The Accidental Favorite

by Fran Littlewood

From the New York Times bestselling author of Amazing Grace Adams comes a wryly resonant and deeply moving family dramedy investigating the question so many of us have asked ourselves: do my parents have a favorite?

Vivienne and Patrick Fisher have done an excellent job raising their three daughters, Alex, Nancy, and Eva. They’re well-adjusted women with impressive careers, caring partners, exciting hobbies, and sweet children. So it’s with great anticipation that three generations of Fishers gather at a beautiful glass house in the English countryside for a weeklong celebration of Vivienne’s seventieth birthday. But when Patrick’s reaction to a freak accident on the first day of the trip inadvertently reveals that he has a favorite daughter, no one is prepared for the shockwaves it sends through the family.

Decades-old unresolved sibling rivalries are suddenly unmasked. And be it newly uncovered smoking habits, ancient crushes, or private doubts about life decisions both big and small, no one’s secrets are safe. Still-tender wounds are reopened amid an audience of friends, husbands, grandchildren, and even coworkers, and as the family's past is re-written, they find themselves suddenly unmoored.

In a lively, poignant examination of memory, sisterhood, and family ties, Fran Littlewood reminds us just why it is that people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Family Drama, Audiobook, Family, British Literature

320 pages, Hardcover

First published June 24, 2025

Reviews

[Terrie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coiled, Twisted, and Distorted with Doubts and Misconceptions...

Three generations of the Fisher Family: Vivienne and Patrick, their three adult daughters, Alex, Nancy, and Eve, and their children and partners, gather for a week-long vacation in a glass house (is that a metaphor?) to celebrate Vivienne’s seventieth birthday. On their first outing together, a tree falls (another metaphor?) Is that the Fisher Family Tree going down...?!

The Accidental Favorite is a family story, described as a 'dramedy', which feels off to me. It's witty, but not comedic, and watching this loud, dysfunctional family continue to spiral out of control was hard. I love messy family stories, but this family was too noisy, too nasty, too much.

I considered a DNF, but persevered when the past and present timelines began to connect. The ending was satisfying, but what a struggle to get there. This feels surprisingly ‘New Adult’, considering all three sisters are in their 40s, and I'm not quite sure what to say about that.

The audiobook is narrated by Fiona Button, whose voicing and recounting of this story was the best part of this immersion read. Every inflection and every pause was in the right places, and thoughtfully executed.

The Accidental Favorite has too many unlikable characters, a rambling narrative, and a compelling premise. I read this because Amazing Grace Adams was one of my favorite reads of 2023. Perhaps my expectations were too high, or maybe it wasn't the right time for me to read it. With all that said, Littlewood's writing style is fun, clever, and continues to draw me in enough that I eagerly await her next one. I know, I know, I just can't help myself!!

3⭐

Thank you to Henry Holt and Co., Macmillan Audio, and Fran Littlewood for the gifted DRC and ALC through NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vivienne and Patrick Fisher have raised their three girls, Alex, Nancy and Eva who now have families of their own. It’s Vivienne’s 70th birthday and all are gathered to celebrate this milestone in the countryside in the most incredible glass fronted property, a la Grand Designs. On the first day in the woods, the siblings have a lucky escape from potential disaster but what it achieves is to reveal which of the sisters is Patrick’s favourite. Shockwaves reverberate, old wounds are reopened, tensions rise as the past is examined in this latest novel from Fran Littlewood. Each sister and Vivienne give their memories and perspectives of various incidents over the years in this intense domestic drama. Are their recollections accurate or flawed by time? Are all of them wearing masks with fixed grins as they stare into a potential abyss?

