This was a fast pace and entertaining read. It was full of toxic relationships but it made for an addictive read. There were some wild twists and turns and some surprises in the ending.

I can't say I really liked any of the characters, they're pretty despicable. These characters were like a train wreck I couldn't look away from. I recommend this read.

Wow, a twisted story about twisted people in twisted relationships and a whole lot of obsession!
Low (short for Swallow) is a gangly, awkward teenage girl, an outcast to her peers due to her parents polyamorous, hippie lifestyle.
Freya is a beautiful ex-Instagram influencer who runs a pottery studio and is married to Max, a very handsome hunk of an ex hockey player who's behavior while playing got him in trouble and sent the couple to the Pacific island they find themselves on to regroup and recover.
Low signs up for pottery lessons from Freya and is soon obsessed with her. She's also a budding photographer intent on helping Freya get her fame back.
Enter Jamie, married to Brian, a couple unable to, but desperate to have a baby, who becomes BFF's with Freya and also obsessed with her.
Add to the mix a dinner party with 'shrooms which leads to a partner swap and your set up for one hell of a bumpy ride where jealousy, manipulations, stalking and murder rule the day.
This is a fast paced, easy read told for the POV's of these five main characters that I found hard to put down. None of the characters are particularly likeable but that didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book. While reading I often asked myself "how is this going to end?" and "this can't end well" but when I got there I was surprised and ultimately satisfied with the resolution. So if you're looking for an escape that has sex, lies, and a few secret photographs in it, then I highly recommend adding this to your TBR pile soon!

I had heard of Robyn Harding before, but I had never read any of her books. The Swap was my first book by her and it definitely won't be my last!

The Swap is about a lonely high school girl named Low who lives on a small island with her polyamorous parents. Low then meets an older woman named Freya who offers Low pottery classes. Low takes her up on the offer and immediately becomes obsessed with Freya and spending time with her.

Things start to change when Freya meets someone her own age, Jamie. Freya, Jamie and both of their husbands start becoming close friends and start spending all their time together which leaves Low all my herself again. BUT, what will Low do to get her best friend back?!

One day both of the couples get together and things start getting a little too crazy! Freya then suggests swapping spouses to Jamie hence the name The Swap!

This book was such a WILD ride and full of lies and secrets with so many twists and turns [cw: toxic relationships]. I could not put it down! It was such a page turner that I ended up reading it in just ONE DAY! This is not the type of book where you'll love any of the characters, if anything you might hate them all but it's such an entertaining read. I will definitely be checking out more of Robyn Harding's books!

If you're looking for a fast paced thriller or a one day read to get you out of a reading slump, this is the perfect book to pick up!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc!

This book was very good. Very dark, filled with madness, obsession, jealousy, lies, and tragedy. It follows three main characters; Low (a high school student), Jamie (wife who wants to be a mom), and Freya (free spirited artist married to an ex-hockey player). All of them have secrets, and all three interweave with each other until they can't get out as the book races to the finish line.
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I really enjoyed this book. I read it in about three hours because I couldn't look away. I was both surprised and not at all surprised by the end of the book. I did like the ending though; I felt it was the only way the book COULD end. If you don't mind dark tales, pick this one up!

Just up my alley! Loads of crazy people all stuck together.

The idea of swapping partners should never seem like a good idea, but shrooms and stuff...

This has toxic friendships, along with a lot of other things to unpack.

I struggled to put this one down to live my own life!

Well well well, this book surprised me in a very good way! SO much more to the story than originally suspected.

I loved the multiple points of view with each character telling their own story, It kept me hooked and wanting to read more. The suspense builds throughout until the final conclusion.

Obsession, jealousy, narcissism, secrets, betrayal and just plain twistedcraziness! Another great thriller from this author! Can't wait for the next one!

A big thank you to Gallery/Scout Press for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book! 4.5 stars!

This book has it all: crazy people not looking crazy, obsession, lying, jealousy and more! This book is beyond screwed up in a good way and I love it! This starts off slowly but becomes twisted quite quickly!

Some details:
From page one to the end, the reader learns that Low is a lonely 17yr old who likes photography. She never feels like fits in anywhere especially with her hippe family. She signs up for pottery classes taught by someone named Freya, and this is where the story really begins. Low starts spending all her time with an older woman and really does not want to much else. She questions her own sexuality (straight, lesbian) and many other things. Enter Jamie. Jamie is Frreya's age and is struggling to conceive with her husband. They have a lot in common and are close in age. One night Freya and Jamie drink too much and a few other things decide to swap partners. What happens is downward spiral of deception, obsession, betrayal and adultery.

