Amazing!! I was sooo drawn in to the storyline. It was such an incredibly fun and exciting read! I hope everyone gives it a shot! I will say the first couple chapters felt a little long to me and I had trouble connecting with the story and characters. But after a few chapters, woah!! It picks up and really has you thinking what did I just read! It's like watching a really drama full story unravel right before your eyes! Such a fun and quick read.

I want to love these salacious, scandalous competitive skating world novels and I just can't. I will say the writing was spectacular and the story was good. I will read other works by this author.

thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review <3
⭐️4.5 rounded up

I absolutely LOVED this book and I reaaallly loved Fargo’s approach and modern take on a beloved classic. This is the story of two childhood best friends with dreams of achieving Olympic gold in ice dancing and the heartbreak, triumph, betrayals, manipulation, and everything in-between along that journey.

The Favorites is Wuthering Heights meets Daisy Jones and Carrie Soto, with the characters mirroring WH, mixed media story telling like Daisy Jones and the focus on a determined, seemingly unfeeling but actually very human main character in the sports world like Carrie Soto is Back. (I actually don’t know if any of those comparisons make any sense, but I can definitely see the Taylor Jenkins Reid inspiration all over this book, which I loved.)

My one and only critique is the mystery introduced in the last part of the book. Maybe I didn’t pick up on the suspense early enough, but the whole thing kind of came out of nowhere and was resolved before it ever really had time to develop. Other than that, I really adored the characters and this story. I already loved Layne Fargo after reading They Never Learn, but The Favorites has cemented her as an auto-buy author.

HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK

I never thought I would like an ice skating drama, but here we are. This book had everything we needed for a great read - one that keeps you up at night, one that reminds you we are all human, one that gives us a love story full of twists and turns. I loved the drama. I loved the way this one was written, and I would L O V E a spinoff just based on Ellis Dean. This one would make a wonderful book club, so now I need to wait till January to float it to mine. 10/10.

The way I devoured this book!! Top read of the year. If you liked Daisy Jones and the Six and watching ice skating growing up #ninetieschild omg this book is for you. I want to listen to it as well as I think it will be such a good read through that medium as well. Off I go to look up this author's other books!! So so so good! Recommend! Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy!! Going to be recommending this one come Jan 2025!

Love Layne Fargo so much! The way she writes her characters where you don’t know if you love or hate them is so good! Literally felt like a roller coaster of emotions!

An entertaining thrill ride that I absolutely adored. This was so readable and well-researched, and the details of everything really made it sing. I was totally immersed in the world of professional skating, and I feel like the Wuthering Heights elements were really there. The character archetypes and plot points felt true to the original but also so organic and lived-in. Fargo basically tossed out all the gothic elements and went full Daisy Jones and the Six, instead of trying to do a bunch of different things, and it works. I had a great time reading this- it was a tisch on the long side, but all the twists and turns were delicious. I felt for it's length, Heath was still lacking the interiority that I crave in a WH adaptation, but that's difficult for any iteration of this story to do. No spoilers but I do think the very very end kind of defanged it a little bit, and it doesn't fully commit to the tragic undertones of WH. I was still a satisfied reader and I'm excited to promote this when it comes out in January.

THE FAVORITES is an astounding achievement!!! I just finished the book and am a sobbing shaken up mess…an idyllic way to finish a book honestly!! I’m obsessed and will be telling everyone that I’ve already read my favorite book of 2025—the drama, the romance (friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, one bed, fake dating, it’s everything!!), the friendship, the backstabbing, the ambition, the MUSIC. Inject the playlist into my veins. I’m just blown away. The research the author did for this book is astounding. Kat + Heath forever (and Bella and Garret and even Ellis!). I can’t wait to see all the amazing things that happen for this book when it’s published. I’d give this 8 stars if I could.

Thank you so much for the advanced copy! I will be sharing this on my Goodreads as well.

5/5 stars because !!! Wow. I’m so mad at myself for not downloading and devouring this earlier, but honestly was afraid I would be comparing it to Daisy Jones and the Six the entire time.

I loved this novel. Yes, the theme and partial interview style will resonate with Daisy Jones fans… but only in the best of ways. The Favorites is the perfect hybrid of Daisy Jones; I, Tonya; and maybe even a Gossip Girl Magnolia Parks esque vibe. The writing was well-done and the chapters and interviews complemented a good reading pace (considering how much I wanted to cancel plans to read it straight through). The world of ice dance rather than figure was also appreciated.

