"The Book Swap" by Tessa Bickers offers a sweet, slow-burn romance that follows the journey of Erin and James, two high school friends who reconnect through shared books filled with notes in the margins. As they communicate through these annotations, they embark on separate paths of self-discovery, reminiscent of the disconnect and lack of communication seen in Marianne and Connell from "Normal People" by Sally Rooney. With its cute and quick pacing, "The Book Swap" is recommended for those seeking a heartwarming yet contemplative read.

3.5 stars rounded up because we love lifting up debut novelists.

The set up was charming. These characters teemed with reality, hardship, and complex relationships. As Tessa Bickers referenced works by renowned authors, beloved by our MCs, she wove her own sort of poetry into the MCs’ commentary.

The trope was cute. The conflict was a bit annoying as it emphasized our female MC’s immaturity, which made me like her less.

I read this as an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It took me awhile to get into this book, lots of buildup, but I’m glad I stuck it out because it was a sweet ending. It was a good debut book with lots of nuances and character development.

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

Erin-our FMC-deals with the grief of losing her best friend and quitting her job. Erin decides to donate old books to a little community library. Days later she realizes that she accidentally put her favorite copy of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, with a card that the friend she lost gave her as her last gift. When she goes back to get it, it is gone. Days later she passes the community library again and inside is her book and the card, but that isn’t everything. The margins of her book have little notes from the person who borrowed it from the community library.

James-our MMC- lives in London but comes home to care for his mother who needs constant supervision during her “manic” spells. James was bullied all through school, and he lost the two people who were there for him, Erin and her friend Bonnie. Years later James starts questioning what’s important in life..money or passion. One day as he was walking by the community library he decides to pick up a book “To Kill A Mockingbird”.

We follow the story of Erin and James relationship and how it builds through the notes left in the margins of books. However, will their love for books and their relationship outlast the history and past they have, once they realize who they are writing to. I enjoyed reading this book! Any book about books is a win for me! Cute and Cozy!

I was so thankful to be provided an ARC copy of this book and it was just perfect.

This book follows the FMC Erin and the MMC James on their journey of dealing with the obstacles life throws while still trying their best to find love. Erin and James were best friends in highschool until they weren’t.

Erin is dealing with the death of her best friend Bonnie, abandonment issues with her mom, and starting to realize she does forgive and forget, she holds grudges and doesn’t see the other persons POV.

James has been bullied is whole life, his mom blames him for being bi-polar, and he never followed his dreams or the girl he loved.

Follow their love story and see how it truly feels to try and overcome grief, death, and past trauma but to in the end find the person who only ever wanted you.

Book lovers and readers, this one is a love letter to you. Erin and James have always connected over reading but after a falling out in their late teens, they lost touch. Of course it makes sense that a book in a little free library brings them back together. As light-hearted as the premise seems, both Erin and James are dealing with the weight of life and struggles of mental health and past trauma.

Their first book is To Kill a Mockingbird, which is a great book, but they specially discuss a love for Atticus Finch, whose character changes dramatically in the second novel, and yet there is no mention of that. For such bookish characters, this feels like an oversight.

I adore a good epistolatory romance, and this was a good twist on the trope. The idea of connecting with someone through their annotations is so clever - an amazing way to cut straight past awkwardness and social niceties to the core of who someone is.

This is labeled as both Women’s Fiction and Romance, and I feel it pretty well straddles that line. Much of the plot focuses on James and Erin’s traumas, with each of them receiving their own, well-defined plot arcs. Their shared past and notes help to weave the whole story together in a well that feels well-paced and cohesive.

This is an extremely slow, slow burn, so if that’s not your thing, fair warning. I think a slow-burn romance, when done well, can be extremely satisfying, as is the case with this book.

I really enjoyed this one, might even revisit it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the advanced reader copy of this book, provided in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers

This book takes the reader through Erin’s journey with grief, loss and explores self-discovery and healing. A charming second chance story following the lives of two high school friends who experienced not only the loss of their best friend, but the loss of their shared love for one another.

Erin accidentally left a copy of her book in a little free library. Upon retrieving it, she noticed that another person added notes in response to hers. Who will she meet in the margins?

I enjoyed this one and always love a happy ending!

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.8 ⭐️
Overall I really enjoyed reading this book!! The bookish vibes were everything. It did take me a little bit to get into it but I became very invested in the story as it went on. I absolutely love the concept of this book - I adore little free libraries so the idea of two people connecting through one really intrigued me. This book had me so much more emotional than I thought it would (I cried 3 times lol) and had me on my toes, especially in the last 20% of it. I genuinely didn’t know how the book was going to end! I do think that there were quite a lot of moving parts to this story, side characters and their stories, and sometimes it got a little overwhelming for me. And I wish that things happened a little quicker than how they played out, but it also felt very real. There were a lot of heavy topics in this book that I wasn’t expecting going into it, so search the content warnings before reading 🫶🏻 I loved the development of Erin and James and how much growth and healing they had individually and together. This is a story about grief, love, mental health, growth, and acceptance. I think Tessa’s debut novel was good and I really look forward to reading more of her work in the future!
Thank you Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Tessa Bickers for allowing me to read my (first!!!) ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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Absolutely splendid! I love the general concept, the super slow burn, and the portrayal of grief. I also love how quickly I was sucked in to the storyline and the growth that both main characters experienced. I feel that the dual POV only added to my enjoyment of the story too, which I can't always say, especially in regard to a romance novel.

