The Favorites by Layne Fargo – Audio
ARC from PRHAudio, Random House and Netgalley for an honest review
Book Blurb:
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.
My Review: 4.25 stars
The Favorites by Layne Fargo is reading experience because you get sucked into the drama, the rivalries, the passion and the fierce competition of ice dancing.
Full transparency, I read this book about seven months ago, and somehow, probably because I read it so quickly, I didn’t remember to add it to my books I need to review list. It was only yesterday, at a bridal shower, that a woman asked me for some book recs that are easy to get into. I told her to look up my review for The Favorites only to learn I never reviewed it. YIKES! I’m so glad this happened because otherwise, I would never have known.
So here I am, writing this review and want you know that YES, this book will suck you in like your favorite binge TV show that’s a train wreck you cannot look away from. People are comparing it to a Taylor Jenkins Reid book because it offers many interviews and articles from people in the ice dance community. For me, that’s where the similarities end because, there’s a different kind of heat in the writing. The passion that forms between Katerina and Heath is fire until it’s ice.
There are oodles of mean girls, fake girls, gossip mongers, lying, cheating, insecurities, addiction and abuse. It’s the perfect storm of a book and pure fun to read. Go in as blind as you can and enjoy the ride!
Quotes I liked:
His love for me hadn’t been motivation enough to reach his full potential. His hatred, though? That made him capable of anything.”
“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.”
“When a woman smacks a man in the face? She usually has a damn good reason.”
“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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