Erin Connolly accidentally donates her cherished copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird," with personal annotations and a significant memento, to a local community library. When the book reappears in the library, now bearing fresh notes in the margins and an invitation hidden within a copy of "Great Expectations." Erin's interactions with her mysterious pen pal, James, written in the margins of beloved books, offer a unique mode of communication. The characters' narrative delves into their shared history and reveals a past connection, resulting in them confronting painful memories and unresolved issues.

Erin's internal struggle makes the reader feel sympathy for her. She is seeking forgiveness and on a quest for self-discovery throughout the book. James has a heart-wrenching narrative about the courage to face one's demons. This book also highlights the impact of literature and how it brings people together. It was a heartfelt story about overcoming trauma; I think readers will enjoy it.

I received an ARC ebook for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Graydone House.

Our story starts with Erin Connelly as she sets out on a new path after the death of her best friend (Bonnie) 3 years prior. Erin dealt with some tough childhood experiences that make her hard to trust others that want a relationship with her. On her new path, Erin accidentally gives away a treasured book. To her surprise though, she finds the book again with notes written inside. Thus begins a book exchange between herself and a mystery man where they reveal things they’ve never told anyone else. This book exchange slowly begins to break down the barriers in both of their lives and help them heal. Enter James. James used to be best friends with Bonnie and Erin in school but an act of betrayal put him on the outs. Imagine Erin’s surprise when she finds out mystery man is James! Will they be able to move on from the past or will new secrets tear them apart for good?

The beginning of the book started off rocky for me. I instantly did not like Erin and her self-loathing behavior but began to understand it better as the book went on. The dual POV’s helped move the book along and kept me engaged to see what would happen next. I ended up really enjoying the healing journey of Erin and James in this book. I think as a clinical social worker, I have a unique viewpoint as I understand the mental illness playing part of Erin and James’ issues. I think my favorite character was Erin’s sister!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I felt like this book tried too hard to be cute. I overall enjoyed it, but may have hyped it up in my head too much before reading.

Overall 3.5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Tessa Bickers for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was a cute and quick read. The book focuses on Erin and Bonnie as they become pen pals through a little free library. It took me some time to connect with the characters and it was quite an emotional read which I wasn't fully expecting but overall I enjoyed the book. I'd recommend to someone who wants a quick emotional read.

I thought this was gonna be a romantic, light read but it ended up being a lot more than that. It felt a little corny at times but overall wasn’t a bad read

This was a really fun romance novel. It had to banter and I enjoyed the characters and the story a lot. Overall I would recommend it and advise you to read it. It was lovely.

Oh my god. So adorable! First off for a first book this was absolutely incredible! I thought the characters were so cute and fleshed out, the story was just adorable. I wanna trade love notes through a library now! I felt so much for these characters and all their struggles, and I was so happy to watch them improve by the end. I did feel some parts of it dragged a bit but that happens to the best books. I even thought the time jumps were well done, which is impressive. You can just tell that the author put their entire heart into this book. There's romance, angst, and a great sister. The side characters were fantastic and Georgia became one of my favorites in the book. She's just so cute and caring and I love the choices she made. Obsessed, will be recommending to all my friends when it comes out!

a love letter to books and book lovers. deeply emotional and very entertaining read, would def recommend to other book people

Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this digital ARC.

3.5 stars rounded up. This book is set in England, which I normally don’t like, but the setting was not a main plot point.

This is, basically, a love letter to books and reading. Since I love both, picking this up was a no brainer.

It’s a cute, quick read based on two people getting to know each other via writing in book margins and then discovering they knew each other all along.

This book was a really easy and good read. I read it in one sitting. one thing I didn't really like was how there was little information on the background of Erin and Bonnies relationship. such a quick read with lots of emotion! I thought It was really cute watching their relationship unfold in the annotated notes!

I enjoyed reading this book but I struggled to connect with the characters. It was a fun idea with modern pen pals through a little free library. The story felt a little slow for me as well. I could see others enjoying the story line and connecting with Erin and James. Great for readers who enjoy classic books.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc.

I am pleased with this quick read, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
• Bookish
• Romance
• Classic literature

A good book for someone who finds themselves nostalgic for classic literature and where it got us today.

I do wish the romance part had a larger influence on the book.

This book is a love letter to literature and stories and the books that make us. “the book swap” walks through the complexities of grief, love and pain while also celebrating love, books and the beauty of life found inspire of pain. The main character Tera are so flawed and equally lovable. Do yourself a favor and read this book!

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where bookish WF and romance is popular.

