Today’s post is going to take a look at Robyn Harding’s The Swap. This book was released June 23, 2020 so it’s out there for those of you interested in thrillers to pick up! I received an eARC of The Swap from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Swap takes place on an isolated island in the Pacific Northwest and focuses on a few quite toxic relationships between main character, and sullen teenager, Swallow (Low for short) Morrison, the pottery teacher she idolizes, Freya Light, and her boss, Jamie. The book also follows, to a somewhat lesser extent, Freya and Jamie’s husbands.

Low is the daughter of a polyamorous couple. While this makes her a bit of an outsider, the lifestyle is accepted on the island. As well as regular partner swapping among couples on the island. One day at school, Low sees this beautiful woman pinning an advertisement to the bulletin board–an ad offering pottery classes at Freya’s home.

Freya had been an Instagram influencer, until her professional hockey player husband accidentally paralyzed another player on the ice. They moved to the island for a bit more privacy to get away from the limelight. In her loneliness, Freya becomes quick friends with Low, and shares some of her secrets with her. Low sees herself as the center of Freya’s world–until Jamie enters the picture.

Jamie and her husband desperately want to have a baby, but cannot conceive. They moved to the island in hopes of getting over losing out on an adoption. Being of a similar age, Freya and Jamie become the closest of friends going to lunches, getting drinks, and Low is left out.

After a couples’ night drinking some special mushroom tea, Freya and Jamie swap husbands for the evening, without the other knowing. But what happens when Freya becomes pregnant? She hates children, doesn’t read parenting books, and in general doesn’t prepare for the coming child. Both Freya and Low are concerned, though for their own selfish reasons, for the safety of the baby, and everyone manipulates each other to reach their own desires.

The Swap was an interesting book to pick up. It went places I never thought it would go. I thought I had it figured out several times but I didn’t! I’d recommend this to anyone that likes a story with twists and turns.

Happy reading 🙂