TL;DR: I ended up having quite mixed feelings about The Neighbor Favor. It started off strong—I was immediately reeled in by the set-up and their email exchanges. However, following that, I feel like the story slowed down too much and my interest kind of waned with it. Despite liking these two characters on their own and appreciating their journeys, I found their chemistry together lacking. No matter how much my serendipity-loving heart loved the idea of them finding each other in a city as big as New York, it wasn’t enough to sell me on their connection. For sure, there were sweet moments but I just wanted to feel more! That said, I’m looking forward to reading about Lily’s sisters and can’t wait for the next book.

Lily is the youngest in a family of daughters who are smart and wildly successful. Lily is making her way in the publishing industry and though she’s not earning the big bucks or living the glam life her sisters are, she’s definitely successful in her own right—even if she doesn’t see it that way. Lily was easy to root for! She’s down-to-earth, has a big heart and is a relatable shy bookworm who often gets tongue-tied in social situations. There were moments in her narration when I felt like she came across as immature (almost teenage-like), especially in her reactions and thoughts about Nick, but she was an easy character to like overall. Her sisters and mother could be patronising at times, but I really liked the whole family dynamics! They very obviously love and cherish each other, even when they would argue or disagree on things.

Nick took some time to grow on me as he made some questionable decisions that I found frustrating but the more we got to know him, the more my heart went out to him. “Raised” by two selfish people who shouldn’t have been parents, his traumatic childhood full of loneliness and fear left deep-rooted scars that he had yet to properly unpack. He’s deeply insecure and tends to push people away out of fear. I really appreciated his journey towards acknowledging that he is in fact worthy of love, recognition and praise. It took a while but the man confronted his demons, stood up for himself and the sense of relief and joy was palpable!

As I mentioned before, the biggest issue for me was their romance. I didn’t hate it but it simply left me wanting more because as much as I wanted to love it, I just didn’t feel their chemistry! I loved all their talk about favourite books and authors, their vulnerability with each other and their deep conversations especially about their pasts. This has the secret identity trope which I’ve personally grown less fond of over the years but I don’t think that’s necessarily the reason why I didn’t vibe with them. Honestly, there was so much about their relationship that should’ve had those butterflies flying but for some reason, it just didn’t work for me and I can’t even properly explain why.

Having said all that, I see that Violet is getting a book next and I’m looking forward to reading it because she really goes through it in this book and I want to know more about what’s going on underneath her boisterous & wild exterior!

Have you read The Neighbor Favor or is it on your TBR?

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