This wasn't my thing, but my high school students will LOVE the drama, the secrets, the sisterhood, and the reminder that school and real life are not so very different after all.

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book to review.***

Loved this. Solid plot. Strong character development. Wonderfully atmospheric. Pretty compulsive read.

good mystery about a couple and staying in a house and the other couple there. kept me on my toes . good mystery and figuring stuff out.

If you’re a fan of dark academia with a twist of revenge, "The Favorites" by Rosemary Hennigan may be the next novel for you. Set in an elite university, this story follows Irish graduate student Jessie Mooney as she takes a prestigious “Law and Literature” class led by the popular but morally ambiguous Professor Jay Crane. But Jessie’s motives are far from academic ambition—she’s determined to avenge her sister, whose tragic fate she believes Crane caused. But she is also integrating into a new social group, and finding Crane to be more intriguing that she had anticipated.

Jessie’s pursuit of revenge creates a morally murky atmosphere that makes you question where the line between justice and vengeance truly lies. As she navigates off-campus gatherings and heated classroom debates, the tension intensifies in a psychological cat-and-mouse game that feels both dangerous and compulsively readable. I especially enjoyed the in-class discussions of literature that parallel the book’s central themes of power and punishment. But as Jessie becomes closer to Crane and her plan unfolds, she risks alienating herself from her new circle, sacrificing the friendships and identity she could have built. The ending was a little more rushed than I would have liked, but overall, I really liked this one and will look for more from the author.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you to Rosemary Hennigan, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for an arc of The Favorites!

This book reminded me a lot of The Maidens by Alex Michaelides, but it was the US version. It takes place at a college and has a professor who gets a little too close to his students.

At the beginning of the book I'll admit that I was rooting for Jessie, but as we move through the story she seems to be pushing boundaries that shouldn't be crossed. The whole book was a bit of a gray area. As we learn that Jessie is set on getting revenge for the untimely death of her sister, we also learn that Professor Crane wasn't the direct cause. While yes, I agree he should be punished for the SA of Jessie's sister, Jessie pushes and pushes to contort situations to fit her own narrative when she wasn't there and doesn't know what truly happened. By doing this, she alienates the classmates who she has grown close with. It was hard to stomach at times because the author gives us small glimpses into what life would be like if Jessie wasn't so set on revenge. If she didn't mold her entire life around getting payback for her sister, she actually may have been happy at the school.

I'm truly not sure how I feel about The Favorites. It focuses on some really hard topics so I would advise readers to steer clear if they are sensitive around sexual assault, violence, or emotional manipulation.

Because this book STILL has me questioning how I feel about the characters, I'm giving it a 4/5. If it brings out that much contemplation and emotion from me, it deserves the higher rating!

Jessie Mooney is accepted to Franklin Law School in the USA as an exchange student from Ireland. After writing a superb essay on Antigone, she is one of very few students admitted to Prof Jay Crane’s prestigious course, “Law and Literature where classics such as Crime and Punishment and Paradise Lost are read for their perspective on legal implications. Students in this class are an elite clique where an internal competition is fiercely fought to become Crane's “favorite” ensuring his backing for a successful career.

It evolves that Jessie is not an ordinary student. She could not care less about her future as a lawyer. Instead she is at Franklin only to seek retribution for her sister’s death which she blames wholly on Jay Crane. The professor and Jessie circle each other in a game of cat and mouse as the author deftly weaves together a dichotomy of retribution ie revenge versus serving appropriate justice. Oh what a tangled web. Hannigan has created a tension filled thriller which kept me glued to the pages until it didn't’. I read quickly and was thoroughly immersed in getting to the final outcome to find out if Dr Crane was as guilty as his accuser believed him to be.

