This book was a love letter to books and that alone was enough for me. I really appreciated the story here.

i was hearing a lot of great things about this book, and am definitely glad I read it, although I didn’t get connected to the characters as much as I wanted to. May have just been my timing of reading it though.

Rating: 2.5

I want to first thank Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. As I have decided to not finish it I will not be putting a review up on my Goodreads account. I applied for this book thinking that it would be a cute romance, but I realized that there is a good amount of miscommunication throughout which is a trope I despise. I found the writing to be a bit choppy and it just did not mesh well with my preferences.

Love letter to all readers out there - to books and the power of connecting to others through reading. Pen-pals form in an unexpected way and this debut novel was hard to put down! It wasn't as engaging to me as some other romance novels I was reading around the same time, which makes my opinion a little lower. However I don't mean to say it wasn't enjoyable! I could totally see myself reading this again next year and loving it more.

3.5 - This book was not what I expected or what I thought the book was advertised as at all, although I really ended up liking the story that it was. I went into this book thinking it would be a cutesy romance with some book element, but it ended up being a book really focused on some heavy topics. This book definitely had a strong focus on grief and trauma, with some romance sprinkled in, in my opinion. Once I got over my initial confusion over what the book was about and settled into the characters and the story, I really enjoyed where the author took us.

Erin loses a book that was her best friends favorite and annotated by her. Erin had lost her best friend recently and the loss of the book brings up further grief. James finds the book and begins writing his own annotations and they begin corresponding by writing each other letters in the book. I loved the focus on the power of books and stories and the healing power of words. It was so cute to watch the relationship between Erin and James blossom, with the different literary references and focus on classic literature. I also enjoyed the relationship between Erin and her sister Bonnie. The journey that Erin goes through to work through her grief and heal enough to feel more like herself and start living her life again was very beautiful and encouraging. Sometimes, especially at the beginning, the writing and flipping between characters felt a bit disjointed, but by the second half of the book the writing flowed a lot better.

Overall, this was a cute romance that read more like a women's fiction, focusing on grief, trauma, and the power of books. Thank you to Graydon House and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review!

The Book Swap immediately grabbed my attention, and I knew I had to read it. Erin and James, who knew each other years ago, cross paths again in the most interesting way. When Erin accidentally donates a book to a local library, James discovers it, starting a unique connection between them. Their 'conversation' unfolds in the margins of many favorite and classic books, revealing more about each other with every exchange, all while keeping their identities a mystery.

Although I found the shifts between past and present a bit confusing at first, I quickly got into the rhythm of the story and really enjoyed it. The references to classic books were a bonus, inspiring me to revisit some old favorites and discover a few I have never read. This is an impressive debut from the author, and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more of her work in the future.

3.5- I love books about books so I had high hopes for ‘The Book Swap’ by Tessa Bickers. While it was overall entertaining, I just found that it moved a little too slow for my taste. I loved the family dynamics and the literary references throughout but just found myself wanting more when it was all said and done. Knowing this is Tessa Bickers’ debut novel, I am eager to see what else she writes in the future and to watch her grow as an author.
Thanks to Net Galley, Tessa Bickers, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me a sneak peek of this new release!

The Book Swap” had a promising premise: romance, personal growth, clever introspective stories.. however the execution fell a bit flat for us. With that being said, we decided to rate this story 2⭐️. The pace felt a little slow, so the plot didn’t really hold our attention as much as we hoped. And to be honest, 2 blueberries DNF’d it. They couldn’t quite connect with the characters.

Nonetheless, although this wasn’t our cup of tea, it may be yours. So hey, give it shot and tell us what you think!

Going in I thought this was going to be a lighter rom-com, but that wasn’t the case. It’s a story about grief, letting go of past hurts, and personal growth, with some romance mixed in.

Both main characters have past and present hardships they’re dealing with, and I really enjoyed how the little library and annotating book swapping connected them and gave them both hope. I loved reading those parts!

I was also interested in learning about both their pasts and the details about what happened in them since it was revealed in bits, but sadly some of the things revealed made me have some dislike of the FMC, and I felt like there was some unnecessary miscommunication at the end.

