2.5⭐️ As much as I wanted to, I could not get into this book. It was slow and honestly just kind of boring. Also felt like the giant thing was a miscommunication trope which is my least favorite. And for being over 30 the main characters were very childish - grow up already. Hate read the last 30% to just finish it.

I want you to know that I tried. I really did try to make it through this book and give it a fair shot. If a book isn't for me there is usually something valuable in the experience. Even, if it is just by refining my tastes by allowing me to pinpoint what I don't enjoy. I wish that could have been the experience I had here.

I wish the summary of this book had been more honest. I wish that there had been some sort of warning as to how heavy the topics were. I wouldn't have picked it up otherwise. Their lives were so heavy that I couldn't even really enjoy the Book Swap conceit. It brought me back to all my worst moments and I wish that I had known a little bit more what to expect.

And now I feel like everyone has lost. I had to DNF.

I truly hope this book finds its audience.

Things this book dealt with that I wish I had known before:
Cancer, Bullying, Parental Infidelity, Trauma, Bipolar Disorder, Being a parental caretaker


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC. This review contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

4.5⭐️
What a journey this book was! It was so unlike other stories that I’ve read, but I really loved it!
The twists and turns, reveal after reveal, and bits of the past sprinkled in with the present were so interesting and kept me hooked the entire time I was reading.

Both main characters, Erin and James, are facing career challenges, family struggles, grief, and the past in so many different ways. They connect through books, sharing notes in the margins and personal thoughts through a book swap in a little library box.
I loved the feeling as the reader knowing who each mystery writer/book swapper was and having so much more backstory on each of the characters as it kept me guessing what the reactions and reveals would bring.
The bridge of the past and present was done really well. It was not switching back and forth between times, but did include several memory scenes which gave great insight into how the characters had gotten to where they were.

I loved the connection between Erin and James. Sharing their thoughts in the books allowed them to open up in a way that they probably wouldn’t have had they known exactly who they were talking to.
I really enjoyed the conversations that each of them had with important people in their lives to work through struggles they faces, resentment they felt, and just how much we got to see them grow.

There were bits and pieces of each of them and their lives that I could relate to that made the book even better to me.

Thank you Net Galley , thank you Graydon House and thank you Tessa Bickers for this ARC.
Rating: 3.5 stars, roud to 4 stars on Goodreads.
I really enjoy angsty stories where there´s a lot of tension between the characters and this one was not the exception.
I´ve found James and Erin stories a bit sorrowful, but that made me sympathized with them (specially James). But I must say that, I found the storyline a little bit demanding to follow with all the sporadic flashbacks.
And finally, what I enjoyed the most were all the book references and how beatufully James and Erin found comfort through the notes they left to each other in their beloved classic novels.

Thank you Graydon House, HTP, and The Hive for the gifted copy of this book!

4.5 Stars rounded up

Going into this book I was definitely expecting a light hearted romance, and this is not that. What it is rather, is a love story that explores loss, grief, friendship, family, mental health, and past mistakes. There is self reflection and introspection needed to get our main characters where they need to be, both in their various relationships and in their lives.

I love books about books so I knew this would be one I would enjoy. The way the main characters connected via passing books back and forth in a LFL was so cute. I liked the characters, both main and side. I have to say I did find Erin (FMC) to be unlikeable at times. She was a bit self involved and jumped to conclusions without hearing people out, but don’t we all know people like this? It is reality that there are some people who just can’t see past themselves and their own lives, in general, or in response to grief and trauma. Navigating relationships is a part of life and it was a large focus of this book, which I found so relatable.

I love seeing mental health rep in books and I loved that we got to see this from the perspective of the caretaking family members. The impact mental health disorders can have often times extends beyond the individual. The impact on the family and friends is not often explored in books and I commend the author for making taking that on here.

The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers is a layered, multifaceted tale of grief, resilience, forgiveness, and the power of connection through literature. Bickers deftly balances realistic portrayals of difficult topics such as bullying and death while still allowing hope to shine through. Perfect for fans of Love, Holly by Emily Stone and The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary.

