Following the highly acclaimed release of THE PARTY, Robyn Harding returns with THE SWAP. This sexy and edgy thriller combines her talent for writing different perspectives with morally gray situations for a suspenseful read that will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about friendship and betrayal.

Low Morrison is an unusual teenager. She does not have friends, hobbies or extracurriculars, but she does have an eccentric, polyamorous family who seems to have forgotten her in search of their own pleasures and growth. So it would not be unfair to say that Low can be a bit obsessive in her hunt for something to call her own. When she sees Freya, a curvaceous blonde who holds the world just far enough away to create an air of mystery around herself, Low knows she has to meet this ethereal beauty and befriend her. It’s not a crush, exactly, but something a bit more than admiration and a bit less than lust.

When she learns that Freya will be holding pottery classes at her home, Low quickly signs up, and the two become fast friends. Over intimate pottery lessons, the former Instagram influencer Freya tells Low about everything --- from her complicated relationships with her parents to her former professional athlete husband’s fall from grace, and even her dissatisfaction with their marriage and life in Hawking, an island on the Pacific Northwest known not for celebrity sightings but for farms and an endless dreariness. Low is instantly enamored, and self-centered Freya is equally fulfilled by the teen’s adoration. But Freya has another friend in town, local shop owner Jamie, and Low is not quite ready to share her new best friend.

In an effort to get even closer to Freya, Low takes up working for Jamie as a shop assistant. And spying on Freya and her husband. And moving into their studio in secret. She’s not stalking, she swears, but she can’t help it if she sees and notices things. One night she sees something truly incredible: Freya and her ridiculously handsome husband, Max, invite Jamie and her husband over for dinner, and the four take mushrooms to relax and boost Jamie’s spirits after suffering yet another unsuccessful brush with pregnancy. Bolstered by the drugs and the island’s encouragement of free love, the couples swap partners. Though the swap is more or less consensual at the time, Freya, like Low, has been playing her own games with her friends and their perspectives, and the swap starts to unravel their careful camaraderie. Only one person knows the truth --- or thinks she does. But is it Low, who watches everything unfold, or Freya, who sets the swap in motion?

Harding alternates perspectives rapidly in THE SWAP, and the sudden switches add to the pacing of the book, but they also provide some wonderful potential for character development. I love reading about a scene from one character’s point of view and then watching them react from another’s perspective, and Harding lays out each scene so carefully that you really do get the full picture from every side. Both Low and Jamie are perfectly developed, and I loved their interior battles with acceptance, jealousy and guilt. Harding is not afraid to play with relationship dynamics, but I think she has done something really special here by leaving out Freya’s perspective and allowing readers to fall in love with (or hate) her on their own.

Harding is well known for her ability to alternate perspectives and write complicated, heavily layered characters, but her talent is on full display with Freya. Fueled by good looks and a scintillating personality, Freya is the type of woman who makes everyone --- and I do mean everyone --- fall in love with her. Both Low and Jamie are instantly bonded to Freya, despite the pain that comes with being her friend or lover. She is simply intoxicating, and though you can sense that something is going on beneath the surface, Harding withholds just enough information about Freya to keep her equally alluring to the reader. Add to that the inconsistencies within her relationships, and you get a spellbinding mystery centered on one endlessly entertaining person and one sexy, debaucherous night.

Though THE SWAP is not your average murder mystery/thriller, Harding keeps the tension taut throughout, with Low growing increasingly resentful and Jamie increasingly fearful until the pace reaches breakneck speed and tragedy seems inevitable. Though Freya is easily cast as the villain, I loved that Low had some dark issues as well; Harding perfectly writes her loneliness and desperate desire for something of her own. You want her to win just as much as you want her to get some help and move on from these toxic people and their convoluted affairs. In a skill that is rare in authors of adult fiction, Harding is astoundingly adept at writing teens; Low is neither too sophisticated for her age nor too angsty.

There is a definite mystery at the heart of the novel, but Harding also raises several thought-provoking questions about love, fidelity and friendship that makes it an interesting conversation starter. Is swapping partners healthy when there is an unequal power balance, or is it just a sexy way to pass a night? Can one friend think too highly of another, or is that just the way some friendships are? Harding explores toxicity in all relationships in a way that is smart and observant, but equally fun to read. THE SWAP is an excellent dose of escapism, perfect for readers of CAPE MAY, STRANGER IN THE LAKE and A STRANGER ON THE BEACH.

