3.5✨

This books started out slow but I’m glad I powered through! Reminiscent of You’ve Got Mail but with exchanges between the pages of Erin and James favorite books. As a therapist, I thought this book did an excellent job of depicting grief and mental illness. Although it may seem lighthearted, this book deals with some heavy topics, and does so really well!

•Dual POV
•Margins girl 🥹📖✏️
•”We are infinite”
•Meet me in…To Kill a Mockingbird, Middlemarch, Manchester Park, Beloved, Great Expectations
•Heroes (the tunnel scene, iykyk) 🎶

Thank you Tessa Bickers, Harlquin Publishing, and NetGalley for the eARC!

ARC Book Review!

The book swap by Tessa bickers


5 / 5⭐️

This book made me FEEL! It is a total letter to book lovers. Tessa Bickers displays loss beautifully. The loss of loved ones, the loss of childhood dreams and ambitions, the loss of the idealistic view parents are perceived in by their children.

I do wish the timeline of the story was a bit more clear. From my understanding the story happens over the course of a year but I think I would have enjoyed it if the author had set some dates under each chapter number. Giving the reader a bit more comprehension as to how much time is passing.

With that being said though, I would still describe it as utter perfection. It made me bawl. I really enjoyed how the author wrapped up the secondary characters as well. It felt like a full and complete happily ever after. I've already recommended it to multiple friends.

This book is for you if you like :

Dual POV
Grief rep
HEA



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#book #bookstagram #booklover
#arcreader #booknerd #romance #bookstagrammer #bookaddict #booksbooksbooks #bookish #prettygirlsreadbooks #mustread #kindle #kindleclub #kindlewhitepaper #nerdfam #sunnybabepr #fantasybooks #fantasynovelseries #fantas#catloveryreads #bookbuddy #bookcat #introvert #morallygrey #touchheranddie

After thinking about this book for a couple days, I really did enjoy it. It wasn't what I expected but was exactly what I needed.

Tessa Bickers' debut novel, The Book Swap, is a heartfelt exploration of grief, connection, and personal growth, wrapped in the comfort of beloved books. The story follows Erin Connolly, who, after a devastating loss, accidentally donates her cherished, annotated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird to a community library. The book returns with fresh notes and an invitation in another classic novel, setting off a transformative exchange with a mysterious pen pal.

Bickers sensitively portrays Erin's journey through grief, blending moments of humor and sadness with skill. The dialogue between Erin and her pen pal, written in the margins of classic novels, becomes a powerful tool for healing and self-discovery. This aspect of the story is both innovative and touching, offering a fresh take on how literature can impact our lives.

While the novel’s emotional depth and character development are commendable, some plot elements may feel predictable. Nevertheless, The Book Swap provides a moving narrative that resonates with anyone who finds solace in books and the promise of new beginnings.

Overall, this book is a beautifully written, emotionally engaging read that will appeal to fans of literary fiction. It’s a four-star gem that leaves readers both satisfied and reflective, celebrating the enduring power of literature to heal and inspire.

In reading the summary, we know that a tragedy occurs, yet this book promises to be a romance, a second chance and it really is. The fact that some of the great classic books brought the main characters together again is a testament to the magic of books. I felt the emotions of the characters, I understood both sides and I wasn't sure how it would end. There were so many great quotes throughout like, "That in allowing her to be herself, I have to be anyone but me". This book was beautifully written and I fell in love with James too. I think this story would be appealing to many kinds of people due to the content of this book. I can't wait to read more books from Tessa Bickers!

"The Book Swap" was a wonderful story. It is certainly not all happiness and light. Erin is estranged from her mother; is still grieving the death of her best friend, Bonnie, years ago; and quits a job she hates but has no idea what to do next. James is also in a job that he does not find fulfilling and he has his own family issues. His mother has bipolar and when she has a bad manic episode, James drops everything to go home and help his father out. However, that is a tough task, not only because of the difficulty of trying to help someone whose mind is making them temporarily irrational, but also because James blames himself for his mother being bipolar (as her symptoms manifested after her pregnancy with him), and because as much as he loves his father and respects everything he does for his wife/James' mother, James is also disappointed and embarrassed by his father, who had a hit song when he was younger but gave up his music career to be a stay-at-home father and to help care for his wife, taking on jobs such as pizza delivery to help makes end meet. James was bullied in school, and having a "one-hit wonder" dad who was now delivering pizzas provided plenty of fodder for the bullies. One of the few bright spots in school was his friendship with Erin and Bonnie, until a fateful decision ruined everything.