Fargo did a phenomenal job. Her writing brought each character’s personality to life, created a romantic drama that will have readers turning page after page, and carries a kind of suspense that had me questioning the final outcome(s) until the very end.

Thank you, again. I will absolutely be recommending this to anyone and everyone.

Wuthering Heights is my favorite classic so when I heard that THE FAVORITES was inspired by the ultimate toxic couple, I knew I had to read it immediately. Three other major pluses: it’s set in the late 90s/early 2000s (cheers for nostalgia) amongst the competitive world of elite figure skating AND I loved the author’s book THEY NEVER LEARN!

Sadly this wasn’t the gold medal winner I hoped for. The pacing is slow and didn’t really pick up for me until the second half. I did love the parallels to WH and felt THE FAVORITES paid homage to that story without overdoing it or trying too hard.

I absolutely loved the documentary elements and the hate-to-love ‘em characters. This book was totally toxic but incredibly fun and while it might not have been perfect, what book is?

I love faux-celebrity gossip/tell-all books because I get all the juice I crave without having to feel guilty about real-life people being harmed by the media attention ^_^

AMAZING! I adored this novel from start to finish and cannot stop thinking about it, even a week later. Loved everything about this story - so romantic, but so salacious. I loved this book and will be pressing it into everyone's hands. Do I need to buy my own pair of ice skates and a costume now?!

𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 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.

She captivated readers with the Chicago theater scene in TEMPER, delighted readers with her female vigilante English professor in THEY NEVER LEARN, and now she's back to dazzle readers with her upcoming release set in the competitive world of figure skating.

Because I am far removed from the world of competitive sports, the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding debacle of 1994 was my first glimpse into just how ruthlessly competitive that world is. In Fargo's tale, she's created a dynamic female protagonist, Katarina Shaw, who may not have a trust fund or the support of her family, but she makes up for it in her drive and ambition. As a little girl, when she sees Sheila Lin on the ice through her television set, gliding effortlessly into the hearts of the audience and the score sheets of the judges, she knows she wants the same for herself.

When she meets Heath Rocha, an introverted, quiet boy in the foster care system, they form an instant connection both on and off the ice. Heath matches Katarina's intensity, and the pair form a bond that allows them to leave their less than stellar lives behind and soar to fame. Their chemistry is undeniable, and their talent is genuine. They go all the way to the Olympic Games when a shocking event abruptly ends their partnership.

Interspersed with tabloid-style commentary from both various spectators and those directly involved in the rise and fall of the power couple, this was a totally immersive read wrapped in layers of ambition, sensuality, competition, ruthlessness, and desire. Highly recommended! Thank you to the author for my early read! At the time this review was written, this title was expected to release January 14, 2025.

I have never been more excited to receive an ARC! I’ve been a figure skating fan since I watched the 1994 Olympics at seven years old, and I am a giant fan of ice dance in particular. I read Wuthering Heights right before I read The Favorites so I would (hopefully) fully grasp the themes of the book.

First of all, I loved the name choices for the main and many of the supporting characters; I love a sly nod to a classic!

Second of all, the Lin Acadamy reminds me of the current Ice Academy of Montreal: (many of) the top teams training alongside each other (although as far as I know, there is no somewhat-malevolent Sheila Lin-type figure at IAM!). It’s clear that Layne Fargo really did her homework on the sport of ice dance. That being said, you don’t need to know anything about ice dance to enjoy the book!

As for the characters, I could feel Kat and Heath’s passion; it jumped off the page. While Heath Rocha isn’t as malicious as Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, he certainly engages in some, as one character says, “messy and manipulative” behavior, “[r]eal fuckboy shit” (truly a top-notch quote, by the way). Kat is every bit as fiery as Catherine Earnshaw (and maybe more so!).

The format of this book was so engaging. It flips between documentary-style interviews with other characters and Kat’s first-person point-of-view. While Kat and Heath are the stars of this book, the supporting characters are also fleshed-out and interesting. (I also appreciated how, like in Wuthering Heights, the weather is like a character in the book.)

I recommend this book to anyone who likes something that’s well-written and will keep you on the edge of your seat with lots of twists and turns. I definitely agree with Jodi Picoult’s comparison to Daisy Jones and the Six (and Fargo gives Taylor Jenkins Reid a shoutout in the acknowledgements!). I’ll be screaming about this one to anyone who will listen, and I expect it to be a BIG book of 2025!