Somewhere before the ending the thriller aspect was overtaken by a simple fictional plot which was good but not as engaging as the beginning story. I had thought it was going to be a five star read but the compelling quality of the plot just turned into a fairly predictable conclusion. Four stars for a mostly edgy tension filled book that allows the reader to really think about how justice is served by our legal system Can guilt or innocence be manipulated by preconceived assumptions ? How can punishment support the notion of justice? Many thanks to NetGalley and Graydon House Publishing for a free ebook in exchange for my honest review. Publication was October 15, 2024. I think you’ll like this one.

Although I love a thriller of revenge mixed with dark academia this fell flat for me. I did appreciate the content but I found it too much of a slow burn for me.I think my expectations were too high for this since it is one of my favourite genres.

Read this if you like:
-Dark academia
-prestigious university setting
-cat and mouse
-slow burns
-ethics and the world of law
-power imbalance in universities and law
-rape culture and victimization prior to the metoo movement
-ethical and moral questions raised as to how far you will go for revenge

My rating 2 3/4 stars out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing Graydon House for this eARC that will be released Oct 15 2024.

2⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced copy of The Favorites.

Jessie has dedicated the last few years of her life to get justice and revenge for her sister. She has made it her life’s mission to bring Jay Crane down. She will stop at nothing even if it means putting herself in harms way. But once her plan takes off she starts to wonder if she can actually go through with it?

This book should be classified as YA in my opinion and I think that is why it was hard for me to identify with the characters. It was also kind of a boring read and I feel like it drug on a bit. I also think it should be classified as dark academia and I just do not think that genre is for me.

This review will be available on Goodreads on October 11, 2024. I read this book in one sitting. It was a very interesting premise and I was excited to see how the revenge plot would unfold. I do love a good dark academia/campus thriller book and the vibes were absolutely there. I love that this was different from most campus novels and set in a grad school setting. This thriller was definitely a slow-burn which made me enjoy it even more. I am looking forward to Rosemary Hennigan's next novel. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A novel of revenge that hits familiar themes. Jessica wants Jay Crane to pay for the death of her sister so she manages (quite a feat given that she's coming from Ireland) to enroll in the law school where they met. It's 2016- and Hennigan pulls all the vibes from that year to tell a story about victim shaming, academia, and bad behavior. Thanks to the publisher for the arc. It's a bit of a slow burn but Jessica's a good character. You won't want to get on her bad side.

The favorites by Rosemary Hennigan is a thrilling College story of psychological Thriller of consumption of payback of Revenge it is perfect for the reader who likes mystery suspense and a little College setting in the mix perfect for the season perfect for the fall spooky season because it's very chilling.

Dark academia can be so much fun, and that was the case with this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this twisted tale of cat and mouse. The pacing was on the slower side, but I still stayed engaged and interested throughout. I needed to know what was happening and the words grabbed me and pulled me in. The revenge plot is intense! Oh boy did it leave me questioning some things because I am a firm believer in right and wrong, but what always is that definition? I guess it depends, is the answer and that is what this book explores. The writing is just so well done! So compelling and propulsive.

Despite being a thriller, this book still had a strong message and like I said it really made me stop and think about things. This is one not to be missed!

For me, autumn is the perfect time to read dark academia (to be clear, there's never a bad time) and this really scratched the itch for me! I found this book to be a bit unrealistic and unrelatable but the premise was interesting, especially set against the backdrop of the 2016 election and the start of the #metoo movement. A great depiction of power dynamics and the faults of the justice system. I was hoping for a little more character development for some of the secondary characters (and maybe even a love story for Jessie and Charlie???) and found the main characters to be flawed and annoying, but I also felt like their issues made the book all the more compulsive and readable. Will recommend to fellow dark academia lovers!

Jessie Mooney has been accepted into the highly-prestigious Law and Literature course at Franklin University. For Jessie, it's less about the prestige, the connections and even the discussions. It's about revenge.

Jessie is determined to get revenge for her sister's death and the events that led up to it. Professor Crane is to blame, Jessie is 100% sure he's to blame. Crane has his 'favorites' and Jessie is one now.

