The Book Swap, is Tessa Bickers’ debut novel, a contemporary romance which shows a lot of promise for this new author.
The Book Swap is written in first person in alternating points of view from the perspective of Erin, and 30 year old, recently unemployed young woman, and James, her former friend from school days. Erin and James are both dealing with deep rooted personal issues when they unwittingly start a relationship via annotations in books placed in a little free library. The problem arises when they each realize that they have a complicated history with the person they’ve been communicating with.
I enjoyed the Book Swap, I found it both funny and moving. I enjoyed how the author used annotations in a book to spark the relationship between Erin and James, and thought the premise of annotating and exchanging books made for an interesting story.
My biggest issue with this book was Erin. For much of the story, she seemed to me to be whiny, inconsiderate, and selfish. I realize she was dealing with a lot in her personal life, but so were most of the characters in the book and they did not come across as badly as she did. I was happy that by the end of the book she seemed to have turned a corner and became a more empathetic, thoughtful person.
The Book Swap was a fun, quick read, with a few tearful moments and I would recommend it to any lover of books and romance. I look forward to checking out more books by this author in the future.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Book Swap publishes on September 3 2024.
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