Again from page one to the end I couldn't read fast enough because this is such an effed up story. The writing, characters and plot were fantastic and this a book I need to own to re-read whenever I want. It was that good. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Thanks to Netgalley, Robyn Harding and Gallery Books Scout Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I wish I would get auto-approved by Galley books because I am loving the books to be put out.

Available: 6/23/20

I didn't care about any of the characters, the writing style wasn't for me and I thought the book was pointless and boring.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Gallery/Scout Press, and Robyn Harding for the opportunity to read and review her latest book - 4.5 stars for a book I couldn't put down!

Brian and Jamie are desperate for a baby but struggling to conceive. Jamie, who runs a gift store, meets Freya, a rich instagram influencer who has moved to the Pacific Northwest with her husband, who left professional hockey after a violent incident. Freya comes into the store so that Jamie can sell the pottery she makes and the two become fast friends. Then there is the night that changed everything - after partaking in some drugs, Freya convinces the couples to swap partners for the night. Meanwhile, someone else is obsessed with Freya - Swallow (or Low as she likes to be called) is a gangly teenager who has never fit in. Raised in a sexually-progressive home, Low is desperate for someone to love her. But things don't go according to plan for Low either.

This is just a thrill ride of a book, told from the points of view of all involved which let you into the feelings of each of the characters.. While the subject matter is complex and controversial and not all the characters likable, in Robyn Harding's skilled hands it becomes a book of obsession, social media issues, self-esteem issues and much more. Plus that ending!

A fascinating tale of the havoc a narcissistic woman can unleash on an island community. There are three women and two men who tell us the story. Freya, Jamie, Max, Brian, and Low. What happens when you entice a lonely teenager into your life and use her gifts for your own advantage? What happens when two couples get together and drink mushroom tea? Did they really swap partners, or didn't they? You might decide that the wild card in this situation is Low, the teenager who is obsessed with Freya. But perhaps Freya is the wild card. . . or is she? This book had me reading ahead at breakneck speed to see what happens next. The final published copy should have a reading guide for groups. I would hand this to fans of Lisa Jewell and even Liane Moriarty. The relationship dynamics are thought provoking and the twists and turns are deftly managed by Harding. Recommended!

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

There is so much that I want to shout about this book, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers. Everyone GO READ THIS BOOK. There are multiple layers of plot twists that will leave you in jaw dropping awe and shaking your head and the insanity and duplicity of the characters. The author has created brilliant characters against a wild and unassuming backdrop. The characters range from Low, who is a teenage girl on the cusp of womanhood, to a famous couple, and her parents who are in a polyamorous relationship. Everyone has a personal agenda that serves only them in the time they are in. Nothing will prepare you for where the end will take you and you will not want to close the book until you get there.

Well, this was not quite what I expected! From reading the book synopsis, I expected a twist on a well worn story line but actually got a well written thriller that kept me reading long after I passed....one more chapter. Robyn Harding gave us some very well defined characters. They have all the problems of a daily life complicated by the fact that they live in a small isolated community where everyone knows your business and has no problems voicing their opinions. The book is written in a multiple POV format that slowly teaches us that all of these characters are not quite what they seem. The suspense builds up until a friendly gathering becomes a life altering event and we are not quite sure how the story will end. But the math is simple....teenage girl + internet queen and her sports star husband forced to live a life not of their choosing + a young couple easily influenced = one story so outstanding you'll hear the creepy music as you read.

Robyn Harding is becoming one of my favorite authors. Her latest book is a great one! Once I picked it up I didn't want to stop reading. The characters were all kinds of crazy. Some hard to like, others easy to pity and still others I wanted to slap! The story is a hot mess of relationships. A recommended read for those who like their drama!

Wow! The Swap is the book you’ve been waiting for! Here’s a thriller full of betrayal, jealousy, lies, obsession, sex and art, with pottery and photography added. Set aside enough time to finish this in one setting because you will not be able to put it down.

Low Morrison, awkwardly tall and without close friends, perhaps because of her hippie parents, is negotiating her final year of high school on an island in the Pacific Northwest. When blonde, gorgeous Freya, a former Instagram influencer and new to isolated island life, offers pottery classes, Low signs up and finally feels like she is part of something. Oh, she is. At first it is hard to see who is using who. While Low quickly develops a teenage crush on Freya which turns into something darker, Freya feeds her compliments and basks in the attention. She and her former hockey player husband, the hunky Max, have fled a scandal that has cost them their careers. Freya’s other friend is Jamie, owner of a pottery store and married to writer Brian. They desperately want to have a baby and have come to the island to relax. Low becomes jealous of Jamie and wangles a summer job at the store to watch her. Then comes the dinner party. Fueled by psychedelics, Freya maneuvers Jamie and Brian to switch partners with her and Max for one night only. That one night sets Low and the two couples on a tension filled journey to a tragic, violent ending.

