The plot of this book sounded so fun and I love the idea of love centering around books. I didn't quite expect some of the content to be as heavy as it was since it seemed to be described as a romcom. Definitely head the trigger warnings. One of the major downsides for me though were the characters. They both came across very young and immature. I kept waiting for them to get better but their personalities didn't work for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is described as a book lover's dream and it really is just that. A meet-cute/second chance romance that would be a the fantasy romance of any book nerd. The concept was so simple but so unique and even though the FMC was fairly unlikable, it never ruined the storyline for me and I was rooting for the pair the entire way. Best of all I have a few more classic novels to add to my TBR 😍

Favorite quote: "Better yourself is the best kind of apology you can make."

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC of this novel!

I was expecting a light and fluffy romcom, but got SO much more. The characters navigate life dealing with grief, loss, mental heath, bullying, family trauma, a toxic workplace, and burnout of being a caregiver. Once I recalibrated I my mind the type of book I was reading, the book’s plot and characters grew on me the more I read. This felt so relatable and real. I loved the near slow burn of the romance between Erin and James and the flashback scenes to their childhood.

Erin, our FMC, is working through the loss of her best friend since childhood, Bonnie, due to cancer. James, our MMC, is burning out as he splits his life between an unsatisfyjng job in London, and being a caregiver for his mother who has bipolar. Erin and James were friends for a period of time in school, before they had a falling out, making James persona non grata.

Erin misplaces her beloved and well annotated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird when she accidentally donates it to a local lending library. When she goes back to the library to search for it, the book is back with more notes in the margins and a message to read another book left behind. Erin starts to exchange annotated books and messages with this mystery person, who may be someone she’s known all along.

I loved reading The Book Swap. I felt the beginning was a little slow, but once it found its stride, it was hard to put down. Overall, the pacing was good and the flashbacks helped flesh out the history between the main characters. An excellent debut novel!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was going to be a book about books and it sort of was, but it was more a character driven book with A LOT of characters, in fact maybe a few too many? There were the families of Erin and James, there were the friends of Erin and James (which actually became a nice side story), there was the ghost of Bonnie and her story. It was almost tiring to try to keep up and empathize with all the different stories. I think the book might have been more effective without so many story arcs and so much information. However, all that aside the plot contains a sweet love story and a great theme to do what makes you happy--and it might not be just a job for money. Bickers had the best line for an end to a romance--but yet goes on for almost 3 more "pages" (I read it on a kindle). Nevertheless, English majors of the world rejoice, maybe many readers will be introduced to some great classics.

I will be honest and I'm not much of a literary classics person. When I found the summary of this Book I was super interested, what a cute idea to have two people fall in love through the classics. What a beautiful story of friendship, death, falling out and coming back togethers.

Again more honesty, I have never read any of the books they mentioned in here (I know I know, uncultured swine) but I'm glad the author explained them the way they did. Not like they were writing a dissertation to other English majors and literary critics, they wrote for the common person who may have heard of these classics but never read them. So thank you for that.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’d been itching to read this for the plot, it felt so unique from the other romances I’d been reading. I still very much love the concept, but I think James and Erin fundamentally irked me in every way possible that I can’t get pass. I found them both to be extremely unlikeable. I wanted to just shake them both the whole time I was reading. I also did not buy that someone would get so relentless bullied and borderline sexually assaulted for their dad being a one hit wonder? That just seemed so unlikely it really pulled me out of the story. I also was having trouble, and not sure if it’s an American schooling vs UK schooling thing, keeping track of what ages people were when things were happening. I enjoyed the ending though!

I was drawn to the premise of this book, and while I appreciated the unexpected levels of depth and complexity of the MCs, I wasn't expecting such heavy content. This definitely isn't a light, airy, romcom; not that this is a negative, just something to aware of. I thought Bickers handled the discussion of mental health issues well though and am glad I was granted this arc.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this one.

This was a really cute story, even if it did have some rather heavy content (Erin is struggling with a lot of past trauma including the death of her best friend, her parents divorce, betrayal from another friend, loss of her job, and more). The book exchange part of the story, as well as the enemy's to lovers plot, is reminiscent of You've got Mail.

