“‘Our home,’ he says, and his voice cracks a little. ‘That’s not our home,’ I tell him. ‘Home’s only another word for us, right?’ He nods.”

At I’ll Have Seconds, a high-end fairytale vintage dress shop in Manhattan, Nora Hammond loves nothing better than pairing a rare find with the perfect client.

At home, Nora grapples with the bleaker reality of enormous debt, a tiny apartment, and ever-dwindling hope that she and her husband Jacob will have a family of their own. When socialite Evelyn Elliot charges into Nora’s life, the women spark an immediate connection, and Nora is jettisoned into the heady whirl of New York’s moneyed elite. As Evelyn’s stylist and confidante, Nora needs to learn all new rules of engagement for the uber-wealthy. But it isn’t until Evelyn decides her next cause is to carry a baby for Nora, that these rules–and this unlikely friendship–are tested.

I was hooked from the first chapter with this one! Evelyn was like the fairy Godmother that Nora needed. As the story progressed I was waiting with bated breath for Evelyn to pull the rug out from under poor Nora in regards to her extreme and immediate generosity. I won’t spoil whether she did or didn’t, but that aspect definitely had me listening at 2x speed to find out. The narration was wonderful, especially the southern accents of Evelyn’s parents. The talk of infertility and surrogacy was emotional and done very tenderly. An enjoyable listen for sure!

Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, Orange Sky Audio, and the author for the ARC and ALC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Nora works at a vintage clothing store and one day Evelyn pops in and makes a huge purchase. Nora and Evelyn become fast friends after that day even though they are complete opposites. Nora and her husband struggle financially, mainly because of the costs of the IVF treatments. Evelyn was born into money and has never had to worry financially. As their friendship develops, even if it is a little one-sided, Evelyn offers to be a surrogate for Nora and her husband.

Infertility and surrogacy are discussed as are the differences between Nora and Evelyn's lives. Evelyn agrees to be the surrogate but doesn't want to involve lawyers until after they know the embryo has been successful. While I'm not sure the intention of the book was to keep you wondering, you can't keep reading just for this fact. Is everything going to be ok when the baby arrives?

I received an ARC of The Favor I. exchange for an honest review.

THE FAVOR by Adele Griffin is a thought-provoking and moving story of marriage, friendship and the lengths to which a woman will go to realize her dream of being a mother. Nora Hammond and her husband, Jacob, desperately want to become parents. After going into emotional and financial debt trying IVF, they are losing hope of it ever happening. Everything changes when wealthy socialite Evelyn Elliott comes into the high-end vintage store where Nora works. The two women form an unlikely relationship that throws Nora into the heart of Evelyn’s elite New York society world. Nothing could be more different from the modest lifestyle that Nora and Jacob enjoy. Evelyn occasionally gives a monetary gift to Nora, but nothing is more shocking than when Evelyn offers to carry a baby for Nora and Jacob. So begins a journey fraught with things that Nora can’t control. Evelyn is a force she is afraid to confront, fearful that she will do something to make Evelyn change her mind. This is a story of money and influence, but also love and friendship. The themes of infertility and surrogacy were handled with honesty and compassion. The backdrop of vintage fashions added to my enjoyment of this engaging story. Well done! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

Nora and her husband live in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn and are saddled with debt from failed infertility treatments. She works at an upscale second hand clothing store and one day as they are closing for the day an obviously wealthy woman named Evelyn barges in and they bond over a famous poet. Evelyn ends up buying enough to cover a month’s worth of sales. Evelyn sends her an expensive gift tied to the poet and then she starts asking for help acquiring more outfits for events and other PA work since her PA moved on to other things. This all leads up to a shocking offer. I was on pins and needles for the rest of the book waiting to learn how it all turns out in the end.

I received a free copy of this book to review through NetGalley.

4.5/5
The Favor was a very enjoyable book that pleasantly surprised me. I liked the characters in the book although there were times that I did not like Evelyn as she's a socialite who seemed to always get what she wanted and had to have things done her way even though she meant well. I liked Nora who had a good heart but I wish she would have had a stronger back bone when dealing with Evelyn. Overall, this was a good story about female friendship, family, surrogacy, trust, and what can happen when you're not open and honest with someone close to you. Loved the little surprise at the end. I liked Adele Griffin's writing style and look forward to reading more of her books.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley for the review copy.

