Thank you to Netgalley and Tessa Bickers for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book I desperately wanted to like. I think the concept earns it the rating, but the execution is the reason it’s not higher. I liked the characters, I loved the book swap itself, but the way the character history came to light was a bit jarring and never truly resolved.

Erin, our protagonist, is at a dead end in life. She works in a job she hates, her best friend lost her life in a battle with cancer, and her current intimate relationship is with her loser flatmate. That is, until she quits her job and impulsively cleans out her room. She accidentally drops a book with a note from her friend in a community library and everything changes.

James, an ex high school friend of Erin’s, splits his time in London and their home town. On his most recent stint in London he stops at the community library. He reads Erin’s book and returns it, along with one of his own, and they develop a relationship in the margins of the pages. As they secretly fall for each other both are working to improve their lives.

All of that is well and good. I love that Erin quits her job and has no idea how to get to the next phase of her life. I love that she has non-romantic relationships that she constantly works to improve. I love that James has friends and family that he needs to get closer to. I love that he gets everything he thought he wanted and needs to evaluate where to go next (in the same but opposite way as Erin does). What I don’t like is the rest of it. Erin is selfish and James is close minded. Their families push them for the entire book to realize what’s going on, and it takes the entire novel to finally accept themselves and their peers as humans. And the inciting factor that broke up their friendship in high school is WILD. I won’t spoil it but honestly it was a very jarring and, maybe this is a personal thing but it fully brought me out of the good feelings that the book swap itself gave me.

I’m glad I read this book, my dream is to share books with my loved ones and talk about them. But Erin and James are going to need a LOT of therapy before they can be in a successful relationship.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tessa Bickers for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book I desperately wanted to like. I think the concept earns it the rating, but the execution is the reason it’s not higher. I liked the characters, I loved the book swap itself, but the way the character history came to light was a bit jarring and never truly resolved.

Erin, our protagonist, is at a dead end in life. She works in a job she hates, her best friend lost her life in a battle with cancer, and her current intimate relationship is with her loser flatmate. That is, until she quits her job and impulsively cleans out her room. She accidentally drops a book with a note from her friend in a community library and everything changes.

James, an ex high school friend of Erin’s, splits his time in London and their home town. On his most recent stint in London he stops at the community library. He reads Erin’s book and returns it, along with one of his own, and they develop a relationship in the margins of the pages. As they secretly fall for each other both are working to improve their lives.

All of that is well and good. I love that Erin quits her job and has no idea how to get to the next phase of her life. I love that she has non-romantic relationships that she constantly works to improve. I love that James has friends and family that he needs to get closer to. I love that he gets everything he thought he wanted and needs to evaluate where to go next (in the same but opposite way as Erin does). What I don’t like is the rest of it. Erin is selfish and James is close minded. Their families push them for the entire book to realize what’s going on, and it takes the entire novel to finally accept themselves and their peers as humans. And the inciting factor that broke up their friendship in high school is WILD. I won’t spoil it but honestly it was a very jarring and, maybe this is a personal thing but it fully brought me out of the good feelings that the book swap itself gave me.

I’m glad I read this book, my dream is to share books with my loved ones and talk about them. But Erin and James are going to need a LOT of therapy before they can be in a successful relationship.

Thank you to NetGalley and harlequin trade publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.


I found this book cute and the references to the above book refreshing. I think for me the bookish content was the best part of the book for me. I found the concept of the book intriguing and the author did a good job bringing out the POV of the characters voices. However, I felt some of the language surrounding the mom a little harsh.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance reader copy to review!

This book took me by surprise and didn’t let up! As Erin’s world is turned upside down by grief, she finds a new start in the most unexpected of ways, by accidentally falling into a book swap with a Mystery Man at a free little library. But when Mystery Man turns out to be a heartbreak from her past, she has to choose whether or not forgiveness is worth a shot at happily ever after.

This is NOT a cozy rom com, but instead a journey of grief, purpose, friendship, and reconciliation. Lovers of literary classics and You’ve Got Mail will love this read.

