3.5 stars- For a debut book, I enjoyed it. This was not at all what I was anticipating it to be. I was going in expecting a rom-com between two people who fall in love over annotating books but what I got instead was a LOT of trauma, grief, illness, etc. I felt as though sometimes the main storyline of the book swap was lost. It was very in depth on the lives of the characters and their family/friends but not the two main characters themselves. I felt the ending was rushed but the premise of the book was so good. I felt like sometimes I didn't like the FMC Erin because she wouldn't listen to anyone's opinion and held too many grudges. Overall, this read was good but was definitely NOT a rom-com.

Thank you to @netgalley for the advance copy.

“The Book Swap” is told from two voices, Erin and James. They were friends in school with a third friend, Bonnie, who has since passed away. They are no longer friends and the story is each of theirs as they unknowingly begin leaving each other notes in the margins and backs of books at a neighborhood book exchange.
They both are living unsatisfying lives and the notes they leave each other cause them rethink how they want to live. Through the notes they each begin to reassess what they would like and what Bonnie would like.
Of course, I did say they are no longer friends so that is something to let the story tell you if they reunite or not.

I really enjoyed this book. Highly recommend.

This book is for those who love reading and love books, but it also dealt with some heavier themes.

Positives:
I loved the idea behind this book.
I loved the mention of classic novels such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Beloved, Great Gatsby, and more.
Many of the secondary characters were well developed and likeable. I really liked Georgia.
I enjoyed watching the relationship between Erin and James develop.

Negatives:
At times the writing felt a bit disjointed.
As mentioned, there were heavier themes, so this was not the light-hearted rom com I would have hoped for.
I would have enjoyed an epilogue.

THIS FREAKIN BOOOOK!!!!!!!!

Tessa Bickers blew me away with this. A love story that takes place in books (literally) and one of my favorite things, a Free Little Library?? Sign me up! Two people fall in love in the margins of the books, how beautiful is that?

The love isn't just romantic, she weaves in familial love and friendship for each of the main characters. There is a wonderful back story to Erin and James. The reader gets to see both sides of the story, gets to see why each person ticks the way they do.

It's full of love and grief, sisterhood and friendship, forgiveness and mental health. This book made me laugh and cry. The way Bickers writes made me seen and loved on my journey through grief. She has a way of writing that beautifully articulates the ugly parts of life.

I'm disappointed in the Goodreads rating for this book as I truly loved it and was moved. I think it's a good reminder to be kind and remember that we all take different things out of what we read. It's all subjective, my 5 star might be your 3 and that's okay. But be kind to our fellow readers.

Thanks NetGalley, Tessa Bickers and Grayson House Books for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. Unfortunately i wasnt a big fan. The premise was cute and had a great deal of potential. However, what i thought was going to be a meet-cute/You’ve Got Mail type story, we really were left with something much less. It wasnt even the main storyline in the book it seemed. These characters really just needed some therapy.

Romantic and cute, Perfect for any book nerd who wishes to connect with others through books. I’m not a huge fan of the You Got Mail trope but this was not horrible, Both characters do need therapy though. Thanks for letting me review!

Bickers attended the "Emily Henry school for romance" and definitely aced the course "Writing characters who need therapy and not a relationship."

To start, this book definitely isn't at ALL what I expected based on the blub. This isn't really a book about a meet cute at a little free library where two people have a You've Got Mail-esque romance. It's about two people in their late 20s who are still obsessing over their high school lives because they never really left their small hometown and actually lived any sort of life at all. The central point of the story is James and his relationship with his family and his relationship with Bonnie. Erin's is entirely about her relationship and loss of Bonnie. The book passing/notes aren't the main focus of the story--it's just the vehicle used to explain how terribly Erin and James need therapy and to move, not a relationship with each other. Georgia, Erin's sister, is honestly the only likable character--and that's because she spends her entire existence begging Erin to go to therapy.

This was a super fast read, but it was also incredibly boring and not at all as described. As someone who grew up in a small town and experienced my share of similar drama, I can't imagine being this age (I'm also 31), and still making it my entire personality. If you really resonate with this book, might I suggest seeking out a therapist to work through the things you need to?

If your favorite Emily Henry book is Funny Story or Happy Place--this is going to be your next favorite read. If you're looking for a cute rom-com with books and reading at the focus, maybe look elsewhere, because this one falls flat in that department.

If you love the classics this will be right up your alley. Talk about a meet cute! Accidentally donating something so precious to you only for it to be return with an invitation to continue the conversation. Second chance, book lovers, written love, remember and forget the past.

The summary for this debut novel by Tessa Bickers peeked my interests. As a book lover any book about books is going to be a must for my TBR list.
This book is a slight nod to " You've got mail" as well as "Meet me in the margjns". ( perhaps others but these two came to mind.) People writing to one another not realizing they know each another. It's pretty cut and dry in the enemies- to - lovers category. I truly liked James but had a harder time connecting with Erin,the MFC.
I am happy to have read "The book swap" and would rate the write at 21/2 but gladly round up.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

The Book Swap [Frenzy #NetGalley]

I really enjoyed The Book Swap, which reminded me of a Little Free Library version of You've Got Mail, where two people connect over literature and develop feelings, not realizing that they already know one another. It was a cute and fun read.

A coming-of-age story for 30 somethings with the vibes of Bridget Jones and You've Got Mail. The perfect page-turner for millennial readers.

Thank you to the publishers for an early copy of this book! This was a romance dedicated to book lovers. The main characters swap books back and forth from a little free library and communicate through margin notes. They have a complicated history, but connect through the books they love. This was enjoyable, but I wished there was more in person interaction between the characters. There were a lot of side plots and side stories that got a little much at times as well. But this was a cute, fast, enjoyable read that I would recommend to any book lover.

