The Favorites

Thriller writer Fargo (They Never Learn) tries her hand at women’s fiction in this melodramatic story of two ice dancers’ obsessive love affair and their long-held dreams to make it to the Olympics. Kat Shaw and Heath Rocha are children when they begin skating together in 1990s Lake Forest, Ill., fueled by Kat’s “gnawing ache of ambition” to follow in the footsteps of gold medalist Sheila Lin. In 2000, Kat and Heath travel to Cleveland to compete against Sheila’s twins, Bella and Garrett. Though Kat and Heath come in sixth, Sheila invites them to join her training facility in California. There, Kat’s drive outruns her loyalty, and she breaks it off with Heath, claiming he’s holding her back. What follows over the next 14 years are a series of betrayals between Kat and Heath, as well as feuds pitting them against the Lins, a retired skater turned blogger, and others. After many thwarted attempts at making the Olympic team, Kat and Heath get one last chance to compete in the 2014 Sochi games. The overly long story is sunk by the repetitive interpersonal drama, and by a foggy attempt to parallel the themes of Wuthering Heights (Heath/Heathcliff, Shaw/Earnshaw). Like the characters’ lives, it’s a bit of a mess. Agent: Sharon Pelletier, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Jan.)