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!

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.

An interesting story, full of family dynamics, sibling rivalry and complex characters. This is a family who, on the surface are doing well, heading off to celebrate the special birthday of their mother as well as the naming ceremony of the newest member of the family. A split second moment and a choice made by the father sets the family on a downward spiral where lots of memories and grievances from the past begin to emerge. The 3 sisters in this family are all dealing with their own separate issues, and this book does a really good job of exploring the dynamics which exist between them.

This was a good read that plunges the reader into the middle of an interesting family dynamic. The title comes from a split second action on behalf of the dad of the family, Patrick, that gives the impression that he has a favourite child of his three daughters. What then flows from this is a complex history with many secrets and twists that have shaped all members of the family.

Fran Littlewood is very good at creating three dimensional characters that generate emotion in the reader. So, we can be empathising with someone one minute then raging at their flaws the next. The family is very believable, with the sisters fiercely loving each other and feeling resentful at each other at the same time.

There's a lot about insecurity and worries about doing what we 'should' be doing, which readers will be able to relate to. The part where both Nancy and Alex tell each other that they'd always felt themselves to be the 'ugly one' of the sisters is so poignant, because it points to how people can live with limiting beliefs for years.

The story takes place in a glass house in a remote spot where Eva, the youngest and richest daughter, has brought everyone to have a naming ceremony for her sister Alex's baby and also to mark their mother Vivienne's 70th birthday. This is the setting for all kinds of tensions to come to a head.

Everyone has a secret. Eva has secretly married her lover, Scott, who is wonderfully irritating. Nancy has been suspended from work. And Alex is finding it hard to feel love for her baby.

Littlewood does the dialogue between the family members really well, and we really do feel like we are right there in the middle of them all. There isn't a 'plot' as such, just the unfolding of various family dramas over the course of a few days, where we wait to see whether various secrets and resentments will surface or not. It's a really easy read and I would recommend it - thanks to Netgalley for the preview.

What would you do if you found out that your sibling was the favourite daughter? A brilliant story of family dynamics, sibling rivalry and a house in the woods. Interesting characters and I enjoyed reading about how their pasts made them who they were and how they worked through the issue of finding out that there was a favourite.

A book about the complex relationships between sisters.
There's a lot to like about this book, it does transport you back in nostalgia to childhood memories and picks apart the little instances in families that become defining moments and especially how even grown ups regress to their childhood/teenage selves once back in the bosom of family dynamics.
For me, I found there was a lot of characters to keep track of and a lot of characteristics in some of them that made them dislikeable. This combined meant I never felt a necessary connection to the family in a way I would have liked.

Unfortunately, this is a dnf for me. I’ve reached halfway and I’m just not gelling with any of the characters - I keep forgetting who is who and I’m not engaged enough to go back and check. Sorry, as I loved the authors previous book.

Great novel, enjoyed reading this so much on a recent trip.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access this book in exchange for my feedback.

It took me a while to get into this book. It was slow to start but perseverance paid off and enjoyed the story.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Soo good! Really enjoyed The Favourites, loved the premise of the story and I loved reading about each of the characters and their stories. Thought this was great!