Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC.
I had seen so many 5 star reviews of this book that I was a bit anxious as to whether it was going to live up to the hype. But it so did!!!
The Daisy Jones vibes were so real and I loved the writing style!
The story kept me gripped and I learnt alot about ice skating (without it being boring!)
Loved the characters and the atmosphere and any Taylor Jenkins Reid fans need to read this! Absolutely loved it!

I really wasn’t ready for this book. The emotional TRAUMA that came along with it, decimated me. Layne Fargo weaves this absolutely gossip girl level of intrigue into ICE DANCING. I swear I learn more about sports from fiction books than anything else. The story runs similarly to the tell- all feel of Daisy Jones & The Six, except we get our FMCs POV as well which really rounds out the experience in my opinion. Katerina Shaw was ruthless, honestly everyone was ruthless to the point where it was gut wrenching to see how they treated each other. I could not put this book down and I cannot stop thinking about it. Layne Fargo makes her characters real, if you told me this was a real documentary I would believe you 1000%. If you are a fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid, I highly recommend trying this book!!!

I loved and felt every second of this book!! It was the “Daisy Jones and the six” of the ice skating. And it gives all the passion , work, dedication that the athletes give to this sport!

Really loved the aspect of the ice skating romance! Really really enjoyed it
Thank you again for letting me read it early

Looking at other reviews I am in a minority but unfortunately I just could not get into The Favourites. I can't explain why but it just did not work for me. I did finish it, as I don't give up on books, but I did find it a struggle.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

I absolutely loved this book!

I was completely immersed in the story and the characters and there were so many twists I was gripped! It gave the same vibes as a Taylor Jenkins Reid story who is one of my favourite authors, I’ll now be reading anything by Layne Fargo!!

I deeply regret not reading this sooner because OH. MY. GOD. Believe the hype. Prior to picking up this book, I had no interest in ice skating and honestly, no desire the change that.

133 pages in and I found myself down a Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir wormhole watching Olympic performances on YouTube so I could imagine Katarina and Heath better..

I was completely obsessed from start to finish. This is hands down one of the best books I’ve read in months - THE FAVOURITES deserves to be your favourite read of 2025. Layne Fargo, take a bow.

Immersive, Contemporary…
Ice skating duo Katarina and Heath became a world obsession, loved by all, their passion evident - until one isolated incident changed everything. Ten years later, along comes a docuseries - unauthorised, yet it is to be the spark which ignites a public obsession. Will a long time silence be broken? An intricate saga bubbling with drama and big characters and further brought into a wholly contemporary setting with clever use of a multi media narrative. Compelling and immersive.

I love ice skating & wanted to love The Favourites so much, but some aspects of this book really let me down.

I loved the way the skating was written, and the descriptions of Kat & Heath's passionate performances. The interview segments were an amazing addition as they allowed the reader to get outside perspectives on Kat & Heath's careers and scandals, and also allowed for an element of foreshadowing.

The pacing was the biggest issue for me - I struggled to feel engaged with the characters or plot until 40-50% through the book. It felt like the author was constantly trying to introduce plot twists, but many of them were predictable or had no later consequences in the story. The sabotage plotline could have been much more interesting if it was introduced earlier on in the book, but it was left to the last minute and felt rushed. So did Heath's proposal on the ice - it was jarring to read as he'd grown up with Kat and should have known better than anyone else what she would want.

This was a brilliant, epic story !

We follow Kat and Heath as they try to escape their harsh upbringings to be the best ice dance couple in the world. The story follows them through several decades of their lives and how their tempestuous relationship affects them both on and off the ice. The novel also features inserts from a documentary about the pair and gives us an insight on them from other perspectives.

This was so well written and was very engaging. It was engrossing and hard to put down. The documentary element added a great extra level to the book. Loved the character and plot development. Was really fun with the backdrop if ice skating too.

Highly recommend this novel.

The favourites is billed as part Daisy Jones, part Wuthering Heights; I can't comment on the later, having never read it, but I do get the Taylor Jenkins Reid reference. For me though it has Carrie Soto vibes and as much as I loved this one, TJR is a much superior read, with better developed characters and more depth to the grit.

Overall though I found The Favourites a hugely enjoyable and exciting read; I flew though it using audio and kindle so I could keep listening when I had to put the kindle down. And I know others thought it was too long......I could have had more!!

This is one of my favourite books of the year so far! I didn’t really know what to expect going into this, but found myself thoroughly hooked. I didn’t ever want to put this down or for it to end - I’ll definitely be reading more by Layne Fargo in the future.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc. 🫶🏻

A wuthering heights retelling set in the competitive world of ice skating? Sign me up!

I really enjoyed this and can see it becoming a popular hit. It’s told in a unique way which makes it stand out and makes it memorable. Personally, I wanted more from heath and kat in terms of their relationship but overall, I had a great time and would highly recommend this.

