The Favourites by Layne Fargo @laynefargo ⛸️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars, spectacular, no notes!!

I know we love comparisons in the book community, so this is ”Daisy Jones and the six” mixed with the classic film “Ice Princess” and with all the romantic struggle and intensity of “Magnolia Parks”.

This book is a TRIUMPH, one of the best things I’ve read all year. Set in the heyday of figure skating, this book follows our protagonist Katarina Shaw as she strives for greatness as a competitive figure skater. The favourites is both an epic love story full of scandal, obsession and determination and social commentary on self love and success within elitist sports and fields.
This was so nuanced, deep and touching combining an incredible sport with a passionate love that was absolutely all consuming.
As glittery as this novel is, it’s also meaningful and important. It tackles race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, class and sexual orientation bias in competitive sport with a healthy dose of found family, sizzling gossip and good old-fashioned trauma.

I will never shut up about how incredible, fresh and unique this book is and you truly don’t want to miss this. It is a genre all of it’s own and I cannot get enough of Layne’s writing. If you treat yourself to one book after Christmas I truly believe it should be this.

Thank you so much to @chattobooks and @penguinrandomhouse for the E-ARC. I will be pre-ordering a physical copy AND booking the day off on launch day JANUARY 16TH to queue at Goldsboro books trying to get my hands on this.
This is about to become my whole personality and I’m not sorry.

This was an absolutely wild retelling of Wuthering Heights set in the world of competitive ice skating. It was an engrossing and well-crafted book that I think completely delivered on what it set out to do – it was perfectly paced and a fun, chaotic, sabotage-filled read, great for a holiday.

But, unfortunately, I hate Wuthering Heights, and the kind of possessive all-consuming relationships it depicts. I probably wouldn't have picked this up if I had realised lol.

The relationships in this one were a bit healthier than the original – just! – but there was more than enough possessive, pathetic, bitchy, downright abusive behaviour to make me roll my eyes. I did enjoy reading it overall and I have absolutely no complaints about the storytelling or the research that must have gone into it... but I just really do not like Wuthering Heights.

*The Favorites* by Layne Fargo is a sharp and gripping psychological thriller set within the cutthroat world of a prestigious theater program. The novel centers on three women—two ambitious students and their enigmatic, manipulative mentor—whose complex relationships unfold against a backdrop of power dynamics, jealousy, and dark secrets. As the women’s lives become intertwined, the line between admiration and obsession blurs, leading to betrayal, rivalry, and dangerous consequences.

Fargo’s writing is tense and evocative, capturing the intense emotions and psychological turmoil of her characters. The plot is full of twists, keeping readers on edge as the narrative explores themes of ambition, trust, and the cost of success. While the pacing can be slow at times, the deep character development and the unsettling atmosphere make *The Favorites* an engaging and thought-provoking read.

Overall, *The Favorites* is a thrilling exploration of manipulation and ambition, perfect for readers who enjoy dark, character-driven stories with plenty of suspense.

Oh my word I loved this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the copy to review.

If you enjoy Taylor Jenkins Reid then try this one.

Competitive ice dance meets Wuthering Heights!

The wuthering heights nods were well appreciated, and I loved the documentary style write up, paired with Kate's POV. However I found the angst a bit repetitive and struggled to buy in to Kate and Heath's romance.

This was one of the best books I have ever read I absolutely adored it and I’m desperately sad that I have finished it. I don’t really read romance books but this one just appealed to my when I read the overview and I’m so glad I took the chance as this was far more than a romance it was thrilling, sad, uplifting, heartbreaking and captivated me from the first few pages. I knew little about the world of ice dance but it really didn’t matter this was a story more about obsession, wanting to win and how far you would go to achieve your goals and when you get there is it what you wanted !
I’m not doing the book justice as I just don’t have the words to convey what an amazing story this is and how it captured me and wouldn’t let go till the end when I ended up in tears and my heartfelt thanks goes to Layne Fargo for a stunning read.
So please don’t miss this one it’s far too good to be missed and one of my best reads ever!
My thanks also to NetGalley and Random House UK , Vintage, Chatto & Windus for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a great read. It reads like the ice skate dancing it is about, at times it is slow, at others fast, but with plenty of highs and lows and twists and turns. I really enjoyed this read, the relationships, and characters feel very believable and honest which made it a pleasure to read.

Ten years after the Olympic games where their passionate and tempestuous partnership imploded an unauthorised biography of Katerina Shaw and Heath Rocha is being written, speaking to friends, ex-partners, rivals, judges, and coaches to discover what really happened.

Katerina Shaw and Heath Rocha were the kids from the wrong side of town who dreamed of representing the USA as Olympic ice dancers, well Kat did, Heath just wanted to do anything Kat did. The two of them do anything they can to stay at the prestigious ice dance school, run by former Olympic gold medal figure skater Sheila Lin. Sheila is hoping to create an Olympic skating dynasty with her twins Bella and Garrett, Kat and Heath's biggest rivals.

I requested this book because The Cutting Edge is one of my favourite films of all time and this made me think of that film. I was not disappointed.

