4/5 stars
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of Layne Fargo’s latest, The Favorites! This was such a departure from the author’s previous works, but I LOVED the switch up. We follow Katarina Shaw, an elite ice dancer through the ups and downs of her career and Olympic aspirations. Interspersed throughout are “clips” of interviews from a documentary being done on Shaw and her skating partner Heath Rocha. This was juicy, scandalous, and highly entertaining. I would recommend to honestly anyone. It publishes 1/14/25!

This book is compulsively readable and juicy-- I couldn't put it down. A good read for anyone, it would be even better if you know the drama of 90s/early 200s figure skating like I do; it adds another fun layer of remembering Stars on Ice, the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan debacle, the heartbreak of Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov. It will be an EVEN better reading experience if you also love Wuthering Heights and can piece out how this is a really unique retelling. One layer is enough to enjoy this; three made it really great for me. I didn't expect this to be nearly as well-done as it was, and will definitely be recommending to others when it is released. I've heard the audio will be full-cast and features Johnny Weir; that will be another layer of great. So glad I read this! Thanks very much to Netgalley for the ARC.

OH. MY. GOD.

This is literally utter perfection. If you get the chance, absolutely sprint to read this!!! I highly suggest listening to the audiobook. It has a full cast and it creates a fantastic atmosphere to drive forward the conflicts and tension packed plot.

The drama is INSANE in this book. These MCs go THROUGH IT and despite it all (even with flawed character choices), you root for them anyways. I loved that the politics of the skating world act as the main character that's constantly provoking Kat and Heath over the course of their partnership. The interview style chapters in between really help you get a full bodied feel to the world and the people constantly in Kat and Heath's lives.

I cannot stop thinking about this book. It's utter perfection found within the tension between Kat and Heath professionally as well as emotionally. These characters go through so much. Each one is incredibly flawed and focused on their sole purposes, whether that be to win or to love.

I wouldn't classify this as a romance; however, it' a beautiful example of two people who will forever be intertwined within one another's lives.

Run to listen or read this one January 14th!!!!

Also Johnny Weir as Ellis was the best thing I've ever listened to.

Thank you PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook!!!

This book took me by surprise. Daisy jones style story telling with ice skating and more, this is everything.

When childhood friends and long time skaters get thrown into the world of Olympic Ice dance, the politics and competition do what they can to pull Katarina and Heath apart. This story was so push and pull and honestly I was anxious the WHOLE BOOK!!

All I wanted was to keep reading, it was fast paced and help my attention through the whole story. The characters are lovable and hatable, I was mad at everyone multiple times!!

I will be recommending this book to everyone!

I was hearing some chatter around this book in the Literary Fiction community and although it's not my absolute favourite genre, I was seeing people who mostly read romance read this and love it so I decided to pick this up and I'm so glad I did! The comp to Daisy Jones and the Six really does pan out. This was so juicy and scandalous, but also so romantic and the writing style was so easy to follow, I adored everything about this. So, if this seems interesting to you, you should definitely pick this up when it releases on January 14th 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

5⭐
No 🌶️ but still feels spicy?!

Ummm I think I'm going to need 3-4 business days to recover from this book and write a good review. This book was EVERYTHING. Figure skating, competition, rivals turned friends, lovers turned enemies, the Olympics, a bit of a throuple and a Wuthering Height's retelling all in the same book!! I couldn't put this down and I couldn't guess where the twists and pirouettes and jumps were headed next.

If you loved Spinning Out on Netflix (or The Cutting Edge) and Daisy Jones and the Six and classical novels, you MUST read this in 2025. It was good. Read it so we can gush over it together.

I loved Layne Fargo's previous book, They Never Learn, and this was much different from that type of story. Her writing is still great, though. However, I didn't love the characters, and felt some of their interactions felt unbelievable. It's also a long book that began to feel redundant at times. I did like the competition aspect and that the author used interview transcripts interspersed throughout the story to give more insight into what was going on. If you're a fan of drama and Olympic ice skating then give this one a try.

to say I merely loved this book would be a gross understatement; let me start with some context.

my first obsession as a kid was figure skating - not doing it myself, just watching it on tv. I was so fascinated by the way they moved on the ice and I’d watch every skating event on tv, it’s actually a big part of how I fell in love with pop music (I loved how fargo includes specific songs Kat would skate to), I’d watch their routines over and over just to hear the songs. my parents would take me to stars on ice (which is actually mentioned in this book) and one year our seats were on the ice and I cried when my fav and resident crush tara lipinski shook my hand.

needless to say reading a book set in the figure skating world of the ‘00s brought me back. it’s clear that Fargo did her research on the sport, and following Kat and Heath through the training programs was my favorite part of the book. at its core this book is a coming-of-age story mixed with a toxic romance between strongwilled Kat and whiny man-child Heath (sorry i hated him!). I love a good long book where you get to follow the characters over decades and really get to dig into their lives and drama. this reminded me a lot of Taylor Jenkins Reid books in the way she tells stories.

