A book about books, that drew me in! James and Erin have a history that centers around betrayal, heartache, and loss. But when both of their lives are not going in the direction they’d hoped, they are drawn back to each other through a book swap. Back and forth new books comments bring them closer together, until Erin finds out who she is corresponding with. What I thought would be a cute rom com had a lot more layers with grief, growth, and healing. I enjoyed this book, but I did feel it could’ve been shorter and there were a lot of sub plots that drew focus from the main story lines.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is Tessa Bickers debut book and for a brand new author I really think she hit the mark. At first I thought this book had too much trauma , too much drama. It didn’t feel as realistic to me with so much going on in both the main characters lives.

As I kept going I was proven wrong. The author wove these two stories together quite nicely with so many quiet (and not so quiet) themes. It, at times, felt like the message of ‘be exactly who you were meant to be’ was thrown in our face (but isn’t that message something that we DO want to get across to people?!).

I thought that this was going to be something it wasn’t and I’m glad. I thought it was going to be your standard love story, but it was so much more. It actually was a love story between three best friends.

It taught us to live ‘One day at a time’. And who doesn’t need that reminder?

Kudos to Tessa on this beautiful debut!

Thank you for the ARC of this book. Unfortunately, this one fell a bit flat for me. The book was hard to get going, and never really kept a flow that was comfortable for me. Others may really enjoy this one, but it was a miss for me.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Harlequin, and Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read the ARC copy of Book Swap. The idea and concept of this book was delightful but the execution was lacking in flow. The initial character development was a little incongruous and confusing. The flow with the introduction of James was very sporadic in going back and forth with reminiscing. The continuous flashbacks disconnected the whole chapter from the plot, in my opinion. I think there were too many issues addressed and the excess subjects interrupted the story of swapping books and the “romance” promised in the synopsis with the cover.
With exploring grief, bullying, mental illness, and the reminiscing, the book swap was lost and delayed so that the reader loses focus of that central idea. For me, this book was a tough read because of the slow flow. It took forever to get into the actual story of swapping books and notes. The book simply did not present the way it was introduced in the synopsis, and for that it was disappointing. The cover is fabulous.

just one word for this book: AMAZING!
Before starting it i was in a reading slump and this book took me out of it!!
i immediately fell in love with james and i LOVED the way they fell in love with each other by just reading each others margin notes on book.

This book had a promising premise but I went in expected a romcom and was given a book that deals with more triggering topics such as bullying, grieve, and toxicity in the workplace. I couldn’t really get into the pacing of the book, but maybe someone who’s into slow burns might find it more enjoyable.

First off I would love to thank NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I was excited to read this because it seemed like a fun little cozy romance. It ended up being pretty hard for me to get through, because that isn’t at all what it was. The romance was a slow burn, which can be great in some cases but in this case it was probably the slowest burn I’ve ever read which just honestly killed it for me. It was a pretty heavy read. Not something I’d typically go for. The synopsis was a little misleading. I almost DNF’ed several times. But since it was an ARC, I decided to push through. I won’t be re reading once the final edited version comes out.

The Book Swap is my personal idea of romance. I am all for two characters falling in love over their passion for books.

In an age of social media, it doesn't seem too unusual to have conversations with someone without knowing who they are. In The Book Swap, they leave notes for each other in the margins of books in a little free library. Which just seems so much more romantic and unexpected than talking with someone on a books forum would be. This book was also well written, and it's going to stay with me for a while.

Two things that took away from this book being perfect: the beginning keeps talking about how the two main characters had a horrific unforgivable incident in the past that made the female main character hate the male main character. And I just wanted to yell at the book to just tell me already, rather than make a big huff about it without any details. The other thing being the parallel story about her best friend. I think it was important details, but felt like it could be a separate book on its own. But I was so in love with the book that those were easy to look past.

Overall, I loved this, and will be recommending it to everyone. Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the electronic advanced reader copy.

I have tried reading this book three separate times and I just cannot get into it. I’m sure it’s a lovely story for some but sadly not for me.

I enjoyed this so so much - it makes me want to pick up all the classics that I hated and find something that resonates in each of them.

I love that contemporary romances have gotten so much more in their feels - it's not just "girl meets boy, third act break-up and then all's well." There's real issues, real heartbreak, complicated life shit, true reasons behind the miscommunication... And then all's well. I know this puts some people off that just wanted mindless enjoyment, and this might have gone one miscommunication too far, but I felt all the reasons.

