I love Robyn Harding and she once again does not disappoint with her newest novel, The Swap. Juicy, scandalous, compulsive read. What more could you want!

This was... Weird. The writing was terrific, fast paced and exciting. The story itself was strange and I didn't love it.

Low Morrison is suffering from a darker than average case of teenage angst. Low meets Freya, a former influencer who is new to their sleepy PNW island, and the pair begin an unlikely friendship… until Freya meets Jamie. Jamie is an amiable and age appropriate friend who slips seamlessly into Freya’s life, much to Low’s dismay. Low is immediately sidelined while Freya and Jamie form a tight bond that extends to their husbands. When a suggestion to switch partners for the night goes further than Jamie would have wanted, the dynamic shifts between marriages and friendships, while all the while Low lurks and feels her obsession with Freya growing stronger.

This was pretty nuts, but also managed to be good. I was interested in all three main women’s backstories. Low’s unusual home life and how that’s impacted her high school experience, Jamie’s struggles with infertility, and the dark reason why Freya and her husband had to step out of the spotlight. I don’t love characters that are just pure evil because I think that’s a cop out. However, there were enough complex characters in this book for me to enjoy. If you like trashy, soapy reads with an element of mystery, this one is for you!

Thank you Gallery Books, Netgalley, and Robyn Harding for this book in exchange for an honest review. This🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star book is more than I expected. Kept you guessing and as usual with her writing, does not disappoint.

4.5 stars for me. It was a completely engaging thriller. The characters were so unlikeable and over the top that all I could do was obsessively flip the pages and see what they were going to do and, of course, silently judge them for their true horribleness. I breezed through this one in no time, and recommend it to those who want a wild ride!!

Low Morrison is a socially awkward teenager. Her family is less than conventional and Low is always afraid that others will find out. When Low first saw Freya she was awestruck. Something about Freya's tall, lanky frame and silky blonde hair just mesmerized Low. She jumped at the chance to take Freya's pottery class and doing so gave Low her first friend in many years. But then a new woman enters Freya's life. They struck up a friendship because Jamie owns a gift shop in town and is selling Freya's pottery. Low is jealous when she finds herself looking on the outside of their friendship. What Low doesn't know is that one night Freya and her husband had a wild night with Jamie and her husband. And the ramifications from that night will be long lasting. Will Low be able to step back into the top spot as Freya's best friend?

The Swap is one of those salacious books that you can't put down. From the minute the author introduced Low's family, I knew that I was going to be in for a ride. I was not sure what to think of Low. I think that she was mentally unbalanced, but not as batshit crazy as Freya. I really felt sorry for Jamie, who was normal but caught up in the crazy. Also caught up in the crazy was Max, Freya's husband. And Brian, Jamie's husband. Although I did not like either of them as much as Jamie. There were a lot of twists and turns through the whole book, but nothing as shocking as the final pages. - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS.

Bottom Line - The Swap is the kind of psychological thriller that will keep you up late reading, but will embarrass you if you have to discuss it with your mother.

Details:
The Swap by Robyn Harding
On Twitter
Pages: 336
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press
Publication Date: 6.23.2020
Buy it Here!
Thank you to NetGalley for the book in exchange for a review.

A night out w/new friends and drugs leads to serious complications in a couple's HEA!

This one was one heck of a wild ride! Freya looks like the kind of woman you strive to be, but what's that saying about not judging a book by it's cover?! Holy lunatic - she is the BFF from hell y'all! No one stands a chance against her evil manipulations - or do they???

This was an absolute page turner - I could not put this book down! Some of it might seem a bit unrealistic but honesty it was just so juicy, I didn't care in the least. I mean there's polygamy, drugs, spouse swapping, infidelity, murder, jealousy, toxic relationships, abuse, obsession, sexuality and I'm sure I'm probably not listing it all.

This book has some amazing, unlikable characters. You know what I mean - characters you just love to hate and can't get enough of! I mean these adults were behaving badly and the poor kids around them, I just wanted to whisk them away!

This book will give you all the icky, creepy vibes leaving you unable to turn the pages fast enough!

Yesss!!!! This book was everything! I loved it. I was hooked from the very beginning and I could not put the book down. I told all my friends and family about it as well. The perfect and my kind of thriller and suspense read I am always looking for

The Swap tells the story of two couples that swapped lovers for one night and a woman finds out she’s pregnant. The five main characters, Low, Freya, Max, Jamie, and Brian are all flawed immensely with lies, hate, anger, and jealousy filling them up to the breaking point.

This story unfolds slowly. I wasn’t sure where the author was going... was it about the swap? The pregnancy? The relationships? It was a bit confusing but the thrill of what was going to happen kept me reading.

I enjoyed delving into the characters and their reactions but I feel like this scenario was a bit over the top. Low's obsession was scary and Freya was so intense. I wasn't a fan of any of the characters, but the plot was interesting and held my attention.

