This book was entertaining and wasn’t overly sweet/romantic. Even though I felt it was a bit predictable, it was enjoyable. The pace is slow but chemistry starts to flow about 50% into the book. I liked that both characters had their issues, were working through them and how the romance unfolded. I was a bit disappointed we as readers weren’t in on some of Cassie and James’ conversations via messages and phone calls or in places like the pub. I felt it would have provided more of the chemistry I was looking for within.

Overall, I think the subjects in the book were a bit heavier than I was expecting with the baby/IVF/addiction storylines. That being said I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a slow burn with some heavier topics.

I want to thank NetGalley, the author and publisher for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

4 stars

A cute (fr)enemies to lovers clean romance reminiscent of “The Holiday” (yes, that gloriously cheesy film starring the gorgeous Cameron Diaz!), featuring an uptight CEO with (initially) the emotional range of a teaspoon & a writer who has 3 alpacas & 11 chickens & wants to be a mum. They’re adorably not on the same wavelength & annoy each other to no end when they swap homes for a few months, finding love & fielding spotty wifi issues along the way.

[What I liked:]

•The writing & dialogue are genuinely hilarious at points! Over all, good prose.

•Alpacas!! Yes, I’m a sucker for alpacas. You should be too.

•Okay so the romance is cute, but the love is really deep. The MC’s have to work through some serious stuff, & it was honestly so rewarding to see them grow & figure it out & be together!

•There are lots of great side characters! All the island neighbors, James’ neighbors & mates, Cassie’s parents, Jennifer, etc.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Minor quibble, but sometimes Cassie’s American neighbors in Maine spoke using British phrases, which felt odd to me.

•Cassie & James are a very unlikely couple, it was a little hard for me to buy their attraction early on. James is a bit lacking in emotional intelligence, & Cassie is a person who is so emotionally deep. But James does grow a lot, so I started buying it 50% into the story.

•This is mainly due to my genre preferences, but for the first 50% of the story the pacing felt really slow. I mean there’s no drama or action or mystery, so until the emotional & relationship stuff started getting deep I wasn’t fully engaged. But it was definitely worth it to keep reading, it did eventually get really good & emotionally satisfying! (The pacing is what you’d expect for a contemporary romance; I just usually like romances with some action better.)

CW: addiction, infertility struggles

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

Cassie and James need some changes. James needs to get away from London and his ex-girlfriend (and perhaps the funniest scene I've ever read in a the opening pages of a book?) and Cassie needs to get to London from Maine to research her new book. So what better way to get away than to swap houses? They each fall in love with each other's space right away. But they don't just swap houses, they begin to open up to other and each other. Soon James and Cassie are spending hours on the phone with each other getting to know the person who lives in their temporary home. But will swapping houses also lead to giving away their hearts?

I really loved this book. It's funny, enduring, sweet, and just makes you feel good. It's the kind of book you can read and smile, and right now, a year into a pandemic, isn't that what we all need right now? Something comforting and fun. I can't wait to read more by Jo Lovett!

*I was provided an ARC by Netgalley and the publisher for my honest opinion.

*special thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

3 stars
I wanted to read this one because the premise sounds a lot like The Holiday!

I really like their individual storylines and their personal character development throughout.
However, I think the romance was missing some magic for me, and I think that is because for some of the novel they are apart. I also felt like when they were together there were a lot of things as readers we were not a part of. I would’ve liked to see more things first hand than being told about them later.
Also, the very end is a little irksome to me. I would liked a million other reasons for them to get together.

Overall, a pretty cute romance, I just wish we could’ve witnessed more of the things we are told about.

The House Swap is about two people with very different lives who swap houses, the title sums it up well.
Cassie is a writer whose agent wants her to set her next series of books in London and James is a venture capitalist who needs to escape from a very messy breakup. As expected in this rom-com set up the two are complete opposites and clash right from the start.
Overall I would say this book is fine. I liked the setup and genuinely enjoyed James and Cassie's relationship and how it developed in the second half of the book. But what was hard for me to get past was the complete 180 James's character takes. At the start of the book, he is cold and distant and starts befriending Cassie just to buy her land to build a hotel. Then about 50% into the book that is just dropped, along with his ex-girlfriend who is mentioned once when Cassie arrives in London and then is never heard from again. I do like where he ends up, but I felt like the shift was sudden and the reasoning wasn't there. It was almost like the author decided that he needed to change so he could end up with Cassie.
On the other hand, I liked Cassie as a character. I loved her connections to her neighbors, both in Maine and in London. Her growth was much more subtle and realistic to me.
This is a sweet book, and I enjoyed reading it, I laughed out loud at a few parts but it just lacks some depth.

Initial Thoughts:
I’m getting distinct “The Holiday” vibes, with just a touch of “The Lake House.”

One sentence plot summary:
Two 30 somethings get more than they bargained for when they swap each other’s houses, and romance ensues.

