I loved this book so much! The FMC worked in publishing and her depiction of her career struggles was so real. I also appreciated that their conflict was dealt with and not a 3rd act breakup. It gave them a more realistic relationship trajectory

3.5 STARS

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.

The Neighbor Favor is a sweet contemporary romance primarily set in NYC. The author plays with the tropes and we are given a friends-to-lovers and second-chance-romance. The story starts with Lily and the writer of her favorite fantasy novel getting to know each other over email without having ever met. I liked the Epistolary portion of the book as it allowed up to really get to know our main characters quickly. Nick has a difficult past and Lily is socially awkward.. After the two finally meet, we get a nicely developed relationship. This is a nice romance and a I am looking forward to what Kristina Forest writes next

This is just such a delicious premise -- 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, I loved every page and rooted for the characters and was just enchanted by this story.

Epistolary setup between two lovely people dealing with anxiety and finding confidence in themselves. Lily and Nick are two gentle souls whose love for each other brings out the best in each other. Writing was a bit clunky in places, but I found myself devouring most of it in a single gulp during a bout of insomnia.

✨I mean, who doesn’t want to bang your hot neighbor who also happens to be your favorite author???✨

Reading The Neighbor Favor felt like having someone in your life who takes you to a bookstore and NOT ONLY buys you books BUT ALSO knows which books you want.

Nick took Lily to Barnes and Noble, disappeared for a little while, and came back with a book he’d already purchased her. If that’s not peak romance I simply don’t know what is!!!

The Neighbor Favor was a charming love letter to all things bookish. Lily was an aspiring children’s book editor, Nick was a fantasy author, and the reader (me) was smitten. There wasn’t much happening in the plot to distract from the main couple, and it was pretty low angst, while still being engaging.

✨

The story started off in an epistolary fashion, when Lily emailed her favorite author’s inbox. Strickland aka Nick and her started emailing each other daily and got pretty serious…only for Strick/Nick to ghost her (for reasons). Fast forward to the neighbor part of the book…because DUN DUN DUN her incredibly sexy new neighbor wasn't such a stranger after all. Nick found out pretty early on, but Lily was none the wiser.

I actually really liked the placement of when Lily found out and how she reacted to it! I think it was both a mature reaction and an honest one. It happened with a good chunk of the novel left, so the pacing didn’t feel rushed. I know some people can get uncomfy with lying and probably the ghosting, but I wasn’t too perturbed. The ghosting/lying wasn’t really necessary, but I didn’t mind it.

Before Lily finds out about Strick’s identity and after Nick denies his attraction to her because of said ghosting knowledge, they become friends! While the favor of this book was Nick helping Lily find a wedding date, it felt more like a sub plot. I was never really invested in the wedding date search because by that point, there was already extreme chemistry and attraction between Nick and Lily. But since Nick was hot and cold (for reasons we knew but Lily didn’t), it just didn’t make a lot of sense for the rest of the story.

✨

So while I wasn’t 100% invested in the plot, I was definitely in love with Nick and Lily together. Nick could bake, was a reluctant cat dad, and chose to buy a bookshelf before any other piece of furniture. Lily was such a lovely person and I think most readers will see a lot of ourselves in her. She was deeply in love with books

I also LOVED the way we were introduced to Nick’s POV in the present. Him waking up at his neighbors house had me HOWLING. There’s also a point when Nick says “I’m really sorry, I gotta go to IKEA” and I could ONLY think of the iconic “see you in chemistry” line from Drake and Josh.

Overall, I found The Neighbor Favor to be a mid-2000s romcom in the purest, most delightful sense. I could see this being a movie that I’d finish and then immediately hit play on again. Plus, I just know the dynamic for book 2 is going to be pure gold. The sneak peek we got had me hunting down the release date.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶️🌶️.5**/5

**We got two open door scenes! They were both pretty short but felt in line with the vibe of the book. To get a sense of the scope, you’ll get hits when you search the word “nipple” but not “cock.”

This was an enjoyable read. I liked the narrators. I particularly liked the part where Lily and Nick were corresponding by email. I wished it could’ve gone on longer. I’m very torn by Nick’s lying. If he would’ve stopped and not lied after they met I would’ve felt better. It was a little bit of a red flag for me.

