I had to stop this book. I got about 10% in which is my minimum for all books. I was looking forward to a book about ice skating as I used to skate when I was younger but this book did not grip me in anyway. One thing I did really love was the news reporter script, that was one thing that kept me interested but unfortunately I don’t think this story is for me and I’m looking for something of a faster pace

This story follows the life of an elite figure skating couple. It is written as a novel, with a documentary style interview at the end of each chapter. This adds so much to the story! If someone had told me this was based on a true story, I would have 100% believed them.

We may only be in January, but I already know this is a strong contender for being in my favourite reads at the end of the year! It was that great! It was so full of twists, turns, and scandal!

I can genuinely say I was hooked from the very beginning and had 0 idea at any point where this story was going. It kept me guessing till the very end.

Every single characters personality shone through in this story. It was such an amazing cast of characters, I felt like I genuinely knew each ones intentions and mindset.

This will definitely be a book I'll be recommending to everyone.

Who knew the world of ice dance could be so ruthless? The Favourites proves this as an addictive and propulsive novel about two young skaters, Katarina and Heath, whose epic and dramatic love story spans many years, filled with fights, love, injuries, passion, and betrayals. The story is narrated by Katarina, interwoven with fragments of a documentary chronicling the rise and fall of the celebrity couple. While this documentary-style format didn’t resonate with me as strongly as it has in other similar books, it still added an intriguing layer to the story.

The book was dramatic and soapy but magnetic and engaging at the same time. Heath and Katarina were so toxic (especially Heath) that you almost didn’t want them to be together, yet you couldn’t help but feel they were meant for each other. Their relationship, alternating between love and hatred, drove the story forward with intensity.

The world of competitive ice dance was a central element of the plot, and I was thoroughly captivated by how everything worked—the alliances, the rivalries, the system, and the corruption. It provided an original and refreshing theme, one I had never encountered before in a novel.

Despite how much I enjoyed the book—it stayed on my mind even when I wasn’t reading—I feel it could have been shorter. Unfortunately, the ending felt slightly underwhelming after all the preceding drama. Nevertheless, this was an unforgettable and epic story.

This book has been everywhere on my feed since the new year and once I had heard it was a Taylor Jenkins Reid vibe with figure skating I was sold! Skating has always been something of an obsession of mine so I was thrilled to be able to get stuck into a new book with this as its theme, especially with Wuthering Heights, one of my favourite classics as its inspiration.

I read this book so fast, it was a really addictive read and I didn't want to put it down. I was so quickly sucked into the skating drama and rooting for my favourite characters. I found only Garrett to be truly likeable but by the end I had come to care for Bella, Heath and Katarina with their strange spiky ways. I think the book could have been longer to allow it to be more emotional, a lot had to be packed in to span Heath & Katarina's entire skating journey however a lot of it felt quite shallow and surface level. To be a five star read I wanted to be more emotionally invested and maybe shed a tear or two!

I wish the title hadn't been changed for the UK audience, I get that we spell favourite differently but I think the change is somewhat infantilising- we are perfectly capable of reading books set in America(!) with that word 'misspelled'. I also found as a Brit and skating fan, the rewriting of history to erase Torvill & Dean's historic and legendary Ice Dance Gold medal at the Sarajevo olympics grating. It's already fiction, maybe there could have been fictional Olympic dates/host cities to avoid this.

I loved the ending, it was so dramatic and somewhat unexpected although I never doubted that they would compete one last time. Whilst the communication issues and strange love triangle wouldn't normally be for me, it really worked in this context and I am so glad I read this! I will definitely look out for more historical fiction by this author in the future, it has reignited my skating obsession and I will be spending the next few months wishing I was living in this book.

4.5 stars

Thank you so much to Vintage Books and Netgalley for my e-ARC :)

Imagine my delight when I realised this was a Wuthering Heights retelling with a differences; it’s nothing short of phenomenal. There were times when I gasped out loud, got carried away in the twists and turns of the ice rink and the back stabbing of the off stage drama. I didn’t expect to care so much about Kat and Heath, it’s worth the hype, I promise.

“The Favourites” by Layne Fargo is a gripping mix of passion, ambition, and scandal, blending the intensity of “Wuthering Heights” with the behind-the-scenes drama of “Daisy Jones and the Six”. The story centers on Katarina Shaw, a figure skater who has always believed her destiny lies in the Olympics. Her life and career take a pivotal turn when she teams up with Heath Rocha, a troubled foster kid, to form a powerhouse ice dancing duo. Their electrifying chemistry and rollercoaster relationship captivate the public, until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games destroys their partnership. Ten years later, an unauthorized documentary resurfaces, reigniting public fascination with their story. As Kat finally decides to tell her side, the narrative weaves between her perspective and the sensational interviews from the film, unraveling the truth behind their rise to fame—and the explosive rumors that have followed them ever since.

