WOW! One of my last reads of 2024 is one of my FAVORITES of the entire year. THE FAVORITES is a sweeping story about the careers of competitive ice dancers, from their humble beginnings on hometown ice to competitions around the world. Layne Fargo writes incredible complex characters in Katarina and Heath. Their passion for each other leaps off the page. The relationships they form with their competitors and coaches add to the intrigue. It’s not simply and love story set in ice skating. It goes into the depths of drama of the sport, the salacious and unyielding gossip circulated by the media, and the pressure of obtaining perfection. I will be buying a copy of this book for my shelf when it comes out January 14th!

As an avid follower of figure skating, I know weird things that happen (I will never get over Michelle Kwan not winning Olympic gold). But I have never seen anything like what goes on in The Favorites (or at least I am unaware). .. a whack on the knee is nothing compared to thorns in the skating boots or doping a skater's medication. What this book shows is the passion for winning, when nothing is as important and not letting anything stand in the way. The characters are interesting--they literally do show their good and bad sides, which makes them human. Some of the premise of the book is a little out of the realm of possibility, but just like watching an ice dance program, sometimes you must suspend your disbelief and just go with it.

** spoiler alert ** This long novel reads fast, packing lots of action, on ice and off, into the pages.
Growing up, I watched a lot of ice dancing with my mom, so I truly enjoyed the immersion in the sport and the descriptions.

What I liked:

- The format of the documentary gives insight into what other characters did or thought about the events
- The fast pace of the story kept me engaged
- A bit of the love story was nice before it turned sort of toxic
- All the skating drama!

What I didn't care for:

- I agree with some of the other reviews - it does have a YA feel. But it is well written.
- The drama was nice, but the twists got repetitive - how many times can they storm out before the final dance? Also, how much drama is too much? It felt like the author had a list of skating events in a specific time frame, and she had to come up with a story for each one of them.
- Who just walks out on their love in the rain in Japan to go train in Russia for three years, never to be discovered? That was a bit over the top, especially as the author also tells us everyone knows everyone in the small world of ice dancing. So, has no one recognized Heath for three years? Also, the fact that he was jealous over nothing is never addressed, yet he cheats on Kat with Bella three seconds after Kat returns his engagement ring. I thought he was going to scream, "We were on a break!" when Kat finds them together.
- Kat obviously goes through character growth, and we sort of see the results of it when she confesses that winning is not everything after all, but how she arrives at these life-changing conclusions is not always obvious. We take the express train to the final station instead of seeing the sights (maybe it is not the worst thing - this book does not need to be any longer at 464 pages).

Overall, it's a fun read, especially if you are into figure skating.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, for providing an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review. The book is out on January 25.

4.75 stars!

BRO THIS WAS SO GOOD. I wanted an messy, emotional, thrilling story of the highs and lows of Olympic-level ice dancing and this gave me everything and more.

So much to love here. I love how it switches between Kat's account and the documentary, it gave it a very mixed-media Taylor Jenkins Reid-esque feel. I love the amount of pain and angst these characters go through and how it makes every one of their little successes feel massive. The drama was just delicious and every time it starts to feel ridiculous I remember the real-life scandals in ice skating–this stuff is all well-within the realm of possibility. Kat's ambition is tangible and it's so engrossing to see how that ambition tears at her relationships and her image in the public eye. I appreciate how Kat and Bella's friendship struggles under the expectations for their competition as two ambitious women, but also how they find moments to lift one another up. Heath and Garrett each have unique and complicated relationships with their sport especially considering their upbringings and the really passionate women in their lives. Even the antagonists of the story feel human because you feel very strongly how they're all victims of the obsession and competition that their sport incites. Despite how deeply flawed they were, I really loved the characters and found myself rooting for them so strongly towards the end.

I think people are going to love this. It has the hard-and-fast entertainment value of a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel with the edge and thrill of The Queen's Gambit. It's everything I wanted from From Lukov with Love and an excellent take on Wuthering Heights. This is my first Layne Fargo book but I will absolutely be keeping an eye on her after this.

Thank you to Layne Fargo and Random House Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!

Happy reading!

Thanks to Random House for the gifted copy.

