At first, the perception of Nora is a kind hearted individual with a great eye for fashion but lacks self confidence and almost appears defeated in how her life has evolved and setbacks that have led to a insurmountable amount of debt. She like the store would almost prefer to go back in time. Then enters Evelyn with her charismatic personality and generosity as far reaching as her giving Nora a cloak that was worn by her favorite author. Nora seems ecstatic about Evelyn bringing her into her life. But as she draws her in deeper and asks for Nora's help, she becomes indebted to her personally and financially. Her becoming the surrogate further deepens their becoming intertwined. Jacob knew all along that Evelyn was a facade that lived her life via social media. The ending is certainly a plot twist and I learned that actually Nora had a backbone of steel. She knew what she wanted for both herself, Gloria and Jacob and went to great lengths to get it. I really enjoyed reading this book.

2.5 rounded to 3 stars

Nora is the owner of a vintage dress shop in NYC. One fateful day Evelyn Elliot enters the store to buy a dress and changes the course of life for Nora and her husband Jacob. Nora and Jacob are struggling with an enormous amount of debt, a tiny apartment, and many years of failed fertility treatments. Evelyn is wealthy. She befriends Nora and offers to be the surrogate for her and Jacob's baby.

This book had a lot of potential, but failed to hit the mark. I don't feel like the author captured the emotion, heartbreak and desperation that comes from years of infertility and failed fertility treatments. It fails to paint a picture of the intricacies of fertility treatments and the implications of using a surrogate. The entire painstaking process is glazed over. It is hard to believe that Nora and Jacob would so carelessly allow a stranger they've known 6 months to carry their child with no legal contract and with no screening and approval from a fertility clinic. Meanwhile, Evelyn seems to be jet-setting all over the world every month. I do applaud the author for attempting to write a fiction story based on a very relevant and for many painful topic.

Thank you to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark, Sourcebooks Landmark for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Full disclosure: Sometimes, when I start a new book on my Kindle, I don't recall what the synopsis is about, and often times after I start reading, it will come to me why I purchased/borrowed/requested a book. That for sure happened here. At first, I thought I was reading about a dress shop, but then I got sucked into the best kind of story.

A Favor lives up to its title- a story about a very unlikely Favor. Nora and her husband have been struggling to have a baby. Left with debt from failed IVF attempts, she ( and her husband Jacob, a lot more begrudgingly) turns to a favor unlikely option for an even unlikelier source.

I often feel that I can figure out what a book is about and how it will end within the first few minutes, but this story was very different in a good way. I was curious about how this would turn out. There were lots of red flags, and I was curious as to why Nora had a blind spot about Evelyn and why she continued to befriend her, and why her husband was a little passive, but I found that to be very realistic and part of human nature. I didn't like Evelyn, and at times she felt unreal, but that was part of the allure of Nora. I think that is what I liked about the book- the characters felt imperfect and flawed, which made some aspects of this book seem realistic. I did like the little glimpse into the influencer role with Evelyn ( and the lives of the very rich). I also like how Nora's character approached infertility. As someone who has also struggled, I enjoyed her emotions regarding the various situations in her life ( her co-workers and best friend).

A touching, emotional story about a couple trying so hard to achieve the one thing that they desperately seek- a baby.
Nora is working at a vintage store where she assists clients to find the right treasures.
When Evelyn who has all her life desires starts paying Nora for her services and has her take on extra projects, they become unlikely friends.
How can Evelyn return the favor of Nora's help?
She offers to carry Nora's future wish.

This is a tale of friendship, hardship and understanding that there are still good, loving people here on earth.
Truly a wonderful story that I enjoyed!

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @Sourcebooks Landmark for this Arc and allowing me to provide my own review.

This one turned out to be a lot different than I expected, but I really enjoyed it! I was kind of expecting a domestic suspense, but it was more contemporary fiction. Which I didn’t mind! I liked the look at transactional friendships and power dynamics/imbalance between friends of different financial means. I really liked Nora as the MC. I thought she was relatable and easy to root for. There were a few times I thought she was a little too naive, but honestly, had I been in her position, I can’t say I would have done anything differently. Evelyn was SOMETHING. Oh wow, she was a really intriguing character. I definitely liked her journey from start to finish. This book definitely wasn’t a thriller, but I found myself really stressed out (in a good way), waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was absolutely intrigued from page one to the very end. I did read it in one afternoon! Happy I read this one.
TW: infertility


Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Such a good read - I overall enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher an opportunity to read and review this book. All thoughts are my own. Nora runs a vintage shop in New York. Her and her husband are drowning in debt trying to have a child. Socialite Evelyn comes in right at closing and they strike up a friendship that eventually includes Evelyn wanting to be a surrogate for Nora. This book was good, kept this reader turning the pages well into the night, will look for more from this author.

I LOVED this book. Absolutely loved it.
Nora works at a high-ish end second hand clothing store and lives with her husband Jacob in a small, cramped apartment. They have decided to give up on trying to have a baby, and overall, there life is just a bit sad. That is, until Evelyn Elliott drops into the shop and buys just about everything they're selling. And that begins and unlikely friendship between Evelyn and Nora.
But is it a friendship, or is Evelyn using Nora for her fashion sense and the fact that she's always available for whatever Evelyn needs someone for? That's the question for the first half of the book. And when Evelyn offers to be a surrogate for Nora and Jacob, the questions of her motivations drive the second half of the book.
This is a wonderful story of friends and family: the family we were born with, and the families we make. It's a story of authenticity in a social media driven world, where the choices we might make for our online persona are in conflict with the choices we might ordinarily make in the 'real world'. The tone is light but the themes are serious, and Nora is a wonderful character.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this read.

