The Favourites by Layne Fargo is a gripping sports drama that follows Katrina Shaw and her dance partner, Heath Rocha, on their journey from humble beginnings to the Olympic stage. Inspired by childhood idol Sheila Fin, Katrina dedicates her life to ice skate dancing, training with Heath, an orphan supported by her father. After her father's passing, financial struggles and personal obstacles—like her troublemaking brother—test her resolve.

The duo rises through fierce competition, facing the talented Lin twins, Bella and Garrett, only to be trained by Sheila Fin herself as rivals to the Lins. The story is layered with passion, betrayal, and political intrigue, offering a fresh take on the sports genre. Narrated through interviews with characters from Katrina and Heath's lives, the book explores ambition, love, and resilience with emotional depth.

I really wanted to love this because it sounded excellent, but alas, here we are.

The book follows ice dancing duo Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha through their turbulent career. They've always held the public interest and been the 'favourites' because of their scorching chemistry and underdog backstory, but the book starts off 10 years after the 2014 Olympics and the drama that unfolded there. Katarina wants to tell the story her way.

This wasn't a bad book. It was dramatic and compelling and honestly heart-breaking at times, but at the same time, it was just TOO LONG. I ended up getting a little bit bored as we went thorough the same drama and performances again and again.

But my biggest issue was Heath. He was just awful and so it made it so hard to route for them. I also feel like stories like this just aren't my vibe, where there is a constant will they/won't they and the couple is just so toxic, but apparently destined for each other?!? The relationship reminded me of Normal People, which I thought was a fine book, but I just feel like the people in these couples deserve better.

If you like Taylor Jenkins Reid's style and books with drama and sports, I think you'll enjoy this!

Something in the description intrigued me and it definitely wasn’t the ice skating, that is not something I am bothered about, but whatever it was I was right, this is an amazing book.
It follows Katrina Shaw and Heath Rocha from when they meet at a skating rink through all their troubles of surviving and working extra jobs just to afford ice time, and they make it, they get to the Olympics. This was Katrina’s dream to win and win big, Heath did it to please her, everything he did was for her.
I loved the drama and the way the story is interspersed with the dialogue from a documentary, helping also to tell their story. This book has it all, intrigue, romance, back stabbing and passion.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Ok, so the last time I watched something about figure skating was when I became completely obsessed with Yuri on Ice, an anime which combines the drama of competitive figure skating with the drama of real life. The Favourites has that same compelling figure skating drama, and here I am, obsessed all over again.

It’s the detail that had me drawn in, from the captivating paragraphs describing choreography, music and emotion, to the passion of every competitor which oozes from the page. The competitions are as much a part of the plot as the reality behind the scenes, with enthralling performances and toxic rivalries heightening their intensity. Fargo’s cinematic writing made the performances so easy to picture that I felt like I was watching along with the audience, fully enraptured by every dance.

Behind all this are characters dealing with the pressures of competing, alongside balancing relationships and emotional struggles. Katarina and Heath’s tumultuous relationship takes centre stage as Katarina’s desperation to be the best consumes her, going to excessive lengths to ensure she can make it to the top. The way they’re both treated for not having the same wealthy background as the other skaters was infuriating to read, and made Katarina’s determination all the more believable.

There’s obsession, heartbreak, unexpected plot twists, and skating rivalries which had me hooked. Honestly, there’s no way my review can do this book justice, so please add it to your TBRs.

*Thank you to Vintage Books for gifting me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.*

I knew “The Favorites” was good even before starting it, I could feel it in my bones.
What I didn't know is that it would have felt like a long panic attack, from the very first chapter till the last page, so emotionally draining that worsened my anxiety.

No, it wasn't a fun read. Some books aren't meant to be fun and some people aren't cut out for messy characters with messy stories.
But how describe it to you all, innocent people with your heart still intact? The only word I can think of is “addictive”: you'll be obsessed with Kat and Heath’s story, the ways they manipulate and help each other, the ways they collide every time they're too close but can't stay away from each other, and the uncountable times you would want to get in the book and scream at their faces.
That said, I’d still want to erase all my memories from the past week only to read this again like the first time, inflict myself the same pain I've just complained about and lose my mind all over again.

Truth is, I struggled with the characters because I saw them for who they were and what they believed in, but I still would have wanted them to act differently.
The problem wasn't the drama per se, it's just that to reach their finished acts they went through some tough things that made me suffer, and I didn't particularly enjoy that.
But, with all that said, I'm deciding this was a good book even if I don't agree with their choices - and I call this growth.

