This was such a fun audiobook experience! I love that there are 2 narrators, and I love the accents! This is a feel good story that gets real emotional on so many levels. I am so glad I was able to listen to it!

What an amazing follow up to The Flatshare! As someone who deals with grief caused depression, this book was a beautiful depiction of a family dealing with huge loss. Beth O’Leary has an amazing way of writing her characters that feel so honest and real. The way she handles gaslighting and abusive relationships in both The Switch, as well as The Flatshare, is so real. I really enjoyed that this book was not about the romances of our main characters. The focus is on the Cotton family and them trying to heal after they broke in their grief.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed My Grandmother Told Me To Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman (similar themes of grief, healing, community, cancer, and humor)

In a fun and clever twist, a grandmother swaps homes with her busy and overworked twenty-something grand-daughter. She's determined to find the love and adventure she missed out on and the grand-daughter to recoup after being given a 3 month sabbatical from work.

I’m a huge fan of this author! I adored her book Flatshare and I was thrilled to get my hands on Switch! I really fell in love with the two leading ladies!! Leena & her grandmother, Eileen, make me feel like going on my own adventure after tagging along for theirs!!!
Two big thumbs up!

This was such a heartwarming and uplifting novel. I loved how Beth O'Leary put her own unique spin on the trading places premise. I don't think that I have ever read a novel with an older main character quite like Eileen Cotton. She was hilarious and vivacious and I can only hope that I'm half as entertaining when I'm her age. I loved that it was Eileen out there dating and really embracing life and its adventures. It was a wonderful role reversal and contrast to her granddaughter, Leena. The fish out of water trope is always a fun one, and I enjoyed seeing Leena come to appreciate the slower pace of life and embrace the residents of Hamleigh (quirks and all). Yes, the plot was fairly predictable and there is some drama towards the end, but O'Leary's writing was wonderful and kept the story engaging and entertaining.

There were many laugh out loud moments thanks to the incredible cast of secondary characters, but The Switch also discussed some very important issues as well. I appreciated the care that O'Leary took in addressing loneliness and isolation among older/aging adults. It's not a topic I often think of, so I liked how it was highlighted and integrated into the story. O'Leary also tackled grief, depression, domestic violence, death of loved ones, and infidelity compassionately and sensitively. It was all balanced so well with the lighthearted moments and came together beautifully.

There is some slow burn romance and romantic themes in The Switch, but the greater message of hope and healing for all three generations of Cotton women is what really stands out about this novel. The love that Eileen, Marian, and Leena have for each other and their friends and family is the heart of the story. The epilogue left me misty eyed and smiling ear to ear and I cannot wait to see what Beth O'Leary writes next!

I originally read The Switch and loved rereading it via audiobook. Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones narrated the story so wonderfully and were perfect as Eileen and Leena. They brought all the humor and heart of the characters to life. I did sometimes have a hard time differentiating between characters because there wasn't a ton of variation between the voices, but overall this was a wonderful listening experience.

Audiobook Review
Overall 4.5 stars
Performance 4 stars
Story 5 stars

*I voluntarily read and listened to an advance review copy of this book. Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley*

If you are a frequent reader of my blog and reviews you know I am not the biggest contemporary reader. It is very rare that I will choose a contemporary book over a fantasy or sci fi but I read The Flatshare by this author last year and gave it five stars and I did say that I would read more from this author so here I am.

I absolutely adored this book. We follow both perspectives of Leena and Eileen as they go through with this life switch. This book was so heartwarming yet heart wrenching as we deal with a lot of grief and family issues relating to that grief. There are some strained relationships within this story but we do see our characters face these strains and learn how to be themselves again after such a horrible year.

This made me laugh out loud so many times, Eileen was definitely one of my favourite characters. Who doesn’t love an 80 year old lady hitting the town and trying to find some love. Throughout this story we watch both of these characters grow and flourish in there new and odd setting.

This is definitely a more character driven story and I loved almost every single character we meet in this story. I can say that I have been more stricter with my ratings this year and have only been giving 5 stars to books that truly blow me away and this one was very close but 4 stars is still a really good rating!

If you haven’t read this book you definitely should right now. The audio for this book was very enjoyable and the two narrators did a really good job of producing the different voices and really making the story come alive for me.

July Read

The Switch – Beth O’Leary (received through the publishers & NetGalley)

Well just when I thought I didn’t like audiobooks along comes The Switch and WOW I loved it!

