Many thanks to @randomhouse for my #gifted (free) copy. Pub date 1/14/25.

Yes, I jumped way ahead of my ARC list to read this book, and I am not sorry at all! As soon as I finished this book, I immediately bought all @laynefargo previous books because I just found my new favorite author. Oh my goodness, this was a story that kept me so captivated, I had so many different emotions reading this that I didn't know what to think. The story, the main characters, side characters, the layout of the book, just everything was done perfectly. This would make an excellent movie or mini series, and I would be surprised if it doesn't get picked up. You guys, pre-order this and definitely add to your TBR because it's amazing!

Katarina Shaw's dream is to make it to the Olympics and win the gold medal for ice dancing with her partner and best friend, Heath Rocha. It's not an easy road for either one of them, but they eventually start making a name for themselves, and the people can not get enough of them. The last night of the 2010 Olympics, something happened that could possibly end their dreams.

Ten years later, an unauthorized documentary is in the works about the famous duo, and Katarina wants nothing to do with it, but she also wants the world to know the truth. Katarina tells us her story (documentary style) from the very beginning, spanning decades of her life, the good, the bad, and the ugly (and there is lots of it). Do you remember the Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding scandal, or have you watched I, Tonya? If so, you won't be able to get enough of this book. I never wanted it to end! Again, pre-order this book or purchase on 1/14!

Wow!
This book was a great sports romance !
And it reminded me of like a mix between Daisy jones and the six and the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo!
It’s full of love, betrayal and the desire to be the best!
I enjoyed this a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Layne Fargo's The Favorites is a wild, gut-wrenching story about Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha and how their dreams of love and gold medals drive their relationship through heartache and desire. It's seductive and dramatic in all the right ways.

It's taken me some time to sit down and write a review for this book, but not for a bad reason. My love for this book is so strong that I'm not sure I'll be able to put it into words. This story is so impactful and memorable that trying to write a review for it feels impossible.

I originally wanted to read this book because it was about figure skating. I had been looking for books about my sport, but never really found any that interested me. Luckily, I happened to see the cover reveal post for The Favorites. I was so glad to see that people were finally noticing the potential ice dancing and figure skating have for a beautifully dramatic story of love and self-discovery.

One of my favorite parts of this book is that you can tell Layne Fargo did a lot of figure skating research before writing this book. It's not uncommon for books and movies about the sport to be inaccurate, so it's nice to see something that has so many accuracies.

The story is told in a mix of first-person POV that lets readers into Katarina's head and snippets of documentary interviews that let the side characters speak their minds. The combination makes for such an interesting mix of feelings that works incredibly well for this story.

Throughout the book, I went through a rollercoaster of strong feelings. I felt like I was experiencing every moment of Katarina's pain, anger, and joy with her. I went from crying and refusing to look at my phone, afraid of whatever heartbreak would come next, to sitting on my floor giggling and rereading lines over and over again. The way Layne Fargo wrote this book makes it impossible to not feel the emotions of the story.

This is the type of story that you could easily read in one sitting because of how addictive it is. Each chapter leaves you wanting more. It's a book you won't want to put down, but it's also a book you won't want to finish. I would've happily read 1,000 pages of this story if Layne Fargo wrote them. I'd read about the most mundane details of these character's lives if it meant the book didn't have to end. Once you fall in love with these characters and their story, you won't want to let it finish. And you will fall in love with these characters.

To me, this book felt like performing a figure skating program. You let yourself become one with the music and you block out the rest of the world to focus on the details of it. Each movement consumes your mind as they all come together to create something beautiful. That's exactly what this book did for me. Each scene captured my thoughts and took me into a story that I loved, a story that let me escape the real world. I couldn't ask for anything more.

This is my new favorite book of the year and one of my top favorite books of all time. It's a book I'll think about daily. It's a book that I will be immediately annotating when I get a physical copy on release day. This is the type of book I would give 6 stars if I could.

If this doesn't become your favorite book of 2025, I don't know what will.

Review on Goodreads (sophreadingbooks https://www.goodreads.com/sophreadingbooks) as of 7/6/2024
Review on Instagram (sophiesreading https://www.instagram.com/sophiesreading/) expected 7/8/2024

Quick synopsis: Since being a young girl, Katarina Shaw knew she wanted to be a gold medalist Olympic ice skater. At 16 years old she runs off with Heath, a foster care kid, to Hollywood to chase her dream. What she wasn’t expecting was a life filled with of scandal, betrayal, heartbreak, and pain.
Review: I LOVED this book. It starts with blood on the ice rink and then backtracks to the beginning. A story told in real time by the our narrator, Katarina, as well as being told alongside a documentary style interview that was held after the Olympics 14 years later on the most scandalous night… This book has it all- it’s dark, romantic, thrilling, and addictive. It is supposed to be a modern take on withering heights, the story of love and bonding between two trauma ridden and toxic people. If there is one thing Layne Fargo can do, it’s tell a damn good story. This story spans from the main characters being 16 years old to 40 years old and there is never a boring moment.
Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!! 🫶
Get your copy January 2025!!