Overall cute story, but very long and drawn out. It look many days and times I had to put it down because it was too much for my brain to process. Many side stories that confused me and didn't really contribute to the main story of the book. Mental illness was well portrayed, and talked about in a respectful manner.

i always love a great slow burn if it’s done right and this definitely was! also a very heavy and sad story but it was very positive in the way of seeing the characters get through what they were going through. i loved seeing the relationship develop between erin and mystery man, written through annotations in timeless classics.

thank you to the author, netgalley, and graydon house for giving me the opportunity to receive an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. It dealt with a lot of heavy topics of grief and mental illness. However, there were times when I thought the book's pace was very slow and I struggled to want to continue. The story was unexpected and took a lot of different turns and side plots which were intriguing but sometimes didn't always add to the story. It was not a romantic love story by any means, but the concept of grieving the lost of your best friend while trying to find her place in the world was still a great plot of this book. I would still recommend this book with the caveat that it will be an emotional rollercoaster.

This book was sweet, but such a slow burn. Took ages to finish and was very predictable. I did like how the author addressed mental health struggles and the loss of a loved one. However, I was bored for most of the story.

This book was good once it started picking up. In the beginning, I wasn't feeling it, but when we got more into it with the book swapping at the little library and all the grief and realness of this. you never know what someone is going through (which I think was the reason that Erin acted the way she did). I was kinda happy with the way this ended, tho.

Tropes
Childhood friends to enemies
Margin penpals
Life/Death
Closed Door
Setting: London/Frome

This book pulled me right in. We meet a boy (James) who was bullied and the two girls (Erin and Bonnie) who swooped in, and took him under their wing until an incident outcasts James until Joel transfers to the school.

Book Swap brings friendship to the forefront, grief, love, healing from bullying, dysfunctional families - but also taking pause to understand who your family members are vs how you project them, trying to find a career path that brings you joy, and a love letter to (English) teachers and classic authors of the past.

Tessa writes of grief as if she tapped into my own mind: “She’s still so present in my mind that the aching for her is constant.”

I struggled a bit with how much time was passing in a chapter or even between chapters and Erin’s immaturity. The formatting was a bit rough for the eARC, which I think fed this story structure issue.

A wonderful read that made me laugh, cry, and appreciate my friends and family more than I did yesterday. Rounding up to 4.

Thank you NetGalley and Graydon House Books for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this romance and how it dealt with grief and mental illness. I loved all the bookish talk and the way the characters let and bonded through the little free library. I definitely recommend it.

The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers shows us that forgiveness is the only way to love not only others but ourself. Sometimes we lose something so precious we can't find it in our heart to move on.

This book was deeper than I expected and I really enjoyed it! I was intrigued from the start and couldn’t put it down. The book really pulls at the heartstrings and was truly great!

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me to read. However, I did not connect with this book and struggled to finish.

The description of the book piqued my interest, and the story kept me reading late into the night! A lovely book with a couple worth rooting for.

3.5 ⭐️
This was a good story of loss, career challenges, finding oneself, personal growth and traumas. Unfortunately, the blurb and cover are misleading and would leave a reader under the impression this is a rom-com when honestly it did not even feel like much of a romance.

The FMC, Erin, and MMC, James, were high school friends who had a falling out. They lost their mutual best friend, Bonnie, to cancer, and her memory plays an intricate roll in shaping the characters and the story. After quitting the job she hated, Erin cleans out her book collection and puts it into one of those free libraries for others to enjoy. She realizes she accidentally left a cherished book in there, with not only her own personal notes in the margins, but a postcard Bonnie had left her. When she realizes this, she races to look for it—there in the library, is the book, but with replies in the margins to her annotations from someone else, James. Bonnie doesn’t know it’s James replying through, and visa-versa. They develop a connection swapping classic literature and writing to each other in the margins. Can writing in the margins rewrite their broken past though?

Honestly, I didn’t like the FMC. Erin was selfish, brash, dramatic and just overall lazy seeming and annoying. She played victim, but she was only really a victim to her own actions and their consequences. I did not mind the MMC, James, though I found him a tad boring. I could not for the life of me, even reading the retelling of their history, feel any deep connection or love in their pasts which made it hard for me to believe the developing second chance romance.

Overall, the book was good and the idea behind the book was great. I do think the character’s prior relationship needs a bit better fleshing out in order for readers to be more emotionally connected to the story.

There are some triggers I’d mention—Loss from cancer, heart attack, bi-polar disorder, broken homes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me an ARC to read and review.