Other than that, I really enjoyed seeing Lily and Nick and their chemistry. I also loved seeing the publishing background. I liked seeing Lily’s family and how they interacted with Nick. I will definitely check out more books by this author.

This is YA author Kristina Forest's first novel for adults, and it's a wildly impressive romance debut. "The Neighbor Favor" manages to combine the heartfelt emotional character backstories a la Emily Henry with the witty banter of a Jasmine Guillory novel—and since those are two of my favorite authors, that is high praise indeed!

"The Neighbor Favor" grabbed me immediately, as Lily, who has a low-level publishing job, strikes up a correspondence with fantasy author "N.R. Strickland." The man Lily knows as "Strick" is actually Nick, a travel writer who is on the run from his past and his dysfunctional parents; when he was in his early 20s, he wrote a novel called "The Elves of Ceradon," but his dream of becoming the Black George R.R. Martin was dashed when the publisher promptly went out of business, making Lily one of the few people who actually owns a copy of the book. A website his friend set up provided Lily with the means to contact him, and for several months, they exchange increasingly personal, sometimes flirty, emails. But when it's time for them to video chat, Nick chickens out and deletes his email account, making a distraught Lily feel she's been catfished.

Nick eventually settles down in New York, and because Lily had mentioned the Union Square neighborhood in her emails, he finds an apartment there. Of course, because this is a romance novel, it turns out he's living right down the hall from Lily, who is rooming with her sister Violet, a successful celebrity stylist. When they run into each other in the elevator, Nick and Lily feel the sparks fly... but Nick comes to realize his attractive neighbor is the Lily he'd corresponded with, and realizes she can never find out the truth. Lily, meanwhile, wants Nick to be her date to Violet's wedding, even if it's just fake dating, in order to win a bet with her sisters, who are forever trying to set her up with potential mates.

The complications only grow from there, and Forest deftly juggles all of the plots and subplots, as well as giving Nick and Lily complex personal journeys. Lily needs to learn to stand up for herself at work, while Nick has to come to terms with his family background and realize that while his father and grandfather were not the best of men, biology is not necessarily destiny.

Forest has created two truly lovable protagonists and a plot that breathes new life into some familiar tropes, making "The Neighbor Favor" a delight from start to finish.

I absolutely loved this book! First of all, I love epistolary novels and although it was only a small portion of the book, it drew me right in. I've also discovered that the unanimous communication trope is one of my favorites and it works so well in this book! Lily and Nick are absolutely adorable together and the build-up to their love story tugged on my heart strings. I'm a New Yorker and this book is also a love story to Manhattan, particularly Union Square, one of my favorite neighborhoods. The sister relationship in this book is so believable and a great build-up to Violet's story, which I cannot wait for. Finally, any book set in a publishing environment has my interest. Seriously, this book has it all and I suspect it will be in my top ten romances of the year.

From beginning to end, this book was adorable. I like how the book began with their exchanges over email, though I do think it would have been cute to have them spread out to correspond to matching moments during their blossoming — in person — romance. I also love how refreshing and cheesy this was. It dabbled in family struggles, in both together and broken homes, and we got to see the characters deal with their own internal conflicts. This gave it a bit of depth while still holding that overall cutesy vibe.

Overall, a very easy read ( took me less than a day lol).

When Lily emails her favorite author, she never expects him to message her back, but Nick is enchanted by Lily, and an online relationship begins. But when Nick suddenly ghosts Lily, she is devastated. Moths later, Lily meets Nick in the elevator of the apartment building where they both live. Not knowing Nick is the author who ghosted her, Lily begins to fall for Nick and invites him to her sister’s wedding. When Nick declines, Lily convinced him to help her find a date, but is that really what Nick wants? Afraid to get into a relationship, Nick keeps trying to push Lily away, but he can’t deny his ever-growing feelings for her. How will she react when she realizes that Nick is the man who ghosted her all those months ago?

I loved Lily and Nick’s story! They are both such fantastic, layered characters. Nick and Lily have very different backstories, and Nick especially struggles with trusting people and letting his guard down. He’s afraid he’ll make her life worse. He’s got such low self-esteem and a lack of worth. Even when he talks about being an author, he disregards his talent.

