diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index 5a8ffc43..3cdbf04c 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -20,3 +20,6 @@ gem 'turbolinks'
 gem 'tzinfo-data', platforms: [:mingw, :mswin, :x64_mingw, :jruby]
 gem 'uglifier'
 gem 'web-console', group: :development
+gem 'factory_bot_rails', group: [:development, :test]
+gem "webmock", group: [:development, :test]
+gem 'rails-controller-testing', group: [:development, :test]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index 14ec6457..27ddba5c 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ GEM
     addressable (2.8.1)
       public_suffix (>= 2.0.2, < 6.0)
     bcrypt (3.1.18)
+    bigdecimal (3.1.8)
     bindex (0.8.1)
     builder (3.2.4)
     byebug (11.1.3)
@@ -91,6 +92,9 @@ GEM
       execjs
     coffee-script-source (1.12.2)
     concurrent-ruby (1.1.10)
+    crack (1.0.0)
+      bigdecimal
+      rexml
     crass (1.0.6)
     devise (4.8.1)
       bcrypt (~> 3.0)
@@ -102,9 +106,15 @@ GEM
     digest (3.1.0)
     erubi (1.11.0)
     execjs (2.8.1)
+    factory_bot (6.4.6)
+      activesupport (>= 5.0.0)
+    factory_bot_rails (6.4.3)
+      factory_bot (~> 6.4)
+      railties (>= 5.0.0)
     ffi (1.15.5)
     globalid (1.0.0)
       activesupport (>= 5.0)
+    hashdiff (1.1.0)
     i18n (1.12.0)
       concurrent-ruby (~> 1.0)
     jbuilder (2.11.5)
@@ -170,6 +180,10 @@ GEM
       activesupport (= 7.0.4)
       bundler (>= 1.15.0)
       railties (= 7.0.4)
+    rails-controller-testing (1.0.5)
+      actionpack (>= 5.0.1.rc1)
+      actionview (>= 5.0.1.rc1)
+      activesupport (>= 5.0.1.rc1)
     rails-dom-testing (2.0.3)
       activesupport (>= 4.2.0)
       nokogiri (>= 1.6)
@@ -250,6 +264,10 @@ GEM
       activemodel (>= 6.0.0)
       bindex (>= 0.4.0)
       railties (>= 6.0.0)
+    webmock (3.23.1)
+      addressable (>= 2.8.0)
+      crack (>= 0.3.2)
+      hashdiff (>= 0.4.0, < 2.0.0)
     websocket (1.2.9)
     websocket-driver (0.7.5)
       websocket-extensions (>= 0.1.0)
@@ -266,12 +284,14 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   capybara
   coffee-rails
   devise
+  factory_bot_rails
   jbuilder
   listen
   pg
   pry-rails
   puma
   rails (~> 7.0.3)
+  rails-controller-testing
   rspec-rails
   sass-rails
   selenium-webdriver
@@ -280,6 +300,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   tzinfo-data
   uglifier
   web-console
+  webmock
 
 RUBY VERSION
    ruby 3.1.2p20
diff --git a/app/assets/stylesheets/application.css b/app/assets/stylesheets/application.css
index d05ea0f5..5dc88019 100644
--- a/app/assets/stylesheets/application.css
+++ b/app/assets/stylesheets/application.css
@@ -13,3 +13,57 @@
  *= require_tree .
  *= require_self
  */
+
+ #main_component {
+    width: 65%;
+    margin: 0 auto;
+    background-color: #f6f6ef;
+    padding-left: 1em;
+    max-width: 1000px;
+ }
+
+ #login_buttons {
+    float: right;
+    margin: 5 auto;
+    padding: 1em;
+ }
+
+ .button {
+    width: 6em;
+    margin-bottom: .25em;
+ }
+
+ #title {
+    font-size: 3em;
+    color: #ff6600;
+ }
+ #header {
+    padding-bottom: 1em;
+    padding-top: 1em;
+ }
+
+ .story_box {
+    color: grey;
+    padding-bottom: .5em;
+ }
+
+ .arrow {
+    padding-right: .25em;
+    text-decoration: none;
+    color: grey
+ }
+
+ .title_line {
+    text-decoration: none;
+    font-weight: bold;
+    color: black
+ }
+
+ .counter {
+    padding-left: .3em;
+    padding-right: .45em;
+ }
+
+ .favorited {
+   color: orangered !important;
+ }
diff --git a/app/controllers/favorites_controller.rb b/app/controllers/favorites_controller.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..32eaa711
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/controllers/favorites_controller.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+class FavoritesController < ApplicationController
+    before_action :restrict_access
+    
+    def create
+        Favorite.find_or_create_by!(story_id: params[:story_id], user_id: current_user.id)
+        redirect_back(fallback_location: root_path)
+    end
+
+    def destroy
+        Favorite.find_by(story_id: params[:story_id], user_id: current_user&.id)&.destroy
+        redirect_back(fallback_location: root_path)
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    def restrict_access
+        redirect_to new_user_session_path unless current_user
+    end
+end
+
diff --git a/app/controllers/pages_controller.rb b/app/controllers/pages_controller.rb
index ce3bf586..5a124a3f 100644
--- a/app/controllers/pages_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/pages_controller.rb
@@ -1,2 +1,13 @@
 class PagesController < ApplicationController
+    def home
+        @logged_in = current_user.present?
