An intense, suspenseful thriller grips you tight with intrigue and mystery coupled with just the right amount of unease and danger told through a compelling narrator. The Swap has the pacing down but falters with the other elements.
The story centers around female relationships. The characters' past secrets and present manipulations weave a tangled web that expounds with every chapter. The characters are a flawed bunch, to put it mildly. Freya is manipulative and narcissistic, Jamie frustratingly passive, and Low obsessive, bordering on creepy. While their flaws fuel the plot, it's hard to find anyone to root for.
Readers are familiar with a flawed character with questionable morals, which this story has in spades, but the narrative needs to be engaging to overlook flaws. A character does not need to be relatable to find the story interesting, but the plot should have enough hook to entertain to stay to the conclusion. The moral ambiguity must be more compelling to drive the mystery, the character choices, and the plot. The Swap is predictable with thinly written characters. The "twists" are obvious and rely too heavily on the overused tropes of the "weird and oddball" teen and woman "who has everything" to drive the story forward. The one-dimensional characters with predictable motivations and actions make it hard to care about their fate. The narrative needs an infusion of believable dialogue and smoother prose.
Additionally, the PNW setting could have heightened tension, creating a sense of unease or danger with its isolated location. Instead, it becomes a rather bland backdrop with nary a mention. Overall, The Swap felt too amateurish and lacked believability and suspense to be a page-turner.

Freya is an influencer who mesmerizes those around her. Low is a teenager who feels drawn to Freya from the moment she saw her and instantly became her BFF. Jamie moves to the island to get a fresh start with her husband. Immediately Jamie and Freya become a foursome group with their husbands and Low feels a nit neglected from this change.

Until one night that changes everything.

What could go wrong when you agree to swap husbands while on shrooms?

Would you feel the same way the next day when the effects have worn off? When everyone's casual about it would you become paranoid when your husband takes longer than usual? What happens if someone else knows about your secret? What happens is someone who struggled with fertility got pregnant, was is a result of your swap?

This book keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what other surprises await. Who knew so much could come undone from just one decision. Real life struggles with jealousy, obsession, trust, and fertility. I look forward to reading more by this author,

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Free ebook, review is my own.

What a wild ride. This was definitely a very interesting book with a lot of layers. It was a bit overwhelming with everything that was occurring and each story line was so intense it could probably have been its own book. I would recommend this, highly addictive and quick read.

Deceitful Drama are the top 2 words that come to mind about The Swap — In a small Pacific Northwest town, Low, an outcast senior in high school, falls under the trance of Freya, a social media influencer who offers pottery classes. Freya recent relocated to the area with her husband Max, in an attempt to escape bad PR following one of his decisions. Jamie is married to Brian and she wants nothing more than to be a mom. She owns a small shop in town and begins to sell some of Freya’s pottery there. The two become fast friends, which Low does not like. She takes matters into her own hands, spying on the couples and happens to see them swapping partners one night. How will Low use this info to drive Freya and Jamie apart? What is the aftermath of their fling?

I didn’t like any of the characters in this story but that didn’t stop me from tearing through the book, dying to find out what happened next! Some elements were a little predictable but others, I didn’t see coming. The Swap is definitely a binge worthy page turner.

This was a crazy good story that kept me reading well into the night. Finished this in one sitting and absolutely loved it. The perfect thriller. Would highly recommend. 5 star read.

Couldn’t put it down! I normally am not a fan of books that switch narrator, but really enjoyed this one I finished it in two days!

Low was raised on an island in PNW in a household that was different than others. One day while she was approaching graduation, she saw a woman who she was instantly entranced by. She had to know her.

She discovered the woman taught pottery, and instantly signed up for lessons. From there, they formed an unusual friendship that would change not only their lives, but several others.

I really enjoyed this book.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The premise is intriguing, Two young couples become friends wile living on a remote island, A night where the couples share more than a couple of glasses of wine and the repercussion is mind blowing to say the least.. And to add to the mix throw in a teenager who becomes obsessed with one of the female characters and you have a plot that will certainly keep you turning the pages. This novel has it all, a blend of despicable characters that are self obsessed and shallow and each with their own secrets and agendas, a plot that is quite engaging. I'm still not sure how I feel about this one.

A thrilling and explosive novel sure to keep you guessing until the very end. The storyline is original and the plot is interesting. Sometimes the characters come across as one-dimensional but they are relatable. This is not a predictable or formulaic novel but a twisty and exciting one.

Low is obsessed with Freya (a social media influencer married to a pro hockey player). They live on an island that is pretty boring and Low begins to insert herself into Freya’s life. She seems a little stalkerish and some things start happening (like a couple swap, hence the name) that ends up causing some major problems

DNF at 25%. Interesting premise but it’s too slow of a start for me and I’m not interested in sticking with it more. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free advance reading copy.

BOOK REVIEW: The Swap by Robyn Harding

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pages: 336
Genre: Thriller
Sub-Genre: Domestic Thriller
Location: West Coast, US

IF YOU LIKE THIS BOOK THEN TRY…
Book: The Arrangement by Robyn Harding
Movie: Double Jeopardy

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All my reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Simple Living | Denise Wilbanks at www.thisismyeverybody.com

♡ Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Wow I could not put this book down. Definitely kind of dark and twisty and just a book that kept me on the edge of my toes. I stayed up too late to finish it!

This psychological thriller was filled with twists and turn that kept the pages turning. I couldn’t put it down. I had never read anything by Robyn Harding before, but I definitely want to read more. The characters were well developed and interesting. I really enjoyed how Harding used it multiple ways to build out both characters and community.

4 Stars

The Swap is just wild. It's dark and twisted which makes for a captivating thriller. So many characters play a part in this book. The story follows characters who show what can happen when you give into desires and how you can wind up getting obsessed. I just couldn't take my eyes away from the book. I give The Swap 5 stars. I think readers will enjoy all the twists and turns. It will take you on one wild ride!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is a thriller that I read a while ago (8 months ago) and it's a bit forgettable [forgot to even write up a review]. I remember bits and pieces of the storyline but that's about it. This is a decent domestic thriller though and has a lot of wild twists in it. I kind of wish the ending went a different route but I was entertained by this book overall.

I would recommend this to someone who is newer to the mystery/thriller genre and likes a story with a bunch of wild twists.

3/5

I really like this book it was pretty good easy read definitely recommend
The book grabbed me from the the beginning to the end

I felt uncomfortable (in the best way) the entire time I was reading this book. Almost all of the characters were immensely unlikeable and unreliable, but it made the psychological thriller aspect all the more interesting.

this was wonderful. i loved the storytelling and the compelling mystery. it was a great insight into the mind of a troubled family and how young children are impacted by the screwed up adults around them.