The story is told through Kat’s pov, who gives us her side of the story, but it’s also told through a documentary that the reader is ‘watching’. This gives us interviews with guests who were in Kat’s life and important people within the ice dancing community. I found this interesting because it was different to a usual storytelling style, and we get multiple pov’s on different events. The cuts between both these povs flowed really well and enabled certain moments to at first be told through a glazed over rhetoric from people in the documentary, to hearing the full true story from Kat. I found this to be an interesting exploration of how media can divert attention and make things seem different to how they are.

I do feel some of the relationship dynamics could have been stronger and more built up, and I had a hard time connecting with the story as much as I would have liked too due to this, but the characters alone were well written, and memorable.

I could see the similarities to the corresponding characters in Wuthering Heights, and how the story was inspired from that book. I did enjoy the retelling element and found Sage to retell that story well. The writing was good, and I would look to this author again after reading this.

I enjoyed it, but the enjoyment was bolstered by knowing that it was inspired by Wuthering Heights. It didn't have the grit of the original. It was a fun beach-read vibe read.

This book had popped up on my radar a few times so I was eager to get reading. Sadly, I found that I just couldn’t engage with the story and I really didn’t like the characters either!

Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha were once the biggest names in ice skate dancing. Now, on the 10th anniversary of their last skate, a documentary drops telling their story. From childhood sweethearts to world class champions, the path to success was tough and full of drama. Kat hasn't taken part in the documentary but as she watches, she tells us her side of the story.

The Favourites is exhilarating and action packed. We see Kat and Heath as kids and how they became partnered up, the hard work they put in despite their broken home lives and how they caught the eye US ice dance Olympic Champion Sheila Lin. We see them move to LA to train in her ice skate rink, along side her twins Garrett and Bella. The story is a whirlwind of training, competitions, costumes and music, with plenty of ups and downs.

The story is inspired by Wuthering Heights, so if you're family with that, you'll definitely recognise some of the character names and plotlines. There has also been comparisons to Taylor Jenkins Reid, with Layne Fargo acknowledging her at the end of the book. This is partially because of the style of the novel, which is similar to Daisy Jones. The latter is written like the transcripts of a documentary, while The Favourites has elements of that, interjected with Kat's observations. There is also a dash of Carrie Soto is Back, the TJR novel all about a tennis legend returning to the courts for one last go. The Favourites also has elements of this, from the perspective of the cut throat world of ice skate dancing and the passion and determination of professional athletes.

Character wise, most of the characters in here can be unbearable at times. But there's some lightness (especially in the form of Garrett) and I don't mind characters who can be unlikeable but relatable and human.

A fantastic, juicy and dramatic book that's a rollercoaster of a ride, The Favourites will have you hooked and you'll be seeing sequins in your eyes for days after reading this!

5 stars! This book was one of the best I’ve read in a long time, thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc. I could not put this down and was so invested that it was hard to remember that these characters weren’t real life athletes. What an addictive story (will be mentioned in a YouTube video soon @caramurrayy)

This made me feel every emotion that exists. Toxic, messy and unlikeable characters will always be a guilty pleasure of mine!

The Favourites, to me, is like if Daisy Jones and The Six meets Ice Princess in the best way possible with about 10x more toxic characters and it was phenomenal.

We follow the story of Kat and Heath’s epic story of how they became legendary figure skaters and their very messy love story. Kat is very much an unlikeable character and yet I adored her. I grew to love her strength and how she was unapologetically true to herself and her goals.

Kat and Heath’s relationship was definitely an epic love type of story that paired with their skating, turned a bit toxic and messy and had me shouting at them for some of their very questionable choices.

The author did a phenomenal job and bringing all the characters to life and made you believe you were watching a documentary on their life. It was so entertaining and I was gripped the entire way through the book.

Huge thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for providing me with a copy of The Favourites in exchange for my honest review.

Daisy Jones and the Six meets The Cutting Edge.

What an exciting, engaging read. I must have audibly gasped in at least three different places! Also I’ve just realised - Katarina and Heath, as in Cathy and Heathcliffe from Wuthering Heights? All the generational trauma, the narrative framing devices… I may have to go back and read it again to find more Brontë references.

An author I’ll be looking out for in the future. Also, when’s the film or TV adaptation? I’m longing to see all those skating scenes played out for real.

The Favourites by Layne Fargo – ★★★☆☆
All the drama, not quite enough depth.

Figure skating is the perfect setting for rivalries, ambition, and glittering tension, and this book had all the drama—but I kept waiting for that extra something to truly hook me. The characters had potential, but I never felt fully connected, and while the story had twists, it didn’t quite land with the impact I was hoping for.

That said, I totally think this would shine as a TV series—slow-mo rivalry stares and all! But Daisy Jones & The Six it is not. A solid three stars from me—enjoyable, dramatic, and fast-paced, but not quite a gold-medal performance.

#BookReview #TheFavourites #LayneFargo #Bookstagram #SportsDrama #FigureSkatingFiction