After Erin quit her job, she gave away a bunch of her belongings, including donating books to a little free library. Unfortunately, mixed in with those books was her much loved copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird", full of underlined passages and margin notes. Also tucked into the book was a card that Bonnie gave her shortly before her death. When she realizes her mistake, she rushes back to the library to try to retrieve the book, but it is not there. She returns daily, hoping someone has returned it. When the book finally reappears, Erin discovers that someone else has added their own margin notes, sometimes responding to her notes, sometimes agreeing with her sentiments, sometimes adding thoughts of their own. At the end of the book, the mystery person has written "Meet me in Great Expectations." A copy of "Great Expectations" is in the little library, with margin notes. Thus begins a book exchange, where they continue to share books -- Wuthering Heights, Mansfield Park, The Great Gatsby, etc. -- with margin notes but also start asking each other questions and sharing bits of their lives.

James had aspirations of being a writer but had given up on that. However, comments by his best friend, Joel, as well as the notes from "Margins Girl", have inspired him to attempt to write again. The book he sets out to write is in essence an apology to Erin for what happened in school. The exchange of margin notes and questions and answers will also have a profound effect on Erin, reminding her of why she loves books so much and of her past interest in being a teacher. Attempting to secure the copy of "Mansfield Park" and the notes inside will inadvertently result in a tutoring job helping a teenager girl prepare for her GCSEs. James will be the first to realize the identity of the mystery correspondent, which complicates things, because he does not want the correspondence to end but knows that if Erin finds out, she will feel angry and betrayed again.

The love of classic literature and the comments that James and Erin share in the margins of the books is one of the great aspects of the story. The other great aspect is witnessing James and Erin facing their fears, talking with family and friends and realizing how their assumptions about and conceptions of themselves and others (especially family) have held them back and hindered their relationships with others. Multiple characters in the story take bold steps to try to lead more meaningful and fulfilling lives.

One of the most powerful moments in the book is when James' best friend Joel tells him that the coworker who sat across from him for four years committed suicide the day before. Joel knew something was wrong with his coworker, but their conversation had never gone beyond the superficial. He regrets not asking his coworker what was wrong, and then laments how men don't really talk to each other, don't really share their struggles, and how there should not be shame in doing so. As the conversation between James and Joel progresses, they realize how their conversations are really not deep either. While they know a lot about each other, much of that knowledge is surface level. They keep talking, opening up to each other in ways they never have before, and that openness will ultimately help both of them make much needed life changes. What Joel says is so true. People, especially men, are often afraid to be open and vulnerable with each other, even with those to whom they are closest.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an egalley of this debut book to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I adore a book about books. And this one promised some fun with a kind of You've Got Mail or Sleepless in Seattle theme to it. I was exicted to jump in and meet the characters and see how their story progressed.
The guts of the book have great promise. Unfortunately, the execution was far from good.
The character development is subpar. The FMC was very self-absorbed. I could see the possibility of growth for this character. I can see how her tragic past may have shaped her. But overall she doesn't grow. It's not until the very end that we see any empathy from her towards the other characters in the book. I did enjoy the MMC. He has a hard background fraught with mental health issues in his family. I would have liked to see more depth with this. Mental health is so important and I feel like the author truly needed to do more research in the area of Bipolar in order to really represent it appropriately. Even the side characters are not all that interesting and I had no real idea of who they were. I could not connect with anyone in the story.
As for the romance, it is truly slow burn. And it takes place within the pages of books, which was kind of neat. The two main characters annotate and leave information in the margins and at the backs of the books in order to communicate and get to know each other. I love the idea of that exchange taking place within a free little library but did find it rather unbelievable that the books would remain in the library and allow the characters to exchange them that way. I have many free little libraries where I live and the books are constantly changed over. Even with this I was still hoping I'd see the chemistry form and a romance truly bloom between the characters but I just did not feel their connection at all.
The pacing of this one was super slow for me. There were so many times I considered not finishing it. But I wanted to push in the hopes it would redeem itself. I honestly didn't have the desire to keep picking it up. I kept hoping when I did it would get better but it just didn't. The writing was so much telling rather than showing. The whole book had the characters showing us what they were doing and it took me out of the story completely.
The thing that threw me most was the timeline. The entire book takes place over about a year and a half but it does not flow that way at all. You go from one point jumping to months ahead without any indication it actually happened. It made the story feel very disjointed.
The links to all the classic literature may appeal to classic book lovers.
I went into this thinking it would be a meet cute romcom. That was not the case at all. There are a lot of heavy topics in this one: mental health, death, terminal illness, grief, pregnancy, infidelity, and bullying. There should absolutely be trigger warnings that go along with this one. I honestly would not even label this title a romance given the trajectory of the main characters and what they go through during the course of the book.

