Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha were not just ice-dancing legends; they were a captivating phenomenon, their journey as thrilling as their performances. A decade after their partnership ended in heartbreak, Kat bravely shares her story to reveal the truth behind the headlines—one that is likely to be more profound and emotional than anyone could have anticipated.

I found it hard to set this book down! I was so deeply invested in Katarina and Heath’s relationship, as well as each character’s connection to the sport they love. This novel touched my heart, and I will definitely be recommending it to everyone I know. I truly enjoyed every moment of it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of The Favorites in exchange for review!
5 ⭐️s

(From the back of the book): To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession. An epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating, starring a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice.

The Favorites follows Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha, two small-town nobodies who fight and scrap their way into the elite world of ice dance with nothing but their own determination. As they chase dreams of Olympic gold with rebellious choreography and notorious passion, their all-consuming bond creates chemistry on the ice, but it just might burn them down before they get there.

I loved this story so much! It’s an ambitious narrative, spanning several decades, and the author pulled it off seamlessly. I was enthralled equally by the world of elite figure skating as well as the dynamics of the cast. Every character was flawed in a compelling way, especially Katarina Shaw, our leading lady. I adore female MCs who are allowed to be messy and hungry and fierce, and Katarina is that to a tee. The plot as well was captivating; there were so many twists I was constantly surprised and desperate to turn the page.

My only critique is that the theme was perhaps a little heavy handed in the end, but this did not detract from my reading experience and did fit the character arc that was orchestrated.

10/10 would recommend!

The Favorites is I N C R E D I B L E.
This book had me in a chokehold. As someone who is a huge figure skating fan, I devoured this novel over the weekend. I felt as if I had been transported into the story and knew the characters. I felt a rollercoaster of emotions, and I absolutely LOVED the excerpts from people being interviewed.

This is going to be a Reader Favorite in 2025.

Wow wow wow, this was one of the most engaging books I’ve read all year and I’m so glad I was able to finish the year on a high note! I thought this book was amazing and so well thought off. I enjoyed that character building of Kat. How she came full circle and ended up being happy with Heath and no gold even though she deserved it. My only qualm, is that I did not enjoy Bella and Heath having a baby together, that needed to not be a thing. Otherwise, I loved this book, absolutely heartbroken when it ended and I already want to read it again.

If you love Daisy Jones & the Six and figure skating, you're going to love this book. I was expecting this to be a bit more thriller-y due to my favourite Layne Fargo book, They Never Learn, so I was a bit letdown by this but if you go into this knowing it's more literary fiction, you'll love it. With short chapters, documentary style snippets interspersed throughout, and lots of dramatic twists, this book is a fun and quick read.

4.5 round up to 5 ⭐️

I had no idea what to expect going into this, but I could not put it down. It was such an intriguing and captivating take on a documentary style story. I got TJR, Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, type vibes with a little bit of Magnolia Parks drama and toxicity thrown in.

It was such a raw and real life story. Olympic athletes, ice skating, drama, gossip, on again off again, friendships, competition, multiple times I was on the edge of my seat. I’m very interested to listen to the audio because I’ve heard that it’s very good as well.

I love the complexity of the story, while also just enjoying how different it was from typical reads. You got story line and then also documentary conversation thrown into the story, seeing both what was happening and what everyone thought was happening on the outside looking in.

Honestly, what a way to end the year. I’m thoroughly pleased to have read this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the early read!

Set in the world of competitive figure skating, The Favorites was like nothing I’ve read before but felt like it was the book I’ve been waiting for since the Nancy Kerrigan Tonya Harding days (did I just date myself?!).

Coming January 14, I already expect this will be making a splash in 2025!

This book is deliciously dramatic. I ended up listening on audio, which is a full cast and truly wonderful. I only dabble in beach reads, but this seems like the perfect one.

The Favorites gave me whiplash both from the incredibly descriptive writing about the ice dancers moving around the rink, to the compelling story with all of the twists and turns and sharp edges. I really loved this book and highly recommend!

What an all-consuming read! This story set in the competitive world of ice-dancing is one in which to get lost. From the interview/documentary style story telling to the underdog ice team characters of Kat and Heath, you won't be able to put this one down until you reach the end page. A great read for anyone who likes a competitive story set in the high stakes world of Olympic sports.

What a banger! I am genuinely so sad that this story ended. This book had the perfect level of drama/mess/heartbreak. The last act was a real thrill ride. Somehow, even though I couldn't see the figure skating, the writing was completely captivating! Thank you Layne Fargo for reminding me how amazing 'State of Grace' is....early 2000's music is ELITE!! Might f*ck around and read Wuthering Heights!!

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC and the PERFECT Christmas gift.