+        @stories_data = StoryService.get_stories_data(current_user)
+    end
+
+    def interesting_stories
+        @logged_in = current_user.present?
+        @stories_data = StoryService.get_interesting_stories(current_user)
+        render :home
+    end
 end
+
diff --git a/app/models/favorite.rb b/app/models/favorite.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..43e758d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/models/favorite.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+class Favorite < ApplicationRecord
+    belongs_to :user
+    belongs_to :story
+
+    validates :user_id, :story_id, presence: true
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/models/story.rb b/app/models/story.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..33ef4529
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/models/story.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+class Story < ApplicationRecord
+    has_many :favorites, dependent: :destroy
+    has_many :users, through: :favorites
+
+    validates :external_story_id, :title, :url, :by, :time, presence: true
+
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/models/user.rb b/app/models/user.rb
index b2091f9a..2e269dc5 100644
--- a/app/models/user.rb
+++ b/app/models/user.rb
@@ -3,4 +3,17 @@ class User < ApplicationRecord
   # :confirmable, :lockable, :timeoutable and :omniauthable
   devise :database_authenticatable, :registerable,
          :recoverable, :rememberable, :trackable, :validatable
+
+  has_many :favorites, dependent: :destroy
+  has_many :stories, through: :favorites
+         
+  before_create :placeholder_first_name
+
+  private
+  
+  def placeholder_first_name
+    unless first_name
+      self.first_name = email.split("@").first
+    end
+  end
 end
diff --git a/app/services/hacker_news_api.rb b/app/services/hacker_news_api.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..183603a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/services/hacker_news_api.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+class HackerNewsApi
+    BASE_URL = 'https://hacker-news.firebaseio.com'
+    RETRY_LIMIT = 3
+
+    class ApiInternalServiceError < StandardError; end
+
+    attr_accessor :retry_count
+
+    def initialize
+        @retry_count = RETRY_LIMIT
+    end
+
+    def self.get_current_stories_ids
+        new.get_current_stories_ids
+    end
+
+    def self.get_story_details(story_id)
+        new.get_story_details(story_id)
+    end
+
+    def get_current_stories_ids
+        default_return = []
+        uri = URI("#{BASE_URL}/v0/topstories.json")
+        api_request(uri, default_return)
+    end
+
+    # Return an object with story data
+    def get_story_details(story_id)
+        default_return = {}
+        return default_return if story_id.blank?
+        
+        uri = URI("#{BASE_URL}/v0/item/#{story_id}.json")
+        api_request(uri, default_return)
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    def api_request(uri, default_return)
+        response = response(uri)
+        handle_response(response) || default_return
+    rescue
+        if @retry_count > 0
+            Rails.logger.info("Retrying request to #{uri}.")
+            @retry_count -= 1
+            retry 
+        else
+            Rails.logger.error("Exceeded maximum retries. API request failed with code #{response.code}")
+            default_return
+        end
+    end
+
+    def response(uri)
+        http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
+        http.use_ssl = true
+        headers = {'Accept': 'application/json'}
+        request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri.request_uri, headers)
+        http.request(request)
+    end
+
+    def handle_response(response)
+        case response.code.to_i
+        when 200..299
+            JSON.parse(response.body)
+        when 400..499
+            Rails.logger.error("API request failed with code #{response.code}. Bad Request Error, please check request.")
+        when 500..599
+            raise ApiInternalServiceError
+        end
+    end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/services/story_service.rb b/app/services/story_service.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1091ee48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/services/story_service.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+class StoryService
+    DEFAULT_NUMBER_OF_STORIES = 15
+
+    attr_reader :user
+
+    def initialize(user = nil)
+        @user = user
+    end
+
+    def self.get_stories_data(user)
+        new(user).get_stories_data
+    end
+
+    def self.get_interesting_stories(user)
+        new(user).get_interesting_stories
+    end
+
+    def get_stories_data
+        # Fetch ids of current stories from api
+        external_stories_ids = get_stories_ids_from_api
+        process_external_story_id_data(external_stories_ids).compact
+    end
+
+    def get_interesting_stories
+        external_stories_ids = Story.joins(:favorites).distinct.pluck(:external_story_id)
+        process_external_story_id_data(external_stories_ids).compact
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    def process_external_story_id_data(external_stories_ids)
+        external_stories_ids.first(DEFAULT_NUMBER_OF_STORIES).map do |external_story_id| 
+            story = find_or_fetch_story(external_story_id)
+            next unless story
+
+            generate_story_data_hash(story)
+        end
+    end
+
+    def generate_story_data_hash(story)
+        {
+            story: story,
+            favorite: get_favorite_user_string(story),
+            count: story_favorite_by_users(story).count,
+            favorite_by_user: favorite_by_user?(story)
+        }
+    end
+
+    def get_favorite_user_string(story)
+        usernames = story_favorite_by_users(story)
+        generate_favorite_user_string(usernames)
+    end
+
+    # Return a story object or nil if story is not found and api request fail
+    def find_or_fetch_story(external_story_id)
+        Story.includes(:users).find_by(external_story_id: external_story_id) || 
+        fetch_and_create_story(external_story_id) || 
+        nil
+    end
+
+    # Call api to get story data and create story if successful
+    def fetch_and_create_story(external_story_id)
+        fetched_story_data = get_story_data_from_api(external_story_id)
+        return nil unless fetched_story_data
+
+        create_story(fetched_story_data)
+    end
+
+    def create_story(data)
+        story = Story.new
+        story.external_story_id = data['id']
+        story.title = data['title']
+        story.by = data['by']
+        story.url = data['url']
+        story.time = Time.at(data['time'])
+        story.save!
