Management consultant Leena Cotton has reached a breaking point. It’s been almost a year since her sister Carla died and she’s lost her focus. It took a meltdown during an important presentation for her to take a two-month sabbatical, forced upon her by her company. Her beloved grandmother Eileen invites her to leave London and return to her hometown for a respite and repair her broken relationship with her mother. Once there, Leena helps the recently divorced Eileen set up a dating site profile but realizes pickings are slim in their small Yorkshire town. Eileen comes up with the idea that they switch locations for the next two months. She’ll live with Leena’s flatmates and Leena can stay and assume her responsibilities. They decide to do it and the results are surprising and not without consequence.

One of my very picky international friends (that’s you Inge) raved about this book so I added it to my shelf early while I waited for the US editions to arrive. I also knew I wanted the audio version and I’m so very glad I waited. Two narrators were used for the voices of Leena and Eileen and both were wonderful. Surprisingly, the 79-year old Eileen was the one that captured my heart. She was willing to completely put herself out there after having been dumped by her husband and ended up winning over everyone within her orbit in London. Leena’s journey was rockier as she needed to heal, make peace with her mother and come to terms with her sister’s death. Both women were interesting in their own rights with lots of heart and skills.

There were many laugh out loud moments but the foundation of this story was bolstered by the strength of these two women and a host of well defined secondary characters. Leena may have been a bit damaged but was not down and out. She eventually made her mark in her hometown and regained her equilibrium. Eileen never let her age be an excuse for anything and used the occasion of her husband’s abandonment to embrace a more vibrant life. Both narrators did these characters justice and made a wonderful story even more delightful. I’d expected to be entertained but was unprepared for one of such substance. Another book where I was sad to reach the end.

(P.S. - It’s being developed into a feature film starring The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan!)

This is a book about 2 Eileens who trade places (Country Grandmother & City Granddaughter) to appreciate how the other lives. Thank you NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for review.
This book dealt with some pretty heavy themes such as grief and depression, yet it still managed to balance this with some light and humerus writing.. I felt that the two points of view in this story were both equally strong and well defined- I was never confused as to who we were following. I was pleasantly surprised by this as sometimes with this kind of novel the tone doesn’t always sit right with me, but I really enjoyed this one.

I absolutely adored this book, even more than The Flatshare, if I'm being honest.

We follow two characters, the grandmother and the granddaughter. Both of them have their own problems and when they decide to switch places, things start to change.

I loved the way the story was told, from two point of views, from someone in their late twenties that just started her life, to someone older, someone that already has a lot of experience. Both are bonded by a terrible life event, something that made them stronger and more aware of how quickly life can end.

This book is full of love, forgiveness, hope, happiness as well as sadness. The love stories are real and it shows that you can find love when you don't expect it.
Plus, the audiobook is so good.

Thank you NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this story and was happy with the interaction between the grandmother and granddaughter, even though they were in separate towns the whole time. I loved how each community made the visitor feel welcomed, and the main characters changed for the better by the end of the story. The narrator was very good. I enjoyed the two types of voices. I would recommend this to friends, and I look forward to reading The Flatshare.

I very much enjoyed this book! The narrators were great, the story was fun, and I was hooked! Looking forward to Beth O'Leary's next book!

I enjoyed both the story and the performers but the audio quality was not very good. There was a lot of audible swallowing & breathing - I listen to quite a lot of audiobooks but I've never experienced anything like it before!

A super sweet book about a twenty something girl and her grandmother switching lives for a few months. In the end, they both find love, happiness and friendship. A story about realizing who you are and mending broken fences. Really great!

I think if this was just a plain book I would have rated it higher because I did love the story and the characters, but at times it was hard to be pulled into the book because of one of the narrators. This could just me being really picky and it didn't stop me from actually finishing and overall enjoying it. This was a fun little romcom-esque read and I still would recommend it for audiobook fans, just ones who aren't as narration picky as I am!

Advanced listener's copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own

I loved this. This was one of the very first audiobooks that I listened to and it took me a while but I really enjoyed it. The narrators I think did an awesome job in making me feel like they were Leena and Eileen. I feel like the romantic interest for Leena was kind of predictable but I didn't mind that. I also loved that Eileen had her little romance in London as well. I gave this four stars for two reasons one because I felt like the point of contention between Ethan and Leena was predictable and I knew he would be kind of a bad boyfriend to her, and two, Leena automatically believed Ethan instead of Eileen when that whole part of the story was happening and she refused to kind of be an adult about it I feel and actually sit down and talk to her grandmother. On the other hand, I feel like this was because she didn't want to belive Ethan wasn't perfect because of how he helped her after Carla's death. Al in all I really enjoyed this book.

This is my first read by Beth O'Leary and I will definitely be reading her other books.

Romantic comedy about a grandmother/granddaughter who switch places for a few months - from urban London to the English countryside.

Adorable premise, fun characters, sweet story - this book was a delight and a great diversion when you need a change of pace. My first Beth O’Leary and I’ll likely try more. The audio was (mostly) fun to listen to, with great narrators.

But sometimes the audio irked me - some of the “voices” the one narrator did for different characters were a little annoying. The book dragged on at the end. It was very predictable and I just wanted it to wrap up already!

I always picture books like this as a rom-com movie and I think this one in particular would be a big hit!

A very fun book about family, connection, and finding new starts after grief. I enjoyed that this story gave equal weight to the grandmother and granddaughter POVs.