The Favorites was a wild ride! Who knew ice dancing could be so cutthroat?! Katarina grew up in an abusive, low-income home but always knew her dream was to become an Olympic gold medalist. When she meets Heath, a lonely boy in foster care, she realizes there's more to life than skating. Why not merge those two passions together?

This book isn't a romance novel, but love is sprinkled throughout. Expect broken hearts and bloodshed in this story. I absolutely loved the interview-style narrative—it kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering what would happen next.

A thrilling and heart-wrenching read! 🥇⛸️🩷

Katarina Shaw, notorious ice dancer, has been called it all: bitch, sore loser, criminal. Now she is telling her story.

I love stories like this where you get an inner look at the highest level of a sport or hobby; in this case, Olympic level ice dancing. I loved how this started with Katarina and Heath at a young age; we got to see them age together. While a thick novel, it flew by, as there was always some drama ensuing. This would have been a five star read for me except I did not love the main characters. I felt some of their arguments were petty and over-dramatic, but I also understand they were young and in stressful situations.

“Happiness cannot be won. It couldn’t be hung around our necks while a crowd of thousands cheered. It wasn’t a prize, something we had to suffer and toil to earn. If we wanted happiness, we had to create it ourselves. Not in one shining moment in a medal stand, but every single day, over and over again.”

The Favorites comes out 1/14.

"Everyone thinks Heath Rocha was my first love. He wasn't. My first love was figure skating." (loc. 301*)

For Katarina, ice dancing was a lifeline—it's an escape from her dilapidated family home and from her brother's abuse. It's the possibility of a dream. For Heath, Katarina was a lifeline—the only person who believes in her. But it could never be quite that simple, and for everything that went right...well, there's a reason there's a documentary being made about them. And there's a reason or two Katarina is not participating.

I tend to forget the entire description of a book between deciding to read it and actually picking it up, so in this case all I remembered was that it was about ice skating—but almost as soon as I started reading, it became obvious (I mean, the names alone, but also) that this was a "Wuthering Heights" retelling, so I put my reading on pause for a minute to go do a reread. "The Favorites" is heavily inspired by "Wuthering Heights", but it's not a straight retelling; in my experience, retellings are at their best when they don't try to hew too closely to the original, and this is no exception. The themes are still there, but expect a lot fewer women dying in or around childbirth and (mercifully) a lot fewer suicide threats. Also, there are distinct shades of the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan rivalry—again, this is not at all a retelling of that piece of history, but there's at least one direct reference to them, and it's hard not to see certain parallels. (Everyone loves a good underdog/golden girl story.)

"When I was strong and self-assured, people recoiled from me. They told me I was too competitive, too ambitious, too much. But when I was brought low, bruised and bleeding, a princess in need of a rescue instead of a conquering queen, they loved me." (loc. 3665)

The structure is one of my favorite things about the book: script-style dialogue from the documentary, then Katarina's telling of the events as they happened—the side that the documentarians don't, can't know—and so on and so forth. It keeps the story happening more or less chronologically, brings in a bit of time-and-place feel, gives us a small window into what happened with some of the characters...but keeps the big reveals where they belong. (And my gosh, this is not a story short on drama: certain events about halfway through could have been the climax of the entire book, and instead they're just a teaser of sorts for what comes later.) And I love that Katarina knows that love was not enough for her, and for different reasons it would never be enough for Heath:

"Heath had a bottomless pit inside him too, but it had nothing to do with ambition. No matter how much love I gave him, it would never be enough. He wanted to be everything to me, the way I was everything to him.

And I would always want more." (loc. 1810)

In some ways their relationship is a pretty major departure from the inspiration; Katarina Shaw might put skating first, but she does put Heath Rocha second most of the time; Cathy Shaw, meanwhile, puts herself first and Heathcliff a distant ways down the list. Neither of these outcomes, of course, satisfies anyone involved—but my gosh it makes for something compulsively readable. "The Favorites" is not a short book, and nor is it a particularly fast read, but it's pretty well gripping. Recommended for readers who enjoy skating competitions as either competitors or spectators, for those who enjoy Brontë retellings (and general grimness), and of anyone who likes a bit of *messy* every now and then.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.

dnf at 34%. i was so bored. it turns out that i don't care about ice dancing at all

my initial thoughts were that this book is I, Tonya meets Daisy Jones & the Six, except that the additions of documentary pieces are scattered lazily throughout the book, always at the end of a selection of chapters, for no real reason, there were a lot of characters, none of them memorable or even likeable. the romance was juvenile, the MC was selfish, and the drive and ambition of each character to become world-class ice dancers was not believable. i was just not convinced of anything i was reading. the writing is fine, it's just slow, and long, and i couldn't bring myself to finish it. maybe it gets better if you stick with it, but i can't recommend this because of how long it might take to get into

this ARC was provided by Random House via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review--unfortunately this one did just not work out for me

First, thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of a book everyone is talking about! I'd never read anything by Layne Fargo, but the way several people I know raved about this made me very curious to read it.