And the gold medal goes to… THE FAVORITES by Layne Fargo!

The format of this novel is expertly aligned with the storyline and characters. The interview style of the documentary and the narration shifting between time is a perfect fit to showcase the characters as their own story lines develop throughout the novel. Even the minor characters shine in their interviews which provide more context and layers to the themes and secrets in this work. As I was reading, I felt as though I was watching the documentary on television and caught myself holding my breath at the end of each scene, desperately anticipating reading the next chapter.

Through this work of fiction, Layne artistically brings to life a very real world that most people only tune into every 4 years. THE FAVORITES is worthy of the gold!

I remember Layne Fargo once said that she doesn’t write books to suit a particular genre. After loving her last two books, I was surprised to see this book wasn’t another dark thriller. But after reading it, I have to say it still keeps the drama and intrigue that I love about her books.

The Favorites follows the twisty skating careers of Shaw and Rocha. Although I’m not a big ice skating buff, I was really pulled into this story. It took a bit of time in the beginning to pick up the pace, but at the halfway mark this was so tough to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the e-arc!

It's giving Carrie Soto Is Back or Daisy Jones and The Six but with a Layne Fargo twist (positive). I loved the formatting of this, Fargo's compulsive writing, and the many layers that give this a True Crime edge. For folks who enjoy reading a fun toxic relationship (lol) or intense SPORTS on page, this will be a treat. Heath and Katarina both go through intense journeys as a couple, as well as individuals with ambitions that unfortunately come into conflict. It's hard to watch a pure and innocent love (albeit codependent) come to terms with itself, but it's also impossible to look away.

ALSO! This is a modern adaptation of Wuthering Heights, which I have not read but am very excited to eventually get to because of this!

I absolutely loved the documentary tidbits at the end of most chapters—so unique! That said, I never realized how similar a well-laid out multi-year story was to a documentary. It was so fun seeing Katarina’s POV vs. what the world and people observing her saw. A new way to show multiple POVs while still keeping one main character—love it!

Katarina and Heath are the definition of childhood sweethearts, Heath even living with Katarina in her generations old home. The pair began skating together at age 11 and were discovered at age sixteen at an ice dance competition that while they did not win, they certainly made a statement. Invited by two-time Olympic gold medalist Shelia Lin to her ice dance academy in Los Angeles where they met their competition—twins Garrett and Bella Lin (Shelia’s kids). A long and torturous road spanning 15+ years for all four skaters—including heartbreak, partner changes, and a whole lot of questionable decision making—brings them to the doorstep of their dreams: the Olympics.

I don’t usually enjoy stories spread out over many years but this one was so well done. I loved the documentary in the background and the character growth was palpable.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher so giving me the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and RandomHouse for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my god she’s done it again. Layne Fargo is an auto buy author for me, she never misses and somehow knows exactly what I want in a book.

It’s funny, after I watched The Challengers movie I walked out and was dying for a book with the same level of obsession and similar character dynamics; my first thought was that Layne Fargo could deliver that type of story. And she absolutely did.

As someone who guesses the plot and twists of books way too easily, I can guarantee you don’t know where this book is going and you don’t know what’s going to happen next.

Mild Spoilers Ahead:
I don’t know a better way to describe this book other than two stars orbiting each other. Destined to clash but constantly chasing each other until the inevitable.

I just love the characters and their dynamics in this book.

The book starts with Katarina clearly only caring about skating and being the best while Heath just cares about her. He can’t be separated from her and feels incredibly jealous if she gives any attention to someone else. I wouldn’t say that Katarina disregards him but he’s not really at the forefront of her mind the way she is for him at the start of this book.

As the timeline of this book progresses and they get older you really get to see this dynamic change. It just felt like each of their timelines for loving each other were just slightly off and they always end up out of sync whether it’s in life or on the ice.

Even the times when Katarina and Heath were skating well together, they got caught up in what the public wanted and fed into obsession that the audience had with them. Their passion was no longer for each other but with the reaction they could get from the public.

I love the progression we see Heath go through from having essentially no life without Katarina to seeing him create space in his life and heart for other people. When he leaves and then his friendship with Bella. I don’t necessarily love the whole situation there but it needed to happen. Heath needed something else in his life and he was able to find that while still loving Katarina. And by this point Heath and skating are equally important to Katarina even if she doesn’t want to admit it.

I started to cry at the end because I was so worried that Heath wouldn’t get the future he hoped and planned for. And in a way I was devastated by the idea of him being out of Katarinas life forever and what her reaction would be. I almost never cry at books but this one had me crying even after it was over. I have such a deep love for these characters, they’re flawed and selfish but I was rooting for them the entire time. I wanted them to be the best in the world and they were regardless of the official outcome.