Robyn Harding has quickly become one of my favorite authors, and her latest novel The Swap does not disappoint

From my blog: Always With a Book:

This is only the second book I've read by Robyn Harding and I seriously do not know why it took me so long to pick this one up or why I haven't read ALL her books yet. They are so good and so addicting. She is definitely going on my must-read list right now!

I knew going into this book what it was about and still it caught me off-guard...and I mean that in the best way possible. This book is about obsession and toxic relationships, and believe me when I say once you start reading this book, you are not going to be able to put it down. There is no good stopping point. It's like one big train wreck and you just cannot look the other way. But the best thing is that it's such an incredibly fast read that you can simply binge-read it in one afternoon/evening so don't worry.

I don't want to say too much about the plot because it's hard to say much without giving anything away, but I will say that this is the type of book where the characters are not necessarily likeable but you just need to find out what ultimately happens. You end up feeling bad for some of them and but they really are just not lovable.

If you love books that involve manipulation, drama, deceit and a ton of other crazy shenanigans, this book is for you! I love that Robyn Harding is not afraid to push the envelope and I cannot wait to read the rest of her books...soon!

I... like Robyn Harding well enough, I've read most everything she's written because the books are fast paced, easy reads, though not necessarily always inventive or creative. I wanted a lot more from a shrooms trip than whatever trainwreck happened here.

What do a beautiful yet bored former influencer, a retired NHL hockey player, college sweethearts, and a misunderstood high schooler have in common? They’re all unlikable, and they are all involved in this super dark no holds barred domestic suspense. On an island in the Pacific Northwest, a night of debauchery has far reaching consequences for two couples. This one has a ton of triggers in this including infertility, thoughts of suicide, abuse, gaslighting… yet somehow it works if you suspend your disbelief. Harding is great at writing popcorn thrillers, and while I enjoyed her book The Arrangement even more, I did race through this.

Thank you to Gallery Books for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Swap is a story full of screwed up relationships and even more screwed up people. The relationships are complicated, full of manipulation, and an extra messy love triangle.

Low was a lost girl, she was desperate for someone to feel close to and feel loved. She did not have a great home life, and Freya spotted her weaknesses and went in for the kill with her.

Freya was such an unreliable character, She was certifiable and definitely had some mental issues. I just could not like her, especially by the time she was a mother. That chick was crazy. But, I do feel like she was a believable amount of crazy.

I almost felt bad for Jamie, but I still didn't really like her. I did sympathize with her fertility struggles, and that she was taken advantage of by Freya. But I still just couldn't get over her attached and overlooking she was of Freya's awful behavior.

I did, however, feel bad for Max in all of it. I think he was manipulated and taken advantage of and just didn't have the self worth to walk away until it was too late.

That last 25% really took off in some directions that I was just not expecting. I really wasn't that crazy about the book, but it did redeem itself enough at that point for me to give it 3 stars.

The Swap by Robyn Harding
What a story, 2 couples have a harmless? night of mushrooms, drinking and swapping partners but is it really harmless?! This tale takes you on a ride where you won't see the ending coming. Not the fastest read but it does keep your interest. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.

3.5 ⭐️

I was so invested in this story for the first 70%, but lost interest and set it aside for a couple of months. Personally, I was expecting a lot more “thriller” to a book that is categorized as a thriller. Nonetheless, I still really did enjoy the writing and the characters in the story.

Obsession. We've all experienced it in one way or another, some of us more than others. In Robin Hardings' latest thriller, she explores the power it holds over all of this.

A seemingly innocent decision of swapping partners for a night ends up turning the character's lives upside down. The story unfolds with an erotically driven plot and there are a few twists and turns, one of which I didn't see coming. It wasn't always easy for me to connect to or feel engrossed in the lives of the characters, but the plot is enough to propel the story forward.








Low Morrison is not your average teen. You could blame her hippie parents or her looming height or her dreary, isolated hometown on an island in the Pacific Northwest. But whatever the reason, Low just doesn’t fit in—and neither does Freya, an ethereal beauty and once-famous social media influencer who now owns the local pottery studio.

After signing up for a class, Low quickly falls under Freya’s spell. And Freya, buoyed by Low’s adoration, is compelled to share her darkest secrets and deepest desires. Finally, both feel a sense of belonging...that is, until Jamie walks through the studio door. Desperate for a baby, she and her husband have moved to the island hoping that the healthy environment will result in a pregnancy. Freya and Jamie become fast friends, as do their husbands, leaving Low alone once again.

Then one night, after a boozy dinner party, Freya suggests swapping partners. It should have been a harmless fling between consenting adults, one night of debauchery that they would put behind them, but instead, it upends their lives. And provides Low the perfect opportunity to unleash her growing resentment.

Robyn Harding brings her acclaimed storytelling, lauded as “fast-paced, thrilling, gut-wrenching” by Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six, to this dark and suspenseful thriller for fans of Megan Miranda and Lisa Jewell.