+        story
+    rescue
+        nil
+    end
+
+    def generate_favorite_user_string(usernames)
+        count = usernames.count
+        output = usernames.first(3)
+        output << "and #{count - 3} more" if count > 3
+        output.join(", ")
+    end
+
+    def story_favorite_by_users(story)
+        story.users.pluck(:first_name)
+    end
+
+    def favorite_by_user?(story)
+        story.users.find_by(id: @user&.id).present?
+    end
+
+    def get_stories_ids_from_api
+        HackerNewsApi.get_current_stories_ids
+    end
+
+    def get_story_data_from_api(external_story_id)
+        HackerNewsApi.get_story_details(external_story_id)
+    end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/views/pages/_story.html.erb b/app/views/pages/_story.html.erb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..24386de0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/views/pages/_story.html.erb
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<div class='story_box'>
+    <div class='top_row'>
+        <%= link_to '⬆', favorite_create_path(story_id: story.id), method: :post, class: "arrow #{favorite_by_user && 'favorited'}" %>
+        <%= "#{(index + 1).to_s.rjust(2, "0")}. " %> 
+        <%= link_to story.title, story.url, :target => "_blank", class:'title_line' %>
+    </div>
+
+    <div>
+    <span class= 'middle_row'>
+        <span class='counter'>
+            <%= count %>
+        </span>
+        <%= "by #{story.by} #{time_ago_in_words(story.time)} ago." %>
+    </span>
+    </div>
+    <div class='bottom_row'>
+        <%= link_to '⬇', favorite_destroy_path(story_id: story.id), method: :delete, class: "arrow"%>
+        <span id='<%= "comment_#{story.id}" %>' >
+            <%= "liked by: #{favorite}" if favorite.present? %>
+        <span>
+    </div>
+</div>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/views/pages/home.html.erb b/app/views/pages/home.html.erb
index 8bfd8294..c3fffba5 100644
--- a/app/views/pages/home.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/pages/home.html.erb
@@ -1 +1,25 @@
-<h1>Welcome to Top News</h1>
+<div id='main_component'>
+    <div id='header'>
+        <div id='login_buttons'>
+            <% if @logged_in%>
+                <%= button_to 'Logout', destroy_user_session_path, method: :delete, class: 'button'  %>
+            <% else %>
+                <%= button_to 'Register', user_registration_path, class: 'button' %>
+                <%= button_to 'Login', new_user_session_path, class: 'button' %>
+            <% end %>
+        </div>
+        <span id='title'>
+            Welcome to Top News
+        </span>
+
+        <%= link_to 'All', root_path, class: 'title_line' %>
+        |
+        <%= link_to 'Interesting', interesting_stories_path, class: 'title_line' %>
+    </div>
+
+    <div id='story_box_container'>
+        <% @stories_data.each.with_index do |story_data, index| %>
+            <%= render 'story', index: index, **story_data %>
+        <% end %>
+    </div>
+</div>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/config/initializers/devise.rb b/config/initializers/devise.rb
index 962d4a7c..eaa67d0d 100644
--- a/config/initializers/devise.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/devise.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
+# Assuming you have not yet modified this file, each configuration option below
+# is set to its default value. Note that some are commented out while others
+# are not: uncommented lines are intended to protect your configuration from
+# breaking changes in upgrades (i.e., in the event that future versions of
+# Devise change the default values for those options).
+#
 # Use this hook to configure devise mailer, warden hooks and so forth.
 # Many of these configuration options can be set straight in your model.
 Devise.setup do |config|
@@ -8,7 +14,11 @@
   # confirmation, reset password and unlock tokens in the database.
   # Devise will use the `secret_key_base` as its `secret_key`
   # by default. You can change it below and use your own secret key.
-  # config.secret_key = '3d8fdc791713e92d72d135adbaa58657b3661394b046a293632d59b4cf4ba76fc5369d8f67202bce93a62fc0aacf24878bcd5f7879d859b588919783efcf7eb3'
+  # config.secret_key = 'e36fe7d0b592f3e4a96141f2d39d1afc28548ecb9f57ddd9ace7c461ac71ba77ba0c7940aa8042e9fd533e1db62b3b31b1efd7d542ddccadf199dffa239aa1c5'
+
+  # ==> Controller configuration
+  # Configure the parent class to the devise controllers.
