This digital ARC was obtainable via NetGalley for an honest review.

"The Book Swap" is not what it looks like. Our main characters Erin & James do end up swapping books on multiple occasions. Those parts are enjoyable. However, that is only a bit of what this book is actually about. "The Book Swap" is about bullying, grief, mental illness, trauma, and forgiveness. These are definitely topics I don't mind reading, but it was not presented that way beforehand. I came for something light and sweet but experienced heaviness. I wouldn't exactly call this a romance. I did not like our main character Erin as much and I felt so bad about James. I can tell that some people will actually love this book and connect with it, but it just wasn't for me.

This book blew me away. It was not at all what I was expecting it to be and it was one of the most beautifully written stories. It was so much more than a romance. It was about your passions, how to grieve and heal, how families navigate life and struggles and how to move forward. 

The actual romance of it was probably one of the sweetest I have read in a while. It was about the connection between two people and their experiences that laid the foundation for love. And communicating through margins back and forth was actually the cutest.

The feelings I had while reading this just proved to me that it truly was a five star read. The writing grabs you and pulls on all the parts of you that have felt heartache, longing, love, and hope.

The Book Swap
by Tessa Bickers
Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and netGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
"The Book Swap" is a great tale that will tug at your heartstrings, make you laugh, and leave you contemplating life's many mysteries. A must-read for anyone who treasures the power of books and the magic they hold within their pages.

As the owner/ steward of a Little Free Library, I am always on the lookout for a book about LFLs. I have a Fancy Nancy one for kids, and I’ve finally found an adult one! The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers is it! Thank you to @htpbooks and @Netgalley for letting me read this beauty in advance; all opinions are my own.

Erin Connolly and her ex-friend James Parr are not living their best lives, and we get to hear about it through their dual POVs. In the meantime, Erin accidentally puts a beloved, annotated book in a community library and keeps her eye on it, hoping her precious book will be returned. Much to her delight, it shows up, with annotation to her annotations, plus questions, and an invitation to read another book “together”. This is such a fun and unique pen pal situation! It is lovely to rediscover some classics through “Mystery Man” and “Margins Girl”. This book is so much more than a romance (check trigger warnings if you have tenderness towards certain topics). I want to spill so many beans but I really feel like there is much to discover on your own. I liked not knowing what was ahead! There were little mysteries and questions I was waiting to have answered, and it kept me quickly turning pages. This book was very touching- I even had some tear shed!

Congratulations to the author for a wonderful debut novel. I can’t wait to see what’s next! (And can you include another community library?)

4/5 stars
Location: London, New York

I LOVE books about books, and this one has such a cute plot! This one has a romantic plot involving pen pals and potential new love. This book also references a lot of classic novels and other books, which I love.

I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley giving me an ARC of this book. The review is based on the plot summary.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I requested a bunch of romance on here because I wanted to try it out. However, romance is just not working for me at the moment. I think its more me than the books themselves so I will be giving this one a neutral rating. I just felt bored throughout and didn't connect with the characters,

This is not a bad book, it is just not for me. I hope others love it.

The Book Swap, written by Tessa Bickers, is a heartfelt tribute to the joy of books and reading. This debut novel is a must-read for any book enthusiast. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This started out very slowly then became very emotional. This book dealt beautifully with some heavy themes of grief, loss, betrayal, mental illness and bullying. The book exchange with notes was a unique twist on the pen pal trope. The only negative was that it almost felt like two different books in the first part and second. But if you make it through the slow part, it's worth it.

I wish I loved this but it wasn't for me.i was expecting more romance and I barely got that. It was also super boring and the pacing was kind of slow.

this was such a tender, emotional, deeply loving book. I loved how emotionally raw the characters were, especially from the points of view of the two MC’s, Erin and James. the beautiful and deeply tender romance shared the spotlight with a beautiful testament to grief, forgiveness, acceptance, and so much growth. I loved the way Erin and James find companionship, understanding, and love with each other in the margins of their favorite books.

the friendships are also so special in this story. in so many ways, the ones we love the most are the ones we chose to keep in our lives. the beautiful friendships made, lost, and continued are so beautiful, I was so moved by them all.

overall, this is an emotional read with so much love and tenderness. thank you so much for the arc :)

I was so pleasantly surprised by this little book! For some reason I went into this expecting a cute contemporary rom-com, but it ended up being so much more. While there are a few quippy and humorous lines, Tessa Bickers does a really beautiful job of touching on incredibly relatable themes such as grief, mental health, healing and forgiveness. This one is just so much more than your typical romance. I literally felt so many different emotions while reading this one.

From the beginning I just knew Erin & James' story was going to be so cute, secretly writing to each other in the margins of books they pass to each other through their local little free library! I was immediately wrapped up in their story and loved each POV slowly giving us more and more of their history. I loved experiencing them not only find each other, but also themselves through their sort of pen pal relationship. The overall character development and growth was such a joy to read.

Both of our MCs definitely struggle with being suck in the past, constantly reflecting back and struggling to move on. At times I found this a little frustrating to read, but ultimately I felt it made sense for the characters, and they had to learn to forgive and move on in order to really find themselves. I would have loved some sort of epilogue for Erin & James! After experiencing their story I just wanted a little bit more of them.

Many thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing & NetGalley for this ARC in exchange of my honest review. All thoughts are my own!

Quick intro:
Still recovering from a recent tragedy, Erin accidentally leaves her beloved and heavily annotated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird in the local LFL. She’s relieved when it appears back in the library with new notes in the margins and an invitation to meet her in Great Expectations. She and Mystery Man embark on a life-changing penpal relationship.