Finally, Fargo’s acknowledgments are a must-read: she credits several skaters—including two of my favorites, Jason Brown and Madison Hubbell—for inspiring her. I just loved this!

I simply ADORED this book! Loved loved loved it!!!! One of the best books I have ever received from NetGalley and Random House, so thank you!

If you are a fan of sports fiction, oral history format like Daisy Jones, drama, and a bit of romance this book is for you. The female MC Kat is strong and determined to get everything she ever wanted in professional ice dancing, and she won’t let anyone stop her. Even if that means hurting people she loves including Heath her partner.

Just read this book!

Fantastic read that will easily be in my top 5 books of the year! This book is perfection! Not only is this a complicated, sexy, scandalous love story but also a deep dive, behind the scenes look at the world of the competitive elite sport of ice dancing. The ice dancing scenes are cinematic and the grit, raw ambition, stress, and obsession of the characters makes for an intense ride. I alternated between wanting to devour this book quickly to see what was going to happen next and savoring it slowly because I didn’t want it to end. The intermingled excerpts of the documentary interviews added to the tension and provided the perfect amount of foreshadowing. I connected so deeply with these characters, despite their many flaws and at times downright unlikeablility. There were several jaw dropping moments as well as chuckle funny parts that made this story sizzle. I absolutely loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book!! This was my first of Layne Fargo's books, and it did not disappoint! The Heathcliff x Cathy concept is right up my alley, and both characters were well-drawn -- and had great chemistry. I could have read 200 more pages of Heath and Kat breaking up/ getting back together/ torturing each other. Such a fun read!

4.25 Stars ⭐️

I love the inner world of competitive ice dancing. I really found the elements of this story brought you into this inner space that few of us know about. The Competetion is so Intense and Winning is Everything.

So, begins the story of Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha. They met as children with a desire to skate. Yet, when they enter competitive competition both are young, naive, arrogant, and poor. Each will face much hardship and frustration in their desire for one another and to be the best. They finally get their big break and can train with the famous Ms. Lin, a Two Time Olympic Champion. Kat idolizes her, for she sacrificed everything to be a true champion. Heath is not as certain that he wants to move to Los Angeles and train with her and her two children, Bella and Garrett. Both are spoiled and have never known anything but a life of privilege. Yet, Kat sees this as their chance and Heath loves Kat more than himself. Yet, as both start to mature and understand the wonder of excelling and also the price of success, it will call into deep question their own love and passion for each other. This is not going to be a simple love story and an easy trip to the Olympics. Yet, it may be within reach. Ultimately, it demands a hard look at oneself and deciding what is really important in life. I felt the push and pull life demanded of these two and how that would be so hard at such a young age. I loved this story overall, loved learning about ice dancing, felt the passion, need for independence and dependence in such an insular world, and wanted both to have their dreams met. The story was a little melodramatic, but not much, as I enjoyed reading this book and did so quickly. It was a Gold Star Read for Me!

Thank you NetGalley, Layne Fargo, and Random House for a copy of this book. I always leave reviews for books I read.

This book is a triumph! I knew, after a couple of pages, that I was about to read something really special. Pulitzer Prize worthy writing and storyline, and characters that leapt off the page and right into my heart.

This book will live rent free in my soul.

I thought about this book when I wasn’t reading it. I dreamed about these characters. I read six other books while reading this so this story would last longer in my head. I never wanted it to end. I wasn’t ready when it did end. I wanted more!

This novel encapsulates what it means to be human, on a visceral level, and that’s it. Everyone can relate to this story. We may not all be reaching for Olympic gold, but we all, at one time, have reached for the stars! Layne Fargo has richly captured everything we experience and evokes every single human emotion.

This is a saga about Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha, spanning from the time they are 16 year old dreamers to 40 year old retired professional ice dancers. But it is So. Much. More! It is about all the ‘in between’ years. We joyfully and agonizingly journey through the jungles of life where we watch them grow up. We grieve when they fall on their faces, when they experience the failures and betrayals. We celebrate over the wins and root for them when they overcome.

This book is EVERYTHING, and nothing will ever compare. I can’t wait to own a hard copy and read it again. It is so very, very good!

Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on January 14, 2025 and is available for preorder NOW!