BOOK REVIEW: The Favorites by Layne Fargo
In a Nutshell...
Title: The Favorites
Author: Layne Fargo
Genre: Romance * Fiction * Contemporary * Sports * Sports Romance * Adult * Literary Fiction
Year Published: 2025
Page Count: 437
My Rating: 5 stars
Goodreads Rating: 4.06/5 stars (and a Nominee for Reader's Favorite Romance for 2025!)
MY INITIAL THOUGHTS
I am a die-hard romance fan. I always have been, and I always will be. That being said, the love story in this book left me experiencing every single human emotion possible: relief, joy, sadness, even anger. I loved having a front-row seat to the evolution of Kat and Heath's relationship (and the skating, of course).
SUMMARY
Now that I have set that riveting tone for all you romance lovers out there, what is The Favorites even about?
Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha are childhood sweethearts turned ice dance partners from Illinois. Kat, a lifelong lover of skating from a fractured home, and Heath, a foster child, develop a magical partnership on the ice that propels their chances of making it big.
Together they rise through the fiercely competitive world of elite ice dancing, attracting fame and public fascination — but also jealousy, competition, and pressure. Just as they seem poised for Olympic glory, a shocking incident at the Games shatters their partnership and leaves their lives — and their legacy — in turmoil.
A decade later, as media and a documentary attempt to rewrite their story and reignite public obsession, Kat decides to tell the truth — revealing how love, ambition, betrayal, and sacrifice shaped everything that happened.
The novel explores not just competitive ambition and athletic talent, but the emotional cost of fame, the fragility of relationships built under pressure, and the destructive potential of obsession.
MY REVIEW
First off, it was so fun and refreshing to read a novel centered around ice dancing. I grew up fascinated by individual figure skaters and movies like Ice Princess but had very little knowledge or exposure to ice dancing. It was a unique opportunity to get a glimpse into a world that was so unknown to me. I loved learning how skating duos earned their way to the top via numerous competitions and how they developed their dances. So, the overall focus on ice dancing was captivating and fun for someone like me with no knowledge of the sport!
I also was really impressed by the complexities of each character. So often character development can be pretty predictable, but I felt that the author did a great job of highlighting the complexity that is being human. For example, there is a lot more to Kat than just being a very competitive skater who wants to win gold. There is also a lot more to Heath than just being Kat's lifelong love who wants to make her happy. I loved what the author did with each character, and it made me think about how everybody has many layers to them.
Additionally, the structure of this book was fun to experience. The author alternates between commentary from the documentary and the story as it is unfolding in real-time. It was fun to get a brief teaser of what is to come in the commentary before diving into the next chapter; it created a little bit of wonder and curiosity about what will unfold in the coming pages.
Last but not least: the love story. I think the only thing more emotional than reading a love story that is predictable is reading one that is unpredictable. As I shared above, the journey that the author takes the reader on highlights the most intimate and tender aspects of love, and also some of the cruelest and heart-breaking parts. We watch as Kat and Heath are madly in love, but we also see them struggle and fight for their love. I won't lie: there were even times when I questioned if I was rooting for them to be together? Definitely not a frequent experience of mine. But that's what I mean by the excellent way that the author makes everything unpredictable.
And I loved it.