+  # config.parent_controller = 'DeviseController'
 
   # ==> Mailer Configuration
   # Configure the e-mail address which will be shown in Devise::Mailer,
@@ -64,7 +74,10 @@
   # Tell if authentication through HTTP Auth is enabled. False by default.
   # It can be set to an array that will enable http authentication only for the
   # given strategies, for example, `config.http_authenticatable = [:database]` will
-  # enable it only for database authentication. The supported strategies are:
+  # enable it only for database authentication.
+  # For API-only applications to support authentication "out-of-the-box", you will likely want to
+  # enable this with :database unless you are using a custom strategy.
+  # The supported strategies are:
   # :database      = Support basic authentication with authentication key + password
   # config.http_authenticatable = false
 
@@ -99,18 +112,21 @@
   # config.reload_routes = true
 
   # ==> Configuration for :database_authenticatable
-  # For bcrypt, this is the cost for hashing the password and defaults to 11. If
+  # For bcrypt, this is the cost for hashing the password and defaults to 12. If
   # using other algorithms, it sets how many times you want the password to be hashed.
+  # The number of stretches used for generating the hashed password are stored
+  # with the hashed password. This allows you to change the stretches without
+  # invalidating existing passwords.
   #
   # Limiting the stretches to just one in testing will increase the performance of
   # your test suite dramatically. However, it is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to not use
   # a value less than 10 in other environments. Note that, for bcrypt (the default
   # algorithm), the cost increases exponentially with the number of stretches (e.g.
   # a value of 20 is already extremely slow: approx. 60 seconds for 1 calculation).
-  config.stretches = Rails.env.test? ? 1 : 11
+  config.stretches = Rails.env.test? ? 1 : 12
 
   # Set up a pepper to generate the hashed password.
-  # config.pepper = '98f368775fc8e418915aa4d2185d5659bda9b2a2aae35a6bb5c2863536c1c7e1ff8884578d43324639ae4d9bc4c851a7c71739103378841fd7f8f9e0db32daea'
+  # config.pepper = 'cc12718875ad12bb7bb92291343813b09a3037098a7f034d21ed23511538a0ca8755f5dbcf0f8c7a1539c9eaa271952504213b47bb61943952d9b505f5b6bfd3'
 
   # Send a notification to the original email when the user's email is changed.
   # config.send_email_changed_notification = false
@@ -122,8 +138,11 @@
   # A period that the user is allowed to access the website even without
   # confirming their account. For instance, if set to 2.days, the user will be
   # able to access the website for two days without confirming their account,
-  # access will be blocked just in the third day. Default is 0.days, meaning
-  # the user cannot access the website without confirming their account.
+  # access will be blocked just in the third day.
+  # You can also set it to nil, which will allow the user to access the website
+  # without confirming their account.
+  # Default is 0.days, meaning the user cannot access the website without
+  # confirming their account.
   # config.allow_unconfirmed_access_for = 2.days
 
   # A period that the user is allowed to confirm their account before their
@@ -244,7 +263,7 @@
   # should add them to the navigational formats lists.
   #
   # The "*/*" below is required to match Internet Explorer requests.
-  # config.navigational_formats = ['*/*', :html]
+  config.navigational_formats = ['*/*', :html]
 
   # The default HTTP method used to sign out a resource. Default is :delete.
   config.sign_out_via = :delete
@@ -276,4 +295,17 @@
   # When using OmniAuth, Devise cannot automatically set OmniAuth path,
   # so you need to do it manually. For the users scope, it would be:
   # config.omniauth_path_prefix = '/my_engine/users/auth'
+
+  # ==> Turbolinks configuration
+  # If your app is using Turbolinks, Turbolinks::Controller needs to be included to make redirection work correctly:
+  #
+  # ActiveSupport.on_load(:devise_failure_app) do
+  #   include Turbolinks::Controller
+  # end
+
+  # ==> Configuration for :registerable
+
+  # When set to false, does not sign a user in automatically after their password is
+  # changed. Defaults to true, so a user is signed in automatically after changing a password.
+  # config.sign_in_after_change_password = true
 end
diff --git a/config/routes.rb b/config/routes.rb
index c12ef082..e550a52a 100644
--- a/config/routes.rb
+++ b/config/routes.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
 Rails.application.routes.draw do
   devise_for :users
   root to: 'pages#home'
+
+  get '/interesting_stories', to: 'pages#interesting_stories', as: :interesting_stories
+  post '/favorite', to: 'favorites#create', as: :favorite_create
+  delete '/favorite', to: 'favorites#destroy', as: :favorite_destroy
+
 end
diff --git a/db/migrate/20240723010637_create_story.rb b/db/migrate/20240723010637_create_story.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ddb09fe6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20240723010637_create_story.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+class CreateStory < ActiveRecord::Migration[7.0]
+  def change
+    create_table :stories do |t|
+      t.integer     :external_story_id, null: false
+      t.string      :title,             null: false
+      t.string      :url,               null: false
+      t.string      :by,                null: false
+      t.datetime    :time,              null: false
+
+      t.timestamps
+    end
+
+    add_index :stories, :external_story_id
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/migrate/20240723015449_create_favorite.rb b/db/migrate/20240723015449_create_favorite.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a2366e96
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20240723015449_create_favorite.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+class CreateFavorite < ActiveRecord::Migration[7.0]
+  def change
+    create_table :favorites do |t|
+      t.integer :user_id,   null: false
+      t.integer :story_id,  null: false
+      t.timestamps
+    end
+
+    add_index :favorites, [:story_id, :user_id]
