Review: The House Swap by Jo Lovett

The House Swap

by Jo Lovett

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 330

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  He needs an escape. She needs an adventure.

So why not swap lives?

When Cassie and James find each other on a home swap website, it feels meant to be. City hotshot James needs a bolthole after a relationship goes sour and Cassie needs to leave the comfort of her little island to research her new book.

Soon, James is living in Cassie’s cute but ramshackle house off the coast of Maine, and Cassie’s living in James’s super smart London penthouse. It’s the perfect solution.

Except it turns out it’s difficult to switch homes without getting involved in each other’s lives. Cassie’s unimpressed when James’s ex turns up, and James is furious when he discovers that he’s going to have to help organise Cassie’s neighbour’s eightieth birthday party.

But as the insults fly, so do the sparks, and when the time finally comes to swap back, Cassie and James find they aren’t ready to give each other up – until a shocking discovery brings the pair crashing back to reality and forces them to decide what life they really want.

Kritters Thoughts:  Two people are in need of a quick change of scenery to possible change some things in their lives, so they list their places on SwapBnB and end up swapping more than zip codes but the change really alters their trajectory.  James has a flat in London and after a relationship that ends abruptly his physical safety is threatened and he needs to get out of town for safety and to see a new perspective.  Cassie has been in a funk for a bit and a job opportunity in London pushes her to try to relocate for a bit to complete the job and maybe a personal goal or two.  

What a sweet romance that has such a fun plot and a great cast of characters as the neighbors and friends of each character play a part in both of their stories.  I adored the arrival stories as they each arrived to the other's places and how different they were in prepping for the other made me - laugh out loud!  

I knew this book was a romance, so I wondered going in how the author was going to achieve the romance of the book, but the interactions were done so cleverly that it just barely avoided the instalove feeling.  I may have felt as though it was a bit quick, but it was fun and sweet.  

With only one book in the backlist, I want to pick that up soon and read it and am hoping for more from this author in the future.   

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 43 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.