Such a charming story!
Polished writing, fully imagined characters, layered relationships.
I was completely caught up in the journey--thoroughly enjoyed!

With great thanks to NetGalley & Sourcebooks Landmark for this e-ARC!

I really enjoyed this story. It truly highlighted infertility and how it affects the people going through it. It was a very charming story that was beautifully told. I read it in one sitting I just couldn’t put it down. The characters are strong and friendship is the main theme here.

Adele Griffin grabbed me on the first page of her new fast-paced novel. Nora works at a vintage clothing shop in New York City where she and Frankie dress wealthy customers in haute couture of yesteryear or yesterday. Nora's life changes when millionairess, Eleanor, glides in for clothes to wear to a party that night. The two women hit it off and become friends of a sort.

Eleanor has an uncanny knack for asking for things, always last minute and quite urgently. She also sends money via Zelle to Nora in return. Nora is uncomfortable with the money but slowly gets pulled into Eleanor's orbit. Most people would find it difficult to refuse an invitation to a premier theater performance and a party with celebrities. Nora's husband, Jacob, doesn't like the endless "asks" from Eleanor. It creates tension in the relationship. A gripping narrative arc is the core of this book.

I couldn't put this book down. It read like a thriller since I didn't trust Eleanor and feared for Nora's well-being. I loved this book and the gliding prose of Adele Griffin. I highly recommend this to everyone who likes a good contemporary story!

This was a lovely and truly refreshing novel about friends, family, and motherhood. The rich socialite was out of touch, but decidedly not repugnant. There was tension and drama, but it all felt realistic. Loved it.

Like many others, I too, kept thinking something bad was going to happen, this turned out to be a story that while dealt with the very difficult path of infertility, and the journey people go on in the creation of a family. An unlikely pair become friends, and Nora the vintage shop owner befriends/ works as a stylist for Evelyn. After time spent together Evelyn offers to carry the couple's child for them. This was honestly a great story and seeing Nora weave her way through a millionaire's lifestlye, and the ups and downs of it all , on top of dealing with past miscarriages and the IVF treatments. I would recommend this to friends and family alike.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This book is a great book on the difficult path infertility can take a person on but its handled so well. It s a great contemporary fiction book.

Sooooo good! Nora and Evelyn’s friendship is a strange but sweet one. Love the setting and all the couture descriptions. I was very nervous about how this was going to turn out! Can’t wait to share thoughts with my friends!

A surprising and insightful story. I probably read too much domestic suspense because I kept waiting for things to go terribly wrong, but I was pleasantly surprised by the ending.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Nora Hammond spends her days selling vintage fashion and antique finds in an upscale vintage shop in Manhattan. She’s beautiful, successful and happily married. On the surface, her life looks perfect. It’s not. She and her husband Jacob are drowning in debt, debt caused by treatments for infertility and failed IVF attempts. They have one embryo remaining but, with her history of miscarriages, Nora knows she cant attempt another pregnancy. Enter Evelyn Elliot. And what an entrance she makes, barging into the shop to spend thousand of dollars in a late day sale. At the end of the day, Nora, her co-worker Frankie and Evelyn sit in the store, surrounded by her purchases, and toast each other with champagne. Friendship follows and penny pinching Nora, as Evelyns’s new part time stylist, enters the world of multimillionaires with yachts, multiple homes, private cars, housekeepers and chefs. It’s a delicate balancing act but Nora is managing until Evelyn offers to carry Nora and Jacob’s baby.
The Favor blends themes of friendship, the definition of family, infertility and surrogacy against a glamorous background. The details about vintage clothing are enjoyable and add to the story.

Thanks so much Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an advance read in exchange for this review.

Nora is married to Jake and works at a designer vintage shop. Right before closing, Evelyn walks in. She is rich, and the two somehow become some sort of friends. Evelyn pays Nora for finding her fancy outfits to wear to various events. Nora and Jake have debt from unsuccessful IVF. Evelyn soon offers to be a surrogate for them. For free. Their friendship is tested, but just exactly what kind of friendship did they have before this test?

This was such a great read. Both characters are interesting, flawed, and different from each other. Nora is more careful, and Evelyn has a more free spirited attitude. I also loved Nora's eye for vintage fashion. I was so pleasantly surprised by this story and could not put it down. There are so many conversations that could be started from this book!