This book is a fast-paced and entertaining read, filled with complex characters and twists that keep you hooked. I finished in 24 hours despite it being almost 450 pages. The documentary-style writing gives the story a voyeuristic edge, making it feel like you’re watching a trainwreck unfold. However, while the story is engaging, the writing itself is fairly simple, and it lacks the gothic richness of “Wuthering Heights” or the emotional depth of Taylor Jenkins Reid's work. “The Favourites” reads more like a YA novel at times, with its melodramatic flair and younger sensibilities. This could be a turn-off for readers expecting a more mature narrative, but there’s no denying its broad appeal.

Despite these drawbacks, “The Favourites” will likely find a big audience—especially those who enjoy binge-worthy, dramatic reads that are more style than substance. It’s an entertaining ride, but a little more depth in the writing could’ve made it even more memorable.

This book is all the things! I have never enjoyed or been so on the edge of thin ice pun intended as I was with this book! It’s like Daisy Jones & The Six on ice! It needs to be made into a movie!

This book follows Katarina Shaw in the world of elite figure skating. The story brings the drama, scandal, romance as well as the highs and lows of competitive sport. The characters are not without flaws and not always entirely likeable but I was fully invested in their story.

This was pure addictive entertainment! Once I got into the story, I could not put it down! Fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid will love this. A mix of Carrie Soto and Daisy Jones. I really enjoyed the format of both Kat’s POV and interviews for a documentary made 10 years on from the events of the 2014 olympics.

I think this would really lend itself to audio format as I gather it’s a full cast and so I will definitely be getting this on audio to try it out. This would also make a great TV/movie adaptation.

4.5 stars. Highly recommend. Thank you to NetGallery and Random House UK, Vintage for the e-arc.

Katarina Shaw has always know she was destined to become an olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a forbidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating the go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice skaters, captivating fans with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style and rollercoaster relationship. That is until it all falls apart.

From the Daisy Jones style tell all to the Carrie Soto style competitiveness The Favourites definitely reminds me of a Taylor Jenkins Reid book which is no bad thing. However Layne Fargo puts her own spin (or should I say twizzle) on things by introducing us to the dizzying world of Figure Skate dancing, which could be the most precarious and toxic of all and that's before they even get on the ice! If you are not a fan of interview layout dialogue, don't let this put you off as it is interwoven well into the format so does not detract from the flow. I never knew I would find figure skating so fascinating so the technicalities held my interest just as much as the soap opera style antics behind the scenes. Some characters I loved, some I hated and some I loved to hate and these opinions chopped and changed as I read on. It was a very easy book to read as I was always looked forward to picking it up and as I neared the end I didn't want to put it down. Did it score the perfect six for me, no it lost marks on some technicalities but did it make me more interested in figure skating, yes it did.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW!
I don’t know what I was expecting from this book but it wasn’t what I expected. It was really enjoyable, easy to read, really interesting characters and overall a very satisfying read!
Many thanks to Random House UK, Vintage, for the eARC of The Favourites by Layne Fargo. This book is out in the UK on January 16th 2025 and in my opinion is well worth buying.
Telling the story of a young girl Kat Shaw who watches an ice dancing competition and finds an idol in the gold medalist. She sets her sights on becoming this lady one day and pours her heart, soul and energy into it with her best friend, Heath Rocha, joining her for the ride. And what a ride it is! Many set backs, many failures, changes is partners, competitions all over the world and will Kat ever get the Olympic gold medals she’s been working for the whole time?!
I really loved this story, we have bought a lovely hardback copy and my Mum has read and loved it too.

I really enjoyed this book. It's format was easy to read, with relatively short chapters. I imagine it would appeal to many young adults. I have seen it compared several times to Wuthering Heights. I love Wuthering Heights, and whilst I certainly enjoyed this book really didn't think that it compared to or was really that capable of being compared to Wuthering Heights. Whilst there is certainly romantic tension between Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha, themes of love, passion, redemption, and at one point Heath goes 'missing' for three years, the atmosphere between Katarina and Heath is very different to that between Heathcliffe and Catherine - far less dark. I can see it working well as a film exploring the romantic troubles of these often rich, attractive looking (as it seems from the book) teens/young adults.