As a regular romance reader, this book was a slower start for me, but there is a lot of backstory building in it. The story puts a lot of effort in revealing the characters’ heartaches and struggles, and in doing so it makes the redemption in the end so much more powerful.

Favorite Quote:
— “Sometimes redemption isn’t just about saying sorry, it’s about how you recover from the mistakes you make. Bettering yourself is the best kind of apology you can make.”
— “Philippa told me a lot of people respond in that way when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer. They feel forced to start the grieving process before that person is even gone. They start imagining a life without them. Preparing themselves, and then feeling guilty for being able to even consider it.”

Tropes:
—Sloooooow burn
—Second chance romance (kind of)

Trigger Warnings:
—Grief
—Death (cancer)
—Mental health (depression, bipolar)
—Bullying
—Family discord

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
I found this book to have a very interesting premise but hard to follow. In my opinion the main characters, Erin and James were entirely forgettable, so I had a hard time remembering any details about them. I did not REALLY believe the grief experienced by either of these characters throughout the story, though the book heavily relied on the grief aspect as a major plot point. To me this is much more about two people getting over the death of a friend than about falling in love. There was a lot of background detail that wasn't needed and the writing style felt a little overwhelming and was not an easy read. I think the idea of the book was great but it could use a fair amount of tuning up.

Thank you @netgalley and @htpbooks for my digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Our FMC, Erin, is dealing with a tough time after losing her bestie and quitting her job. Then she accidentally donates her fave book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” with a card from her late friend to a community library. When she finds it again with notes in the margins, things get interesting.

Enter James, back in town to look after his mom. He’s been through the wringer with bullies and losing people close to him, like Erin and her pal Bonnie. As he reevaluates life, he picks up Erin’s book from the library, sparking a connection through their notes.

This book totally caught me off guard! I thought it’d be a light rom-com, but it’s way deeper. Tessa Bickers nails themes like grief and healing, subjective perspectives of success and failure, parenthood, bullying, and parental relationships. It was a cute, cozy story that made me feel a million emotions. I will say that the first half was better than the second half which is my only critique!

The premise of The Book Swap is that two people connect via swapping annotated books. Which seemed right up my alley. I thought it was the premise for a cute little romance. And while the summary of the book does talk about how both the main characters are both dealing with grief of the struggle of pressure from family with mental health issues, I did not realize how pervasive those would be throughout the book./

This book suffers two big problems. It is marketed more like it's a romance when it clearly leans more lit fic. And it is not well done lit fic, in my personal opinion.

I feel I need to be completely honest and disclose that I DNF'd this at 10%. The writing itself was tolerable. It wasn't good, nor bad. Just sort of mid. There was a LOT of focus on outfits that Erin was wearing though they held no real importance and it gave me very fanfic vibes. But what really got me about Erin's POV was after she quits her job, she comes home to deal with the fallout of that decision, And Bonnie, her friend who is DEAD, is sitting in her room and cheering her on as she Marie Kondos her life. And it's just treated as a normal thing.

And then there's James. James's mom deals with having bi-polar disorder. His whole family seems to have been dealing with her emotional back an forth for years now. He's come down from his place in London to once again help her through a depressive episode. His dad is a one hit wonder who gave up a promising music career for his momm. There's a lot of complicated emotions there, which I don't mind seeing in books. However, it just didn't feel like it was done well. There were a few references to James seemingly blaming himself for his mother's disorder, which didn't make sense to me.

An important thing to note, THIS ARC DID NOT COME WITH TRIGGER WARNINGS. The efficacy of them aside, this is a book that clearly deals heavily with the topic of grief, mental illness, complicated relationships resulting from that, and such. And those should be clearly disclosed.

I also had formatting issues with my ARC. The version I downloaded to my NetGalley shelf app seemed to just be scanned from the print copy almost. The background was white and the font was skinny and black, which made it hard to read for me. I downloaded it to my kindle app, only for any word that started with f to have a space between the f and the rest of the word.

