Do you like books with fraught relationships? The relationship at the center of The Favor by Adele Griffin definitely qualifies! But is it fraught in a good, enjoyable-to-read way? Read on to find out what I thought.
The Summary
At I’ll Have Seconds, a high-end fairytale vintage dress shop in Manhattan, Nora Hammond loves nothing better than pairing a rare find with the perfect client.
At home, Nora grapples with the bleaker reality of enormous debt, a tiny apartment, and ever-dwindling hope that she and her husband Jacob will have a family of their own.
When socialite Evelyn Elliot charges into Nora’s life, the women spark an immediate connection, and Nora is jettisoned into the heady whirl of New York’s moneyed elite. As Evelyn’s stylist and confidante, Nora needs to learn all new rules of engagement for the uber-wealthy. But it isn’t until Evelyn decides her next cause is to carry a baby for Nora, that these rules― and this unlikely friendship―are tested.
A contemporary story that celebrates alternative routes to family, The Favor is an incisive examination of what it means to long for a child and what relationships cost us―and what they’re worth.
My Review
When I heard about this book, I thought it sounded really interesting and unlike anything I’ve read before. I’ve not read anything featuring a relationship between a family and their surrogate — it’s pretty unique! So I was looking forward to reading it.
When it first started, I was liking it. Nora is likable and her struggle to get and maintain a pregnancy is a topic that’s near and dear to my heart. I’m not a huge fashion person, so I didn’t love all the descriptions of outfits and designers, but I just went with it.
Evelyn is a fun character. She just bursts onto the scene with her large presence and her large bank account and adds some excitement to the story that it needed. I can’t say I’ve ever met someone with that much money so I don’t know how some really act, but Evelyn is really stereotypically rich. She throws her money around and acts like she’s the most important person in the room. I was oddly pulled toward her, though, much like Nora was.
Nora and Evelyn’s relationship started out fine enough, but then the weirdness started to happen. I can understand how Nora warmed to the idea of Evelyn being her surrogate once it comes up. She desperately wants a child, and Evelyn’s offering it to her without asking for payment beyond medical expenses. However, their relationship is just super odd. It’s really all about Evelyn much of the time, and Nora plays into it.
THEN Evelyn uses the pregnancy as a way to get more followers on social media, and Nora takes a loooong time to see it. I felt like Nora was smarter than that…she’s in denial for so much of the story. When the relationship really takes a turn for the worse while Evelyn is half way through the pregnancy, I was super angry at both of them. Nora is just a pushover and willfully oblivious, and Evelyn is entitled and self-centered. I have to admit, I didn’t love the book as much during this portion of the story.
The ending, though, pulled me back in a bit. I won’t tell you what happens here, just in case you don’t want it spoiled.
If you like relationships that start out great and slowly turn sour, and/or fashion, you might be better suited for this book than I was. I did really get into it and didn’t want to put it down during the portion where you just don’t know what Evelyn might do when she’s angry, so it definitely isn’t a bad book. There were just some aspects that didn’t work well for me. I’m going with a solid 3 stars.
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