I am unwell. This book was SO INCREDIBLE. I did a combination of reading and listening, and highly suggest it because the audio has interview elements similar to Daisy Jones and the Six. THE FAVORITES is one of those books that left me sobbing and breathless at the end, and wondering HOW are these characters fictional!? I felt so immersed in the story and like I was part of this ice dancing world. The humanity of the characters was so real and raw - I loved them and hated them and was frustrated with them, but also rooting for them in their relationships and at the Olympics and UGH. I feel like I poured my emotions into this book and I didn't even write it. Absolutely incredible.

"Everyone loves a love story. And that's what they thought this was."

Uhmmmmm what did I just read?! Truly a fever dream of a book and I mean that almost all positively.

The Favorites is the most addictive book I've read all year. I found myself constantly playing the audiobook without even meaning to - I just *had* to know what happened next. And also this is a plug for the audiobook which is stellar. If it's possible for you to do on audio, you should do on audio.

I love how this book takes the best parts (to me) from Daisy Jones and Wuthering Heights and puts together this docu-series interview style. The narrative structure of the book (similar to Daisy) worked for me SO well and I want more books like this because it was so juicy. And the toxicity of Wuthering Heights is truly at play here and I loved how Fargo expanded on those dynamics in a modern setting.

I also loved how these characters kept making bad decisions but I kept coming back to them. I really believed all the main characters acted within the parameters of their personality. It's such drama and I was so sucked in.

I did have a couple issues with the writing, mainly the ending ramping up the insanity to a level where it wasn't believable anymore to me, and the plot became a teensy bit repetitive to me toward the end.

This was such a fun read! I loved the documentary style the novel followed throughout, getting the perspectives from multiple different people on the events that took place. I was engaged the whole time, enjoyed the short chapters, and really felt connected to the characters. I didn’t love the ending and the “twist” felt a little unsatisfying, but by the time all of the reveals happened, the way I felt about the novel had already been decided. Overall, I recommend!

LOVE LOVE LOVE! So as a fan of the Netflix series “Spinning Out” I saw this title and thought “yes I think this is gonna be similar” and it was so good I’m genuinely obsessed! It had the same vibe as Daisy Jones and the Six with the interviews throughout the chapters, as well as Carrie Soto with the fmc having her comeback to a brutal sport. I will say at times it wasn’t even dramatic anymore, it was a straight up soap opera, BUT who doesn’t like a good soap opera?! From the jealousy to the sabotage I devoured everything, would definitely recommend giving it a read!

This was amazing. If you liked Carrie Soto you will love this. The amount of times I audibly gasped at the drama in this book. If you’re looking for a book like They Never Learn, it’s not this. This is totally completely different in the best way possible.

I spent a possibly alarming part of my late childhood & teenage years obsessed with figure skating. It all started when my 4th grade teacher had us watch the Olympics as homework (best homework ever!) and I loved it all – especially skating. As an elder millennial, the Olympics I first watched where the ’92 Games in Albertville.

So when I saw Layne Fargo dedicated The Favorites to Katarina, Tonya, and Surya… I was right there and ready to go. Just the dedication was so nostalgic.

The novel centers on ice dancing, my favorite discipline in skating, so that was the second good sign for the book. And, in case you don’t know, ice dancing in the 1990s and into the 2000s was a wild ride. Especially with the Russians. I haven’t watched much ‘Real Houses of…’ but I imagine ice dancing competitions were that sort of insanity.

And The Favorites is right on track with all that. It’s got villains who maybe aren’t so villainous but are certainly willing to step into the role if it gets them where they want to be. It’s got a revolving cycle of who’s sleeping with who. It’s got secret love children. Closeted sexuality (and it is set in the ’90s into the 2000s so that does track with how skating worked back them, and it’s no erasure or pretend gays don’t exist). It’s got sabotage and (maybe accidental?) attempted murders. Drug addicts, domestic violence. Rich kids vs. poor kids.

And yeah, that’s a lot. But it works, it does work.

Because it’s also got hope and love and dedication (sometimes not entirely healthy, but still). It’s got perseverance and triumph. It’s got redemption arcs and journeys toward better mental health.

And yeah, that’s a lot too. But it works.

I don’t want to give too much away with the story, because there are a lot of unexpected twists and turns crafted into the story. So what I will say is this – if you like skating and you like psychological thrillers… this very well might be a book you need to read.

