Coiled, Twisted, and Distorted with Doubts and Misconceptions...

Three generations of the Fisher Family: Vivienne and Patrick, their three adult daughters, Alex, Nancy, and Eve, and their children and partners, gather for a week-long vacation in a glass house (is that a metaphor?) to celebrate Vivienne’s seventieth birthday. On their first outing together, a tree falls (another metaphor?) Is that the Fisher Family Tree going down...?!

"The Accidental Favorite" is a family story, described as a 'dramedy', which feels off to me. It's witty, but not comedic, and watching this loud, dysfunctional family continue to spiral out of control was hard. I love messy family stories, but this family was too noisy, too nasty, too much.

I considered a DNF, but persevered when the past and present timelines began to connect. The ending was satisfying, but what a struggle to get there. This feels surprisingly ‘New Adult’, considering all three sisters are in their 40s, and I'm not quite sure what to say about that.

The audiobook is narrated by Fiona Button, whose voicing and recounting of this story was the best part of this immersion read. Every inflection and every pause was in the right places, and thoughtfully executed.

"The Accidental Favorite" has too many unlikeable characters, a rambling narrative, and a compelling premise. I read this because Amazing Grace Adams was one of my favorite reads of 2023. Perhaps my expectations were too high, or maybe it wasn't the right time for me to read it. With all that said, Littlewood's writing style is fun, clever, and continues to draw me in enough that I eagerly await her next one. I know, I know, I just can't help myself!!

3⭐

Thank you to Henry Holt and Co., Macmillan Audio, and Fran Littlewood for the gifted DRC and ALC through NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

First of all I want to start off by saying thank you for the opportunity to listen this to this one on Audiobook.

I LOVE a good family drama , and the complexity of a larger family and sibling rivalry, however this one did not fill my cup as much as I was hoping it would.

The first chapter pulled me and I was so intrigued to see where it was going to go, but then it lost me quickly with multiple POV's and jumping back and forth in time. It was really challenging for me to decipher which character was narrating at the moment .
I do feel i would probably have had a better connection reading a physical copy, even though I found the characters to be annoying and a bit unrelatable .

The family has gathered in the woods for a special family photo of three sisters and their parents Patrick and Viviane, when suddenly a large tree comes crashing down and Patrick pushes their daughter Eva out of harms way ... when she was the furthest one from the tree with any chance of being hurt.

So now the sisters question their father , does dad have a favorite and is it Eva ?

We slowly watch the dynamics explode and the pressures of being loved and seeking attention amongst one another but also while trying to be parents and spouses themselves .

The Accidental Favorite was trying to be a complex read , with some heartfelt moments around getting older and some funny entertaining moments , but it fell short for me .

I do think others will really enjoy this one, but I personally recommend the physical copy to have more of a chemistry with the book.

Overall it was not terrible , but think it could have been so much more.

Thanks you Netgalley , Macmillan Audio and Fran Littlewood for this ARC Audiobook!

I love sibling stories, so I was eagerly anticipating this book. And for the most part, I found it a fun, if a bit messy, family drama. Three sisters and their families gather together for their mother’s birthday. But when an accident happens, their father slips up and admits he has a favorite daughter. Well, that’s when all the old frustrations, jealousies, secrets, and everything you can think of start running forth.

I think there’s a lot of great stuff to unpack here - it just was a little too unorganized for me.

3.5 ⭐️

Thank you @Macmillan.audio for the gifted audiobook via #NetGalley narrated by Fiona Button.

Ugh. Why only one narrator? This made this book hard to really enjoy because I could never know whose POV we are in. Spending the extra money on production and multiples narrators for the siblings would have made this a much clearer reading and listening experience people are going to struggle with this.

A good enough story, lacking character development.

Publishing June 24th

3.5 rounded up.

Adult daughters Alexandra (Alex), Nancy, and Eva are gathered with their parents Patrick and Vivienne for Alex's baby's naming ceremony and Vivienne's 70th birthday.

Alex has recently had a later in life daughter and is struggling in her marriage.
Nancy is having some issues at work but has found herself in a new relationship.
Eva is coming to regret a life choice and the implications it has for her daughter.

There are a LOT of side stories here, with each daughter in the process of finding their way through a romantic transition, as well as through a parenting issue, all running alongside the core story of reflecting on growing up together.

The side stories were of varying interest, with some parts seeming essential and others superfluous. The same held true for the parenting issues.

