The Favor is a beautiful story about two women from different worlds who find an instant kinship from a chance encounter. Nora runs a couture second hand store and Evelyn is a rich 30 something that cokes into the store and buys it out! They bond over their love of similar tastes.
Nora and Jacob desperately want a baby, but haven’t had any luck on that front. Evelyn comes from family money and is dazzling and impulsive. Evelyn decides to be Nora's surrogate.

I-just didn't love this one. I thought Evelyn was never really developed as a character - she just sort of appeared and had lots of money, but her friendship with Nora didn't seem genuine. Nora was almost afraid to set any boundaries, for fear of upsetting Evelyn (especially after Evelyn was carrying the baby for her). I appreciated the surrogate aspect, and thought the author did a great job showing all that is involved in that process, but the rest of the story just felt off to me.the narration was fabulous. I love Kristen’s voice. She has the prefect tone- being relaxing and calm while expressing her feelings to the listener.

The book has a slew of characters but the main focus seems to be the cloak and not the actual favor. I'm glad I finished it but it was definitely a struggle for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Adele Griffin and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC. "The Favor" releases June 13, 2023.

The Favor was an interesting story about female friendships, fertility issues, and surrogacy. I wanted to like this one but ended up feeling fairly "meh" by the end. I did like the author's writing style. It was so easy to picture the antiques and vintage clothes. Despite the enjoyable prose I couldn't enjoy the friendship between Nora and Evelyn. Evelyn seemed too manipulative, entitled, and kind of selfish for me to like. There were some funny moments here and there, as well as some deeply heart warming ones, but this one just wasn't for me. But I'm sure fans of contemporary fiction, female friendships, and surrogacy would enjoy this one.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was a general feel good and sometimes funny book. Likable characters but some overstretched plots. I enjoyed it and the narrator was great.
Gives you a view of the working class and the upper class and all that separates them and also makes them the same.
The surprise at the ending was quite a random treat too.
Narrator did a great job as well

I devoured this audiobook! It hooked me in the first five minutes and I listened every chance and I could get over the next couple of days. Kristen Sieh has become a favorite narrator of mine so having her tell this compelling story was an added bonus. The favor that Evelyn offered was the ultimate favor and WOW was this an incredible story!! I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.

3.75 stars

If your pals, like mine, are having babies in all of the ways these days - or if you are experiencing this in your own life - you will find a lot to connect with in this aptly titled novel.

Nora, the m.c., has a pretty cool job at a vintage store, a healthy relationship (overall) with her husband, a great group of friends and colleagues, and a deep desire to have a baby. After exhausting many options and her finances too, Nora accepts a somewhat surprising pitch from a wealthy woman, Evelyn, who first offers her odd jobs and then herself as a gestational surrogate! Yep. It's a leap! Griffin writes both women in ways that make their relative vulnerability, desperation, and quirkiness totally believable, which is a real feat given the circumstances. So much of this book also keeps readers in grey areas. Folks who enjoy thinking through how they might react, who is right or wrong, etc. will have a lot to consider from cover to cover.

As a person who has never been fired up to have kids and in fact has spent most of their adult life both fearing and actively avoiding that outcome, this isn't necessarily the top subject matter that captures my attention. That's why I'm even more surprised by how much I enjoyed this read. While the end fell a bit short for me, I was admittedly invested in the characters, outcomes, and - yeah - even a baby.

This is my first novel by this author, but I will be on the lookout for more from Griffin and have already started researching the back catalogue.

The Favor is a beautiful story about two women from different spheres who find an instant kinship from a chance encounter. Nora and Jacob desperately want a baby, but have had no luck conceiving. Nora meets Evelyn at her job at an upscale consignment store and they immediately bond over similar taste. Evelyn comes from family money and is dazzling and impulsive. Evelyn decides to be Nora's surrogate. I really enjoyed the relationship between Nora and Evelyn. I liked reading how their relationship evolved throughout the book. It was a very heartwarming story despite the ups and downs in any relationship. There is also a bit of fashion and decor, with sumptuous descriptions. I listened to the audiobook, which was perfectly narrated by Kirsten Sieh. She's one of my favorite narrators because her voice is so warm and emotive.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ebook / audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.