Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Neighbor Favor

This was cute, but ultimately the secret identity plot did not work for me. I think You’ve Got Mail retellings can work for me if both characters find out the truth around the same time, but when one character knows and lies about it, I just can’t. I don’t care how sad your backstory is, don’t wait months to tell people who you really are, especially if you’re going to go around kissing them!! The main characters were quite lovely and sweet outside of that plot though. I loved that they connected over books.

My main bugbear: I am so tired of side characters trying to push the main character(s) into dating and setting them up when they don’t want to be. STOP FORCING PEOPLE YOU SUPPOSEDLY LOVE INTO DOING STUFF THEY DON’T WANT TO AND LISTEN WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO STOP IT. It really pisses me off and puts me off ever wanting to read books about those characters (in this case, Lily’s sisters) when it makes the protagonist so miserable and reduced to desperate measures to get them to stop. She does stand up to them in the end, and I get that it's a plot device, but that doesn’t prevent the rage building every time I encounter it on page.

It did amuse me that Nick’s fake English accent was written more accurately and convincingly than most American authors write supposedly real ones lol.

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annahamburger's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Thank you, Michael Joseph Penguin Publishing, for sending this book to rate on the spice-o-meter and to write an honest review.

This book has two points of view. The first is shy, bookish and admittedly awkward, Lily Greene. She has always felt inadequate compared to the rest of her family, who strive for Black excellence. She dreams of becoming an editor of children’s books but has been frustratingly stuck in the nonfiction division for years without a promotion in sight. Lily finds escapism in her correspondences with her favourite fantasy author, and what begins as two lonely people connecting over email turns into a friendship and possibly something else Lily won't let herself entertain until he ghosts her. The second point of view is Nick Brown. He has his reasons for using a pen name and for pushing people away, he is in New York to write the second book of his series. He thinks the woman down the hall is beautiful and he soon realizes it’s the same woman who he fell in love with over email months ago. He isn’t wanting to complicate things even more between them, he agrees to set her up with someone else., though this simple favour between two neighbours is anything but, not when he can’t stop thinking about her. Lily is determined to take charge of her life, and she needs a date for her sister’s wedding. And the perfect person is right down the hall, he is charming and attractive, and she is drawn to him for unexplainable reasons. Little does she know that Nick is an author – her favourite author.

I enjoyed this storyline, and I thought it was adorable. I really felt for Lily and wanted her to stand up for herself with her family and her boss. Also, I liked the different family dynamics that were shown in this book, like Lily and her sisters and the big family parties. And then you’ve got Nick who is constantly running to avoid his toxic dad. I liked the book publishing aspect of this story, but I would have loved for it to be tone down a bit and the romance with the big gestures to be toned up. I felt like the storyline at times was a bit predictable for the secret identity trope and then it got wrapped up in a nice little bow a bit too quickly for me. I would have loved to have seen Nick grovel some more to Lily.

In terms of Spice-O-Meter, I thought it wasn’t spicy, you don’t get the spice until chapter 20. With this being a slow burn, I expect that, but once we finally got some spice it was very closed door and discreet. It went with the storyline, but I was just wanting more especially considering how much they both talk about how attractive they are and then we get kissing and then bed and then asleep. The little spice that we do get I would say is a 2/10.

This is the first novel by Kristina Forest I've read, and I enjoyed it though it took me a while to get into. I cannot wait to read about the other sisters as I loved Violet and Iris’s cameo in this book so far.

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loveinpanels's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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