THIS BOOK 🙌🏻 I'm starting to learn I love a toxic relationship 🤣 (I wonder what that says about me). This is a very character driven book & the characters are what bring this story alive. That being said they will definitely have you screaming at times and hating them.

Although I've said it's a character driven book there's definitely a storyline and plot and some of the things that happened had me shocked. To me it was very reminiscent of a TJR book, and reminded me of Daisy Jones & the Six with the interviews scattered throughout. But not in a copy cat way, more in a homage to way. I really liked the interview snippets throughout as it let you see events from multiple POVs and gave you a more rounded view of the characters.

I know this book might not be for everyone but I absolutely loved it and hope you all do too because it deserves it.

The Favourites has been on my radar for ages and I gave this book 4/5 stars! I love skating romances and this one has been a joy to read. It took me a little while to get into this but once I was a few chapters in I was hooked and the pace picked up. There is a lot of mention about ice skating and what happens but this I enjoyed. I enjoyed the documentary elements at the end of each chapter and could clearly visualise it. The characters I was infested in and really enjoyed how their love of the sport and how that effects the characters loves and life around ice skating. I didn't love the characters as much as I have in other books but I still really enjoyed reading about them, I think it was their attitudes but what I did really love was the character development throughout the book. The ending was what I thought it would be but I really liked it and was happy for the characters. The Favourites is a brilliant in depth romance around ice skating that I loved.

A modern retelling of 'Wuthering Heights' set in late 90s America - with ice-skating? You've got my attention!

Let's start with the original novel. I feel like 'Wuthering Heights' is often misunderstood. If you hadn't read it, and based it purely on cultural impact (Kate Bush's song, some of the film adaptations) you'd peg it as simply a love story. It's so much more than that. It is a revenge story and, as with all revenge stories, you are left pondering - is revenge truly worth it if it unintentionally destroys you along with the person or people you hate?

One of the most mysterious and intriguing things about the novel is how on earth young, sheltered Emily Bronte could write it in the first place. It's pretty much unanimously agreed that she never had a romance in her life. Whilst Charlotte fell in love with her Professor, who is thought to have inspired Mr Rochester, there was no man who inspired Emily. It's why the 2022 film 'Emily', which depicts Emily having a steamy affair which inspires 'Wuthering Heights', is so very offensive. Emily (and indeed, her sisters Charlotte and Anne) - used their incredible imaginations to take them far away from their origins, and that shows how brilliant they all were.

Reading 'The Favourites' reminded me of 'Hollow Bones' which I reviewed last year. It was a modern retelling of 'Measure for Measure' and I put all my fangirl energy into finding the main parallels. 'The Favourites' keeps the deep, obsessive bond between its Cathy and Heathcliff (this time, Katarina and Heath), the feckless brother, the death of parents and a very specific child-related subplot, but aside from that it's very much mired in the world of competitive ice dancing. Like most adaptions of 'Wuthering Heights', it focusses on the first Cathy, and not what comes later in the novel.

And 'The Favourites' is an absolute page-turner. I've never been more interested in a sport in my life. The ice dancing in this novel captured me. The competitiveness, the backstabbing, the rise and fall, the wins and loses - it's a bumpy and electric ride, and you see its inevitable toll on the ice dance skaters, who are very young when the novel opens. 'Is it worth it?' the text asks. 'Is it worth it to be in the record books, if you sacrifice a piece of your soul and potentially end up unhappy regardless?'

Towards the end, I encountered a paragraph which really struck me. It would be poignant under any circumstances, but given this specific backdrop, it is a real punch in the guts:

"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. Not in one shining moment on a medal stand, but every single day, over and over again."

This novel has the highest rating I have ever seen on Goodreads - at the time of this review, it is at 4.5. Literature is of course subjective, but from my perspective, I think it certainly deserves it!

Thank you to Random House UK, Vintage and and Netgalley for the ARC!

this 👏🏻 book 👏🏻

I was OBSESSED with this book - I didn't want to put it down from the first page. The characters, the story line, the twists and turns. It was all just spectacular drama.

I wouldn't call this a romance book in any way whatever but something kept drawing me into the pages. The writing - which is set out in partly interview style, partly FMC POV at the time - was beautiful and addictive.

This book is filled with passion, desire, obsession, drama, despair, heartache, and determination. It was truly an emotional rollercoaster and I was all for it.

I'm not sure I would say I was satisfied with the ending. I was angry for some of the characters, I was angry at some of the characters. but the ending worked. it felt right almost.

