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Sign up todayThe Favorites
A Novel
Length
13 hours 35 minutes
Language
English
Narrators
Christine Lakin, Louisa Zhu, Amy Landon, Elena Rey, Valerie Rose Lohman, Suzanne Toren, Graham Halstead, Julia Emelin, Layne Fargo, Eric Yang & Johnny Weir
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreBookseller recommendation
“Sports driven drama that follows the rise of ice dancing pair Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha from pre-teens through adulthood. Told in part by an unauthorized documentary, highly recommend the audiobook that is voiced by a full cast including ice skating legend Johnny Weir.”
— Jennifer • The Pretty Posy Books & Gifts
Bookseller recommendation
“I loved everything about this exhilarating novel. I raced through this epic love story set within the demanding, cutthroat world of competitive ice dancing filled with fascinating characters and all the drama we love both on and off the ice.”
— Anderson McKean • Page and Palette
Bookseller recommendation
“I did not expect this to top my favorite audio experiences of all time, but the full cast and expert crafting is stunning. One of the best descriptions of the personal joys and terrors of athleticism I’ve witnessed all wound into a much larger story. Fabulous. ”
— Carrie • Skylark Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“This book is like a Daisy Jones and the Six and Challengers mash-up! The documentary style lends itself super well for the audiobook and the sports drama, sexual tension, and trauma kept me rapt the whole way through. ”
— Meghan • More Than Words
Bookseller recommendation
“Excellent story and excellent audio with a full cast! I felt like I was there in the drama! ”
— Jana • Inscribe Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Wow! This is a roller coaster of a read! It’s beautifully narrated by a cast of characters in a documentary style à la Daisy Jones & the Six. It follows Katarina Shaw & Heath Rocha’s lives, love story and pursuit of Olympic gold in ice dancing. Filled with many twists and surprises it also give some interesting insight into the world of elite figure skating. ”
— Kristen • Dragon Tale Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Compulsive, sensual, perfectly executed. I couldn't put this book down! It's "Wuthering Heights" meets "The Cutting Edge" in the most searingly hot way! 10/10 will read again!”
— Thomas • Reading Rock Books
Bookseller recommendation
“I Tonya meets All About Eve meets Daisy Jones and The Six! The cutthroat world of competitive ice dancing is the setting for this dramatic sexy thrill ride of a book! And more Johnny Weir please! ”
— Carolyn • Mrs. Dalloway's
Bookseller recommendation
“I finished this book a few hours ago and I'm STILL wanting to be back in the world within the book. I love everything about it - the drama, the characters, the love story, the world of competitive figure skating... all of it was masterfully written and I didn't want it to end, but I couldn't stop listening. The full cast is brilliant and I'm going to have a tough time not telling people to skip buying the print book so they can experience it as an Audiobook. If you have a credit and you don't get this one you're missing out. ”
— Jennifer • The Bookstore at Fitger's
Bookseller recommendation
“Engrossing, obsessive, and addictive. The Favorites is like a Behind the Music special but for ice dancing. Fargo’s storytelling is rich with twists and turns and the audiobook is expertly narrated, the actors bringing the drama to life in vivid and suspenseful detail.”
— Jenni • Mysterious Galaxy Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Everyone needs to read this book! It’s so incredible and I was engaged the whole time. 100/10!”
— Megan • Three Avenues Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“This book has all of my favorite components: ice skating, interview formatting, and a badass FMC. This book had me absolutely obsessed and flipping pages to find out what happened next in Katarina and Heath’s skating career. I obsessed over this book like Heath obsessed over Kat and Kat obsessed over winning.”
— Morgan • The Last Word
Summary
To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • An epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating, starring a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice
“Part Wuthering Heights and part Daisy Jones & The Six, this novel is as brilliantly choreographed as a gold medal performance and will keep you guessing until its last page.”—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of By Any Other Name
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.
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Audiobook details
Author:
Layne Fargo
Narrators:
Christine Lakin, Louisa Zhu, Amy Landon, Elena Rey, Valerie Rose Lohman, Suzanne Toren, Graham Halstead, Julia Emelin, Layne Fargo, Eric Yang & Johnny Weir
ISBN:
9780593946442
Length:
13 hours 35 minutes
Language:
English
Publisher:
Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Publication date:
January 14, 2025
Edition:
Unabridged
Libro.fm rank:
#45 Overall
Genre rank:
#15 in Romance
Reviews
“Part Wuthering Heights and part Daisy Jones & The Six, this novel is as brilliantly choreographed as a gold medal performance and will keep you guessing until its last page.”—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of By Any Other Name“The Favorites is a dizzying left hook to the jaw that drops the reader behind the scenes of competitive pairs ice dancing. . . . [Fargo’s] characters are unabashedly extra.”—The Washington Post
“One of the most heart-wrenching, epic and passionate romances I’ve read in quite some time . . . I already wish I could read it again for the first time.”—Betty Cayouette, People
“The horny ice skating novel The Favorites could not have possibly arrived at a more perfect time. . . . Immersive, wildly addictive.”—Paste
“[The Favorites] has a simple premise, executed perfectly: Wuthering Heights, but make it Olympic figure skaters. . . . So effing good.”—CrimeReads
“Irresistibly pulpy . . . The Favorites shimmers and delights.”—Bookreporter
“An epic love story set in the dazzling but brutal world of elite ice dancing . . . Think The Cutting Edge meets Daisy Jones & The Six.”—KMUW
“A true literary triple axel: a smart and nuanced retelling of a classic, a tense sports drama, and a perfectly twisted romance.”—Rachel Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Heiress and The Wife Upstairs
“A glittery compulsive whirl of a book, filled with spite and love and sequins and ambition.”—Holly Gramazio, New York Times bestselling author of The Husbands
“Breathtaking . . . The ferocious passion between Kat and Heath leaps off the page, and the captivating drama that unfolds on and off the ice is unrelenting.”—Margarita Montimore, USA Today bestselling author of Acts of Violet and Oona Out of Order
“The Favorites combines the emotion of a coming-of-age tale with the sensationalism of the most audacious news headlines, creating a thoroughly intriguing read.”—Chicago Review of Books
“Engrossing, thrilling, and just downright fun.”—Booklist, starred review
“Colleen Hoover–style romance heads to the Olympic rink. Buckle up.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A deliciously scathing, sexy novel . . . passionate, cutthroat, and irresistibly fun.”—Julia Fine, author of Maddalena and the Dark
“A tale of ambition and scorching passion that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.”—Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of The Leftover Woman
“What an addictive read . . .”—Emma Brodie, author of Songs in Ursa Major
“A drama of epic proportions.”—Library Journal Expand reviews
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