I really loved this audiobook and I enjoyed it very much. It was an easy going, comforting book about a grandmother called Eileen and her grandaughter Lena, who both swapped places to enjoy living each other's different lives. It was quite a funny book and it made me smile a lot. I enjoyed all the different characters and their quirky ways.. The ending was lovely and I was happy to see Eileen and Lena settle down and be happy.

This book reminded me of the book A Man Called Ove, although I would say this book is better. This was a new author for me, but I would love to read more books by this author.

I loved the narrators in the audiobook; they really made the story come alive and listening to the book helped to get the good humour across, especially when Eileen was talking about her love life.

Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Switch was a delightful book. The plot reminded me of The Holiday movie. Lena, a young woman working in London, switches lives with her grandmother, Eileen, for two months. Lena moves to a small village in northern England, takes her grandmother's place on the planning committee for the annual May Day fete, and works through her issues with her mother. Eileen moves into her daughter's apartment, befriends her neighbors, joins an online dating site, and starts a social club. This is not a particularly deep book, but it was the equivalent of cuddling up in a comfy chair with a blanket. It was sweet and hopeful. Not only do Lena and Eileen get happy endings, but several of the secondary characters do as well. I loved that one of the protagonists was an older woman starting her life over. She even has sex! I thought it did a great job at giving both lead characters a full voice and personality. Highly recommend it for a comfort read during these ridiculously stressful times.

The Switch is an entertaining and very well written book. I highly recommend it. I received an advance audio book from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

Wow, that was a really good book!! I was expecting maybe on average a 3 or 4 star read, but no... Nope, this one gets allllll the stars

I loved how the narration switched and that there were actually 2 people doing the 2 main character's voices. It left absolutely no room for confusion about who's talking/what point of view I'm listening to ATM. The character development was spot on as well, I felt like I knew these women. I love when that happens.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the audiobook so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 💛

This book have make my heart dance!! This story filled me with warmth and joy. I didn’t wanted it to end. It fascinating how the author shows the different stages of grief that a family went through and how even when the people whom thought were the strongest may also loose themselves because of it.
It was brilliant how O’leary presents an important topic as how alone and without purpose the elderly people might feel.
I can’t stop saying how much I loved this book!!
I fell in love with Hamleigh and all the Neighbourhood Watch/May Day committee members. How they care for each other and that we can get glimpses of everyone’s stories.
Seeing things through Eileen’s eyes was so fun. I want to be her when I grow old. I want another grandma like her so loving and full of life. I adore my grandma so IDK if im biased with this book but have I mentioned I loved it? If I didn’t a can tell you enough how much I love it!! <3

I read/listened to this audiobook thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio.

I loved Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare, so I was excited to read her sophomore novel, The Switch.

After a panic attack during an important meeting, Leena is forced to take a two-month sabbatical from work to rest and regain her mental composure, but she struggles to let go of her responsibilities. Meanwhile, her grandmother, Eileen, is nearing her eightieth birthday and is looking for new love and some more excitement in her life, but struggling to find any age-appropriate bachelors or new things to do in her very small town. Leena goes to visit her grandmother one day, and they decide that what they need is to swap lives for those two months, letting Leena relax in the countryside and giving Eileen an adventure in London. What ensues is a heartwarming, funny story of second chances, friendships, the meaning of family, and unexpected romances.

Eileen is the coolest grandma ever. I love that we have a POV of an eighty-year-old woman, which is uncommon in literature. I feel like the younger generation subconsciously ostracizes the older generation because we don’t understand them, and they don’t understand us. But this book goes to show that there are a lot more similarities between generations than we realize, and that elderly people are still people—they’re not dead yet—and they are worth getting to know. I love how Leena creates such genuine bonds with all the elderly people in her grandma’s town. She even has a soft spot for cranky Arnold next door. I hope I can be like her someday.

It’s pretty easy to tell early on how the story’s going to end, like who Leena and Eileen are going to end up with, but it was fun to be on the journey with them regardless and see them struggle along the way.

It can be intimidating to step out of our comfort zones, but The Switch shows readers how much we can grow and learn from taking a leap of faith and doing something different and unexpected for once. I loved the morals and lessons this book taught.

This story is less romantic than The Flatshare, even though there’s romance in it. Like in her first novel, Beth O’Leary discusses some difficult topics in this novel too. We have grieving a death in the family, cheating, catfishing, anxiety and panic attacks, and getting out of an abusive relationship. And we also have a strong focus on friendships in the unlikeliest of places, the true meaning of family, and finding a lifelong love.

The Switch was super cute. I’d recommend it to any reader of contemporary literature. I don’t know if I’d say this is contemporary romance since the main plot for both characters was not romance but instead their goals to help their respective communities, but there is definitely a very tender romantic outcome for both of them as well.

What a fabulously quirky and fun audio read this was!

I loved the dual voices, the generation gap evident even in narration...I found myself laughing out loud more times than I could count.

The voice of the author’s writing is special and while an accent is prominent, I LOVED that about this story...as you can see, I’m a huge fan of British English. 😉

With Leena, I connected with her workaholic ways, the fact that she’s extremely high strung and has an immense amount of baggage to unpack emotionally...I cried at the raw emotion in her parts surrounding her mother and sister. It felt all too real.

And Eileen...oh, what I wouldn’t have have given to have a grandmother like her. Spunky and smart, independent and resourceful no matter her surroundings. I love how she gave no choice for people to just love and accept her...it made me want to hug her every time her chapters came up.

Overall, I felt completely whole after reading (listening to) this book...I look forward to more from this author.

**4.5 Sassy Gran, Stars**

This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.