this was kind of the book equivalent of what <i>wicked</i> is to me this year - perfectly made for my personal tastes because they evoke things that were really special to me as a kid. i love you layne fargo

I’ve seen the comparisons to Daisy Jones and the Six, and I completely agree with them. I loved the interview style in between Katarina’s pov telling her story, and honestly I might’ve preferred for the entire story to be written that way just like Daisy Jones. But I was very much absorbed in the story the way it was written.
Although this book was quite long, it held my attention the entire time. I enjoyed reading about the ups and downs of competitive ice dancing along with the scandals. Plus the differing viewpoints from other competitors, to coaches and judges was handled really well.

This really did bring the drama. Sometimes it felt a bit out there in terms of believability, but there’s been a ton of figure skating scandals. Of course those don’t all center around one person. But even if it was a bit wild, it was a good read that kept entertained.

Was really looking forward to picking this up with the comparisons to daisy jones. I love how the book read, the interviews were great. I was intoxicated with know how things were going to go. I struggled with how messy the main characters were and their poor choices over and over got a little tiring. But I thought it was overall interesting and engaging. The ending did feel a little rushed as well.

I really enjoyed this and couldn't read fast enough but I was also genuinely angry for at least 40% of the book and now I'm exhausted. Definitely not a masterpiece but the drama of it all was worth it

This felt like a combination of The View Was Exhausting, Carrie Soto Is Back, and Daisy Jones & The Site so if you liked any of those you'll probably like this too.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Yall. Stop. Go read this. Now.

I LOVED The Favorites so much. This is an autobuy author for me and I can't wait to read what she writes next and plan to check out her backlist. I just so happen to have read Daisy Jones and the Six this month which sue me, but I DNF'd it. THIS is what I wanted that book to be. This is easily going down in my favorites list. I already can't wait to read it again.

Some things I loved about this book: it's very well written, we truly get to know and love (at times feel frustrated with cuz humans) the characters and their relationships with each other. Layne Fargo has a way of fully developing characters while also keeping up with a compelling and interesting plot. This isn't just a story of Ice Dancing, it's a story of love and friendship as well as heartbreak and trauma. Though I enjoyed this better I would say this is for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six, Carrie Soto is Back and It Ends With Us. If you enjoyed any of those, please give this a try. I'm actually obsessed with this book, like writing this review makes me feel excited and happy all over again.

The Favorites uses a lot of different mixed media to tell this story which is something I feel really keeps stories fresh and responsive to the plot. We get to know not only the two main characters but several well thought out side characters one being a reporter that everyone has a complicated relationship with. Some of the mixed media is this documentary that is being done that follows our main characters and tells their story of fame and loss. The documentary aspect was really fun and immersive.

I just can't say enough good things about this story. I loved it so much. Please give it a try.

This book was insane. So entertaining, full of drama, betrayals, secrets, angst, tension. It reminded me of some of TJR’s books, like Daisy Jones and Carrie Soto, which I LOVED so I loved this. I love following famous people whether they’re singers or athletes and the things that come with their lifestyle. From page one I was hooked and fascinated by Katarina’s character. This book was never dull, never slow, never boring, and I found myself picking my kindle up whenever I could to get some pages in. I loved the layout of this book with the fast paced short chapters and then interview style commentary from other characters. These characters are so frustrating but so real, so you find yourself connecting to them and hoping for the best for them anyways. The character growth was also so good and exactly what I needed from these characters. So good, so drama filled, so full of tension. Highly recommend grabbing this THE DAY IT RELEASES January 14!! I’ll definitely be doing a reread on audio. Thank you Random House for the arc!!

This book is very interesting as it is a women's fiction about a love story/relationship that spans time and life experiences between them and things in between. Both the fmc and the mmc are complex characters that met each other when they were kids, became inseparable and developed a friendship. The FMC's goal is to be an Olympic skater and she and the mmc start skating together and that leads to the start of their skating career.

The way the book is structured is cool because the beginning of the chapters are done like an interview/documentary-style story. The relationship between the fmc and mmc starts off as a childhood sweetheart story and then once other characters get into the picture it becomes toxic as their careers improve and they get in the limelight. We see toxic friendships, getting in with rich families, breakups, revenge and it's intriguing. I think the writing was good and within the span of these characters' lives, I saw the effects of the spotlight on the relationships and how spiteful it made the main characters. At points in the book I was like all these have acted horribly lol but the character development was great and they did grow in realistic ways. Overall this was good its a relationship at the core of this story but there's a lot more to it.

Thank you Random House for this arc for an honest review.

