The Neighbor Favor

By: Kristina Forest

Narrated by: Keylor Leigh, Malik Rashad

A shy bookworm enlists her charming neighbor to help her score a date, not knowing he’s the obscure author she’s been corresponding with, in this sparkling and heart-fluttering romance by Kristina Forest.

Shy, bookish, and admittedly awkward, Lily Greene has always felt inadequate compared to the rest of her accomplished family, who strive for Black excellence. She dreams of becoming a children’s books editor, but she’s been frustratingly stuck in the nonfiction division for years without a promotion in sight. Lily finds escapism in her correspondences with her favorite fantasy author, and what begins as two lonely people connecting over email turns into a tentative friendship and possibly something else Lily won’t let herself entertain—until he ghosts her without a word.

Months later, Lily is still crushed, but she’s determined to get a hold of her life, starting with finding a date to her sister’s wedding. And the perfect person to help her is Nick Brown, her charming, attractive new neighbor, who she feels drawn to for reasons she can’t explain. But little does she know, Nick is an author—her favorite fantasy author.

Nick, who has his reasons for using a pen name and pushing people away, soon realizes that the beautiful, quiet girl from down the hall is the same Lily he fell in love with over email months ago. Unwilling to complicate things even more between them, he agrees to set her up with someone else, though this simple favor between two neighbors is anything but—not when he can't get her off his mind...

©2023 Kristina Forest (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"[A] warm and welcoming new contemporary...the book breathes easily and pulls you right into its world. Especially recommended for anyone who ships Janine and Gregory from Abbott Elementary."—The New York Times Book Review

“The Neighbor Favor is the type of charming, feel-good story that reminds me why I love romance. I dare anyone to try reading Lily and Nick’s adorably awkward encounters without smiling. Impossible.”—Farrah Rochon, New York Times bestselling author of The Hookup Plan

"Forest expertly balances this perfectly matched duo’s emotional connection with their physical chemistry, making them easy to cheer on. This is a winner."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Excellent Story! Hope for improvements in the narration

GREEEEEAT story! I had already become a Kristina Forest fan based off the last trilogy I read of hers about the best friends in Austin, so this one also did not disappoint. Cannot wait to read the rest of the series; that said, though I appreciate that both narrators were people of color (and I assume Black by the pictures I found), and I think they were both REALLY good within their own skill set, I do wish the female narrator could’ve performed the dialogue more in the AAVE style it was clearly written. Much of the tone and many of the colloquialisms, I believe, got lost in translation as a result.

To be clear, it’s not to say that a Black person can’t sound like Keylor. It was just difficult at moments to get into the full experience of what was happening, because the characters Kristina describes in the group simply did not sound like the kind of Black people who would have Keylor’s voice.

All in all, a FANTASTIC read, though I hope you all will consider using Wesleigh Siobhan or a similar narrator in the rest of this particular series.

Cute love story

It was an enjoyable read. Sucks you in and has you rooting for them from the get go! Interesting concept with Part 1 being email exchanges. Worth the read!

Great story

I liked the two voices giving the two perspectives for the story and really enjoyed the characters and the story itself. Well done

Such a good book!

I’ve been consuming a lot of romcom books lately and found myself getting bored with the predictability. This book was such an excellent palate cleanser! The characters were interesting, good growth, and none of the typical cliches. The only thing I didn’t really enjoy too much was the female reader.

the concept of forgiveness

I was greatly impressed with the levels of forgiveness demonstrated in this book. Lilly forgiving Nick, Nick forgiving his parents and most importantly forgiving himself.

listened 3x

A sweet story but not annoyingly sweet. It was joy to get to know these characters! They held my attention and I was sorry to hear it end, so I started it over.

Adorable Love Adventure

Story was the romantic/ drama filled
Comedy you definitely need in your life. The characters were vibrant, funny, and heartfelt. I loved every minute of this book and can’t wait to read more. The narrators did an amazing job at immersing you in the story.

Pulls you in

These books written by the author pulls you in. I did not want to put it down. Another late night just to finish the book.

Great characters

This book was truly magical! I loved the characters, the story build, and everything in between. I would love to see a sequel that delves even further into Lily and Nick’s story.

Messy but realistic love

I didn't know if I would like this, but it was soooo refreshing. The love in this book is so raw. Having a man struggle from childhood trauma, but then slowly learn to heal and display some emotional intelligence was nice. Having black people love a niche of reading - cute and again realistic. The passion between the 2 main characters was just the right amount to keep you hooked. Would highly recommend.