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!

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.