(4.5) Addicting, captivating and down right bingeable. I went in with the tiniest of knowledge and was immediately engrossed in the story. The format of this made it hard to step away from. I have no doubts most reviews will mention its likeness to Daisy Jones and the Six and my review is one of them. It does have the similar story format and I've been itching for another story like that since I read it so this was perfect. Fargo made me care so deeply for these characters that their every up and down was deeply personal to me. Even at their most frustrating (and there was a lot of that) they had me wrapped around their fingers hanging on their every action. I don't know anything about ice dancing but man did I feel like it was my favorite sport while reading this. The passion and intensity was just so good. This is bound to be popular after its release date and I can’t wait to see what people think!

Thank you to the publisher for the early access!!

Katarina Shaw is absolutely one of my favorite characters of all time, and I loved this Wuthering Heights meets ice dancing culture epic that reads like a thriller!

Heath and Katarina have been inseparable since childhood, when Kat's father took guardianship over Heath, a lonely foster kid. After her father passed, her older brother tortured Heath, and Kat and Heath snuck around, finding solace in each other. Katarina is entirely sure she is meant to be an Olympic skater, and she and Heath hone their skills at their small town's rink. As their skills progress, their journey through the cut throat world of Olympic figure skating morphs their relationship in irrevocable ways, magnifying Heath's consuming need for Kat, and Kat's unyielding, singular motivation to win an Olympic gold.

Told over years of their lives, the story of two scrappy, rebellious childhood sweethearts unfurls through Kat's perspective, and the transcripts of a documentary created about the two of them. Will their fiery, passionate relationship take them to the highest heights or run them into the ground?

Every now and then, I read fiction that's not a thriller that floors me and engages me in the way thrillers do, and The Favorites falls in that category for me. I have never burned through an almost 500 page book so quickly! I thoroughly enjoyed Layne's voicey narrative, her exploration of viciously ambitious women, and the high stakes drama of figure skating. The documentary sections keep the pace moving along, while also providing amazingly snarky monologues that had me laughing out loud a few times. (If you've read it, you know why I want an Ellis Dean in my life).

It's truly a work of art, the way Fargo creates such a deeply layered cast of characters who all ride satisfying story arcs, while providing an unflinching look at both the allure and cost of ambition. I loved living in Katarina Shaw's world, and was surprisingly emotional by the end of it.

My comps are really specific in why they are comped:
- The documentary storytelling and complex relationships between a group of people over a long time period reminded me of Daisy Jones and the Six
- Kat's singular obsession with getting that gold, and the media's response to a ruthlessly ambitious woman reminded me of Carrie Soto is Back
- Kat's unflinching obsession with skating and winning, and the complex relationships between a set of skaters reminded me of the movie Challengers (Zendaya's part in Challengers came to mind so often for me with Kat)
- The hyper-competitive setting of skating and conversations about women's bodies reminded me of Bodies to Die For

All of this said, just PICK UP THIS BOOK. It is absolutely my new go-to recommendation for people who read any genre.

Like Daisy Jones & the Six, but in the world of ice skating. Layne Fargo is a true gem for creating this beautiful, hear-wrenching story.
Full Review to come.

Layne Fargo’s latest novel, The Favorites, has set the bar incredibly high for my reading year—and it’s only January! This stunning story revolves around childhood best friends whose relationship deepens into something more, all set against the high-stakes, emotionally charged world of figure skating. Fargo masterfully balances heartwarming and heartbreaking moments, crafting a journey that is as raw and emotional as it is unforgettable.

The character development in The Favorites is simply extraordinary. From the protagonists to the supporting cast, every character feels real, multidimensional, and alive. You’ll find yourself deeply invested in their stories, rooting for them, aching with them, and celebrating their victories.

If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would—it deserves 100! This novel is destined to be a favorite among book clubs, sparking meaningful discussions about love, ambition, and the complexities of growing up. I just finished it and am already planning my reread because it’s that phenomenal.

Having read several of Layne Fargo’s works, I came into The Favorites with high expectations—but this book surpasses them all. It’s in a league of its own. Whether you’re a voracious reader or someone who picks up just a few books a year, The Favorites is an absolute must-read. Do yourself a favor and move it to the top of your TBR list right now—you won’t regret it!

Wow. Daisy Jones on ice! I won't give too much away but this was fabulous. I liked the documentary style writing mixed in with Katerina's point of view. It was twisty and angsty and I wasn't even sure who I was rooting for by the end of it. A great read!

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

I simultaneously loved and hated this book. At parts it was slow and the ending felt rushed, but it was suspenseful enough to keep you turning the pages. Told in a documentary style format, this is a story of two young lovers who become ice skating champions. At times, both the female mc Katarina, and the male mc, Heath are so unlikeable I didn't want to continue. Still I continued on to see how is all comes together. Scandal, betrayal, abuse, love and hate makes for a intriguing read. I also appreciated a glimpse into the darker side of the figure skating world.
All in all I would recommend this book. Some have said this is a steamy take on Wuthering Heights, I'd agree!