I love a book about bookish people and this one totally delivered! I was totally sold from the beginning watching the emails between these two unfold, and I was just as in love in the second half of the book watching them come together in real life. The love story is sweet, and set against the backdrop of the publishing world, it was everything I could ask for and more!

I WANTED to like this and think it might be worth a read from someone else... It's a New York story and I really like that Nick is a Black fantasy author.

Lily is working in publishing with bigger dreams of getting into children's publishing ever since she read a book by Black fantasy author N. R. Strickland. She wants to publish authors writing similar works for children, fantasy featuring Black protagonists. Strickland abandoned his series, though. One day Lily finds his email on Google and the two form an epistolary friendship that leads to some flirtation - until Strickland says he's not who she thinks he is and ghosts her before their planned video call.

Nick is Strickland. He was somewhat lying about who he was as the name was a pen name and his bio was a false identity. Now he has acquired a deal with the publishing house Lily works for - though he doesn't know it’s the same girl he fell in love with over email.

So, Lily is going to ask her hot new neighbor Nick to be her date to her sister’s wedding and I can’t make it that far. The first part of this novel is told entirely via their emails and it is a lot to get through before we get into the story itself. And I just don’t see how these two fell in love over a handful of emails. They weren’t even flirty except for the last few. It doesn’t work for me. I also just found it hard to root for Lily because she has a passion and a dream job and is just stuck in the grind of a job that's making her miserable instead of going after what she wants.

I adored the premise of The Neighbor Favor before I even started. We all would love to be able to tell our favorite author we loved their books. To tell them truly how much they meant to us. And for Lily, not only does she do that, but in their email exchanges they begin to open up to each other. I'm a huge fan of letters in books and the email exchanges in The Neighbor Favor swept me off my feet. We witness Nick and Lily not only getting to know each other, but also having realizations of their own. By this point in the book, I was smitten.

We can infuse so much personality, narration, into our emails. There's a sense of using emails as a journal entry, as places to pour late night thoughts. And then there's the added benefit of someone you might not even know responding back to us, sharing that same intimacy. Can you tell I had and was an e-mail penpal before? But where The Neighbor Favor picks up even more steam is after the emails. In the ghosting. When we feel like maybe we didn't actually have that connection, or something went wrong. All the maybes that lie in the dust.

This was a very cute slow burn romance. My favorite part was the fact they were both bookworms, but a close second was how they handled the inevitable problems that show up in romances. It was mature and not as eye roll worthy as many of the other romances I've read of late. I really liked Lily's entire family and I look forward to reading the love stories of her sisters in future books.

Definitely worthy of a read if you're a romance lover!

I was so excited to see Kristina Forest try her hand at an adult romance, especially such a bookish one! This book is Definitley written for book lovers and I loved it. Lily is very shy and doesn't feel like she lives up to the fabulous lives her sisters are living, though she loves them and is close to them. She is working as an editor's assistant, but she dreams of being a children's book editor. One day she decides to email the author of her favorite fantasy book. And he responds. Nick hasn't written anything since that book and is a travel journalist now, but he can't help but email Lily back and they start an email relationship. I really loved this part of the book and how they opened up to each other and started falling for each other. But Nick gets scared and ghosts Lily, so Lily moves on from her life and chalks it up to another embarrassing dating story. Until Nick moves in down the hall and neither of them know who the other really is. I loved how both Nick and Lily had a crush on each other after seeing each other in their apartment building and how they both had their own struggles to get through before they could fully go in a relationship with each other. And I loved Lily's family!! Nick visited Lily's family and I loved their dynamics so much. I do think Nick took a little too long to finally go after what he wanted, but this was such a cute romance!

We begin with THE NEIGHBOR FAVOR (Berkley, 416 pp., paperback, $17), Kristina Forest’s warm and welcoming new contemporary. Nick’s epic fantasy novel with Black elves could have been a hit, if his publisher hadn’t shut its doors a month later. Now he has a huge new contract to finish the series — if only he weren’t so distracted by his gorgeous new neighbor Lily, a book editor. He doesn’t dare explain that he’s not only the guy she flirts with in the elevator: He’s N.R. Strickland, the author who ghosted her after an intense email romance earlier in the year.

Lily’s still feeling bruised from the breakup, and frustrated to be stuck in nonfiction when she’s dreamed of editing children’s books. But most of all, she’s dreading her sister’s upcoming nuptials, because her family will not stop setting her up with men who are entirely wrong for her. Her hot neighbor Nick would have been the perfect wedding date — if he hadn’t turned her down with a bit more panic than seemed warranted.

This book gestures at several tropes — a dash of fake dating, a soupçon of epistolary — but primarily it’s one of my favorite romance plots: These enjoyable people deserve better, so let’s watch as they discover it. Lily’s battered optimism and Nick’s guarded sadness both mesh and conflict at just the right times, and for all its coincidence-dependent premise, the book breathes easily and pulls you right into its world. Especially recommended for anyone who ships Janine and Gregory from “Abbott Elementary.”