Lily, on the other hand, comes from a very supportive and loving if often smothering and over helpful, family. I especially like her relationship with her sisters. Though they are all so different and at different phases of their lives there is a wonderful bond between the trio. I love their texts and conversations and how they band together during the good times and bad. Lily knows that there will always be people there for her when she needs it. It takes his growing relationship with Lily to realize that Nick has this too, though it’s with his friends, not his family.

Though this is primarily a love story, there are some amazing messages about sisterhood, setting boundaries, starting over, and opening oneself up to love. Nick and Lily grow and change a lot as they make career, family, and relationship obstacles. I love that Lily starts to take charge of her career situation and begins to speak up with those who often steamroll right over her. And Nick faces relationships in his past, which changes him. Both have baggage and fears and struggles, but their arcs are excellent, and they show tremendous, healthy growth over the course of the story.

This was a great contemporary romance. It was fun and flirty and heartwarming, and there are some fantastic pop culture and literature references. Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

Oh my heart. This was adorable.

Short Synopsis:
Lily Greene is shy, a little awkward and has dreams of being a children’s book publisher. After a hard day, she emails a favorite obscure author, only to start a constant email chat with him. Until one day he disappears and puts a stop to the emails.

Nick keeps his past hidden and doesn’t let anyone get too close. But when he moves to New York, he instantly is drawn to and can’t stay away from his new neighbor.

My Thoughts:
This is my first book by Kristina Forest but it absolutely will not be my last. This one was so cute. It had me cracking up and my heart swooning.

The characters were both loveable, and even though they had their conflicts, they handled it in a mature and adult way.

I loved the ode to fantasy books too!

If you need swoon-worthy romance, grab it!

Read if You Like:
📚 Books about books
📚 Flirty email exchanges
📚 Meddling sisters
📚 Strangers to flirty to neighbors to friends to lovers romance
📚 Fantasy book references 🫶

The Neighbor Favor was adorable!

The MCs were so relatable, especially Lily. Shy, bookish girls have to stick together! I think the conflict between Nick and Lily was believable. If I were Nick I would be conflicted about revealing my true identity too. Nick and Lily were sweet from the very start. I loved their emails and their real life interactions were even better. The chemistry between Nick and Lily is palpable and the angst was really good. I just thought they were adorable together and couldn't wait for them to see it for themselves.

I think the story's premise was unique and definitely intrigued me. It sounded sort of like You Got Mail but instead of the MCs being enemies they were friends. I think it made the reveal all the more dramatic. Plus it elevated the angst factor (always a good thing in my book).

The cast of characters were a lot of fun and added humor.

Overall, if you're looking for an adorable romcom that's similar to You've Got Mail, look no further than The Neighbor Favor.

Lily Greene has always preferred books to people. While the rest of her family is loud and boisterous, Lily is shy and awkward. She dreams of becoming a children's book editor but has been working as an assistant in the non-fiction division for years with no hope for promotion. One day, Lily decides to throw caution to the wind and emails her favorite fantasy author for advice, never thinking she'd hear back, but he replies. Over a few months, the two develop a close connection-- until he ghosts Lily.

Nick Brown is used to relying only on himself. His family life was never ideal, and he left his small town as soon as possible and never looked back. Nick has spent the last few years as a travel journalist, but his best friend/agent convinces him to move to New York after the book Nick wrote in college, under a pen name, gets bought by a big publishing house. Nicks moves into an apartment building and is instantly drawn to his quiet, beautiful neighbor, Lily-- the same Lily he fell in love with over emails months ago. Nick is unwilling to complicate things further, so he keeps their history to himself and agrees to help Lily find a date for her sister's wedding. As the pair spend more time together, neither can deny the growing attraction, but can a relationship built on a lie survive?

I adored this! Forest's writing was so engaging and easy to read. I flew through this in almost one sitting because I didn't want to put it down. I connected to Lily right off the bat. As a fellow shy, introverted bookworm, I found her so relatable. I loved the relationship with her family and how, even though they drove her crazy at times, they were so supportive of her. But the highlight here was her relationship with Nick. I'm a sucker for an epistolary novel, so I loved reading the emails between them and seeing their connection form, but it shone once they were face-to-face. It was so satisfying watching Nick finally open up to someone. I fully expected to have issues with the miscommunication over the emails, but it was handed in a very mature way, so I didn't mind it as much. It did run into some pacing issues here and there, and some scenes felt unnecessary, but overall, I thought this was great, and I'm looking forward to the next book.

