I just flew through The Neighbor Favor! Awkward and shy Lily has big dreams but struggles with feeling inadequate, so she finds an escape in a correspondence with her favorite author, until he ghosts her. Nick is finally setting roots in NYC looking to write the sequel to his debut novel when he meets his beautiful neighbor, only to realize it’s the girl from his emails—but unwilling to commit to something, he agrees to help her find someone for her sister’s wedding only he can’t seem to get her out of his mind. The banter in this sparkles, the emails were wonderful, and the depth to the characters was wonderful. Both are going through such heavy journeys of self discovery—Lily’s in finding her voice in her career and family and Nick in finding his roots and what he wants from his life. I loved both characters were shy and I adored them finding their stride. The banter was witty and endearing and the romance had some good spice thrown in. Everything about this rom com was just so endearing and I really had so much fun reading it.

This was a bit different than what I had expected.

The book is told from two point-of-views and they come from Lily and Nick. Their worlds revolve around the same thing, books. I am always down for a book about books! I liked reading about how she was interested in his work and from there it formed into a real romantic connection. It was cute.

It did take me a bit to get into into this book because a portion of the beginning was dedicated to their email exchange. It was page on top of page of it and although I like seeing this format, it felt a bit much. I wanted to read more about them outside of the email exchange and see how it impacted their day-to-day life. All we got was past mentions of these exchanges and not even their family or friends knew.

I also felt like the plot was a bit forced and I’m not really sure how Lily didn’t catch on to who Nick really was but he caught it pretty quickly after they finally started talking in person. Instead, she thinks it is some other guy just because of two small minor clues. It was just odd to me. 🤷‍♀️

The plot is filled with lots of book talk, cute moments between the two, and learning to not run when the going gets tough.

Overall, this was a good read. I think I got off on the wrong foot with it due to the beginning and I just don’t think it recovered enough for me to love it.

i found the beginning of this book (and its premise!) very promising, but the way it unfolded sadly didn't work for me. as the story progressed, i found myself confused by the pacing, the side characters, and the characters' motivation, even as i enjoyed the characters themselves and wanted to root for the romance. i've enjoyed books by this author in the past, but this one felt unfinished, sadly!

I was really looking forward to this one. It sounded so cute and just up my alley. Unfortunately, I didn't get more than 20% in before I lost interest. I felt the writing quality was lacking, and it spent too long setting up the situation instead of getting to the story. The emails dragged and caused me to eventually lose the motivation to continue reading.

This book is soooo cuteeeee! Dear Kristina Forest, please keep on writing adult fictions! You did an excellent job.

Shy, kind, gold hearted bookworm Lily, caring, lonely, reserved, talented author Nick, running from his dark past are amazing characters. I loved their blooming love story. They slowly come out from their shelves, demolishing their own emotional barriers, becoming friends. The passionate chemistry between them is palpable. They barely resist each other.

Lily, in mid twenties, under pressure of her highly achieved big sisters and entire family who insist her to find a better job, a good man. She’s stuck in her assisting job in the nonfiction division while she is dreaming to edit children books. And her demanding, mean boss increases her work load to help her hating her job even more. Her sisters keep arranging her dates. Most of the men she’s lately dated are narcissists who only talk about themselves or already fell for one of her sisters.

When she starts communicating with her mysterious British fantasy author N. R. Strickland, she cannot believe in her luck. The mysterious author only wrote one novel when he was only 22 and he became travel journalist with no intention to write a sequel. Their correspondences become too personal. They decide to FaceTime to see each for first time but unfortunately Strick bails out, abruptly cutting their entire communication by saying he’s not who he is she thinks.

Heartbroken Lily tries to move on with her life. She realizes she has a crush on her neighbor next door. Her fine as hell neighbor is caring, social, flirting, kind. His name is Nick. They just share a kiss but when Nick quickly retorts, telling her he’s romantically unavailable, Lily makes an offer to him. She needs a date to her sister’s wedding. She bet with her sisters that she can find herself an appropriate man in short time. She needs his help to find a date.
Nick reluctantly accepts to help her. But there’s three things Lily does not know;
1. Nick is N. R. Strickland who moved to NYC with a seven digit book agreement, selling his book adaptation rights to HBO. He’s the man who ghosted her.
2. Nick has a dark past and he doesn’t think he’s good enough for Lily
3. Seeing Lily with other men makes Nick extra frustrated.
Attraction is undeniable. It’s obvious they want more than friendship. Lily has to learn being bold and Nick has to come clean about his past. Can they fight against the obstacles? Can they learn to trust each other?