I was so caught up in this beautiful story between two vulnerable characters- I couldn’t help but cheer for them throughout the book! Highly recommend for any bookish lovers!

Thank you NetGalley for a digital ARC!

I really enjoyed this book! With plots like this one, I always feel a bit like I'm on a runaway train. There's gonna be a crash. I know it, the author knows it, it's only a matter of time. Lily was going to find out Nick's secret, so the whole plot is relying on being entertaining enough that making it through the crash is worth it to me. And honestly, I did love it. I loved Lily's family dynamics, I loved Nick's found family, and I loved their interactions with each other. Is this friends to lovers? Second chance romance? I don't really know how I would describe it. I found myself a little underwhelmed there at the end, and that's the only thing that's really keeping this from being a 5-star read for me. Definitely a cute romance read.

Two introverts fall in love over their shared love of books against a New York City backdrop? Perfect! And a charming cat playing a vital role in bringing them together 😍

I really enjoyed this rom-com. I was rooting for Lily + Nick the whole time and thought their relationship was quite sweet. The story of them meeting online first and then meeting in real life, but Lily not knowing who Nick is, was reminiscent of <i>You've Got Mail</i>. And the dynamic between them, as pointed out in the NYT review, was reminiscent of Jeanine and Gregory from <i>Abbott Elementary</i>. So, all around, pretty perfect.

I also loved the New York City setting. Few rom-coms get that right, in my opinion, and Forest did. I will be heartily recommending this one to all rom-com lovers.

A shy Lily turns to her neighbor Nick to be her date to her sister's wedding. It turns out Nick is the author of a fantasy series that is Lily's all time favorite. He uses a pen name has been in contact with Lily for months regearing his books he offers to set her up with someone else but realizes she is constantly on his mind.

There are few things I love more than two people falling for each other when they don't know who the other person truly is! That secret identity trope is just so delicious and Kristina executes it perfectly in her adult debut. Smart, fun, and sexy!

This book was absolutely ADORABLE and I loved it! It was the perfect blend of funny, sweet and heartfelt. While lighter overall, it had just the right amount of emotional depth to make me really root for the characters and absolutely loved seeing their growth! Not only were Lily and Nick amazing leads, but I loved all the side characters too and am so glad this is going to be a series! My #1 favorite thing was the celebration of fantasy written by Black authors. I screamed about the ones I’ve read and loved, added more to my tbr, and was sad to discover that Elena Masterson is fictional because I want to read all those books aha. What a joy, thoroughly enjoyed myself!

Cute, Cute, cute! This story was adorable - a classic friend-to-lover. Lily and Nick were pen pals before knowing each other as neighbours. Nick knows Lily as the adorable woman he ghosted and Lily doesn't know that Nick is her mysterious penpal or why he ghosted her

I thought Lily and Nick were cute together. I loved their backstories as well - Lily wants to be a children's editor but she isn't there yet and she feels like an underachiever compared to her family

Nick's family situation is not good and she is running away from it. The main and supporting characters were remarkable - I am hoping for a second book with each sister.

Anyways I had a blast - it was cute and entertaining and the supporting characters were awesome. The spicy scene was super spicy.

I would highly recommend and I am holding my breath for the other books in this series

3.5 stars rounded up

Thank you Berkley Publishing and Penguin Random House Audio for advanced copies of this book.

I really enjoyed the start of this book with the email exchange between obscure author, N.R. Strickland (Strick) and super-fan, Lily Green. On audio it was a bit bulky to listen to the emails with the headers but the build up of their connection via email was very enjoyable to me. That is until, of course, Strick ghosts Lily when they are finally supposed to "meet" via video chat.

Fast forward and Lily is still trying to recover from the ghosting by a relative stranger while also trying to break her sisters habit of setting her up with all the wrong men. Enter Nick, the new neighbor who catches her eye and seems to be a kind approachable man. The problem is that he isn't up for dating anyone.

I'm sure everyone knows where the story is going as it goes with romances but this was a cute, fun read. If you don't enjoy the hidden identity trope or lying avoid this one but if you're open to it then check it out for a book with good representation and plenty of bookish charm.

Berkley always prints the cutest romantic comedies with just enough spice to "season" the story. I love that the MCs are diverse, interesting people. I love their innocence that is creatively mixed with their quiet confidence that doesn't overpower their love story. Plus, who doesn't love reading about two bookworms (an inspiring editor and an author) falling in love with each through emails & then again in person. Loved it!

Ok so y’all know I couldn’t let this book pass me by! As soon as I saw it on the app I downloaded it. Kristina Forest is one of my favorites and it’s also about books? Of course I had to read this immediately. Although it’s a YA author moving to adult, I felt the usual iffy feeling, but I needn’t have worried. Kristina Forest does it again.

Ok so the first thing I liked about this was the book about books. I don’t know, they’re like my guilty pleasure. Books about books are my jam. And this one was pretty amazing because she knows the ins and outs of the publishing industry as an author. It was pretty cool to see the part of it before it’s a book tho. I also love that she had dreams about being a children’s person. As someone who once thought about publishing and in children’s things, I felt this in my spirit. Definitely relatable. Alas, I ended up going the librarian route so I didn’t have to move to NYC.)