Following the highly acclaimed release of THE PARTY, Robyn Harding returns with THE SWAP. This sexy and edgy thriller combines her talent for writing different perspectives with morally gray situations for a suspenseful read that will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about friendship and betrayal.

Low Morrison is an unusual teenager. She does not have friends, hobbies or extracurriculars, but she does have an eccentric, polyamorous family who seems to have forgotten her in search of their own pleasures and growth. So it would not be unfair to say that Low can be a bit obsessive in her hunt for something to call her own. When she sees Freya, a curvaceous blonde who holds the world just far enough away to create an air of mystery around herself, Low knows she has to meet this ethereal beauty and befriend her. It’s not a crush, exactly, but something a bit more than admiration and a bit less than lust.

When she learns that Freya will be holding pottery classes at her home, Low quickly signs up, and the two become fast friends. Over intimate pottery lessons, the former Instagram influencer Freya tells Low about everything --- from her complicated relationships with her parents to her former professional athlete husband’s fall from grace, and even her dissatisfaction with their marriage and life in Hawking, an island on the Pacific Northwest known not for celebrity sightings but for farms and an endless dreariness. Low is instantly enamored, and self-centered Freya is equally fulfilled by the teen’s adoration. But Freya has another friend in town, local shop owner Jamie, and Low is not quite ready to share her new best friend.

In an effort to get even closer to Freya, Low takes up working for Jamie as a shop assistant. And spying on Freya and her husband. And moving into their studio in secret. She’s not stalking, she swears, but she can’t help it if she sees and notices things. One night she sees something truly incredible: Freya and her ridiculously handsome husband, Max, invite Jamie and her husband over for dinner, and the four take mushrooms to relax and boost Jamie’s spirits after suffering yet another unsuccessful brush with pregnancy. Bolstered by the drugs and the island’s encouragement of free love, the couples swap partners. Though the swap is more or less consensual at the time, Freya, like Low, has been playing her own games with her friends and their perspectives, and the swap starts to unravel their careful camaraderie. Only one person knows the truth --- or thinks she does. But is it Low, who watches everything unfold, or Freya, who sets the swap in motion?

Harding alternates perspectives rapidly in THE SWAP, and the sudden switches add to the pacing of the book, but they also provide some wonderful potential for character development. I love reading about a scene from one character’s point of view and then watching them react from another’s perspective, and Harding lays out each scene so carefully that you really do get the full picture from every side. Both Low and Jamie are perfectly developed, and I loved their interior battles with acceptance, jealousy and guilt. Harding is not afraid to play with relationship dynamics, but I think she has done something really special here by leaving out Freya’s perspective and allowing readers to fall in love with (or hate) her on their own.

Harding is well known for her ability to alternate perspectives and write complicated, heavily layered characters, but her talent is on full display with Freya. Fueled by good looks and a scintillating personality, Freya is the type of woman who makes everyone --- and I do mean everyone --- fall in love with her. Both Low and Jamie are instantly bonded to Freya, despite the pain that comes with being her friend or lover. She is simply intoxicating, and though you can sense that something is going on beneath the surface, Harding withholds just enough information about Freya to keep her equally alluring to the reader. Add to that the inconsistencies within her relationships, and you get a spellbinding mystery centered on one endlessly entertaining person and one sexy, debaucherous night.

Though THE SWAP is not your average murder mystery/thriller, Harding keeps the tension taut throughout, with Low growing increasingly resentful and Jamie increasingly fearful until the pace reaches breakneck speed and tragedy seems inevitable. Though Freya is easily cast as the villain, I loved that Low had some dark issues as well; Harding perfectly writes her loneliness and desperate desire for something of her own. You want her to win just as much as you want her to get some help and move on from these toxic people and their convoluted affairs. In a skill that is rare in authors of adult fiction, Harding is astoundingly adept at writing teens; Low is neither too sophisticated for her age nor too angsty.

There is a definite mystery at the heart of the novel, but Harding also raises several thought-provoking questions about love, fidelity and friendship that makes it an interesting conversation starter. Is swapping partners healthy when there is an unequal power balance, or is it just a sexy way to pass a night? Can one friend think too highly of another, or is that just the way some friendships are? Harding explores toxicity in all relationships in a way that is smart and observant, but equally fun to read. THE SWAP is an excellent dose of escapism, perfect for readers of CAPE MAY, STRANGER IN THE LAKE and A STRANGER ON THE BEACH.

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read.
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2020
The characters are unique, a mix of likable and unlikable. The story dragged in parts for me but was interesting enough to keep me turning pages. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion

I love a well-written thriller and this one kept me up past my bedtime several nights in a row. Freya was incredibly manipulative. Low, the teenager working in her pottery studio made me alternate between pity and being kind of creeped out. Although the premise was a couple swapping partners, the story was much bigger than that one incident. Recommend for fans of the genre!