Deep gratitude and heartfelt thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC of this one!

Oh, did this book hook me in and captivate me and make my heart twist and turn and my eyes roll a few times and just totally engross my thoughts and feelings for a few days. I adore the ice dancing world — I have many fond memories watching the Canadian superstars Tessa and Scott with my mom, as it was and still is her favourite sport to watch. Although I'm not overly familiar with Bronte's Wuthering Heights (gasp, a tragedy, how can an English major speak those words), I did enjoy this story and following Kat and Heath's journey from childhood friends to star-crossed lovers to rivals to skating partners to everything in between. This type of romance is one of the best, charged with passion but not cringingly smutty, with adversity and imperfection and a heart wrenching bond as major themes. I'm docking a star only because the story just felt too unbelievable at times, and goddamit, I just wanted them to win Olympic gold without some crisis or tragedy getting in their way . Really loved this one, and can't wait for it to make a splash in the world in January.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. I can't wait for the world to get their hands on it. The easiest five star read, can't wait to see what they do with the audiobook, a full cast would be amazing. This book sent me down an ice dancing rabbit hole that I am still stuck in. Layne Fargo did something very special with this book and I can't wait for people to read it.

4.5! This was a thoroughly hashed out, entertaining plot. Good pacing and character depth. Totally a nitpick but the only thing that didn't work for me was the strange throuple arrangement at the end. But overall this was great writing and hard to put down.

This really was an epic story. You feel the characters highs and lows. I could not put this book down at all!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

As a big fan of Layne Fargo’s They Never Learn, I was excited to read this new book. A modern sports romance full of betrayal, obsession and doing anything to achieve a dream. The book flowed beautifully and Layne is such a talented writer. I was very impressed with her ability to switch genres so seamlessly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I, a 32 year old woman with no athletic training, will be making my comeback as an ice dancer.

The Favorites is an addicting drama about ice dancers and their olympic dreams but it is also about ambition, competitiveness, institutional corruption, feminism, classism, fear, and of course, love.

In my mind, this book is like Carrie Soto meets Challengers meets Daisy Jones and the Six. The characters are olympic athletes but Layne wrote them in a way that is so relatable. No, I have never competed at that level but I felt all of these characters' rage, hope, drive, and sacrifice and that is just good storytelling, baby.

The twists and turns had me at the edge of my seat and audibly gasping but I also loved the times I was begging the characters to have a different reaction or to do something other than what they did. THAT is a perfect five-star read, one that has me pulling and pushing like the ice dancers themselves.

I couldn't put it down, Layne, you have a new fan.

I am very lucky to have gotten an advance read on this. Thank you NetGalley and Random House!

This reminded me in a way of Daisy Jones and the Six, and in still other ways Taylor Jenkins Reid’s style. But I will be honest, I am DNFing at 40%. I think other people will like it, but it just wasn’t grabbing me though I think that’s my fault for not selecting something slightly different.

Oh, the feels of this Reed. This was a new to me author and I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The roller coaster ride is unmatched from other novels that I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot. The author gives up behind-the-scenes Glimpse into the competitive ice dance skating world and the characters that she builds our dynamic. Kat and Rocha grew up in one another’s lives and their motivations keep them forever entwined together as the unlikely, the determined, and the favorites. The influences of the skating world will have readers suspicious and cheering all at the same time. I LOVE the real-life ending!

Katarina Shaw wants to win - no matter what. Her lifelong love Heath Rocha wants to win - because it's what Kat wants. In the cutthroat world of competitive ice dancing, these scrappy nobodies from the Midwest have a lot to prove to the West Coast elites. When the spotlight is on them, sometimes they shine... and sometimes, they get burned.

Interspersed with documentary-interview commentary looking back on the legacy of Shaw & Rocha on the ice and off, the book is full of sharp characters and fun plot twists. I came to the story expecting drama, revenge, ice-cold competitors and sequins. I got all of that, but also more heart and humor than I was expecting. Layne Fargo has a solid gold winner here.

The way I zoomed through this without realizing how long it really was! Layne Fargo has easily become an auto buy author for me. Every story written by her consumes you from the first page!

It has taken me a long time to write a review of this book. I'd argue that this is actually for a good reason - the plot, the characters the time skips everything was so wild it truly has taken me a month to go over my throughts on this.

" The favorites " has been strongly influenced by Catherine and Heathcliffs relationship from wuthering heights. Hence, the events of this book are less of a romantic tale, and more so of an exploration of the bond between two incredibly traumatized people amidst the competitive and quite cruel environment of professional sports.

There were so many emotions that this book evoked. I cheered, I raged, I needed the two characters together, I needed them to stay far away from each other (or at least I had to tell myself HEYYY THESE PEOPLE ARENT GOOD FOR EACH OTHER. STOP SHIPPING THEM RIGHT NOW THEY ARE GONNA DESTROY ONE ANOTHER) (and be very sexy while doing so, but still-). I felt the burning need for them to win their competitions as hard as the fmc did (and trust me the ambition and seer determination she had towards winning? Um chefs kiss. If you're looking for a book with a perfectionist "all or nothing" character this is for you.)