I also liked the characters. Like I liked them apart, but maybe not so much together? I don’t know how to explain it. Like I get why he lied, but that doesn’t mean I liked it. I just didn’t feel like it was a reason to ghost her or even to keep that lie going. As for Lily, I thought she was the sweetest. She didn’t deserve any of that. *steps off soapbox* In all seriousness, I really liked her and I liked her growth too. She was a boss at the end. I was proud how of how she finally stood up for herself.

The romance itself was cute tho. I was a little worried about how Forest would transition to adult, but I shouldn’t have. It seemed to be seamless. The smexy times were open door, but it was only like a peep, which I was expecting. I don’t usually expect authors who previously wrote YA to suddenly write super smexy stuff, so I was happy it didn’t seem like she was trying too hard. But it did get smexy tho, don’t think she didn’t deliver. It just wasn’t alot and it wasn’t over done.

The writing style I was already expected to love. BUT there was a time when I thought it was a little bit slow. It was only during the email phase. Which is weird to me because I usually love those. But I think it was the fact that he ghosted her. Definitely had nothing to do with it, but it still annoyed me lol And this was a slow burn too. And y’all know how I am about them. I am not the audience for them lol But I did like this one.

The audio of it was amazing tho. I have listened to both narrators before. Malik Rashad has only done one that I’ve listened to and Keylor Leigh has done A LOT of audios I’ve listened to. And both of them captured the character they were portraying. I really enjoyed listening to them.

This book was cuteeeeeeee! I really hope she continues with the series. Like the sisters? Or even the friends? I don’t know. Whatever. As long as she continues lol I really liked it. It was very sweet and very funny. I hope you all pick this up soon!

I really enjoyed how this started off with an email exchange between Nik and Lily (though Lily knows him as N. R. Strickland, her favorite author). Unbeknownst to her, she also falls for her cute neighbor. Nik soon realizes Lily is the person he ghosted and decides to help set her up for her sisters wedding. It is a bit of a slow burn and I sometimes got frustrated with Nik for keeping his secret for so long, but overall this was cute, interesting and entertaining. The audiobook narrators brought the dual POV to life and I enjoyed it!

This was absolutely adorable. I am Lily, Lily is me. I loved the way this story starts with email exchanges between Lily and her favorite author. You get to learn so much about them through these exchanges.

I loved how Lily found out who Nick is and how she handled it. I loved everything about Nick. It was also nice to get his perspective. Nick has some really great friends. Lily’s family bothered me a bit. I know they meant well, but they were a bit pushy for me.

One aspect of this book I adored was how Nick and Lily developed a genuine friendship. The interactions between them were beautiful, and their chemistry was great.

There were some scenes that just had me laughing so hard. Forest’s writing is beautiful; it’s like she relaying’s this story to me about a few of her friends finding love. It was absolutely fun. She’s new to me, but I’m excited to read more of her work.

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this book!! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

It has taken me forever to sit down and write this review because I don't know how to eloquently explain how much I loved this book. It was everything I look for in this type of story - sweet, funny, swoony, and beautifully written.

First of all - the opening of this book. It has been a long time since I've fallen for a book as quickly as I did this one. There is something about epistolary elements in romances that always gets me. And Kristina Forest blew me away with her ability to make me fall for these characters and their romance so quickly.

The setup for this could have gone so wrong - the likelihood of these 2 finding each other, nonetheless living in the same place is nearly unbelievable. But everything about this book was charming that I never once brought reality in.

Between the mutual pining, no third act break up, and soulmate level romance, I was so swept away by this story. Easily my favorite book of the month and one I won't soon forget. I can't wait to read more adult romances from this author!!

4.5 Stars - Top Pick! ⭐️

Lily’s dream of being an editor for children’s books has stalled as she watched promotions pass her by. She finds solace in her world of books and reaches out to a popular fantasy author. The two strike up a serious connection, but she is taken aback when he ghosts her.

Lily decides to move on, and what better way than her sexy neighbor, Nick. She doesn’t know that is the same author she has been corresponding with. The two seem to have a vibe, but he turns a bit cold on her and instead offers to help her find a date for her sister’s wedding.

This is the first book this year that just felt right. The Neighbor Favor just has the right elements of a feel-good rom-com. The characters are fleshed out and adorable. The chemistry is on point, and the secondary characters all add a boost to the story.

When Nick and Lily meet, the chemistry is on point. There is the anticipation that this could all go bad for them because Nick is holding back on his end. However, the cat was out of the bag at a good point in the book, and the couple was able to navigate a friendship, which leads to so much more.

What really draws a romance lover like myself in is the cute book dates and chat between Nick and Lily. What girl wouldn’t like a book nerd of their own? While I didn’t necessarily care for Nick’s hot and cold behavior, I end up falling for him. He has family issues that he needs to address, and he eventually sorts through all the emotional baggage, but it does put a slight damper on things. Lily is a lot more mature than most.

I love the side characters and especially look forward to more books by Ms. Forest.

~ Samantha