I was looking for a love story, a nice whole-hearted romance when I found this book to review. A new to me author, this one sounded like a great one to dive into.
Check out my thoughts below on this upcoming release
The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest
Publisher: Berkley (February 28, 2023)
ISBN-13: 978-0593546437
OVERVIEW:
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 for 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…
The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest Review
When you’re looking for a romance and you get more of a friendship with a very slow burn sometimes it takes a while for you to get into the story.
I love the main characters and I connected with them quite well. This story has a huge focus on family which takes up much of the plot. Of course, the sister connection is all fine and dandy, but I really wanted more of the love story.
We have two aspects in this book- one as a pen pal/love story and the second as a falling for your neighbor love story.
The crush is there, the heat is building, and yet when all is said and done, they have a wonderful time, but there was no heat and fire.
Maybe it’s just me, but the passion is definitely lacking in this book. The author chose to write it in a very traditional method with the physical romance coming in at 80% of the story.
The story is very entertaining and very family oriented but don’t look for open-door romance because that is just not there. I really miss the heat and the spicy love connection that this story needed with all of the angst and mental buildup we went through. It would’ve taken this to a five-star read for me.
Overall, The Neighbor Favor is an entertaining, fun story, but I’m here for the romance – all of the romance.
3.5 STARS rolled to 4
Disclaimer: Chris has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free ebook so she could evaluate and use it for this post. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.
Hi! I’m Chris! Just a Midlife Wife sharing about life’s journey; screaming and kicking through it while supposedly aging gracefully…
Focusing on healthy living, low carb & keto, things I am loving right now, and life in general.