I loved the Flatshare and was hoping for an equal love to this one. I enjoyed the story but wasn’t as engaged and page turning with this one! I thought the handling of grief in this book was very well done. It was a heartwarming read but it really took about 50% in for me to be hooked. Overall looking forward to Beth O’Leary’s next amazing book!

This is my first audio ARC from Netgalley! I’m not the best at audiobooks so it took me a few attempts to really get into the it. I wasn’t sure about the dual POVs at first but I did grow to like it. There were a few times I laughed out loud too. The story was good on audio but I learned I prefer a book to an audio book. Thanks to Netgalley for the audio ARC.

Highly enjoyed this book, the narrator was great, this is my second book by Beth O'Leary and it didn't disappoint. I really enjoyed and I can't wait to see what she brings out next.

Thank you so much to @Flatiron_Books & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 18 August 2020)

SYNOPSIS | Leena is struggling after the death of her sister & is being forced to take a two month paid sabbatical from work. Her grandmother (Eileen) is newly single & looking for a second chance at love since her husband left her, but her small Yorkshire village doesn't have an abundance of eligible bachelors. They both decide to switch lives for 2 months & see what comes of it.

WHAT I LIKED:
- told in dual POV, but I definitely enjoyed Leena's grandmothers chapters the most (she is a ray of sunshine)
- the humor throughout was delightful

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- I wanted Leena to give Ethan the boot much earlier in the story so I could watch her romance with Jackson blossom without feeling icky about potential cheating
- too many side plots that just didn't end up going anywhere (the romances also weren't the primary focus)
- I wasn't wholeheartedly invested in the whole switcheroo storyline
- I have realised that audiobooks sadly aren't my favourite method of ingesting a story (I found Lena's narrators accent really off putting)

Beth O’Leary has quickly become one of my favorite authors. It took me a while to get through the audiobook- I wish I had requested the ARC as well. But, like “The Switch” I loved this book.

I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook. My first audio ARC at Netgalley. The book explores grief in a most realistic way. I am more partial to Eileen's story than Leena.

Definitely recommend the book.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was such a great little listening experience. Leena and Eileen switching places- both at very different points, times and ages of their lives but each looking for change. There was so much growth here, which I loved. With both ladies. Some love interests and relationships, but I don't really classify this as a romance. More of a learning experience. Loved it!

One of my favorite books of all time! So in love with all the characters! The writing and settings were perfect-

I really enjoyed this story and the narrator, I loved reading about two women at completely separate points in their lives. The narrator did a fantastic job I loved how she changed her voice for the characters.

Beth O'Leary is one of my new favorite authors. I loved this! I especially enjoyed the spunk of 79 year-old Eileen and her refusal to sit at home and become a wallflower. I listened to this on audio and I struggled a bit with Eileen's narration at first, but I got used to her style and she became the character for me. Both characters were fun to follow on their journeys. Loved this one!

A unique concept for a book. I was excited to listen to this especially knowing how much I enjoyed The Flatshare. I don't feel this was on the same level as that book, maybe due to the fact that I was listening rather than reading (slightly harder to get into it) but would be willing to give another go actually reading the book. Overall, still a cute and fun read.

I was not able to listen to this audio in time for review - sorry. I've heard great things about this author.

I was looking forward to this book. The premise was fun but the story went all over the place. I can suspend very well. But in this case, it was almost impossible. Very disappointing.

I absolutely loved The Flatshare and while I loved the premise of The Switch, the audio version just did not work for me. Read 50% and was totally taken out of the story by the narrator. May try again in the future as I did very much enjoy the alternating point of view of grandmother and granddaughter, found it to be a very unique concept.

This was a cute story about a grandmother and granddaughter changing lifestyles for a little while. Leena moves from city to country and expects her grandmother to be the one having great adventures in the city. This was a feel-good, heartwarming read that I couldn't put down and loved both of the main characters.

Written by Beth O’Leary, The Switch was exactly what I was looking for. The writing was wonderful, the narrator was easy to listen to, and the plot was pretty much what I was expecting. And, for me, that was what I was looking for – a nice, sweet read that would give me some fuzzy feelings.

In this novel, two folks switch lives for a while. One going to the city, and one moving to a small town in the country (in the UK, of course), and I loved the supporting characters as much as the main. They were all very well written, and make me want to hop the pond in hopes of finding people like them.

If you are looking for a cozy, sweetheart of a read, I highly recommend this novel. It has some romance, folks tired of their lives and trying to get away, and some really wonderful characters.

If you are wanting fast pace and adventure, though, you should keep looking.

I was given a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes life just gets to be too much to handle, and it’s important to take time out from the daily grind—whether that means a long walk or a weekend getaway. But in the audio edition of The Switch by Beth O’Leary, one woman finds that she needs much more than just a quick breath of fresh air...

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery

Trading Places
Who hasn't wondered what it would be like to have a different life for a stretch? To step outside of one's own day-to-day existence and be someone else? That's exactly what Birdy does in Lizzy Dent's fun summer read The Summer Job (Putnam, $16), when she pretends to be her best friend Heather and heads off to work as a sommelier in a recently refurbished boutique hotel in Scotland (despite knowing nothing about wine). Birdy quickly learns that impersonating someone else is no easy feat, as she builds lie upon lie to keep up her ruse.

That same step-into-someone-else's shoes set-up lays at the heart of Tana French's The Likeness (Penguin, $9.99), the second in French's Dublin Murder Squad series (though it can be read out of order, or as a standalone). When it's discovered that young detective Cassie Maddox bears an uncanny, almost unbelievable resemblance to a recent murder victim, she's sent undercover into the life of the deceased woman to try to root out a killer--but finds instead an unexpected sense of belonging in a life that isn't hers.

There's no undercover trickery in Beth O'Leary's heartwarming second novel, The Switch (Flatiron, $16.99), when Leena Cotton and her grandmother Eileen both decide to live in each other's homes (and lives) for a stretch in order to break out of their respective ruts.

Though the premise of each of these stories is slightly different, their messages are in many ways the same: there's something to that old adage about walking a mile in someone else's shoes, and the benefits of a change of perspective as a key to understanding others--and oneself. --Kerry McHugh, blogger at Entomology of a Bookworm

The Switch is easily my favorite book of the year! The author writes an adorable story with discontented granddaughter and grandmother who decide to switch places in an attempt to finding their happiness again.
Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys fun fiction with a happy ending!

I received a copy of this audiobook via Netgalley and I’m reviewing it voluntarily. Leena Cotton is a busy executive who is burned out living the fast paced life in London, Eileen Cotton is finding her life in the country stale and boring. When Leena is forced to take a two month paid sabbatical from work, she and her grandmother Eileen decide to switch lives. Both Leena and Eileen find adventure in their new lives thats bring them closer together.
Beth O’Leary delivers a well written book that is sweet and easy to read. The character development was just okay, I never got lost in these characters or felt any emotion about them one way or another, even the mention of cancer, death, and infidelity felt impersonal. I listened to the audiobook and often found myself falling asleep if I wasn’t doing something else because the voices and story are rather bland. The narrator who voiced Eileen needed to be better edited, the mouth noises during her parts were distracting. This book was just not my cup of tea, I am giving it two stars,