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read.
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2020
The characters are unique, a mix of likable and unlikable. The story dragged in parts for me but was interesting enough to keep me turning pages. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion

I love a well-written thriller and this one kept me up past my bedtime several nights in a row. Freya was incredibly manipulative. Low, the teenager working in her pottery studio made me alternate between pity and being kind of creeped out. Although the premise was a couple swapping partners, the story was much bigger than that one incident. Recommend for fans of the genre!

"Sparks fly when obsession, adoration, and resentment mesh together in this exciting story."

I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to dive into the author's back list! Looking forward to her next release. To read my full review, please click on the link to my review at FreshFiction.com

The Swap is a dark story about how one night of poor decisions can lead to irreparably damaged lives. I cannot recall the last time I was so thoroughly captivated by a book while hating every single character. Truly, every person in this story was more awful than the next. Yet, I kept turning pages wondering what sinister, creepy, or reprehensible act they would commit next. Harding has a gift for writing cringey, binge-worthy content and I cannot get enough!

First, I wouldn’t exactly call this book a thriller, it’s more drama filled. Ok, ALOT drama filled. Low is lonely teenager who becomes infatuated with a former Instagram influencer and her pro hockey player husband. She becomes obsessed with spending time with Freya, to the point where it’s almost stalker like. Then when Freya becomes good friends with a new couple in town, Jamie and Brian, Low is NOT happy. She becomes desperate to get back into Freyas life, at any cost. When the two couples swap for the night one summer evening, that brings about more drama that Low is happy to feed on. This book was not something I’d normally read but it was a nice change of pace. And it did have me wanting more. I couldn’t help but wonder how all these characters would end up after the drama!

If you’re looking for an escape - something to distract you from whatever is going on in your life right now.. look no further! The Swap sucked me in from page 1. The characters are all twisted and have deep dark secrets. The story is JUICY with tons of shocking moments.

We’ve all heard stories and seen movies about couples “swapping” husbands or wives. So scandalous. It has always been fascinating to me. I could just imagine the mixed emotions and insecurities that would come from it. But, that’s not what really drew me into this story. It was the obsession! These characters are so deeply flawed that they all develop an obsession, either with themselves or another human and watching it unfold was utterly satisfying!

I am absolutely a fan of @rhardingwriter
I loved The Arrangement last year and dare I say it, loved The Swap even more!

This was a pretty interesting story. You have one woman and one young girl both obsessing over the same couple. The young girl slowly falls under Freya's spell. Not realizing that the manipulator is slowly being manipulated.

Then the night of the dinner party rolls around. Freya and her husband are the freer spirits of the two couples. Suggesting her and her new friend switch husbands is like a walk in the park for Freya. She however doesn't plan for someone watching the goings on of that evening. Someone who will willingly hold it over anyone's head to get what she wants.

A twisting and manipulative story about friendship and obsession.

Oh how I love Robyn Harding and her books! The Swap was a wild ride that will leave you wondering how it will all resolve. It's truly an addictive psychological thriller with stalking, desire, obsession, lies...you name it! Loved it!

There is so much to unpack when it comes to The Swap: female friendship, betrayal, secrets, love, sex, hate. And right in the middle of all of it, a teenager who makes very questionable choices when it comes to friends and people to look up to. Harding does a masterful job of keeping you guessing as you read, and perfectly utilizes unreliable narrators. You never know who to trust, or if there's even anyone you can trust. Even the people in the story aren't sure where reality starts and imagination stops. By the end, no one can trust anyone and virtually ever life is in some degree of shambles. It's an excellent thriller that will definitely keep you guessing until the very end.

The Swap by Robyn Harding centers around two couples and a troubled teen girl. Low, daughter of hippie parents who does not believe in monogamy, feels out of place in her hometown on an island in the Pacific Northwest -- until she meets Freya, a beautiful social media influencer who now owns the local pottery studio. She starts pottery classes to get closer to Freya and soon their friendship becomes an obsession. Low feels needed -- until Freya makes friends with Jamie and her husband Brian, a couple desperate for a baby. Soon, Low is isolated again and her jealousy of Jamie's friendship with Freya grows into resentment. One night, Freya suggests swapping partners, which leads to a spiral of events... giving Low the perfect opportunity to finally get Freya back into her life.