Thanks for the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Favour.

First - it was very well written, and I got a very clear vision of the two main female characters - who they were and what was motivating them. Some very personal and clear moments related to motherhood, friendship, fertility.

I enjoyed this novel, but felt like it was unsure of what it was supposed to be. It read a bit like women's fiction, then a bit like a thriller - but with no thrill. The reveal at the end was VERY meh. I feel like it should have double/tripled down - or left the twist out completely and focused more on the emotional side of the novel.

For a book that isn't marketed as a thriller, this book gave me SO MUCH ANXIETY. I almost wish it was a thriller because then it would have made sense to me why I was so anxious. During the first half of the book I was worried about where the plot was going to go, I was around 30-40% through and I could not imagine what was going to happen for the remainder of the book. With that being said, the second half of the book is significantly more fast-paced than the first half, which I appreciated.

I wish we got some clarity as to why Evelyn was the way she was. Did she just have an insecure attachment type? Was she just that out of touch? I wish we knew why Evelyn and Nora had such a strange relationship... I just felt like I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Maybe I let all the family members get to my head, I am not sure.

Regardless, the book was captivating. I just think that my anxiety levels while reading prevented me from reading a book about unlikely friendships, unconditional love, found family, fertility struggles, and surrogacy. Unlikely friendships- kind of, but I wouldn't consider them friends. Unconditional love- not unless we are talking about the husbands loving their wives. Found family- I wouldn't consider Evelyn and Nora found family. Fertility struggles and surrogacy- absolutely.

I don't know, I think maybe I was just not in the right headspace for this book, or I let a throw away comment greatly impact what I thought the book was meant to be.

Nora and her husband are living in a tiny apartment, struggling with their bills and their inability to have a child, then socialite, Evelyn Elliot comes into the vintage dress shop where Nora works. The two women strike up an immediate kinship. Nora begins helping Evelyn out with things for which Evelyn insists upon paying her. Then, suddenly Evelyn decides that she wants to carry a baby for Nora and her husband, and everything changes and not necessarily for the better.

This is a compelling book that explores the nature of friendship between women. The friendship between Nora and Evelyn is contrasted with that of Nora and her college friend, Meg. The relationship between Meg is much more easygoing and relaxed and on more equal footing than that of Nora and Evelyn. Not only have Nora and Meg known each other longer, but they also have more similar backgrounds and as a result the whole nature of their friendship is different.

The book is also an exploration of the economic toll the struggle to have a child can be on a family and the different routes that a couple can take to have a family. It serves as a reminder that even for couples who follow the same basic root to parenthood, it can be a vastly different experience. This is illustrated in the way Nora's co-worker, Frankie's path to parenthood is so similar to her own and yet also so different and not just because he is part of a same-sex couple. All in all, this is quite an engrossing novel that really makes you think about a lot of things.

The favor has a lot of good themes throughout the book focusing on surrogacy, found family, some unlikely friendship and absolutely unconditional love.

While i did enjoy the basis of this book, and i loved reading about the MCs journey in becoming parents i felt extremely detached from the characters.

I felt that the characters were extremely immature in certain sections of the book and also acted a bit too trusting and nonchalant about the entire surrogacy process.

Overall, it was a quick read with a lot of wonderful themes but felt a bit frustrating during reading and unfortunately felt forgettable.

A very unique take on infertility and surrogacy!

I was drawn to this story from the synopsis, but the female friendships were what really resonated with me. There were some really fun and outrageous moments mixed with serious ones in what is sure to be a contemporary/women's fiction hit!

I liked the concept but the friendship didn’t feel believable at all. Evelyn seemed incredibly manipulative and not really a good person some of the time, Nora alternated between annoying as all get out, naive, and way too laid back about the whole surrogacy. Some really unhealthy relationship dynamics is several of the relationships, even between Nora and her husband (I’ve already forgotten his name) at times yet it never really felt like it was addressed. It was an easy lighthearted read and I enjoyed parts of it but unfortunately didn’t meet the mark for a recommendation or a future re-read.