I received an electronic ARC from Harlequin Trade Publishing through NetGalley.
Bickers tells the story from her two main characters viewpoints. Every other chapter is told from either Erin or James perspective. Readers see how their story unfolds from both sides. So much misunderstanding and refusals to talk in the past have damaged both of them in the present. It's hard to tell their story without including the third member of the old friendship, Bonnie. She passed away too young but is still a factor in both their lives. Erin struggles to face life and retreats from anyone she feels hurt her. Finally, she learns to forgive herself and other important people in her life. James pushes himself toward financial success due to the bullying and loss of support he faced in the past. Finally, he lets himself revisit his passion for writing and balance.
Neither knows they have reconnected in the present as they communicate through books from a Little Library. Erin starts this by accidentally leaving a copy of one of her books with a memento of Bonnie still inside. James happens to stop and take the book. When he reads the notes in the margins, he writes back. Thus begins this exchange/romance as they share books and move to answering personal questions. By accident, James discovers that Erin is the mystery woman and does not know what to do. He is afraid to tell her who he is as she has never forgiven him about an incident that changed her life. She discovers who he is in an accidental meeting at the library and melts down over another "betrayal." I had a difficult time with Erin's character. She was so stuck in the past and refusing to get the help she needed to move on with her life. Kudos to her sister, Georgia, for continuing to love and support her. I recognize the reasons why she did not want to face the past but she was a bit too self focused for my taste. Others will appreciate her more.
I love that the Little Library becomes such an important part of the story and that the person memorialized, Eileen, is someone they value as well.

Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for a review. The premise of the story really caught my attention because I’ve always loved reading but I especially loved reading classic literature in high school and many of those books were mentioned so yay! I wouldn’t say this is a true romance book even if it has some romance in it. It’s more of a story of trauma , healing and finding yourself. It was a quick cute read but nothing I was overly excited about.

The Book Swap is charming debut romance novel, centered around our FMC Erin and a mystery man as they build a connection through writing in the margins of books from their local little community library.

While this book is labeled as a romance and it definitely has romance elements, I feel moreso than a traditional romance, this is a love-letter to classic literature, and perhaps that is why it missed a bit for me. While it is no secret that I love to read, classics for the most part have unfortunately never really been my thing, so a lot of the references in here were lost on me. I loved the idea of them building a relationship through writing in the novels of shared books, and still do. The concept is absolutely adorable. Many of these conversations were directly related to the classic they were reading/writing in, however, and I think in order to get full enjoyment from that, you need to understand the context of the classic they're quoting, and I just didn't 90% of the time.

I also unfortunately did not ever really connect with the main characters. That might perhaps be due to missing context in the notes they were writing, but also I felt that there was SO much going on in the character's lives that it got really hard to follow and stay connected at times, especially to Erin. I very much just wanted to get to the book swapping, but then I didn't understand that a lot of the time either due to lack of classic literature knowledge, so I just stayed kind of confused and zoned out.

I have to point out as well, there are some very heavy topics tackled here, so do not go into this thinking you are getting a fluffy rom-com. Personally, I don't mind that in my romances and usually even prefer it if it is done well, so that didn't bother me. But definitely consider trigger warnings before reading! Some topics include: grief, loss of a loved one, mental health issues, bullying, terminal illness, and more.

While this book sadly wasn't my personal jam, if you are a classic lit lover and a romance lover, I think this stands a good chance at being a major hit for you. I can see how, if I had the context needed to fully understand the references, this would be a big win, and if you are that person I absolutely recommend checking it out.

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

What a roller coaster! This book is so sad and cathartic. I loved the classics sprinkled throughout.


Thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.


Ok, this book really is very sad, in my opinion. I was surprised every time a happier moment happened, I genuinely thought there wouldn’t be any. That’s not to say that the lighter/happier moments don’t make sense or break the narrative. They don’t. But be warned, this book is heavy. Illness, both mental and physical, is a huge part of the tragic nature of this novel. The perspective of the narration is sad and I got annoyed with them. I liked that the characters really were flawed and Bickers does not shy away from that fact. I thought that the ending, the third act if you will, was strong and carried the rest of the novel. Honestly, even though I struggled a bit with earlier parts, the ending made it worth it because it connected the threads, it loosened the pain just enough. I felt that the ending fit the novel and delivered on all the promises.


However, the timeline was a little hard to keep track of. I would really have no idea how long the action of the novel takes except that it gets cleared up right at the end.


I have not or it’s been a while since I read the novels the characters exchange. But I didn’t feel lost because of too many references or even that I should look up the plot for any, though reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower, if you’re up for it, would probably highlight parts of this book. Also, reading this the day after the One Direction anniversary was such a sweet thing for a reason I won’t spoil, but definitely made me smile.

This is a sad novel that surprised me with some genuine catharsis. A solid book, in my opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book to read and review. All thoughts are my own.

I don’t think this book was bad; I just thin it wasn’t for me. I found a lot wrong with the plot and how the story was going. Stuff should’ve been explained or had more back story because a lot just didn’t make sense. It took me a lot longer than I wanted it to, to finish this.

Some parts were cute and emotional but I think this book could’ve been better with more background info.

3 stars.

I had a harder time getting into this book. The beginning did not hook me the way I wish it did. The overall story was a good idea! I ended up liking it a lot but not loving it.
The conversations with Bonnie felt a little weird to me.