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/schema.rb b/db/schema.rb
index acc34f3b..55c4848e 100644
--- a/db/schema.rb
+++ b/db/schema.rb
@@ -10,10 +10,29 @@
 #
 # It's strongly recommended that you check this file into your version control system.
 
-ActiveRecord::Schema[7.0].define(version: 2018_02_28_212101) do
+ActiveRecord::Schema[7.0].define(version: 2024_07_23_015449) do
   # These are extensions that must be enabled in order to support this database
   enable_extension "plpgsql"
 
+  create_table "favorites", force: :cascade do |t|
+    t.integer "user_id", null: false
+    t.integer "story_id", null: false
+    t.datetime "created_at", null: false
+    t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
+    t.index ["story_id", "user_id"], name: "index_favorites_on_story_id_and_user_id"
+  end
+
+  create_table "stories", force: :cascade do |t|
+    t.integer "external_story_id", null: false
+    t.string "title", null: false
+    t.string "url", null: false
+    t.string "by", null: false
+    t.datetime "time", null: false
+    t.datetime "created_at", null: false
+    t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
+    t.index ["external_story_id"], name: "index_stories_on_external_story_id"
+  end
+
   create_table "users", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.string "first_name"
     t.string "last_name"
diff --git a/spec/controllers/favorites_controller_spec.rb b/spec/controllers/favorites_controller_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a24147e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/controllers/favorites_controller_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+require 'rails_helper'
+
+RSpec.describe FavoritesController, type: :request do
+    let(:user) { create(:user) }
+    let(:story) { create(:story) }
+
+    shared_examples 'a redirect to login' do
+        it 'redirects to login page' do
+            subject
+
+            expect(response).to redirect_to(new_user_session_path)
+            expect(response.status).to eq(302)
+        end
+    end
+
+    describe 'POST #create' do
+        subject { post path, params: params  }
+        let(:path) { '/favorite' }
+        let(:params) { {story_id: story.id} }
+
+        before do
+            sign_in(user)
+        end
+
+        it 'favorites a story for a user' do
+            expect { subject }.to change { Favorite.count }.by(1)
+        end
+
+        it 'redirects to home page' do
+            subject
+            expect(response).to redirect_to(root_path)
+            expect(response.status).to eq(302)
+        end 
+
+        context 'when there is no user signed in' do
+            before do
+                sign_out(user)
+            end
+
+            it_behaves_like 'a redirect to login'
+        end
+
+        context 'when a user already favored a story' do
+            before do
+                Favorite.create!(story_id: story.id, user_id: user.id)
+            end
+
+            it 'does not create another favorite record' do
+                expect { subject }.not_to change { Favorite.count }
+            end
+        end
+    end
+
+    describe 'DELETE #destroy' do
+        subject { delete path, params: params  }
+        let(:path) { '/favorite' }
+        let(:params) { {story_id: story.id} }
+
+        before do
+            sign_in(user)
+            Favorite.create!(story_id: story.id, user_id: user.id)
+        end
+
+        it 'deletes a favorite association for a user and a story' do
+            expect { subject }.to change { Favorite.count }.by(-1)
+        end
+
+        it 'redirects to home page' do
+            subject
+            expect(response).to redirect_to(root_path)
+            expect(response.status).to eq(302)
+        end 
+
+        context 'when there is no user signed in' do
+            before do
+                sign_out(user)
+            end
+
+            it_behaves_like 'a redirect to login'
+        end
+
+        context 'when the user never had a favored association to the story' do
+            let(:params) { {story_id: 'unknown_id'} }
+            before do
+                Favorite.create!(story_id: story.id, user_id: user.id)
+            end
+
+            it 'does not delete a favorite record' do
+                expect { subject }.not_to change { Favorite.count }
+            end
+        end
+    end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/controllers/pages_controller_spec.rb b/spec/controllers/pages_controller_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4ba9cbcd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/controllers/pages_controller_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+require 'rails_helper'
+
+RSpec.describe PagesController, type: :request do
+    describe 'GET #home' do
+        subject { get root_path }
+        before do
+            stub_request(:get, "#{HackerNewsApi::BASE_URL}/v0/topstories.json")
+                .with(headers: {
+                    'Accept'=>'application/json',
+                    'Accept-Encoding'=>'gzip;q=1.0,deflate;q=0.6,identity;q=0.3',
+                    'User-Agent'=>'Ruby'
+                })
+                .to_return(status: 200, body: "", headers: {})
+        end
+
+        it 'renders the home page' do
+            subject
+
+            expect(response).to render_template(root_path)
+            expect(response).to be_successful
+        end 
+    end
+
+    describe 'GET #interesting_stories' do
+        subject { get interesting_stories_path }
+
+        it 'renders the home page with correct data' do
+            subject
+
+            expect(response).to render_template(root_path)
+            expect(response).to be_successful
+        end 
+        
+    end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/factories/story.rb b/spec/factories/story.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..03d22ee3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/factories/story.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+FactoryBot.define do
+    factory :story do
+        external_story_id { 1 }
+        title { 'Testing Story Title' }
+        url { 'https://reallyrealnews.com/story/1' }
+        by { 'the news guy' }
+        time { DateTime.now }
