This book was fascinating- the dad definitely had some issues, to be manipulating his estranged daughter to spend time with his disinherited daughter from beyond the grave was quite something but I disliked him from the beginning after disinheriting his doting daughter without warning- so sad for her to question everything she had done for him while grieving. I thought this book wrote beautifully about addiction, depression and the complicated relationships that come with these issues. I was utterly absorbed and really liked the sisters, would definitely recommend.

Don’t be fooled by the cover! Two women struggle with their mental health; one with an alcohol addiction, the other obsessed with her career as a psycho therapist. Unbeknownst they are related to each other, having the same father and it is not until his death they are brought together. This is a tough take on mental health issues, with its impact on relationships and the frequent spiralling out of control. Mickey and Arlo, lead separate lives until they are thrown together by the conditions of their dead father’s Will.

I found this novel intriguing in the way there were no clues as to the finale. Written with empathy and a knowledge of suffering, the characters of Mickey and Arlo come to life upon the pages. An enjoyable, but disturbing read.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Penguin for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mickey is left a sum of money by her dead father - the only term to accept the money is she must receive therapy.
The book is dually pov’ed with the therapist (Arlo’s) point of view. Neither characters know they are more connected than they think.

The book touches on emotional topics yet I felt the writing lacked the depth I usually look for in books. The characters felt flat at times and seemed selfish and one sided at times.

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.

This was a vey good debut. The characters were believable and interesting. The story flowed very well. I will look forward to more from this author!

thanks to Netgalley and the publisher!

I really enjoyed the themes in this book and the different approaches to the portrayal of grief, which I thought the author handled well. I also thought the author approached subjects such as addiction very well.

This was unlike anything I'd read before, and I really enjoyed and appreciated the idea behind the narrative, with two bold characters with very different backgrounds, and the upset that is caused through their fathers death, unbeknown to eachother. Whilst I did enjoy the idea behind the story, I did find myself struggling to connect to both of the main characters, and found myself also having to suspend belief occasionally with plot elements I did find to be a bit unrealistic, hence me deducting some stars from my overall rating. Despite this, I did enjoy this debut and would definitely read what the author decides to write next.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book.

Gently funny, but sad too.

There are bright and funny moments, surrounded by mild misery and a general struggle to just live. Not a tremendous amount actually happens, certainly what I wanted didn’t transpire, with the most unsatisfying ending. Several characters have had, or are getting, or need to get - therapy, it’s a major theme. If the book was an advert to promote therapy, it fails spectacularly.

This book follows the story of two sisters who reunite after their father's death, after he leaves his wealth to only one of them, in the hope that the other one will seek help with her addiction. The theme of the story is grief, sibling struggles and addiction and it covers it well. Highly recommend

This was a slightly tragic story of two sisters, grieving the passing of their alcoholic father, whilst working through their own issues.

This quote sums up the book perfectly: "Two sisters, messed up in equal but different ways, hoping they might mend each other's wounds and therefore rectify his wrongdoings."

It was a solid 3 star read, but honestly it just lacked emotion, considering the serious topics involved. It was also extremely unethical, and I just feel like there was no real resolution to conclude the story.

Favourite Daughter follows sisters Mickey and Arlo, brought together after their father’s death. He leaves his fortune to Mickey, but only if she attends therapy—with Arlo as her therapist.

The book explores addiction, grief, and family struggles. it’s a heartfelt look at forgiveness and healing and is perfect for those of us who enjoy emotional family drama reads.

Favourite daughter follows estranged sisters Mickey and Arlo after their father dies. Mickey hasn’t seen her father since childhood but Arlo was raised by her father and looked after him whilst he died. Their father leaves millions to Mickey and nothing to Arlo but for Mickey to access the money Mickey needs to attended therapy sessions. It turns out Arlo is a therapist and the sessions are with Mickey’s estranged sister. Mickey has a lot of obvious issues but Arlo’s are deeply buried and they need to overcome a lot together.

This was okay. It wasn’t really to my taste and I found some of the characterisation to be a little weak/unrealistic. I preferred Mickey over Arlo but I don’t think either characters are particularly likeable. The writing was good but I just didn’t really connect to the story. That said I think people will enjoy this particularly readers of The Wedding People by Alison Espach but it seems to have the same tone and I found this to be quite melancholy and reflective.

A lesson in how a parent can mess up a child’s life by guiding them in directions to meet that parent’s own ends. A story that deals with compassion and understanding of the impossible situation in which two half siblings find themselves due to manipulation by a supposedly caring father.

