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.

The Accidental Favorite is a book about 3 adult sisters, Nancy, Alex and Eva who travel to a beautiful house in the English countryside with their families. They are all gathering to celebrated their mother's 70th birthday. After a strange incident in the woods, it becomes clear that the father has a favorite daughter and things go downhill from there. Everyone is hiding secrets and feelings of insecurity, jealousy and sibling rivalry bring everything to the surface.
I really enjoyed this book. I love a family drama, especially one with sisters.

Thank you netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC of this book.

Even though this book has a premise that really appealed to me, I personally didn't enjoy the execution. Or the characters.
Nancy was the character the most spoke to me. Or least annoyed me. But, in general, I didn't care for anyone. The plot sounded interesting at first but then it become dull with a lot of adults behaving in a bratty way.
Plus, the audiobook narrator, in my opinion, didn't help much. Her voice and accent are beautiful, but the way she narrates makes it all dull and a little hard to follow all the characters. The narrator speaks in a monotone voice all the time, in all chapters, with all the characters. Honestly, it wasn't enjoyable to listen to.
I personally do not recommend the audiobook, which is a bummer. :(
Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the ALC.

I read Fran Littlewood’s debut novel “Amazing Grace Adams” in 2023 and I did find that I needed to be “in a mood” to enjoy/endure the lead character. I wasn’t sure how much I liked Grace, but I definitely felt more and more sympathy for her as all the facts of her life were revealed. Her past life was tragic; but she was trying to find a spark in the present. It was a bittersweet tale, beautifully written and emotionally layered.

In “The Accidental Favorite,” the writing again is richly imagined, but we are immediately juggling so many more characters. It’s nearly Vivienne’s 70th birthday and with her husband Patrick, they will be staying in a glass house with their three daughters (Alex, Nancy, Eva) plus various mates and grandchildren. Aside from knowing to not throw stones in glass houses, there’s the unspoken pledge to never show favoritism among your children. However, Patrick spectacularly (if accidentally) breaks that rule and recollections, memories, rivalries, jealousies, and secrets become the stones to be thrown in the glass house.

Unfortunately, keeping track of the characters became stressful and emotionally draining. I wished someone like Vivienne was the central character as Grace had been. I knew it was going to be a long, long week as the family needed to retract and then expand to settle their conflicts. However, I also had access to the audiobook and the terrific Fiona Button livened up the sisters’ stories. 3.5 stars for Littlewood’s sophomore effort; 4 stars for Fiona Button’s narration.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Only Alex and her dad’s dark brown eyes with flecks of gold are mentioned.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO But Mother Nature is having a say in this book and it starts with a great big tree.

Thank you to Henry Holt and Company, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for advanced copies!

I have been very excited to read this since I loved Grace Adams. I am honored to have received an ALC through NetGalley. The audiobook narrator had a good performance, nice British accent that fits the characters. However I think it may have worked better with multiple narrators. It was very difficult to follow this on audio— there are so many characters and the narrative makes time jumps and jumps to each other that it is difficult to keep straight. I did preorder this as a hard copy so I am going to try reading the physical copy instead to see if I can follow it better.

Book to be published June 24, 2025

The Accidental Favorite seems like it should be an easy win: three sisters, tangled family drama, and emotional baggage galore. But I found myself restarting it more than once, convinced I’d missed something crucial in the setup. The story undoubtedly possesses its captivating moments. Once I immersed myself in the rhythm, I truly began to appreciate the intricate and layered dynamic between the sisters. I don't have a sister, but I believe this book does an excellent job of beautifully portraying the complicated relationship.
Thanks to NetGalley for the audio copy, but I’d recommend sticking with the print version for this one, I think the reason I struggled was because the audio version is worse than the physical edition (for me personally!)