Wuthering Heights and ice dancing? That sounded right up my alley and, in this case, it was. This was such a fun, dramatic soap opera of a book. I didn't always like the characters, but I loved reading about them. It's been awhile since I read Wuthering Heights, but I feel like this book did it justice and made the story its own. It was the kind of highly entertaining book that I was sad to see end.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Deliciously scandalous.

At first I didn’t love the writing style and the storytelling in this one, but once I got used to it I was hooked. I really enjoyed the look at the ice dancing world - give me more ice skating sports romances please.

The Favorites by Layne Fargo portrays the salacious details of an inside look at competitive ice dancing, not to be confused with ice skating. The chapter format alternates between Katarina’s POV and a documentary format with snippets from judges, competitors, and reporters. While it initially captured my attention, about 45% through I found it somewhat catty among characters and it felt too much like a soap opera.

I had higher hopes for this book. While I loved the drama among competitors and the romance between Heath & Katarina, who grew up together, grew into fame together and whose relationship went through challenges, I was somewhat bored and looking forward to the end. It felt like there were a million competitions which I’m sure there are in a skater’s career, however I couldn’t keep track of which were which and how high the stakes were for each. I also thought the book could have been 100 pages shorter and still portrayed the intended drama and storylines.

Thank you to NetGalley, Layne Fargo and Random House for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Mark my words this is going to be a very popular title come January.

Entertaining, juicy, cutthroat fun. Enter the world of Figure Skating the same way we entered the world of Daisy Jones, told in a documentary style mixed with detailed chapters this book sucks you in and doesn’t quit.

My only issue is it’s about 100 pages too long and needed to be tightened up but nonetheless good solid entertainment.

Wuthering Heights meets Daisy Jones and the Six set in the ice dance world- I could not put this book down! I was obsessed. I loved the format of part narrative style/part transcript from a documentary about the events of the book. I've already started recommending this book, and I know it will be great for bookclubs!

This is an interesting novel that at times frustrated me. After doing a little behind the scenes research, realized this book is a modern retelling of Great Expectations. I’ve never read the inspiration story but the description seems utterly depressing. With that in mind, I can see some parallels so brace yourself for some complicated storylines. The comparison to Daisy Jones and the Six is in the expository nature of the storytelling. Captured like a documentary, the story gives behind the scene antidotes from people who are supporting characters in Katarina and Heath’s story. Loved the deep dive into the world of competitive ice dancing. So much I didn’t know about that is described in so much depth. At the heart of the story is a love story. A couple’s love that twists and turns. So much angst and many obstacles and I’m not sure if the ending was as satisfying as I thought it would be. Mixed feelings about this one but it will definitely have me thinking about it for awhile. 4 solid stars!

While not my favorite by this author, I did enjoy this! My one criticism: I wish there was more character depth/relationship detail and less ice dancing detail. Over all a solid 4 stars for me:)

I’ve never read a book by this author but I’ll definitely be checking out her other work. I’m a big fan of the way she set up and carried out the story. Definitely worth reading if you’re a fan of this genre!

The best book I've read all year and now I can't talk about it with others until next year?? Cruel world. This was so intoxicating, more-ish, and completely unputdownable. I literally had a dream about this book last night it was that engrossing. I've also just realised it's loosely drawn from Wuthering Heights which is my least favourite classic novel, possibly my least favourite book ever, so to turn that story into something that gripped me so heartily is so so so wonderful to see. I'm so happy I got this ARC and I can't wait to see what Layne Fargo writes next!

This was WILD and I could not put it down!! This has all the vibes of gossip girl and kept me second guessing everything. It was a blast

I’ll be honest, I originally requested a copy of The Favorites under the assumption that it was a thriller 😅🫣. I saw the author’s name and jumped to (incorrect) conclusions 😂. Luckily, I realized my error before diving in, but was still happy to read it anyway.

I’m so glad that I picked this one up because IT COMPLETELY BLEW ME AWAY 🥹🤍. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so captivated by a book. I couldn’t put it down! When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it.

It was set-up as a fictional memoir about a famous figure skating duo and it had a bit of a Daisy Jones and the Six vibe to it. I’m not even a fan of figure skating, but I loved this!

I am such a sucker for a strong female main character and an underdog story, and this story had both!! The main character, Katarina Shaw was a total powerhouse. She was passionate, ambitious, and a real firecracker. She made no apologies for who she was and loved everything about her!

Trust me, you’re going to want to read this one!!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this e-ARC!

Excellent piece of fiction! Epic romance, epic sports. Was playing out like a movie in the best way. The drama of it all reminded me of Gossip Girl and I mean that in the best way possible. Everything is high stakes and you can trust no one. I would recommend this to most anyone.

4.5 stars because this was wild and I ate it up. The Wuthering Heights inspiration is absolutely perfect in this cutthroat ice dance setting and this was just so fun to read!

I LOVED this.
I had read The Never Learn by Layne Fargo and so I grabbed this without knowing anything about it. I had assumed it would be of a similar genre and let me tell you, it's not. That said, I loved it so much.
As someone who grew up loving figure skating this book was right up my alley. I got so invested in this story at one point I had to stop myself from looking up these skaters :D
Fast paced and deeply intriguing I couldn't put this book down. Skating, obsession, friendships and romance. I loved every moment of it.
For my more in-depth spoiler free review check out my youtube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXQTyn6Fha4&t=326s

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It held my interest throughout and I was surprised by the ending. Recommended for readers of general and sports fiction.

What a fantastic book! I was ecstatic to read Fargo’s new novel after absolutely loving “They never learn”. I wasn’t so sure about this book at first, since figure skating isn’t something i’ve ever been interested in. This book shocked me with how much I enjoyed it. It didn’t have too much thriller in it. I would have liked to see more. Nonetheless, great novel!

The first thing I thought of when I saw this book was one of my favorite movies, 1992’s The Cutting Edge, even though many reviews kept saying it was a retelling of Wuthering Heights. Then, I started reading it. Turns out it was those two books plus Welcome Back, Carrie Soto! I was hooked and couldn’t put the book down.

The fast pace, fascinating characters and unique mix of first person narration with documentary interviews all work together to make this a really fun read.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

This book had me completely sucked in from beginning to end. It’s a sports romance that follows the toxic, dysfunctional love story between Olympic ice skaters Kat and Heath. The story alternates between Kat’s POV and a documentary style format told with interviews from the people who knew them and other professionals in the sport. The storytelling was so clever and unique.
The characters were messy, and often times unlikable, but I felt so connected to them. I loved the ending of the book. I felt really satisfied with how everything was tied up.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

Wow! I’d never watched OTH before reading this, but had to start upon finishing this book. It truly made me wonder how many small cults are alive and thriving in 2024. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for sending me this ARC.

Okay WOW. I absolutely devoured The Favorites. I can’t say enough good things about this novel and will be hyping it up and recommending to all of my friends. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to experience the entirety of Kat and Heath’s skating career - the highs and lows and everything in between both on and off the ice. They were both frustrating characters at times and yet I was always rooting for them. I loved the narrative style Fargo used to tell the story with the documentary interstitials between chapters feeling like E! True Hollywood Story in the best way. I would run through a wall for Shaw and Rocha and can’t wait for the world to read this book! (4.5 stars rounded down)