I did love how The Hunger Games and hope being the only thing stronger than fear had inspired the FMC when she was younger. And the growth both MCs had.

Overall I enjoyed most of the story even though it wasn’t what I expected going in. I’d check the trigger warnings since there were some heavy topics that weren’t mentioned in the blurb.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing & NetGalley for the eARC to review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Title: The Book Swap
By: Tessa Bickers

Genre:
Fiction, Women’s

Red Flags:
Bullying, Death, Mental Health, Mild Graphic Content, Trauma, Loss, Grief, Escape
(for some readers - small mention of LGBTQ)

Summary/Review:
A year after the loss of her best friend, Erin is still grieving. She has struggled through most of the year, and now finds herself unemployed. As she is sorting through her things, Erin accidentally donates one of her favorite books, which has a memory of her best friend in it. She frantically goes in search of the book, and to Erin’s surprise her annotations have annotations of their own. Erin begins a book swap with someone else…

This story was a fast paced, quick read. I felt the characters were more one dimensional. I felt the relationship with Erin and her sister had more depth than the “mystery man.” I felt his family relationships had more depth as well. I felt the ending was lacking and I was disappointed. I would not classify this book as a romance, rather women’s fiction, with elements of trauma, forgiveness, and second chances.

Thank you Tessa Bickers, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#Thebookswap
#harlequintradepublishing
#Tessabickers
#reluctantreaderreads
#advancedreadercopies
#netgalleyreviews

Unfortunately this one wasn't for me, I probably would have DNF'd if it wasn't sent to me for review :( The writing style wasn't my favorite, and all of the characters were really unlikeable. I usually like an enemies to lovers plot, but the romance didn't kick in until the epilogue and what James did to Erin was HORRIBLE, like I would go full scorched earth if a man did that to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sending me this book!

I enjoyed reading The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

The Book Swap by Tessa Vickers was a breath of fresh air. There seems to be a flood of books lately about books and libraries, and so many Romances as well. Yes, this book checks those boxes, but it is so much more. The Book Swap deals with heavy topics such as lingering grief, childhood trauma, and family issues. The affects of these things on our main characters is realistically and tenderly depicted, interspersed between a storyline featuring a mutual love of books and a developing (possibly romantic) relationship. The author tells this story well!
Thank you to NetGalley for the Advance Copy to review. I truly enjoyed it.

After dealing with the loss of a loved one, Erin is still trying to figure out how to navigate life's challenges. During a cleaning spree, she accidentally donates her annotated copy of To Kill A Mockingbird to the local free library. Erin returns to the library to find that her copy is missing. When she returns again out of desperation, her book is back with new annotations from a stranger inviting her to meet him in the margins of Great Expectations. And so, their pen pal relationship begins. What she doesn't know is the mystery man she is starting to fall for is actually someone from her past. Erin must confront their history and decide if she wants to take the plunge.

This was a sweet read. I loved all of the literary references. If you're a book connoisseur, you will love reading this. Also, I wish I could find a pen pal through a Little Free Library! Wouldn't that be so cute? I loved seeing these characters fall for each other through the margin notes within literary classics. Both MCs have some demons they must face and I enjoyed seeing the character growth. I will say Erin got on my nerves a little bit because she just always felt so sorry for herself, but that is something she eventually comes to terms with and is able to learn from. All in all, cute read with a literary flair.

What a depressingly cute story!

Erin and James, both from the same small town have both relocated a short drive away to London. Their lives have been falling apart since they fell apart. Life works in mysterious ways and they come back into each other's orbit, they just don't know it yet. Will they find out? ... and if they do, is a second chance even an option?

This book was not what I expected, in the best way possible. The beginning is all sad, no love. It got to the point where I didn't know if I could keep reading and as if Bickers knew exactly what I was thinking the plot shifted to a much lighter story. Some heavy elements still appear in the second half of the book but are decreased dramatically.

For the majority of the book, it was hard to gauge how long Bonnie has been gone, but I think that is a great representation of true grief. Sometimes it feels like someone has been gone a day, the grief still fresh and overwhelming, and the next day you conquer the grief just to be back to square one the next. Bickers does a fantastic job describing the grief process and the guilt that can come with it.