A special mention needs to go to the narrative style: the similarities with “Daisy Jones and The Six” are all here but, even if I’m a big fan of TJR’s book, the half-documentary half-pov writing is some genius shit.
Not to comment about who you can clearly see behind the MCs - Tessa and Scott, you will always be famous, and not only for your last performance.

Thanks to Random House UK, Vintage, Chatto & Windus and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Wow, wow, wow!
I loved The Favourites. A brilliant insight into the world of competitive Ice Dance. I have long been fascinated by skating, being a child of the 70s/80s, watching Torville & Dean dance their way to victory at the Olympics! Reading The Favourites brings memories back also of the Tonya Harding scandal, highlighting as it does the acute rivalry between skaters.
The Favourites is well written, never boring or over detailed. It’s written like a documentary, with reflective intervention from the main character Katerina, and most chapters end with little ‘footnote’ comments from coaches, fellow competitors and judges. Great once you got to know who was who.
It’s one of those books which had me at the ‘Just One More Chapter’ stage every night, and I know it will be one of my top books of 2025. Fabulous!

Layne Fargo’s The Favourites is a masterclass in suspense and psychological depth. With razor-sharp prose and complex, morally gray characters, the story keeps you hooked from the first page to the jaw-dropping finale. The tension builds expertly, weaving themes of ambition, jealousy, and desire into an unforgettable narrative. Fargo’s storytelling is bold, gripping, and utterly addictive—a must-read for fans of dark, character-driven thrillers!!

"The Favourites" by Layne Fargo is such a juicy,read! It’s packed with drama, ambition, and just the right amount of dark, twisty vibes. The characters are messy and flawed in the best way, and the story pulls you in from the start. I couldn’t put it down!

This book follows Katerina Shaw in the world of elite figure skating. The story promises drama, scandal, romance as well as the highs and lows of competitive sport. If you’re a fan of Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid, you’ll love this!

💚 Likes 💚
- I loved the unique format of this book! Switching between interview transcripts and first person POV, I felt like I was both watching the documentary and living it through the characters.
- It felt so real! I genuinely kept going to google the characters to watch some of their dancers, before remembering they weren’t real people!
- An fmc with personality and attitude. I love when an author can make you root for a flawed (and realistic) character.
- I never knew where the story was going and I loved that! I would actually recommend not reading the blurb and going into this blind

💔 Dislikes 💔
- The pacing was a touch slow at times.

Overall, I adored this book and I truly couldn’t put it down. I’d highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

4.5⭐️ (rounded up to 5)

What happens when love, obsession, and ambition collide on the ice? The Favourites delivers all that and more!

“They were an obsession. Then a scandal. And ultimately… a tragedy.”

This book had me hooked from the first page. Just when I thought I knew where the story was going, it surprised me every time.

Set against the high-stakes world of Olympic ice dancing, The Favourites explores the toxic, all consuming love between Kat and Heath, childhood sweethearts turned skating partners. Told through Kat’s first-person POV and a multi POV documentary transcript, it’s a gripping tale of their rise to glory and the devastating fallout that followed.

If you’re into stories about:
• Love and obsession
• Manipulation and scandal
• Rivalry and power

…then you NEED to read this book!

One thing I know for sure? The audiobook is going to AMAZING, in other words I’ll be rereading as soon as the audiobook is available!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book made me scream in frustration at the characters, in heartbreak and finally in happiness for the fantastic ending. A true gold medal, 5 star book I'd read again and again. And watch the documentary.

I stayed up way passed my bedtime to finish this because I had to know what happened to Kat and Heath. They and the supporting characters are so well written that they play before your eyes. I was invested, heavily, in the outcome and all the happenings around it. There's romance, drama, mystery and friendship - all in the mix.

The way the story is told is very unique. A mix of narrative, descriptive footage and interviews makes so an engrossing read. A Netflix doc and behind the scenes footage really had me hooked.

My only knowledge of ice dancing was Torvill and Dean and Dancing on Ice. This books gives an in-depth look in to the sport and man is it twisted! But oh how you want more.

Grab this book for a late night, passed your bedtime, have to finish it now kinda read. Be engrossed in the music, stay for the drama and revel in the amazing story.

