THE FAVOURITES BY LAYNE FARGO // spoiler-free book review: the angsty figure-skating romance of my dreams, you need to read it!

If you think about it, I’m only a few months late to this one! Look at the pub date, the book only *just* came out… she says as they drag her away.

Cue the tears in this review,,,

Title: The Favourites
Author: Layne Fargo
Page count: 464
Date published: 16 January 2025
Genre: Adult contemporary romance

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Synopsis:

To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession.

An epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating, starring a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice

She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and roller-coaster relationship.

Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.

As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the “real story” through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary, but she can’t stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy. So, after a decade of silence, she’s telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.

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Big thanks to Penguin Random House SA for the eARC via Netgalley and physical review copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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STAR RATING: (4.5 out of 5 stars)

Shameth upon me because yes, I did beg on my hands and knees to read this early, and then I did, and now it’s June. Blasted idiot I am. But I do need to yell about how obsessed I am with this book, so let’s not dwell on the negatives,,,

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Maybe I’ve also not written this review for so long because I’m still speechless and don’t know how to comprehend my thoughts. We’ll give it a shot and start with the writing, which was breathtaking and floored me on multiple occasions. This book is quite literally the most terrifying and exhilarating rollercoaster of emotions and gave me whiplash about once a chapter, but I loved every second. And I hate rollercoasters, so that should tell you something.

Like you cannot put this book down. It’s literally I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E!!! She sucks you right onto the ice and you cannot leave. You’re… frozen. Ha like my joke? You should, it was genius.

Don’t even get me started on the multimedia, which I realise I don’t read enough of, seeing as I love it so much. Mental note to pick up more books with multimedia. This book is compared to Daisy Jones & The Six, and they couldn’t be more spot on, except the romance is dialled wayyyyy up and my DJ6 heart is NOT mad about that.

I’m also not Katarina by any means, but Miss Fargo got me relating real hard to an ambitious cutthroat figure skater. Though I do have a need to do my best at all times, so maybe it’s time for a career change? There just HAS to be a reason I love this sport so much, right? I’m taking this as my official sign!

Moment of silence for the side characters who know how to knock us off our rockets. Like howwwwww are they all that interesting? The interview format was only the surface, and I was absolutely living for all of their tea-spilling drama, and at the same time, wanted to duct tape their mouths for sprouting nonsense

Okay fine, I’ll try to be serious. Be warned that I will most likely fail because this book has driven me insane. Mostly because of THE FREAKING ROMANCE. God, I love some good angst, and I think this is the best angst I’ve ever seen. You know what I also love? Second chance angst where the next time they meet the rizz levels are through the roof, and the chef added a sign of yearning. Punch me in the gut, why don’t you?

Whilst my one critique with this book is that the ending was rushed and some things with the romance were not alllll in for me, I almost didn’t care because the rest of the book was too delicious. Heath is a,,, a smol baby boi who I want to hug. I want to simultaneously run away but also stroke Katarina’s hair. They love each other, but they’re so stupid and obsessive and gahhhhhhh!!!!!! One thing about Layne Fargo is she KNOWS how to write messy characters, and I’m so here for it.

If you’re looking for a gut-wrenching, cut-throat figure-skating sports romance to induce the biggest adrenaline rush maybe ever, then you’ve 1 million percent come to the right place. You’ll probably faint from being obsessed so I recommend preparing yourself. K thanks for coming to my Ted-Talk xoxox

“There are lots of different kinds of love. Love like a steady, warming campfire that keeps you alive in the cold. Love like a raging blaze that burns down everything in its path until nothing but ash remains.”

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“His love for me hadn’t been motivation enough to reach his full potential. His hatred, though? That made him capable of anything.”

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“Imagine being down so bad you’d master a whole Olympic sport to spend time with someone.”

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“We used to joke that they were going to die in each other’s arms or kill each other with their bare hands. Nothing in between.”

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“I became a skater because I wanted to feel like that. Fierce. Confident. A warrior goddess covered in glitter. So sure of myself, I could make my dreams come true through sheer force of will.”

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“Happiness couldn’t be won. It couldn’t be hung around our necks while a crowd of thousands cheered. It wasn’t a prize, something we had to suffer and toil to earn. If we wanted happiness, we had to create it ourselves. Not in one shining moment on a medal stand, but every single day, over and over again.”

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“No days off. No breaks. No excuses. Some days, I thought I might not make it through. But every day, I felt happier than ever before in my life.”

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“They wanted a grand, epic love story. They wanted raw, rip-your-clothes-off passion. They didn’t simply want us to be lovers—they wanted us to be so in love, we’d burn the whole world down to be together.”

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“He enjoyed winning, but he didn’t feel the same gnawing ache of ambition, the bottomless pit inside me that got exactly what it wanted and then demanded more, more, more”

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“By now, I’ve heard it all: Katarina Shaw is a bitch, a diva, a sore loser, a manipulative liar. Cold-blooded, a cheater, a criminal. An attention whore, an actual whore.”

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“I’d convinced myself if I became the best, it didn’t matter who I hurt, because in the end, it would be worth it. Even if I hurt myself most of all.”

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“I hated myself for the way I bent toward him, like a flower yearning for the light.”

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“When I was strong and self-assured, people recoiled from me. They told me I was too competitive, too ambitious, too much. But when I was brought low, bruised and bleeding, a princess in need of rescue instead of a conquering queen, they loved me.”

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“I couldn’t force him. I couldn’t rush him. He had to be the one to tear down the walls, brick by brick – and whenever he was ready, I’d be waiting on the other side.”

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HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK YET? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? HAVE YOU READ ANY OTHER OF FARGO’S BOOKS? DO YOU RECOMMEND? DO YOU LIKE FIGURE SKATING? I’D LOVE KNOW!