Spotlight & Giveaway: The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Kristina Forest to HJ!

Hi Kristina and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Neighbor Favor!

 
Hello!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

The Neighbor Favor is about Lily, an aspiring children’s books editor who is corresponding online with her favorite author, but little does she know, this author is her charismatic neighbor, Nick. And Nick has just agreed to help Lily find a date to her sister’s wedding, even though he’s falling for her himself.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

LILY GREENE ALWAYS IMAGINED THAT IF SHE WERE TO have the tragic misfortune of dying young, it would happen in a valiant, honorable way. Similar to the heroes in her beloved
fantasy novels. Maybe she’d die while rescuing a child (or cat) from a burning building. Or darting into the street to save an elderly person from being hit by a speeding truck.
She didn’t imagine that at twenty-five years old her final moments would be spent drenched in sweat, dehydrated out of her mind, on a crowded New York City subway train without AC during rush hour on one of the hottest days of the year. Because this was an event that she might
not survive.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• Lily wants to edit children’s fantasy novels, but instead she edits really depressing adult non-fiction.
• Nick writes a fantasy series about a clan of black elves. Like, Lily he’s a high fantasy book nerd.
• This story takes place in the world of publishing, partially inspired by the several years I spent working in publishing.
• Lily and Nick first meet online and spend a year exchanging emails before they meet in person.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

I think what they both initially like about each other is how much they love books and reading. Lily and Nick are both introverted people.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

Most of the scenes that made me blush, cry or laugh while writing are spoilers, so I can’t really share much! But there is one scene when Nick helps Lily take her cat to the emergency vet. Nick is terrified of cats so it was funny to write any scene when he interacts with Lily’s cat, Tomcat.

Readers should read this book….

“Let’s take him to the animal hospital,” he said. “I’ll move him.”
Lily bit her lip, uncertain.
“It’s okay,” Nick assured her. “I’ll be careful.”
“All right,” she finally said. “I’ll get his carrier.”
While she raced down the hall, Nick stared at Tomcat, who continued to groan.
“Fuck me,” he whispered to himself. His old fear of cats was nearly causing him to break out in stress hives. “Tomcat, please don’t scratch, bite or attack me, all right? I just want to help you.”
Tomcat’s alert gaze turned slightly wary when Nick gently slipped his hands around Tomcat’s torso. The cat moaned louder, and Nick froze, but Tomcat didn’t swipe at him. He lay motionless in Nick’s hands as Nick picked him up and cradled him to his chest. He was terrified to hold
the heavy cat so closely to him, but Tomcat was more or less docile in Nick’s arms.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m currently working on the follow up to The Neighbor Favor, which is about Lily’s older sister, Violet. My upcoming release is The Neighbor Favor, which goes on sale February 28, 2023.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway:  A print copy of The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What books are you looking forward to reading this year?

 
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Excerpt from The Neighbor Favor:

