A very interesting and intriguing plot! I felt some points in the book were slow, however the twists were well worth it! Overall would recommend

What a perfect vacation. A house swap. The Browns look forward to a vacation in France and the Lester’s are looking forward to London. Except both families have dark secrets.
I love this intriguing plot, and there were many twists and turns then a fascinating twist! Another five star read from Miranda Rijks.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc.

If one day you should feel very good, happy and in a good mood, this is the book to get you down. It will also make you ask the question "who am I?", at least if you break off reading in the middle of a chapter, as this book suffers from multiple personalities. So this is a readable story, but not something I enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very meh for me. I’m not sure if slow was the right word, more like too little was happening and there was a whole lot of useless I wanted to skip over, and it took a while for it to get somewhere where it was starting to get interesting. Also I just personally wasnt a big fan of the plot.

This was a strong psychological thriller from Miranda Rijks and enjoyed the overall story being told. It had that element that I was looking for from Miranda Rijks’ previous works and enjoyed the overall story and characters were developed.

After reading the book over the duration of the past couple days, I can say that I did throughly enjoy it. If you are into a book that has multiple different twists then this is the book for you, the ending is something that I did not see coming in the slightest. Only thing I would change would be the ending as I felt like it left you on a cliff hanger about a couple of the characters.

Name of Book: The House Swap
Author: Miranda Rijks
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Pub Date: December 4,, 2024
My Rating: 4.4 Stars
Pages:
The story is told from the POV of Elodie Brown, Piers and son Rafael Lester.

Susan and Piers Lester live in the South of France and Lewis and Elodie Brown live in London.
They have Niall Hutchinson in common both couple attending his wedding to Danielle but didn’t know they each other,

The Lester’s have wanted to go to London as their seventeen year-old son Rafael- is considering the universities there.
The Brown decides a stay in a chateau in France sounds like a great Holiday.

Niall and Elodie are business partners and considering expanding the Hutchinson Brown Properties by adding Vacation homes via House-Swaping. Niall convinces the Browns that perhaps a House-Swap is something they should try themselves first!
Thus a house-swap is in the making.

However things are not what they expected.
Odd things start to happen in the chateau in France. Besides the appearance of the chateau /villa not matching the blog photos that were on displays, the place is in need of repairs- in fact there is scaffolding along one side with workers there all-day. Additionally there is a rumor it is haunted. So when Elodie is injured by walking into an area where the “Do Not Enter’ barrier was removed – Hmmm sure seems something is going on.

Meanwhile the Lester’s are experience accommodations in Knightsbridge London that are far nicer than what they expected. They do feel a bit guilty that the swap isn’t all that equal.
.
Oh it is just starting!
Some of these characters are immediately unlikeable but I knew Miranda Rijks characters would keep me curious if they were or weren’t likeable!!!
Great read. Thought I had it somewhat figured out ~ Nope!
The up and down with twists kept happening – this was half novel as well as, half roller coaster ride

Miranda Rijks has written twenty-three psychological thrillers, and this is only my ninth! When I read "The Second Wife" my first, I knew then I had found a new fav author!
She is such a clever storyteller! I will read anything she writes!

Want to thank NetGalley and Inkubator Books for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Day Scheduled for December 4, 2024.

Loved the twists and turns of this book. Interesting and likeable characters that kept the story moving along quickly. Thrilling quick read.

2.5 stars rounded down to 2. The House Swap by Miranda Rijks. I must say I love this author. I have read almost all of her books. Unfortunately this book did not do a thing for me. 2 couples decide to swap houses to have a vacation. One in London, one in France. This is a very very slow burn. In fact, it was so slow that by the time I got to the end, I forgot what actually was going on. There is a huge chunk of this book that is just filler. Way too much filler. There are so many POVs it became totally confusing to me. The twist at the end is just totally incongruous to anything that made sense. As usual with this author, the writing was excellent. Character development, however, wasn't so great. It was difficult to keep the couples straight in my mind. I will patiently wait for her next book.

Thank you to Inkubator books and Netgalley for the ARC. I greatly appreciate it. I however, do not recommend this book.

I really enjoy Miranda Rijks, so I knew I would enjoy this book. The story centers on two families that have done a house swap for a vacation. Odd events start happening to both families and soon everyone’s secrets start coming to light. This book was pretty fast paced once it got going, I couldn’t put it down. I liked how just when you thought you knew what was going on, something would happen in a completely new direction. I also enjoyed the fact that there were several characters that made you doubt everyone’s intentions and motives. It definitely made the book more exciting. The multiple POV switches also worked well to build the suspense of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for the opportunity to review this book. All thoughts contained in this review are my own.

