A review by ameliabiblio
The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Book Swap is so well-written and well-thought out. I’ve become a little tired of books purposefully withholding important information (what James actually did to Erin), but the reveal was so perfectly timed that any annoyance I had was washed away. I literally gasped. The actual incident is also well-chosen because you can understand both why Erin was so upset and why James did what he did.
The two main characters have a lot of growing to do in this book. I think Erin more so than James, but that’s just my opinion. I really like where they end up, but I wish the growth was a little more gradual over the course of the book rather than spurred on by some explosive moments near the end.
The romance was also so cute. I adored the idea of two people falling in love by writing in the margins of books and the execution did not disappoint. Having Erin and James have such an important history between them also made it all the sweeter.
The main reason this is not five stars (besides the fact that I feel like in general, it was just missing that last little oomph that pushes a book into a five-star read for me) was the drawn-out ending. I am not a fan of third act break-ups, so having

James and Erin implode again when they were just about to reconcile was a little too much for me.

Overall, though, I really did enjoy this book and can’t wait to read whatever Bickers writes next!

Thank you to Edelweiss and Grayson House for the ARC.