The Favourites
As seen:
By Layne Fargo, Christine Lakin, Louisa Zhu, Amy Landon, Elena Rey, Valerie Lohman, Suzanne Toren, Graham Halstead, Julia Emelin, and and, Layne Fargo
avg rating
1 review
Brought to you by Penguin.
BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick.
Everyone thinks Heath Rocha was my first love. He wasn’t. My first love was figure skating.
Katarina Shaw has always known she’s 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 fans with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style and rollercoaster relationship.
Until, at the Olympic Games, as the world holds its breath, a shocking incident instantly destroys their partnership.
Ten years later, an unauthorised tell-all documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha. If Kat wants to own her story, she must break her silence. As Kat’s account of her dramatic rise and fall alternates with scandalous interviews from the film, The Favourites spins into a dance between passion, ambition and what it truly means to win.
Sensational rumours have haunted Kat and Heath’s every step for years, but the truth may be even more outrageous than the headlines.
‘Part Wuthering Heights and part Daisy Jones and the Six . . . As brilliantly choreographed as a gold-medal performance’ JODI PICOULT
© Layne Fargo 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
TweetReviews
3.5 stars because it may not be literary fiction but it has everything from the excitement of competitive sport and the backstabbing, cut-throat world of elite athletes to romance, jealousy and betrayal. It reads like an ice dance with fast paced passionate sections and slower, gentler parts. It's a tense and nerve-wracking read that left me as breathless as the skaters. Set mainly in USA among Olympic ice dancers so I learned loads about competitive ice dancing. There's such an intense relationship between the 2 main protagonist but watch out for Ellis Dean! He was by far my favourite character!
