Thank You To NetGalley, Harlequin , and the author Tessa Bickers for an opportunity to read this book for an honest review!

This book was nothing like what I expected from the cover and description of the book. It touches on some heavy topics so make sure to check on that before reading!

This book revolve around free little library which is actually my absolute favorite thing to exist in this world. I loved getting to know the characters and seeing them grow. Perfect beginning of fall book to read. Pacing was a little slow for me at the beginning but nonetheless, I enjoyed it!

Wow. This book was devastating. Heartbreaking. A miscommunication trope. I don’t even know if I would call this book a romance. It was more about two people who experienced the same loss navigating life and grief without each other because of miscommunication and pain but find their way back to each other through a free little library. The idea is so sweet and I love that they swapped books but I feel like this book really lacked the romance that suddenly showed up in the end.

Losing a loved one to cancer hits close to home for me so at times I felt I could really relate to Erin and James and even Bonnie and her family for that matter but the romance aspect just fell flat for me.

I’m literally crying in a mall food court after finishing this book, which I could not put down.

I don’t even know where to begin - infinity stars. This book absolutely captivated me and was just brilliant from the start. I cried and laughed a LOT. I’m kind of speechless and unsure what to even say. The vibes were very similar to The Perks of Being a Wallflower (IYKYK - the author will surely appreciate this!!!). This was a beautiful story about friendship, family, love, finding yourself, and learning to let go of the past to embrace the future.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this eARC!

Have you ever read a book where you just know you should DNF it?!? But you are stupidly too stubborn to DNF because you were sent a review copy and would feel bad for DNFing. Hi yes I’m the problem it’s me.

I don’t even know where to begin with this review. I was pitched a magical realism romcom. Instead I was given an extremely heavy book revolving around topics of suicide, infidelity, depression, and bullying. I will admit I was 100% not in the headspace to read a book like this. But I felt blindsided because the synopsis didn’t indicate to me that type of book.

Overall, all I can say about this book is everyone in it needs therapy. And I in no way shape or form support the release between our two main characters. At least not with how it was ended. Because again everyone in this book needs therapy before any sort of healthy relationship can form.

This book was just not it. And it’s the first book I’ve read in 2024 where I honestly cannot recommend it.

Thank you though to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A story about grief, loss, and finding yourself despite your circumstances

Main Topics:
-Death of a friend
-Second chance romance
-Finding oneself
-A love letter to books

Quote 1: "What do people say these days? If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Silence is violence."
Quote 2: "Thank you for giving me the freedom to be myself."
Quote 3: "Don't waste your heart's calling on saying yes to something just because you know you can do it. The straightforward route isn't always the best one."

This book follows two individuals who, despite their circumstances, decide to exchange notes in the margins of books from a free little library. I would say it is a love story, but it is so much more than that. This 'You've Got Mail '-resembling plot talks about grief, mental illness, and loss, while also encapsulating a love story that will leave you believing in love and wanting more. A main theme throughout this book is the need to find oneself and one’s passions. I loved witnessing the main characters' self-discovery journey while learning self-love. It pulled at my heartstrings in all the best ways. I was lucky enough to receive a digital ARC of this book, and I liked it so much! I will definitely be getting a physical copy of this book. Thank you, NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Tessa Bickers, for this copy.

I enjoyed the concept of the book and appreciated the authors love of classic literature. Personally I struggled with the pacing and time jumps throughout the book which made it a bit more a difficult read for me.

Thank You To NetGalley, the author Tessa Bickers, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for granting me access to an e-Arc of this book in exchange for a honest review.

When I picked up this book, my expectations were for a meet cute romance centered around a Little Free Library. As a Little Free Library steward, that's what had me interested in the title from the start.

And it was a meet cute sort of romance, it does center around the use of the free library/book exchange as the device for connecting the two main characters. But I did not expect all the other layers I found while reading this book; themes around identities, roles in relationships with family and friendships, processing trauma (around things like family, high school, loss, etc). And the twist with the connection between the two main characters was absolutely something I did not expect going into this.

I really enjoyed this book for all the things I did not expect from it.