This book explores obsessions, revenge and power balances in education. It's an exploration of rape culture and the lack of justice that falls upon many of these cases.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

How I love a dark academia read. This book has so many compelling elements of a Law and Lit class discussing such amazing classic books (Crime and Punishment!!!), discussings about power and revenge, and the academic world. All of this tied togeher really worked for me and made me realize how much I love dark academia

This was definitely a cat and mouse game between Jessica and Professor Crane. I liked the plot and how it was mainly about revenge and how far someone is to go for it. In this case, Jessica travels across the world to enroll in a program with Prof Crane. Jessica’s plan is to set up Prof. Crane for a fail because what he did to her sister. I loved the classroom setting and academic background and how it was almost parallel to what was happening in real life. I truly loved the books that were brought up and discussed, becaue even if many of them read them before, seeing them under an ethics and justic POV were interesting. The tension kept building throughout the book.

It addresses some difficult issues around the #metoo movement, & teacher/student relationships. A lot of social commentary on misogyny, and the justice system, focusing on how it can fail women. I do think the ending could have been done al ittle better, espeially when dealing with the subject of sexual assault.

I do wish we got to know more about Jess’ relationship with her sister, and learn more about their bond. More diary entries or flashback conversations would have helped the reader connect.

This is a powerful story with some really important messages throughout. It’s not a thriller, more of a domestic suspense filled with morally grey characters. If you like dark academia and revenge plots, also social commentary, this is the book for you!

Trigger warning: sexual abuse

3.5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC of this Book!

“The Favorites” is a classic revenge tale told with an atmospheric academic setting. Jessica/Jessie is an outsider to Franklin University, as a graduate student Jessie enters an exclusive cohort of law and literature students led by the charismatic professor Jay Crane. Jessie is convinced that Jay Crane has done level of involvement in a tragedy of her past. Jessie then becomes motivated to uncover the truth of the past, and take Jay Crane down.

The aspect I enjoyed most about this book was the discussion around literature. Each literary reference felt extremely pertinent to the plot. Because of this cutting literary commentary, and the thrilling plot, this book definitely feels like a staple in the dark academia sub genre.

Although this was an enjoyable read, I did not find myself wanting to consistently pick it up. I think this is a book that requires the reader to be in the mood for a suspense novel.

The Favorites is Rosemary Hennigan’s latest work. This was a very good read that kept me interested until the very end.

Jessie has an ulterior motive when she moves to Franklin and fights to get into the Law and Literature class. She has a plan and she's dedicated to seeing it through, even at the expense of making friends. I have to admit that the end of this wasn't nearly as exciting or shocking as I'd hoped it would be. The writing was enjoyable and I was sucked into this world of law students and fighting to become "The Favorite". Overall, this is a mild, but enjoyable thriller.

Jess Mooney has worked incredibly hard to secure her place in the highly competitive Law and Literature course at Franklin University. She has journeyed all the way from her home country of Ireland to Philadelphia with the hopes to study under the renowned law professor Jay Crane. For Jess, it's not just about a specialized Masters in Law, she has a clear and specific plan.

Hennigan skillfully creates tension, as we learn that Jess has Professor Crane in her crosshairs and has a plan larger than completing a degree. While Jessica slowly weaves a web of deceit to envelop Crane, Hennigan enhances the narrative with engaging classroom discussions that illustrate, rather than merely tell, her points on justice and power. Perfectly plotted and terrifyingly relevant, The Favorites is a novel to grab now!

If you enjoy dark academia and thrillers with a nuanced ribbon of intrigue, set against the backdrop of the 2016 election and the dawn of the #MeToo movement, The Favorites will keep you thinking long after the final page is turned.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley!
#harlequintradepublishing #thefavorites #rosemaryhennigan #darkacademia

I actually read this when it released earlier, and I usually don’t leave negative reviews. But I thought this book was HIGHLY problematic. The way the FMC literally lies about r@pe in the end bothered me because I’m a survivor myself, and I think the lying is why real victims feel like they can’t come forward. I did not like or agree with this book at all. This is my first ever one star.