I really, really, really wanted to like this more than I did. I think part of the issue was that I didn't really like Erin (although I did like James).

I did love all of the bookish stuff in the novel though and those that love literature I think will also really enjoy two people basically nerding out about various parts of books which was fun to read and agree/disagree with!

The premise of the novel I also liked too - I think Little Free Libraries are so lovely and always browse them whenever I see one (even though I rarely take anything). The idea of a romance budding from one is fun!

This is a darker romance though than the cover makes you think and if there's things that trigger you definitely check the warnings.

Overall it was a good read, just not one that I'll be raving about.

Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House for the eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Erin and James had been friends. Key word, HAD. A disastrous incident as teens caused Erin to never trust him again. While that was the case, her best friend Bonnie was not to remain friends with him either.

Years later, Erin is living in London. When she passes a little lending library, Erin finds her copy of a book that held a precious postcard from Bonnie, from before Bonnie died. Along with the postcard and all of Erin's notes in the book, a new reader has added some remarks of their own. This is how the book swap begins. But will their story have the typical happy ending?

Erin Connely is stuck. After a harrowing loss of her best friend to cancer, Erin knows she should be really living, but she can't seem to move forward.

In an attempt to gain control, she manically cleans her flat and accidentally gives away her beloved and heavily annotated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird in her neighborhood little library. She frantically checks the library hoping someone will return. When it appears, it is heavily annotated back with an inscription to meet him in Great Expectations.

Erin and her mystery pen mate tear through the classics, bearing truths and becoming very close. When it becomes clear that these two have a history beyond the penpal encounters, how will they sort out their past?

Tessa Bickers plots a dual POV novel with beautiful characters that are brimming with life. Her FMC is imperfect and unlikeable, and we are routing for her any way! Tessa's on the cusp of change, but she is clinging to the past. it's a joy to see her grow beyond herself.

Just a note: mental health struggles and representation are heavily represented in multiple characters. Tessa's on the cusp of change, but she is clinging to the past. it's a joy to see her grow beyond herself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House for an advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this book!!! I loved the storyline and premise. It was fun and romantic. The topics were heavy and there was a lot to process. The relationship between the two main characters was complicated and held so much hope. I did not love Erin's character towards the end of the book but felt she was redeemed a bit at the very end.

Overall it was a sweet story. I recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and Tessa Bickers for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book. It had so many bookish references and was such a beautiful story of loss and forgiveness.

The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers is an adorable and unique read that captured my heart with its charming concept. I loved how the story dealt with heavy topics in a respectful and thoughtful way, adding emotional depth without overshadowing the sweetness of the narrative. Seeing the main characters grow individually throughout the book was a highlight for me—they each had their own journey of healing and self-discovery before coming together in a truly heartwarming way. The references to classic books like To Kill a Mockingbird and Great Expectations were a delightful touch, making this a must-read for any book lover. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC—I thoroughly enjoyed it!

When I first picked up this book I expected something much different that what I got. What I expected was a fun, quick, light-hearted rom com with a happily every after. What I actually got was a story that weaved it’s way into my hear in the most unexpected way. This book was a love story but it was so much more than that. It’s really about how two people find their way back to one another after the heartbreaking loss of their best friend. It broke my heart and put it back together in a way I didn’t anticipate.

The book follows Erin, who in the aftermath of losing her best friend and quitting her job decides to donate some of her old books to a free little library. After making the drop she realizes that she’s mistakenly donated her copy of her favorite book “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Inside the book is per most prized possession, a post card from the best friend that she’s recently lost. She returns to the library day after day to see if the book has been returned. When it finally reappears in the library the book has some new additions to her own notes in the margins from the mystery man who borrowed it from the library.

James the mystery man is trying to heal from years of childhood bullying. He’s living in the shadow of his mother’s debilitating manic depression when he finds Erin’s copy of “To Kill a Mockingbird” in the free little library. As Erin and James start to spark a friendship between the margins of their favorite books, it starts to blossom into so much more especially when we find out these two are not the strangers we originally thought.

This book really snuck up on me. I was unprepared for the depth of the emotions I felt when reading this one. This book is a love story, but it’s also about so much more than that. Self-discovery, grief, friendship and the power of forgiveness.

This one got me…I recommend that you let it get you too.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC.

The premise of this book was engaging. I was part way through when I realized it reminded me of Meet Me in The Margins. I had a hard time getting that out of my head for a while but the book is quite different and has a twist. The misunderstanding between James and Erin kept me wanting to know how the story would end.
Thank you Net Galley, Tessa Bickers and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to preview this title. The opinions expressed are my own.

The premise for this book was exciting, but unfortunately it fell short for me. There was so little chemistry between the two main characters and I was not invested in their individual journeys. I loved the idea of writing notes in the margins and swapping them, but it never quite landed for me.

I loved the concept of this book, how it was written, and how beautifully it was executed. This book about a book was perfect. After experiencing a tremendous loss, Erin has trouble trusting anyone. She recently gave away an important book and after finding it, she finds notes written inside. This starts a book exchange between Erin and an unknown male. Erin and the mystery man exchange things that they don’t share with other people. They connect. The mystery man and Erin have a surprise connection that then makes everything come together. This was not a typical rom-com because it was so much more!

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I thought this book was going to be a fun rom-com. That was not the case. It was more of a book about heavy subjects with a side of romance. Definitely check the trigger warnings before reading.