I loved it so much! I highly recommend this sentimental, powerful, poignant romance book! It made me smile and warmed my heart!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Thank you Berkley Romance for an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Y'all the way this book enchanted me. From the truly "aw" moments of the characters to the writing to the plot and every little piece in between this book was everything I needed and more.

Lilly works as an assistant in adult non-fiction but wants so badly to a children's book editor for diverse stories. Nick wrote her favorite book but hides behind a pseudonym. The serendipity of how these two "met" and their emails back and forth captured me. It was so entertaining and I loved the length of time that it went. Perfection.

When these two meet in real-life it is lovely. Yes, it feels a bit like Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade in that info withholding is the major plot point. BUT it did not feel as "icky" (?) as Spoiler Alert. Nick has an excellent rationale that fits so well with his character that you completely understand. I seriously felt so much for this fictional, fine-a** man. His life, his insecurities, and all of this thoughts in the book that are just puppy eyes adorable!

I loved Lilly and her family. Creating a chaotic-ish family dynamic can be difficult in a book, but this was so beautifully done. Every single piece of this book just hit every note. Lilly was so good and I loved how she changed throughout the novel too. She's one of those characters with quiet strength and pizazz, which fit perfectly with the story. And her love of books too. I may be a bit biased but I was LIVING for all of the discussion around some older YA novels because I had read so many of them myself.

The ending of this book was everything I want in a novel: COMPLETION. So often books finish the resolution on the last or second to last page. No. I want things drawn a little more out and most all of the plots concluded nicely. This book delivers on that.

After finishing this book I IMMEDIATELY texted a few of my friends and gushed about it because it was everything we wanted. The diversity in the characters, the freshness of the plot, the engaging writing, the subtle softness. Ughhhh, I loved this book so freaking much and I hope that many, many, many people pick it up!! Highly, HIGHLY, recommend this book!

I love this author and I'm so happy she's branching out into adult romance now! I've really liked her YA novels and I was so excited to try out her first adult one. This one was so cute and I love that it was a romance revolving around books. This book has it all: friends to lovers, the neighbors trope, dual POV, secret identities and BIPOC characters.
This was a light and feel-good story that felt really refreshing. I read through it really fast and had a great time.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Lilly and Nick first meet through emails when Lilly writes to her favorite fantasy author. And then he ghosts her. Lily is now living with her sister Violet and Nick has moved into and Lily doesn't realize that Nick is the one she had been emailing. Nick realizes who Lilly is, but waits to long to confess.

I loved the interactions between the characters. Their first meetings in the elevator are very relateable. Both are introverts and love books which I can understand. Highly recommend this book!

Thank you to #Berkley and #Netgalley for the ARC.

This was such a refreshing, feel-good story that had me hooked from the very beginning. It's got friends to lovers, secret identities, the neighbor trope, dual POVs, and a predominantly BIPOC cast of characters.

The main characters, Lily and Nick, are charming, likable, and I love that they both work in the publishing world. The development of their relationship was so heart-warming (albeit, frustrating at times), and I found myself loving their friendship just as much as their romance. While this is overall sweet, there is a sprinkling of spice that felt like the perfect amount for this story.

Overall, I had such a fun time with this one and definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a heart-warming, contemporary rom-com.

This was a sweet romance and I ended up enjoying it.

There were things I didn’t love about this book - the section with the emails was a bit too long; I was frustrated with Nick’s belief that he would ruin everything since it didn’t seem like he had any concrete proof of prior instances; and the book was a little too long.

But there were some great things too - the discussion about representation in high fantasy books; the way Lily supported Nick and vice versa; and the way Lily grew and became more confident in her life both personally and professionally.

Overall, this ended up being enjoyable. And I do look forward to seeing what comes next in Violet’s book. (3.5/3.75)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Neighbor Favor follows Lily as she starts to come out of her shell. She’s working at a job that she hates with the boss from hell. She’s stuck sharing an apartment with a bad roommate. Her dating life is on life support. With all of that going on, she also needs to find a plus one for her sister’s wedding. To cope with the stress, Lily turns to her favorite pastime of reading young adult fantasy novels. This passion leads to her having a magical email correspondence with her favorite author. Just as she falls for him, he ghosts her.

Throughout the book we see Lily face her fears and insecurities. She tackles each issue that has been weighing her down. She also connects with her super fine neighbor. She feels like he’s the man of her dreams, but he keeps her at a distance. This creates confusion and misunderstanding for most of the book. As the mysterious neighbor gets closer to Lily, he’s forced to reveal why he can’t be her one true love. This super cute romance shows us what happens when his secrets are revealed.