Loved all of the characters of this book - confused why there was really no involvement from the main character's dad considering all of the drama with her mom. Also wish we got an epilogue of the main couple.

I wanted to like this book more so badly. I loved the premise—You’ve Got Mail but instead of emails they’re writing in the margins of classic books exchanged through a little free library. This honestly sounded like it was going to be my new favorite book. I think what fell short for me was ultimately how it was marketed vs the intensity of this story. I went on expecting a romcom, but instead found a very heavy book about grief, bullying, mental illness, cancer, strained family relationships, death of a loved one, and toxic work environments with a bit of romance thrown in. It was a bit overwhelming to be honest. The heaviness and focus around these topics really took away the feeling that I was reading a romance book at all.

While I enjoyed aspects of this story, it’s always challenging when a book doesn’t meet your expectations. I really liked the themes around feelings lost in life, making big changes to follow your dreams, and rebuilding trust in relationships (both on a friendship and family level). I think if you go into this expecting more of a general fiction book with characters tackling some of the challenges around grief and uncertainty, you’ll like this one, but I would really encourage potential readers to check trigger warnings before picking this one up. It was a good book—just not the book I thought I was picking up.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Book Swap, is Tessa Bickers' debut novel, a contemporary romance which shows a lot of promise for this new author.

The Book Swap is written in first person in alternating points of view from the perspective of Erin, and 30 year old, recently unemployed young woman, and James, her former friend from school days. Erin and James are both dealing with deep rooted personal issues when they unwittingly start a relationship via annotations in books placed in a little free library. The problem arises when they each realize that they have a complicated history with the person they've been communicating with.

I enjoyed the Book Swap, I found it both funny and moving. I enjoyed how the author used annotations in a book to spark the relationship between Erin and James, and thought the premise of annotating and exchanging books made for an interesting story.

My biggest issue with this book was Erin. For much of the story, she seemed to me to be whiny, inconsiderate, and selfish. I realize she was dealing with a lot in her personal life, but so were most of the characters in the book and they did not come across as badly as she did. I was happy that by the end of the book she seemed to have turned a corner and became a more empathetic, thoughtful person.

The Book Swap was a fun, quick read, with a few tearful moments and I would recommend it to any lover of books and romance. I look forward to checking out more books by this author in the future.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

From the very start, this story was a challenge to follow. Even halfway through, I found myself struggling to grasp what was happening. The narrative structure was super disjointed, with sporadic flashbacks and timeline shifts, making it difficult to initially tell whether a scene was set in the past or present.

At the heart of the story are two grieving characters, Erin and James, who communicate through the margins of classic novels in a community library. Their shared history is heartbreaking, and while I couldn't care less about classic literature, it was touching to see them connect through a mutual interest, unaware that they actually know each other in real life.

I really sympathized with James and the burdens he carries—losing a friend, the complicated history with Erin, his past experiences with bullying, and caring for a parent with bipolar disorder. I wanted to give him a hug. Despite these hard-hitting elements, which are usually things I love in a story, the writing and incredibly slow-moving plot made it difficult to truly feel invested.

I really did like the beginning of this book, but found myself struggling to want to pick it up again soon after starting.

The cover/blurb makes this sound like a cute romcom, but that's not what it is. It definitely deals with heavier topics with mentions of mental health issues and flashbacks to childhood bullying.

The idea of the main characters communicating through annotations in books is what really drew me in, I just wasn't a fan of how this was executed.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This isn't your traditional rom-com. It deals with some very heavy topics and isn't a light-hearted read. I do enjoy a second chance romance but didn't love the main character, Erin. This story wasn't what I was expecting but still one I would recommend. Thank you for the opportunity to.read and review.

