For Vivienne’s seventieth birthday, she celebrates with a trip away with her husband, Patrick, their three daughters, Alex, Nancy and Eva, and their grandchildren.

When Patrick inadvertently admits that he has a favourite daughter, you can imagine the problems that this causes.

It is an interesting story with sibling rivalry at the heart of it, and there were a lot of characters to try and remember who was who.

I did find the story slow at times, but overall I enjoyed it.

My thanks to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Fran is a relatively new author to me but I loved her previous book and also this new one. Wonderful narratives and descriptions. Highly recommend.

So entertaining - especially if you have siblings!

Vivienne and Patrick have three grown-up daughters, all happy knowing they are loved - equally, or so they thought. Then, during a family party it becomes clear that Patrick has a favourite. While it is glossed over at the time, there is no doubt that is the moment when things begin to unravel - can the family come back from this?

As someone with two sisters, this had me hooked from the beginning. As a parent, I was quietly appalled - but it didn't stop me from giggling! I've read this author's work before and would recommend any of her books: well-written and always interesting. I think this one is her best yet and have absolutely no hesitation in recommending it as well as giving it all five stars.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley.

This is a clever intergenerational novel about a family who meet up for a family party only for one small incident to blow their tightly knit group apart.
Fran Littlewood writes very well about women who have hit a point in their lives where they don’t know where to go and might just do something very stupid.
Eva had married an awful man in secret, Alex has had a baby just when she thought her baby rearing days were done and Nancy has an issue at work that she’s hiding from everyone. As the family falls apart they all might well do something they regret.
This is quite a complex novel with a large cast of characters and a lot of plot strands. Sometimes it all gets a bit much and some scenes don’t seem to add much to the overall story. It is a clever and original story and largely enjoyable, just not something to read too quickly.

It was an enjoyable read, although I much preferred her previous book. My thanks to the publisher for the copy.

The Fisher family are an unhappy bunch which makes for a tiresome read. The jumping from character to character is peppered with a time hop too which makes for a disjointed read. Thank you to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House + NetGalley for the ARC!

I felt that the story was lost in between the constant moving between characters and timelines. It felt somewhat disjointed.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I enjoyed The Favourite. It is based on three sisters and their families while they are on a week away. An almost event turns everyone's thoughts and memories into doubts.

Alex, Nancy and Eva Fisher. Three grown-up sisters; each wonderful and imperfect in their own individual ways. And loved equally by their parents, Vivienne and Patrick.
Or so they thought.

When a near-disaster strikes during a family gathering, Patrick inadvertently reveals that he has a favourite daughter. And while they try to gloss over it, this almost-accident begins the unravelling of everything the sisters thought they knew. As their past is re-examined, secrets and lies are uncovered, and, slowly, the close-knit Fisher clan starts to implode in a way they could never have dreamed possible.

This is Fran Littlewood's second novel, following her brilliantly realised debut, Amazing Grace Adams, which I loved, so I came to it with great anticipation and excitement.

Set over a single week’s holiday, scenes from the present are interspersed with events from the past, and the POV shifts constantly between the sisters and their mother.

This is a novel is driven by family dynamics and tensions - the usual family micro-aggressions that characterise family life are overlayed with something way beyond what's customary and normal, and there's clearly some important things festering beneath the surface here. As Leo Tolstoy famously wrote: "All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

The "show-everything" glass house that is the Fisher family holiday let, and the unpleasant smell within it that develops and increases over the week of their stay, serves as a metaphor for what is happening to them on this holiday. Their father's apparent highlighting of his favourite daughter during a moment of danger at an outdoor naming ceremony, proves to be a catalyst for this family, and what has been ignored and brushed under the carpet for years can, and will, no longer be hidden.

Baggage from the past that continues to impact the present, has to be acknowledged and confronted, as relationships deteriorate and unravel, but there there's a great deal more in play too: relationship issues between the parents and their children; between spouses and partners; different parenting styles between and within the generations; different memories and perspectives of the same life events that make up the tapestry of this family's history; and there's the complex dynamic between the three sisters, which is almost love and hate in nature.

Arguments, resentments, rivalries, blame, annoyances and irritations run side by side with fierce loyalties, deep friendship, and the strongest of alliances, with the wagon train quickly circling under external attack, with the sisters becoming completely protective of each other.

This is a story exploring themes of memory and identity, lies and secrets and, above all, love. It's sharply, and brilliantly observed, completely character-driven, and Fran Littlewood perfectly blends sadness and humour as events unfold and truths emerge.

Initially, it's a bit of a slow burn, and at first it feels slightly overwhelming, because you have to get each member of the family straight, remember whose partner/child is whose, and deal with the shifting POVs and time frames. But then, once you're on top of it - helped enormously by a family tree at the front - it draws you in and becomes completely enthralling. I was totally hooked.

