The House Swap is a sweet, lighthearted romantic comedy detailing the house swap between Cassie and James who live on two different continents and have two different personalities. I really enjoyed the first three-quarters of this book, but I think the last quarter might have benefited from some additional depth. All in all, it was a likable story.

I’m familiar with this author and the cover of this book immediately grabbed my attention.

The storyline was good. Cassie and James have a good spark that keeps the reader intrigued and rooting for them.

The authors writing style was engaging and the story flowed well.

This was a nice, easy read. Ideal for some escapism!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 📚

I want to start by saying I found this book truly refreshing and fun to read. I wasn't sure when I first started reading it that it was going to grab me into its pages. However, it wasn't long before I was truly lost to its pages.

There was a very wide range of characters and personalities represented in this story. Ms. Lovett did a grand job of truly exploring the depths of each character and relationship. I was just a little disappointed when the stalker girlfriend wasn't explored with any further depth or development. I felt as though her character was conveniently dropped a bit too early and easily. I also would have loved a little more background on her to understand a little more of why she was the way she was. I kept expecting to see her at some point later in the storyline. There were so many opportunities for this! Otherwise, all of the other characters were wonderfully depicted!

I will absolutely be seeking more books by this author going forward!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bookouture through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book is just so fun to read and I love the tension between them. I love how the story started off with a huge proposal scheme, that gave me a laugh. I adore how this book reminds me of a movie that I saw a few months back. I cannot really recall the title at the moment. But this is so much more than that movie. I enjoyed every moment in this book. And as much as I wanna live in London, the island and the beach just warms my heart.

I loved this so much. It reminded me of The Holiday but with a twist. This book had a bit of everything for me! It had a really quirky character who just seemed so bubbly that you couldn’t help but love, a gorgeous guy who had a difficult past but needed somebody loving in his corner to soften him up, it had a great set of supporting characters and just a really fun loving story. I really enjoyed this! It was a great escape into a wonderful island in Maine or into busy London life. I enjoyed that they were polar opposites but in the end came to be complimentary to each other. This was a really great story that I’d recommend to those who like a wholesome romance story. I’m looking forward to reading more from Lovett.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

Holy cow this was so so so cute. I loved every second.

The House Swap was a perfect beach romance read. Cassie and James were so awkward but so perfect together and I was rooting for them immediately!!

Even beyond the main characters, the settings were so beautifully built and so idyllic, it was a great read for me, a travel starved bookworm.

Loved every second, cannot recommend enough!

Thank you Netgalley and Jo Lovett for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

This book had me completely smitten from the word go. The characters and locations just had my heart from the word go.
Cassie and James are both gorgeous characters despite James being very prickly and defensive to begin with and Cassie maybe being overbearing and too full on for someone with his character. Cassie is just so sweet and the more that is revealed about her the more vulnerable she seems but for me it was actually James who was more in need of care and love and despite having family and friends, there were a lot of things he needed to work through and come to terms with before he could fully allow himself to be happy.
Friends/neighbours of Cassie and James were also wonderful characters to be surrounded by. I loved Cassie’s seaside cottage in Boston and all the animals, scenery and the community feel.
The chemistry between Cassie and James is very strong despite not getting off to the best start together and I loved how their relationship developed.
Overall I loved this delightful story and highly recommend.

A fun, lighthearted novel needing to swap their lives, and their houses! James and Cassie become intertwined in each other’s lives and a friendship blooms, but can more happen? I enjoyed this book but wondered if the extent of the character change was too unrealistic.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The House Swap was all kinds of cute. In it, you will meet Cassie and James. One lives on a private beach on an island near Maine. The other lives in a London penthouse. Both places sound equally amazing in my eyes so it would be hard to pick which one I would like to visit.

After meeting these two, I honestly couldn't stop shipping them. It didn't matter if nothing really happened between them but I did adore how awkward they were. Plus watching them develop a friendship during their little swap was really cute. Especially when James was becoming friends with her animals.

Then there's the drama with James and his ex. Wow. She was psycho through and through. I felt bad for the girl because she wanted more in their relationship and he didn't. It was the way she reacted though that mad me dislike the girl.

Other than that, it was a really cute book. Definitely happy that I got the chance to dive into it because these two just put a smile on my face.

This book was light, easy and enjoyable: just what I needed to distract me from some of the drama and complications of "real life." The premise is perfection and the story provides a great way to escape and check out, if you will, for a bit. It is lighthearted and has easy to read about, relatable, fun characters! I do recommend this read!

I loved this book so much! 💕
It was just what I needed at the moment, and I really enjoyed the light-hearted and feel-good nature to the story~

I first saw the book advertised on Netgalley as being "perfect for fans of 'The Flatshare', and so I was intrigued as to whether or not this was true (since I loved the aforementioned book). I can now safely say that it is indeed perfect for said fans, and it's great if you're looking for a simple romance to read on holiday. 😌👍

I adored Cassie from the very beginning. Her island home was cozy and sweet, she was a writer and had alpacas at the end of her garden! 😍 James not so much — but he has such a huge character growth through out the story that he was practically a different person in the end! I felt immensely single whilst reading this book 😩 but in a good way.