Quick thoughts:
Wow, this debut novel by Tessa Bickers really blew me away. This book was raw and real and honest and heartwarming - exactly how I like my sad romances. The two MCs, Erin and James really worked their way into my heart. I loved journeying with them through their grief, complicated family relationships, discovery of their passions, friendships, and healing. They were such endearing characters and I fell in love with them!! I just found them to be so well developed and so well rounded.

It’s really such a beautiful story about loss, guilt we carry for things that aren’t our fault, forgiveness, and healing after tragedy. I found myself clutching my chest, sighing, gasping, and tearing up throughout the whole book. It was so beautiful!! I do want to emphasize that this is more of a sad romance with some significant content warnings. They are listed below in the details, so if you think they’d spoil your reading experience please skip over them.

Read this book if you like discovering debut authors, sad romances, first person dual POV, epistolary elements, books about books, deep characters, books set in England, and visiting little free libraries.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Graydon House for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Quick details:
PUB Date: September 3, 2024
Debut novel
CW: suicide (off page), cancer, bi-polar disorder, unplanned pregnancy, miscarriage scare, heart-attack

"A story of second chances and new beginnings, this is a love letter to books—and a love letter to life."

Thank you to netgalley and the author Tessa Bickers for this advanced copy that releases September 3rd 2024. Erin Connolly recently had a tragedy strike but she needs to move on along with not dwelling on the past. She accidently gives away her annotated book of To Kill a Mockingbird that has a momento that she needs to get back from the community library. When she goes searching and finds it a week later with fresh notes from a stranger. This was an amazing novel for a book lover in addition to being very touching.

Fair warning, this one will get you emotional quickly! I really enjoyed the storyline, setting, the characters and the love of reading. There's just something about learning from someone through books that just makes sense. It opens our minds and let's us be ourselves. This read will also make you sit and think about how your are living and whether you are living for yourself. Be prepared to laugh, cry and really think during this read.

Title: The Book Swap
Author: Tessa Bickers
Genre: Romance
Format: eARC
Rating: 4 stars

Premise: After grabbing books from the local Little Free Library, Erin and James become pen pals via the books they annotate inside. They know each other in person, though they haven't spoken in many years due to a falling out in school, but do not realize they are the ones writing back and forth. A connection unfolds as they communicate through books, and a lot of heavier topics are woven into the story that create obstacles each have to overcome.

-secret pen pals
-friends to enemies to lovers
-heavy topics
-family drama

Thoughts: I absolutely loved this story. I am a major bookworm, so the fact that they both shared a love for books and discussing them, made my heart happy. The premise was interesting and unique; and what I thought would be simply a light and fluffy romcom, turned into a romance with comedy as well as heavy topics that I felt through the pages. This was a read that is easy to get into and will cause you to fly through the pages.

Thank you NetGalley, HTP books, Harper Collins, and The Hive for an advanced copy to read and review in exchange for my honest opinion!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 ⭐️

Loved the premise of this book, but numerous things were problematic for me. The first 20% of the book did not flow at all. It was often confusing and hard to get into. It also relies heavily on you loving all of the “famous” books discussed. You can certainly get by with the quotes given, but not having read or enjoyed all of those books, it has a tendency to exclude the reader or at the very least, become boring and tedious. Finally, there was far too much dysfunction in the book. It made the FMC almost unbearable, and while you’re rooting for the MMC, I feel that he gave and deserved far more than he received.

I thought this book was incredibly well written and had well-fleshed out characters. All of the characters felt extremely real and relatable. What both Erin and James were going through made them relatable and it was very nice to feel out one's own flaws and insecurities in a character and see how they push through. Similarly, the families they had felt real too and the element of family. James having to come to terms with and understand the choice his father makes was of particular interest to me. With his mother however I felt it was hard to see if he felt much for her past resentment. The story developing with Erin, James, and Bonnie was interesting and you could feel how that relationship changed but stayed the same throughout the years that passed and grief was a very valuable feeling there.

Overall, I enjoyed the writing style and the realness of the characters but I felt the book was too busy. There was too much going on in James' and Erin's separate lives that made it challenging to feel their story between the two of them was the forefront of the story. James and Erin could have had their own separate books with all of the external conflict they were going through that would have spaced out the story better for me.

As a librarian and reader, I loved the premise of the book with two people falling in love through their experiences sharing beloved books. I really enjoyed getting to know James and see his struggles and growth through the book. Erin was a little harder for me to connect to and her growth felt a little rushed to me. Overall, a wonderfully written book and a very enjoyable slow burn. Thanks for the chance to review this title.

**Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley!**

"The Book Swap" by Tessa Bickers is a heartwarming novel that celebrates the power of books to connect people and transform lives. The story follows two main characters, one of which is Erin. Erin is a young woman who forms a life-changing connection with a mystery man through the margins of beloved classic books. James is the other main character, and he is learning how to grow as a person through the trials and tribulations that life has set forth.

The novel excels at developing relatable, multi-layered characters with multi-layered backstories. One of the novel's greatest strengths is its love letter to reading and books. The premise of a book swap as a means of connection is engaging and heartwarming, and frankly it is a novel premise (please excuse the pun).

Overall, "The Book Swap" is a beautifully written, uplifting read that will resonate with anyone who has ever found solace in a good book. I highly recommend "The Book Swap" to anyone looking for a heartwarming, feel-good read about the transformative power of books and connections.

This is a slowwww slow burn. So if that’s your thing you might like this! For me, it was too slow sadly. I also never connected with the FMC so it was tough to feel the romance.