sarah_thebooknerd 's review for:

The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest

3.75

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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 Thank you to Penguin Random House Audio for a free copy to read. 

Lily submits an email to an author she loves website and she is shocked when he responds. The two of them begin this pen pal friendship and flirting and right before they are set to meet one another he ghosts her. Fast forward a few months, and Lily gets a new neighbor, Nick. While Nick talks with Lily he realizes that she is the pen pal he was writing with and he needs to keep that from her. He also wants to help her find a date to a wedding to make up for it. While they are working together to find a date, the two become friends and a relationship blooms. 

I struggled with this book and I was shocked because I have seen these tropes before and I could not figure out why I was getting so triggered. But, I figured it out! My daughter’s name is Lilly and I really felt protective of Lily in the book as a result. I wanted to protect her and I just wanted Nick to go to therapy to be good for her. So yeah, names can totally mess with your head when they are your kids names. But I loved Kristina’s writing and went to book 2 right away!