Thanks for an ARC! This book is really engaging. I loved the jumping between different POV and it was such a tangled mystery of overlapping stories. The hard part was I couldnt really stand most of the characters. They were really unlikeable. Elodie was the least terrible of the bunch but my goodness. Well written. The ending left me wanting to know more but overall very enjoyable with overlapping details. I didn't figure out all the twists and it kept me hooked.

Two families switch houses for vacation, one goes to London and the other to southern France. The French house is woken up by builders, who promise to be quiet. The London house is very grand but one family member is there for a potentially live changing doctor visit. The story is told from multiple POV with the characters name at the beginning of the chapter, which I appreciated. This is a fun to read thriller with secrets everywhere.

Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for this ARC. The views outlined are my own.

Plot

Two perfect families. Two beautiful homes. A one-way trip to hell. When two families organise a house swap, it seems like the perfect holiday arrangement. The Browns will exchange their London Townhouse for a stunning Chateau in the south of France, the perfect place to relax and rekindle their flagging marriage. And the Lesters are looking forward to showing their son, Rafael, around their old haunts in the British capital. Sounds wonderful. Except for one thing - both families are hiding dark secrets, and secrets have a way of coming out…

Review

A solid story, about two families whose secrets intertwine. The ending felt a bit rushed which would be my biggest criticism but overall, it was a well constructed, well paced mystery that offered the reader enough to keep interest. The author has shaped the characters well, and the I find myself connected quite well with Piers, Elodie and Raf. I often find that if I care very little for the main characters I find it hard to connect to the story. This isn’t the case with this story, I felt very connected to these three characters and I was invested in their stories.
A solid read that I would recommend.

** 3.5 Stars**
This was a fun and quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed! I loved exploring the different viewpoints of the main characters. There were quite a few dubious characters, making it hard to know who to trust until the conclusion. I wish there had been a bit more closure before the epilogue, but I really liked it overall. I would definitely suggest it to others!


Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for allowing me to read this ARC

Holy cow! Miranda Rijks knocks another one right out of the park!! She is a constant bright star. The story sets up two families for a simple house swap. What appears to be simple ends up being a dark tunnel of secrets and lies. So many perfect herring ms it was impossible to know who to trust. This book actually made me feel a little scared and I definitely locked all of the windows and doors. So much lo love, Rijks is a top notch storyteller. Big 5 stars from me.
Thank you NetGalley, Miranda Rijks and an Incubator Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

First off thank you to NetGalley and Miranda Rijks for the ARC!!

What could go wrong with a simple holiday house swap? Well, as "The House Swap" shows us... everything can and will go wrong!

This book was a fun and twisty read right up to the end. With the different POVs you get to uncover many secrets that all add up to a shocking conclusion. I thought that I had this book figured out multiple times, but I didn't know who to trust with several shady and unreliable characters. Definitely give this book a chance when it is released, you won't regret it!

Elodie and Lewis Brown have a townhouse in London, and Susan and Piers Lester own a chateau in the South of France. Both families decide on a house swap for their holiday. The Browns hope that having a relaxing holiday in the south of France will help them to rekindle the passion in their marriage which appears to have become mundane recently. The Lesters are looking forward to re visiting London, showing their son Rafael the city he hasn't been to before.
However, there is a break in at the chateau, and history shows a woman who lived there strangely went missing and was never seen again. This makes the Browns anxious and feeling vulnerable. In London, Rafael goes missing, causing the Lesters to view their marriage in a new light.
Both families have secrets, and begin to suspect their happy marriages and perfect lives are far from the truth. This is a gripping psychological thriller, and is highly recommended.

Miranda Rijks is a new author for me and from the synopsis I was eager to read this book. The tag line is Their Perfect Lives, Their Perfect Lies so I knew I would be instantly hooked. When two families organise a house swap, it seems like the perfect holiday. The Browns live hectic lifestyles in London and are keen to escape for two weeks of sun. So a house swap with the Lesters who live in sunny Provence and are keen to show their son the sights and sounds of London seems ideal. It sounds perfect but both families are harbouring secrets and secrets have a habit of coming out. This is a well written, pacy psychological thriller that will keep you enthralled. Thank you to NetGalley, Inkubator Books and the author for the chance to review.

I mean this in the most loving and positive way, when I say that nobody can do crazy like Miranda. Fabulous. Would I expect this to happen in real life? Gods help me, no. It can I get lost in this crazy story and enjoy it? Yes! I think you just have to let go of all expectations and let Miranda lead you through her story. Though this was not my favourite of hers, I still enjoyed it immensely. Quick and crazy read, five stars from me.

The writing was good and the plot seemed intriguing enough. However, I felt like build up was poor. It could use a better execution. It took way too long to get to the main plotline of the story and things only picked up around the 60% mark or so. I couldn't quite feel the thrill before that. And the ending seemed pretty off too.