This story was absolutely beautiful! It definitely dives into some heavy material, but was overall a great and different approach to a romance book. I loved the idea of Erin and James finding each other once more through the margins in a book and being able to help one another in tough times. Definitely a slow burn but it was worth it. This book was heartwarming and tear jerking all in one. I would have loved to see more of Erin and James in an epilogue but unfortunately there was not one.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this e-ARC! I voluntarily read this book, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a slow burn second chance kinda love! It was cute but I felt more could have been done in the book and the ending was predictable. I had a good time reading it though!

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★★★★☆
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞: zero
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Tessa Bickers
𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 336
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: September 3, 2024

“𝒩𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓊𝓈 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝑜 𝒽𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓁𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝑒’𝓋𝑒 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒. 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝓌𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒹𝑜 𝒾𝓈 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓃 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒾𝓉. 𝒰𝓈𝑒 𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒𝓁𝓋𝑒𝓈.”

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭
📖 𝙼𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛
📖 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎
📖 𝚂𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢
📖 𝚁𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚛𝚌
📖 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚝𝚑

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴏɴᴇ, ᴠᴇʀʙᴀʟ ᴀʙᴜꜱᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴀ ᴘᴀʀᴇɴᴛ, ʙʀɪᴇꜰ ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴀʟ ɪᴅᴇᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, ᴅᴇᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬. When I first started this book, I had a strong dislike for the main characters, James and Erin. Here were two people that could be amazing, but they were letting traumas from their past hold them back and tear them down. Granted, the traumas were intense, so I did my best to give them a pass. However, as they begin to open up to one another through messages written in the margins of books, I quickly realized that this was intentional.

𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, it gave James and Erin the courage to open up about things they had never talked about before, and that helped them gain insight into their own lives. Ultimately, they both come to realize that their pasts could have a more positive effect on their lives - instead of just a negative - and this drives them to accomplish their dreams. Their relationship is almost ruined when they realize the person they thought was a stranger was actually… not. (Their pasts intertwine in a very messy way). They grew apart, but after time had passed, they ultimately get the chance to grow together, and they stop letting their past hold them back.

After a personal tragedy, Erin accidentally donates her prized possession. A heavily annotated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird with personal notes from someone she’s lost. She’s devastated only to find her copy back in the mini library a week later with additional notes in the margins and an invitation to another book. This is where the You’ve Got Mail style relationship begins but in the margins this time!

This story was so impactful and had me so emotional at times. The topic of grief was handled beautifully and showed that we don’t always do what we think we might do in any given situation. We are human and handle things in different ways which can lead to overwhelming guilt. This book tapped into human relationships so well and I absolutely adored it! I did feel that it took way too long to get going in the beginning and there was one part I thought was not necessary at all but overall, I loved it.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Tessa Bickers, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing this free ARC. This is my honest review! This publishes on September 3rd.

I have posted my review on Goodreads, my Facebook book club, and will make a TikTok to post before the pub date.

Disclaimer: do not judge this book by its cover. After reading other reviews, I saw that the cartoon design was misleading, this is not a light romance but more of a poignant drama. With that in mind, I actually enjoyed this novel.

The Book Swap was emotional and frustrating at times, dealing with very real topics like grief, loss, mental illness, bullying, growing up and finding purpose in life. Told from two POVs, childhood friends Erin and James unknowingly exchange annotated books through a little library.

At first I thought Erin wasn’t very likable but I understood her struggle with grieving her best friend Bonnie, kind of adrift in life and hoping to live just like her friend wished her to. When she loses her cherished copy of To Kill a Mockingbird by leaving it in the library, it started this interesting story of reading between the lines. There are many great book references throughout, and I really liked how Erin and James could express their emotions in the margins of these books. This helped them finally see the good things they can accomplish whether in their jobs or with family.

There are a lot of emotional experiences packed into this book and I felt the characters went through a lot to finally accept themselves in the end. Erin’s strained relationship with her mother, as well as James’ obligation to help his father with his mentally ill mother. There are a few secondary characters like Erin’s sister Georgia or James’ friend Joel, that added great interactions and sounding boards for our protagonists. Not to be forgotten, the flashbacks and scenes with Bonnie for both characters added an extra layer of interest and affection for me.

I recommend this to fans of literary fiction and maybe The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Thank you to Graydon House for the review copy.

