interesting concept and the execution was so good! I loved that the characters in this book were complex and we got to see things from both Mickey and Arlo's points of view. Character driven books can be hit or miss for me because I love a juicy plot, but this one kept me engaged and I was itching to see what happened next. I think this book will be an absolute hit for lit fic lovers and can't wait to see what everyone thinks when its released into the world.

thanks netgalley for the arc!

when i started this book, i thought the plot became super predictable near the start and nearly put it down - and i’m glad i didn’t!

the main characters were chaotic and messy and not very likeable but made for an engaging and unique read.

would recommend!

Firstly I loved the idea behind this book, it was something different that I hadn’t read before. 2 women, with different troubles and challenges and no knowledge of each other outside their actual existence, shared a father who’s now dead. And he’s cut Arlo, who he seemingly doted on (and her, him) out of the will in favour of Mickey who he’s not seen for 2 decades subject to her doing 7 therapy sessions… prepaid with Arlo.

This book was interesting and I equally loved both sisters, even though they were flawed. It was, for me, a little long in the middle, but I’m not sure how it could have been reduced. I loved the ending (their sharing the huge sum was what I was rooting for- I knew I could rely on Mickey!)

Can’t wait to discuss this with people when it’s on shelves!

4/5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the ARC of this title.

THE read for girls with daddy issues (me).

A heartbreaking yet tender exploration of grief, codependency, addiction and trauma.
Heavy but so full of hope.
Both sisters are extremely frustrating to follow at times but that’s one of the things that makes them feel like real people. They’re flawed but you still can’t help but root for them.
The snappy and confident voice of Morgan Dick made for, at times very dark, a very easy read.
Definitely needs content warning and possibly numbers and websites of various helplines.

When was the last time you read a book entirely because of the title?

I saw this title from the ARC request and just knew that I would be reading this one way before I even looked at the synopsis to see if it was right up my alley.

Family dynamics can be messy, complicated, and downright heart-wrenching, and this story nails all of that in the most compelling way. Mickey and Arlo’s relationship is built on a foundation of pain, resentment, and unhealed wounds, making for a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the book.

The author brings to the forefront the long-lasting impact of parental abandonment. Mickey, in particular, embodies the pain of being deserted by a parent. It’s gut-wrenching to see how the weight of that physical and emotional neglect shaped her sense of self, as well as her relationships. Similarly, the way the story addresses addiction and its grip on the person suffering from it and the devastating toll it takes on the people who love them was incredibly well handled. It was so raw and real, and I truly appreciated the way these serious issues were explored. The author also examines the complexities go grief, examining how the loss of a loved one ripples through every part of those left behind.

The prose is simple, yet still carries deep significance. The way the story unfolds, particularly through the inheritance and therapy sessions, is strikingly clever (albeit wildly unethical), revealing how complex relationships can force individuals to confront their deepest wounds. The pairing of Mickey and Arlo, two women bound by the same man but separated by years of pain, is brilliant.

From the very start, I was invested in Mickey’s journey. Her struggles and rancour towards her father made me root for her, even before the full depth of her history was revealed. I loved how the author carefully unfurled her character, allowing us to witness her growth as the plot unfolded. I also came to really like Arlo, whose character initially felt distant but gradually revealed so many layers. As a psychologist, she brought a sense of quiet understanding to the mess they were navigating, and I ended up feeling a lot of empathy for her as well.

These characters should have been unlikable, yet their multifaceted personalities, their flaws, and their struggles made it impossible not to feel a deep sense of empathy for them. They feel so achingly real, grappling with problems that are universal and raw in their vulnerability. If their story isn’t relatable, then I’m not sure what is. My heart broke for the sisters and their moms, and I shed a few thug tears while reading.

Ultimately, this is a book about brokenness, grief, healing, and the complicated nature of family relationships. The author captured the emotional depth beautifully, and I’m more than satisfied with how it all came together.

I’d like to read more from Morgan Dick.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publishers, for my digital ARC. It’ll be out on 1st May 2025. 💚💙💜

Oh what a lovely comi-tragic tale of two sisters. ❤️ Arlo and Mickey, linked by their fathers but could not have two more different lives. I adored this sad, very funny book & and adoreddddd the side characters!

Such a sad story on the face of it, but the interwoven stories of the two daughters from different wives of a controlling alcoholic father is an involving read with uplifting moments within it.

Plot follows Mickey, a nursery teacher who learns about the death of her father via an obituary with indifference. After not having contact with her father for 26 years her father's lawyer reaches out to tell her that her father has left her money but she can access it under one condition... That's where Arlo comes in, a therapist and her half sister

This was an emotional somewhat thought provoking read, I don't think I've ever rooted for two sisters this hard I feel like I lived their story with them. I loved the character development so much the story itself was engaging, I couldn't put the book down until I found out how it unfolds

‘Favourite Daughter’ by Morgan Dick is a fictional novel where two sisters are united in one of the weirdest ways after their father’s death. One is the others therapist. The story is of two extremely complicated young women who are trying to navigate not only their lives, whether that be their careers or personal lives, but also their relationship with their deceased dad.

The plot is extremely fast paced in a good way that acts like a hook for the whole novel. Meanwhile, the characters themselves as part of their being truly messed up, are truly messed up and it is hard to find the parts of them that are normal and human. The fast-paced approach doesn’t leave much time to connect with the characters.

There are also minor characters such as the family’s lawyer who does some questionable things that are I guess, addressed under the fact he says he’s a terrible person but that don’t explain or enhance my vision of him. The jump from the incident into his character ARC wasn’t bad I would just have liked it to have been explained more.

All in all, the book was a thriller like literary fiction which was a fantastic combination in terms of plot and I would recommend to people who enjoy thrillers to try this book out.

4+

Kindergarten teacher, Mickey reads of her father‘s death via an obituary with indifference. She’s 33, has few vices if you don’t count the vodka and surreptitious episodes of Bridgerton. To her huge surprise, her father‘s lawyer contacts her. Why is it a surprise? Well, she has had no contact with her father for twenty six years since he left her and her mother. He leaves her a bequest which is both large and conditional. An unfortunate sequence of circumstances forces Mickey to engage with Arlo (Charlotte), Mickey‘s half sister and a psychologist and both are in for some unexpected shocks. Therapist and patient, both seeking truths of a different kind. Make or break?

This is an emotional, moving and thought provoking read that I find compelling and very engaging. It’s a novel that encompasses many things and does so with feeling and authenticity. First and foremost, it’s about loss and grief which characters inevitably respond to differently. It’s also about relationships, between mother and daughter, between father and daughter and so on, these are complex family issues and we ‘watch’ how these change and evolve. I love the way the author has written it with a constantly changing tone. The dynamics are really intriguing and at times they and us as readers, are on a rollercoaster and if I can mix my metaphors, there are train wrecks of lives. It’s written with liveliness and wit, with empathy and sympathy and it makes me care and root for Mickey and Arlo, even when they make it hard for themselves.

The characterisation is exemplary, many are damaged but they have redeemable qualities. Mickey has so many issues that I range from feeling sorry for her but also wanting to shake her! Many scenes between Arlo and Mickey are tense and emotional as they seek to find their truth about their father and find a way forward through the wreckage. I love the ending which after all the angst gives grounds for optimism.

Overall, this is a really good, well written novel which I become fully involved in.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin General/Viking for the much appreciated EPUB in return for an honest review.