While I did not like any of the characters in the book (personally), I thought the author did a great job developing them. Low is described as an outcast, but I can see her personality and obsession develop as the plot progresses. Freya was also another significant character that had inner demons, and the author also did a great job showing that to the reader.

The plot line was pretty predictable. While there isn't a big twist to the plot, which I was expecting, the plot just mostly build up to a climax of events that led to the ending.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was on my to-read list for a very long time. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher Gallery/Scout Press, and author Robyn Harding, for providing me with an ARC, in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

***Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books!***

This was the first book I have read by Robyn Harding but it will not be the last. This book was such a deliciously dark guilty pleasure. If you need to have a likeable character in your books then this one might not be the one for you. A LOT of people really hated everyone. I kind of liked Low but I think it was because I empathized with her from my own experiences at that age.

Low is a girl who is searching for something to call her own. She has a polyamorous family, both of her parents have other partners on a regular basis and occasionally on a short term basis. She doesn’t have many friends in school because the other kids look down on her because of her weird family and because she is rather strange herself. She goes by Low because her hippy dippy parents named her Swallow (after the bird) because….well they are idiots. They prove how idiotic they are over and over again. Low finds herself attracted to Freya and she struggles to try and figure out why. Is it a friend thing? A romantic thing? A sex thing? She isn’t sure and wants desperately to just have a friend that is all hers so she can figure that out. I empathized with that coming of age struggle. As a result, she got a lot of leeway from me for some of the terrible thing she did. Yes, she did those things. Yes they were wrong. But she is a dumb kid that got taken advantage of and betrayed by the adults around her.

Freya was just delightfully devious. I could never really get a read on her. Was she evil? Or just rather self absorbed and selfish? It was hard to tell and her character made me feel constantly off balance. She utilizes both Jamie and Low as weapons against each other, ruthlessly pitting them against each other in a competition for her affection.

Jamie took me by surprise. Her character was largely boring. Then suddenly when her friendship with Freya was threatened she exploded into action and it was wonderful! Her husband though was as boring as watching paint dry.

The twists and turns kept me wondering what was going to happen the entire book. But looking back none of the things that happened come out of nowhere. They were the logical journey of the story but I didn’t see it. I could not put this book down. It was delicious.

The is my favorite Robyn Harding so far. I loved how deep she went with the characters in the story. Even with the storyline bouncing between different points of view, it was easy to feel involved in the characters lives with how much the author developed the characters. There were so many unexpected twists throughout the book and it all came together with a very intense, yet satisfying ending.

Low Morrison is not your average teen. For whatever the reason, Low just doesn’t fit in—and neither does Freya, an ethereal beauty and once-famous social media influencer who now owns the local pottery studio. After signing up for a class, Low quickly falls under Freya’s spell. Finally, both feel a sense of belonging…that is, until Jamie walks through the studio door. Desperate for a baby, she and her husband have moved to the island hoping that the healthy environment will result in a pregnancy. Freya and Jamie become fast friends, as do their husbands, leaving Low alone once again. Then one night, after a boozy dinner party, Freya suggests swapping partners. It should have been a harmless fling between consenting adults, one night of debauchery that they would put behind them, but instead, it upends their lives. And provides Low the perfect opportunity to unleash her growing resentment. review: This book is a tale of lies and obsession, making it highly addictive from the very first page. The cast of characters are unlikable and unrelatable, and while I typically don’t like that, it totally works in this particular book. The writing was fantastic and the storyline was unique. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. Just when you thought things couldn’t get crazier, another secret or manipulation would come out, making you turn the pages even faster! I loved how this book wrapped up and it was full of suspense. rating: 4 out of 5 ⭐️

I’ve been a fan of Robyn Harding’s thrillers ever since picking up The Party a few years ago. I especially loved The Arrangement last year, so I was thrilled to get my hands on an advanced copy of The Swap, courtesy of Gallery Books. I was sucked in the moment I started reading it and I couldn’t get enough of it.