As one of three close siblings, I’m all too aware of family dynamics and over the years we’ve often discussed who my parent’s favourite offspring might be!! This is a reflective, revealing novel and it does make me pause and think about our own dynamics, thankfully ours don’t go pear shaped like this one does. The shifting dynamics between the sisters, between Vivian and Patrick and between the parents and their children are all fascinating. The memories do take a bit of a wandering, meandering path but that’s what memories do, so it feels authentic. As the holiday progresses there are some nuggets that come to the surface and it becomes emotional, painful and raw although on occasions it can be witty and very funny. It does get a bit slow in the middle when they recollections are not especially exciting, more of the normal cut and thrust of everyday life but then the anxiety and stress levels rise and how. Despite their best efforts at fakery on several levels, the holiday becomes a doo-doo show for multiple reasons. There’s a lot of unravelling as the many papered over cracks fracture and split. It becomes quite dramatic, potentially disastrous and I’m not sure how it’s all going to work out but I love the ending. Yes, after all the drama that’s what it means to be a sister. It’s priceless.

The characterisation is excellent even the ones on the periphery are deftly portrayed. I become very attached to Nancy, I love how she often tells it how it is. Even Alex begins to grow on me!

Finally, as for the superb setting at the glass house, it becomes a terrific metaphor for the ensuing dramas as people in glasshouses definitely shouldn’t throw stones. I love how the house reflects back what is going on, a clever touch if a bit unpleasant!.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Michael Joseph at Penguin Random House for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

[Shantha (ShanthasBookEra) · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the Fisher family gathers for Vivienne's 70th birthday, three generations together in a glass house creates a pressure cooker for drama. During a family photo, Patrick, the father, gathers his daughters for a photo. When a tree starts to fall that the girls can't see, he runs to the one furthest from danger to save her. The other two sisters are left reeling with confirmation that their father indeed has a favorite, and it isn't them.

This book in print is a real treat. Alex, Nancy, and Eva are in their forties and are there with their own children and spouses. There are several names to learn, but I felt it was easy to keep track of the characters. The family drama includes all of the compelling elements that resonate with readers of the subgenre: marriage, sisterhood, identity, parent-child relationships, and the sting of favoritism. To complicate the situation, each family member is keeping secrets. I found the characters to be real and their feelings relatable. The feelings of belonging, being needed, and that you matter and are important are universal and don't end because you reach adulthood. Littlewood brilliantly teaches us not to throw stones at glass houses. If you love family sagas, this one is not to be missed.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Fran Littlewood for an advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Maren’s Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4⭐️ Vivienne and Patrick Fisher plan a week-long trip for them and their three grown daughters, Alex, Nancy, and Eva. All are living successful lives, with stable partners, careers they love, and children they adore. But when a freak accident leads Patrick to make a split-second decision, the reverberations will be felt throughout the entirety of the trip and beyond.

After loving Fran Littlewood’s debut novel, Amazing Grace Adams, when I read it last year, I jumped at the chance to read this one as soon as I saw it was releasing. Now, having read it and sat with it for a bit, I think I was not necessarily the right reader for it. While I still think the character development is fantastic, the writing eloquent and thought-provoking, as an only child, I struggled to connect to so much of what this story is about— sibling love and rivalry. And because of that disconnect, I did have difficulty forming the type of emotional connection I would have hoped for. That said, I think this might be a great first for readers who love character-driven literary fiction centered around the sibling dynamic.

🎧 Fiona Button does a terrific job, per usual, at bringing this quiet family drama to life. If you are an audiobook lover, like myself, you may want to try this format over print.

Read if you like:
▪️sibling dynamics
▪️family drama
▪️character-driven novels
▪️emotional reads

Thank you Henry Holt and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies.

[Angie Miale · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been very excited to read this since I loved Grace Adams. I am honored to have received an ALC through NetGalley. The audiobook narrator had a good performance, nice British accent that fits the characters. However I think it may have worked better with multiple narrators. It was very difficult to follow this on audio— there are so many characters and the narrative makes time jumps and jumps to each other that it is difficult to keep straight. I did preorder this as a hard copy so I am going to try reading the physical copy instead to see if I can follow it better.

Book to be published June 24, 2025

Update: I got a copy of this and I am DNFing at 30%. With a mom and 3 sisters, present time all different POV and then going back to prior time periods I can’t keep the characters straight and there is no cohesive plot.

This one wasn’t for me, but I can see how others may enjoy it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt for the ARC.

