Shama Lama Ding Dong! 😳😯🤯

I'm gonna warn you right now, you will not look at anonymous book swapping or thrift book shopping the same way again after reading this novel. The writing was really good, the characters kept me intrigued, the build up was enjoyable. I definitely had fun reading this but there are some places it didn't deliver.

Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: Laura has recently moved back with her mother after a recent separation. She's thrown herself into her one escape - books. She's part of a Facebook community of talking about & swapping books anonymously to one another. When she receives a book from a random sender, a note is left inside. Determined to find out what it means, and putting her grief and depression to the side, she imparts on a back track journey to find the original owner. But where it leads to, is far more than she'll be prepared for.

Sadly, while this book had such a great plot outlined, it fell flat. I kept waiting for the "more" - the real humdinger! But the ending just didn't clinch it for me. I was unfortunately disappointed. The lead up & suspense was greatly built and fun, but the execution for the conclusion needed more. I just found a lot of parts predictable and I'd consider this more of a fun, ironic type mystery rather than a thriller. Which isn't a bad thing. All that aside, I still enjoyed the quick read & the looming mystery created.

Thank you to NetGalley & BooksGoSocial for this ARC.
Release Date: August 26, 2022

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 3 / 5 Beach Waves! 🌊

If you found a note saying "help me" in a second-hand book, what would you do?

With thanks to #NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.

The book started off slightly slow, the part that held my attention was the book swap, as I am part of a book swap group. Smiling along at little similarities until the twist hits, a note in the book Laura has been sent. From there the book gripped me and I found it very enjoyable.

I don’t know what I was expecting from his book but I was highly impressed with it. One of the most interesting thrillers I’ve read all year. Original plot and incredibly entertaining.

As someone who considers themselves a bookworm I was instantly intrigued just by the title alone, THE BOOK SWAP.

What it’s about: Our protagonist Laura is going through a hard time. Her marriage is coming to an end, she’s depressed and back to living with her Mother. Her only solace is getting lost in the pages of books. She joins a book community that does anonymous book swaps and one day when she opens her latest swap finds a note inside that says ‘Help me’.

Sounds pretty good right? I thought so too which is why I immediately downloaded it from Netgalley and dived in. This is marked as a thriller but as the story progressed it felt more like a cozy mystery for me. It’s was on the lighter side of suspense, pretty quick read and the big reveal at the end wasn’t as shocking as I hoped. I still enjoyed some aspects of the story and was curious how it would all come together. So if you’re looking for a quick read with a low angst mystery this is for you. 3 Stars!

[Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the complementary copy]

Heat book! Fast paced and interesting, it is more than a thriller/mystery as it explores deep emotion and personal change. I really liked the writing style and found the characterisation and dialogue very convincing.

I enjoyed this book. Laura participates in a book swap with a member of her online book swap group and it comes with a mysterious and worrying note - help me. And so she sets out to find out who sent it and why.
I can see why others might not connect with Laura, but actually I thought she was quite real, with genuine emotional response to her life situation.

This book is a quick, easy read. A bit like cosy crime in the thriller genre. I zipped through it, keen to find out what was going to happen. I would definitely read more by this author.

Thanks to the author, publishers and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for review.

"Everything had suddenly become a lot more real."

Laura had been living with her mother, recently separated from her husband, miserable as she tried to understand how her marriage to her best friend could have fallen apart. She received a book anonymously in an online book swap, finding a note inside saying "help me" and so she attempted to find the person who wrote the note. She tracked down Carley, the woman who sent her the book, but the note had been written by the previous owner. So Laura and Carley became fast friends and set off on an adventure to find and help the person who wrote the note. Sounds promising, right?

What an utter disappointment. I read a lot of thrillers but I was so bored with this one. The writing is very basic, slow moving with too much description of every little thing and quite repetitive as well. I was not a fan of the main characters, most especially Laura. She had the confidence of a snail, constantly feeling sorry for herself and making foolish and irresponsible, not to mention dangerous, life decisions. Her actions were inconsistent with her self described personality and her trust in Carley, essentially a complete stranger, seemed misplaced and out of character. Both Laura and Carley acted like reckless and immature teens rather than smart young women and with danger and uncertainty looming around the corner, nothing they did seemed to make any sense.

