The book covers bullying, infidelity, death, mental health disorders and a few more things. The premise is semi intriguing, the romance aspect was unsatisfying. The main characters don't get together until the end, and the romance wasn't a strong point. Erin's relationships were enjoyable, but not enough to justify the book.
I just reviewed The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers. #TheBookSwap #NetGalley

I was immediately sucked into this emotional story that also revolves around a love of books. Reader beware - from the cover this looks like a light-hearted rom-com and it is definitely not. Even a different font might have helped separate it from that sub-genre. This is an emotional ride all the way through including the death of a 20-something.

This is a beautiful story that revolves around friendships, sisterhood, family, obligations, trauma, grief, forgiveness, and love. It is also a love story about the power of books and how they can have different meanings for different people, but they are able to give us what we need at that moment.

Erin and James form a friendship based on annotations in the margins of a book that were never meant to be seen. Each of them need someone that they can open up to and there is something freeing about the anonymity. Erin has recently lost her best friend to cancer and James is having to help care for his mother as she suffers from bi-polar disorder. Both are in jobs they don't love and generally just stuck. They need to let go of grudges and open themselves up to experiences. Of course, that isn't as easy to do and involves some painful experiences. Reading this journey took me through all of the emotions and there were definitely some moments of tears. A great debut novel.

<I>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.</I>

This book was amazing and I devoured this book in just a few sittings! I loved the character development and how the story progressed.

"The Book Swap" by Tessa Bickers is an impressive debut novel following Erin and James, two book lovers stuck in a niche of their own making and connected through notes left in books.

Erin, still grieving the loss of a close friend, accidentally donates her favorite annotated book to the community library. James discovers it and, moved by her annotations, responds within the book itself. Erin is dissatisfied with her job, while James, burdened by caring for his bipolar mother, has abandoned his dream of writing. Unbeknownst to them, they share a history and harbor unresolved issues that prevent them from moving forward. As their correspondence progresses from discussing books to sharing personal revelations, they motivate each other to step outside their comfort zones.

The book is written in the first person and alternates between the two protagonists. It is wrongly marketed as a rom-com, so I expected some light reading. However, it is better classified as romance fiction or literary fiction as it explores heavy-handed themes such as grief, bipolar disorder, depression, bullying, and toxic environments. It also explores fallible human nature, healing, forgiveness, redemption, and pursuing dreams.

The book started slowly for me, but once it gained momentum, I couldn't put it down. I loved the concept of exchanging notes through books, the dynamics between the characters, and the author's thoughtful handling of mental illness. The side plots enrich the story, and I particularly enjoyed the interactions with side characters such as the protagonists' families, Erin's friend Cassy, and James' friend Joel.

Truth be told, Erin irritated me at times with her immaturity, selfishness, and poor behavior toward her friends and mother. James wasn't perfect either, being too judgmental at times, and his behavior in school was inexcusable. I don't want to say too much about it to avoid spoilers, but being bullied isn't reason enough to act as he did, though who are we to judge?? Nonetheless, I appreciated how both characters developed and grew throughout the book, and the ending moved me to tears.

While the novel references classic works like "Great Expectations," "Wuthering Heights," "Mansfield Park," and "To Kill a Mockingbird" (which I also enjoyed), it doesn't delve deeply into them—and rightly so, as it isn't the book's focus. Overall, I enjoyed the book and highly recommend it to fans of slow-paced friends-to-enemies-to-lovers, and slow-burn romance stories that aren't afraid to tackle weighty themes. It delves into the complexities of the human psyche, provokes thought, and definitely touched me deeply.

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.

What a cool concept for a book. In this book we meet Erin and James. Both characters have a lot of growing to do, and end up helping each other (without realizing it) along the way!

Erin- She’s lost her best friend Bonnie
She quits her job
She is navigating her life after the death of her best friend.

