The Favorites is a captivating tale of ambition, love and betrayal in the world of elite ice dancing. Pick this up if you like stories about complicated relationships, fierce ambition, and the darker side of competitive sports.

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In Layne Fargo’s gripping novel The Favorites, ten years after her dramatic final competition with her longtime partner Heath Rocha, elite ice dancer Katerina Shaw is ready to reclaim her story. Through her own recollections, interwoven with an oral history from fellow competitors, judges, coaches, and journalists, she reveals what really happened during her controversial career on the ice.

The Favorites is a story of relentless ambition and a love so deep and consuming that neither person can let go, no matter how much damage it causes. The story goes behind the glitter of elite ice dancing to expose a cutthroat world where athletes will do anything to be number one – even betray the people they love most. The characters may look perfect under the spotlight, but behind the scenes they’re messy, flawed, and obsessed with winning, which makes for plenty of high-stakes drama. The betrayals and rivalries around them add fuel to the fire, but the heart of the novel is the impossible pull between two people who can’t fully escape each other.

Pick this up if you like stories about complicated relationships, fierce ambition, and the darker side of competitive sports. It reminded me a lot of a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel, especially Daisy Jones & The Six.