The Favourites, by Layne Fargo, may only be the second book I’ve read this year but I have to say I feel like it might be in my absolute top favourites come the end of ‘25. My goodness was this book so very good.

If you loved the format of Daisy Jones, the incredibly strong (and cut throat) women in sport of Carrie Soto, the drama of I, Tonya and the tension and longing of Wuthering Heights all mixed together in what is in itself an incredibly unique and thoroughly compelling story you’ll adore The Favourites. I simply couldn’t put it down. This needs to be made into a movie or show right?!

The Favourites is Kat Shaw’s account of her, and Heath Rocha’s, dramatic rise and fall as the favourites of ice dance. Shaw’s account alternates with scandalous interviews from the unauthorised tell all documentary that followed ten years after Shaw and Rocha’s explosive final Olympic appearance. The Favourites follows Shaw and Heath from child hood sweethearts to champion dancers, where they captivate fans with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style and rollercoaster relationship.

There is so very much I could, and would like to say about this one, but I also don’t want to say a lot. This is the kind of book that you should go into blind and allow yourself to be blown away by. The characters are brilliant, and often diabolical. Their pursuit of glory, regardless of the cost is something else. The glorious and also toxic love story had me hooked! The twists and turns made me gasp and made it impossible to stop reading. The way Fargo seamlessly time jumped via the major events in Kat and Heath’s life worked perfectly. This is a longer book but do you know I would have been happy to have read even more!

Do not let The Favourites pass you by, it’s insanely good.

I was hooked from the opening line of this book and really struggled to stop reading until I got to the end! Luckily it was a Christmas read for me and I was able to slip off regularly to race through to the end. What a story - so exciting and unpredictable! Just when I thought I knew where it was going, I was thrown a curve ball. I read a review which compared it to 'Daisy Jones,' and I would have to agree with that comparison. This is a story which is being partly told through interviews for a TV documentary, many of which comments on big events and then the book flicks to the back story which is told by Kat, the protagonist, in the first person. I felt like I was invited into her life and she was confiding in me. None of the characters in this book are blameless and some are downright mean to others. The competitive nature of skating means that every person must look out for themselves.

I thought the character development was sublime and the description of settings, clothes and skating routines were breathtaking. Such a satisfactory read with an unexpected ending - this would make the most fabulous movie or box set and I can't wait for someone to pick it up! Glamour, greed and glory ... not to be missed!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House UK Vintage for the ARC and the opportunity to read this book pre-release. All thoughts are my own.

50000000/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When I picked up this book I was bracing myself for disappointment. First of all, the comparison to Daisy Jones set the bar SO high for me, that I was sure it couldn’t live up to the standard. And second of all, Booktok has unfortunately lowered and ruined the quality of ice skating content for me (Icebreaker yes, I’m talking about you).

That’s why I couldn’t be more surprised and ecstatic, when the first thing I wrote on my temporary Goodreads review was: “I fear I didn’t finish this book, this book finished me. I am OBSESSED, I will never ever shut up about this.”
I don’t think I can express in words how much this book swept me off my feet.

Let’s start from the beginning, this is the incredible and drama-filled story of Katarina Shawn and her ice skating partner, of the relationship with each other and ice dancing. Katarina’s ultime goal in life is getting to and winning the Olympics but the road to an Olympic gold isn’t easy.

Saying that I have been HOOKED in by this book, would be un understatement. This novel consumed me in the best of way. As an ultime lover of ice skating and of good fake historical fiction, this was my ultimate cup of tea.
It’s as if, Layne Fargo wrote this book for me, and I will forever be grateful. The mix of the interview style and first-person retelling of events was not only incredibly well balanced and written, but very powerful and perfectly tailored to the narrative.

I am in extra awe that this is the first fiction book of this author and Layne, if you will ever read me, PLEASE NEVER STOP. PLEASE GIVE ME MORE. I wanna read a 20 books long series of your own fictional world sport celebrities and I promise I will never tire of it!

This is a masterpiece and I fear I will have to reread it regularly because it’s my new obsession and comfort read.

So yes. I would highly recommend this book to fans of Taylor J Reid, because it did live up the the standard of Daisy Jones. And I would recommend it to lovers of ice skating, because it gives a wonderful, meaningful and (for what I know) realistic insight on issues and dramas of this sport. And of course, it adds so many good plot twists and turns and high quality romance and angst (it is fiction after all)

One of my favourite reads last year was Daisy Jones and the Six, for its documentary/interview style formatting and this has such a similar vibe! I’ll definitely do a re-read when the audiobook is released as it would be such a good full cast audio.