[Heather~ Nature.books.and.coffee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sibling drama/comedy that revolves around three sister, their parents, their children and their significant others. The exploration of sibling rivalry, and how it affects members of the family. There were a lot of people in this book, and sometimes I found it confusing because there was so much going on and there are no chapters, it just alternates between characters. Other times I was captivated by this family….their history and relationships with each other. I think the author has a unique writing style and I thought she did a great job pulling the story together with a good twist and an interesting wrap up. I'll definitely check out Littlewoods future books!!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy! All opinions are my own.

[Meagan (Meagansbookclub)]

I decided to DNF at 40%. It may have been the audio, not sure. But a family drama where you don’t know who anyone is by the 3-4 make, is a problem IMO!

[Sheree | Keeping Up With The Penguins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I’m a bit cynical, but I felt like some of the “dark secrets” revealed in The Favourite just really weren’t all that dark. They seemed like normal family stuff, and the Fishers just an overdramatic lot who made mountains out of the proverbial molehills. Still, it was an interesting read about a family dynamic far removed from my own.

My full review of The Favourite is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.

[Emily Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, that reading experience was a lot to wrap my head around. The Favourite is a chaotic and complex family drama that has its shining moments but ultimately left me unsatisfied.

Littlewood's latest endeavour experiments with a stream-of-consciousness style of narration that feels disorganised and turbulent. The run-on sentences and jarring flashbacks are unruly and confusing, distancing the reader from the narrative.

Moreover, there are so many characters to keep track of. This isn't an issue in itself (for instance, I recently read My Other Heart and found that Strenner's large cast added a lot of value to the story). However, Littlewood fails to keep the extensive family tree understandable, and there so many side plots that the overall narrative becomes lost.

Essentially, the story is about three sisters... and their parents, their partners, and their children. The Favourite explores ideas of jealousy, insecurity, feelings of inadequacy, and competition after Eva, the youngest daughter, is revealed to be Patrick's (the father's) supposed favourite. Despite my critiques, I enjoyed the psychological exploration of how this event impacts the entire family.

Nancy, the middle child, is the most admirable character in my opinion. She's a doctor and is embarking upon a new romance after a failed marriage. Alex and Eva, the eldest and youngest, are a bit too unlikeable. In fact, many of the characters in this novel are at times unpleasant.

The novel's strongest features are passages when Littlewood hits onto some wonderful observations about life. For instance, when Nancy struggles to recall a memory, Littlewood describes the situation with keen insight and grace about the vulnerability of aging. Furthermore, I did enjoy the novel's conclusion and enjoyed the unexpected plot twist.

Overall, The Favourite has a lot of potential and holds some genuine, wonderful insights about family, love, resentment, forgiveness, memory, and growing older. However, the novel felt too crowded, messy, and ambitious in parts, which impacted the resonance of the central storyline.

*I received an e-ARC for free in exchange for an honest review*

[Bianca thinksGRsucksnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Favourite is about the three Fisher sisters, Alex, Nancy, and Eva. They're in their forties, accomplished in their careers and/or personal lives. Their parents are Vivienne and Patrick Fisher. The five of them, plus the partners and the kids, are spending a week in a fancy cabin in the woods - to celebrate Vivienne's seventieth birthday.

They're all on age, for different reasons, both external and internal turmoil. There is miscommunication, misremembering, lack of context.

Despite losing the thread at times due to the many characters, jumps back and forth in time, I appreciated this novel. The struggles were realistic, the characters well developed and nuanced.

[Farah Nsour · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has an intriguing title… and absolutely nothing to back it up. Seriously, the Fisher family’s “secrets” are so underwhelming, they wouldn’t even get five minutes of gossip time in any average Arab household — and trust me, we’ve got much juicier material on a random Tuesday.

The characters? Flat. Unmemorable. It’s like the author just sketched them on a napkin and called it a day. There’s no real goal, no tension, no reason for this family to be together by the end — other than a random trip to a so-called “glasshouse,” which, by the way, is totally unrealistic. Where are the beams? The columns? I need some structural logic!

The entire book revolves around two painfully overstretched metaphors:
1. “If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, did it fall?”
2. “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”
Cool ideas… but not cool enough to be repeated for 300+ pages like they’re profound revelations.