The plot itself took implausible turns as these amateurs took it upon themselves to become heroes. Nothing really happened until past the 70% mark and the anticipation of an imminent plot twist failed to live up to expectations. There was no character development at all and the anticlimactic ending ultimately made this book fizzle out.

There were, however, some elements that worked in favor of the book but these were not enough to make this a better reading experience for me. Laura felt that helping a stranger in need would lead the path towards helping and finding herself. I liked how she worked to regain her confidence after leaving it behind with her failed marriage, never completely giving up on herself. I also appreciated her relationship and close bond with her mother and the way they cared for each other so deeply. Perhaps the best audience for this book would be readers new to the thriller genre who are looking for a simple, easy to read mystery to solve and I clearly wasn't the right fit. In a case of life imitating art, this book simply had the potential for so much more.

** Special thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Available August 26, 2022. **

This is a great book if you want a quick easy read i enjoyed reading this one and it had me at the edge of my seat wanting to find out what would happen next!!! The reason I'm only giving 3 stars is because this book in my honest opinion would have been better if the 2 main characters ages were late teen early twenties instead of 30......as they behaved and talked and made decisions like those of teenagers would have I also think this book would do extremely well if it was geared more towards Y.A. thriller!!!!
Regardless I did enjoy this book very much!


Many thanks to #netgalley and the publisher/author for the opportunity to receive this ARC

I had never heard of this author before but the cover and the description were definitely my thing, and I couldn't wait to start. I was not disappointed. I finished this book in two days and found it hard to put it down. I was curious where the story was going and had many theories - which none turned out to be true.

The story was fast paced and was straight in with the action, which is something I love with thriller books. Laura, the main character was believable and like her, I suffer with depression and use books as an escape. When she started trying to find out where the note came from, I wondered where it would lead and the trouble that could be caused. And I wasn't wrong.

When the plot started to come out I was surprised and it definitely wasn't what I expected, but I did enjoy it and found that the author kept me hooked and thrilled to the very last page. I would highly recommend for a quick read that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I received a copy of this from netgalley for an honest review.

I’m reluctant to give negative feedback but in this instance I’m afraid l felt this book was incredibly simplistic, naive in characters, language and writing and, as an English teacher and author, it felt like a teenager had written it. I was drawn to the original concept but the plot needed so much work at the drafting stage and the characters had the emotional range of children. I’m sorry to be negative but l think it better to give an honest review. Is this a self-published book? A good editor would help this writer improve.

I was very hopeful for this book.. I have liked one of the author’s previous novels so I thought this would be a given.

This is a very short book and it is absolutely preposterous. Laura is getting divorced, currently living with her mother and receives a book from an online book group with a note saying “Help Me” in the pages.

From here Laura and the woman who sent the book go on a tour to try and find the person who sent it.

Laura is written like she is not old enough to use a kettle let alone go away with a stranger to solve a crime.
Laura’s mother Catharine, is completely unable to stick to an opinion, wanting her daughter to get out there and then informing her how ridiculous and dangerous it is.

The book is a short list of characters changing their mind in a millisecond and being overdramatic at every possible thing. Each short chapter ends with a cliffhanger.

Recommended for anyone who enjoys a short, fantastical, thriller.

JE Rowney has written a wonderful emotional mystery. Laura is lost and feeling the pain of a marriage breakdown. Then a disturbing note falls from the book she received from an internet book swap club. Laura finds the strength to team with new friend Carley and track down the person who wrote the note. The novel is full of drama and intrigue that leads to a rewarding ending. Great writing and excellent story worthy of five stars.

I was super excited to see another book by this author. I love, love, LOVED Other People’s Lives. It was exciting and clever. It was everything this book is not.

From the opening lines this story is dull and lacklustre. I didn’t like Laura she’s boring, sad and lacked any substance. Her mother was driving me nuts. I am sad to say that when it was time to learn of the first “thrilling” reveal it was a flop.

I am rating this one three for fairness as I could not get through it all. DNF from me.

I absolutely loved Other People's Lives by this author and was chomping at the bit to read the Book Swap. Unfortunately I was extremely disappointed. This book lacked all the things that made OPL great. The writing was bland, diluting the shock value of pivotal moments. The MC was a sad sack, she reminded me of the character played by Rebel Wilson in Bridesmaids... the one who gets that weird animal tattooed on her by a rando and then pours frozen peas on her back. I just couldn't get into it and had to abandon it. 3 stars for a DNF.