Unfortunately this one fell flat for me! It never really sucked me in and I was bored the majority of the time reading it.

I made a prediction about what "the favor" this book centered around would be, and I was correct. That said, this book surprised me with its character insights and the growth of the relationship between Nora and Evelyn, and the changes in their relationship dynamics.

Nora is an employee of a vintage secondhand shop in NYC when one day Evelyn waltzes in shortly before the store closes and changes Nora's life from there. Evelyn is wealthy, and privileged, and the source of disagreements between Nora and her husband Jacob, but Nora has difficulty extricating her life from Evelyn's once she makes her an offer she cannot refuse.

Evelyn's motivations behind the offer are not altogether altruistic, and there's conflict along the way between Nora and Evelyn, and in her marriage too. That said, by the end of the book they have worked through those conflicts and found a new way to have a healthy and happy relationship.

Overall, this book offered an interesting exploration of marriage, family, and friendship and all that it entails to navigate the challenges associated with cultivating a new friendship and having a happy marriage all at the same time.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

I really enjoyed this one. I liked how it told a sweet story of a young couple trying to grow their family with the help of a surrogate. I had a bit of suspense and magic. The characters motives and thoughts were well described and at times I felt like I was a character in the book myself. I will be recommending this book to others!

I was very intrigued by the synopsis. The relationship between a parent and a surrogate is a special one and I had hoped for a truly inspiring and emotional journal from Nora and Evelyn.

Unfortunately I found their relationship to be very surface level. It wasn’t deep enough to really make me feel anything about these characters.

I found Evelyn to be manipulative and it felt she was using Nora for the most part. It felt like this ‘sisterly’ relationship was quite forced and I guess I just didn’t believe they really felt anything for each other.

Overall I found the plot to be a little flat, I was expecting a lot more drama and emotion but for me it just wasn’t what I hoped for.

I was lovely seeing Nora and Jacob become parents but I felt the author could have delved way deeper into what it’s really like to struggle with fertility.

I flew through this truly engaging novel in one sitting. It is a very topical story about couples undergoing IVF and considering surrogacy. The suffocating debts incurred by these efforts is heartbreaking. The author creates terrific characters and the dialogues are fast paced and revealing. I loved reading about them and I loved them. The premise required a lot of suspension of disbelief so I can’t give it a rave. However, the ending is a coup de grace and you will love it as you probably will love the novel and recommend it as well. Terrific read..

A really heart-warming book that tackles very deep emotional elements that a lot of families struggle with: infertility, money issues, multiple rounds of IVF and the toll it takes. I think the way everything was mentioned and carried out in the book was really beautifully written and dealt with in an interesting way. Also I thought the characters and relationships between them were skilfully written especially expressing the power dynamics between Nora and Eleanor. Overall I really enjoyed this one with such a sweet ending it was a great read.

I do not have any of my own children (by choice) but my sister struggled with infertility. She and her husband were able to adopt but I have always wondered what if. “The Favor” by Adele Griffin wrestles with whether you’d be willing to carry a child for someone else and what such a commitment might mean.

While Nora has a great husband and a job she loves, she has been unable to get pregnant despite. When she meets Evelyn—who leads a very different life—she becomes overwhelmed when her new friend offers to become a surrogate mother for Nora's child.

Clearly, Evelyn is a person who likes to be in control and for her, offering to carry Nora’s baby might have a much different end game. While parts of Evelyn might come across as overly dramatic, Nora’s plight felt quite real.

Overall, I enjoyed this story, which dances the fine line between contemporary fiction and thriller. Because you don’t know what to expect, you keep turning the pages and that makes for a fun read.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this read.

This book was so heartwarming, it felt like a big hug by the end.
The entire book I was just rooting for Nora and Jacob hoping that things would work out the way they wanted. The power imbalance between Nora and Evelyn kept me on my toes to see how things would play out.
I also absolutely loved the descriptions of all of the glamorous clothes through the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I truly couldn’t put this one down and finished it in a weekend. The characters are likable. I wasn’t sure where the story was going but found it delightful and satisfying. It’s a pretty quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The Favor by Adele Griffin was a beautiful, poetic read about female friendship, infertility, and their impacts. I cannot wait to purchase a physical copy for my home library! I was wow-ed by Griffin's ability to draw the reader in with her thoughtful words. I thought about this book when I was not reading and talked to my husband about how much I loved it during every tea steep.

Meet Nora. She works at a vintage boutique in New York City. She wants to start a family with her husband, but there are complications. She soon develops a friendship that will forever change her life. Will she finally be able to have the family she desires?

Meet Eleanor. She is an extroverted socialite who buys out the inventory of a vintage boutique for her closet. She forms a new friendship and offers to help this friend. They say opposites attract, and that works for friendship too, right?

I applaud Griffin’s ability to normalize the traditionally taboo topic of infertility. As someone who has struggled with fertility, I found solace and comfort in this story. It was comforting to discover this aspect of relatability. The Favor is a distinctive novel book clubs will love, and will generate conversations about infertility and alternative family experiences. This book is a safe space. Add this to your TBR and pre-order your copy ASAP!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book is a classic case of "Don't judge a book by its cover". You open this expecting it to be a contemporary love story as displayed by the pink cover. It deals with infertility, humor and the world of high fashion (what a spread!) At points it reads like a thriller, at other points a commentary on the very real issues of couples today. Very much enjoyed this book.

⭐️. 1/5. I don’t know what it was about this book but I found the obsession that Nora had with Evelyn downright obnoxious and I couldn’t move past it. I’m always appreciative of @netgalley ARCs and will forever drop everything I’m doing to read an ARC first. This one was a no from me.

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