This novel was really good throughout. I had a hard time putting it down and Robyn kept me guessing the entire way through. I don’t want to say a lot as to not spoil it, but it was very twisty and messed with my head. I wish we had Freya’s perspective, but I get why it wasn’t included. I enjoyed the balance between Jamie and Low’s perspectives. Brian and Max even got a narrative at times.

I could understand Low’s point of view in terms of being a loner and craving female friendship. I wasn’t all that popular growing up and when I did form a close friendship with someone, I tended to latch on for dear life. I had a friend in high school who was really pretty and whom everyone liked (in the group I was hanging out with). Senior year, this toxic friend started stealing my friend’s attention and time and I was getting fed up with it. Eventually, my friend saw the light, but I kind of wish I had Low in my corner to get rid of the toxic friend at the time. Just saying… While I never retaliated in the way that Low did, I still will develop a burning anger and hatred towards someone on a close friend’s behalf. I have much healthier friendship attachments now, but reading this book brought some memories to mind.

When (not if!!!) you pick this book up, buckle your seatbelts because you are in for a wild ride! Don’t be surprised if you end up getting nothing else done so you can read it in one sitting.

Movie casting suggestions:
Low: Diana Silvers
Freya: Candice King
Jamie: Lyndsy Fonseca
Brian: Scott Eastwood
Max: Giulio Berruti or Jason Momoa (I was picturing him first, but it's good to have backups.)
Thompson: Max Burkholder
Low's mother: Mireille Enos

This was a book about crazy, dysfunctional people that you didn't like... but wanted to keep reading about. Low is a teenage girl who didn't fit in with her peers because of her height, because she's a bit odd and because she lives in a "sex cult." Her parents are hippies and swingers, although on the island where they live, it's apparently not just acceptable, but the norm for people to be with others.

Freya is a narcissist, who gets off on manipulating other people. She pits people against each other and when she doesn't get her way, she flies off the handle. She's married to Max, an ex-hockey player looking to escape. Jamie is Freya's friend, who is spineless and just desperately wants a baby. Her husband, Brian, is also spineless and apparently a not-so-great writer. One night, the four of them take magic mushrooms and swap partners. Freya ends up pregnant, but whose baby is it? Jamie wants the baby. Freya wants Jamie to go away... and Low just watches and inserts herself into their lives.

It's crazy, it's messed up, but it was definitely an enjoyable read.

Author, Robyn Harding, never fails to deliver a great and unpredictable story! What could possibly go wrong during a night of recreational drug use between two couples? Especially when a young, jealous girl is fixated on one of the players? This is a great, twisty, novel, reinforcing why Robyn Harding's books are always a "go-to" for me.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The premise was really intriguing but I felt that the book sort of dragged. The story takes place on a small island and two lonely women, a middle aged woman who is desperate for a child (Jamie) and a high school senior (Low) who is a bit of an outcast, fall under the spell of a beautiful social media influencer, Freya, who isn't what she seems on the surface.
I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters except for Jaime, I felt that her desire to be friends with Freya was real. Low becomes obsessed with Freya and wants to be the most important thing in her life, this felt a little weird to me. I also wanted more information about Freya and the deal with her and her husband.
I was surprised by the ending but felt that it was a little extreme and also rushed. Overall I enjoyed this book but felt that there could have been some improvements to the storyline.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a big fan of The Party I was super excited for The Swap and I wasn't disappointed. The Swap is a slow burn reminiscent of Big Little Lies that explores toxic relationships and obsession — and culminates in a truly shocking ending.

This is definitely the book to read for all the drama lovers out there. It was fast-paced and entertaining, mainly because none of the characters were mentally or emotionally stable and you didn't know who was going to snap next. The basic story follows Low Morrison, a teenager who befriends Freya, a local Instagram celebrity, and her former-pro-athlete husband, and ends up developing feelings for both of them. When another couple comes into the picture and draws their attention away from Low, she continues to wedge herself into their lives, just so that she is able to stay close. Because none of these characters possess any kind of emotional intelligence, there's a lot of back and forth and pitting one person against another. We're talking Lifetime movie kind of twisted drama. There are a few scenes that some readers might find difficult, so I'll drop a few mild content warnings here, specifically that of stalking, pregnancy loss/infertility, and sex under the influence, which could be read as nonconsensual. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.