My thoughts on the book:
I read this book in one sitting, even being so bold as to subtly prop my kindle up to the left of my dinner plate - at least until the husband saw and gave me a disappointed look. I thought the story flowed really well at first and kept you reading. The ending was a little clunky and wrapped up slightly too tidily.

James was a total ass at the start of the book and somehow had a miraculous transformation into a loving, dreamy protagonist. I think the author’s point was that Cassie and her lifestyle changed him, but it felt a little convenient.

I forgot that British writing often uses single quotation marks, and it’s remarkable how much that threw me as I was reading. It was hard at times to distinguish between thoughts voiced out loud and internal thoughts of the characters.

All in all, I liked this book and found it compelling. I feel like I’ve given 3-star ratings to books I liked a lot more, but it isn’t a 2-star book by any means as it was well-written.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for sharing a digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

4 1/2.

I really liked this one, even though it's not completely perfect. The writing is really good and the settings worked great for the characters' needs.

Let's talk about Cassie and James. I can't remember a pair of main characters that grew as much as they did throughout the story, especially James. He was such a jerk in the beginning, and by the end, he had really grown on me.

I couldn't see at first how the house swap would be a medium that would bring them together and interacting, but it did, and they were able to grow into friendship and attraction, and eventually more.

I loved the island and all the neighbors and animals in Maine, and the neighbors in London, and they all related to Cassie and James.

The ending was perfect and I highly recommend this book!

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

The House Swap didn't work for me. It was well written, but I didn't connect with the characters. I was completely uninterested in the baby aspect of the story. Obviously, your mileage may vary. We'll still buy a copy for our library.

The House Swap is a lighthearted story which is easy to read. The story is told by both viewpoints and I found James' character irritating at first and I'm never a fan of the "crazy ex-girlfriend" trope. However he did start to redeem himself throughout the novel. I thought Cassie's desire to commence IVF was interesting and I really liked the main characters were in their mid to late 30s as so many romances feature women in their 20s. 

However, despite touching on heavier issues, I felt the story was a bit superficial. I didn't feel any real chemistry between the two main characters. I actually preferred it when they were bickering! There was just a bit too much of a personality change in James to feel authentic and the ending was cliched and predictable. I love a happy ever after ending but I was left feeling a bit underwhelmed.

My full review can be found at https://mmbbookblog.com/the-house-swap-by-jo-lovett-book-review/

Cassie is a successful author living in a beautiful, rural area in the US. James is a very successful businessman living in central London.

Both are looking for a change of scenery and they decide to swap houses for a few months. Each are facing decisions for very different futures and both are dealing with trauma from years before wondering if they will ever comes to term with the past to enable them to move forward.

Cassie and James are both thirty somethings so this felt a little different to your average book and I thought the story was different and had a lot to offer.

What does the future hold for each of them and will their long distance friendship help them to deal with the hidden heartbreaks they have both endured so they can truly move on ?

The characters were so relatable and likeable. I want to house swap with Cassie myself!

The style of writing really appealed to me and I found myself flying through the story. We have alternate chapters from both Cassie and James’ viewpoint.

A wonderful story of coming to terms with grief and learning to live again. I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The whole time I was reading this book, I was thinking “I wish I had an extra copy to give to my mum to read too”. It was just so cute ! I loved both of the main characters and their groups of friends. However, the main character was a little bit baby obsessed and these bits of the book did make me want to put it down at times... it just wasn’t something I was interested in reading about... but I loved the friendships they make at their respective ‘swap’ locations and how they got to know each other remotely. I do think if I’d have known in advance about how baby obsessed the main character was I wouldn’t have read the book....

I started out disliking the hero so much that I thought this book would never win me over. But just as the hero, James, learned to lighten up and start interacting with other people, the book won me over. I enjoyed reading about how these two people, unlikely to meet given that one lived on a small island in Maine and the other lived in the heart of London, decided to swap houses and then began becoming long-distance friends as they communicated about their homes and communities.

One question I did have that was never touched on was how did Cassie get a visa that somehow allowed her to spend four-five years working in Maine writing her novels.

You have to suspend a whole lot of disbelief for the whole set-up of the book, but it’s a romance - what can we expect?

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

The overall writing of this book is well done, and the pacing is good. But I think this book just wasn’t for me. First of all, it was billed as a “funny and utterly gorgeous feel good love story“. There wasn’t one funny line in this book, and I don’t know anyone who would find the story funny. The disagreements and misunderstandings at the beginning of the story were just frustrating and anger inducing, not funny. The chemistry between Cassie and James was almost nonexistent, and a lot of the friendly overtures that James makes in the book seemed very out of character for him. But my biggest complaint with the book is that the baby/IVF storyline really should have been disclosed in the book description. There are readers who will find this content triggering, and readers who simply have no interest in reading about a baby-desperate woman. Just my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

3 things I liked of this book & 3 things I didn't.