I must admit that I’m biased. Kristina Forest can do no wrong with me. I have loved everything she’s written. This was no exception. While I am a huge fan of her YA work, I was excited to get an adult novel from her. She stayed true to form and delivered a super sweet love story. It was funny and creative. Nick’s angst drove me crazy, but he was lovable. It was impossible not to root for Lily. She was so adorable and relatable. I loved how things worked out for this couple. I loved the theme of natural and surrogate families. The cherry on top is that both characters were incredibly bookish. So much of the story centered on their passion for reading. That’s an absolute win.

This was the perfect happily ever after that I needed to end the year. I gave this book 4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Berkeley Publishing, and Kristina Forest for this advanced copy to review. #TheNeighborFavor #NetGalley

A cute, bookish romance -- featuring Iris, an editorial assistant, and Nick, a reclusive author. I enjoyed Iris's growth as a character, and the epistolary beginning to their relationship!

This books was a five star read for me! I loved the two main characters, Lily and Nick, and how their relationship formed throughout the story. I LOVE penpal romances so this was right up my alley! I would love to see an interconnected series between all of the sisters, which I think was hinted in the epilogue! I would definitely buy the whole series for my collection! No dislikes in this story for me! Can’t wait to see what else Kristina Forest has in store!

What I loved about this book…
🤎Black love✨
🤎Emails! I love a book where the leads flirt/banter through letters, texts, or emails and part one of this book was then getting to know each other over 8 months I believe, through email.
🤎2 Meet Cutes! They first “met” through email and then met again on the elevator of their building without knowing who the other was.
🤎Family- I really enjoyed Lily’s family members and dynamic. Nick had some family issues but his relationship with his chosen family/bff was fun to read.
🤎Growth-both characters become better throughout the story and tackle their problems by themselves (with support from each other)

Its not a short read, but I loved every page and read it in one day. I would definitely reccomend!

I LOVED THIS BOOK! A fun love story from beginning to end!

Lily can't catch a break whether it be her dead end publishing job or the revolving door of lackluster first dates, but when a new neighbor moves in who shows an obvious love of diverse YA reads and is cute to match, she can't help but swoon. But little does she know, he's the obscure YA author she's obsessed with who ghosted her via email a few months prior...the plot thickens!

This is such a fun read. I enjoyed the simple romance. I enjoyed how unapologetically black the characters felt and allll the pop culture references. And it's spicier than expected!

But the two MCs with alternating POV chapters are what really sold this one for me!
Nick is a black male character that I haven't seen before. He feels nuanced and not like a caricature. He isn't too nerdy and corny, but he also isn't too smooth and emotionally unavailable. He was just Nick and his arc and development over the course of the book is just TOO GOOD.
Lily, our FMC, is just as enjoyable. She feels fully realized and approachable. She's a chronic oversharer, a book lover, and is not trying to be anyone but herself.

The family dynamics were fun but the heart of this one is definitely the friendship and love being the two MCs and duh, their nerding out over diverse YA reads.

GET THIS BOOK!

Thank you for Berkley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I LOVED this book. From supposed the catfishing to the proximity trope I was here for it all. And, the pop culture references of the 90s and 2000d in books, music, and fashion - so fun for a millennial who lived it all. If you're looking for a romance with a fun storyline that will make you laugh and make you smile, you should definitely try this one.

I really loved this book, partly because anything with letters or emails between characters is fun, and I relate to wanting to stay home and read instead of socialize. This was a sweet romance from start to finish, and funny too. I look forward to reading more by Kristina Forest.

This was a quick and engaging romance. I'm a sucker for a bookish couple, and love between an author and a publisher just hits the spot. There was pining, tension, second chances, discussions of mental health, depictions of complex family dynamics, and so many other things I enjoyed seeing play out in this black love story.

I loved this story. Great characters, wonderful dialogue and interesting story line. Kept me engrossed through to the end. It is very well done and that is rare enough to warrant 5 stars.

My favorite thing about this book is how it had me hooked from the beginning! The beginning of this book was very different from other romance books I’ve read, in a great way! I really enjoyed how unique the beginning was and how you got to see how it affected things later on in the story. I also LOVED the side characters sooo much! They added so much to the story and made it super entertaining and fun to read! I think this book is an incredibly fun book to read and I definitely recommend it!! Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.