I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Well that was a great read. Thank you so much for the advanced copy wish I had read sooner. I can definitely recommend this book.

Urgh, sometimes you read a book and it makes you glad you left your teenage years behind you. What an entitled horrible bunch these are - they make for great reading!!

Unfortunately I found this book rather complicated and struggled to get into it. I attempted a few times but eventually I have had to mark as dnf.

Wow, this one was really good and so much more than what I expected . The writing was really good and created a really great atmosphere that had me hooked.

Not my usual read but i enjoyed this book despite my misgivings initially. Its not one i would rush out to purchase but enjoyed it all the same.

I really enjoyed this novel, which had a bit of a Secret History vibe. Ada is desperate to ingratiate herself with some posh and annoying public school types on an art history trip to Italy. She ends up getting herself entangled in their lives, but things aren't quite what they seem...
Lots of thoroughly unlikeable characters (including the protagonist), some lush Italian scenery and a few twists made this a really good read.

Ada is someone who thinks she’s been shortchanged when she and her mother are forced to leave a dilapidated old country house in Wales. So when she gets a chance to spend a few weeks in Italy on an art course, she doesn’t refuse. This book is full of deeply unpleasant people, not least Ada who is determined to be part of the wealthy group she finds herself in. I wouldn’t say it was a thrill a minute, in fact it was rather slow and there’s no resolution at the end which made me wonder what was that all about! It was easy reading and was intriguing enough to finish. Liked the Italian descriptions.

The story is an interesting one and I do love the part where the characters are in Italy, but I just couldn't connect with the book and found it to be very slow.
Ada, Annabelle and Locarn are all very selfish and there is no redemption for any of them at the end of the book.
It is barely 3 stars for me.

Very nice series of mysteries set in Italy. Great setting, engaging writing. Recommended.
Thanks a lot for this copy.

I also listened to the audio book and found both that, and the text, excellent - an interesting tale, well-told with good characters and vivid descriptions.

Really enjoyed this book. With overtones of The Talented Mr Ripley, The Secret History and A Room with a view, this brings to life a modern day Italian Grand Tour, peopled with a cast of characters none of whom you would want to spend weeks with - but despite so many unlikeable, if stylish characters, this novel grips and keeps you reading. I really liked the unexpected ending - the author is not afraid to show that people don’t always get what they deserve!

The premise of this book sounded brilliant and could have been a really interesting thriller. However, it just didn't live up to its potential for me. The book has a really slow start and for 30/40% of the book nothing really happens. It might be because the main characters goes on a trip to Italy to learn about art history and I'm not really interested in art history but to me as a murder mystery thriller, the murder kind of needs to happen before 40% of the book has already happened. I reckon the murder needs to take place early on in the book to grab the reader but this one really dragged it out.

The rest of the book also felt really dragged out and there seemed to be lots of unnecessary parts. I did just end up skipping entire pages and flipping through some of it until I got to parts that might be important or interesting. My other issue was that none of the characters were likeable and there doesn't seem to be any development of these for them to become likeable.

In the blurb it talks about discovering a 'far darker secret' hidden within the main character and I'm still not sure what exactly it was meant to be because I don't really think she learnt anything about herself. I gave this one 2 stars because there's nothing wrong with the way Laura Vaughn wrote. There were some lovely descriptions and did make me want to go back to Italy. However, because this is the first book of hers that I've read, I'm not sure if this book is typical of her or not but just from this one alone, I probably wouldn't come back to the author.

To have the unpleasant central figure of a novel meet their comeuppance makes this entire rich novel of deeply portrayed and flawed (and unappealing, for the most part) characters in the rich setting of this splendid Italian city utterly rewarding. In the great tradition of good novel writing, the denouement forces transformation for the person whose voice recounts the tale. Overlooking a crime, using knowledge of it to make a life ... perfect and almost classic (almost Jamesian) heights of achievement. Very impressive if slow going - but a necessary element to thoroughly become immersed in the proceedings - and forget the underlying focal point of motivation.

I enjoyed the last 20/30% of this book a lot more than the first 70% as I feel like it was the only part of the book that gripped me completely. I read it in a couple of hours, whereas the first 70% took me 10 days. I found myself hating all of the characters due to their entitlement, and wanting Ada to succeed whilst also not wanting it.

As a child Ada seemed to have it all, money, devoted parents and a country upbringing with a private school education. At eighteen she feels entitled and resentful - her father dead and money worries meaning that she has to go to a local comprehensive and now she has failed her Oxford interview. Her godmother offers to subsidise a 'gap year' adventure, a cultural tour of Italy and Ada is determined to fit in with the effortlessly rich clique that she tours with. However when tragedy strikes at the end of the tour Ada sees a way to ingratiate herself into a society that she feels that she should belong to, even if it means telling a few lies.
There are part of this book that I loved and parts I hated! Ada is a very unlikable character, manipulative and calculating, I wasn't sure if she had any redeeming features. however there are few likable characters in the book, each has massive flaws and this makes the book difficult at times because as I reader I cared little for the characters. However it does redeem itself by atmospheric descriptions, particularly of Venice, and a clever little twist in the tale

The Favour is a character-driven drama where the people in it are not necessarily likeable but are nonetheless preoccupying. Set in Italy, the scenes that Laura Vaughan paints are beautiful, and made me want to visit the various different places that the students did to experience the sights for myself.

The story focuses on the central character of Ada Howell, who lost her father when she was thirteen along with the life she thought she would have. Ada's godmother gifts her an art history trip beginning in Venice and the reader follows Ada as she tries to fit in with the rest of her group; a privileged, sophisticated and cultured set, but one of them dies in suspicious circumstances.

Dark, immersive, and full of secrets and lies, I found The Favour a thoroughly enjoyable read. I didn’t foresee see the final twist.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Corvus via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Apart from the wonderful descriptions of various Italian cities and the art collections therein, this book was turgid and borderline boring. None of the characters were likeable, believable or interesting. The main voice, Ada was particularly narcissistic and frankly a horrible social climber. The book is told in three parts: part one and three are slightly better than two, which just seemed to go nowhere and only serve the purpose of the time lapse between one and three. The finale was as lacklustre as the rest of the book. I am awarding two stars for the art and Italian elements.

An interesting portrayal of being on the outside, striving to get in. Entitled Ada is not a character you warm to but as things progress, the pathetic nature of her desperation to belong where she doesn't could bring a little sympathy. I enjoyed watching the plot unfurl and am still undecided as to whether the ending was satisfactory or not!