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Layne Fargo trades serial killers for sequins in The Favorites, a deliciously over-the-top drama set in the ruthless world of Olympic ice dancing. The story follows Kat Shaw and her skating partner—and sometimes lover, sometimes rival—Heath Rocha, as they chase gold medals and break each other’s hearts over nearly fifteen years on the ice.
Told through Kat’s perspective and juicy “documentary-style” interviews, the novel mixes athletic ambition with soap-opera scandal: rival twins, forbidden love, betrayals, paparazzi meltdowns, and a shocking showdown at the 2014 Sochi Games.
It’s fast, dramatic, and loaded with all the spectacle you’d expect from a backstage sports saga. Yes, the melodrama gets a little repetitive, and some characters feel more like types than people, but that hardly matters when the ride is this fun. Fargo nails the intoxicating swirl of fame, rivalry, and obsession in a way that makes the pages fly by.
If you liked I, Tonya or binge on skating documentaries, you’ll eat this up. The Favorites is messy, frothy, and utterly entertaining—an Olympic-sized guilty pleasure.
** Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for a comp of the eBook. Opinions are my own.