My favorite element of the story (other than the book swap itself) was the light shone on men's mental health. It's no secret that men's mental health is something that is not talked about nearly enough. James's mental health journey throughout the book was fantastic to read about.

The Book Swap is a true second chance enemies to lovers romance. Nothing annoys me more than books marketed as "enemies to lovers" romances where they are enemies for approximately 10 pages. I am happy to report this is not the case. This was a great debut novel from Bickers, I cannot wait to see what she does next!

Sometimes a book can be really well-written, but it just doesn’t do it for me. The Book Swap is one such book. I struggled to get through it, hoping for the happily ever after that readers depend on in romances, but the longer I read, the less I liked the female main character, Erin. I thought both Erin and James were immature and so burdened by their traumas that it really stunted their emotional growth. They both dealt with mommy issues and the cancer death of their mutual best friend, but their utter lack of communication (vs. the tired miscommunication trope) and Erin’s selfish unwillingness to let James explain his actions and forgive him just annoyed me.

The premise of a romance building between two strangers who share ever-increasing parts of themselves in the margins of books found in a London little book library should have been a slam dunk for this romance-loving librarian, but the narrative was just too bogged down with grief, job dissatisfaction, James’s mother’s bipolar disorder, and Erin’s mom’s betrayal. As a former educator and parent, I really hated reading about James’s bullying, and couldn’t fathom why no adults in his life put a stop to it. They both should have been in therapy in their adolescence, another failure on the part of their parents. Even when Erin’s (ironically) psychotherapist sister forced her into therapy at age 30, it was clear that it wasn’t doing her any good in terms of her grieving and stubbornness in holding on to others’ past transgressions. Pretty much everyone in the book is either miserable or making others so. Bottom line, I just found this book depressing and, if I’m being honest, somewhat triggering. Speaking of, there should be trigger warnings for death, bullying, mental illness, and abandonment. Not recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Grayson House through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I'd like to first thank the Harlequin Trade Publishing for a Netgalley of this book, for review.

I enjoyed this book from debut author, Tessa Bickers. I love how the story focuses on a love of books, but there is also a very complex story going on at the same time.

I really loved seeing the love of books that both of the main characters had, and all of the nods to the classics. It was fun seeing the dialogue between characters being written in the margins of books they would pass between each other (I'd say it kind of gave off You've Got Mail vibes!). I also loved the mention/appreciation of the community library (basically a Little Free Library).

I think the cover is a bit deceiving because it looks like it'll be a light romcom, but the book covers many potentially triggering topics such as:
- death of a close friend/grief
- mental health
- Bullying
- Trauma
- Familial issues
- Mention of suicide

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book managed to balance the right amount of cheesiness as well as some more serious and heavy topics.

I loved how many books were referenced. I especially love that two of the books talked about a lot were two that are incredibly important to me— The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Great Gatsby.

The idea of connecting with someone through notes in the margins of books is so incredibly romantic.

However, I did not really like our MC Erin— I found her incredibly immature and even insufferable at times. I can empathize with the things she went through but I had a hard time understanding some of her behaviors.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I am sucker for books about books

I was so excited when I saw a romance book about books! Sounded like the perfect book for a booklover; however, this book was not at all what I expected. I went in expecting a romance, when it feels a lot like an Emily Henry book; we have a lot about life and little about love in this one. It goes on to address grief, loss, strained relationships and that just wasn't what I was looking for so I had a hard time staying engaged in this book and connecting with the characters.

Overall I think if you are a book lover, have read a lot of classic literature, and want a book that is more in the Emily Henry realm of general fiction with a hint of romance then this book might be for you!

Thank you to Netgalley, Tessa Bickers, and Harlequin for the advanced copy of this book to share my honest thoughts.

Quick. Cute. Predictable.

Erin is having a hard time letting go of the past. Her BFF died a few years ago and she's holding on to her grief. James feels an obligation to take care of his mother, since it's his fault she is the way she is, according to him. Erin and James have a past but do they maybe have a future too?

I loved the notes in the margins. Very cute way to connect with someone else. I enjoyed this book.