This novel fell really flat for me. It was full of cliche characters, dialogue and plot development and felt very repetitive. It’s an attempt at a #metoo story with a main character who lies about sexual assault and hinges on another alleged assault that the author never makes entirely clear if it happened or not. It’ just left a sour taste in my mouth and doesn’t live up to the comp titles it’s compared to.

If you like dark and mysterious reads with an academic backdrop – you’re going to love The Favourites by Irish author Rosemary Hennigan. Part revenge story, part morally musing tale on law, ethics and feminism, this blend of themes meant The Favourites was a very enticing read that left you thinking.

The Favourites is narrated by Jessica ‘Jessie’ Mooney. She is from Dublin, Ireland but goes to study at a prestigious university in Philadelphia, USA. On the surface it is to secure herself a sparkling law career but in reality, she has a far more sinister ulterior motive.

The death of her sister, Audrey has affected her badly (as well it might), especially as she believes that a man is – however inadvertently – to blame. That man is Jay Crane a professor at the American university. Jessie wins herself a highly coveted place on his Law and Literature class and makes it her mission to become his favourite. It’s widely known that his favourite students enter his inner sanctum and get all the privileges.

It’s not the career boost she’s after though. She wants to get close to him to make him pay for the death of her sister.

Jessie is very much dedicated to her plan, harbouring an obsession with carrying it out, whatever the cost. It does sometimes make some of her actions seem a little off – as in, they don’t make sense to you, but in the context of a woman possessed, they do.

The Favourites spends a lot of time pondering the morals and ethics of law, as well as the inground biases within the legal system. I found this so interesting to read as when you consider how unfair the whole legal system is, it gives far more justification for people – like Jessie – who decide the only course of action is to take the law into their own hands.

The pace is slow and burning with an intensity that makes this such a delicious read. It’s an atmospheric story of revenge that poses good questions about law and ethics and transports you to the evocative setting of an esteemed American university campus with ease.

Wannabe lawyer Jessie Mooney moves from Ireland to the United States for a university programme. Her hope is to immerse herself in one particular class, Law and Literature, not just because it is so highly sought after, but for revenge. Its teacher, Jay Crane, is known for having ‘favourites’. Jessie blames Jay for her sister’s death. Revenge via academia is an intriguing plot and one that evolves into a cat and mouse game – though whom is whom is to be uncovered. It also deals with several larger, in part thanks to when it is set, at the beginning of the MeToo movement – misogyny, relationships, the justice system and, of course, abuse of power.

A young Irish woman, Jessie, enrols for a Law and Literature class with the very professor that her older sister once learnt under. A minor campus celebrity and famed for both his notoriously selective class and his tendency to choose favourites, Jay Crane's favour could be the ticket to a straight path towards a successful career. Jessie's sister was clearly enamoured with the buzz around him as much as anyone else, but the furtive correspondence between them over text and email that Jessie uncovers suggests that there may have been more than just pedagogical appreciation between them. The last text Jessie's sister sends accuses Crane of knowing exactly what he did - and now Jessie's sister is dead. She stakes her chances on becoming Crane's favourite and finally uncovering the truth.

This was a highly readable book and I sped through it at pace. I empathised with Jessie's determination to establish her own kind of justice and the theme of justice sought for and denied that cropped up often, especially considering the real-life statistics concerning sexual crime and abuse of power where influential figures (and institutions) wield their might to suppress individual voices. I thought these issues were sensitively handled and portrayed the difficulties of achieving concrete justice or repercussions for transgressors.

There were no glaring faults to the novel's make-up but I did find several aspects let me down slightly. A lot of the characters fell a little flat for me, even the most developed secondary characters like Charlie and Vera were quite two-dimensional and stereotypical. The only characters that felt more fleshed out than just their trope and position to serve the plot were Jessie and Jay (haha Jessie J, only just noticed that). That being said, while I could see how Jay was capable of currying favour and admiration from his students, I didn't find that he left enough of an impression for me to understand just why he was such a charismatic figure.
(Spoilers ahead)
I also felt that Jessie keeping half of her surname which was the same as her sister's and Jay still not clocking their connection was just too unbelievable - I, myself was in a little disbelief that it wasn't considered a major plot-hole. Surely a professor of that calibre would be able to put two and two together much more quickly than he did?
(Spoilers finished)
As I have said, where the novel fell short for me was in its sense of uniqueness and surprise, I never felt particularly shocked by anything that happened and even the make-up of characters in the class felt formulaic. I would have liked for this book to have broken from the mould a bit more although that being said, I did enjoy it and it was a solid read. I would recommend it to people dependent on their reading tastes but I'm not sure it blew me away. 3.5 stars.