This is another ARC I received and I read it in an afternoon and a morning. It's The Book Swap by JE Rowney which I got via Netgalley . It will be published on 26 August.

Laura, the main protagonist, is currently separated from her husband but not yet divorced. She moves in with her mother and can't really function because she is quite emotional. Every small thing might turn her into a sobbing waterfall. She receives a book from an online book swap and in it she finds a note that says 'help me'. Although she is barely capable of helping herself she is determined to help whoever wrote that small note.

The author very capably described the main characters and their habits and flaws. Laura is all over the place emotionally and the decisions she makes are because of that. The friendship and trip that came within two days came across as quite quickly. It could happen of course, but the speed it happened with, is perhaps not that realistic. The ending, from where the two women get to the house, could have been described more elaborately. It was good now, but it could have been more.

All in all, a great thriller you could easily read within a day with a nice twist at the end! It will definitely not disappoint!

3,5⭐

Damn. Am I disappointed?

You guess.

This thriller is really short and will not take up much of your time.

The characters keep making poor life decisions and we are okay with that as with most thrillers. But as adult characters, they sound more like teen characters. I hope there was more to the characters and the plot. I was desperately hoping for a plot twist. And here's how I got disappointed.

Our main character finds herself getting comfort in books when her life crumbles. One day she finds a note in one of the books from her book swap book club. Yes, she feels she has to help this unknown stranger somewhere far away. That's the story.

I will recommend this book for the beginners and for the casual thriller readers who would like to pick up a short book.

Thank you, BooksGoSocial, for the advance reading copy.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed this book, it had an original story line and some great characters and it was a quick and easy read.

Good book! This book was definitely a light read! It did have some suspense, intrigue, mystery, and some what the heck is going on?! Lol it was a quick good read! I will recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

I went into The Book Swap looking for a fast and exciting read and I definitely got that here. The book's concept is truly what drew me in, the main character is a book reader who often participates in book swaps, and in a book she anonymously got sent, she finds a note asking for help. Honestly as a book reader who often picks up thrillers I was immediately able to connect to the plot. The writing was fast-paced and managed to surprise me which made the book all the more enjoyable.
Unfortunately, there were a few things I personally didn't enjoy in this book. The ending in my opinion fell a little flat, It wasn't bad but also not phenomenal. It also felt like the characters were a little one-dimensional and weren't as fleshed out as I wished them to be. I'm glad I got to read this book, the concept was amazing but the story wasn't where I was hoping it to be.

The Book Swap

Thank you NetGalley, JE Rowney and BooksGoSocial for letting me read “The Book Swap” in exchange for an honest review.

What better title for a bookworm!
The concept sounded brilliant. A hidden note in a book from a stranger. Anyone could have gotten it. Nobody could have gotten it at all.

I am not too keen on the cover. A woman hugging a book, looking kind of sad and/or miserable. Not my favourite to be honest. What made me pick up this book was definitely the title.

It starts pretty much right away with the juicy stuff. We have Laura, a thirty-something years old woman who turned her life around. Divorced and depressed, she out her life on hold and moved in with her mom, Catherine. I felt rather drawn to Catherine. She seems to be a great, caring mom who does not judge.

Laura loves to read. She is one of these people who get liars in stories. As a member of a book swapping group, she just received a book from an anonymous sender. The joy is short lived. Tucked in the pages is a scrap of paper, asking for help. Not what you expect to find. Laura starts to investigate who the mysterious person in trouble is and what she can do to help them?! She goes in a journey to try to help someone else.

I think the book is as much about finding the person in need as about Laura finding back to herself. Laura does not seem like a woman in her thirties, more like a lost teenager. Her mother is coaxing her out of her shell again, solving the mystery.

It’s my second book by JE Rowney. It’s a very fast and light read. Third persons perspectives. The characters felt flat. There was not much dimension to them. They’re saying the same things and phrases all over again. Not much development there. The story was basic. The concept better than the turnout. I loved the idea though.

Maybe I am just not a fan of the citizen rogue trope…