This is a 3.25 for me. For me I don't think this book is really being marketed properly as based on the description and cover. I thought this was going to be a romantic comedy with a bookish twist on a you got mail situation. For me reading this book it was not a romantic comedy and while there were romantic elements it felt more like that was a subplot. For me this book was a little heavier on subject matter as there was more focus on serious elements like the passing of a friend, grief, depression, cheating and rough family dynamics. This book was more focused on self-healing and growth as well as healing through a mutual love of books. None of that is a bad thing but when I am expecting one thing and get to reading it and it is something else then it does turn into a bit of a disappointment me to me. It was still an interesting book with an interesting concept I just don't think it is being marketed correctly. It is also being tagged as a 2nd chance romance but technically while there were feelings for one another they were never together and that to me is more of the one that got away than a 2nd chance romance.

As I said the romance kind of seemed like a bit of a subplot because while they did exchange books and write notes to one another the notes themselves were just standard getting to know one another and I personally didn't see anything in the notes that would stir feelings of love. I mean you can certainly bond over notes but these questions just at times felt like a bookish get to know you session which is a great starting point but to immediately jump to love just seems like a bit of a leap. Especially once they figured out who each other were and all their past history good and bad that once they apologized are immediately saying their in love with one another seems a bit much. I mean it's a book and once they apologize and set their differences aside it would totally make sense to start to rebuild the relationship and grow towards love but the leap without the work especially since this book seems to have a lot about working on yourself and growing seemed too easy.

As to the writing I do think this book starts off a little rough and was a little boring, but it does smooth itself out as it went on in terms of writing.

As to the characters themselves while I can appreciate and understand all the important elements the author is trying to portray it did at times make at least Erin a little unlikable. While I totally sympathize with her situation just like her sister tells her she is a little judgmental and willing to write someone or something off for one issue. Like she quit a sale job while she was unemployed because the manager was a little "weird" for wanting to mock play a customer interaction and dressed up. Is it unusual yes but Erin never had retail experience so who cares if the manager wanted to put on a hat to help teach her how to interact with customers. Like girl your unemployed and got bills just do the job while you look for something else. James wasn't always my favorite because he tried to push people into what he thought was success even when it's not something they wanted for themselves. But when you learn why him and Erin had the falling out and what he was going through at school and at home your heart does break for him a little. Doesn't make what he did right towards Erin but as you read what was happening in the scene it's understandable.

So, I do think this book had an interesting idea and concept and while the writing was a little rough at the start it did smooth out and there were moments in the book that my heart strings were tugged on. But I do think the marketing and cover do not accurately portray what this book is about and may disappoint some readers like me expecting one thing and getting another.

this book is about Erin who is still trying to cope with the loss of her best friend but knows she needs to move on but doesn't quite know how to do that. After a rough day at work where in the end she quits she decides the best thing to do is to get rid of all the clutter in her life starting with her room. But in her what brings me joy mindset cleanse she accidently donates to a small little library her annotated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. She checks back frequently in hopes it will turn back up when it does, and it turns out the reader left his own comments and notes in the margins along with a note of another book notated for her to read Great Expectations. This starts a pen pal exchange through two lovers of books as they read through some classics and start asking questions and getting to know one another. As her feelings start to grow for her mystery man, she starts to wonder who he might be and if this friendship they are building could potentially become more. Little does she know that her mystery man is someone she knows that she has a rough past with. So, when identities become known will they be able to look past the cover and see the person they have been getting to know through the pages of their very loved books.

I received an ARC copy from netgally and HTP in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun book to read! It hooked me in quickly and the despite feeling like the main characters were both a bit immature and stuck holding onto issues from the past, they had great growth through the book and became more lovable with each chapter.

After recently losing her best friend to cancer Erin is struggling and it is not the first time she has struggled in her life (for example she had to change schools after her mom left her dad for another man) but this one seems different - Erin is lost. She quits her job and cleans out her room hoping to feel better, but she realizes that she threw out her prized copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, with all her notes in the margins. When she runs to the Little Free Library to get it back, it’s there - and her notes have responses to them as well as a new marked up book waiting for her - Great Expectations, and her relationship with Mystery Man begins. But it turns out that Mystery Man is someone with whom she has a fraught history, and if she realizes it’s him the feelings bubbling up may go away.

There are a few issues that the author tried to tackle in this one - grief, depression, mental illness, and familial obligation to name a few - I felt like there was just a lot but I do think the author handled them well, I just felt overwhelmed at times digesting them all while reading. I’m not sure I ever really liked or understood Erin or her relationship with James (Mystery Man) but I appreciated her growth through the novel. This is very much in the same genre of the Lucy Gilmore books where novels are characters in the story and I will always appreciate a book about books. While this novel is about two adults, I felt like their personalities were very much stuck in their teen personality (until the end of the book) and for parts of the book (and I’m not talking about the flashbacks) I felt like I was reading a novel about two teenagers. Looking back I think that was my issue with the novel, the immaturity of the main characters was a bit hard for me to read and while it was a novel about stunted people and their growth, their starting place was so far from where they needed to be ii was not always enjoyable as a reader.