While this is marketed as a semi-"You've Got Mail" romance, this book is emotional and reflective at its best, and juvenile at its worst. The romance takes a backseat while character development, grief, mental illness, and complex family dynamics are in the driver's seat. It's pretty decent for general fiction , but I wouldn't categorize it as a romance.

The story follows 2 characters that were best mates in school until a misunderstanding causes a fissure in their relationship. These characters are stuck--unable to decipher their desires, pursue their passions, effectively communicate, and generally deal with the complex reality of life. AKA, they're in arrested development and stuck in their juvenile patterns of behavior and thinking. They are both coping with grief over their mutual best friend who died young of advanced cancer and they are both struggling with familial relations. A book swap through their neighborhood little free library brings them back together and re-ignites their love for literature.

"The Book Swap" had a very slow start that didn't feel entirely necessary, at least in Erin's part. The book swapping was easily the highlight. I did really enjoyed the siblings and their dynamics with the main characters. I'm the oldest sibling, but Georgia is a dream of a big sister. James I liked but Erin irritated me most times--I'm not convinced she's grown past her grief, abandonment issues, and inability to forgive.

I am grateful for the free ARC enook copy that was provided to me by NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Graydon House. All opinions are my own.

The Book Swap is a love letter to the classics, annotating and free little/community libraries! 

In this dual POV contemporary romance, we follow Erin & James as they are each tackling some really tough stuff: grief of childhood/best friend, family member with mental illness, some quarter-life crisis, and strained family dynamics.

Erin misplaces her favorite book that is heavily annotated and in which a memento from her late best friend is stuck within. After checking her local little free library for it many times, it shows up with replies to her annotations from a stranger as well as an invitation to join the stranger in another book, which he has left next to it. (In the first instance of annotation replies... flirting via a book and having someone feel the same about your favorite quotes/messages?! SWOON.) In addition to appreciating the main plot, I also really enjoyed all of the side characters, and think there could be potential for a spin-off or sequel with one couple in particular! 

This is a slow burn romance, with You've Got Mail & Yours Truly vibes that feels like real-life when you have so many simultaneous human-experience things going on. I thought for a debut this was really good, and I definitely look forward to more from Tessa Bickers! 

Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin for the advanced digital copy. 

Posted on Goodreads (8/17/2024): https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6680346936
Posted on Instagram (on or just before 9/3/2024): https://www.instagram.com/nicolesreadthat/

What a lovely book! I was expecting a light-hearted romance with some laughs here & there, but this was a different & much more heartfelt experience. Bickers brought up so many emotions for me with all the love, friendships, grief, resentment, & anger. This story was truly heartbreaking and heartwarming. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy!

This was a wonderful summertime read. It was reminiscent of You’ve Got Mail but with a cozy little neighborhood book library stand. I enjoyed the character development and the unfolding of each of their stories. I would definitely reread this one and will purchase a copy for my shelves!

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for providing this ARC to me. I really liked the Little Free Library angle for a meet-cute. I am a steward for one and I often think about the connection between the people who visit our shared book collection. You gotta love a book about books inception. I felt a parallel with You’ve Got Mail, and in a fresh way. Both main characters had thorough storylines- best friends, parents, siblings, jobs, traumas. This kept me coming back. Mental health was discussed in a productive manner. There is a personal growth aspect so I don’t think I found our main character very likable to begin with. She won me over as she worked on herself.
There is a setup for a best friend sequel for sure. Her for it.

Very grateful for the advanced copy of this book


Was drawn to it because the cover looks so cute. Overall the writing is well done, and the characters had distinct voices. Seemed like it would be a good summer romcom, however this book ended up not being for me,
I did not enjoy the pacing of this, I felt like there was too much side plot happening that made the plot so slow.
I have to say the biggest misstep for me was just how sad the two MCs stories are.. the story was just constantly negative, when I was expecting light hearted.

I liked the concept of this but I didn't like Erin. She was really selfish and never took into consideration what was going on with anyone else. At one point she FREAKS about him "lying" about his name.

Cute story. Kept me entertained and wanting to see what happened next. Would recommend to any of my romance reading friends!