OMG. If you live for the drama, if you love mess, The Favorites by Layne Fargo is a juicy, intense look inside the world of competitive ice dancing, complete with a documentary, dishy gossip sites, and politics. I am obsessed!
Kat Shaw has idolized gold medal ice dancer Sheila Lin from childhood. And despite humble beginnings, she’ll stop at nothing to realize her Olympic dreams. She’s got the ambition, talent and drive, and a built-in partner in boyfriend Heath Rocha. The pair score themselves a coveted spot at the Lin Ice Academy in California. Pitted against Sheila’s kids, Bella and Garrett Lin, Shaw and Rocha find out just how cutthroat the skating world really is. And when you’re on top, all anyone wants is to see you fall.
It’s delicious and a little soapy, and this is Layne Fargo, so The Favorites leans a little dark. The Favorites is way more Spinning Out (Netflix) than The Cutting Edge. Major ice dancing fans will probably pick up more Easter eggs than I did, but I’m guessing the Lins are vaguely modeled on the Shib Sibs, the speculation about pairs being couples, possibly Virtue and Moir. There’s one thing in the ending that just defied belief for me personally (literally would have been a, “Oh hell, no”), but you do you, Kat and Heath.
If you’re ready to be in your Olympics era, go grab it now. The audiobook features a full cast, led by Christine Lakin, and includes skater Johnny Weir.
Layne Fargo is doing events in Chicago at Exile in Bookville tonight, and at An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA on Friday, January 17.
CW: Deceased parents, addiction, bad experiences in the foster system, sabotage, character outed as gay by another character
Get The Favorites: Bookshop.org | The Ripped Bodice | Amazon | Apple Books
If you fall in love with Layne’s work, be sure to check out my reviews of her back catalog:
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