I had a stone in the pit of my stomach for most of this book. I was afraid of what would transpire.
I thought Evelyn treated Nora like her pet project and was blasé with her noblesse oblige attitude. She capitalized on her surrogacy by being a media mogul queen.
I thought Nora was very naive and should have listened to Jacob more.
Ultimately, Nora gets what she wants and more, a great twist I wasn’t expecting.
It’s a very good book.

I really enjoyed The Favor. I liked how relatable Nora was and her intense desire to be closer to Evelyn. She was such a sincere friend despite how easy it would have been to use Evelyn for her money and prestige. She just wanted the friendship and closeness.
Evelyn wasn’t an entirely unlikeable character but she was very hard to like. I read with bated breath, waiting for her to do something absolutely detestable to make my feelings feel more valid. I won’t spoil anything by telling if that happened or not.
This is ultimately a story of friendship and family/found family. I think it would make a great book club pick.
I don’t normally add trigger warnings but I feel the need to note that this book does focus heavily on infertility.

I will be posting this review on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctcu1IoL8vY/?igshid=MmJiY2I4NDBkZg==

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5170107713

And Amazon

The Favor by Adele Griffin releases today 6/13/2023!!

This book felt very complex to me. It deals with the themes of intimacy (both in marriage and friendship), loyalty and trust.

The way the story unfolded kept me intrigued and wanting to keep reading. The story, the way it unfolded, definitely kept me on my toes. For a little while I was nervous that Jacob & Nora would suffer more heartbreak on their journey to become parents. Evelyn, their surrogate, a socialite and relatively unknown to them, was a real wild card. Even the twist at the end was a surprise. I would definitely put this in your TBR pile!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the chance to read this one and share my thoughts!

Delightful, heartwarming and humorous story of 2 women, complete opposites, who become friends and help each other out. One even offers to be a surrogate for the other as parenthood and the quest for parenthood has left them in debt and hopeless. i liked the fashion component in the story too.

I was completely captivated by this poignant, hopeful, and even suspenseful novel about Nora, who so wants a baby, and Evelyn, a rich customer at her vintage store, who offers to become a surrogate. The author does a brilliant job weaving together elements of friendship, family, infertility, surrogacy, and trust, as she unspools this gripping tale. Highly recommended for fans of well-spun contemporary women's fiction.

Two women who seem to have zero in common meet and both of their lives are changed forever. Evelyn is a socialite who lives her life exactly as she wants with great verve. Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it certainly can make it so much easier to attain. And way more fun. She is a kind and loving soul who does good and wants to make people happy. Nora is struggling to get by with her husband with so many dreams they have yet unfulfilled. As Evelyn and Nora grow closer the lines between employer/employee and friendship blurs as does the difference on their financial status causing the lines of their friendship to be challenged. It’s a beautiful story about friendship, love and what we will do for the ride or die people in our lives.

I thought this was a good read but should definitely come with a warning label that it may be triggering for people that have ever experienced infertility. The characters are interesting if at some times annoying but I enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for copy and I give my review freely

This was a fast read and I thought it was just okay. While dealing with a sensitive issue of infertility and the difficult road that Nora and her husband took to become parents, I think this felt flat. I didn't really care for the characters much. Two opposites, Nora becomes swept up in the path of Evelyn, a very rich and impulsive woman yet seems to just want to spread joy. In there relationship, I'm not sure if Nora became her "pet" or if she was a ways to a means of invoking more "likes" on her social media by pointing out all the good things or favors that she does. But how does Nora not resist when Evelyn offers to be their surrogate and thus Nora becomes totally immersed in Evelyn's world, trying to understand just who she is. Realistic? Not really. The outcome? Well, there are some surprises and not so surprises that made it just okay but a good book to read on a rainy day.

Many thanks to #netgalley #adelegriffin #thefavor for the opportunity to rad and review this book.

I loved this book from beginning to end so wonderfully written tore at my heart strings.Kept me involved turning the pages.#netgalley #sourcebooks