“...I know that while I’m not okay at all, one day I will be. And for the days that I’m not, there’s always the sunshine.”


First, I have to say, I really enjoyed this story.

As a lover of Little Free Libraries, I instantly was intrigued by the story's premise. Falling for someone by exchanging favorite books with personal notes? Adorable!

I also thoroughly enjoyed watching the main characters grow and develop while dealing with their own issues, past and present.

Overall, it is a sweet romance and enjoyable storyline.

Cute romance about second chance love and forgiveness. I love the depth of backstory given to each character. And I loved all the literary references. No spice, just a cute romance.

I fluctuated between liking and disliking The Book Swap several times throughout the book. I think overall, it could have been cut down in length, as there were times where I felt as if the plot points weren’t really contributing much to the overall story. I’m also not typically a fan of the miscommunication trope unless it’s done REALLY well, and this one missed the mark a bit. The main character was somewhat hard to like and held a grudge well beyond when it should have been. Her character arc didn’t do much for me.

I managed to finish the book and like the Author’s writing style, but I’m not sure it’s one I would recommend to others. Solid 3.5 stars, so I rounded up to 4.

This is such a fun refreshing read. I liked the writing style. The story is unique. Each of the characters grew with the story. The care that was taken to address trauma. The love for books and writing.
Thank you Tessa Bickers for sharing this one with the world. I've already recommended it to do many of my reader friends.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to read this book. All opinions are my own.

At first glance, I expected a lighthearted rom-com - but it actually was more about trauma and growth. We follow the story of Erin and James relationship and how it builds through the notes left in the margins of books. Books carry these two through their difficult days and offer second chances and forgiveness. Bickers’ debut is really a love letter to books and a celebration of the power of stories.

Wow Wow WOW! This book is fantastic!!! Thank you to NetGalley and Tessa Bickers for my ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely ADORE this story and was completely engrossed from the very first page. This book has romance, heartbreak, trauma, triumph, and everything in between. I love the nuanced layers in this book and the journey that both Erin and James take throughout the story. The pacing of this book is perfect and the full cast of characters round out this story to make it one of my favourites of the year.

And the idea of the book swap through the little free library? SO STINKING CUTE and I want to believe that this is actually happening for someone in the world! I am a firm believer that you can know so much about a person through their taste in books, and this story brought that idea to a whole new level!

An incredible debut and one I have also chosen to add to my physical home library, I can't wait to see what Tessa Bickers does next. Congratulations on this stellar book!

This was a reasonably cute romance with a fun book aspect. The premise sounded promising and I liked the characters for the post part. Unfortunately, I found the book as a whole kind of bland and it ended up being a skim read for me. I think I was expecting it to be lighter than it was. It would probably be more appealing if you don't go into it expecting that.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this book before the archive date ended. I am extremely grateful that I got the opportunity to receive an Advanced Readers Copy from NetGallery. From what I was able to read, this seemed to be so cute and I love the idea of a book swap and communicating through there!

The Book Swap was a delight to read. I very much enjoyed this story of two characters who got to know one another (even) better through sharing their thoughts about books and life. The device that the author uses is to have them each taking books from a little free community library and writing to one another in the margins. I found that I was always looking forward to see which book these two would be reading next; maybe this reflects the eagerness that they had as well.

Readers meet Erin. She has faced a great loss and has a unique way of coping (find out in the book). In a scene that many readers may envy, she quits her toxic work place despite not knowing what she will do next. Readers follow as she figures this out with a therapist sister often voicing her opinions.

James has his own difficulties. His mother suffers from mental illness and he periodically spends stretches of time with his parents to help out. James has a job that he does not love. What will he do about this?

Bonnie…well, read the book to find out who she is and what her role in the story is.

No spoilers so don’t want to go into how these characters intersect.

This book is not entirely light in nature but it is a consistently good read. I was always happy to settle down and spend time in the world of these characters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Book Swap looked like it was right up my alley, after all a romance that is developed over swapping notes in the pages of your favorite books? Give that to me in my day to day, romance optional, and I’d be happy as could be. While this book does include true book swapping (and free lending libraries which have been a genius idea since going mainstream), it was truly so much more.

We are introduced to Erin and James who have a common link in their friend Bonnie, since departed. The two have their share of issues they are struggling through but Erin especially wants nothing to do with James, which makes their common thread so poignant. I was expecting a lighter book given the hints to darker waters in the blurb didn’t seem to indicate that would be the focus of this story, though it was. And that doesn’t take away from this book at all, but be aware of what you will be reading, less so a rom com and more so a story of grief and struggle and the different ways we can find connections with those we wouldn’t expect to see us through the dark.

I recommend this for those that go in eyes wide open to understanding this book deals with some heavy topics. If you’re looking for lighter fare I would suggest you come back to this at another time.

