4.5 stars! Kristina Forest has become one of my favorite authors and continues to impress with her adult romance debut! I loved to see both Lily and Nick's growth throughout the story. I could totally see this as a Hallmark movie. Can't wait to read Violet's story next!

Shy and bookish Lily dreams of becoming a children's book editor. Writer Nick is used to hiding behind his pen name to keep people at a distance. When Nick moves to New York to revive his black fantasy series, he soon realizes his new neighbor is the girl he fell in love with over email. Great for lovers of You Got Mail!

The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest was a fantastic read! The perfect amount of sweet and spice. I loved the section of emails that Lily and Nick shared in this book and the awkward realization/reunion scene in this one. Our staff loved this one and ended up making it one of our monthly book club picks!

I have been waiting to read this book as soon as Kristina Forest announced it last year on Instagram. I always love reading about book lovers, especially in romance books. It touches close to home. Plus, it’s a diverse romance book as well!

The Neighbor Favor brings Lily more out of her self as she recovers from being a catfish at the beginning of the book. What she does not know is that the same person she was talking to was not cat fishing, just holding a few truths from her; and they are closer to her ever aka her neighbor aka Nick.

Nick cannot believe his luck when he runs into Lily, who is the same Lily that he was talking to a few months ago. He may think it’s the worst luck as ever, but life can be unexpected when it’s meant to be. Yes, he may have hidden a few truths from her, but once you read about his family and his childhood, then you will understand why he lied. I can’t imagine what he has gone through and achieved what he could. But what I do believe is his true love for Lily. He may struggle with it, but he always loved her from her first email and seeing her again. He was even willing to help her find someone else since he believed he was undeserving of her.

Lily deserves the whole world. I truly love her even when I get a bit frustrated with her at times. She truly does her best in believing in herself even though she is struggling in her work and personal life. At work, she may not feel appreciated as she should be, but it pushes her to find something more for herself. It may struggle at first, but things go her way when she reaches her breaking point. For her personal life, she may need to gain more confidence about being herself if she wants her person. It may not be what her sisters expect, but she will need to be the one to tell them off (which she will). And thankfully, she finds it with Nick.

I will warn you that their romance is a more slow burn than ever. They genuine form a true friendship even though they faced the truth in the middle. Keep that in mind as you read this book. I don’t want to disappoint you if you are expecting a steamy romance from the start.

Included as a top pick in bimonthly February New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: toxic relationship with parents, sick pet (gets better)

This was a soft and sweet romance. I really loved how their enjoyment of books really brought them together.

Steam: 3

I found there were more pop-culture references than I was hoping for, but overall a really sweet romance to root for!

The Neighbor Favor begins with an email exchange between a awkward, insecure author and a fan who praises the book he wrote five-years ago. I honestly struggled through the emails as it felt as if Lily was much younger than she was portrayed throughout the book. I also felt they would've been better served shared throughout the book rather than a big dump in the beginning.

The characters love of books and the world of publishing were the most interesting bits of the story. This romance is the quintessential story we often read in this genre, and highly predictable.

I'd welcome future reads as it appears this book is prepping us for romances featuring LIly's two sisters.

Thank you Berkley Publishing for the complimentary copy.

I thought that this was we written and the characters were well developed. I struggled with him catfishing her and for letting their relationship progress as much as it did before he told her that he was who she’d been talking to. I wanted a little more development of their relationship outside of the email exchanges.

I’m excited to see who’s story is next!

Ahhhh this was such a cute romance! I enjoyed all the bookish parts as well as the relationship between the sisters. I thought the relationship between Nick & Ivy was super cute and was so glad for the minimal 3rd act angst. I am looking forward to reading more books from this author!

This was a cute story about a young woman who works in publishing and an author. They have this You Got Mail situation where they were emailing back and forth and started catching feelings. Then the author(Nick) ghosted her(Lily). Months later Nick has moved to New York and finds out he and Lily live in the same building after they start talking. He decides not to tell her he's the author she was emailing with and instead deciding to tell her, he keeps it quiet and tries to help her move on by finding her a date.

I thought they had really sweet chemistry and I liked reading about them becoming friends and then lovers. The email section in the beginning though a little lengthy got me hooked. I needed to know what happened next!