The Favourites is the story of Katarina and Heath, figure skaters best known not for their successes but their scandal. Katarina Shaw knows her destiny is go become an Olympic skater and when she meets Heath Rocha, their ‘instant connection makes them a formidable duo’. To escape their tumultuous lives they cling to each other on and off the ice - captivating audiences with their ‘scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and rollercoaster relationship.’ That is until an incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.

At the 10 year anniversary of their final skate an unauthorised documentary reignites public fascination - as the ‘real story’ is claimed to be revealed through interviews with their friends and rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary, but doesn’t want someone else to define her legacy - so now she’s telling her story. And the truth may be more shocking than the headlines.

I loved the character of Kat - bad traumatic childhood but focused on her dreams. All she wants is to be an Olympian like her idol. Similarly, Heath’s childhood was also traumatic. He just wants to help Kat achieve her dreams.

The side characters were so well developed - Bella and Garrett especially. I loved their subplots and the dynamic her friendship with Bella gave the story.

Jam packed with tension, drama and twists this was a really enjoyable read. To see just how determined Kat was to achieve her dreams, no matter who got hurt in the process, and how this shaped her relationship with Heath. Especially at the novels conclusion when we see how their story ended!

ARC copy provided by Random House UK, Vintage & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is drama. Complex, rollercoaster-y, angsty, toxic DRAMA. And I stayed up until 3am to finish it because I couldn't put it down. 5 stars! I hated almost every single character and their actions at multiple points. But that was the point? I felt all the things. (So) angry, (so) sad, (so) frustrated, anxious, kind of morbidly curious, a smidge triumphant here and there. The writing is brilliant, the oral history narration style in parts was the perfect choice, and I was gripped from start to finish.

This book messed with my head, but wow, it was SO. GOOD.

This is like the Virtue/Moir Moulin Rouge Free Dance at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in book form.

My expectations were too high to be honest, since figure skating is my special interest and there is such a lack of good literature about the sport available. The start of the book seemed so promising and I grew to care for the characters but as I read on, the book failed to convey the complexities of both Kat & Heath's personalities.

The plot was also kind of scattered with no large driving force other than Kat's ambition. In my opinion, that's not enough to carry the entire book since the layers of her ambition were not explored enough. For me there was too little skating and too much off ice drama. I wanted to know more about the intricate details of the sport.

Towards the end, crazier and crazier things started happening which could have been books on their own. The sabotage plot line was not well developed at all and the mystery surrounding Heath's disappearance & his scars was so flimsy that when the grand reveal happened, I didn't feel anything.

This book could have been everything to me but alas, it fell largely flat. I do, however, see how others could fall in love with it so I will be recommending it far and wide.

This was a really original format for a book. And the layout and added extras made it intriguing and had me hooked from the off. It managed to tell many.differing perspectives. It made it both personal but reflective too. As if we were watching from right next to the characters but from above too!
It was so much .more than a romance and yet all about the romance.
It was just a hook line and sinker of a good book from the very beginning. And yet I was still rooting for the characters. Or at least that they might be OK
.

Oh this book is just so much FUN!

I picked this up on a Saturday evening after trudging through my previous read and I’d read 30% before I even realised.

I absolutely love the oral history format in the same vein as Daisy Jones and the Six, interspersed with Kat’s perspective. I really felt like I was watching a documentary.

And this book does not let us. It’s juicy and fun and every few pages seem to end with a cliffhanger which makes you race to the next page.

I read this over 2 days but it will be a perfect beach read.

So juicy and fun and incredibly well-researched. I knew nothing about the world of competitive ice dancing and now I feel like I know a lot more!

I’m not sure if I was ever rooting for Kat and Heath… but I definitely wanted to know what was going to happen next.

Juicy and scandalous without being over the top or unrealistic, this was such a fun read.

5 stars.

Dynamic, scintillating, thrilling ugh I loved this. If you’re a fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid style narratives of the famous then this is one for you.


⛸️ wuthering heights reimagining
⛸️ competitive ice dancing / figure skating world
⛸️ love to hate to love again
⛸️ messy dramatic love story
⛸️ drama, scandal and gossip
⛸️ documentary style narrative

Thanks to the publishers for my copy!