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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
*Thanks to Gallery/Scout Press + NetGalley for the ARC!*
I FUCKING LOVED THIS BOOK. It was wild, and at times you could FEEL the darkness just seeping off the page. I really enjoyed the way real life struggles and absolutely INSANE happenings that would only happen in a novel was super well done here and made sense.
I FUCKING LOVED THIS BOOK. It was wild, and at times you could FEEL the darkness just seeping off the page. I really enjoyed the way real life struggles
Spoiler
(like a friend struggling with infertility while her childless-by-choice friend gets pregnant)
This was a frustrating read. There was *so* much build up and I kept waiting for more, only to be massively disappointed. It felt incredibly intrigue-for-intrigue-sake. If a plot line can be basic, this was. Billed as a thriller, I expected way more. Also, the characters all kind of suck (except for Low's parents; I'll take a book about them).
CW: murder, suicide, obsessive behaviour, depression, domestic assault, cheating.
Well, this was disappointing.
Well, this was disappointing.
Low is an intense eighteen year old who has spent her entire life in isolation from her peers. She has a seemingly addictive personality that makes one person the center of her highly focused obsessions.
Former hockey player and currently distraught, confused, and angry husband, Max feels at fault for upending his wife's entire life. He yearns for a sick and twisted version of love that they share.
Jamie is a lonely woman, barren despite her maternal longings. She is happy with her marriage to her college sweetheart, Brian, but is always wanting more for their life. When she finally finds a friend who becomes the reason she smiles again she doesn't realize how quickly her life will be turned upside-down.
And at the center of it all is Freya. Though she appears as an innocent young wife and former social media influencer, she is really a manipulative, charismatic, and vain person who changes the entire course of five lives when she suggests a night of salacious and seemingly innocent fun.
Harding writes evocative and intriguing characters that may appear normal by societal standards and then she pulls back the curtain... The Swap is a spell-binding tale that exposes secrets, insecurities, calculation and mania. You will not be able to put this one down!
Former hockey player and currently distraught, confused, and angry husband, Max feels at fault for upending his wife's entire life. He yearns for a sick and twisted version of love that they share.
Jamie is a lonely woman, barren despite her maternal longings. She is happy with her marriage to her college sweetheart, Brian, but is always wanting more for their life. When she finally finds a friend who becomes the reason she smiles again she doesn't realize how quickly her life will be turned upside-down.
And at the center of it all is Freya. Though she appears as an innocent young wife and former social media influencer, she is really a manipulative, charismatic, and vain person who changes the entire course of five lives when she suggests a night of salacious and seemingly innocent fun.
Harding writes evocative and intriguing characters that may appear normal by societal standards and then she pulls back the curtain... The Swap is a spell-binding tale that exposes secrets, insecurities, calculation and mania. You will not be able to put this one down!
Harding is absolutely solid. This is my third book by her and I have read quickly and enjoyed every single one. Once I start a Harding book I know that I better sit down and finish it quickly. Her writing and flow is excellent I can't even tell that I have been reading for hours. Once again I was captivated by her characters. Low was so desperate for any kind of a relationship it was easy to see that she would become obsessed with Freya. Freya was an interesting character to say the least, and I can see how Low would want her undivided attention however; I can't believe Jamie was as easily taken with her. Freya seemed to have everyone under her spell including Low, Jamie, Max, Brain, and even her followers on Instagram. I will continue to look for all of Harding's books as soon as they come out!
I really hate to say this, but this book was super disappointed. I thought I was tuning in for a super sexy couple swapping book. I'm ok with not too graphic of sex scenes, but this story just did not get better. I absolute hated the main character and most of the supporting characters. I just kept waiting for something exciting to happen and it just didn't.
The Swap is a story about toxic relationships of 2 couples and a very manipulative teenager.
Low, your-not-so-typical teenager was so enamored the first time she saw Freya, the beautiful, former social media influencer married to Max, former hockey player. Freya and Max just moved to the island, starting anew after leaving a very scandalous life. Low, who eagerly entwined herself in Freya’s world, thinks she is Freya’s best friend after she shared her darkest secrets to her, that is until Freya met Jaime and the two were inseparable and become friends as with their husbands.
Once again, Low who feels alone again, tries to think of ways to get back Freya’s attention. After the couples night of drinking and getting high session that led to partner swapping, what started as a fun and innocent night turned their lives upside down and gave Low the opportunity to manipulate all their lives.
All of the characters in the book are easy to hate with all their flaws and insecurities. What’s also interesting is the alternating POVs except Freya, which makes you wonder what’s really in her mind.
Low, your-not-so-typical teenager was so enamored the first time she saw Freya, the beautiful, former social media influencer married to Max, former hockey player. Freya and Max just moved to the island, starting anew after leaving a very scandalous life. Low, who eagerly entwined herself in Freya’s world, thinks she is Freya’s best friend after she shared her darkest secrets to her, that is until Freya met Jaime and the two were inseparable and become friends as with their husbands.
Once again, Low who feels alone again, tries to think of ways to get back Freya’s attention. After the couples night of drinking and getting high session that led to partner swapping, what started as a fun and innocent night turned their lives upside down and gave Low the opportunity to manipulate all their lives.
All of the characters in the book are easy to hate with all their flaws and insecurities. What’s also interesting is the alternating POVs except Freya, which makes you wonder what’s really in her mind.
This was a fast read. A few Twists and turns but pretty predictable. Overall a strange but good book
Low is eighteen years old and has never fit in her small, Northwestern island community. She’s 6’1” with wild red hair, and her parents’ polyamorous lifestyle, even in this otherwise accepting town, is still considered pretty out there. When Freya comes to town with her gorgeous former professional athlete husband, Low takes a pottery class from her and thinks she’s finally found a friend in the glamorous, former social media darling.
Then Jamie and her husband arrive on the island so he can work on his novel, she can open a gift shop, and they can try to forget the years they struggled to have a baby. Jamie also quickly falls under Freya’s spell, who gets her to take shrooms and swap husbands for one night.
One of the main tensions of the novel is what happens between Jamie and her husband after that confusing evening. But it’s also about how manipulative Freya is. Both Jamie and Low are so desperate for a friend that when Freya shines her light on them, they can’t help but do her bidding, even though she treats everyone horrifically. That’s what I couldn’t understand. I guess I can understand Low a little more because she’s so young and she wants to get away from her house—her biological parents but then also the sort-of-parents that are their lovers. I’ve never lived in a town that small, but to be treated like that and to keep going back for more was cringe-worthy.
This is a fast read with a strong ending.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel, which RELEASES JUNE 23, 2020.
Then Jamie and her husband arrive on the island so he can work on his novel, she can open a gift shop, and they can try to forget the years they struggled to have a baby. Jamie also quickly falls under Freya’s spell, who gets her to take shrooms and swap husbands for one night.
One of the main tensions of the novel is what happens between Jamie and her husband after that confusing evening. But it’s also about how manipulative Freya is. Both Jamie and Low are so desperate for a friend that when Freya shines her light on them, they can’t help but do her bidding, even though she treats everyone horrifically. That’s what I couldn’t understand. I guess I can understand Low a little more because she’s so young and she wants to get away from her house—her biological parents but then also the sort-of-parents that are their lovers. I’ve never lived in a town that small, but to be treated like that and to keep going back for more was cringe-worthy.
This is a fast read with a strong ending.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel, which RELEASES JUNE 23, 2020.