This was not the book I was expecting it to be, but it was so much better! It was quite the emotional rollercoaster. There were times that I was annoyed with both leads, Erin and James, but then they'd figure something out about themselves that made them such better characters! The character growth was absolutely "chefs kiss" and I did get teary eyed at the end. I really look forward to buying a physical copy of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and to Harlequin Trade Publishing for my digital ARC!!

Unexpected in every way! A good way. I was expecting more of a romance/rom-com but there was so much more than just that throughout this book. A slow burn writing notes back and forth that highlighted the best of both Erin and James. Dealing with family issues, grief, life changes....it added so much. It took me a little bit to get into it but once I did, I didn't put it down and read the last 80% in one sitting. One I'd recommend!

I don’t know where to begin. This book was so good! It pulled different emotions out of me. I found myself laughing at some parts, then crying at others. It was more than a romance story. It was about love, forgiveness, heartbreak, grief, and finding oneself and discovering who you are in life. The characters had a lot of learning and growing. It touched on mental illness with James’ mom and how that can affect those living with it.
The book swap was so cute. As a person who loves to read, I love how the main characters became infatuated with each other through books. And there are so many books to be read!!! I absolutely loved this book!

I was drawn to this book based on the cute cover, the synopsis and my love of books about books. However, this book is not a light hearted love story as the cover suggests. This story deals with some heavy topics including death of a best friend, divorce, mental illness, depression, bullying, and family struggles. Overall, I think this book could be healing for someone grieving a loss or going through a rough patch but felt too heavy at times for me.
Most difficult was that the book was way too slow. I had a hard time connecting to either character but especially the female main character. I found her selfish and immature. It also felt too far fetched to me that she held a grudge for that long and refused to continue being friends with the male main character. Overall, the book didn’t work very well for me and it wasn’t what I thought it would be.

Thank you NetGalley for a prerelease of The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers.

What a great book! I’m a huge fan of book themed rom-coms - and this one didn’t disappoint. This is for lovers of You’ve Got Mail, Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson, and Book Lovers by Emily Henry.

Thanks to Netgalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for the E-ARC! So cute! Loved the characters and the bookish references. Will definitely read more from this author.

I enjoyed this story but it was definitely not what I was expecting based on the cover/blurb. I went into this expecting a cute RomCom and that's not what this is.

I loved the idea of our MCs communicating through annotations in the margins of classic books exchanged in a little free library and there was great potential as a super slow burn, childhood friends to enemies to lovers however this story has a very heavy focus on loss/grief, childhood trauma from bullies, mental illness, and family issues. There are so many side characters with their own things going on that the romance aspect definitely feels like a subplot.

I would love to have seen an epilogue with some insight on how the relationship played out

Thank you to Netgally, Harlequin Trade Publishing | Graydon House, and Tessa Bickers for the opportunity to read and leave an honest review for this ARC

Loved this book though I wouldn’t classify it as a romance - it’s much deeper than that. It’s well-written with great character development and past/present timelines are my favorite. Erin and James touched my heart.
This novel touches on love, grief, mental illness and how our childhood often affects us into adulthood.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to Tessa Bickers and Harlequin Trade Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. The Book Swap publishes on September 3rd, 2024.

The Book Swap is a story two people who connect through writing in the margins of classic books. It’s about grief, second chances, family issues, and mental health. As the book progress, Bickers does a wonderful job balancing the main characters building a relationship while also building on their personal growth. I fell in love with James’ storyline. He went through so much growing up and then again as he navigated adulthood. What he wrote in those margins was so beautiful.

If you liked Dash and Lily on Netflix, you’ll LOVE this book.

Favorite quotes:
“If I can’t marry Harry Styles, I’m never getting married,”

“7. If you could be a character from any book, who would you be, and why? Atticus Finch, for obvious reasons. My new purpose is for someone to call me a ‘dreamboat’ before I die.”

Tropes:
Second chance
Hate to love
Fated


-this review can be found on instagram and Goodreads.
-review was posted 5/2/24

The Book Swap by Tess Bickers 📚
Thank you to @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
(3.5 rounded up) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thoughts: This book had such a slow beginning but I ended up enjoying it in the end. It was so cute, so beautifully written. The characters had such a heartbreaking past. It just shows you how much more beautiful life could be if we forgave. Forgiveness is important, not just for others, but mostly yourself. This also brought awareness to always be kind. You never know what someone else is going through.