+    end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/factories/users.rb b/spec/factories/users.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f2b85fc3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/factories/users.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+FactoryBot.define do
+    factory :user do
+        first_name {:foo}
+        last_name { :bar }
+        email { "f@b.c" }
+        password { 'foobar123' }
+    end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/models/favorite_spec.rb b/spec/models/favorite_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..732a8299
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/models/favorite_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+require 'rails_helper'
+
+RSpec.describe Favorite do
+  context "creating a new Favorite" do
+    let(:user) { create(:user) }
+    let(:story) { create(:story) }
+    let(:attrs) { {user_id: user.id, story_id: story.id} }
+
+    it "should create a favorite association." do
+      expect { described_class.create!(attrs) }.to change{ described_class.count }.by(1)
+    end
+
+    it "should raise error unless required fields are present" do
+      expect { described_class.create!(attrs.except(:user_id)) }.to raise_error(ActiveRecord::RecordInvalid)
+      expect { described_class.create!(attrs.except(:story_id)) }.to raise_error(ActiveRecord::RecordInvalid)
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/models/story_spec.rb b/spec/models/story_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..46548a06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/models/story_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+require 'rails_helper'
+
+RSpec.describe Story do
+  context "creating a new story" do
+    let(:attrs) do
+      { 
+        external_story_id: 1, 
+        title: 'Testing Story Title', 
+        url: 'https://reallyrealnews.com/story/1', 
+        by: 'the news guy',
+        time: DateTime.now
+     }
+    end
+
+    it "should create a story" do
+      expect { described_class.create!(attrs) }.to change{ described_class.count }.by(1)
+    end
+
+    it "should raise error unless required fields are present" do
+      expect { described_class.create!(attrs.except(:external_story_id)) }.to raise_error(ActiveRecord::RecordInvalid)
+      expect { described_class.create!(attrs.except(:title)) }.to raise_error(ActiveRecord::RecordInvalid)
+      expect { described_class.create!(attrs.except(:url)) }.to raise_error(ActiveRecord::RecordInvalid)
+      expect { described_class.create!(attrs.except(:by)) }.to raise_error(ActiveRecord::RecordInvalid)
+      expect { described_class.create!(attrs.except(:time)) }.to raise_error(ActiveRecord::RecordInvalid)
+    end
+
+    context 'when a story record is destroyed' do
+        let(:user) { create(:user) }
+        let(:story) { create(:story)}
+
+        before do
+            Favorite.create!(user_id: user.id, story_id: story.id)
+        end
+
+        it 'destroy story\'s favorites association' do
+            expect(user.favorites.count).to eq(1)
+            expect { user.destroy }.to change { Favorite.count }.by(-1)
+          end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/models/user_spec.rb b/spec/models/user_spec.rb
index b51dc1c3..18b6c4f8 100644
--- a/spec/models/user_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/user_spec.rb
@@ -13,5 +13,19 @@
     it "should require a password" do
       expect(User.new(attrs.except(:password))).to be_invalid
     end
+
+    context 'when a user record is destroyed' do
+      let(:user) { create(:user) }
+      let(:story) { create(:story) }
+
+      before do
+        Favorite.create!(user_id: user.id, story_id: story.id)
+      end
+
+      it 'destroy user\'s favorites association' do
+        expect(user.favorites.count).to eq(1)
+        expect { user.destroy }.to change { Favorite.count }.by(-1)
+      end
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/rails_helper.rb b/spec/rails_helper.rb
index bbe1ba57..7636d2ef 100644
--- a/spec/rails_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/rails_helper.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 # This file is copied to spec/ when you run 'rails generate rspec:install'
 require 'spec_helper'
+require 'support/factory_bot'
 ENV['RAILS_ENV'] ||= 'test'
 require File.expand_path('../../config/environment', __FILE__)
 # Prevent database truncation if the environment is production
@@ -54,4 +55,6 @@
   config.filter_rails_from_backtrace!
   # arbitrary gems may also be filtered via:
   # config.filter_gems_from_backtrace("gem name")
+  config.include Devise::Test::IntegrationHelpers, type: :request
+  config.include Rails.application.routes.url_helpers
 end
diff --git a/spec/services/hacker_news_api_spec.rb b/spec/services/hacker_news_api_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a7d15ca3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/services/hacker_news_api_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
+require 'rails_helper'
+require 'webmock/rspec'
+
+RSpec.describe HackerNewsApi do
+    let(:service) { described_class.new }
+
+    describe '#new / initialize' do
+        it 'is initialize with a retry count' do
+            expect(service.retry_count).to eq(3)
+        end
+    end
+
+    shared_examples 'a successful request' do
+        it 'returns a request with data in body' do
+            subject
+
+            expect(response.code).to eq("200")
+            expect(response.body).to eq(mock_response_body)
+        end
+    end
+
+    shared_examples 'a failed request with code 400 to 499' do
+        let(:status) { 404 }
+        let(:mock_response_body) { 'not found' }
+        let(:error_message) { "API request failed with code #{status}. Bad Request Error, please check request." }
+        it 'logs the error' do
+            expect(Rails.logger).to receive(:error).once.with(error_message)
+
+            subject
+        end
+    end
+
+    shared_examples 'a failed request with code 500 to 599' do
+        let(:status) { 500 }
+        let(:mock_response_body) { 'hmmm something is not right' }
+        let(:error_message) { "Exceeded maximum retries. API request failed with code #{status}" }
+
+        it 'retries the request' do
+            expect(Rails.logger).to receive(:info).exactly(3).times.with("Retrying request to #{uri}.")