Also, yes I did highlight parts of the book. But only for aesthetic purposes. Trust me, there was nothing deep to underline.

The writing style? Chaotic. The family dynamic? More like a low-budget Kardashian spin off. Alex obsessing over texting her crush was cringe, Nancy had zero depth, and Eva? Honestly, maybe she’s “the favourite” because she’s the only one not actively being annoying. She married some guy who was already living in their house, and it was treated like a casual errand.

Scott was the only one who seemed sane, while his son acted like a toddler in a man’s body. The mom, Vivian, came off as immature, and the dad (poor guy ) gets all the hate for literally just grabbing his daughter’s hand. The so called “scandal” that went viral? Laughable. Like Can American authors please calm down with the “it went viral in seconds” trope? That’s not how the internet works.

the book tried to be deep, but tripped over its own metaphors. Zero plot, flat characters, and a glasshouse made of nonsense.

[Sarah Clement · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5* I’m grateful to have won an advanced copy from Goodreads! I have a lot of thoughts about this book though…


1. The timeline of the book is so weird. It should have taken place in the 2020s but it takes place in 2017. It uses slang that I don’t think was common during that year, focuses on Lucy’s viral TikTok that I don’t think would have been a thing in 2017, and makes a reference to Bluey that didn’t even come out until 2018… it just bothered me throughout

2. The family kept saying that Eva was so young when she had Lucy, but she was 24 or 25, just about the same age as Vivienne when she had Alex… it doesn’t make any sense. And especially for the time period that Lucy was born, I feel like it was pretty common to be having kids in your mid 20s.

3. I wanted the explosive fight to happen MUCH earlier and I really wish we got to see Patrick’s explanation, rather than just getting snippets as the girls remember it.

4. I find it hard to believe that the flood basically fixed all the animosity that had been building over the course of the book. I’m glad things got better for the sisters, but it felt like a cheap ending.

5. I wanted SO MUCH MORE of the Nik and Nancy love story. Maybe it’s because I related way too much to her, but I wanted to see her have more of a happy ending. I would read an entire book just about the two of them.

6. I feel like Eva’s surprise marriage to Scott was just used to give her some sort of flaw. Like the entire book seems to be making out how perfect she is and it’s like this was the only flaw the author could come up with?

[Marley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. The book centered around a family whose dynamic didn't make sense to me. The author couldn't decide whether this was a close-knit or strained family relationship. The relationship between them all was frustrating. The plot which navigated these family dynamics was not very intriguing and the reveal of the central mystery was not satisfying. Many of the writing choices did not appeal to me.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fran Littlewood has offered in The Accidental Favorite exactly what the publisher's blurb promises - a tale of sisters, of family dynamics that are ancient as we are. . . .things that can go crosswise can and will and who we are is how we manage all that. Littlewood's characters are real and just like people you know (may know very closely). Overall a good read - I wouldn't read this, though if you are currently in active battles with your own family. . . or maybe could if you need some fresh ideas. . . .

*A sincere thank you to Fran Littlewood, Henry Holt & Company, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*

[MrsHarvieReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Accidental Favorite by Francisco Littlewood is a complex family/sibling drama featuring 3 generations of the Fisher family. The parents, 3 daughters, their partners and their children gather for a week at a glass house (lots of metaphors) to celebrate the matriarch’s 70th birthday. The 3 sisters, Alex, Nancy and Eva, are all holding secrets and insecurities that come to a head during the week and after their father appears to admit he has a favorite child. Being the 2nd of 3 sisters, I was intrigued by the premise and quickly identified with Nancy, the middle sister.