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I received an early copy of The Favorites through Random House and NetGalley in exchange for an honest & original review. All thoughts are my own.

N/B: My review will be post on my blog closer to publication date.

The Favorites is a wonderful read. It’s told in short chapters but very jam packed with tidbits. It’s the backstory of Kat and Heath’s ice dancing journey to the Olympics. It has many twists and turns. If you love watching ice skating (and even if you don’t) you will enjoy this story very much. Thank you to NetGalley/ Random House Publishing-Random House.

I just finished and FLEW here to write this post while the thoughts and feelings are raw and relevant.

Wow. @laynefargo I’m utterly blown away, thoroughly impressed and devastated it’s over. Booksta, meet the darling of Bookstagram 2025, she’s it, The Favorites.

The depth and raw talent, both Fargo and her fictional Shaw/Rocha duo. This was something that slowly built, will keep you completely engaged and absolutely blow your mind in all the right ways. If you love a well written story, the Olympics, Carrie Soto or Daisy Jones, this book is for you. The combination of women in sports, the drama and politics, the scandal, and the Daisy-ness of the ongoing interview…just preorder this now and binge it on January 14, 2025 because you’re welcome in advance.

Now do me a favor when you get to chapter 82: pause your manic page turning, ask Alexa to play The Last Time by Taylor Swift and REALLY set the scene.

Layne, thank you. This was truly unbelievable!

I was obsessed with this book before I even read it. What a roller coaster this one was! This gave me TJR vibes - Carrie Soto with a bit of Daisy Jones, all around ice skaters? Count me in. The drama, the love, the heartbreak, this one has it all. Many times I was ready to throw my device across the room. Even though I give this one 5 stars I still find it a bit long. I think the story could have been shorter and still been just as dramatic.

This is definitely going to be one of the most talked about reads of 2025 so get ready 👀

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this eARC!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story follows the atmospheric rise of Kat and Heath, a pair of young ice dancers with Olympic dreams. After Heath is taken in by Kat’s family as a foster child, the pair quickly become partners on and off the ice. As we follow them from their meager lives in a Chicago suburb to the bright lights of the international ice dancing stage, we are made privy to the intimate struggles they face both on and off the ice. Their complicated personal relationship combined with their determination to succeed makes for a high stakes story that gripped me from beginning to end. The book is written in a documentary style and switches between the past story of how Kat and Heath came to be and present day interviews that provide an outside perspective from people associated with their rocky attempt to rise to the top.

⛸️Read this if you enjoy books with multi-layered characters and a background that reads like a soapy, dramatic documentary. It gave big time Daisy Jones and the Six vibes!
⛸️I loved jumping back and forth between the present and the past in this book. The pieces of Kat and Heath’s story interspersed with present day interviews kept the twists and turns coming.
⛸️I’m actually planning a reread because I’m dying to listen to this on audio with a full cast, that’s how much I enjoyed it!

4.5 stars

This was sooo intense! The world of figure skating is super interesting to me and I loved the way Kat & Heath’s story was presented in the form of a documentary with interviews alongside Kat’s POV. While I loved the competitive skating aspect, this is ultimately a story about love, ambition, passion, obsession, etc. I honestly wouldn’t say that I liked any of the characters, but I was drawn to them nonetheless. Kat especially had her flaws, but I respected her as a strong woman who wasn’t afraid to speak up for herself and defy societal expectations.

I was completely enthralled by Kat & Heath’s relationship - it was passionate and intense but also toxic and codependent. Their story is truly one that you can’t look away from and I literally had to stop myself from flipping to the end to find out what happens. I will say there was a storyline near the end that contained several of my least favorite tropes so it’s safe to say I didn’t love that bit. But I think the fact that the characters were able to evoke such strong reactions in me shows how well done the story was, and I was satisfied with how it ended. I can see why this book is already being talked about a lot and I’m sure it will only be more so when it comes out!

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

this was a recipe for success for me. Wuthering heights and DJ&TS are two of my all time favourite books and throw in ice skating, a bit of from lukov with love and im obsessed. I thought the book brilliantly mirrored wuthering heights in all the ways that count and differentiates itself to keep it intriguing and current. I loved the way it was told part interview and part first person, it really helped me see it from a scandalous view as well as an empathetic one. It felt like a saga how it spanned such a long time frame and this book made me want to put it down in the best ways: I felt so much for the characters it hurt too much sometimes to see what would happen to them. The story just felt so real. It didn't give me five star feelings and I do think it may have dragged a bit but overall an amazing read and I highly recommend.

