Thank you Harlequin Books and Netgalley for the ARC e-book of the DEBUT novel, The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers set the release September 3, 2024!

For readers that enjoy books about books. 📚 ❤️ It also gave me a You've Got Mail vibe with regards to two strangers communicating back and forth via the written word and have a shared love of reading.

This story will make you want to visit a little free library, annotate your books, and read (or reread the classics).

An enemies to lovers with deeper topics such as mental health, cancer, loss, and bullying present.

For me personally, there were a lot of different things going on in this book and honestly too much-romance, self discovery, family drama, and subtle paranormal. I feel that this could have been two separate books successfully (the family/loss and then a lighter romcom.)

3.5 Stars

Beautifully written, an easy read that kept my attention. Easily relatable characters and this book gave me all the feels. I laughed, cried and found myself even with my jaw dropped in a few spots in this story.

This ended up being a DNF for me. I tried and tried l, but my goodness it was just so boring for me. I’m sorry, but this wasn’t it for me.

(TINY SPOILER) I was SO proud of Erin when she quit her job telling her crap boss what’s up! Heck yeah. She’s everyone’s dream.

But in the full scheme of the book, I loved the whole thought of carrying on a friendship with someone through the margins of classic literature - freakin adorable.

I loved the concept of the book and the relationship between the characters. The healing of past failures and moving forward. I truly enjoyed this book.

A little free library brings two strangers together through annotations in the margins of books. But are they really strangers? Erin and James were the best of friends but had a huge falling out. Erin is dealing with the death of her best friend Bonnie, and James is questioning what is really important in his life.

I did enjoy this book, but felt it to be a little slow at times. This book was a good telling of real world experiences; it had themes of grief, loss, and finding yourself again. I was expecting a more lighthearted rom-com but was met with something much more deep. I found myself teary eyed at times too.

I was beginning to get frustrated at Erin for not wanting to hear James out. Even many years later, she didn’t want to hear anything he had to say. To be honest it was just a tadddd bit annoying hahaha. However, I did like reading about her finding her passion and what she wants to do with her life. I also liked to see James figure himself out too and find his passion for writing again. I was glad he reconciled with his family and found comfort in his home again.

I wish the book swapping plot was more the main star in the book. There were so many side plots happening that it just got lost at times. I was also actually really sad that there wasn’t an epilogue, I wanted a glimpse into Erin and James’ relationship especially since they didn’t actually find their way back to each other until basically the last page. I wish we got to read more about them falling in love and finally getting together.

Overall, this was a cute book that I think it’s good for a debut novel!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Graydon House for the ARC!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Uggh… this was a tough one. It took my forever to get through as I kept putting it down. I have had it on my shelf for well over a month and had many stops and starts.

It’s really slow to start and it remains that way. So if you enjoy the slowest burn ever than this may be for you.
I don’t view this as a romance novel at all. It more is about Erin’s self journey of finding herself and both characters dealing with grief and loss.

I gave it three stars as I think some will enjoy it for what it is. Personally it didn’t hit and that’s because the description makes it look like it is a much different book.

Erin is tormented by her horrible boss who likes making Erin's life miserable. James is working in a job that he is successful in but doesn't love. A shared history back to their teenage years. A little neighborhood library brings the two together again yet they do not know it is the other.

Erin and James along with their friend Bonnie were the best of friends in school until they weren't. One sad day, everything fell apart and some simple communication between the three would have maybe spared them all a lot of pain and heartbreak.

Bickers uses foreshadowing to draw the reader in and hook them. I found myself desperate to know what had torn the three apart.

Books lovers will love the references to many popular books.

Possible triggers: cancer, loss of close friend, mental illness and bullying

Tessa Bickers has written a strong debut novel that has earned my following. I will gladly read any future releases by Bickers.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Book Swap is an endearing story about how fate and books can bring people together. In this case, it rekindles an early connection between two and determines if their bond is strong enough to live through their earlier struggles. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

What a great debut read!

I'd recommend if you are interested in novels in the vein of Mhairi McFarlane, etc. While it is about two people finding their way back to each other, there is a lot of growth and turmoil throughout for both and quite a traumatic past. Not light or fluffy, but a novel to sink into the characters with.

For book lovers, the actual book swap between Erin and James is adorable and I will be making my way through their list. And in an age where we are so used to strictly online and instant communication, using a Little Free Library as a communication device was a wonderful idea! I also loved how well the author immersed the reader in the London neighbourhood of Brixton!