The author uses a unique writing style that takes some getting used to, especially the alternating (nonlinear) timelines and many points of view. With no defined chapters, it reads like a stream of consciousness at times. The family is messy, chaotic and relatable at times. The action and dialogue are alternatively a profound insight into families, sisterhood (sibling rivalry, jealousy and love), marriage and motherhood, and over the top antics. “They are under her skin and in her heart, these women, her sisters, she has no choice in the matter. And despite everything, she’d rather be standing here right now than anywhere else.” The book kept me engaged, but ultimately I wanted more from the characters and their motivations and the ending itself. 3/5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Jodi Schulz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I really enjoyed this authors first book, but sadly not this one. While the story was good the writing style sadly felt like one big run one sentence and therefore I just could never really connect with the story.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those great books that shows just how messy families can be! It begins with a "naming" ceremony in the forest where a huge tree almost falls on Eva but she is quickly saved by Patrick. Then we go back in time to 1975 where everything begins We see the hardships, the friendships and everything in between as Eva becomes the family's "favorite" as revealed through diary entries and things kept hidden from family members. It's alternately happy and depressing. as we see a "normal" family come to grips with the fact that each of them are someone's "favorite."
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

[Carol Grant · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this advanced reader's edition from Henry Holt and Company and Fran Littlewood, as a Goodreads win. Thank you for this book but I unfortunately have to give up at just close to halfway through......I am so bored. I am not interested in this whinny, uncaring, and disrespectful family and I do not care in the least how it ends for them.

[Sara Fagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader copy of this book through a Goodreads Giveway. I LOVED this book so much- each character is complex, I loved the slow unraveling of various secrets, I enjoyed the strong sisterly bond that you can sense throughout the book (even when there are feelings of jealousy or anger or frustration). As the youngest of four, I also related to many of the unspoken thoughts and feelings each of the sisters has during the novel.

[ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my biggest flexes in life is that not only do I have a sister, but I am also a sister myself. I absolutely loved following the journey of these 3 sisters & how the relationships were portrayed. I truly enjoyed every character in this book!!

[Dona's Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐.5

Pre-Read Notes:

I tend to be interested in stories about dysfunctional families, so the title of this book grabbed me. The opening pages make it clear that this is my kind of story-- adult sibling rivalry and fighting aging parents? Yep, that's my bag.

I also loved Amazing Grace Adams, so I was really happy to read more from Littlewood and Henry Holt & Co.. Looking forward to this one!

"She walks past an abandoned towel, a damp scrunch of swimsuit left on a sun bed, a single white sock. She won’t touch them. Why should she? Why should she continue to pick up the pieces of everyone else’s messy, messed-up lives? Let them do it themselves." p1290

Final Review

(thoughts & recs) THE ACCIDENTAL FAVORITE is definitely an entertaining book and I liked the first half quite a lot. It's a story about dysfunctional adult siblings, with characters I felt were authentic and developed naturally in response to the plot. It's a huge cast, though, and I didn't really figure out who was who until more than halfway through. And  then, sadly, I thought the form started dragging on the story here and everything grew more and more convoluted as moves toward the climax.

So for me this book is a half & half, where I liked one half but not the other. I think fans of A FAMILY MATTER by Claire Lynch will probably enjoy this one.

My 2 Favorite Things:

✔️ This book is composed of multiple flavors of controlled chaos, served in a single sloppy scoop. The form is also Interesting, with most of the book delivered in one long chapter. I love the first feature, but the very long chapter makes me feel fatigued. If the design gains more significance later, I'll make an edit. *edit I didn't find the experimental form here to be either meaningful or related to anything else about the book. I wish the author had just done typical chapter breaks. This was a lot to read in a single chapter, within which perspective and time shift wildly.

✔️ I really love stories about adult siblings, especially if they're trying to work out some sort of dysfunctional. I love stories about people who work things out, and respect stories where characters choose their own meeds. This is a good one, really. I don't often like multiple perspectives, but I like getting reactions from all three siblings.

Notes:

1. content warnings: family dysfunction, disordered thinking, death of a child/sibling, cheating and suspected cheating

Thank you to the author Fran Littlewood, publishers Henry Holt and Company, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of THE ACCIDENTAL FAVORITE. All views are mine.

[liv ʚɞ · Rating 3 out of 5]

thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review! <3

’Life is a long line all planned out. You don’t want to waste it’

The Accidental Favourite or The Favourite (the name appears to be different depending on what sites / physical form of the book you see it on) is a pretty standard contemporary following three sisters - Alex, Nancy and Eva - and their families on a holiday in celebration of their Mums 70th birthday. Each sister is hiding their own insecurities and secrets which begin to come to light in the wake of their Dad seemingly choosing a favourite child.