I wish she would've dialed back just a little bit on the publishing industry stuff and discussions of their favorite books and sped up the pace in the romance. There's slowburn and then there's this glacial thing where it no longer makes sense for the two characters push each other away. Plus Nick has family drama going on throughout that felt like it wrapped up very quickly and smooth even though it was years of feelings of neglect. If the book would've been shorter I would've loved it more.

Another gem from Kristina Forest. Looking forward to Violet's book!

This was SO CUTE!

Lily works in publishing as an assistant and has dreams of one day being a children's book editor. One day, right before she passes out on a hot train, she randomly sends her favorite author and email, he answers back and they start a friendship. Then right before they are to meet...he ghosts her .

Fast forward, Nick( our author) has moved to New York and keeps thinking about Lily while noticing that his new neighbor is cute. Nick figures out that his new neighbor is his Lily but of course, in the way of romance novels he doesn't tell her. She asks Nick to help her find a date for her sister's wedding and let the story begin.

I loved it. It was a good steady pace and a good read and such a cute love story. Perfect for a quick weekend read.

Thank you to net Galley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book came recommended by a fellow book club friend and I'm SO HAPPY I read it. Told in part email correspondence, the story follows Nick and Lily, who communicate through each other from Nick's author email trail. Lily just thinks she's emailing one of her favorite authors, N.R. Strickland, and unbeknownst to her, Nick comes knocking on her door. They quickly become friends, as he's enlisted as her helper to find a date for her sister's wedding. When he puts the puzzle pieces together on who Lily is, Nick determines if he should spill the secret or enjoy what they have.
I loved this story. It was so heartwarming, so captivating, so easily just to immerse myself in the character's stories, that I wanted to keep reading it until something finally happened. I thought the pacing was well done and it was a great testament to friendship, love, and self-worth. I can't wait to tell others my feelings about it as well.

I am a sucker for any book where the story has anything to do with books.  In The Neighbor Favor by @kristinaforest_ we get just that!  Our female main character, Lily works in publishing as an assistant and has dreams of one day being a children's book editor.  She randomly one day sends an email to her favorite author and the two strike up a friendship and then tragedy strikes and he ghosts her.
Lily is devastated but moves on with her life and then she meets her super hot neighbor, Nick.  But if you've ever read a romance, you know that of course the hot neighbor is also the favorite author.  We knows this, Nick knows this but poor Lily does not.  She asks Nick to help her find a date for her sister's wedding and the rest is history.
I really loved Lily a lot.  I thought she was absolutely relatable and I found myself routing for her every step of the way.  Her love for books, her cat (Tomcat) and her family was unparalleled and she's just an amazing character.  Now Nick.  Oh Nick.  I don't hate Nick.  He has so much baggage and trauma and I understand why he didn't tell Lily who he was but man did I spend a lot of time giving him the side eye as a result. 

Overall, I found this one charming and I wish I had a notebook with me to write down all the great books mentioned along the way.

I have to preface this review by saying that I am extremely discerning when it comes to Romance. It's not a section I read regularly and I don't want to be wasting my time when it comes to reading from this section of the bookstore. So when I say that this book checked every. single. box. I need my romance books to have, that means that this is a run don't walk to the bookstore kind of book. A rom-com with real, relatable characters who happen to live within the literary world? Sign me up. I read this book wondering how it was possible that Kristina Forest knew exactly what. I was looking for in a book. The writing had a smooth flow to it, all the characters, primary and secondary, were lovable and amazing. And Lily and Nick oozed an understated sexiness that smouldered throughout the book.
I picked up this book after seeing sooooo many people on GoodReads reading it and highly rating it. Normally, I don't take a chance on Romance that everyone and their mom are raving about but I'm so glad I did this time. Hi Kristina, I'm your new best friend.