The few audiobooks I have listened to previously have all left me pretty-underwhelmed. I actually didn’t even realise this was an Audiobook when I requested it and was so disappointed when I realised it was, however; when I heard that Alison Steadman (Gavin & Stacey) and Daisy Edgar Jones (Normal People) were the narrators I knew things were looking up! They are absolutely fantastic and bring the characters to life fantastically.

The story is based around Eileen & Leena Cotton. A grandmother based in Yorkshire who is the centre of her village community and Leena her London based high flying granddaughter who is struggling to cope after the death of her younger sister. When Leena keeps making grief related mistakes at work, she is forced to take a sabbatical and she not only swaps houses with her grandma, but they also seem to swap lives too. Leena begins by getting stuck into village life organising events the way that she organised her London career. Similarly, Eileen throws herself into the London dating scene and takes charge of organising the local elderly social scene.

This book is not only touching but funny too. The way both women are trying to cope with the grief from the death of their sister/granddaughter is beautifully interspersed with fantastically funny moments like Eileen aching after having sex with her Tinder date!!!

I know I am a bit late to the party and most people have read this book a long time ago but I am glad that I managed to pick up the audio version as it just made my experience of it so much better. I will definitely be recommending it to everyone.

I also have to say that I will be choosing my audiobooks more carefully in future as I now see that the narrator is so important to me enjoying the story. I have also made sure that I have taken time out to specifically “listen” as I have such a busy brain and I know I am guilty of picking up my phone and getting distracted. I have even started powerwalking around the village first thing in the morning with my headphone in!

Are you a fan of audiobooks and if so which would you recommend I try next?

I would rate this a 4.5

My second audiobook! I wasn't going to request this until I saw I could try the audiobook and thought, why not? I'm so happy I did!

After a panic attack at work, Leena is ordered to take a two month sabbatical, which she is not happy about. Living in London, grieving and constantly working, Leena has no idea what she'll do with her time off. Eileen, her grandmother is about to turn 80 and is single for the first time in many, many years. Looking for love, but not being able to find it in her small town, she's seeking a change. Leena suggests a switch, she'll go to the sleepy town with its quirky residents and her estranged mother, and Eileen will stay at Leena's flat in London, with her roommates, trying to find love. The switch will leave both with hopes, challenges and more.

I loved this booK! It was so sweet, so well written and the characters were great, very well developed. I loved the narration, the back and forth between Leena and Eileen and the different voices for both-brilliantly done. The expression in the voice really added another layer to the story. The pacing was perfect. I just loved the characters, they were sweet and so funny. There were so many minor storylines that added to the story and were perfectly interwoven. I honestly just loved all the characters, this book was so much more than I thought it'd be. It covered many important topics. It was so refreshing to read older characters, their thoughts and ideas were great to see represented. If anything, I found with the audiobook and the amount of characters it was sometimes hard to remember who was who for a second, but it wasn't a crazy problem. There is a lot going on in this book but it doesn't drag on. I was super happy with the way everything came together. I found this book to be funny, sweet and very real.

3.5! This book was very cute. I really liked the family dynamics and absolutely loved the grandmother! I wish the mother had been a little bit more involved. Some of her scenes seemed a little bit rushed. I loved how Leena and Eilleen were pushed out of their comfort zones and put their heart in every project they were apart of. This was a sweet read and I found myself smiling as I read... especially during the grandmothers chapters.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for an advanced audio copy!

First - LOVED the two narrators, they were superb and I really felt the characters.

The Switch was a lovely book and I loved that it was more set around the growth of the characters instead of being centered around a romance. While that was part of the book, it was't the main focus. Leena and her grandmother Eileen decide to swap places for 8 weeks (while Leena is out on extended leave from work) so Leena moves up to the tiny Yorkshire village and Eileen moves to London. They even swapped cell phones!

I thought the writing was fabulous, the only downside was there were SO MANY additional characters, it was tough to keep track of all the villagers and London friends.

I highly recommend this book, especially listening to it!

What an absolutely wonderful story! This is 1 of those feel-good books with some real laugh out loud moments.

The narrators did a stellar job and I thought the characterizations were spot on. It felt like I was watching a movie instead of listening to a story! They are definitely up there with the best!

The story was very entertaining and I absolutely adore Eileen! She might be 79 in years but definitely not in spirit! And who says you can't have some naughty fun at that age!