While this wasn’t a badly written book, nor one with an uninteresting premise, it didn’t quite work for me. I don’t see this as a fault of the book, as it had an easily accessible prose and effective dialogue, but rather I just wasn’t quite captivated by the story or the characters. While I liked Alex, Nancy and Eva (particularly Nancy), I wasn’t overly attached to their personalities or personal secrets, which in my opinion turned out to be quite lacklustre. The plot was fine, but I thought it took quite a while for anything to move along, and the pacing was a little stilted at times. It was very much a situation of everything happening at the beginning and the end, but not so much in the middle. This made me frustrated and even bored at times.

However, I really enjoyed the themes presented in the story - how parents shape their children’s confidence, self-esteem and self-worth, and often breed competitiveness and jealously between siblings. As someone who has been at the receiving end of some pretty harsh comparisons between themselves and their siblings by a parent, I certainly related to and got a lot out of how Alex, Nancy and Eva’s insecurities were presented. It felt brutally realistic at times.

Overall, The Accidental Favourite / The Favourite gets 3/5 stars.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

Fran Littlewood delivered a sharp, heartfelt story that beautifully captured the messiness of family, blending humor with raw emotion. It was authentic. It was layered. It felt both relatable and deeply moving.

The story followed three adult sisters—Alex, Nancy, and Eva—who reunited for their mother’s 70th birthday at a sleek countryside house. When their father instinctively saved Eva from danger, the moment sparked old wounds and rivalries. It forced long-buried family secrets and tensions about favoritism, identity, and sisterhood to resurface.

I adored Fran Littlewood’s writing style in this novel. It was warm, witty, and emotionally sharp—she mixed humor with raw honesty, captured the small, telling details of family life while weaving in layered perspectives and shifting timelines to show the messiness of memory and sibling bonds.

This was my first read by Littlewood and I delighted in this poignant narrative. I found the characters to be believable and layered, with all the complicated emotions that come from sibling rivalry, favoritism, and buried family secrets. The mix of humor and tension gave the story warmth, and the shifting perspectives added an extra layer of depth. That said, the frequent time jumps and flashbacks sometimes slowed the momentum and made the narrative feel a bit disjointed, and the ending wrapped up more quickly than the steady buildup seemed to promise.

All in all, The Accidental Favorite was a heartfelt and insightful look at family bonds, sibling rivalry, and the weight of long-held secrets. Even with a few pacing issues, I was drawn in by the authenticity of the characters and the blend of humor and tension. As my first experience with Fran Littlewood’s work, it left me impressed and eager to read more from her. (Audio)

[Nursebookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Accidental Favorite is an absolute delight that is warm, witty, and surprisingly poignant. From the moment the three generations of Fishers gather at the stunning glass house for Vivienne’s seventieth birthday, I was hooked. Fran Littlewood masterfully weaves humor, tension, and heartfelt family dynamics into a story that feels both utterly relatable and utterly absorbing.

Watching the fallout from Patrick’s revelation about his “favorite” daughter was such a joy and a thrill. The way decades-old sibling rivalries, long-hidden secrets, and tender wounds surface had me laughing, cringing, and reaching for tissues all at once. Alex, Nancy, and Eva are brilliantly drawn - successful, vibrant women with real flaws and relatable insecurities, and I loved seeing how their relationships evolved, clashed, and ultimately deepened over the course of the week.

Littlewood balances sharp wit with genuine emotion in a way that makes the Fishers feel like people you could know in real life. The story is a lively, heartfelt examination of memory, sisterhood, and family ties, with just the right touch of drama and reflection. By the end, I felt like I’d truly spent time with this family, and I was reminded how messy, complicated, and ultimately beautiful family life can be.

The Accidental Favorite is the perfect mix of laughter, tears, and insight, a novel that stays with you long after the last page.