+            expect { subject }.to change { service.retry_count }.by(-3)
+            expect(subject).to eq(default_return)
+        end
+
+        context 'when retries are exhausted' do
+            before do
+                service.retry_count = 0
+            end
+
+            it 'logs the request as an error' do
+                expect(Rails.logger).to receive(:error).once.with(error_message)
+
+                expect(subject).to eq(default_return)
+            end 
+        end
+    end
+
+    describe '#get_current_stories_ids' do
+        subject { service.get_current_stories_ids }
+        let(:uri) { URI("#{HackerNewsApi::BASE_URL}/v0/topstories.json") }
+        let(:response) { service.send(:response, uri) }
+        let(:mock_response_body) { '[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]' }
+        let(:status) { 200 }
+        let(:default_return) { [] }
+
+        before do
+            stub_request(:get, uri)
+                .with(headers: {'Accept': 'application/json'})
+                .to_return(status: status, body: mock_response_body)
+        end
+
+        it 'returns the parsed array data' do
+            expect(subject).to eq(JSON.parse(mock_response_body))
+        end 
+
+        it_behaves_like 'a successful request'
+
+        context 'when response code is 400 to 499' do
+            it_behaves_like 'a failed request with code 400 to 499'
+        end
+
+        context 'when response code is 500 to 599' do
+            it_behaves_like 'a failed request with code 500 to 599'
+        end
+    end
+
+    describe '#get_story_details' do
+        subject { service.get_story_details(external_story_id) }
+        let(:story) { create(:story) }
+        let(:external_story_id) { story.external_story_id }
+        let(:uri) { URI("#{HackerNewsApi::BASE_URL}/v0/item/#{external_story_id}.json") }
+        let(:response) { service.send(:response, uri) }
+        let(:status) { 200 }
+        let(:default_return) { {} }
+        let(:mock_response_body) do 
+            {                
+                'by': 'a new news person',
+                'descendants': 31,
+                'id': 424242424,
+                'kids': [42, 52],
+                'score': 93,
+                'time': 1314205301,
+                'title': 'a new news story from a new news person',
+                'type': 'story',
+                'url': 'https://reallyrealnews.com/story/2'
+            }.to_json
+        end
+
+        before do
+            stub_request(:get, uri)
+                .with(headers: {'Accept': 'application/json'})
+                .to_return(status: status, body: mock_response_body)
+        end
+
+
+        it 'returns the parsed object data' do
+            expect(subject).to eq(JSON.parse(mock_response_body))
+        end 
+
+        it_behaves_like 'a successful request'
+
+        context 'when response code is 400 to 499' do
+            it_behaves_like 'a failed request with code 400 to 499'
+        end
+
+        context 'when response code is 500 to 599' do
+            it_behaves_like 'a failed request with code 500 to 599'
+        end
+    end
+
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/services/story_service_spec.rb b/spec/services/story_service_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5397a4ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/services/story_service_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,210 @@
+require 'rails_helper'
+
+RSpec.describe StoryService do
+    let(:service) { described_class.new(user) }
+    let(:user) { create(:user) }
+    let!(:story_1) { create(:story) }
+    let!(:story_2) { create(:story, external_story_id: 2) }
+    let!(:story_3) { create(:story, external_story_id: 3) }
+    let(:hacker_news_api_stories_id_response) do 
+        [story_1.external_story_id, story_2.external_story_id, story_3.external_story_id]
+    end
+    let!(:processed_data) do
+        [
+            {story: story_1, favorite: '', count: 0, favorite_by_user: false},
+            {story: story_2, favorite: '', count: 0, favorite_by_user: false},
+            {story: story_3, favorite: '', count: 0, favorite_by_user: false}
+        ]
+    end
+
+    describe '#new / initialize' do
+        it 'can initialize with a user' do
+            expect(service.user).to eq(user)
+        end
+
+        context 'when a user is not provided' do
+            let(:user) { nil }
+
+            it 'can initialize without a user' do
+                expect(service.user).to be_nil
+            end
+        end
+    end
+
+    describe '#get_stories_data' do
+        subject { service.get_stories_data }
+
+        before do
+            allow(service).to receive(:get_stories_ids_from_api).and_return(hacker_news_api_stories_id_response)
+        end
+
+        it 'calls the HackerNewsApi to fetch story ids' do
+            expect(service).to receive(:get_stories_ids_from_api)
+
+            subject
+        end
+
+        it 'process the story ids' do
+            expect(service).to receive(:process_external_story_id_data)
+                .with(hacker_news_api_stories_id_response)
+                .and_return(processed_data)
+                
+            expect(subject).to eq(processed_data)
+        end
+    end
+
+    describe '#get_interesting_stories' do
+        subject { service.get_interesting_stories }
+        let(:another_user) { create(:user, first_name: "tester", email: 'faker@l.c')}
+        let(:processed_data) do 
+            [