When I first came across the book, I expected it to be a You’ve Got Mail inspired rom-com with a little free library, and while it definitely delivered on the bookish characters and classic book references, this book is NOT a rom-com. It is very grief heavy and focuses on a variety of just heavy topics: suicide, death of a close friend, bipolar parent, heart attack, anxiety attack, infidelity, unexpected pregnancy. Definitely check out the trigger warnings before reading if any of this sort of thing bothers you while reading. This book did remain closed door, which I really appreciated, though I didn’t love how casual the main characters were about sex and the sexual innuendos and references throughout the book. This book had a lot of British slang, which I could mostly figure out by the context but was at times difficult to interpret, and there was more profanity than I felt necessary. Overall, I liked the premise and the ending was very sweet, but there were some aspects that made it not the best romance for me.

3.5 Stars🌟

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sending me an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions above are my own.

I was expecting this book to be a little lighter based on the blurb and the cover but I do love a romance that deals with heavier topics. This was an interesting read and I did enjoy seeing how the story progressed.

This was quite lovely! I liked the sort of melancholy of it all, and I enjoyed the way it went back in time to Erin and James’s high school years. It had lots of nice discussions on grief and forgiveness, which made this a really insightful romance, I think. I also love the You’ve Got Mail trope of falling for someone through a written form of communication, not knowing that you know them already. And I love little free library representation! I wish someone would’ve fallen in love with me when I took care of one in college.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC!

Although this is not a book that I would typically reach for, I'm sure it's someone's cup of tea! I was kind of expecting a light-hearted romance like some of the popular ones that we see these days, but it rather dealt with some particularly heavy topics that I wasn't quite prepared for. This wasn't something that I particularly aligned with, but I think that if I had seen that coming and known to prepare for a heavier read, I could've really loved this book. I think that Tessa Bickers has a really unique writing style that I enjoyed and I would definitely be interested in seeing where she goes with her next publishing!

3.5 stars.

Read if you like:
- books within books
- pen pals
- second chance

This book was not what I expected. It deals with some heavy topics: grief, loss, family issues, mental health, and the journey of healing. Based on the cover and the synopsis, I thought I’d really like this book. My favorite part was probably the main characters connecting through the free little library. The annotations and messaging back and forth was sweet. That being said, the main characters are hot messes and I had a hard time relating to either one of them. If you are looking for a fun, happy, meet cute romcom, this isn’t it. While I may not have thoroughly enjoyed it, I don’t doubt that others will.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing / Graydon House for a free digital copy of this book. This is my honest review. Publication date: September 3, 2024.

Erin is the worst, she is so self centered and does not act like an adult. overall quite a sad book, not a romcom

3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was decent just not my usual cup of tea. I think I was mainly just wanting more of a backstory and it felt as though I was missing that. I was left wanting more.

It also took me a while to get into the book. Once I got into it, it was better but the first few chapters I was struggling.

I would still recommend this to friends- just because it wasn’t my cup of tea doesn’t mean someone else wouldn’t like reading this.

I just didn't love this book. I wanted to love it and I do love the premise for the story. But, it seemed really predicable. I never loved the characters so it was hard to get really into the book. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book tried to do too many things. The romance premise is appealing and probably the best part of the story. James and Erin both visit the community library (we call them little free libraries that in the US) in their neighborhood. Erin accidentally drops off a beloved book of hers filled with notes that she's made in the margins. James picks it up and responds with his own notes back to her and drops the book back off. They go back and forth through several books and basically live out every English nerd's fantasy. A lovely and cute setup for a relationship and book.

However, the lives of James and Erin are both filled with a lot of heavy events and themes. They're both grieving the loss of a high school friend. James' mom is mentally ill and Erin's parents split up leaving her angry and depressed. They each have one sibling and one best friend going through their own stuff. It all kind of mixes to become a depressing soup with very little plot to interest the reader. The romance takes a back seat to the depresh soup while both characters slowly become quite insufferable. The writing feels rushed and/or edited down too much and it is so clear that James' perspective is written by a woman that he becomes unbelievable.

Unfortunately, the cute cartoon cover has duped us all yet again and it was the highlight of this book for me.

A book about the love of books, unwittingly shared through a little free library between two former best friends? Say less.

I started The Book Swap on Monday night, and it is now lunchtime on Thursday. What a wild ride it has been. You know you enjoyed a book when you are forced to put it down for adult obligations like work and child-rearing, and you continue thinking about it when it's not in front of you. That's how this book was for me.

I do admit there were moments around 80% where I felt the story was stalling out a bit and I just wanted Erin and James to get on with it already and either make up or walk away from each other for the last freaking time. But I hung in there, and my patience was rewarded. This was not the kind of romance I was expecting, not in the least, and the MCs' "shared history" is much more complicated than I could have anticipated. But I appreciated that. The characters in this story feel like real, relatable friends and neighbors and I enjoyed their journey.

The Book Swap is a strong debut, and I can't wait to see what other stories Tessa Bickers has up her sleeve.

Content warnings: Bullying, mental health crises