The Favor

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. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and Adele Griffin for this ARC.

This book was a very pleasant surprise! I wasn't sure what to expect from this premise but I found myself in love with the characters - Nora's desperate want for a child and Evelyn's carefree attitude towards everything (including surrogacy) were so well balanced. I liked the pacing of the book, the little fashionista moments and felt that I was constantly wondering when their deal was all going to turn sour. The concept of lying for social media was also intriguing and felt very relevant. Overall - great book! It felt real, realistic (mostly) and approachable.

SO GOOD! This is one that would be stellar adapted for TV. Thank you netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review. Excuse me while I put together my dream cast for this book...

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.

“Obviously, nobody would call Eleanor out for being spoiled. But shouldn’t somebody let her know what might be perceived as out of touch? Wasn’t that the job of a friend?”

The story is told by Nora, and I found her charming and relatable. Though at times Eleanor’s money and privilege could be irritating, I could also see how it was necessary to highlight the contrasts in the two women’s values when professional dabbler Eleanor sees being a “compassionate” surrogate as a great way to add content to her brand on social media. Jacob frustrated me through the whole book, his insensitiveness to situations had me cringing.

The story journeys down the road of fertility issues, and the storms couples face, not the least being the very real debt that can happen with infertility. I went into this book thinking it would about high-end fashion and friendship. I do think this book is for a specific group of people, I was surprised by the main issue being infertility. This book had me surprised throughout the book, i kept waiting for the TURN. Surprisingly enjoyable, I did feel like the beginning was quite slow, but I flew through the end. For some this may be a heavy read, due to the infertility factor. It was emotionally relatable. The side characters and their intertwined stories were relatable and enjoyable.

The Favor is one of those special books that will be read in book clubs and will start conversations about infertility/alternative family experiences. It is the perfect start to those uncomfortable taboo family topics.