Just wow. This was fantastic and so thrilling. One of my tops reads of this year for sure, and possibly a new all time favourite. I have never had a book make me FEEL so much when I was angry I wanted to smash something, when I was hurt it felt like I'd been punched in the gut and when I was sad there were actual tears streaming down my face. This is a testament to Fargo's skills, I'm in awe. I really loved the interview format that some of this book took and I loved the short chapters and obviously the characters, Katherine and Heath I love you. The plot was so thrilling I didn't ever want to put it down. This is the kind of book you give an instant 5 stars to, it's that good. Perfect for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid!

Who doesn’t love a good spicy figure skating novel? You can’t go wrong with this book! Perfect level of spice and scandal. The need for more is so intense.

4.5 ⭐️ I could not put this book down!

Synopsis: “The Favorites” follows the story of Katarina and Heath as they work their way up the ranks of the ice dancing world. It’s inspired by “Wuthering Heights”, which I may have to move higher up on my TBR list.

If you enjoyed Daisy Jones and the Six like I did, you will also enjoy this one. Part of the novel is told in the style of a documentary transcript and part is told from the perspective of Katarina, one of the main characters.

From the very beginning, I was hooked. I loved the format, I loved the writing style, and I loved the characters. The chapters were fairly short, which kept me engaged and frantically turning the pages, especially toward the end of the book. I will be reading some of Fargo’s previous works and will definitely re-read this when it’s released next year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this book.

Layne Fargo does it again with ‘The Favorites’ and gains her third 5-Star review from me. I absolutely love ‘They Never Learn’ and ‘Temper’ and ‘The Favorites’ will have a spot on my bookshelf waiting for its publishing date.

I’ve never been one to be captivated by ice skating. In fact, while I can appreciate that it takes a high level of skill, I’ve always found it quite boring. Fargo takes the world of ice skating, particularly ice dancing, and was able to make me feel invested and interested.

We start out with a young Katarina and a young Heath who are best friends, ice dancing partners, lovers, and each other’s entire world. Throughout the book we follow their path from nothing into something, the push and pull competitive sports consists of, and every emotion in between.

I could write so much about this book but it would do it an injustice and take away from the magic that Fargo herself has written. This book has it all; Friendship, love, hate, happiness, anger, you name it. I look forward to reading it again once it comes out next year.

The way I screamed when I was approved for this book on NetGalley!!!

I have been such a big fan of @laynefargo since first reading ‘They Never Learn’ a few years ago. Since then I’ve vowed to read any words written by Layne, from now until forever ✨🥹

Thank you @randomhouse for the review copy!

⭐️THE FAVORITES, out JAN 14⭐️

#thefavorites #laynefargo #randomhouse #thatbookbetchhh

At first I wasn’t sure if i was going to like a book based on Olympic Ice Dancing, but it being written by one of my favorite authors i should have known that i would be utterly obsessed! In my opinion Layne Fargo can do no wrong. Her writing is phenomenal and draws me in every time, for hours at a time! Also her character development is always PERFECTION! The ability for an author to make a 2D flat charter in a book into a fully fleshed out character in my mind, is simply amazing!

This book truly had everything!! It was salacious, full of drama, full of real deep emotions and sadness. I couldn’t recommend this book more!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC.

This book was.... fantastic. I ate it up. I loved the characters, I loved the drama, I loved the documentary, I loved ALL of it. The pain, the betrayal, the love, the friendships, the enemies... Omg. Stellar.

I will recommend to everyone.

I wanted to throw my kindle across the room and tear all my hair out at how RUTHLESS EVERYONE IN THIS BOOK WAS but I would have to put it down in order to do either of those things so I did not.

Kat and Heath need THERAPY and also A LONG HUG. Bella also needs therapy. Everyone in this book does actually.

It was infuriating and heart wrenching and enthralling. It did take awhile to take off - somehow the beginning was a little slow but also a lot of info really fast, but by the time things started to kick off it was RELENTLESS and I couldn’t set it down.

Also I feel a little nauseous but like in a good way? Maybe?

Layne Fargo, the writer that you are!

The Favorites is absolutely brilliant. It feels like the perfect release on the heels of Challengers (2024) and TJR's Carrie Soto is Back. It's an incredible tale of love, hate, and the glory of the win. It was deeply informative, educating on the lesser-known Olympic sport of ice dancing, which brought forth a really unique environment.

I simply couldn't put it down.

The whole novel was full of twists and turns that made *my* stomach curdle. It was bloody wonderful.

Thank you so much to Random House for the advanced copy for review. This truly was the read of a lifetime.

Layne Fargo is an iconnnn – her previous solo works ([book:Temper|49874088]and [book:They Never Learn|124948406]) are both easily five star reads, and I expected nothing less when I saw the premise of The Favorites.

Set in the world of ice dancing (Tessa and Scott 👀) with a story spanning 15+ years, this book was so good. I was immersed the second I started reading and completed it in just a few hours.

(More comments to come closer to pub date.)

Whoa!!!! This book is fucking amazing!!! I could NOT put it down. There is no way this book won’t be all over book tok! I love this book so much that i still feel like I should go back to re-read it incase I missed any details I didn’t realise the first time around. If I could rate more than 5 stars, I would!!!