My main criticism is that as a chronically and disabled woman, I did struggle with reading the rather harsh portrayal of the MMC's mom, who has bipolar disorder. Though I recognize that healing took place throughout the book and that the relationship between the MMC and his mom evolved over time, it seemed like the language used to describe the mom was very pointed and a bit reductive at times. I also struggled with the MMC's description of the life his dad "gave up" to care for his wife. Once again, I recognize that healing and evolution took place throughout the book, but this can be a very harmful way to describe the role of a caregiver and I worry that other people like me will want to put this book down based on that description or that healthy/abled people will take the description to heart and add to their own internalized ableism. I think a good way to meditate this would be to add a content warning or perhaps a little author's note. I also suggest adding in some mental health and grief resources at the end of the book for readers who may want or need them.

Overall, I absolutely adored this book. I really did. I laughed, I cried, and I cheered. I'm very pleased with this read. Thank you so much for allowing me to review it!!

This was such a heartwarming debut novel by Tessa Bickers!

I’m a book lover so any book that is full of references to other books always has my heart! Our female and male main characters begin swapping books with annotations at a little librarian!

Grief and mental health struggles are represented in this book, but I feel like they’re done in a respectful way (but always check your content warnings)!

This was the slowest of slow burns were you’re waiting for the forgiveness and reconciliation, but after watching our characters grow through this book, waiting was well worth it!

I throughly enjoyed reading this book!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for providng the arc in exchange for an honest review!
I wasn't sure how I felt about this book at first but this is the kind of book that grows on you as you read. The characters in the beginning really got on my nerves because it was obvious they had issues they weren't dealing with and i would have been much more frustrated if there hadn't been actual character growth.
The themes of mental health and grief are really thoroughly explored and as someone who has experience with both I really appreciated that.
I knocked off a star for a couple of reasons. The first is the way the book is set up. The book alternates between Erin and James' POV which I love BUT you read Erin's chapter and then go back in time in the story to catch up with James. It was a little confusing and jarring, to me it would make more sense to switch their POVs.
The other is just that I don't prefer books where it's all lead up and you never see them together except the very end.

3.5 stars.
Overall, I had a good time reading this book. The writing was really east to get into and I liked the two person POV. I would say this book leans more towards literary fiction with romance elements than a full on romance. I enjoyed James's POV more than Erin's as I didn't really connect to her character. I would say it would be beneficial to put trigger warnings in the front of the book because this book delay with A LOT more grief than I thought it would, as I requested it based on the little free library cover. LOVED the little free library book swap with messages and annotations.

Thanks NetGalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest review. It always pains me to give a debut author a less than 3 star review but this book really just didn’t do it for me. It didn’t quite hit the mark on the character development or the romance. I found the timeline a bit confusing as well and it felt like it suddenly jumped forward toward the end of the book without actually saying it did. I love the idea of a meet cute via a little free library but I didn’t find myself wanting to pick this book up and keep going and that’s not a great sign for me.

Not the best romance book I've ever read, but solid. It took a bit longer than I personally like for the characters to come together, and the burn was so slow, it fizzled out completely at some points. Being a lover of the Little Libraries near me, I absolutely loved the concept of interacting through sharing books, but most of the story was "meh" for me. I won't read this one again, but I would recommend to those who like the slow burn romances with little to no spice in them.

A dual POV story of love, grief, forgiveness, and books! Swapping annotated books using a neighborhood little library is the cutest thing and had me feeling alllll the feels. By chapter 2 I didn't want to set the book down. Both Erin and James are real, relatable characters that are trying to navigate growing up the best way they know how. The second chance romance as well as touching so gracefully on sensitive topics have made this is a story I will surely be thinking about for a long time.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read an E-ARC of The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers in exchange for my honest review.

From the very first page, I was drawn into a world where love and literature intersect in the most beautiful and unexpected ways.
What truly sets this novel apart is its exquisite attention to character development. The protagonists are not just characters on a page; they are living, breathing individuals with hopes, dreams, and flaws. Each character must face their fears and confront their pasts in order to embrace a future together. Every reader can find a bit of themselves in this diverse group of characters.
But what truly elevates The Book Swap is its diverse collection of literary nods. From To Kill a Mockingbird, Mansfield Park and Great Expectations to the Bell Jar and more, the author's love for literature shines through.The Book Swap reminds us that literature has the ability to change our lives in ways we never thought possible. This book made me appreciate Little Free Libraries and gave me the desire to contribute to the ones in my community.

I really wanted to love this book as I love all things bookish. Although this story showed a great deal of promise with Erin dealing with grief and James sharing feelings through the margins of books, That sounds amazing and some parts of it was but honestly the language and cursing in the book threw me off I felt it took me out of the created world of the ok. Overall the story was good and well thought out but it still made me feel like it was lacking.

Erin is struggling with the loss of someone in her life and things that happened in her past while trying to navigate her life in the present. When she accidentally donates her very special copy of To Kill A Mockingbird containing a very special note from her past to a Little Free Library she is heartbroken. One day the book magically reappears in the library with her note and new annotations in the margin. This sparks a new friendship with a total stranger in the pages of their favorite books. Through these conversations Erin...and Mystery Man begin to realize what matters most to them in life.

I loved this story. I went into it thinking it would be a light and sweet romantic comedy but it was actually a story that really made me think about my regrets in life and what I really wanted for myself. Highly recommend. I can't wait to read more from Tessa Bickers in the future.

An exploration of grief and a love story happening in the margins of books. Also has a straight man reading Marian Keyes!