I didn’t dislike this book, it just wasn’t what I was expecting. It might be something I reread later and end up liking more.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This novel was definitely not what I was expecting. Based on the cover I was hoping for a cute romance rom com feel of a book, however this was heavily focused on grief.

The MMC and FMC knew one another and this is sort of a second chance novel through grief. It was an okay novel however it felt a bit messy, jumbled and just not what I was hoping for in this book.

I was provided with an e-ARC of this by NetGalley, the author and publisher.

For a cartoon cover I was shocked at how much this book made me FEEL! What I was expecting was a rom com but what I got was a meaningful story about late 20 somethings dealing with grief, trauma, and the all too familiar quarter life crisis.

Bonnie, James and Erin were the best of friends back in high school. Think Perks of Being a Wallflower. The girls brought James in and became his first real friends after years of relentless bullying. They were INFINITE. Until James broke Erin’s trust and the friendship group with it.

Years and years later, Bonnie has passed away and Erin and James keep running into each other in chance encounters. Erin still holds a grudge for James’ betrayal and all James wants is a chance to explain himself. The two unknowingly start up an anonymous correspondence with each other where they slowly form a friendship again.

However, those looking for a romance do be warned this is much more about the characters individual journeys than it is about their relationship. The two spend this novel learning about themselves, how they treat people and how they want to spend their life going forward. I will say my hopeless romantic heart felt the ending was very underwhelming, but I enjoyed the time it took to get there! ALMOST got some tears outta me too.

I’m glad I read this! I loved all the book references too, makes me want to go back and brush up on some of the classics. If you love Mhairi MacFarlane I think you will love this as well. I’m excited to see what else this author has to offer.

The Book Swap was not what I was expecting. I thought I would find a cozy story about books and book lovers and it partly was. However, I found so much more than that. It is a story about grief and forgiveness, about finding yourself and living life.
I deeply enjoyed reading this book and enjoyed getting to know all the interesting characters. In all honesty, I did not love Erin for the majority part of the book but in the ending we can see a lot of growth and I liked that.
The story is heartwarming and funny at times but it also makes you cry and breaks your heart. The author managed to create a great combination of these elements and made it a gripping story that book lovers will surely enjoy.

After reading a couple thrillers I was looking to pick up a fun, heart warming romance book. Unfortunately, the cover of this book is misleading because it’s not the cozy, cute, romcom I believed it would be. It deals with some heavier topics, which is fine, but even when I figured out what the book actually was I just couldn’t get into it. The female main character is insufferable and I found myself rooting on her downfall. I considered DNFing this one but kept hoping I would end up enjoying it. I will say I did like the male main character and I appreciated how the author explored grief, mental health issues, and difficult family dynamics. I’m not sure if this was a case of wrong book wrong time or just false expectations from a misleading cover, but this was a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!!

Tessa Bickers wrote a phenomenal story about grief, love, and purpose in life. The main characters have very hard back stories, and they are going through a lot of mental and emotional turmoil in essentially every aspect of their lives throughout the novel. There is beautiful commentary on life and happiness through the use of classic novels that the two main characters pass back and forth to each other with their own commentary scribbled in the margins. This was definitely a heavier read for me, but absolutely I would recommend this in a heart beat!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy!

For a book that is labeled romance, it wasn't very romantic in my opinion.

Things that some people may enjoy: Erin and James, the main characters, "build" their relationship through leaving notes in books. You also get a lot of details about each characters' personal lives, honestly too much in my opinion, it overshadows the "relationship" that is supposed to be building between the two.

I don't want to say too much, because this book just wasn't my cup of tea, I found myself struggling to finish it and there was no clear point in the book where it suddenly got interesting. This book would be better labeled as general fiction than romance.

The Book Swap is a cute will they/won't they second chance at love, story. It definitely leaned more heavily into the women's fiction genre than romance. Though the primary storyline was the relationship our two protagonists were developing in the pages of various books via a little free library name Eilen (okay swoon for that premise!!). The relationship storyline didn't seem to carry the book. Both characters had a lot of trauma that felt like it dominated the page. Erin was dealing with the lost of her best friend & her 'mystery man' ends up being a man from her past that has lots of trauma in his past including horrific bullying and helping care for his mentally ill mother. The pining & the bookish tropes were like catnip to me. Unfortunately, they felt few and far between and the tone of this book was more subdued in a way that I don't think really fit how it was being sold as. It's not open door and the couple barely get together to call it a HEA. I think it was probably a case of mistaken expectations for me. This is women's fiction that will appeal to people who like books about books, books without spice, and the messy drama of being young and having horrible things happen in your life and figuring out how to be who you want to be.

I got teary-eyed a few times, which truly means a lot. This book was beautiful! There were so many moments where I laughed, but also moments where I cried. Deep meanings within this book about grief, a loved one having depression, loss of friends, changing careers, and just truly finding out what you want to do in your life to make yourself happy.... but also learning to forgive. It's such a beautiful story and so well written. I was truly invested in all of the characters' lives and how they were woven together so neatly. I will absolutely be checking to see if this author has more books as I plan to devour all of them now! Perfect, deeply moving, and a beautiful ending to wrap it all up!

I received this from NetGalley and Graydon House to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

DNF ~20%. I think this book was not for me. I was expecting more of a light-hearted story, and this book was rather heavy. For the part that I did read, the plot line was a bit hard to follow and there were a lot of characters to keep track of. I think the concept of the book is very interesting, but just beware that this is not a light romance--it is definitely a heavier story that tackles some tough themes.