At first, I found the format of The Favorites confusing. It is a documentary woven with Katarina’s, the female lead character, side of the story. After a few chapters, the story started to flow and make more sense. The documentary portion allows the reader to have insight to multiple side character’s thoughts without dedicating chapters to each character.
The story follows Katarina and her childhood best friend and ice dancing partner, Heath, through their adolescence into adulthood. The reader is introduced to the cut-throat and toxic world of competitive sports, as Katarina and Heath dream of competing in the Olympics.
Overall, I enjoyed The Favorites and would recommend it. Why the four stars, instead of 5?There was one specific topic that I struggled with regarding Katarina’s frenemy, Bella. Also, I wanted a more definitive answer regarding the status of Katarina and Heath’s relationship status. I didn’t like the “on and off again” for over a decade.

The Favorites" by Layne Fargo is a captivating novel that kept me hooked from start to finish. This gripping tale follows the journey of fictional Olympic ice dancers, exploring their triumphs and downfalls in a way that is truly unputdownable. What sets this book apart is its accessibility; despite revolving around the world of ice dancing, Fargo ensures that the narrative remains engaging and relatable to all readers. Rather than focusing on technical intricacies, the author delves deep into the emotional landscapes of the main characters during their performances, preventing the story from becoming mired in excessive technicalities. Personally, I found myself enchanted by the storyline and would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone seeking a roller coaster of emotions and a truly immersive reading experience.

Layne Fargo can do no wrong. To be honest I was a little hesitant to read this book because it’s not my usual go to genre but I absolutely loved They Never Learn so I knew I had to give it a shot and let me tell you, I was obsessed. Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. I finished it in less than 24 hours.

Kat and Heath stole my heart, they are both flawed and nowhere near the perfect couple but I was just as obsessed with them as they are with each other. I loved Kats complicated relationships with other characters in the story.

I loved how the story is told with the alteration between Kats POV and the documentary style. I think the added interviews from the documentary add so much to the overall story.

I highly recommend this book, even if it’s not your usual genre, it is 100% worth it.

OBSESSED with this novel!! It has every delicious skating scandal from the last few decades. I could NOT put it down! This will definitely be a reread for me. I will absolutely be buying a physical copy when it is released. This one will be an incredible book club pick!

5 stars out of 5! Can I give it more?! It was that good.

Wow, what an incredible book! This has been one of my favorite reads so far this year and a top 5 ever. I was immediately drawn into the book and could not put it down. The book had a great set up where after every chapter there was dialogue from the interviews of the documentary about "The Favorites". I found myself invested in Heath and Katarina's relationship and was routing for them the whole time. This book was a perfect love story and I highly, highly recommend reading it!

In The Favorites, we follow the lives of Heath and Katarina. They met and grew up in a suburb of Chicago and both had a passion for skating. Kat wanted to be an olympic skater and would do everything she could to get there and win. The books gives us an inside picture of what happened during those years. We get the highs, the lows, and everything in between.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was intense. I loved the use of interviews at the end of each chapter - they added so much depth and intrigue to Kat’s recollection of events.

I was riveted by the first 70% or so of the novel but then was a little exhausted by the constant push and pull of Kat and Heath and the devastation they inflict on one another. I found it hard to root for them to be together. Still, this is an enjoyable, addictive read.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Thank you to NetGalley.com and Random House Publishing for an advanced copy of this book.

The Favorites follows the skating careers of Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha. Both come from shattered families, and it is on the ice where they find solace from the world around them. Right from the start, Shaw and Rocha have an intrinsic connection that is electric both on and off the ice. Theres is a love story that sends the reader through a roller coaster of emotions as the pair finds their way through the cutthroat world of competitive ice dancing.

This book grabbed my attention right from the very beginning. The format was unique in that it switches between the perspective of a documentary about the duo complete with interviews from those who knew them best and Shaw’s first person narrative. I felt that this was highly effective in making this a fast paced read that had me tearing through the pages to see what would happen next.

I fell in love with Katarina and Heath. They were raw, and flawed, and real. This was not a saccharine sweet, fluffy love story. These characters loved each other and hurt each other, supported one another and betrayed one another. So many times while reading this my heart broke into pieces, just to bandaged back together again shortly thereafter. I also enjoyed the supporting cast of characters, who added so many dynamic layers to the highly dysfunctional skating world that we got a glimpse of.

And finally, speaking of the skating world, I ate every moment of that up. The chaos, the blood sweat and tears, the fierce rivalries… I loved it all. It was drama reminiscent of the Tonya Harding scandal wrapped up with the familiar sentimentality and reverence to elite skaters of years gone by. It made me feel like a kid again engrossed in the magic of figure skating during the Olympics.

A Wuthering Heights retelling that I wanted to love. I had a difficult time connecting to the characters and their motivations. I did enjoy the multiple perspectives of Kat and the documentary.

I am blown away by the author’s sheer talent. Their writing style would have you hypnotised. Their words consume you, they lure you in and spit you out. They caress, they anger and make you want to cry leaving you exhausted and yet renewed. I would definitely be reading more from the author.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy

2024 has lots of time left but this might end up in my top 5 books of the year. The premise (the rise and fall and rise of an olympic hopeful ice dancer) and the structure (first person chapters with documentary oral history snippets in between), kept the momentum going in a way that made me want to read "just one more chapter"