An incredibly enjoyable story from a debut author that was so much deeper than the cover of the book portrays. I thought that this book was going to be a light-hearted cheesy romance and it was not. The story was definitely a fun read, but the depth of the characters and the secrets that were revealed were so heartbreaking and touching that I will remember this book for a long time.

Erin Connolly has lost her best friend and is having a hard time moving on, when she decides to clean up her life and her flat and make some changes. She drops off several books that were cluttering her shelves to a free neighborhood library, but accidentally drops off her favorite book that she has written notes in the margins. After she discovers her mistake, Erin runs back to the little library hoping her book has been returned. When it is returned, but someone has responded to her notes in the margins, a conversation ensues and a relationship formed.

I loved each imperfect character and the real life struggles that each character was dealing with. This novel is not just an entertaining story, but the author dealt with problems that many of us may be confronting in our own lives. There were many lessons to be learned within Erin’s and her or pen pal’s lives, that I felt maybe I should be writing notes in the margins.

This was a fantastic book from a debut author. I will be excited to read more from Tessa Bickers.

Thank you Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the Advanced Reader Copy. I will definitely recommend this wonderful book to my bookish friends when it is released September 3, 2024. #NetGalley #TheBookSwap www.Harlequin.com www.BookClubbish.com

I adored this book. After a couple books I found to be okay, I was hesitant to read Tessa Bickers’s “The Book Swap.” I’m glad I took a chance and decided to read this book.

The overview does a good job of preparing the reader for what the plot entails. The chapters tend to alternate between Erin and her “Mystery Man.” The reader finds out early on the identify of the “Mystery Man.” However, that fact did little to deter me from wandering how the author would develop and resolve the storyline.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

I love books about books. I will admit to not being a margin writer, but I can understand the urge. The idea of connecting with someone through the margins of books in a little free library is undeniably romantic. However, there is so much more to this story which really is about trauma and grief. It is better to not give it all away.

I highly recommend this read but make sure you have a box of tissues handy if grief can bring up your emotions.

Thank you to NetGalley, Graydon House, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC!

The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers is a story of love, loss, and forgiveness. We follow Erin and James from adolescence to adulthood as they experience heartache and bullying and the death of their best friend. As adults, they start to heal and forgive and find their way back to each other in the most unexpected yet appropriate way.
Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, for an ARC copy of The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers in exchange for an honest review. I loved the idea of meeting someone through notes in the margin of a book.

In this captivating novel, Erin Connolly, a woman grappling with a tragic loss, embarks on an extraordinary journey of healing and self-discovery through an unexpected literary exchange. After accidentally donating her cherished annotated copy of 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' Erin is devastated to discover it missing. However, a week later, the book miraculously reappears at the local library, bearing mysterious notes in the margins. Intrigued, she finds an invitation in a copy of 'Great Expectations' to meet her newfound pen pal. As Erin and her 'Mystery Man' continue their book swap, they engage in profound conversations, sharing their innermost thoughts and feelings. Their connection deepens with each exchanged novel, leading to an unexpected friendship and the possibility of something more. However, fate has a twist in store. Erin and her pen pal share a hidden past that neither of them has anticipated. Faced with painful memories and the person she vowed to forgive, Erin grapples with difficult choices.
Bickers skillfully weaves a captivating story that explores themes of grief, forgiveness, and the transformative power of human connection. The use of classic literature as a medium for communication adds depth and nuance to the characters' interactions. The characters are complex and relatable. Erin's journey of healing is both heartbreaking and inspiring, while her pen pal remains an enigmatic figure until the very end. The supporting cast is equally well-developed, adding richness to the narrative. Overall, this is a beautifully crafted novel that celebrates the power of literature and the transformative nature of human connection. It is a poignant and thought-provoking read that will stay with you long after you finish the last page.

Wow, this book really snuck up on me 🥲

Premise: still heavy with grief from losing her best friend to cancer, Erin makes a spontaneous decision to quit her job of seven years and get rid of anything that doesn’t “spark joy”. Including accidentally giving away her favorite book - a heavily annotated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird containing a precious memento she cannot live without - to a local little free library. But a week later, the book turns back up with fresh notes in the margins along with an invitation, “Meet me in Great Expectations?”