James- The nicest guy
His Mom has some mental health issues that affect the entire family
James is always there to pick up the pieces

James and Erin are actually writing each other back in the margins of classic novels. They become friends (and pen-pals) through their writing. They start to help each other navigate their lives.
But Erin and James have a rocky past with each other.
I was routing for these two!

From Friends, to Enemies, to Lovers.

This was such a heartfelt story about friendship, love, and finding yourself. The characters learn to put the past in the past and move on. This was a slow read for me, but I absolutely loved the concept and the characters!
Thank you to Netgally for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

First off, trigger warnings: cancer, bipolar, depression, family drama, toxic work environments.

This book was such a cute concept but very much a slow burn. Erin (female main character) was pretty selfish and immature for the heavy topics that her and James navigated together. I really enjoyed the swapping of annotated books but that was about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Graydon House for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

📘💛The Book Swap📚♥️

SUMMARY:

Erin is recovering from a recent tragedy and accidentally donates her favorite book that she has annotated. It is returned a week later to a local community library with new annotations in it, along with an invitation in a new book to meet her pen pal. Life changing conversations happen in the margins of books that they swap and annotate. Erin then finds herself at a crossroads as she opens up to this mystery man, and finds out that they have shared a painful past.

REVIEW: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Net Galley for providing me with this ARC!

I saw the cover and thought 🤩🤩📚 super cute!!! (Yes I judge books by the cover how can I not) anywho, this book pulled at my heart strings quite a bit. I was definitely expecting an easy going romantic comedy style book, but this went an entirely different direction, as it explored heavy topics of grief, mental illness, bullying, etc.

While these topics were heavy, they were very well written and I found myself engrossed in the novel the more that I read. I was slow to getting into the read, but it was well worth it after a few chapters!

The FMC is a bit immature and hard to root for, but also that’s what makes the book that more real and human. The MMC is a gem though, and I absolutely loved reading his POV.

For those who love slow burns that reference pop culture and other literary works, this one is for you!

✨slow burn
✨dual POV
✨explores grief and trauma
✨reconnecting from the past / second chances

Books about books give me all the feels. I thought this would be a cutesy, lighthearted romance with little depth, but was pleasantly surprised with the depth, weightiness and connection to so many layered and complex emotions. Highly recommend - it tears you apart and puts you back together again!

You're telling me this is a debut novel? Can't wait to see what the authors next one is like!

This book felt like a movie. I felt like a was reading a really good romcom. I enjoyed that it focused on many different types of love throughout the story instead of just romantic, but that didn't take away from the romantic love at all!

Honestly, I just wanted to hug every character. Such a good depiction of "everyone's going through their own shit and no one's got it figured out."

Might even be a 4.5?

this was much different from romance books read recently and brought a lot of deep emotions. i didn’t connect with the characters immediately but by the end was rooting for them.

A solid three because the concept was cute but, overall, the book was ok. I didn’t really love the characters and I felt like James and Erin were a bit whiny. I thought it was going to be more cutesy and sweet/lighthearted but instead you have a depressed woman who lost her best friend three years ago and hasn’t recovered and a man who was horribly bullied when he was younger with a mom with bipolar disorder. It was more serious than I was expecting and I believe the characters could have used more developing. Essentially there were two things that defined each character and that’s what the author stuck with. I wanted more quirks and a deeper dive into what makes each character happy or ticked off.

I did like Erin’s growth and how she found her career. For that and the other reasons why I liked this novel, I would probably give this author another chance.

Thank you Harlequin Books and Netgalley for the ARC e-book of the DEBUT novel, The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers set the release September 3, 2024!

For readers that enjoy books about books. 📚 ❤️ It also gave me a You've Got Mail vibe with regards to two strangers communicating back and forth via the written word and have a shared love of reading.

This story will make you want to visit a little free library, annotate your books, and read (or reread the classics).

An enemies to lovers with deeper topics such as mental health, cancer, loss, and bullying present.

For me personally, there were a lot of different things going on in this book and honestly too much-romance, self discovery, family drama, and subtle paranormal. I feel that this could have been two separate books successfully (the family/loss and then a lighter romcom.)

