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A review by beate251
The Book Swap: A Funny and Uplifting Romance for Book Lovers! by Tessa Bickers
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC.
Erin, Bonnie and James were great friends in school until something happened that made Erin hate James. We get halfway through the book before we learn what he did and why.
Then Bonnie died from cancer three years ago and Erin has been inconsolable with grief ever since. One day she tidies up and mistakenly leaves her favourite, heavily annotated book in one of these small free libraries that aren't more than three shelves under a wooden roof, standing somewhere on the roadside. When she races back to get it, it's gone, but some weeks later it reappears, with someone having added fresh notes in the margins. So begins a You've Got Mail-style correspondence over several exchanged classics between apparent strangers. Erin calls him Mystery Man and James calls her Margins Girl. Before they realise who they are corresponding with, they forge a deep connection through the questions they ask each other and which reveals their traumas and what they really want to do in life.
Lovers of classic literature will adore this book. I liked it but for me there was a bit too much trauma and therapy speak in this book for my liking - it's all about doing what you love, following your dreams and living your life to the full. The actual romance seems to come second.
But it's a love letter to books, and as such it really works.
"Sometimes redemption isn’t just about saying sorry, it’s about how you recover from the mistakes you make. Bettering yourself is the best kind of apology you can make."
Erin, Bonnie and James were great friends in school until something happened that made Erin hate James. We get halfway through the book before we learn what he did and why.
Then Bonnie died from cancer three years ago and Erin has been inconsolable with grief ever since. One day she tidies up and mistakenly leaves her favourite, heavily annotated book in one of these small free libraries that aren't more than three shelves under a wooden roof, standing somewhere on the roadside. When she races back to get it, it's gone, but some weeks later it reappears, with someone having added fresh notes in the margins. So begins a You've Got Mail-style correspondence over several exchanged classics between apparent strangers. Erin calls him Mystery Man and James calls her Margins Girl. Before they realise who they are corresponding with, they forge a deep connection through the questions they ask each other and which reveals their traumas and what they really want to do in life.
Lovers of classic literature will adore this book. I liked it but for me there was a bit too much trauma and therapy speak in this book for my liking - it's all about doing what you love, following your dreams and living your life to the full. The actual romance seems to come second.
But it's a love letter to books, and as such it really works.
"Sometimes redemption isn’t just about saying sorry, it’s about how you recover from the mistakes you make. Bettering yourself is the best kind of apology you can make."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Infidelity, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Pregnancy