[A Dreaming Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the concept but the execution fell flat for me. My main issue with this book is that the PoV switches every two pages. The constant switching kept taking me out of the story and I started forgetting things. Also, this was a little too much family drama for me, somewhere around midway through the book the drama got shifted away from who's the favourite daughter to random things going on in their lives and I wasn't as invested. It was also difficult to keep track of because there are also timeline shifts within these PoV shifts. The writing itself was fine and I had no issues with it. I wasn't really invested in any of the characters so I didn't really care about their outcomes. I think anyone who's looking for a book with family drama and themes of girlhood/womanhood and the like will enjoy this book.

Thanks to Goodreads giveaways for providing me with an ARC.

[Bonnie Goldberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't have a sister but have no doubt that Fran Littlewood absolutely nailed what it means to grow up with two sisters - always being compared to one another, inadvertently, advertently, kindly and cruelly. When an event happens to suggest that Dad Patrick has a favourite among his daughters, it sends the three Fisher sisters spiraling and along the way unveils deeply buried feelings among the family. With a sprawling cast of adjacent family members, all of whom are spending a week together at a vacation home, Littlewood keeps the action moving and the tension building. Recommend for fans of well written family drama. Thank you to Henry Holt & Co and NetGalley for the DRC

[Aggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, I wasn't a big fan of the title, as the central plot was really more than who the favorite daughter was. It would be more befitting if it were called 'Our Dysfunctional Family.'

Audiobook review: Secondly, there are many minor characters to keep track of. Additionally, having only one narrator with no voice projections to help differentiate the characters was so confusing. Why?!

I really wanted to like this book, but I didn't.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this book was extremely appealing. I think the sister relationship is one of the most fraught There is rivalry, competition, and insecurity all wrapped up in love and history.. There also is the promise of the closest relationship you’ll ever have. So, having a sister myself, I was intrigued by a book that promised a dive into complex emotional territory.

In a nutshell, three generations of the Fisher family gather at a glass house (metaphors everywhere) in the country to celebrate the matriarch’s seventieth birthday. Although it took me time to sort through who belonged to who, I’ll break it down. Vivienne and Patrick are the parents. Alex, the eldest is married to Luc and has three children. Next comes Nancy, a physician, divorced with a daughter. The youngest is Eva, very successful financially (she paid for the vacation house), her daughter, Lucy, and supposed boyfriend, Scott who she married but hasn't yet told her family.

The book opens in a forest clearing. They are having a naming ceremony for the youngest baby. A tree begins to crackle and before it falls, Patrick runs past daughters Alex and Nancy to protect Eva. Thus the story begins. How could he? Why did he? Why not me? Was she always the favorite? And so on.

I had a hard time getting the daughters straight in my mind. All three are pretty much traumatized by life, doubt all their decisions, and question their relationships and future. This, in spite of many successes in their lives.

The structure of the book also confused me. It flips back and forth through time. Present. A sister’s memory. A. stream of conscious reflection. An incident that happened in the past etc. Back to the present. There are no chapters and I had to keep flipping back and forth to figure out who I was reading about.

It wasn’t until three quarters through that the story took off. A long ago hidden incident is finally exposed and there is the promise of resolution. Because I was engaged at the end, I’ll move my rating from 2.5 stars to three.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Henry Holt and Company for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced reading copy and provide an honest review.

[Novel Visits · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fran Littlewood’s sophomore novel, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗖𝗖𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘, tells the story of three grown sisters who have always been close, but who are not without certain long standing rivalries and petty jealousies. They’ve gathered for a week-long holiday, together with their parents, children and partners, to celebrate the “naming” of the eldest sister’s third child and their mother’s 70th birthday. An incident early in the story leads everyone to believe that their father has a clear favorite amongst his daughters, stirring an array of long held suspicions and resentments.⁣
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The premise of this book sounded like one I’d like very much, especially since I enjoyed Littlewood’s debut, 𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘈𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘴, but sadly that just wasn’t the case. Though there was a lot of humor in the story, for me it went too far with some of that and honestly the rivalries between sisters in their forties just became tiresome. The phrase, “it was okay.” best sums up how I felt about this book. It wasn’t difficult to get through, but not particularly special for me either. By the end, I was more bored than engaged. So, kind of a miss for me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣

[Maggie Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

couldn't care about any of them