A must-read book if you love figure skating, the classic retelling of Wuthering Heights, romantic drama, and characters with unique personalities. A fascinating combination. They have their good and bad sides, but simply put, after closing this book, I'm happy for what they had. Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing the DRC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book. it was so intense and passionate and it made me ache. I loved the documentary styl.e. Fargo has a great writing style. I highly recommend

If you live for the drama, if you love mess.,The Favorites is a juicy, intense look inside the world of competitive ice dancing, complete with a documentary, gossip sites, and politics. I am obsessed!

Kat Shaw has idolized gold medal ice dancer Sheila Lin from childhood. And despite humble beginnings, she'll stop at nothing to realize her Olympic dreams. She's got the ambition, talent and drive, and a built-in partner in boyfriend Heath Rocha. The pair score themselves a coveted spot at the Lin Ice Academy in California. Pitted against Sheila's kids, Bella and Garrett Lin, Shaw and Rocha find out just how cutthroat the skating world really is. And when you're on top, all anyone wants is to see you fall.

It's delicious and a little soapy, and this is Layne Fargo, so The Favorites leans a little dark. The Favorites is way more Spinning Out than The Cutting Edge. Major ice dancing fans will probably pick up more Easter eggs than I did, but I'm guessing the Lins are vaguely modeled on the Shibutanis, the speculation about pairs being couples, possibly Virtue and Moir. There's one thing in the ending that just defied belief for me personally (literally would have been a, "Oh hell, no"), but you do you, Kat and Heath.

If you're ready to be in your Olympics era, go request the ARC or put it on your TBR for January.

CW: Deceased parents, addiction, bad experiences in the foster system. sabotage, character outed as gay by another character

‘The Favorites’ is FRUSTRATINGLY addictive, the type of read that will have you up all night to know what happens next, and then throwing it across the room when the next twist hits. It tells the story of Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha, who are the underdogs of partner ice dancing (if you don’t know ice dancing, don’t worry, you will) and catalogues their rise to fame as told by 2 concurrent sources; Katarina’s POV and a replica ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ documentary format. The story itself is rife with twists and turns including sabotage, romantic scandal, lying, and corruption, keeps you guessing the entire time it builds to the final events.

I’d certainly recommend for anyone who loves and can handle heart wrenching turns with a feminist rage overtone. Not a cute skating romance, this one gets DARK.

I love this book. I couldn't put it down. It’s about two people who grew up together knowing that they’d lived through these hard moments. They both became figure skaters and discovered so many things the good, the bad, and the ugly. Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this book and do a review.

Deep gratitude and heartfelt thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC of this one!

Oh, did this book hook me in and captivate me and make my heart twist and turn and my eyes roll a few times and just totally engross my thoughts and feelings for a few days. I adore the ice dancing world — I have many fond memories watching the Canadian superstars Tessa and Scott with my mom, as it was and still is her favourite sport to watch. Although I'm not overly familiar with Bronte's Wuthering Heights (gasp, a tragedy, how can an English major speak those words), I did enjoy this story and following Kat and Heath's journey from childhood friends to star-crossed lovers to rivals to skating partners to everything in between. This type of romance is one of the best, charged with passion but not cringingly smutty, with adversity and imperfection and a heart wrenching bond as major themes. I'm docking a star only because the story just felt too unbelievable at times, and goddamit, I just wanted them to win Olympic gold without some crisis or tragedy getting in their way . Really loved this one, and can't wait for it to make a splash in the world in January.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. I can't wait for the world to get their hands on it. The easiest five star read, can't wait to see what they do with the audiobook, a full cast would be amazing. This book sent me down an ice dancing rabbit hole that I am still stuck in. Layne Fargo did something very special with this book and I can't wait for people to read it.

4.5! This was a thoroughly hashed out, entertaining plot. Good pacing and character depth. Totally a nitpick but the only thing that didn't work for me was the strange throuple arrangement at the end. But overall this was great writing and hard to put down.

This really was an epic story. You feel the characters highs and lows. I could not put this book down at all!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

As a big fan of Layne Fargo’s They Never Learn, I was excited to read this new book. A modern sports romance full of betrayal, obsession and doing anything to achieve a dream. The book flowed beautifully and Layne is such a talented writer. I was very impressed with her ability to switch genres so seamlessly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I, a 32 year old woman with no athletic training, will be making my comeback as an ice dancer.

The Favorites is an addicting drama about ice dancers and their olympic dreams but it is also about ambition, competitiveness, institutional corruption, feminism, classism, fear, and of course, love.

In my mind, this book is like Carrie Soto meets Challengers meets Daisy Jones and the Six. The characters are olympic athletes but Layne wrote them in a way that is so relatable. No, I have never competed at that level but I felt all of these characters' rage, hope, drive, and sacrifice and that is just good storytelling, baby.

The twists and turns had me at the edge of my seat and audibly gasping but I also loved the times I was begging the characters to have a different reaction or to do something other than what they did. THAT is a perfect five-star read, one that has me pulling and pushing like the ice dancers themselves.

I couldn't put it down, Layne, you have a new fan.

I am very lucky to have gotten an advance read on this. Thank you NetGalley and Random House!