Review & Giveaway - Finding Favor by Lana Long

What’s more important: friendship or freedom?

In the eight years since seventeen-year-old Favor Miller’s father died, she’s had to endure her reluctant, self-righteous guardians the Browns. Every day for eight years, they've reminded her that she doesn't fit in, that she’s not one of them. Every day for eight years, she’s eagerly awaited the day when she’ll finally be free to live her life her way.

On the eve of high school graduation, Mr. Brown ambushes Favor with the offer of college funding and a to-die-for summer internship–with the one stipulation that she must discontinue her friendship with his son, Ethan.

Accustomed as she is to sharing everything with her best friend, this is one secret Favor must keep in order to protect Ethan. The distraction of his new girlfriend, her growing friendship with his older brother, and her need to understand her family history, add in further complications.

As Favor debates signing the contract, she must decide if she’s willing to give up her best friend in order to pursue her dreams. Will she have to stay in the place she’s so desperately wanted to escape in order to make the right decision and get what she really needs?

I'm a huge Jane Austen fan. Which played a part in deciding to read Finding Favor by Lana Long. Mansfield Park by Austen is part of what inspired this novel.

Favor's father died when she was young. His old college roommate gave Favor a home and has agreed to help further her education and make her "dreams" come true... as long as she does one thing. She has to sign a contract by her 18th birthday promising that she'll stay away from his son, her only friend in the world it seems, Ethan.

The Browns are well off and kind of hoity-toity. Their saving graces are their sons, Ethan and Tom. Ethan has been Favor's best friend since the moment she entered the home and Tom becomes her new ally when it seems Ethan has found something better to occupy his time with. The daughter, Madison, however, is stuck up and as snobby as they come. She doesn't hesitate to put Favor in her place and remind her just exactly where she came from and that she is in no way shape or form an actual part of the family.

First off.... I want to say I was a bit put off by the fact that there seemed to be no typesetting in the copy I received. The font was incredibly large and the letters actually ran off the bottom of the page and on to the next. I also found a typo in the first few pages of the story which didn't get my hopes up about the rest of the novel.

I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the book.

I was sad for Favor. She was basically reminded on a regular basis that she was an orphan but from the time she was little she had Ethan. It was her and Ethan against the world. I had a friend like that when I was young. It was me and him. We were joined at the hip. Until we weren't. We grew up and grew apart like Favor and Ethan seem to be doing in this story. And it breaks her heart because aside from the gardener and some of the staff that work for the Browns, she literally has no one. No one to take care of her or that she can talk to. She lives a very lonely existance and it was just so sad. I could relate to her and being able to do that really drew me in to the story.

The Browns irritated me from the word "Go". Mr. Brown seemed cruel and heartless and completely detached from any semblence of humanity and I just assumed Mrs. Brown was him but female. I like it when I find out I'm not always 100% correct. It makes me feel better. Madison was a spoiled little rich girl and I've known too many of those in my life to really have any sympathy for her. At all. Period. She felt like she was entitled to everything in the world and everyone owed her something. Total snob. I stayed away from people like that in school.

Tom was the big surprise for me. Based on the early description of him I assumed (again) that he was just a spoiled (but good natured) rich boy who had everything handed to him. And again, I was pleasantly surprised. He turned out to be quite the onion with layer upon layer and it was great every time a new side of him was revealed.

This was a good story to read overall. Barring the frustrations right at the beginning, I liked it. A lot. In a small.... teeny tiny sort of way, it reminded me of the relationship between Bella and Jacob and Bella and Edward in Twilight. Tom being Jacob and Ethan being Edward. Please don't let that stop you from reading it, that's just what I thought of when I pictured the relationships between the main characters. My brain goes funny places when I read.

I would recommend this probably to anyone 16 or over. It was a fast read and had a good plot that moved along nicely. The characters were well rounded and I enjoyed "getting to know them". I'm pretty sure that if you open this one up you will too.


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