3.75 stars

Thank you to Graydon House and NetGalley for the ARC to review

Erin Connelly is at a cross-roads after experiencing the loss of her best friend and finally quitting a job she hates. After de-cluttering her apartment, she mistakenly donates her beloved and annotated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird to a little community library. Upon returning there she’s relieved to find her book, but finds it with new annotations and an invitation in the margins to read a second book. From there the story turns to one of exploring grief, mental health, forgiveness, and love through the lives of Erin and her book pen pal.

I expected a light-hearted romance based on the description alone, so I was surprised find themes of bullying, mental health, loss, and forgiveness. I love a second chance romance and the nod to some great classics. While I loved the story, I couldn’t connect with the FMC and much preferred some of the side characters. I found Erin’s struggle with taking-perspective and finding empathy for others made it difficult to sympathize with her character.

I received an ARC for this and can I just say…this book was adorable. I have such an amazing love for literature and words on pages - and even though I haven’t read any of the “classics” mentioned in this book - I was captivated by the love the two MC shared for words too! As a debut novel, I was honestly surprised at how much I liked this book and connected to it. If you’re looking for a cute and cozy read that’s going to evoke some emotion, this is the one for you.

The below review will be posted on my Goodreads account (link below) and my Instagram account bookrecs_byalyssa
Review posted on Goodreads 8/12/24
Review posted on Instagram 8/13/24

This was such a sweet, heartfelt, emotional, and tender read. At the very core, this book is a story of love. A story of love in all its’ different forms, especially the love between friends, spouses, parent and children, siblings, and how to deal with such love when the person it is meant for is no longer living. This book brings about these topics of love while also mentioning many different sensitive subject matters, and does so in a tender, gentle context. These sensitive subjects include loss of a friend, grief, depression, bipolar disorder, and illness in those closest to the main characters. “The Book Swap” alternates between Erin and James POV’s while they navigate current life struggles, daily challenges, and their self-discovery, along with their love of literature. This entangles the character’s past and present together in a new and wholesome fashion. Erin’s added communication, throughout her and James’ story’s, to ‘Mystery Man’ via the book margins of literary classics, adds another level of intrigue to this sweet story. A story which centers around the past vs. the present, feelings of love and loss, and navigating emotions and reconciling differences in the name of forgiveness.
This novel mentioned both literary classics as well as a more recent, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky. The mentioning of this book throughout the novel gave me all the warm fuzzies as the previous friendship between characters was likened to those in that novel. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” was a book I especially enjoyed at a similar age to the characters mentioned in the novel and gave a wholesome, nostalgic feeling to reading this book. It helped bridge the gap between difficult subject matters and the characters emotions to such while adding wholesome, emotional personification of the joys of friendship and importance of the relationships to those closest to us.
“The Book Swap” is a book that I am very grateful to have read and is a sweet book about friendships, love, family, self-discovery, and at the very core, books! This book deserves 3.5/5 stars for the sweet plot, nostalgic feeling of discovering and rediscovering the love of reading and all things literary, and includes relatable, funny characters that bring readers all the emotions from heartbreak to warm fuzzies!

Thank you to Tessa Bickers, Greydon House and Netgalley for a wonderful early read.

I feel like it's hard to come by a unique romance that puts books and an author at the center of its story but with The Book Swap, Tessa Bickers did just that. Erin is at a point in her life where she desperately needs a change, whether she will admit it to herself or not. Fed up with her manipulative boss who berates her in front of her entire team while also denying her the ability to go to a memorial service for her best friend, she quits. Suddenly she's not only lost but free falling - jobless, thrown together with her estranged mother, confronted by her ex and the cooling off of her FWB arrangements with her weird flat mate. Erin needs to make a change in her life and oddly she finds it through a conversation she starts with a mystery man in the margins of books they swap at a free neighborhood library. Filled with classical literature references and chronic illness and death challenges this second chance romance explores what it means to find your soul mate when you are not ready to share your reality with them.

What to expect: second change romance, slow burn, lots of classical literature references, a little neighborhood library as a "co-star", hidden identity...