This has a great soap opera feel, in the blurb at the back Layne Fargo thanks Taylor Jenkins Reid and although I haven't read any of her books I did see the mini-series and this gives off a similar vibe. There's backstabbing, sabotage, mind games, sacrifice, love, betrayal - basically everything!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6960142572

Scheming, sequins and sex in the world of Olympic figure skating. Possibly not one I'll remember in a year's time but a real page turner, lots of fun, and I couldn't put it down.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I think it's more on me than the book that I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. It felt more like a romance novel, albeit a twisted one at times, than general fiction. I'm not a a big fan of romance fiction.
I can see why others loved it for these elements. I'm sure this novel will do well.

"Sexually charged, will they, won't they, fuckery."

This quote is how other characters described the MCs and I couldn't agree more.

I don't quite know how I feel about this book on finishing, I liked it...I think but it was so incredibly angsty and messed up that it wasn't exactly pleasurable to read. The push and pull between Kat and Heath was insane, they were scrapy to one another and to everyone else. They were obsessive and as a reader, it was easy to become obsessive with them.

Let me rewind. This story set in the world of ice dancing in the 90s and 2000s painted a dramatic and salacious picture of the inner worlds of competitors. No more than for Katerina and Heath, two poor kids with talent and ambition to climb into this elite world. In the early parts of this book, I cheered for these two in their climb and in their romantic connection. As the pages unfolded past half way, I wasn't sure if I wanted them to compete together or stay together because it was hella destructive.

Added into this story was a key role model in Sheila Lin, Kat's ice hero and her twin children, Bella and Garrett. These twins added such complications to Kat and Heath's life, mostly negative. I hate-read some of the plot lines but I couldn't stop turning the pages.

Is this romance, technically no. Did I finish the book satisfied, also no. Did I feel connected to the characters in the story, hell yes.

If you want to be twisted up and spat out by a book, I highly recommend this one.

Thank you to Vintage Digital for the eARC.

I do love a classic literature having a modern retelling! This amped up the scandal and YEARNING of the original book, whilst still being satisfying (which the original is not!). It is slow though, frustratingly so, especially when you already know where the plot is going generally from the original. Loved the interviews too, a really nice absorbing touch. Much more nuanced than I expected - it made me want to read more by Fargo

Compulsive reading.
Following from childhood ambition to the Olympics. Ice dance, training, costs both financial and emotional.
Dysfunctional family, ambition, sabotage and drive.
Fame and notoriety.
A romance at it's core, I couldn't put it down.

I couldn't put it down. The elements were handled superbly to deliver us this toxic love story that compels you to turn to the next page. This will have consumers of reality TV hooked. It is just drama after drama.

Phenomenal! I really didn’t know what I was expecting and then when I saw another reviewer say “I will never get to read this book for the first time again”, I realised the a book could be something special and it was!

Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha are mesmerising characters. The chemistry between them is off-the-scale intense. There’s romance, yes, but it’s more than that. A deep connection that began when Heath saw Kat skating as a teenager and learnt to skate, just for her. To be with her, to be her skating partner, her life partner, her everything. Kat and Heath defy every odd and make it to the Olympics, but not everyone wants them to win.

The writing was so emotive, I couldn’t stop turning the pages. A documentary style retelling of an incredible journey from poor kids to national heroes. But Kat and Heath can trust no one. Even the people that are on their “team” don’t act in their best interests in the cut throat sport of figure skating. Sizzling scandal and scorching sabotage is the name of the game, when every competitor wants to stand on the top step and only one duo can win gold.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Layne Fargo and Random House for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Katerina will do whatever it takes to win gold at the Olympics for ice dancing. She wants to be just like her idol Sheila Lin.

Coming from a midwestern hardscrabble background Katerina and Heath aren't your typical ice pair. Fighting and clawing their way onto the international stage has not been an easy ride for either of them but Katerina is going to win no matter what, even though Heath might not be on the same page anymore.

An entertaining, drama fueled romp through the world of professional ice skating with feuds, lovers and sequins galore!

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book, having zero interest in ice dance - how wrong I was - I absolutely loved it. It was a great format, the story interspersed with interview snippets, and the outcome was perfect- and not necessarily the ending I was expecting. Highly recommended.

The Favourites is told in a documentary style about the world of ice-dance and, specifically, the partnership between Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha as well as from the point of view of Katarina. Katarina has wanted to become a figure skater since she was a little girl but has everything against her - her supportive dad has died, her brother is abusive and an addict and she does not have the funds to progress in the sport. She has, however, a huge amount of talent and an amazing partnership both on and off the ice with Heath. The Favourites is a compelling and easy read from the beginning as the reader joins Heath and Katarina on their journey. The last 20% of the novel verged slightly on soap opera but, nonetheless, is a great read. Fans of stories such as Carrie Soto is Back will find lots to enjoy on The Favourites.

This was SO fun and gripping - I literally couldn't put it down and was totally submerged in the world of Kat and Heath. It's like everything I wanted CARRIE SOTO IS BACK to be (but better and with figure skating instead of tennis). The romance! The twists and turns! I have already recommended to multiple friends as I know this is the kind of book that so many people will enjoy.

I did enjoy reading Kat and Heaths story, and really liked the interview style of the book. I am a sucker for friends to lovers and this is a delicious slow burn. The first 2/3 book were definitely the most fun to read, the last 1/3 was a little slow. Overall a really fun read!