an interesting romance - altogether a great read and I loved the characters and the storyline, I felt for both the main characters and was rooting for them to end up together

I picked this up expected a cute rom com, boy was I wrong (in a good way), while it had rom com elements and definitely made me laugh, it also had me crying and feeling all the feels. It was so much deeper than I expected but I loved how the whole story unfolded, such a great read!

Having visited Hay-on-Wye recently and witnessed many Community Libraries it was so easy to imagine Erin donating books to help her find comfort in coming to terms with the loss of her friend. Having realised she had donated a treasured book she rushes back only to find it gone, what she didn't expect was for a mystery reader to return it with messages in the margins.
For her debut novel Tessa has delivered not only a slow-burn dual POV romance but sensitively covers themes of grief, bullying and mental health.
Thank you NetGalley, Tessa Bickers and Hadder & Staughton for this ARC, all opinions expressed are my own.

A great read, the story of James and Erin, who were once friends and now enemies. Will a book swap bring them together or drive them further apart? I liked how it was told from both points of view.

Erin is an awful person. She's self centred and blames all her problems on everyone else, never stopping to ask why the person did what they did, she was only concerned with how it effects her. When something goes wrong she links herself in her room and refuses to do anything except wallow in her own self pity.

She's lucky her sister Georgia is there for her because she sounds like an exhausting person to be around. I can see why her best friend, Bonnie, didn't want her around when she was going through chemo, she couldn't face Erin making it all about herself while she was fighting for her life.

I like James but at the same time, why would he still want to be with someone so many years later after they've consistently hated you for a perceived wrong? He's had a tough childhood with his mum being bipolar and being horrifically bullied constantly through school yet he only blames himself, not everyone else. If I were him, I'd have given up on Erin many years ago, she doesn't deserve him.

The story was quite disjointed as well and at times it felt like I'd missed a whole section because it skips from one thing to the next without any warning. Its also hard to tell how long this book is set over but it turns out its a year though I was only able to tell when the next memorial for Bonnie came around.

I thought it was weird Erin was seeing and talking to a memory of Bonnie. Of course, she's in her head so everything Bonnie says is somewhat in agreement with her own ideas and opinions because she doesn't actually know what Bonnie would say.
I did like the fact both James and Erin realised they were working in jobs that didn't make them happy and instead they both found the thing they wanted to do that would make them happy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Erin is having a tough time finding herself again after her best friend, Bonnie, died of cancer. Her job is awful, she has trust issues after her mum slept with her favourite teacher but she’s decided enough is enough. One day she has a clear out of her room to start the process of really living again and accidentally donates a book that she meant to keep to the local book swap library box.

James is constantly having a tough time. His mum has bipolar, his brother has left the country to make his own life and his dad is a one hit wonder pop star. His school life was a mess of being badly bullied because of his dad’s hit song, and he lost his only true friends, Erin and Bonnie due to a silly mistake. When James spots an annotated book in the book swap library and decides to update the book with his own thoughts, he starts a journey that he didn’t realise he needed to make.

This one is a long lost love story with a gritty undercurrent. I went into it expecting fluffy romcom and it quickly became apparent that we had a mentally ill parent, both leads are dealing with grief and there’s some bullying and infidelity in there too. It’s 2 POVs which I think works really well as we can see both sides of the book swap happening alongside their other issues. Are the characters likeable? Maybe not, but they are realistically flawed people. James just wants his mum to be better, his dad to follow his own dreams and beyond that he is lost. Erin just wants her best friend to not have died and to be happy again.

It’s a fab story, well written and has made me want to go back and read some classics that the 2 characters swap! It’s very You’ve Got Mail in some respects, which is always a plus in my book!

Thanks to NetGalley for a free ARC in return for an honest review.

Once I started reading this, I raced through it in 3 sittings. The characters' growth is something I enjoyed, even though for at least half the book I wasn't sure if they would grow at all. But I think lots of it was very true to life (or at least some of the experience of life that I've had), and I appreciated its exploration of multiple difficulties - I feel like life isn't one dimensional and so this was good at portraying that. 4.75 stars from me, rounded up to 5

At first I wasn't sure what to make of The Book Swap when I first started reading.
However I am SO glad I stuck with it.

It was heartwarming, through provoking and not your typical romance.

I am sure it will be very popular once released to the world!

Thanks NetGally for the ARC :)

Thank you to NetGalley for seThank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers.

This was a fantastic book a 5* for me. A sad but lovely story of a group of friends Erin, Bonnie, and James who fall out while in school and don't make up until they are adults. Bonnie has unfortunately passed away and Erin is struggling to deal with her grief and why she fell out with James, Bonnie being her best friend took her side. Erin's love of books and a local community library helps her find herself, she starts passing notes inside the books with a mystery man. She starts to fall in love with someone she hasn't met ... or has she?

This story has similar vibes to The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams which is also sad but lovely.

*"The Book Swap" by Tessa Bickers is a delightful and heartwarming novel that celebrates the magic of books and unexpected friendships. Bickers crafts a charming story where a simple book exchange leads to life-changing discoveries for its characters. The narrative is filled with warmth, humor, and touching moments, as the protagonists navigate love, loss, and personal growth through their shared love of reading. With relatable characters and a cozy, feel-good atmosphere, *The Book Swap* is perfect for anyone who believes in the power of stories to connect us and transform our lives. A must-read for book lovers!*

i really loved this concept and was so excited to get into this. i’m happy to say it really didn’t disappoint!

one of my best friends is really big on books about grief and through them i’ve been getting more into it as a topic, and this handled it in such a beautiful and gentle way. i will definitely be recommending this to them.

i also really did enjoy the romance aspects here too, i was just more blown away by the grief throughout the book.

thank you so much to netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc 🫶🏻

I don't know what i was expecting when i started this book but what i got was way more than i anticipated.. This is not a fluffy light read and deals with a lot of heavier topics such a grief and does so very well.