The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest is a delightfully phenomenal slowburn romance that also encompasses beautiful individuals journeys of growth along the way.

The beginning is told through emails & as a huge fan of epistolarian novels, I was immediately hooked! I loved reading their emails & watching their budding pen pal relationship grow to be the exact thing they both needed. The chemistry between these two was electric & undeniable. I devoured this book in two days!

Any book with actually-make-me-laugh-out-loud humor AND a Petey Pablo reference is already a gem in my book.

I adored Lily & her sisters & the bond between them. They are overbearing & fantastically imperfect, but their love is undeniable. The dichotomy between the two leads & their opposing family situations & how that affects their relationship with love was fascinating. I enjoyed their navigation through their respective obstacles & witnessing their journeys to healthier relationships with themselves & their families.

I really hope the other sisters get their own stories because I would love to read them & experience more from this group!

If you’re looking for a romance & just overall lovely book, I highly recommend The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest!

Massive thanks to Berkley for the free arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

I will post to Goodreads, Instagram & Amazon closer to the release date.

Thank you for the ARC of this lovely book! It was a sweet story about Lily and Nick that I am happy I read.

My favorite part was the email exchanges for the first third of the book. This was the only form of communication which I loved! It was so fun to see how these two characters got to know each other and fall in love without ever meeting! Great concept.

The rest of the book was a bit slow, but I did really enjoy how everything wrapped up. I was rooting for both Lily and Nick the whole time.

3.5 stars!

I'm pretty sure this romance novel was written specifically for me!
-Black protagonists
-New York setting done well
-Protagonists are book people
-Touches of You've Got Mail
-Fun and loving sister dynamics

And I can go on. But beyond how much it resonated, I was delighted by the quality of this book. I thought Kristina's writing was lovely. Lily and Nick had distinct voices and felt grounded--like people you would know and want to be friends with. Their chemistry was through the roof and I understand what drew them to one another. I was rooting for them through their conflict all the way.

This book is a must-read!

It actually breaks my heart to give this a less than stellar review, especially as this is one of the arcs given to me by Berkley (Berkley, which is sooooo incredibly difficult to get approvals for!).

Anyway. This had a really good premise. Two bookish people falling in love. You've Got Mail (one of my all time faves!) inspired. Epistolary. So yes, so much promise! But the delivery rather left much to be desired.

The first part starts off with emails exchanged by the two leads. You see them fall in love with each other. But rather than interspersing the emails throughout the book, they're all dumped in the beginning. I like reading letters but man, even I was wondering when they would end. And they weren't bad letters, but just too much at one go.

And then you have the two main leads meet in person. They're introverted strangers. But they kiss right away. Nothing wrong with kissing, but even I was taken aback. The scenes were just pretty rough and clunky.

It's definitely not all bad though. It's a sweet book. I loved all the bookish references. Them talking about their fave reads, their date at the bookstore... that all made my bookworm heart happy. But a lot of it felt contrived, the complications that drew them apart the first time didn't feel credible, etc. Just too many holes and rough edges. Which makes me even more sad because the book has potential. It had promise to be a really sweet and memorable romance. And you'd see glimpses of it here and there but it needed refinement, editing. More plot fixing.

I highly recommend reading The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy if you're looking for a You've Got Mail, part epistolary romance you want to sink your teeth into. Now, THAT was scrumptious. This one will leave you wanting.

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for giving me this e-arc to read.

I loved this book! The way that Lily and Nick connected, came apart and came back together is everything I want in a romance. Characters are well written, complex and easily identifiable.

The Neighbor Favor will appeal to plenty of people, and there is nothing inherently wrong with it. It just fell a bit flat and generic for me in an incredibly saturated genre. It's like the contemporary romance equivalent to table wine: palatable, everyone enjoys it, but nobody is really giving it a second thought beyond it being readily available.

I would easily recommend it for anyone who asks for a diverse contemporary romance with a secret identity trope and a lot of science fiction and fantasy literary references, but it isn't something that I will go out of my way to purchase, rave about or recommend unless prompted. I just think there is better out there in the genre. It does have a dual POV, a wide supporting cast, and secret identities. I'd categorize it as open door because there is at least one love scene that doesn't fade to black.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the advanced copy.