Lily Greene is a shy, awkward, sci-fi book-nerd with ambitions of being a children's book publisher. As the youngest of her three sisters and "least accomplished" she is constantly pressured to date (sisters) or switch careers to something more lucrative (parents). When she begins an email relationship with her favorite author, but is then abruptly ghosted, she is reluctant to date in the wake of his silence. That is, until she strikes a bet to find her own date to her sister's upcoming wedding and she has her eyes set on Hot Neighbor Nick. But can she get out of her own head to actually have a conversation with him? Nick is hiding his own secrets under the pen-name and fake bio for the book he authored and as the book gains popularity (a TV deal and advance for a sequel), he feels pressure to reveal who he is to the world. Though at first he doesn't realize that Lily Greene is THE Lily, he quickly (and guiltily) shifts into the wing-man who will help her win the bet rather than romantic interest.
Told from the POV of both Lily and Nick, this was a super cute book and a fun read with BIPOC MCs and building romantic tension between the two. I have a strong dislike, however, for plot-points where the conflict could have been avoided with an upfront conversation, but Nick's motives for secrecy are understandable due to the tenuous relationship with his own family. I enjoyed reading the email exchanges between the two, though I think the passage of time could have been better demonstrated through events of the MCs outside of the email exchanges. I also love Lily's character growth in regards to her family's passive aggressive pressured expectations (though they come from a place of love, which is very clear in the narrative). I was also very intrigued by Lily's sisters Iris and Violet as Kristina Forest is able to create flawed characters who are also relatable. Looking forward to reading more about the Greene sisters! Overall, a solid 4 stars.

A sparkling romance that will make you smile. Folx that enjoy their stories more on the sweet than spicy side should enjoy this celebration of Black love.

🌇 Book Review 🌇

Thanks to @berkleyromance for early access to this book on @netgalley. This book publishes on Feb 28!

✔️ Secret Identity
✔️ Teach Me How to Date
✔️ Epistolary
✔️ "You've Got Mail" trope

The Neighbor Favor was a heartwarming read. I loved the setup: shy bookworm is attracted to her neighbor but is still getting over the heartbreak of her favorite author stopping their email correspondence suddenly. I love the You Got Mail trope - people falling in love in two separate ways - loved You Got Mail but Jem and the Holograms was also formative for me 😂

I loved how both characters' family experiences fueled how they act and how they see the world and that they had to learn to break away: Lily with a very loving but overbearing family is such a people pleaser - sometimes at the expense of her own happiness and well-being. And Nick, growing up with unreliable parents, doesn't want to make promises and doesn't believe that people ultimately want to stick with him so he pulls away first - those things are also making him unhappy. This is why I love romance - that lightbulb in characters' heads when they finally figure out how to choose happiness even though it's scary.

I loved the New York backdrop. Though not a small town romance, this book made the big city feel intimate. If you live in the same apartment building, you do see the same people and they do know you and your habits like a small town would. Loved the other neighbors in the apartment building and Lily's sisters too, popping in and pushing both main characters.

The chemistry between Lily and Nick worked well, even at the very beginning through their emails. It's a good thing Nick's vulnerability was established early or I would have been annoyed at all the times his fear pulled him away from Lily, leaving her bewildered. In the end, I feel like they complemented each other well.

Overall, a solid romance 4.5⭐️.

Steam 🔥
Banter 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
Swoon 💕💕💕💕💕

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot. And I even recommend against reading the synopsis of you want to avoid all spoilers. So this review will be a bit different format from my usual, as I avoid even an inkling of synopsis.

I really loved that Part 1 was told through emails. They were fast and fascinating, especially paying attention to the date/time stamps.

Although at times I was quite frustrated by the main characters, I came to love them. Even when most disappointed in their choices, I still really enjoyed the story. I found it fascinating and kept wanting to read more. And I loved the character growth

I also enjoyed the steam and all the references to literature, publishing, and the importance of diversity in both.

What a delightful romance! Lily is a big reader, and one day she sends an email to one of her favorite authors. To her surprise, he answers, and they begin a months-long flirtation. But Nick (who she knows under a pseudonym) breaks it off on the day they were planning on having their first video chat and they don't write again. Another few months later and he's living in NYC... in her building... on her floor. Lily is trying hard to boost her confidence after her catfishing experience, so she pursues Nick. But when he realizes she's the same woman he hurt, he knows he can't be with her. They strike a romance novel bargain: they'll be "just friends" while he helps teach her how to flirt so she can find a date for her sister's wedding. You can probably guess what happens from there - but of course, it's how the end up at the HEA that we love to read.

