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A review by romancingthereader
The Favorites by Layne Fargo
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I went back and checked. And this book was definitely not MARKETED as a romance. But the hype and positive reviews I saw were all from romance influencers. So let me save you the trouble. The Favorites is not a romance. And itโs also been somewhat done before.
๐ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: The Favorites by Layne Fargo
๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐: Standalone
๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐: E-book on Kindle. Borrowed from Libby.
๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฟ๐ฒ: Womenโs fiction
๐ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐: Sports (figure skating), toxic af, angst fest.
๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ป๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐: Kat and Heath are bonded in childhood trauma, and find success in the cut throat world of ice dancing.
๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐: Listen, the expectations I had for this book were through the roof. I love ice dancing, the lore and romantic side of it. I love angsty books. I actually delayed reading until I was in the right headspace.
And I want to say, thereโs something to be said that this book made me feel some sort of way. I literally yelled a few times toward the end. I was invested. So it was well written enough to do that.
But a few things have me fluctuating between a 3 and a 3.5-star rating. Oneโฆ itโs terribly close to
Daisy Jones and the Six vibes, both in story telling and the will-they-or-wont-they vibes. Like DJ, it was based in pop culture lore, and had the same interview incorporated style.
But the second reasonโฆ I think the lack of Heathโs POV, coupled with the lack of insight into his choices, made him almost unredeemable. Itโs one thing to showcase complicated relationships and not black and white happy endings. There were SO many details left out by this being only in Kat and the interview POV. Not only did I not understand or like Heath, but I didnโt even understand why Heath liked Kat, and thatโs a travesty.
End of the day, itโs definitely not a romance, and it felt unfinished and messy to me.
๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด: 3.5/5 โญโญโญ
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น: 1/5 ๐ถ
๐ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: The Favorites by Layne Fargo
๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐: Standalone
๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐: E-book on Kindle. Borrowed from Libby.
๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฟ๐ฒ: Womenโs fiction
๐ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐: Sports (figure skating), toxic af, angst fest.
๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ป๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐: Kat and Heath are bonded in childhood trauma, and find success in the cut throat world of ice dancing.
๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐: Listen, the expectations I had for this book were through the roof. I love ice dancing, the lore and romantic side of it. I love angsty books. I actually delayed reading until I was in the right headspace.
And I want to say, thereโs something to be said that this book made me feel some sort of way. I literally yelled a few times toward the end. I was invested. So it was well written enough to do that.
But a few things have me fluctuating between a 3 and a 3.5-star rating. Oneโฆ itโs terribly close to
Daisy Jones and the Six vibes, both in story telling and the will-they-or-wont-they vibes. Like DJ, it was based in pop culture lore, and had the same interview incorporated style.
But the second reasonโฆ I think the lack of Heathโs POV, coupled with the lack of insight into his choices, made him almost unredeemable. Itโs one thing to showcase complicated relationships and not black and white happy endings. There were SO many details left out by this being only in Kat and the interview POV. Not only did I not understand or like Heath, but I didnโt even understand why Heath liked Kat, and thatโs a travesty.
End of the day, itโs definitely not a romance, and it felt unfinished and messy to me.
๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด: 3.5/5 โญโญโญ
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น: 1/5 ๐ถ