To be honest I picked this one up because of the cover. I knew nothing about ice skating. I wasn’t even interested in the subject. After I started it I couldn’t put it down. I switched between the audio and the physical book. The audio was done really well. It has a cast of characters and goes back and forth between interview transcripts to a first person POV. The author was able to incorporate information on the sport, competition, politics, costumes and the Olympics while producing an entertaining story. It had toxic relationships. Toxic friendships. Drama. Heartbreak. Betrayal. Very very messy. Layne Fargo showcased the behind the scenes “ugly” of competition. The pressure. The lengths people will go to win. The obsession. But also the “beauty.” Ambition. Passion. Love. Success.

I hated every character in the book (except one) but I think that was the point. It would be such a good film adaptation!

4.5 stars!!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I have been completely and totally enamoured by The Favourites. This may be the best book that I have ever read. I had the time of my life reading it, and I know it will stick with me forever.

The story of The Favourites is told through a combination of first person narration from Katarina and documentary/interview footage, providing multiple perspectives of a tale that is both tragic and healing. Katarina and Heath have loved each other since they were children. and I think you could easily consider them trauma-bonded. Their mutual strife and their dependency on each other is both what gives them life and what tears them apart. While Katarina wants whatever skating can give her, Heath wants what Katarina can give him. They are each other's constants, and that gives them each the power to break each other over and over again.

The Favourites broke my heart multiple times. I experienced such a range of emotions, at times feeling genuinely betrayed by these characters and frustrated with Katarina when she didn't share my sentiments. The story is filled with tension, sometimes sexual, often not. It is salacious and scandalous, jaw-dropping and vulnerable. There is the obvious found family that Katarina and Heath create from their childhood, but also gorgeous relationships that blossom with their fellow skaters that broaden their worldview, both literally and figuratively. There is heart-wrenching miscommunication throughout this book, but there are also lessons learned. The documentary begs the question: can you still pass the test if the class ended years ago?

Layne Fargo's world setting is unmatched. I could so perfectly visualise everything that unfolded in the book. Told over two decades, I felt myself grow with these characters. With each twist and turn in their story, I learned and I grieved and I loved. I could feel the yearning that Katarina and Heath carried with them to such a point that I could not put this book down. I needed to know how their story ended, and, as their tale unfurled, I cried and gasped and laughed and smiled. I felt every emotion as if I were witnessing their story play out in front of me, a true testament to Fargo's extraordinary story-telling.

The Favourites is filled with twists, and some of these I did figure out before they were revealed. That did not take away from the story, however, because they were written with such heart that even the twist that I prayed wasn't true and that made me angry, jealous and, frankly, overwhelmed with the feeling of heartbreaking betrayal felt right to me. Yes, I was disappointed that a character had let me down, but it made the story all the more real. This book does not play out like fiction. It is realistic in its devastation. Life isn't perfect, people will hurt you, and sometimes you won't be the best, but you keep going. It doesn't kill you, and that's where you find your strength to keep going.

I could truly rave about this book forever, but I don't want to give anything away. What I will say is that if you want to read a book filled with love and angst, competition and scandal, betrayal and devotion, The Favourites is the book for you. If you want your heart to break and your heart to heal, The Favourites is the book for you. If you just want a bit of gossip? No judgment, The Favourites is the book for you.