The Neighbor Favor- Review
The Neighbor Favor
By Kristina Forest
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: February 28,2023
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review
Rating: 4.25 Stars
Description:
A shy bookworm enlists her charming neighbor to help her score a date, not knowing he’s the obscure author she’s been corresponding with, in this sparkling and heart-fluttering romance by Kristina Forest.
Shy, bookish, and admittedly awkward, Lily Greene has always felt inadequate compared to the rest of her accomplished family, who strive for Black excellence. She dreams of becoming a children’s books editor, but she’s been frustratingly stuck in the nonfiction division for years without a promotion in sight. Lily finds escapism in her correspondences with her favorite fantasy author, and what begins as two lonely people connecting over email turns into a tentative friendship and possibly something else Lily won’t let herself entertain—until he ghosts her without a word.
Months later, Lily is still crushed, but she’s determined to get a hold of her life, starting with finding a date to her sister’s wedding. And the perfect person to help her is Nick Brown, her charming, attractive new neighbor, who she feels drawn to for reasons she can’t explain. But little does she know, Nick is an author—her favorite fantasy author.
Nick, who has his reasons for using a pen name and pushing people away, soon realizes that the beautiful, quiet girl from down the hall is the same Lily he fell in love with over email months ago. Unwilling to complicate things even more between them, he agrees to set her up with someone else, though this simple favor between two neighbors is anything but—not when he can’t get her off his mind…
Review:
I was so excited to read Kristina Forest’s first adult romance. I especially liked Now That I Found You and we’re back to NYC in The Neighbor Favor! The city and NJ settings were so perfectly described and made the Jersey girl in me feel at home! Also, I was just at Union Square a few weeks ago for a book event and even had lunch at Lillie’s Victorian Establishment! That said, I had a moment or two of hesitance while reading this story because I’m not a fan of the secret identity plot that was going on with Nick/Strick. It did turn out to be handled well in this book and I’m grateful. I’d call this love story a slow burn and the reveal of Nick’s identity did come before they were physically together which helped.
Both Nick and Lily were complexly crafted characters and getting into their minds wasn’t a hardship. Lily’s goal to work in diverse children’s books and her frustration at her inability to break into that career path was all too relatable. Nick is closed-off, unwilling to let people in because of his past and how life with his parents shaped him. This background lets the moments that they’re together and we watch them fall in love, have a bigger impact on the reader. When Nick especially finally lets Lily in, we see how perfect they are for each other. I will say, the favor side of the story fell a little flat. The whole, Nick helping Lily find someone to go to her sister’s wedding with was perhaps unnecessary and was quickly abandoned as they grow closer to each other. Which honestly, is fine with me because I don’t love those type of “setting the heroine/hero up with some else” plots anyway. We get adorable dates and funny scenes with Lily’s family in this book, even a fashion show. And a chance to Nick to heal from his own family as well.
I’m so happy with the transition Kristina Forest made to adult romance with The Neighbor Favor and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!
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