by: Gloss Founder Erin Woodward
I couldn’t stop thinking about The Favorites long after I finished it — not just because it’s gripping and propulsive (it absolutely is), but because it quietly gets under your skin and stays there. This is a novel about ambition in all its messy, magnetic forms: the drive to be seen, to be chosen, to be exceptional — and what can happen when that hunger starts to outweigh everything else.
At the heart of the story is a relationship shaped by power, obsession, loyalty, and control, and Layne Fargo explores it with such sharpness and restraint that you’re constantly questioning your own reactions. Who do you sympathize with? Who do you excuse? And at what point does admiration tip into complicity?
This is very much a Gloss kind of read — bold, provocative, and perfect for discussion. It asks us to look at the stories we tell ourselves about success, the roles we play to survive, and how far we’re willing to go to belong or to win.
I can’t wait to hear what you think — and whose side you land on.