This was a different kind of book! I’m so used to thrillers and suspense that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and something terrible to happen to the main character. However, this was not that kind of book. Instead, it followed the main character through highs and lows of life after she strikes up a friendship with a multimillionaire who lives an elite lifestyle she can only dream of. Their relationship takes different forms over the course of a few years. I really enjoyed the storyline, the characters were very well fleshed out and all very human, and the writing was great!

4/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Nora works in a vintage clothing shop in NYC. She and her husband live in a tiny apartment. They are swamped with debt due to failed IVF attempts. One Friday ultra-rich influencer Evelyn breezes into the shop seeking a dress.Her purchase of many expensive items provides Nora with a huge commission.. Though they come from very different places, they develop a sort of friendship. Evelyn pays Nora for styling help and introduces Nora to her world of the rich and famous. When Evelyn learns of their fertility struggles, she offers to be a surrogate for Nora and her husband. This premise was an unusual offer for someone so rich who barely knows the natural mother but it did provide for a fresh twist to the story. It brings a new dynamic and strains their friendship. I loved it and couldn’t put it down. The story was fun and unique but had poignant moments. I had not read any of Adele Griffin’s previous offerings but I will start on her backlist ASAP. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

My heart! This book was beautiful in so many ways. At its core, this is a book about love: love between friends, love between spouses, and love between family members. Love for a while and love for always. Evelyn and Nora had such a special friendship, and while Evelyn’s behaviors could be kind of irritating, it was clear that she and Nora meant so much to each other. The story takes a little while to pick up, but I found the slow buildup of their relationship necessary to really make the prospect of surrogacy seem believable. I loved the look into the world of vintage fashion and how easy it was to feel Nora’s passion for it. This is Adele Griffin’s adult debut, and she absolutely nailed it! Absolutely recommend this amazing book!

The Favor was like picking up a delicious copy of People Magazine. Right from page one you are thrown into the world of the "haves" as Evelyn pushes her way into the vintage clothing store that Nora is closing up. Evelyn is the heir to an enormous steel fortune, having grown up as the horse-loving member of the U.S. Equestrian Team.

Nora is the daughter of a single mother who taught her fine dressmaking skills that have stood Nora in good stead. Nora's husband Jacob is making very little money in a start-up and they are in a financial tight spot after paying for a number of IVF's.

The novel is smooth and professional as you would expect from Adele Griffin who has written over 30 books. It's an engrossing and fast read even though there are entirely too many peripheral characters whom you will forget. What you will remember is the oddball friendship that forms between Evelyn and Nora and how the two very different personalities find a common bond,: that of birth and surrogate motherhood.

Relish the descriptions of 1-per center spending, traveling, housing, vacationing and shopping. They are lots of fun. The final chapters move along at a breakneck pace, ending with a big surprise. Griffin does that exceptionally well.

Thnks to NetGelley and the publisher for offering me an ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

The Favor kind of fell flat for me. It was really hard to get into and I just couldn't make the connection as to why Evelyn and Nora struck up this supposed friendship at all. But even though the book wasn't for me, I appear to be in the minority, so I would definitely recommend it to others to give it a try. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I haven't read anything by this author but the premise of this book intrigued me. For me, it just didn't deliver. The first third is a build up to the actual story and its very slow- going. I had zero interest in the fashion brand names and clothing descriptions, of which this book is laden. Evelyns character wasn't fully developed and I grew weary of spending time with Nora and her worries.

I thoroughly enjoyed this charming book. Although there were some heavy issues involved, such as infertility, the author did not make it heavy and dreary as can sometimes happen. The characters were interesting and some were quirky, making this comical at times. I also enjoyed the inside look at a New York socialite influencer living her best life and the world of vintage shopping. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I absolutely loved this book. It felt like a breath of fresh air to read. I wound up feeling so invested with the two main characters and their husbands. It was cool to see what would happen next with the women's friendship. Great story and writing. Five stars to Griffin. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley.
This book had some lovely descriptions of clothing which I enjoyed and then it takes a turn with the surrogacy issues. It was a captivating story and hard to put down at times. The relationships between the romantic partners and also the friends was described lovely and I thought the characters were well-formed.

The Favor by Adele Griffin tackle some weight subjects: infertility, miscarriage, IVF, surrogacy, marriage, and the complex nature of female friendship. But the author has a deft hand, and the book is an enjoyable, fast-paced read had me turning the pages as fast as I could manage. Highly recommend!!