An amazing book and well worth the read!

The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers

Erin is grieving the death of her best friend Bonnie and struggling with life generally. When she starts a conversation with a stranger by swapping books left in a community free library and writing notes in the margins of them, things begin to look up. But what if the stranger is someone from her past that she swore she'd never forgive or speak to again...

This was book number 72 of 2024 for me and wow, it's definitely one of my absolute favourites! I loved everything about it - the characters, the issues it deals with, the books... everything. I couldn't put it down and can't wait to read whatever the author writes next. Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I was quite interested with the sound of this book to begin with, however I don’t think this book was for me unfortunately. I can definitely see how some readers would resinate and enjoy this book, and it’s a book I could recommend to a few friends too. Personally, I think a story with such heavy topics of grief came at a bit if a wrong time for me at this particular time, which was unexpected and could not be helped. The time of me reading this was just not right, although at another point in my life I may have enjoyed / enjoy this story more.

Erin is devastated when she accidentally donates her favourite book to the community library. Only a week later it turns back up with fresh notes in the margin and an invitation to read an another classic. Soon friendship, and maybe something more, are brewing between the pages.

I wanted to read this as I really liked the concept of this one. What’s not to love when it comes to a book about books? I found that I enjoyed the majority of the story and although I’m not a massive classic literature fan, I did enjoy all the references thrown in.

Even though this is classed as a romance, it offers a lot more than that. It offers an exploration into family issues, grief and mental heath. I think these themes were written sensitively and evoked a lot of emotions while reading. The story is told in two voices, which worked well in developing an understanding and back story for both the main characters. I found both of the characters stories intriguing, although Erin as a character did frustrate me at times. This was definitely a touching read, although at times the pacing seemed to be slightly off. Overall though this was a great premise and I would read more by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

Wow!! Just wow!! I loved this book so much and I wish I could just read it all over again.

Erin, James and Bonnie used to be a tight trio at school, united against the bullies who made James’ life hell, until one day everything changed. Now years later, Erin is struggling with life after losing Bonnie to cancer and is unsure how to start living again. In a flurry of action, she accidentally places a book, which is full of her own notes and also contains a memento she treasures from Bonnie, into the local community library. When by chance, James stumbles upon the book, not knowing it belongs to Erin, he writes his own message back and thus starts an anonymous book exchange between the two of them. Will they ever find out that they already know each other? And if they do, what will happen? Can Erin ever forgive James for what happened all those years ago?

This book is just the loveliest of reads if you fancy a love story that’s also filled with books! It also touches upon so many aspects of life: friendship, love, families and their complexities, the idea that often it is so hard to open up even if we would love some help or support… But it does remind us that there is always love in the world somewhere and as such, we must always have hope that there are better things waiting for us and we should try and live our best lives and follow our dreams!

I will not stop recommending this book and as I only had the digital ARC to review, I will be buying a hard copy of it myself once it is published as it is just so good! I envy those who have yet to have the pleasure of reading it.

Erin has lost her best friend to cancer. She still talks to her. She decides to change her life and she accidently gives her favourite book to a book library. Which is found by someone from her past.
The author handles bereavement, bi-polar and bullying with sensitivity.
There are misunderstandings and it could have been a miserable book but wasn't.
I liked Erin her friend Cassie and her sister as well.
You want James and Erin to make it work. I enjoyed the book.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley.

While Erin is coming to terms with the death of her best friend, she finds comfort in donating some of her old books to the cute little community library nearby. But when she accidentally donates a treasured book, she rushes back, only to find it gone. What she didn't expect was for a mystery reader to return it with messages in the margins!

James has has to return home to help his dad look after his mum as her health deteriorates. Very successful in a job that he hates, being back in his home time gives him the time and space to reasses what he wants from his life, especially when he finds the community library...

Not the cutesy rom-com I was expecting from the cover, but still an enjoyable debut that covers some heavier topics around grief, serious health conditions and bullying without becoming maudlin. With a lovely theme of the power of books literature throughout, this was a great read!

I'm having a bit of a difficult time with this one. I'm not sure if I didn't like it because I expected something else, or simply because it wasn't as good as it could have been. One thing for sure, this wasn't for me.

I expected a cute romance based on the cover and blurb, instead I got to read about several heavy topics like bullying, terminal illness, grief, death. I just didn't expect this when I started reading. I also wouldn't necessarily call this a romance book considering the story was more about a group of people and how they deal with life and the romance was more of a side story.

I also couldn't really relate to the characters, even the side characters were often mean and I just had a difficult time to get through this slow burn story with them.

But I appreciated the classic literature references and I imagine this book could quite possibly be loved by others.

The Book Swap is a touching debut novel about love, loss, and healing through books. The story follows Erin, who is grieving her best friend, and James, who returns home to care for his mother. They reconnect through a community book swap, exchanging notes in the margins of books without knowing each other’s identity.

This novel is perfect for readers who love emotional stories with a mix of romance and personal growth. Fans of the likes of Sarah Morgan, Beth Moran and Beth O'Leary's books, I feel will particularly enjoy this one. It’s a really heartfelt story about the magic of books to heal and how they bring people together.