The core issue of parents having favorites was discussed quite a bit, but I didn't find the fleshing out of that angle to be as consequential as I'd expected.

What I really enjoyed was the sisters each looking back at the ways they cared for each other and had each other's backs, and the fun they had as children. The characters are just realistic and flawed people, struggling with what life sends their way.

Narration by Fiona Button was excellent as always!
Thanks to Henry Holt and Co., Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for both a digital and audiobook ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Audiobook was not the way to go. I couldn't finish it. The amount of characters alone made it impossible to keep it organized. I've read plenty of family dramas with a huge cast to know a good structure when I see one, but the author missed the setting and foundation.

3.5 stars

The best part of this rather slow book is the character study of the three sisters. The author captures the complicated and nuanced relationship siblings, and specifically sisters, have. Though they are all successful in their own ways, they don't feel pretty enough or successful enough or good enough. I loved the way one sister defended the younger sister from a bully, consoled her, and then told her not to sit by her on the bus. Nutshell sibling stuff. It's full of loyalty and competition, misunderstandings, emotional outbursts, and humble returns. The event that spurred all the discontent in the beginning is a curiosity, and the end of the book was fun and poetic. If you're in the mood for a complicated, slow-paced drama about women, sisters, and family, this one's for you.

I just finished listening to a good audiobook. The Accidental Favorite by Fran Littlewood is available soon. Check it out.

After loving Amazing Grace Adam’s, I’ve been anxiously awaiting this author‘s next book. However, this one just didn’t work for me. I felt like there were way too many characters and timeline jumps. It made it hard to keep track of who was who and which character had what family. It really required lots of extra notetaking to keep the character straight - which pulled me out of the story. I think the idea of exploring a parent’s favorite child is so interesting but at the end of the day, this one just didn’t land quite like I hoped it would.
Also, the narrator was great, but I think this story would’ve benefitted from a whole cast because that could’ve helped with the keeping the characters straight issue I had.

The Fisher family have gathered to celebrate their mother’s 70th birthday with a week long getaway in a glass house. A near accident at the start of the week causes the family dynamic to become dysfunctional when the father chooses to save one of his daughters, clearly over the other two.

Broken down into chapters from each sister’s POV and sometimes from the mother’s perspective, we learn about the current state of affairs, mingled with memories to provide more background and depth.

I enjoyed the novel overall, but found the sisters ultimately interchangeable. I received an audio arc so maybe it was because the same person narrated the whole book whereas I might have had an easier time keeping track of each person if I had read a physical copy.

The Accidental Favorite by Fran Littlewood is a story about a family and all of its complexities. Three sisters join their parents, spouses, and children on a family holiday. After an accident occurs, and it appears that the father tries to save a certain sister, the characters spiral, thinking about the past and present, and analyzing about who is their father’s favorite.

The story is told in multiple points of view, and flashes from present to past. The narrator Fiona Button does an excellent job narrating the characters.

Overall, this was a decent-ish listen. 3.25-ish stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance listen in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Accidental Favorite by Fran Littlewood was a fascinating insight into the lives of Vivienne and Patrick Fisher and their three adult daughters. I love a good family drama, and this one absolutely met my expectations!

The chapters alternate POVs between the women, and I was genuinely invested in and intrigued by all of them. Secrets and grievances are slowly revealed throughout the novel as the story bounces back and forth between the girls’ childhoods and their week in the glass house at present. The Fisher family is messy and chaotic, and there is no shortage of drama between them all! It made for a very entertaining read.

I only have one sibling – a brother – and we often joke about which one of us is the favorite, but luckily, we’ve never had to seriously consider if one of us actually is. This book made me extra glad for that!

The narrator also did an absolutely fantastic job! I will not hesitate to listen to anything else she puts out.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read! It was full of compelling characters, was brilliantly written, and had more than enough drama to keep me invested throughout the story. If you like family dramas full of dysfunctional, complicated people (but also a good dose of heart and occasional humor), this might just be the book for you!

Thank you so much to Henry Holt & Company, NetGalley, and Fran Littlewood for the free eARC.

A story about three sisters Alex, Nancy and Eva and their relationship with their parents. They are on holiday together with an accident happens and family history is brought into question.

The story is multi timeline and POV - it took a few chapters before I was in the flow of which character was who and which POV/timeline was happening. It is deep family drama with reflection of how they each got to where they are today.

