Passionate, obsessive, and entertaining, Layne Fargo’s THE FAVORITES takes its cues from real life backstage figure skating drama and the moors of WUTHERING HEIGHTS. It’s a spot-on blend and an apt update of a classic.
Before we start dissecting Layne Fargo’s ode to obsessive romance The Favorites, I should preface this post by admitting that I have been a lifelong lover of figure skating. Like, I’ve been to STARS ON ICE-type fan. Like, watch it every year and actually follow it, not just on an Olympic year. It’s the most insane sport with even bigger backstage drama. So when I heard about THE FAVORITES, which follows the torrid romance of an Olympic ice dancing team, I seriously almost broke my other ankle trying to run to get my hands on this book (the first ankle was broken three months ago in an epic hide-and-seek game with the kids–don’t ask). I could not run fast enough to devour this book. In my mind, seriously, it was a 5 star read based on premise alone.
When I then discovered that it was a modern day spin on Wuthering Heights, I again felt like maybe this author had somehow heard directly about me and decided to write a novel that would appeal specifically to me. Wuthering Heights! The ferocity and the obsession of a classic has never found a more apt home than in the world of figure skating. Just such a great idea for a book. And this one absolutely does not disappoint. It’s scandalous and over-the-top in all of the best ways. Fargo populates her own world of figure skating and does it in a way that feels so real you’ll be asking yourself if maybe you should YouTube these FICTIONAL characters skating just to see it for yourself. I absolutely inhaled every moment of this book.
The story focuses on the ice dancing team of Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha. Dirt poor and both orphaned at young ages, Katarina and Heath clung to each other. Katarina was obsessed with skating, particularly the skating of two time Olympic gold medalist Sheila Lin, and Heath was obsessed with Kat. So naturally they started ice dancing together. At their first senior nationals, they come into Sheila’s orbit when she sees them skating as she is there coaching her twins Garrett and Bella, the future of ice dancing. Kat and Heath are invited to train in Los Angeles with the Lins as a way of pushing Garrett and Bella to new heights, but it’s Bella and Kat’s fiercely competitive friendship that defines the teams. We follow all four characters through the next decade and a few Olympics as they all chase an Olympic gold. At the center of everything is Kat and Heath’s romance–the obsessive push-and-pull of it–that takes center stage and is the beating heart of this story.
I loved being on the journey with Kat, who is definitely not the most likeable female character (which–awesome) as she is defined by her ambition. Kat is willing to do anything to win, and that sometimes puts her relationship with Heath in the crosshairs. Her friendship with Bella is always complicated, and you never quite know whether to trust either of them. I loved Kat’s ferocity and the way the story explores female roles/stereotypes and friendships in figure skating, sports, the media, and our every day interactions. There are still vulnerable moments with her, too, and she reads like a really well-rounded character.
Heath, like his literary counterpart, is more of an enigma. There were times where he like somewhat of a flat character, but I think the more I got to know him the more I think he is just someone who has a kind of unknowable quality. He is more defined by his fascination with Kat than his desire to win. So when things get complicated in their relationship, both he and Kat can both be vengeful and petty. Again, it’s not always likable but it’s chock full of drama, which is kind of the point.
For any fan of skating, this book is also so fun as it draws from real world scandals, judging insanity, and fan obsessions. The character of Ellis Dean is really unique as he writes a tell-all figure skating blog (called Kiss and Cry!!!) and is a love-to-hate character in and of himself. All of it is so delicious and fun.
The book also employs a Daisy Jones type retrospective element where an unseen producer is interviewing different characters in the present day talking about the events of Shaw/Rocha and their career. Fargo uses this to create drama, and I thought it upped the feeling of scandal and foreboding throughout. Wuthering Heights is defined by Katherine and Heathcliff, but a close third is the moors and the tone. The moors of Wuthering Heights provide this constant sense of moodiness and foreboding, a feeling that’s also represented in Heathcliff himself. Fargo does an amazing job of echoing that same tone, and so much of it comes from the foreboding implications of those interviews. This is a story about figure skating and fame, and none of it feels sunny, hopeful, or particularly sparkly.
The Favorites did not disappoint and absolutely lived up to that initial 5-star rating. I’d recommend it to any lovers of romance because it embraces some of the nastier, more obsessive sides of love and is endlessly interesting. I read this back-to-back with Homeseeking, which is a great exercise because they both explore a sort of endless longing but in completely different ways. Both are early 2025 favorites of mine and are setting the tone for an amazing year of romance stories.
5 out of 5 stars
Synopsis (from Amazon):
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.