A brilliant listen!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion

I was so excited to read this since I really enjoyed Beth O'Leary's last book The Flatshare. I think this book was better. First of all the Leena and Eileen are awesome fleshed out characters. I instantly fell in love with them both, especially Eileen. Leena is a twenty something who is burnt out and needs a break and Eileen is an 79 year old ready for an adventure into the city to find some new romantic prospects. Honestly my favorite chapters were of Eileen and her adventures of dating online. She's adorable and I loved it. Leena's chapters were good too. The book starts out after a death that both women are still trying to deal with, but Leena is having a harder time. I liked the talk of grieving and some people handle death differently, but I do feel like it was a little surface level. All in all this is my favorite Beth O'Leary book and I look forward to her books in the future. 10/10 would recommend.

I loved The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary so I was so happy to hear she had another novel coming out. I was able to listen to an early audiobook copy of THE SWITCH by Beth O’Leary and it was probably the best literary audio experience I have had so far. The story is told from the perspective of a young woman and her grandmother. As both of them are trying to deal with big changes that have happened in their lives in the last year, they decide to switch lives. This is not a parent trap sort of story – they literally move into each other’s homes and pick up each other’s lives to see what they will learn about their own in the process. The insight into both lives at such different ages is fantastic and the lessons gained from the exposure to an older generation will keep you thinking, especially in a time where reaching out to people you don’t know isn’t something we are doing. I highly recommend the novel for the story but if you are an audiobook fan, pick this up when it comes out!
Thank you NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an Audiobook ARC of this book!)

I loved The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary, so I was excited to dive into this one. It's got a bit of a "The Holiday" vibe with the 2 protagonists switching homes for a bit of a new start in their stagnant lives, so that was a nice little hook to start off with!

Since I was given access to the audiobook version, I need to comment on the recording. It seems to me that the recording failed to use a Pop Filter (screen placed in front of the microphone in order to cut down on extra noise and sound being picked up on-mic). I say this because I can't recall any other audiobook that I've listened to that's had so much "mouth noise" (for lack of a better phrase). You know that thing of when an older person speaks and you can hear the slaps of their cheeks and tongue inside their mouth as they move through their words? Like a wet, soft slap of a mouth in the silent spaces between the sounds they make when speaking. Or when you hear someone swallow their saliva or take a long breath between lengthy sentences. It felt like a terrible version of ASMR. But I was invested in this book, so I just struggled through my auditory frustrations.

(Though, I will say, I really enjoyed the performances from the narrators, and particularly enjoyed that one of the protagonists was narrated by Daisy Edgar Jones aka Marianne from BBC's adaptation of Normal People! She's actually the reason I listened to this book at normal speed, when typically I bump-up the speed on audiobooks to 1.5 or 1.75 depending on the narrator's style).

The story itself is sweet and entirely what you expect it to be. Both main characters are extremely likable and fun to follow in their own unique ways, and there's some emotional gravity as a result of the "death of a loved one" and "different ways of confronting grief" subplot between Leena and her mother.

I liked this book quite a bit. Definitely another great one by Beth O'Leary.

An utterly charming book! The story switches back and forth between the adventures of 79-year old Eileen and her 20-something granddaughter, Leena, who have switched locations with each other for a few months, with Eileen getting to know Leena's friends and surroundings in London and Leena taking up Eileen's life in a small Yorkshire village. Both stories were equally compelling and delightful as both women form and sometimes lose friendships and relationships, explore new interests, bring about changes in the lives they touch and are themselves changed by their new outlooks on life.

I had the great pleasure of listening to the audiobook production of this novel. Both of the narrators were absolutely first rate, infusing their characters with charm and personality and making them all the more lovable. Some of the additional production values--like the change in sound quality when a character was speaking on the phone--were also effective. Sometimes I search for audiobooks featuring certain narrators, and I would definitely seek out these actors. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this lovely book. I'm so thrilled that some ARCs are now being offered in this format!

As you know, I loved The Flatshare recently, so I was super excited to get an early audio copy of The Switch by Beth O’Leary from @netgalley last week!

This novel, due out on 8/18, is SO cute!! In it, 20-something Leena and her 80-year old grandma, Eileen, swap lives for two months. Leena leaves behind the hustle of city life to take over planning the May Day festival and volunteering in the Yorkshire countryside (which had major GG Sleepy Hollow vibes), and Eileen gives herself a second chance at finding love on the internet dating scene in London. 🥰🥰

This book was funny, clean, and charming: the kind of book you could easily recommend to your mom/grandma, but that you will love too!! It’s light, but also deals with grief, heartbreak, family dynamics, and the value of relationships. I think I’m officially a @betholearyauthor fan now!!!

