Title: THE SWAP
Author: Robyn Harding
Publisher: Gallery
/ Scout Press
Read: June 2020
Read: June 2020
Expected publication: out now
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Book Description:
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.
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.
What attracted me to this book:
Robyn Harding blew my mind with the
whole concept of sugar daddies in her previous book THE ARRANGEMENT. Who knew?
I must be leading a very sheltered, boring life, because she has done it again with
THE SWAP – so call this book an educational as well as entertaining exercise!
My musings:
Sometimes unlikeable, twisted characters work for me, and sometimes they don’t, and I can’t really explain what makes up the magic formula. But I am happy to say that Harding must know it, because even though I shuddered through the actions of some of the characters in her latest book, I also couldn’t look away!
The story’s cast really makes for an
odd bunch: Low, the teenage loner who becomes obsessed with beautiful but
narcissistic Freya, a woman many years her senior; Jamie, a successful business
owner and yet also lonely, and drawn like a moth to the flame to the vivacious
yet dangerous Freya; Max, Freya’s silent husband, who seeks solace (or escape?)
in exercise and nature; and Brian, Jamie’s husband, usually so steadfast and
reliable, until Freya enters the stage. The common denominator, you will
notice, is Freya, who is also the only person whose POV is not included in the
story, which makes her a beautiful but dangerous mystery – and the catalyst for
things to come ....
THE SWAP was a real page-turner for
me, even though most of the time I sat in open-mouthed surprise at the foolish
decisions some of the adult characters were making. But we all have met people
like Freya, haven’t we? The sort of person everyone is inexplicably drawn to,
even though you might be the only person to see their true colours and feel
like shouting a warning – which of course no one would heed anyway, until it is
too late. I read on in horrified fascination as Jamie, Brian and Low stumbled
headlong into the abyss.
Perhaps it’s the eclectic mix of
characters Harding chose to tell her tale, or the idyllic setting coupled with
an underlying sense of dread and malice that made this book so irresistible to
me, but I read on way too late into the night because I absolutely had to find
out the ending. And still dizzy from the boozy drug fuelled partying, the
husband swapping, the social media craze and the yo-yoing of friendships I am
very grateful for my boring life – who needs all that drama?
Summary:
If you are looking for a wild,
entertaining read with characters so flawed that they make your hackles rise,
then you have come to the right place. Harding is a great storyteller who is
not afraid of exposing the dark side of human nature in her flawed characters. You
may shudder as they march toward their inevitable fates like lambs to the
slaughter, but I bet you will be just as entranced by this dark tale as I was,
unable to tear myself away. I read it all in one sitting, which is always the
mark of a good story!
No comments:
Post a Comment