Hello all. I have not been posting as much as I would have liked to this past year. I have been focusing on reading more and more physical books. I exceeded my goal this year. But I really want to see how much more I am going to read. To that end, I have picked another book and I am loving it. One thing about Tiktok that I have enjoyed is Booktok, especially Blackbooktok. That is were I found The Neighbor Favor.

I am going to be going over the things I like and disliked about the story, so SPOILERS ahead.

The story starts out with Lily Greene riding the subway in the summer. It paints a vivid picture of life in NYC. It is hot and sticky and Lily may not make out without passing out. Lily tries to focus on her favorite fantasy novel The Elves of Ceradon written by an N. R. Strickland. Strickland is a reclusive British author whose one and only book has been out of print for years. No one else seems to have heard of N.R. Strickland, but Lily loves the magical world he’s created, populated by Black elves. Although Strickland’s novel is for adults, reading it has always reinforced Lily’s desire to eventually work in children’s publishing, to give young readers the opportunity to discover more fantasy worlds that reflect their diverse identities and experiences. Just as any fan would do, she spends her time googling her favorite author to see if there would ever be a sequel had been announced. Shockingly, she finds that he has a website. WITH AN EMAIL ADDRESS.

Like any other sane fan, she decides to send an email to her fave author to let them know just how great they are and how much Lily loves their writing. (I used to do this. I never got any real response though. But it brings me joy to see it in writing. I am not the only one.) She didn’t expect to hear from N.R. Strickland but both she and I were surprised when he responds.

The next chapter follows a series of cute emails that the two share. Lily opens up about her family, her job and her love of books. parents, who run a nursery, named their three daughters after flowers. Iris is a successful business woman and single mom. Violet is a glamorous stylist to the stars, engaged to marry a prominent music manager. Lily in comparison is not where she wants to be. She is an editorial assistant for a monster at a publishing company in NYC. She and N.R. Strickland, or Stick as he asks her to be called, have a bunch in common. They talk periodically over the course of a year. Strick talks to her about his writing, his travels and they seem to have a bond and enjoy speaking to one another. I found their exchanges to be super cute. But alas, it was too early in the book for anything to be solidified here. When Lily suggests they have a video call, Strick freaks out and ghosts her.

Lily moves on with life. Her job as an editorial assistant in nonfiction publishing remains terrible as her boss is a tyrant that can’t keep up with technology. Her sister’s Violet and Iris continue to be pushy about hooking her up with men they know. The issue? These men are never interested in Lily or what makes her tick. Violet’s set ups usually are in love with her and just going out with Lily to get on Violet’s good side. Lily’s match ups are usually about business and basically the male equivalent of her. Needless to say, these connections never work out and tire Lily out. I felt that. Unless someone asks for help… to continuously thrust people on them is tiring. Been there done that.

Because her job is not paying her any real money, Lily has to move in with her sister. She is living in Union Square desperately trying to apply to different jobs and making googly eyes at the new neighbor, Nick. Lily makes conversation with Nick in the elevator after seeing him for weeks.

The two have an instant connection and they can’t seem to put a finger on why. But the audience knows why. Nick is N.R. Strickland and is back stateside, having spent much of his time travel writing and meeting people for a travel magazine. He has been given a new chance to get his book out there. Under a new publisher, The Elves of Ceradon, is getting new life. And with it a new sequel. Nick never figured anyone would care about his story. But the new deal is lucrative (including an option for television) but Nick has a traumatic past and can’t trust it.

Nick does figure out who Lily is but does not admit it to her right away. And this is where I spent time being annoyed while reading. He does this push pull thing with Lily and it is wildly frustrating to read. Lily makes a bet with her sisters that if she finds a date for Violet’s wedding then they need to stop pushing her to go on pity dates. Iris and Violet agree but Lily has no idea where to start. She ropes Nick into helping her meet someone. Why does Nick agree?

When he takes Lily to the birthday party of Marcus, his agent, Nick becomes jealous. It isn’t odd when you remember that he spent the time after the emails fantasizing about being with Lily. However, after seeming like a jealous boyfriend (and kissing her), he gives her some speech about him not looking for something serious. Throughout the story we get a glimpse of how his past trauma, particularly with his family, is causing trouble in his adult life. Nick especially struggles with trusting people and letting his guard down. He’s afraid he’ll make Lily’s life worse. He’s got such low self-esteem and a lack of worth. Even when he talks about being an author, he disregards his talent. That makes it hard to try and write a sequel to his book. We see the tragic story of his parents and his home life through a series of flashbacks and they made my heart heavy, particularly him having to lie about his parents absence on move in day at college.

Lily, on the other hand, comes from a very supportive and loving family. They are used to telling her what to do and butting into her personal life. Lily knows that there will always be people there for her when she needs it. Her relationship with her sisters is definitely loving but Iris and Violet are definitely overbearing. That sort of thing would drive me nuts.

There is a cute scene with a family barbecue… and a fashion show that shows us that even other people can see the connection between Lily and Nick. Shit does hit the fan when Nick figures out who Lily is and he waits a while to tell her. When he does come clean… she is not sure what she wants to do with him or if she wants anything to do with him anymore. Nick tries running away. Marcus has to point out that running away from his problems is always his answer. Maybe sticking around is what Nick needs to do to put down roots. (There is nothing like having friends that point out uncomfortable truths to you.)

Part of what makes the story so enjoyable is that both Nick and Lily are relatable, likable bibliophiles. Gives me hope that I too shall meet a fellow bibliophile.  I also appreciated that Nick isn’t a bitter, surly, loner. He’s a guy who functions very well socially, makes acquaintances easily, and is an affable, attractive human being most people would be thankful to have in their lives. Nick keeps people at a distance but he isn’t obnoxious about it. Both Nick and Lily are learning about themselves and striving to make corrections in their career by letting go and being better at believing in themselves.

I enjoyed the way the relationship with Lily and Nick developed. They built a strong friendship both over the emails they initially share and later, in real life. Their relationship progresses naturally from mutual attraction and compatibility to romance. I loved the way the book closed. Her boss gets her comeuppance and thank goodness Lily gets a new job. Good book and would highly recommend.