+                {story: story_1, favorite: 'foo, tester', count: 2, favorite_by_user: true}
+            ]
+        end
+
+        before do
+            Favorite.create!(user_id: user.id, story_id: story_1.id)
+            Favorite.create!(user_id: another_user.id, story_id: story_1.id)
+        end
+
+        it 'process the story ids' do
+            expect(service).to receive(:process_external_story_id_data)
+                .with([story_1.external_story_id])
+                .and_return(processed_data)
+                
+            expect(subject).to eq(processed_data)
+        end
+    end
+
+    describe '#generate_story_data_hash' do
+        subject { service.send(:generate_story_data_hash, story_1) }
+
+        it 'generates a hash with story, favorite, count, and favorite_by_user keys' do
+            expect(subject).to eq(processed_data.first)
+            expect(subject).to have_key(:story)
+            expect(subject).to have_key(:favorite)
+            expect(subject).to have_key(:count)
+            expect(subject).to have_key(:favorite_by_user)
+        end
+    end
+
+    describe '#find_or_fetch_story' do
+        subject { service.send(:find_or_fetch_story, story_id_for_lookup) }
+        let(:story_id_for_lookup) { story_1.external_story_id}
+
+        it 'query database and return story if it exists' do
+            expect(subject).to eq(story_1)
+        end
+
+        context 'when the story does not exist' do
+            let(:story_id_for_lookup) { 'some random val' }
+
+            it 'attempt to fetch the data from HackerNewsApi' do
+                expect(service).to receive(:fetch_and_create_story).with(story_id_for_lookup)
+                subject
+            end
+
+            context 'if HackerNewsApi fails to fetch' do
+                before do
+                    allow(service).to receive(:fetch_and_create_story).with(story_id_for_lookup).and_return(nil)
+                end
+
+                it 'returns nil' do
+                    expect(subject).to be_nil
+                end
+            end
+        end
+    end
+
+    describe '#fetch_and_create_story' do
+        subject { service.send(:fetch_and_create_story, story_1.external_story_id) }
+        let(:fetched_story_data) do
+            HashWithIndifferentAccess.new(
+                'by': 'a new news person',
+                'descendants': 31,
+                'id': 424242424,
+                'kids': [42, 52],
+                'score': 93,
+                'time': 1314205301,
+                'title': 'a new news story from a new news person',
+                'type': 'story',
+                'url': 'https://reallyrealnews.com/story/2'
+            )
+        end
+
+        before do
+            allow(service).to receive(:get_story_data_from_api).with(story_1.external_story_id).and_return(fetched_story_data)
+        end
+
+        it 'calls the HackerNewsApi to fetch story data' do
+            expect(service).to receive(:get_story_data_from_api).with(story_1.external_story_id)
+
+            subject
+        end
+
+        it 'creates a new story with the fetched data' do
+            expect { subject }.to change { Story.count }.by(1)
+        end
+
+        context 'when api call fails' do
+            let(:fetched_story_data) { nil }
+
+            it 'does not create a story' do
+                expect { subject }.not_to change { Story.count }
+            end
+        end
+    end
+
+    describe '#generate_favorite_user_string' do
+        subject { service.send(:generate_favorite_user_string, usernames) } 
+        let(:usernames) { ["Donald", "Lawrence", "Marge"] }
+
+        it 'returns a string with the usernames' do
+            expect(subject).to eq(usernames.join(", "))
+        end
+
+        context 'when 4 or more usernames' do
+            before do
+                usernames.unshift('Tony')
+            end
+            
+            it 'returns only the first 3 usernames and additional message' do
+                expect(subject).to eq( "#{usernames.first(3).join(', ')}, and #{usernames.count - 3} more" )
+            end
+        end
+    end
+
+    describe '#story_favorite_by_users' do
+        subject { service.send(:story_favorite_by_users, story_1) }
+
+        before do
+            Favorite.create!(user_id: user.id, story_id: story_1.id)
+        end
+
+        it 'returns a list of usernames that have favorited this story' do
+            expect(subject).to include(user.first_name)
+        end
+    end
+
+    describe '#favorite_by_user?' do
+        subject { service.send(:favorite_by_user?, story_to_check)}
+        let(:story_to_check) { story_1 }
+
+        before do
+            Favorite.create!(user_id: user.id, story_id: story_1.id)
+        end
+
+        it 'returns a true boolean when user did favorite this story' do
+            expect(subject).to be true
+        end
+
+        context 'when a favorite record is not found' do
+            let(:story_to_check) { story_2 }
+
+            it 'returns a false boolean' do
+                expect(subject).to be false
+            end
+        end
+
+    end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/support/factory_bot.rb b/spec/support/factory_bot.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..72ba14df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/support/factory_bot.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+require 'factory_bot'
+
+RSpec.configure do |config|
+    config.include FactoryBot::Syntax::Methods
+end
\ No newline at end of file