The characters in The Swap are motivated by their weaknesses, jealousies and obsessions. While all the main characters wreak havoc on each others lives, they are all also victims. This is a definite 5 star read!

Thanks to NetGalley, Gallery Books and Robyn Harding for this ARC.

Deliciously twisted, Harding’s latest thriller explores the toxic relationships between two couples and a local teen. Both a psychological thriller and a coming-of-age story, the drama revolves around a narcissist and everyone she draws into her web.

Thanks to NetGalley, Gallery Books, and the author Robyn Harding for a digital review copy. This story will be published June 23, 2020.

The Swap was actually amazing. I was in a reading slump for a while trying to make it through the previous book I was reading. Then, The Swap happened. And it was SO good.

The story was fast-paced and thrilling, and I rushed to read it and find out what happens next. I loved that the point of view went back and fourth between different characters—from Low to Jamie to Max to Brian. We didn’t get to read from Freya’s point of view, which could’ve honestly been amazing to see a little piece of what went on in that toxic mind of hers. But, it also kept the mystery alive,

I’ve never read anything by Robyn Harding before, but I can tell you that I’m definitely going to.

Robyn Harding is becoming a permanent fixture of my must read writers. Her writing is amazing and she does it again with The Swap! Her ability to write an amazing thriller with so many different POV is just what kept me glued to my kindle.
Robyn Harding totally gets what makes an amazing physiological thriller! I can not wait for what she releases next!

This is exactly the psychological thriller that I love. I couldn't put the book down. I will be preordering a final copy right after this review. I love the multiple POV's. Especially ones that are easy to follow. Sometimes you get too many and it's hard to follow along with who is who. Excellent read, 5 stars!


A special thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

When Low answers Freya’s call for new pottery students, all she wants is a place to fit in. As the high school student and the notorious social media influencer work in tandem on their clay projects, they slowly reveal their needs, their wants … and even their secrets. For the first time in maybe ever, Low feels a connection with someone outside of her family. But then Jamie, a local pottery studio owner, enters the picture, and soon Low feels like Freya’s cast her aside. However, when Freya and Jamie spend a night partying and Freya suggests they should swap husbands—just for the night—Low senses an opportunity that’ll upend all of their lives.

Robyn Harding is back with another train wreck that is impossible not to look at—from the foreboding beginning all the way to the explosive ending. Harding’s remarkable ability to create a sense of apprehension right from the first page is on full display, and she ekes out every bit of tension imaginable along the way. Part of this stems from Low, a justifiably moody teenager who Harding pushes and pulls far past the point of obsession.

Under these layers of unsettling tension is a deeper exploration of relationships—those pure connections that are supposed to be based on mutual respect, interests, and understanding. And yet, Harding uncovers what happens when a parasite enters the mix. As she expertly bounces around character perspective, from Low to Jamie and even Jamie’s husband, Brian, she unravels pieces of the story until it’s not apparent who is innocent in their actions. Ulterior motives lurk around every corner, and yet there is one villain who rises above the rest, leading to an oh-so-satisfying ending.

Quick paced and haunting, The Swap is a total thrill.

I love when I randomly pick up a book off my shelf and it just hits RIGHT and I consume the book in one day. The Swap by Robyn Harding did that for me in early June, as I was heading back to work at the library. I had received an ARC a few months before, but had been putting off reading the book--I'm almost glad I did because it was such a good read to enjoy in one long, hot day.

The Swap is the story of two couples: Freya and Max, a former celebrity-athlete couple, and Brian and Jaime, college sweethearts who want a baby; and then there's Low--the loner teenage raised by poly parents who is desperate for attention and drawn to these couples. Quickly drawn in by Freya, Low becomes intwined in the catastrophes of these two couples and their one wild night that will have major repercussions for all five of them.

I'll be honest, i had no idea what to expect with this book. For some reason, I thought it was Low who was being swapped around, but there's so much more here. If you like character-driven dramas and twists and multi-POV chapters that interlock well, this book is for you. It's not the BEST writing I've ever encountered, but I read the book fast and that's good with me! I liked the ending a lot even if it wrapped up a little too quickly and neatly, but this is a great quick read for anyone that needs a pick-me-up in the reading world. It's not uplifting, but it's compelling.