It seems the majority of people loved this novel but for me I found it slightly lacking. The premise was great but for some reason the plot just didn’t grab me and I found it quite long and drawn out. I would rate this 2.5 stars rounded up to 3. Thank you to NetGalley, Orion Publishing Group and the author for the chance to review.

This interesting read is totally based around obsession and revenge. The premise sounded really intriguing, loved the academic setting, but the in depth law conversations did not keep me invested. Thank you Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advance review copy.

Irish law student Jessica Mooney seems to have sacrificed everything to achieve her goal of being accepted into Professor Crane’s Law & Literature class. It quickly becomes apparent that she is just as determined to be his favourite student. We slowly come to see that her motivations are anything but academic and she has embarked on dark and pretty twisted revenge plot.

In this slow burn edgy revenge story, author Rosemary Hennigan refuses to hand us a likeable protagonist or a perfect ending. And yet, I found myself rooting for Jessica on her campaign of vengeance. The book explores the complicated themes of power dynamics in relationships, grooming and consent. So those are sensitive areas for you, I would avoid.

But if you’re a fan of books like My Dark Vanessa, Bunny or I Have Some Questions For You, this might be a winner. Film wise, it’s giving Gossip meets Promising Young Woman.

I really enjoy stories that tackle complicated and flawed relationships and refuse to submit to a gift-wrapped conclusion. I appreciate that this story may be frustrating for some readers. It doesn’t provide an easy story of crime and punishment or particularly digestible messaging around rape culture. But I found realism in the fantastical and I was hooked.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley, for review. Thanks for allowing me to give my two pennies.

Jessie's sister Audrey leaves her law course and becomes withdrawn and depressed before leaving Dublin for South America. Jessie finds out that Audrey was seeing Jay, her American college professor, and holds him responsible for the change in Audrey.
Jessie gets a place in Jay's study group in Philadelphia and goes about exacting her revenge. The writing is good, Jessie is a determined and confrontational character. Her classmates Vera and Duke are also well-drawn. The plot and suspense hold your attention. Good.

Revenge served cold heats up in this college gender war novel. Not a new topic but some refreshing twists.

I didn’t love this book and I’m annoyed at that as it had so much potential.

I really love books on campus. However it didn’t fulfil its potential, I never thought we got to the bottom of if Jay was the monster Jessie said he was, might it have been better had Audrey been a stalker? Had Chloe told the truth? The relationship between Jessie and Charlie was too easily dismissed. I did not like how the subject was handled. Overall it is a. Good book and I know. lots of people will like it.

Jessie Mooney is thrilled to be accepted in a prestigious law programme at Franklin University, travelling from Ireland to the States for a very specific reason. She wishes to study under Professor Jay Crane, the man she blames for something which happened to her beloved sister, Audrey. Professor Crane is young, he is charismatic, and he is known as having favourite students. Jessie is keen to become one of these favourites, so that she can get closer to Professor Crane and to discovering what happened to her sister.

This is set just before the Me-Too movement and it has a lot to say about the coercive control of academics, such as Jay Crane. Men who wield, and misuse, their power. However, somehow this just did not work for me. Perhaps there was just too much of Jessie leading the situation for it to truly resonate for the reader. Possibly it was just too slow and unclear. Still, this looks at important themes and many will enjoy the academic background.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

This was a very intriguing me, full of tension and suspense. It kept me hooked, especially as I wanted to find out more.

Please read this book when it is out next month! I couldn't stop reading it. I became increasingly upset as I learned more about the legal system and how narratives may shift dependent on who is seen to have the upper hand, despite tangible proof! It really makes you think about how there isn't actually justice for certain individuals, but how damaging a person's ego or position might genuinely be the path to recovery. Overall, a fantastic novel; I want to read more from Rosemary Hennigan.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t love this book. I really love books on campus. However I just could not get into this book. It is very well written, and a good story. I just think I did not like the subject and how it was handled. Overall it is a. Good book and I know. lots of people will like it, but for me it was a miss. I’d give this a 3.5,

This was an interesting read. Not what I expected and certainly gives you an insight to how life on a university campus could be like, jostling for attention from tutors in order to get favoritism for grades. Most of the time it was quite dark and heavy with a lot of academic conversations regarding law and how people interpret the law in order to justify the means. Not a book for everyone, but certainly intriguing.

My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy in return for an honest review.