My only qualm was that the story has a lot of time-skips, and it felt a little as though the story was being "told" to you through dialogue rather than "shown" sometimes.. but otherwise, a great read!


Potential tw: IVF, infertility

Rating: 4/5 ⭐

— Thank you so much to Netgalley and Book Outure for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really struggled with this book.

I was drawn to it while reading the blurb as it brought to mind the film, The Holiday. I love that film so was looking forward to this book.

Unfortunately, I found the characters to be unlikeable and just could not make myself care of take an interest in what happened to them.

I struggled through this, but it wasn’t very enjoyable.

This book was sent to me as an ARC on NetGalley. However all opinions are of my own.
Cassie and James exchange houses and it’s presumed there’s no connect, apart from the odd abrupt phone all. However, they realise that whilst living different lives, they wanted to be in each other’s lives. This story follows them both to the end where we get a beautiful love story albeit different opinions.

Unfortunately a DNF for me. I really couldn’t get on board with the male main character James. In the beginning I found him so utterly annoying, and really felt like he thought he was above everyone else.

When I originally went into reading “The House Swap”, I felt like I already knew this book’s plot to a T: they swap houses, through living each others’ lives they fall in love, they decide to merge their lives. THE END. Thank god for me that Lovett wasn’t going to give into this romance trope that easily.

Instead, The House Swap gives you a novel with so many surprises, turns, and enjoyable characters that you’re pleasantly surprised when the characters swap back and you still have almost have of the book left.

About the book:
Cassie and James need to swap houses, and fast. Cassie to get research for her upcoming book done in the great city of London, and James to spend time in the Northeast in the US in order to research if his business can expand overseas. The two couldn't be more different: Cassie lives a carefree lifestyle, and would love to help James settle into her house, while James lives a lot more by the book, and doesn't care for Cassie's help at all. After getting off to an initially rocky start, they connect over the course of their swaps and eventually find more common ground than they expected. Can a transatlantic romance work? Is there something between them worth fighting for?

TL;DR:
- 3.5 stars
- Content warnings: miscarriage, trouble conceiving, death of a sibling, violent ex-girlfriends
- A quick transatlantic romance with sweet and wacky characters. Would recommend this one for anyone looking for something relatively light and speedy to cleanse their palate.

Loved:
- I love house swap romances and I love an enemies to lover trope. This had both, so that's obviously two points in its favor. I love house swap romances because you learn so much about characters by the way they keep (or don't keep) their homes - which was absolutely the case with Cassie and James.
- After James stopped being quite so frustrating he was actually my favorite character in the whole book (aside from Cassie's delightful older neighbor.) He underwent really great development over the course of the novel which was nice to see (in his personal and romantic lives).

Less into:
- The book wrapped a little too smoothly for me, with everyone suddenly changing their behaviors to accomodate everyone else and all the issues (like Cassie wanting to be a mother) resolving way too neatly. [I am really not a fan of using pregnancy as a plot device in the way that it was used. Having a baby is a personal decision, yes, but I don't like the trope of someone getting pregnant and never telling their ex-partner in case they're unhappy about it because "they don't care and they'll raise it alone." Just kind of rubbed me the wrong way.
- James also changed really quickly and a lot - which is totally fine but it felt a bit unrealistic. Cassie didn't really change at all and honestly some of her choices over the course of the book were a bit odd to me so I would have liked to see more growth from her.
- James' ex also felt like an unnecessary addition. Just very weirdly violent. Wasn't a fan of her.

Overall very decent. Others have noted it's a palate cleanser or a light-ish read compared to their other reads! Personally felt a bit heavy to me, due to some of the content. Worth a try if you like any of the tropes mentioned!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to Bookoutore for providing me this arc via Netgalley!
The fact that this was promoted as perfect for fans of the Hating Game and Flatshare got me really high expectations, but unfortunately I was disappointed. This felt very bland. I also hate crazy ex girlfriends. The cover is really pretty, though.

Loved it! Fantastic read throughout. Full of will they, won’t they moments. I loved getting to know the characters separately and watching the melding of their worlds happening. Funny, tear jerking, enjoyable. A definite must read.

Thank you Netgalley

I absolutely loved this book. Cassie is a writer who lives a very secluded life in Maine. James is an economist living in London. When they decide to do a house-swap, you just know it's going to get interesting. I love how they really start off hating each other, and it took me quite a long time to start to like James. The only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5, is that I felt like he was almost a totally different person in the end vs the beginning. Otherwise, it was fantastic! A fun, easy read. Would definitely recommend!

This was a great light hearted romance. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters were delightful. Cassie lives in a house on an island off the coast of Maine with close friends and neighbors, and a menagerie of animals she treats like family. James lives in a gorgeous apartment in London, and needs to get away because his old girlfriend is stalking him. They make a house swap, and the results surpass them both. I highly recommend this book, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.