The exploration of racism in the sport and Hollywood as a whole, was also done to perfection. Heath as well as the original Heathcliff an abandoned boy finding comfort in an extremely temperamental, abused young girl, and growing extremely dependent on her, unable to handle the slightest rejection from his saviour as he sees her? Oh yeah I was obsessed.

The side characters were also quite a colorful cast displaying different aspects of just how much fame and unhealthy sportsmanship can ruin ones mental health. I cannot believe we have to wait THIS long for the book to come out! I sense or at least strongly hope it will be a hit as soon as it's released!

Thank you for the ARC of this book.
The book is well-written, very well thought out, and keeps a good pace for most of the book.
While I know nothing about ice skating, I can appreciate all the details that went into this book. I enjoyed the characters, though they had the ability to really piss you off at times.
I think the only downfall of this book, is that it feels a little drawn out. I feel like it could've been several chapters shorter.
I look forward to reading more by this author and hope everyone enjoys this book as I did.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this book.

Oh, Layne Fargo. You did it again. When I read They Never Learn a couple of years ago, I was blown away. Not only was it a fantastic read, but it really had me wondering if Fargo was my dark doppelgänger (the book so closely paralleled my real life that it sort of freaked me out--not the serial killer part of the novel, but all the rest 😊). When I saw the topic of this book--totally different from They Never Learn--I wasn't sure if she could hit it out of the park again. Spoiler alert: she did.

This book takes us to the insanely competitive world of ice dancing. Our protagonist is part of a dancing couple with serious baggage. Like, Catherine and Heathcliff baggage. Exactly like Catherine and Heathcliff baggage: this is a loose re-telling of Wuthering Heights (yeah, one of my favorite novels on the planet. Does Fargo really know me??). The multilayered narrative takes us back to the passion and dysfunction in the Bronte novel while also providing a brand new topic with loads of tension and suspense. And that all makes this an amazing read.

I was also impressed by the complexity of the protagonist Kat's character. She'd be easy to hate (as she tells us on page 1) but Fargo allows her full experiences to shape her and to help to show readers how an ambitions woman isn't a BAD woman (though that is often how such women are framed). And the diversions from the canonical Withering Heights tale allow this story to breathe with new life.

A great book. Read it. And I hope Layne Fargo keeps them coming.

Perfect for fans of Carrie Soto is Back and Challengers! This passionate retelling of Wuthering Heights follows Katarina and Health as they enter the world of competitive ice skating and all that it entails, from romance to sabotage. I quite enjoyed the difference in POVS. We got to see what those in the documentary had to say, as well as Kat's side of the story. There were times where the pacing felt a bit off to me but, overall, I would say that the dramatics of this retelling would make Emily Bronte proud! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an arc of The Favorites.

I loved this and I will read anything Layne Fargo ever writes. I found the beginning a little slow, but once it picked up it really gripped me. I really appreciate the ability to read this early

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me access to this book prior to the publication date.

This book is ripe with surprises around every turn. It’s filled with heartbreak, childhood love, and reunion. Betrayal and scandal are the key players in this story with Kat and Heath being perfect foils for one another.

The amount of character development in this book was absolutely outstanding. I feel as though I truly understood each of these characters, despite the constant twists and turns. With the amount of characters, it was interesting to see them develop over time and their relationship with one another develop.

Even with the fast pace movement of the story keeping me interested, there were moments that drug on. The repetitive nature of the different competitions was the reason for this, but it was interesting to see the different results from the same events.

Overall, I cannot recommend this book enough.

Layne Fargo knows how to tell an excellent story. Her writing is top-notch, especially the way she writes women, and although very different from her debut this book is equally enjoyable. I look forward to reading more of her work.

I am obsessed with this book! It is easily one of the best fiction books of 2024. This book was exciting, frustrating, I really connected with the characters, and I loved all the twist and turns. Thank you to NetGalley, and the publisher for the ARC.

Such a great intro into the world of ice dancing and the Olympics without being too technical and boring the reader! This is a story of perseverance and rags to riches with a reminder that nothing comes without cost. There were definitely parts that made me uncomfortable and were hard to read because I wanted everything to be perfect but that’s not life! Life is messy and imperfect and hard sometimes.

Excellent book! It has everything-hardship-love-competition-and who doesn't love the Olympics! This book was so good. I love the perspective of how it was written, I feel like you could see the people in front of the TV screen as they were being interviewed. The amount of detail and description made the story pop so vividly. I feel like it is well on it's way to be a limited series on Netflix, Prime, or some other streaming platform and I sure hope they do it soon! It would definitely do well on the t.v. and it's halfway there already with the way the bookw as written. The development of the characters and the rawness of the relationships really made this a fantastic read. I will definitely be checking out other books by this author! It is definitely a hit and worth of a gold medal for sure! #thefavorites