The Swap

This is a slow burn drama about manipulation, jealousy, and desperation as three women's lives intersect in a small town in the Pacific northwest. What was expected to be a sassy couples night, starts a chain reaction that will impact more than just the two couples and have long lasting effects.

The story is initiated by a swapping of spouses one fateful night, but that event is short lived and plays a less pivotal role in the overall plot than I had expected. The story is quite the page turner but was much more of a drama than the thriller it is touted to be. Instead of the expected twists, we get a bird's eye view into the lives of a group of very messed up and, unfortunately, unlikable people. It felt like a guilty pleasure seeing their lives implode.

The story is told using several different POVs (with the menfolk's POVs offering little to the overall plot) but I was surprised we didn't get Freya's two cents. Her lack of POV made it hard to understand her narcissistic behaviours and I don't feel the reasons were clear about why Low and Jamie continued to be so besotted with her. Freya was clearly a toxic, nasty piece of work and I found it frustrating that, for some reason, with a few well-placed platitudes, people easily forgave her and allowed her to continue to treat them so abysmally.

This was a good escapist-type read about toxic relationships, but I was hoping for a bit more. Even though it didn't quite hit all the checks for me, I eagerly look forward to reading more from Robyn Harding in the future. For fans of suspense, I highly recommend Harding's The Arrangement.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to the publisher, Simon and Schuster Canada, for providing me with an advanced digital copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 3 stars

Author: Robyn Harding

Genre: Suspense, Canadian

Type and Source: eBook from NetGalley

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada

First Published: June 23, 2020

Opening Line: I first saw Freya at my high school.

Book Description from GoodReads: Low Morrison is not your average teen. You could blame her hippie parents or her looming height or her dreary, isolated hometown on an island in the Pacific Northwest. But whatever the reason, Low just doesn’t fit in—and neither does Freya, an ethereal beauty and once-famous social media influencer who now owns the local pottery studio.

After signing up for a class, Low quickly falls under Freya’s spell. And Freya, buoyed by Low’s adoration, is compelled to share her darkest secrets and deepest desires. Finally, both feel a sense of belonging...that is, until Jamie walks through the studio door. Desperate for a baby, she and her husband have moved to the island hoping that the healthy environment will result in a pregnancy. Freya and Jamie become fast friends, as do their husbands, leaving Low alone once again.

Then one night, after a boozy dinner party, Freya suggests swapping partners. It should have been a harmless fling between consenting adults, one night of debauchery that they would put behind them, but instead, it upends their lives. And provides Low the perfect opportunity to unleash her growing resentment.