TW/CW: parent with PBD who exhibits both a depressive and manic episode throughout the book, discussion of cancer, death of a friend, estranged parents, cheating (discussed not by main characters)

4/5 stars

I think people who are looking for a new twist on Melissa Ferguson's Meet me in the Margins or Emily Henry's Book Lovers will enjoy this romance.

The Book Swap's cover immediately caught my eye. I initially thought it would be a cute rom com, but it turned out to be much deeper than that. The author did an amazing job writing these characters. Also, this book is definitely a love letter to classic books. I highly recommend The Book Swap if you like slow-burn romances. Thanks to the publisher for the arc and I'll share my full review closer to the publishing date.

4/5⭐️

“So very possible to feel grief and love, all at once.”

Erin Connelly has remained in her grief over the loss of her best friend, Bonnie, for over three years. Erin finally starts to live for her dreams and clean up her life when she accidentally donates To Kill A Mockingbird, her favorite book filled with annotations and postcard memento from Bonnie to her neighborhood’s version of a Little Free Library. Thankfully, her annotated book is returned to the library with new annotations and an invitation from a Mystery Man to continue “meeting in the margins” via book swap.

Their swap entangles with Erin and Mystery Man’s respective life journeys with grief, family dynamics, personal growth, and mental health while bringing them closer together in the margins of their favorite books. When revealed they are not strangers but estranged friends, can they heal their past and become something more with who they've found within the margins?

While I anticipated a romantic comedy, I was given something much more. How grief and mental health were touched on was written beautifully and accurately. I loved the idea of meeting in the margins, and it has given me a fresh perspective on annotating books. I wished for a bigger conversation between Erin and Mystery Man about how their conflict was resolved and how they found their way back to each other. The transitions throughout the book at times did feel abrupt but I did not feel this took away from the plot but briefly interrupted the flow.

Overall, congratulations to Tessa Bickers on a fabulous debut novel and I look forward to reading more from you in the future!

Side note:
The perception of this novel's synopsis gives the impression of a romantic comedy. I do not fault the author but the marketing of the book. The themes discussed in this book could be heavy for some readers thinking this is a romantic comedy. I would encourage the book's description to be rewritten with trigger warnings to find the readers this book is meant for.

Thank you, Harlequin Trade Publishing- Graydon House, NetGalley, and Tess Bickers for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review. I will provide links to reviews upon publication date!

Tropes:
Dual POV
Second chance
Childhood friends to enemies
Pen-pal

TW:
Mental health (Bipolar/Depression)
Terminal Illness (Cancer)
Grief
Childhood bullying

I found this book very disappointing, which was sad. Part of my problem was the ARC format- it was difficult to read with added spaces in the middle of words and very unclear who's POV we were in. I found the characters also difficult to like. Usually i can't wait to pick up the book i am reading but i found myself unattached to the story. I would potentially be willing to give this book another go and may still pick up a copy and see if its better in print.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC of The Book Swap.

Bravo @tessabickerswrites on your first novel! As a bookworm, I am obsessed with this book, absolutely obsessed. I don’t know if it’s because I resonated so much with characters navigating through mental health struggles within their family or what it was but this book just made me feel so many things. I was a bit annoyed with Erin at times for not giving James a chance to explain himself but thinking about it more, I understand she was hurt and then dealing with her grief. Grief is something every single person deals with differently and I shouldn’t judge Erin for how she dealt with hers.

This book was so much more than just a romance but I’ll always be a sucker for a happy ending. His book dedication 🥹🥹🥹🥹.

I really hope this is one of many books @tessabickerswrites published because she did a phenomenal job.

The Book Swap is available in the US for purchase on September 4, 2024. You can preorder the book from Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-book-swap-tessa-bickers/1144489618?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYOicQ_jFawUVCWNh94bNU_y0ozZoIZo7Gn4a3E6jcHaFiMhQMbBKngB-M_aem_wB_MgGXnwKB_1yPH4bF7LQ

This was a fun book, and I really appreciated the opportunity to read it! I will recommend this book.

The synopsis for this book caught my eye and I was so happy to receive it as my very first ARC! It's something that fans of Divine Rivals and/or You've Got Mail would enjoy. The first few chapters start slow to set the scene of where the main characters are in their lives so once they start trading books at the little library, it really gets interesting.

The individual characters' backstories and the exploration of their personal struggles and endeavors. I almost cried near the end of the story. While this can be categorized as a romance, it really is about grief, forgiveness and taking risks in life.

I also loved the references to classic literature like To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. They add another layer to the relationships in the story and how characters think, but you don't have to have read them to understand and follow the story.