I had never read anything by this author before, so I wasn't sure how I would connect with her storytelling style.. This book really caught me off guard. With a storytelling style reminiscent of Daisy Jones, combined with ice skating and more, it's just perfect. this reminded me a lot of Taylor Jenkins Reid books in the way she tells stories.

When childhood friends and longtime skaters find themselves in the world of Olympic Ice Dance, the politics and competition try their best to drive Katarina and Heath apart. The story had such a push and pull dynamic that I felt anxious the entire time!

I couldn't stop reading; it was fast-paced and held my attention throughout. The characters were both lovable and frustrating, and I found myself getting mad at everyone multiple times! Overall this was good its a relationship at the core of this story but there's a lot more to it.

4.5 STARS

SCANDALOUS. INTENSE. JAW DROPPING. DRAMATIC.

Katarina Shaw lost her mother when she was 4 years old… what got her through this hardship was watching the Olympic athlete she idolized - Sheila Lin, figure skating champion extraordinaire. Kat’s dad supports her dreams and she convinces her childhood crush / first love Heath Roca to join her in following those big dreams. Oh boy things get messy real quick. Kat & Heath endure their respective hardships and struggle with lack of funds to turn their dreams into reality…. However— Sheila Lin herself recognizes the talent and potential in Kat & Heath and invites them to train at her academy in California… leaving Illinois behind. Little do they realize Sheila Lin is cut throat as they get and is motivated by making her competitive twins Garrett and Isabella as successful as possible….. whatever it takes and that’s just the beginning….

This story is told alternating from the POV of a documentary featuring various interviews and written visuals alongside Kat’s third person perspective.

This novel was incredible. I was beyond captivated - there are no boring parts this story is one wild scandal after another filled with outrageous commentary. I love love love this one. It was such an emotional rollercoaster & I was shocked at how the events transpired. I’m not huge into any sports- I can’t ice skate to save my life but the stories of the characters along with the visuals of the skating was so enthralling. I could clearly picture the skate routines even though I’m not super familiar with the sport. The drama that took place on and off the ice — ooof… scandalous is an understatement this was WILD.

Immense gratitude to NetGalley & Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review - this was such a treat & I look forward to reading more from Layne Fargo - her writing is CRACK.

** This review was posted Dec 21, 2024 to my blog, GR, socials, Indigo.ca and StoryGraph ... **

“To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession.”

This is a story about obsessive love, scandal and dark side of ambition that follows the lives of Katarina and Heath, two ice dance skaters from their small-town in Michigan where they have dreams of competing in the Olympics, to the duo making their dreams a reality and competing with the best ice dance skaters in the world.

Katarina and Heath are a couple on and off the ice. Their connection is obvious and also obsessive. I enjoyed their complicated relationship as well as Kat's frenemy bond with Bella, her friend and competitor on the ice. Despite all the dysfunction and sometimes ruthless and prickly demeanors, you can't help but recognize their bonds and cheer them on.

The storytelling style and deep dive into dark feelings definitely has a Taylor Jenkins Reid kinda vibe which I loved. The story alternates between transcripts of a documentary (which gives readers many perspectives) and Kat's POV. There were a couple of points where the storytelling felt long-winded (especially describing skating routines) but overall, this story held my interest and Fargo is highly skilled at dropping teasing tidbits to keep readers turning the page.

This epic and intense love story spans decades and is wrought with tension, scandal and dysfunction and may have you rethinking what you thought you knew about ice dancing.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Random House for the complimentary digital copy of this book which was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

The Favorites by Layne Fargo is an intense story of ambition, love, and betrayal set in the world of elite figure skating. This novel is an unforgettable exploration of the ties that bind and break us. Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha have electrifying chemistry that fuels both their professional relationship on the ice, as well as their volatile personal relationship. Ten years after the Olympics, a controversial documentary threatens to dredge up the truth behind their fall from grace. I loved the behind the scenes look into the cutthroat world of competitive skating. You will learn so much about the pursuit of greatness and the cost of obsession. This was an unforgettable read that will linger with me for a long time!