You get to know the three sisters so well, and they are brilliantly realised. Initially the characters of the parents are slightly more shadowy and sketchy, but as past truths and events come into focus so too do their characters.

For lovers of character focused fiction, it's a triumph of a novel, with so much to think about, and it culminates in a fitting, and satisfying conclusion. I'm happy to report that I was not at all disappointed with Fran Littlewood's second novel, and my excitement and anticipation were justified, and rewarded!

Thank you to Michael Joseph for my AD-GIFTED ARC, in exchange for an independent and unbiased review.

oh wow what a stunning book. a little too good at times. especially for those that can uncomfortably relate to some of the things we are reading! its a true talent where you can tell the tale of family or poeple like this. and just let us have insight into this groups lives. its no smack you in the face or some big twisty plot. its just a deep dive into a group of people. but when done well it come off really really well. and this book does just that.
we are taken to the family of Patrick and Vivienne Fisher and their three girls. the girls now have families and careers of their own. they all come together to celebrate Vivienne's 70th birthday. they all gather at a huge glass fronted home in the countryside( you know the kind we all google on property sites,ha)
but at the very start there is an event that sends a ripple throughout. it serves to show how much the girls feel one of them is preferred by their dad. that Patrick has a favourite!? this then opens old tensions and wounds like a dam breaking. and we get a nose dive look into how all of this unfolds for all of them, as we then learn so much more about each character you are drawn completely into this family. Fran does a brilliant job of showing us such details and descriptions that we feel we know them or are right there in the home with them.
and you get to see the perfect reality of how different people even this close, even in the same family can take different events. how it can effect differently. and even how it can be remembered different considering the perspective or notion of time.
every character has their place in this novel and they are all done to te perfect balance throughout. none, even the more side of characters feel like they arent just as important to the closely woven family and plot.
this book is just brilliant. its emotional. its hard. its raw at time but also so warm and witty.
brilliant.
and i love the metaphor that those in glass houses shouldnt throw stones. aaargh glorious!!!

Lovely story of family life following 3 sisters who are gathered together for their mum's 80th birthday party when a incident happens which makes people question their lives. Lies and secrets are revealed and the story does get a bit complicated in places and slow but enjoyable.

While the story was good the writing style sadly felt like one big run one sentence and therefore I just could never really connect with the stor

I really enjoyed The Amazing Grace Adams so was very much looking forward to Fran Littlewood’s latest book.

The Favourite follows a group of sisters whose lives are thrown into turmoil when they find out their father has a favourite child.

The premise was interesting and as an only child I always find books about sibling dynamics fascinating, however I think there was a bit too much going on in this book and the writing style also made it hard to keep track and focus on the story itself.

3 sisters , sibling rivalry and opinions. 3 very different career's and families.
Living together in a luxury house for a week to celebrate mum's 80th birthday.
Old hurts, feelings and insecurities abound. Looking back at childhood instances through the younger selves view points.
Will resonate with the oldest, middle and youngest child in the family with the reader.

I struggled to really connect with this book,despite liking her writing style. I found I couldn't really distinguish between the sisters and mixed up Alex/Eva and found it too drawn out and slow paced without any conclusion. The dad's behaviour re the tree also felt unanswered and bit context-less.
Sadly I didn't enjoy this book.

I was expecting a little more from this. It took me halfway through the book to distinguish between the sisters so that doesn’t say much for the characterization. However, there was something beguiling about the writing and how the author handled the topic, so it’s a solid three stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for the ARC

Upon picking up The Favourite, we’re immediately plunged into a dysfunctional family dynamic. The relationships between sisters initially reminded me of Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors, albeit without the theme of grief.

I struggled at first to get into the story; we have the initial “incident” which sets the scene for the rest of the book, before we go on to explore the intricacies of the family; hidden resentment, sibling rivalry and parental love.

Overall, this was an interesting read all about family and at times it felt relatable. The characters are complex, and it is a slow burner, but it’s extremely well written!

This was the story of three sisters who at a party in a garden, a tree begins to fall. Their father pushes two of the girls out of the way to “save” the other.

This could have been a brilliant story about the intricacies of family life and the balancing that goes one. We did hear about the three girls and their lives, with flashbacks to their childhood and growing up from each of them.

However, although we hear a backstory of the parents, it doesn’t give any answers to the father’s behaviour that day.

All in I found it slow and a drawn out, to me, unfinished novel

I have to say I struggled at first with this book - it seemed like an odd idea for a story as I wasn’t sure where the story was leading to. But I’m glad I preserved as was full of of feelings that could be so real and felt by any siblings- how we each have our own experience with the same set of parents. Definitely an interesting read in the end.

Really enjoyed this! An interesting book about sisterhood and sibling rivalry. It did take a while for me to get stuck into the story, but the flashback chapters helped to build the characters.

Thank you NetGalley for the early copy!