This was both a five star and a one star book rolled all into one. I could rank this book at every star and be perfectly comfortable justifying my rating at that level.

I hate Wuthering Heights. It's my least favorite classic novel. But as an adaptation, this book does a phenomenal job of channeling the toxic energy of every character of that book into modern day. The setting of ice dancing, competition, and the Olympics were fascinating, and just the right amount of drama to draw out complicated relationships and tbh super fucked up things to happen.

This is a book that lends itself to compulsive reading. I was lucky to have a day of travel from one coast to the other, so I had about 12 hours to devote to this book. And I'm glad I did because putting it down over the course of a few days would have been very difficult. The author does an excellent job of ending each chapter with something that is going to make you dive in for more.

One thing I have to point out, and maybe this is me being too close of a reader, but there were multiple references to Center Stage. Sassy Ellis makes a comment about "she's going unhinge her job and swallow him whole", which is what sassy Eric says. Later Heath says to Kat "No, it's your dream". There's a couple named Ilya and Galina, which are the real names of the couple named Serge and Galina in the film. Hopefully the author is also a big Center Stage fan and these are easter eggs, but who knows.

Overall, I'm not going to freak out and fangirl over this like so many people are, but it was a fun read and one I really enjoyed.

The Favorites holds up a mirror to the world of elite figure skating, but what's reflected there isn't always prestigious or glamorous. With coaches that are as much tormentors as they are cheerleaders, competitors that will stop at nothing to win (a club on the knee a la Tanya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan is tame in comparison) and grueling training schedules that test even the strongest bodies and minds, the ice these athletes (some as young as twelve) skate on can be mighty thin. Told in "documentary style" (think Daisy Jones & the Six), and first person narrative, The Favorites is so engrossing you'll think no time has gone by when actually it's been hours. With dialogue as sharp as any blade (you'll laugh out loud at the insights and recollections of former men's skater Ellis Dean), and a plot that features romance, suspense, and intensity, The Favorites is a must read even if you don't know the difference between a twizzle (where a skater rotates one foot while moving across the ice), and a Twizzler candy. Every judge (reader!) will agree...The Favorites is a Perfect 10!

The thing I love most about this story was the characters. I loved their ruthlessness and dedication. Some characters weren’t even deserving of empathy or compassion at moments, but somehow I had empathy for them. If you are looking for something with gripping characters this is your book.

Katarina Shaw is a six star character! She deserves to be highlighted! Her complexity was very human and relatable. Even with her toxicity Fargo makes you care so much for Kat. I loved her growth throughout this book. By far one of my favorite characters. She is someone I would look up to has a women.

I was also hugely invested in the plot. I really enjoyed the documentary part of it. It was so interesting getting the prospective of side characters. Even though they didn’t play a huge role in the story their interviews add so much to the story. I felt as if I was there at every companion on the edge of my seat. I can’t forget all the surprises and plot twists this book had. I seriously didn’t see any of them coming.

I highly recommend this book especially if you are a Taylor Jenkins Reid fan.

I will definitely be picking up the physical copy when it comes out! Thank you so

Thank you Random House & NetGalley for a free eARC!

Rating — 4.5★

Wow. I have seen great early reviews for this novel. Most of them were posted alongside the song The Last Time by Taylor Swift. I don’t know how much more convincing I could have possibly needed.

The writing and the plot of this book reminded me a lot of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books. The little documentary interview sections really added to the story. Layne Fargo did an amazing job of adding the suspense of “what is going to happen next?!” that made it really hard for me to want to put the book down. If this documentary was real, i’d for sure watch it!

The characters and the circumstances in this novel seemed very real. I don’t know anything about the “real” figure skating world, but I could see some of the competitiveness shown on page being pretty realistic. The relationships between these characters are flawed, but you can tell that their connections are strong and they will always love each other despite their flaws by the end.

If you love reading about drama, this book is for you!!! There’s relationship drama, friendship drama, figure skating drama, coach drama. This was one of the main reasons I enjoyed this book so much honestly! The female main character, Kat, is not afraid to speak her mind even if it might make her less popular.

Again, if you are a Taylor Jenkins Reid fan, I think you will love this book! It publishes January 14, 2025.

Sometimes the right book finds you at the wrong time. Such was the case with this book, which I picked up and DNFd nearly a month ago.
Something in me said to try again, and I’m so glad I did.
This time I ripped through it.
The Favorites is a book which needs just a pinch of time to get into the flow of things, but once you’re in, you’re all in.
I was deeply invested and wish I could shake the version of myself that thought I wouldn’t adore this.