It was an enjoyable read and the characters were likeable - definitely a little bit of patience to get a handle on all the players in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early review of the book.

Family dynamics can be so tangled, messy and difficult. 3 adult daughters join their parents in a glass house for a week away. Each sister has secrets they haven't shared, they are ashamed of. When a tragedy almost happens, it seems their father has a favourite child. As the week goes on, tensions build and secrets come out. Going between the past and present, secrets come to light, and the family realizes what really matters.

The narrator is so good. I love the way she gave every character their own voice and shared their secrets was great. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this story.

The Accidental Favorite is a multi-POV contemporary novel following a dysfunctional family on a vacation with intermixed chapter flashbacks. I find it so fascinating that siblings have drastically different perspectives from childhood, and this is a major element in the Accidental Favorite. The characters felt raw and honest, and I thoroughly enjoyed following the Fisher family.

Narration performed by Fiona Button was excellent.

I received an ARC and ALC from Henry Holt & Company and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Accidental Favorite offers an intriguing look into a seemingly perfect family suddenly shaken to its core during a celebratory weekend. Fran Littlewood captures the complexities of family dynamics, especially when long-held secrets and rivalries come to light in a confined setting. The revelation of Patrick’s favorite daughter sets off a series of revelations that feel both dramatized and relatable. While the novel explores themes of favoritism, sibling rivalry, and personal insecurities effectively, some of the character development felt a bit shallow, and certain plot points seemed predictable. The family’s interactions, although engaging at times, lacked depth that could have made their conflicts more emotionally resonant. The story moves quickly through the revelations but occasionally loses momentum in its attempt to juggle multiple perspectives and subplots. Overall, The Accidental Favorite is an entertaining read with moments of insight into family loyalty and identity, but it didn’t quite reach the emotional impact I was hoping for. An enjoyable story for those interested in family dramas with a touch of intrigue, but it may leave readers wanting a bit more nuance.

Thanks to @MacmillanAudio and NetGalley for the advance listener copy of The Accidental Favorite—I absolutely loved this book! The narrator was phenomenal, bringing each character vividly to life, and Fran Littlewood's writing is sharp, insightful, and deeply moving.

The shifting timeline—moving between past and present and across multiple points of view—kept me completely engrossed. Though it occasionally made me wish for a physical or digital copy to refer back to, the structure ultimately enhanced the experience. It mirrored the complexity of memory and family dynamics beautifully.

I truly loved all three sisters. They were flawed, yes, but their fierce love for one another created a believable and emotional core. I especially connected with the depiction of sibling relationships—how siblings can be your greatest protectors and fiercest competitors, sometimes in the same breath. The author captures that messy, beautiful reality perfectly.

One of the most striking parts of the novel was the portrayal of women in midlife—how aging, identity, and invisibility can quietly reshape a life. I also found the mother's chapters deeply affecting and only wish there had been more of her perspective, especially given the emotional weight she carried in the story.

This book is a masterclass in exploring the ripple effects of family, love, rivalry, and the stories we tell ourselves. It shows how a single childhood event can echo through adulthood in completely different ways for each sibling. I can’t wait to read more from Fran Littlewood—this was a 10/10 read for me!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audiobook.

The Fisher family is a happy one: Vivienne and Patrick have raised their three daughters (Nancy, Alex, and Eva) into seemingly well-adjusted women. The group are all brought back together for a week-long celebration of Vivienne's seventieth birthday. But when a freak accident on the first day unintentionally reveals that Eva is actually Patrick's favorite daughter, the cracks under the perfect family facade start to crack.

I was really interested in this book--the premise sounded like something that was right up my alley. Somehow, though, the execution of the story didn't work for me. Something was missing, though I can't quite put my finger on it. I struggled to differentiate the three daughters even though they did have some distinct qualities (Eva as a young entrepreneur, Alex as the doctor in the family, and Nancy as the oldest with a husband and new baby) but they got muddled in the telling of their story. This one just didn't hold my attention.

This book is just as chaotic as a real life family. Which obviously makes it realistic, but with so many characters it was often hard to follow. It was also difficult to truly get the depth and growth I wanted for all the characters.

This book sounded like it would be perfect for me but it did not live up to what I thought it would be. First I wish there had been different narrators for all the characters which would have made it easier to not confuse them. I just did not care so much for anyone in this story and did not find it that interesting. I rare miss for me.