Kristina Forest's first adult romance isn't just a love story between two adults. It's also an homage to all of the BIPOC SFF authors out there who are finally getting their deserved places in the sun. Lily and Nick bond over their shared love of N.K. Jemisin, R.F. Kuang, Amal El-Mohtar, Tochi Onybuchi, and more. (In fact, they both love Elena Masterson so much that we went to our library and started looking up her Dragons of Blood series before we realized that she doesn't actually exist.) A defense of SFF in an adult romance? Yes, please!

The Neighbor Favor also avoids some common pitfalls of romance. There are a few minor spoilers to follow! Yes, Nick is hiding their previous virtual relationship from Lily, but before he gets serious with her, he comes clean. In other words, the major conflict of the novel isn't that he started a relationship with her under false pretenses. This was such a breath of fresh air! Also, Forest avoids the dreaded third act breakup and still gets the reader an emotional payoff in the form of a public grand gesture. And finally, when part of the resolution is that the MMC starts going to therapy - WE STAN.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Quite possibly the most enjoyable read I have had so far this year, if not in months, The Neighbor Favor stole my heart from the start. It has a dash of You've Got Mail vibes, but it takes that trope and expands upon it in the best possible way. A good portion of the book is dedicated to the main couple's emails back and forth, and while I would normally be skeptical of this style of intro, it worked so well. The reader can clearly feel the chemistry between them, and their personalities absolutely shine. I instantly started smiling as I read them banter back and forth, and I would worry when time passed between emails. Once the story shot forward to the real world, I was invested wholeheartedly. I needed this couple to find each other like I needed air to breathe. Their love story felt timeless from the start. I have been looking for a romance story styled similarly to You've Got Mail, and every book until now has failed to capture what I loved most about that story. The innocence of getting to know someone without seeing them in person. The joy of realizing that the one person you're close to the most in the world is also the person who sparked your joy through the written word. It's a special sort of feeling. Kristina Forest captured it perfectly.

Lily Greene is a hopeless mess according to her family, where a Greene must be successful in all things or die trying. Well, that is probably too literal, but some days Lily felt that all she could do was disappoint them. Stuck in a job with an ungrateful boss, she dreams of being part of a children's book publishing company, where she could help tell stories of Black children and the adventures they get into in fantasy worlds. One of her favorite books features Black elves, written by an author who wrote one book and then disappeared. When she finds his new website, she impulsively emails him, and thus begins an exchange of banter that soon becomes something much more intimate. However, when they begin to plan a meeting in person, he suddenly disappears, and Lily must accept the fact that she's been ghosted. Nick Brown had no intention of doing anything but sending one email to Lily. No one knew his true identity, only his pen name, so what harm could one email do? But when the emails turn into a genuine relationship, he gets scared, and cuts things off for good. Only the universe isn't done with him. When he moves to NYC to work on publishing his second book, he gets feelings for his next door neighbor...who he soon realizes is Lily. He knows, she doesn't, and he wants to keep it that way. Keeping his distance, though, is easier said than done. And what will happen once she finds out who he really is?

Okay, that was a much longer story blurb than I normally write, but I can't help but gush about this book. Lily and Nick were so relatable and genuine, and I felt connected to them like they were family. Lily was unlucky in love, constantly going out on dates set up by her sisters with men who were not her type at all. Her only real connection was with a man she met online, who turns out to be Nick, who also happens to be her favorite fantasy author. Her life is a mess by anyone's standards. Before she finds out that Nick is also the author, their relationship blossoms. Nick tries to keep his distance, knowing they can't be a couple as long as the truth stands between them. But he's too stubborn and scared to reveal his true self to her. Suffering from childhood trauma, he doesn't believe himself worthy of her, and he even tries to convince her of that. Thankfully, our sweet, shy Lily becomes a lioness towards the end of the book, showing her true strength and courage in front of the cowardly lion that is Nick. Don't get me wrong, I loved Nick and wanted to give him a big hug. But the boy was a runner. I wanted to shake him. Several times. Ultimately, though, their love was so pure and warm. I wanted to wrap myself up in this book and never leave.

This was Kristina Forest's first adult romance novel, and she knocked it out of the park. I can't express my excitement enough about her next book. I need it.