After the death of multi millionaire Adam Kowalski, his lawyer delivers some very unexpected news. Arlo, Adam’s daughter from his second marriage, who has cared for his every need during his long illness, and loved her Daddy so much, is no longer a beneficiary of the Will, whilst Mickey, the estranged daughter from Adam’s first marriage to Deborah, is left half his fortune. Of course, there is a condition tied to the bequest. As Adam had walked out on Mickey and Deborah, leaving his debts for them to deal with, this is his way of making amends, though both Mickey and Arlo need some convincing!

Both young women are flawed and have their demons. This story follows their journey towards becoming better, with mental health issues and addiction themes throughout.

A quick read that does flow, though some of the plot is forced and some character actions unnecessary, (e.g the blackmail brings nothing to the story), and at times the writing does flounder, though the addiction theme is handled well,

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin General UK.

Thank you for my earc of this book. I loved the premise of this, and the execution of the story didn’t disappoint. I love how messy the characters and their situations are, how imperfect they are. You still can’t help but root for them!
I loved the storytelling and thought the ending was satisfying too!

Favourite Daughter is a slow burn to begin with, but if you can suspend your disbelief, it's hard to put down by the end. This book's main strength is its unflinching look at addiction, which is handled flawlessly; the supporting characters and some of the ways that the two main characters behave are less fully fleshed out, and I feel like we could have done with less of the solicitor Tom and more of the slightly freaky female characters (Punam, Daria, Arlo's mother). A story about love, what we inherit - in every possible way - and how the only lives we can save are our own, though we can reach out to others along the way.

I often find that when an author bases a novel on an issue (in this case, alcoholism), the plot and characters feel manipulated to fit in with the theme and so feel less than real. The two main characters, Mickey and Arlo, are not very likable.. The plot is unrealistic in parts and the minor characters act strangely out of character (Tom and Dave). The blackmail thread is unnecessary and stretches credulity. However, the quality of the writing is good enough to propel the reader to the end to find out what happens. it is slightly amusing in parts - more humour would be welcome. As an ex-teacher in the UK I was bemused by the procedures followed to dismiss Mickey, which are very different.

Unbeknownst to them, Mickey and Arlo are half sisters brought together by their father’s death. Poor parenting has impacted on both daughters and their father bizarrely bequeaths his estate to Mickey, the daughter he abandoned to marry Arlo’s mother and hasn’t seen since. Even more bizarrely, to receive her bequest, Mickey must undergo a programme of counselling and the counsellor her father has chosen is Arlo.
This unlikely scenario had comic potential which sadly went unexplored. Instead, ‘Favourite Daughter’ is much more about Mickey’s mental health issues as her professional and personal lives spiral out of control. The author hints at using the novel as a way of coming to terms with her own struggles and I hope she found the process useful. Unfortunately, from a reader’s perspective, it doesn’t make for a satisfying experience. I became increasingly frustrated with the self destructive tendencies of the two main characters whilst the supporting cast consisted of unrealistic stereotypes - the creepy solicitor, the self obsessed mother and the hapless uncle among others. There was a lot of therapy speak and the whole thing seemed increasingly dull - not recommended.

So well written so involving. I really enjoyed the characters from the opening pages to the end .A unique storyline an author I look forward to reading more from.#NetGalley #penguinviking

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s very well written even though most of the characters are unlikeable. I liked how grief was portrayed and also growth. I’m not sure I liked arlo or mickey, and mickey felt more real with edge compared to arlo. I’m glad they found their way back to each other in the end. I found this easy to read despite some heavy moments and like I’ve said before unlikeable characters!

Deliciously chaotic and diabolically brilliant, FAVOURITE DAUGHTER is the story of two women on the brink who find themselves connected by one thing: their father. The problem is, neither of them actually know it. Dick writes with humour, skill and authenticity on many serious topics (death, grief, addiction) and so, manages to deliver a truly page-turning read. An extraordinary debut that everyone should be reading in 2025.

I thought that this was paced really well, I found it an easy read.

There were a LOT of business conduct issues and blurred lines from a professional point of view.
There were a lot of things that irritated me but they’re all spoilers so I’ll keep them off of here.

This was a good look at addiction and how it can affect you and those around you. But some things were too ridiculous and too convenient imo. And really neither of the sisters are likeable which made this a harder read - there wasn’t enough of a relationship or steady growth between them for us to really understand and empathise with their situations.