Beth O’Leary’s book The Switch lives up to the standard set by her previous book, The Flatshare. In The Switch, we follow a young lady from London who’s been forced to take a 2-month vacation. She and her grandmother decide to swap houses for 2 months, to give them both a grand adventure. The book treats each plot line pretty equally, as we follow Lena through her time as a small town girl and her grandmother through her time as a new Londoner at the age of 80+.

In terms of audiobook quality, this one is definitely high quality. Both main characters are narrated by a different reader, which really adds authenticity to the recording. I especially like the way that the sound quality changes when characters are having a phone conversation, making it sound like a real phone call. I read at 1.75 speed, and it was just right.

Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

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Sign me up for whatever Beth O’Leary puts out. I want to read her grocery lists at this point. Gimme gimme gimme. I finished The Flatshare last month and immediately ordered The Switch from Book Depository because I did not have the patience to wait for it to come out in the USA. But then, Netgalley released their app and this GEM of a novel was an ALC. ⠀
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Leena and her 79 year old grandmother, Eileen, decide to swap places. Eileen moves to London and stays in Leena’s flat with her roommates and Leena moves to her Yorkshire village and stays in her cozy cottage. Leena’s forced to take a two month paid leave from work, so she dives into her grandmother’s social calendar and takes over all her responsibilities in the community. Meanwhile, Eileen tries her hand at online dating and looks for ways to make apartment living more homey for all the tenants. They both run into a delightful and charming cast of characters. There’s romance, there’s so many funny scenes (the tea leaves) and there’s some seriously heartbreaking yet heartwarming moments.⠀
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It did not disappoint. A lot of people are comparing this one to the movie The Holiday (my favorite Christmas movie) and YES that is the vibe, but I was truly more invested in the grandma’s story line! We need more books about charming seniors. ⠀
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The narration was EXCELLENT. The production was fabulous and I love how they even made phone conversations sound so realistic. I loved both actor’s voices and both characters feel like real people I need to meet. ⠀⠀
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Beth O’Leary, you are on my auto-buy list! I absolutely adored this story and can’t wait to see what you put out next. ⠀
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This audiobook will be released on August 18th! Add it to your TBR. Such a feel-good winner and I can’t wait to hear what you think! ⠀
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Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio or this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

A feel good story about the beautiful relationships between Grandma’s and their Granddaughters. The Switch by Beth O’Leary reminds us that sometimes we just need to change things up a bit and that grandmas are in fact cool, not boring!

Leena is a young professional living in London and her grandma Eileen lives in a small town. They each have different things going on in their lives and need a change, so they swap houses for two months. They both discover themselves again, help heal what they have lost, and move forward with their lives. I enjoyed the adventures and discoveries of both women, but Eileen shined brighter for me. She had such wisdom, insight, and an adventurous spirit. This book reminded me a bit of the movie The Holiday. So, if you are a fan of that movie, I recommend this book even more.

I found the pacing of the storylines well done, and I never felt bored.

The narration was done by two different women which I loved. Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar- Jones did a fabulous job narrating. I knew exactly who was talking just based on the voice, which I love, and you don’t always get that in audiobooks. There were subtle sound effects such as when they would talk on the phone the person on the other end would sound distant. Little additions like this to me make the story seem more real or like you are watching a movie.

I would highly recommend this book to people. It was the perfect feel good listen during such a difficult time. I cannot wait to read more by O’Leary.

I received an advanced audiobook copy for review from Macmillan Audio through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

The Switch by Beth O’Leary is a charming story of a grandma and granddaughter who decide to switch lives. That doesn’t sound like it would be all that exciting but it was! Leena Cotton is placed on an 8 week administrative leave after suffering a panic attack at work. Eileen Cotton is looking for love in her small Yorkshire town but at 79 the pickings are slim. So they switch lives-Leena moving to Yorkshire, taking on grandmas day to day activities, and Eileen moving to London to look for love.

In the 8 weeks of their “Switch” they rediscover themselves, reconcile relationships and realize what’s important in life.

I really enjoyed this complimentary audiobook provided by #Netgalley and the publisher and highly recommend #theswitch!