‘The Favourites’ by Layne Fargo tells the story of fictional ice dancing superstars Kat Shaw and Heath Rocha, charting the highs and lows of their career (and relationship) through Kat’s narration and snippets of interviews from a tell-all Netflix special. Full to the brim with intrigue, love, betrayal, ambition and pain, the tale simmers with tension and charts some absolutely shocking moments as Olympic dreams shatter into a million pieces as sharp as boot blades and shiny as the sequins on figure skating costumes.

I adored the depth of all of the characters in this book! Katarina’s lofty goals and steely ambition made her inspirational yet flawed, and while some of Heath’s decisions were suspect, his burning love and twisted loyalty were compelling. The Lin twins were complex and vital supporting characters, and supporters/antagonists including legend Sheila Lin, Kat’s brother Lee, skater-turned-blogger Ellis and the Russian contingent had their motives thoroughly explored. Some of the remarks from former judge Jane Curran had me reeling against the establishment and they really added to the cut-throat narrative.

The plot itself had so many layers, and I appreciated how it captured the agony and sacrifice involved in elite sport, amplified by the partnered nature of ice dance. The romance aspects were addictive but not the primary focus… encapsulated by the pivotal and revealing line where Kat explains that her first love was NOT Heath, but figure skating.

This book gets five stars from me (my first of 2025!) I could barely put my kindle down, and 100% recommend to anyone who adored the spiky, unapologetic ambition on display in Taylor Jenkins Reid’s ‘Carrie Soto Is Back’ or the beauty and tragedy of connections on the ice in ‘From Lukov With Love’ by Marina Zapata. I’m excited for this in audiobook format (like TJR’s ‘Daisy Jones And The Six’, it’s recorded as an oral history with a full cast) and I’m desperate for a screen adaptation (Netflix’s ‘Spinning Out’ should never have been cancelled, but this would be an ace replacement to continue the vibes!)

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Random House UK via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

(ARC - gifted)

it feels almost unfair that i think i've read my best book of 2025 this early in the year. absolute 6 star read!!!

it was described to me as a romance, but the romance really is a secondary theme. we start in the late 90s and follow Kat, who is determined to make it as an ice dancer with her skating partner Heath. we then follow several years in the ice skating world, with interviews and quotes for a documentary about Kat from notable people in the story woven in between chapters.

it's so much more than a romance. it's about scandals, relationship with fame, the impact of technology and social media on the sport, wealth disparity, family relationships, rivalries, and the scope of human spirit and determination. it's a wonderful, gritty and rewarding story and if you enjoy a strong, flawed main character, well-developed side characters or something that fills a Taylor Jenkins-Reid shaped hole in your reading, i think you'll love it as much as i did 🩷

5/5 ⭐️ Ok wow I loved everything about this book. This was so good! It puts you through all the emotions.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc.

This was one of my top ten reads of 2024, and I predict that it will find its place onto many, many more 2025 best books lists. 

This book is a MUST read for anyone who enjoys Taylor Jenkins Reid's literary world of celebrity fame and scandal, specifically the tell-all interview style of Daisy Jones and the Six and the cutthroat ambition of Carrie Soto is Back. TJR is credited as an inspiration for The Favourites in the acknowledgements, but honestly I think Fargo's writing oft the celebrity sphere reigns supreme.


Spanning multiple decades, this is a Wuthering Heights retelling told through competitive ice dance. Every chapter seems to crescendo on an unbelievable cliffhanger that makes the book genuinely un-put-down-able, with multiple plot twists catching me completely off guard and leaving me reeling. You never know what is going to happen next, up to the final sentence. 


This is one for the people out there who religiously watch Tessa & Scott's 2014 Moulin Rouge routine. Prepare to be forever changed as a person. 


Thank you to Random House UK and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

The Favourites by Layne Fargo has so many great reviews already by others who are far better than I at explaining just why it’s so brilliant, that I just wanted to come on to add that I loved it too!

I have stayed up far too late for two nights now as I just couldn’t stop reading it. I’m on holiday and one of the reasons I loved this book so much was that, despite the many characters and sweeping timelines, the writing was so skilful I found it completely captivating and an easy and enjoyable read. I’m pretty devastated I’ve finished it to be honest!

I rarely read books twice (too many books, too little time) BUT I would definitely make listening to this book an exception. I have a feeling some great narrators would up the ante another notch or five!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, Vintage, Chatto & Windus for an eARC of this wonderful book.