I am looking forward to more from Tessa Bickers.

The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers is a story about Erin and James, who bonded over books and almost dated in secondary school, until James's great and terrible betrayal. Erin and James reconnect later in life in an unexpected way, once again, through their mutual love of reading.

This book was a lot heavier than the cover and write-up suggest, although the ending was solid, and the resolution to the story line had a hopeful feel to it. This book was more women's or general fiction than romance, with the connections we have with friends and family, and all the complexities that entails, being the star of the show. Forgiveness was a big theme in this book - forgiving ourselves for our own failures and weaknesses, and forgiving others for theirs. Figuring out who you are and learning to chase your dreams is another prevalent idea throughout this story.

I rated The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers 3/5 stars. This was one of those rare instances were I enjoyed the supporting cast much more than the main characters. That being said, as debuts go, I felt like this author has a lot of promise, and would consider reading future books by her. I recommend this book for anyone who's interested in an inside look into coping with mental health issues, which the author treats seriously, without making light of the adversities experienced with various mental and emotional difficulties.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tessa Bickers, and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Graydon House for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book. I was not required to write a review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

This book was a little hard to get into for me. I like that there were some deeper topics brought up. It helps break it apart and stand out among some of the other book themed rom coms out there. I would definitely recommend to someone for a casual read, but it wasn't something I would pick up and re-read

This book has a very exciting premise for bookworms. Finding someone who has the same reading taste and style as you is a dream. The idea of a meet cute with a little free library was beautiful. A relationship building based on exchanging thoughts on books via notes in the margins is unique.

If you are looking for a quick, cute romance, this is not it. This book touches on some very heavy topics. Grief and loss from the beginning for both main characters. The struggles of mental health are a huge part of the story. The traumatic bullying flashbacks with a lack of adult interference is heartbreaking.

Erin is not a super loveable character. She has some definite flaws, and it is interesting to see her work through them. James was the more loveable character. His relationship with his friend Joel growing was one of the best parts of the book. When men get the opportunity for emotional growth and sharing, it is touching. It needs to be normalized in society.

This book is a reminder that everyone is going through something they don't share with the world. Sometimes, we need to slow down and really communicate to understand others' behaviors.

I’m so thankful at the chance to get this arc!

This one was an extremely slow paced book that I really struggled to connect with the fmc, however I was more invested in the mmc.

The hallucination of her dead best friend just absolutely threw me off, and while I understand the theme of grief, it just felt incredibly forced.

Thank you to Netgalley and Graydon House for this ARC!

I love Little Free Libraries, in fact, it's where I get the majority of my books, so when I saw the concept fo this book, I immediately fell in love. I loved the idea of the swapping books, but the pace felt a bit off for me. Also, I didn't expect the heavy topics, not that there's any problem with it, but when I read romance, I often try to escape. It was a slow read, but not a terrible one :)

I really liked the idea of this story. It started off entertaining and then it just got dull and a chore to finish the book. Erin has so much anger and just cannot move on. I felt so bad for James never getting to explain himself.

I enjoyed this book, but it definitely packs in some deeper topics than I was expecting. The book touches on cancer, mental health, and bullying in pretty in depth ways. I liked James more than I liked Erin, but her character arc was satisfying by the end. If you’re looking for a fun, breezy romance, this isn’t it. But I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This book came to me at the perfect time. Nice story to start, but when the heavy stuff hit me it was incredible! May be just where I am in life right now, but this one will stick with me for a while.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am giving this book a solid 3.5 stars because even though it was not my favorite I still did have a good time in certain parts of this book. I like the premise of the book with swapping the books out and really getting to know each other through what was being said in the books but also between them. I wish the book would have had a faster pace because the slow pace made it really hard to get through. By 60% of the book I felt it should have been wrapped up. Overall, it was a good book but not a favorite.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

I wanted to like this one, I did. The book swap idea, very meet cute.

But, unfortunately, I found it slow and a little boring for my taste. Never really got into it.

2.5 stars.

Part of the disappointment for me with this novel was the expectation I had going in. Based on the cover and synopsis, I thought this would be a cute, lightheaded romance. Be warned, it definitely was not. It is more about trauma, growth and resilience than about romance. It covers death, bullying, grief, mental health, illness. As for the romance, it was definitely a slow, very very slow burn.

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.