3.5 Stars

Beautifully written, an easy read that kept my attention. Easily relatable characters and this book gave me all the feels. I laughed, cried and found myself even with my jaw dropped in a few spots in this story.

This ended up being a DNF for me. I tried and tried l, but my goodness it was just so boring for me. I’m sorry, but this wasn’t it for me.

(TINY SPOILER) I was SO proud of Erin when she quit her job telling her crap boss what’s up! Heck yeah. She’s everyone’s dream.

But in the full scheme of the book, I loved the whole thought of carrying on a friendship with someone through the margins of classic literature - freakin adorable.

I loved the concept of the book and the relationship between the characters. The healing of past failures and moving forward. I truly enjoyed this book.

A little free library brings two strangers together through annotations in the margins of books. But are they really strangers? Erin and James were the best of friends but had a huge falling out. Erin is dealing with the death of her best friend Bonnie, and James is questioning what is really important in his life.

I did enjoy this book, but felt it to be a little slow at times. This book was a good telling of real world experiences; it had themes of grief, loss, and finding yourself again. I was expecting a more lighthearted rom-com but was met with something much more deep. I found myself teary eyed at times too.

I was beginning to get frustrated at Erin for not wanting to hear James out. Even many years later, she didn’t want to hear anything he had to say. To be honest it was just a tadddd bit annoying hahaha. However, I did like reading about her finding her passion and what she wants to do with her life. I also liked to see James figure himself out too and find his passion for writing again. I was glad he reconciled with his family and found comfort in his home again.

I wish the book swapping plot was more the main star in the book. There were so many side plots happening that it just got lost at times. I was also actually really sad that there wasn’t an epilogue, I wanted a glimpse into Erin and James’ relationship especially since they didn’t actually find their way back to each other until basically the last page. I wish we got to read more about them falling in love and finally getting together.

Overall, this was a cute book that I think it’s good for a debut novel!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Graydon House for the ARC!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Uggh… this was a tough one. It took my forever to get through as I kept putting it down. I have had it on my shelf for well over a month and had many stops and starts.

It’s really slow to start and it remains that way. So if you enjoy the slowest burn ever than this may be for you.
I don’t view this as a romance novel at all. It more is about Erin’s self journey of finding herself and both characters dealing with grief and loss.

I gave it three stars as I think some will enjoy it for what it is. Personally it didn’t hit and that’s because the description makes it look like it is a much different book.

Erin is tormented by her horrible boss who likes making Erin's life miserable. James is working in a job that he is successful in but doesn't love. A shared history back to their teenage years. A little neighborhood library brings the two together again yet they do not know it is the other.

Erin and James along with their friend Bonnie were the best of friends in school until they weren't. One sad day, everything fell apart and some simple communication between the three would have maybe spared them all a lot of pain and heartbreak.

Bickers uses foreshadowing to draw the reader in and hook them. I found myself desperate to know what had torn the three apart.

Books lovers will love the references to many popular books.

Possible triggers: cancer, loss of close friend, mental illness and bullying

Tessa Bickers has written a strong debut novel that has earned my following. I will gladly read any future releases by Bickers.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Book Swap is an endearing story about how fate and books can bring people together. In this case, it rekindles an early connection between two and determines if their bond is strong enough to live through their earlier struggles. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

What a great debut read!

I'd recommend if you are interested in novels in the vein of Mhairi McFarlane, etc. While it is about two people finding their way back to each other, there is a lot of growth and turmoil throughout for both and quite a traumatic past. Not light or fluffy, but a novel to sink into the characters with.

For book lovers, the actual book swap between Erin and James is adorable and I will be making my way through their list. And in an age where we are so used to strictly online and instant communication, using a Little Free Library as a communication device was a wonderful idea! I also loved how well the author immersed the reader in the London neighbourhood of Brixton!

I am looking forward to more from Tessa Bickers.