Life-altering conversations, written only in the margins of beloved classic books, pass between Erin and her Mystery Man. Following each other through the pages of their favorite novels as the book exchange continues, they both begin to open up, falling into a friendship…and maybe something more. 

But Erin and her pen pal have a shared history that neither of them have guessed. Faced with painful reminders of the past—and the one person she swore never to forgive—Erin finds herself at a crossroads. One that could change her life forever.

I was not expecting this book to be so heavy…but it was heavy in such a great way. The tangled relationships between past and present and finding out a way to move on to the future were so uplifting. Each character had such growth throughout the book. I loved the whole idea of the “book swap”. And falling in love through books was just all together swoony, and what every girl dreams of, am I right?

I’m giving it 4 stars and not 5 only because there were certain parts that did drag or felt slow for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TW: this book really touches on bipolar disorder and cancer and the way it effects those around you.

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I could not get into this book. I found the plot hard to follow and the characters were not relatable. Then add on the heavy content dealing with mental health and a toxic workplace. It tried to do too much and wasn’t overly successful.

This book covers a lot of topics: bullying, trauma, terminal illness, death, toxic workplaces etc. I really wanted to like this book but had a hard time especially because I didn’t relate to any characters.

I got this book to review so thank you NetGalley for the kindness! As far as the book goes I just couldn’t get into it. Wasn’t a fan of the story line and it wasn’t what I expected. I thought this was more of a rom com but that’s not what it really turned out to be, it talked more about heavy contents such as mental health and toxic work environments. The story was also kinda hard to follow. I tried so hard to push through and read it but ended up giving up and DNFd it. I think it should be moved from a romcom to another genre. It’s just bad and a struggle to get through.

If you like meandering British romance novels (think: The Flatshare) this is very much in this tradition and lovely. I kind of wish we could have had more fleshing out of what makes Erin great (there's sometimes so much lying to herself or refusing to think about things that I as a reader couldn't tell what was going on), but I loved the story and exchange of books, and I liked the characters, and I really felt like this was a whole world that could exist and I would like to visit.

I received a free ARC copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5

I really wanted to love this book I thought the concept was so cute.

There are some heavy trigger warnings (cancer, bi polar disease and depression). These didn’t take away from the book and I thought the author handled them very well.

The book was a very slow burn and I honestly didnt love the Erin (fmc). I also felt there the flashbacks were a bit confusing.

Rating: 4⭐️

I would say that overall I enjoyed reading this book, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys literary fiction with a strong sub plot of romance. The reason that I would categorize this book as literary fiction, because the plot of book mainly focuses on the personal growth of the female main character and the male main character. This book features dual POV, which initially confused me at first but it was overall beneficial to the story line. I was satisfied with the ending; however, one of the most frustrating thing was the main misunderstanding. The book was well paced; however, once the misunderstanding was cleared up the plot sped up too quickly.

An absolutely adorable book by debut author Tessa Bickers! I found this to be a much "deeper" book than anticipated as it delved into dealing with grief and loss, bullying, mental health, youth, communication and misunderstandings, and a myriad of family dynamics issues all in a very well-written style that keeps the reader engaged.

Erin/Margin Girl and James/Mystery Man accidentally begin a "book swap" at a freestanding little library in created to honor/memorialize of Eileen. Although Eileen is dead before the story starts and the reader knows little of her, Eileen and her library are prominent pieces of this book. Over the course of about a year, Bickers tells the story of Erin and James from each of their viewpoints as these two book lovers share their deepest thoughts and secrets through a correspondence carried out in the margins of classic novels.

While the book is classified as a romance, it is definitely NOT your run of the mill romance novel - it's so much better than that and a truly refreshing read! I'm hoping Tessa Bickers and Harper Collins Publishers have plans for a sequel about Cassie and Joel.