She didn’t even notice that Fine as Hell Neighbor was walking right toward her until he was literally feet away.
“Hey,” he said, pulling open the door to their apartment building.
Today, he wore a black T‑shirt and black denim shorts. He looked effortlessly sexy. He stepped back to let Lily go through first and smiled. She felt it again, that weird sensation of familiarity.
Don’t just stare at him! Say something!
“Um,” Lily mumbled.
No, not that!
“Thank you,” she said.
Better, much better.
“No problem.”
He walked a couple feet behind her through the lobby. She purposely slowed her walk so that they’d fall into step together. She took a deep breath and forced herself to look at him.
“I’m Lily, by the way,” she said.
His eyebrows furrowed for a second, but his expression quickly cleared.
“Nick.” He held out his hand and Lily fumbled with her bag and manuscript before clumsily offering her hand too.
“Nice to meet you.”
His hand was large and a little rough as it covered hers. Her whole body felt electrified at that simple touch. When he let go, Lily discreetly rubbed her sweaty palm against her thigh with a wince. He probably thought she was a wet-handed monster.
“Nice to meet you too.”
They waited for the elevator and Lily’s mind went blank per usual as she stumbled for something to say next. Then she remembered their common ground.
“I like The Fifth Season too,” she blurted.
Nick raised an eyebrow, still smiling politely, but clearly not following her train of thought.
“By, um, N. K. Jemisin, I mean,” she continued. “I saw you holding it once. I assumed you’d read it
. . .”
Oh God. Maybe she’d misread the situation. He could have been gifting the book to someone else. Or maybe he’d found the copy on the hallway floor and had been on his way to donate it. What if she’d somehow dropped her copy and he’d accidentally donated it?
“Oh yeah, I did,” Nick said. “I read it in a day.”
Lily’s eyeballs popped. “In a day? It’s over five hundred pages long!”
“I’m a fast reader.” He shrugged, sporting a slightly sheepish smile, as if being a fast reader was something to be ashamed about. “I sit in the park and read for hours.”
Dear Lord. Be still her heart. The elevator doors opened, and they stepped inside.
“Do you mind?” a very tired- looking father asked, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Behind him was a rowdy group of at least ten children wearing birthday hats. One child wore a large pin with the number 8.
The father didn’t wait for Lily’s and Nick’s reply before he and the children were pushing onto the elevator as well. Lily and Nick crowded into one corner, swiftly surrounded by eager eight-
year- olds whose birthday cake intake had them soaring on sugar highs.
Lily was standing directly in front of Nick with very little space between them. Her arm brushed against his side and she felt the warmth radiating through his shirt. She inhaled his woodsy cologne. God, he smelled good. She wanted to bottle his scent.
Get it together! You’re behaving like an unhinged, horny
freak!
“I used to read a lot when I was a bookseller,” she said, attempting to continue their conversation, even though they’d been derailed by a birthday party frenzy.
Nick leaned down closer to her, angling his head to hear
her over the kids. “Say that again?”
She turned slightly, and his face was right there above her shoulder. This close, she could see just how smooth his skin was, the fullness of his lips. It was sensory overload.
Unconsciously, she bit her lip, and she noticed how the action caught Nick’s interest. He lowered his gaze to her mouth and quickly brought his attention back to her eyes.
Lily swallowed and tried to make herself focus.
“I read a lot when I worked at a bookstore,” she said, slightly raising her voice. “Now I read maybe two books a year for fun and it takes me forever.”
“You were a bookseller?” There he went with that quick eyebrow furrowing again. Maybe he had a tic?
“Yeah, in New Jersey,” she said. “Dog- Eared Pages. You’ve probably never heard of it.”
Nick slowly shook his head. “I’m still trying to get used to New York, to be honest. I’ve only been here for a few months. I moved in March.”
“Oh, where’d you move from?”
He waved his hand. “All over, really. But I was born in North Carolina.”
“Like Petey Pablo,” she said, because of course the only North Carolina native she could think of was a rapper from the early 2000s, who was popular back when she was in middle school. She wanted to crawl under the upholstery of the elevator floor. But Nick only laughed. She felt his body shake behind her as he chuckled. He had a nice laugh, deep and full of warmth. She wondered how she could get him to laugh like that again.
“Yep,” he said, grinning down at her. “Just like Petey Pablo.”
She shook her head, although she was grinning too. “I should have said Nina Simone.”
“Or Jermaine Dupri.”
“Really? I didn’t know he was from North Carolina.”
Nick nodded. “And without him, we wouldn’t have had Bow Wow.”
“Or Mariah Carey’s The Emancipation of Mimi album, which is one of the best albums of all time.”
“Of all time?” Nick whistled. “That’s high praise.”
“Well, I mean, it’s Mariah Carey.” She gave him a look. “You aren’t going to argue with me about Mariah Carey’s talent, are you?”
Nick held up his hands in surrender, that slight grin still on his face. “No, ma’am. I don’t want any problems.”
Lily laughed. She was doing it! Having a full-blown conversation with Fine as Hell Neighbor—
wait, no, his name was Nick. And not only were they simply conversing, the conversation was flowing. She barely recognized herself.
“It’s my birthday, Octavius!” one little boy in the center of the birthday party group shouted. “I get to play on the PS5 first!”
“I’m still the oldest of the group, Waverly! Rules are rules!” In a split second, a fight broke out among the kids. The birthday boy’s dad only sighed, weary with exhaustion.
Nick’s arm shot out in front of Lily, protecting her from being hit by a scrawny, stray elbow. He gently but securely turned her away, shielding her with his body. She was enveloped by him and the scent of his heavenly cologne. It took all of her effort not to swoon. She could die right there,
knowing that her last moments on earth were spent in Nick’s blissful embrace. Thank the Lord for angry eight- year-olds and their temper tantrums.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

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…
Book Links: Amazon | B&N |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Kristina Forest is the critically acclaimed author of romance books for both teens and adults. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing at The New School and she can often be found rearranging her bookshelf.
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