I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book, as many people on IG spoke to highly of it. I went in without reading the synopsis, and I am glad that I did!
Spoilers ahead.
Wow, what an emotional book. I loved how this book was told from both Erin and James's POVs. It allowed you to connect with them on a very raw level. I love that the Little Library and annotating books provided so much hope for both of them, while they were dealing with very difficult personal present and past lives. I love how long their "annotating relationship" went on, when it could have been so easily "ruined" by sharing a cell phone number or email address. Tessa's writing was beautiful and vulnerable. Definitely a 5 star read.

An adorable read that any fan of classic literature will be sure to love! It references many classic literary tales especially To Kill A Mockingbird! I went in expecting more of a lighthearted romance, but this book has many more intense themes that might be hard for some readers. That being said it's worth the read if you are looking for something with more depth to it. It's emotional and beautifully written, slow to start but then finishes strong!

Thank you NetGalley for this Arc!

This book snuck up on me on how hard it would pull at my heartstrings. It handled the grief of both death and the ending of varying types of adult friendships in such a personal and realistic way. I could connect with both the FMC and MMC in their own personal battles they both were facing, but it was really the side characters that made this book beautiful. The siblings relationships were perfection. The anger towards their parents felt so real. The growing adult friendship between Erin and Cassie really blew me away. I thought I was gonna get out without crying until 92% in and I saw the dedication the MMC wrote for the FMC and my heart was exploding out of my chest. I love this book.

The Book Swap will give you many reads to fall in love with it along the way. It's a charming story about taking a chance on love. James discover Erin's note-filled book in a local bookshelf, he takes a chance and starts a conversation that will change their lives. He leaves her a note an and ask if she would want to meet up which could lead to great things for both of them. But what neither if them know is they have a complicated past. They will have to to forgive their pasts id they want this new future together. The book Swap was surprisingly emotional but beautiful written.

This is a delightful book about two souls both going through hardships in life and finding support in books and fellow book readers. Please please please check content warnings before you star this novel but I think it is absolutely worth the effort. I was expecting this to be a light-hearted rom-com but instead found it to be a heartwarming story about recovering from loss and forgiveness. The book has a slow start but once it gets going it is hard to put down. Kudos to Tessa Bickers for delivering this wonderful novel!

The Book Swap definitely read more like literary fiction compared to a romance novel. I loved the fact that it covered such hard topics like grief and bullying. However, I couldn't really connect with the FMC Erin since she really couldn't give anyone a chance to explain themselves about anything till the end of the story. Overall, it was a nice read but it definitely lost me at some points. Still a great novel from a debut author, I can't wait to see what other works she releases.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the e-arc!

📚Wow! I did NOT know what I was in for with this book.

📖I’ll be honest, I felt very confused at first and I wasn’t sure if it was the British tone or if it was the story….BUT THEN it all started to make sense! And it HOOKED me!

📚I absolutely loved the premise of this love story…with the characters falling in love over the magic notes of books they trade back and forth.

📖However, like any true love story, this book is wrought with grief, anger, forgiveness, unfairness, illness, death, and love.

📚The themes of this book were very heavy! There were times I just wanted to cover my minds eye as I pictured the scenes ☹️😢. But the BEAUTY that came out in the themes of growth and LIVING were so impactful!

📖If you’re looking for a lighthearted, cute book about books-this ain’t it. But if you want your life to be changed, your heart to be moved, and your perspective on life to be challenged….READ IT! It’s SO worth it!🤍

I felt like this was more about individual character growth rather than a second chance romance, but I loved it! It had me in my feels, or what I like to call a five star feelings book. Were both character unlikeable at times? Absolutely, but I think that’s the point. I really enjoyed when they got called on their flaws and were ultimately able to grow. I can recommend this to those that like books about bookish things, those that are looking for romance books without spice, and those that love real characters and their development.

3.5 stars

The Book Swap is the kind of book that is going to make you feel some hardcore feelings as it explores different iterations of loving relationships and what happens when those relationships change.

I went in expecting to read a romance, and this is not really a romance. More women’s fiction with a slightly romantic B-plot. At times the plot leans a little too heavily on miscommunication, which works when the characters are still children, but not so much when they’re adults.

There are heavier themes of bullying and loss that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from the illustrated cover. Which makes me wish that this book was being marketed differently. I think there will be some readers that are disappointed because they’re expecting genre romance, though I think the book works as a whole.

If you’re looking for an exploration of love in all its forms, and the ways in which characters have to process trauma and loss in order to move forward, this might be the book for you.