Give me a small English town + a story about books and I’m in. I loved how the 2 the main characters rediscovered each other from the notes they’d leave in their favorite books in the neighborhood free library. What a sweet romance.

I didn’t really care for how Erin, one of the MCs, would talk with her dead BFF as though she was real. That really confused me at first and I felt like it was a little too dark for this type of book. I also found Erin’s refusal to forgive James, the other MC, quite frustrating. Like I already knew they were going to end up together and all of the stuff leading up to then end after her discovery was just kinda blah.

I really liked the underlying concept of this book and the use of the free book library in such a creative and lovely way. For me this book had a lot of deep topics: friend died, mental health, bullying but they were treated with respect and compassion and I really appreciated that and enjoyed reading about how different characters dealt with their challenges in different ways. I will be looking for more books from Tessa Bickers for sure!

“That’s the great thing about books. They’re there to teach you whatever you want to learn. They’re for all of us.”

The Book Swap is Tessa Bickers debut novel – and you can tell she is here for the long haul! Erin is in a rut – she is sick of her condescending boss, lives with a guy she hooks up with when drinking, and is mourning the loss of her best friend, Bonnie, who died several years ago. James is stuck in a job where he makes a lot of money but has no passion for what he is doing. He was bullied as a kid for having a one-hit-wonder of a father, and now he helps take care of his mother with severe bipolar depression. James, Erin and Bonnie were best friends in grade school until one day when something unthinkable happened – and now Erin and James see each other again for the first time at a yearly memorial get together honoring Bonnie.

Erin is set to change her life – and the last postcard Bonnie gave her insists that she moves forward, lives out her dreams and to be happy. When she accidentally donates a book to a local little library, with the postcard left inside, Erin is determined to get the postcard back, checking the library to see if the book has been returned. Thankfully, it has, and her novel with a lot of comments and notes in the margins now has responses back to her, with a note to meet her in a different book, left in the library. A friendship develops between two strangers – Margin Girl and Mystery Man – that will help heal them both and lead each of them on a new path of growth, forgiveness, and redemption.

I thought this was going to be a sweet romance novel, and while I wasn’t disappointed, I’m not sure I would classify this as romance. This book is about love in all its forms, friendship, getting out of our comfort zones, loss, grief, responsibilities, duties and guilt. Bickers navigates you on a tale that somehow warms your heart and leaves you deep in thought at the same time.

Family is front and center for both Erin and James, making this story much more endearing. There were so many layers to this book, and I loved that two lonely people were able to connect over their past experiences and love for books. It’s also a good reminder to hear “that the straightforward route isn’t always the best one;” sometimes there are a lot of twists and turns in our own personal stories!

I definitely had ‘You’ve Got Mail’ vibes from this novel! While it starts off great and then slows down some in the middle – make sure you stick with it, this has a great story line with an amazing supporting cast! I do wish there was an epilogue, but that’s the romance lover in me.

I give this 4 stars and can’t wait to see what Bickers does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this arc, all opinions are my own!

“Giving someone hope is like giving them the wings they need to fly through life.”

“But love. A place to call home. A passion. That’s life. That’s living. The rest is just filler.”

Thanks NetGalley and Tessa for the ARC :) All my opinions are my own!

This was a very sweet and thoughtful book! I loved the way that the author wrote through the grieving process. Erin was a very relatable character and I really loved rooting for her the whole time! Erin and James built such a sweet relationship through their love of books and I had such a good time reading it.

This one snuck up on me. Just minding my own business, trucking along, getting frustrated with Erin and mildly swooning over James... when *bam* the feels hit.

Friends, this one is deep. The Book Swap lures you in with this gorgeous cover and unique premise and then slams you with grief and reconciliation and mental illness. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! But it was done oh so well. Erin struggles with forgiveness, abandonment, and mild self-centeredness; James struggles with expectations and definitions of success. Through their book margins, they help each other break past barriers. Brilliant.

Highly recommend, but you really need to be familiar with any content warnings before you get started. (Examples off the top of my head... death of a loved one, cheating spouse, mental illness/bipolar) And do not expect this to be a light and fluffy read.

What a beautiful story, and a beautiful tribute to all of us that are constantly reading these stories!

This book is about Erin, and a *mystery man* that end up becoming reading "penpals" - annotating classic books in the margins for each other to find. As they do this, they fall into an easy friendship, which ends up becoming a little "more".

I excepted a lighthearted rom-com, but this book tackled a lot of heavy topics - grief, loss, heartache, and dives deep into the human experience. I laughed, cried, and felt all the feels reading this. This book will tug at your heartstrings, and really have you thinking about life, which is really what I'm looking for when I'm reading. Recommend!

Thank You To NetGalley, Tessa Bickers, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for granting me access to an ARC!

This was a decent book, but not in any way shape or form what I expected from a book which was portrayed as a RomCom. It was heavy. It was emotional, in the dark twisty grief ways. If that’s your jam, this one is for you. I was looking for a lighter read, though, which made it difficult to power through.

This was so much of a slow burn that it’s still burning. 🙂‍↕️

I went into this book thinking it’d be a nice cozy and romantic read. Absolutely not. This deals with grief and bullying, a parent who has a mental disorder. The passing of Bonnie and how Erin grieves is really sad but also I found the whole seeing her in her room aspect really odd. Plus I wasn’t a fan of Erin. She definitely was very self centered.

James…I am so confused with his storyline. Nothing was cohesive and the timelines felt so so off. I’m still confused how Erin’s sister was 6 months pregnant, had the baby like a day or two after and it wasn’t a problem? 😅

Anyways, I wouldn’t recommend this book. Don’t rush to read it.

Thank you NetGalley and Graydon House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.