Likes
1_the house-swap storyline: it got me curious right from the start since I'd never read anything similar and it didn't disappoint
2_Cassie's house and life in the island: it felt cozy, peaceful and so charming; I also really wanted to be the one hugging Cassie's lamas!
3_The easygoing and friendly relationship that Cassie and James managed to form around the middle of the book: it seemed they could talk about anything and be a support one for the other even at distance. But this good point leads me to the bad ones.

Dislikes
1_James: I wasn't overly fond of him at the beginning (he was such a jerk) and while after a while he started to get better I never really connected to him. He changed so much around 35-40% of the book and it was a bit out of the blue to me. One minute he's trying to cozy up Cassie and the next one he's genuinely kind to her and her friends. I'm not saying I didn't like the change, it just wasn't as gradually unfolded as I'd have liked.
2_Cassie & James love story: I really liked them as friends but at the end of the book I realized I didn't like them as much as a couple. I felt as I didn't get a real chance to like them like that. The L-word was quite sudden, given their circumstances. I'm going to quote the words of another reviewer since they describe quite well what I think: "here was a lot of telling, and very little feeling or showing".
3_(I'll be as unspoilerish as possible) the 'trick' used to bring them back together after they had a fall apart: it was predictable and annoying at a certain level.

Overall ""The House Swap is an enjoyable enough book but I felt it lacked something on the romance department, maybe it's just me.

At last, I'd like to thank the author and NetGalley for the chance to read this book for free in exchange for an honest opinion

Jo Lovett’s previous book was very good but I absolutely loved this one. A good old fashioned romance conducted between two countries. Well described settings and lovely characters. A definite to add to your reading list.

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for a ARC in exchange for a honest review.

2-2.5 stars

The concept of the book pulled me in with being similar to The Holiday, but this unfortunately hit the mark. I liked the story line with IVF as this is something many women go through and was nice to see included. I think the book was okay, but could have been better with a few changes. Including the attitudes of the main characters, I was so frustrated! Also, certain tropes used, particularly at the end which just ruins it for me and is a trope I hate.

Ultimately I think it could have been better with a few changes.

This was a super cute book! It was sweet and simple, but still incredibly fun.

I definitely enjoyed the beginning of this more than the end, but that's the case with most romances. The interactions and banter between James and Cassie were so funny, and I loved reading about them. I'm a fan of enemies-to-lovers, so their semi-hatred at the beginning had me hooked. The last 25% just got a bit too sweet for me, everything worked out too well.

But the real star of this book were the alpacas. Every time they showed up, i knew we were about to get an amazing scene. James slowly growing to care and worry about them was one of the best things I've ever read. Especially because he was some tough business man, and ended up crooning to an alpaca.

The concept of this was super unique, and it kept me hooked the entire time! It was a super fun read, and I'd definitely recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Jo Lovett for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This entertaining enemies to lovers Contemporary Romance follows Cassie a writer,who lives in a small island community in Maine and James,a venture Capitalist who owns a swanky flat in London - who decide to swap homes for the summer,using website swapbnb.

I liked the premise (very reminiscent of The Holiday) and thought it was quite entertaining. The romance between both characters takes quite a while to get going as they’re living on different continents,mostly communicating via texts and later phone calls.

We also get the backstory of both characters-which I both enjoyed and found quite tear—jerking (but I always cry a both happy and sad endings).

Overall, I did enjoy it. If you like Contemporary Romance and don’t mind a slow burn,enemies to lovers style romance-then you should check this out.

Also justed wanted to give a huge thank you to Bookouture and Net Galley for the ARC.

thanks to netgalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

this had potential but unfortunately fell short to deliver. the writing was okay, but it was just very bland. nothing special about it and it bored me frequently. it didn’t feel like i was reading the story, more like the author dictating what happened. and what happened wasn't really that worth it, unfortunately. the characters were boring and predictable, done before in many ways. the romance between these two main leads was so frustrating to read. it wasn't enjoyable at all and i wasn’t invested in their relationship. maybe it was the writing or the set-up itself, but the whole thing felt forced and stiff.

This is one of those books that screams potential but falls through with the outcome. I honestly think this book could have been so good but there were so many small issues that made me dislike it.

The writing: okay, so there’s nothing wrong with it but it’s just plain, boring. I didn’t feel immersed in the story and it felt like the author was telling us what happened rather than showing us.
The characters: bland, boring and I have read them a thousand times. The guy (I can’t even remember his name at this point) was so annoying and seemed to think the world owed him a favour. It was frustrating to read.
The romance didn’t feel believable or even good. I wasn’t invested in their relationship and I honestly wouldn’t have put them two together in a million years. It was stiff and forced.

This book just wasn’t for me. I wanted a fun romance but this felt bland to me. I could see why someone else might like it - maybe a forty year old mum on holiday, but twenty two year old me? No.

I received this via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.