As soon as I found out that Beth O’Leary was releasing another book this year, I knew I had to get my hands on it. In typical Megan fashion, I did not read what this book was about before starting it and just dove in blind, so you can imagine my utter surprise when I found out this wasn’t the romance I expected but a cute story about a grandmother and a granddaughter switching homes for two months. Even though it wasn’t what I expected, I still enjoyed this heartfelt story! 
 
I found that I absolutely adored Eileen (the grandmother) way more than Leena (her granddaughter). The older characters were absolutely delightful, charming, and hilarious while I found that the younger story line was a little too one dimensional for me and I kept trying to speed read her chapters to get back to Eileen’s parts. After reading this, I figured out that I need more stories about the olds. PLEASE.

I went into this book thinking it was going to be a romance but was pleasantly surprised to find a sweet story about family dynamics and life after loss. There were some romantic interests, but nothing steamy. The story alternated perspectives between Leena and her grandmother Eileen. The pair switched places for a couple of months and learned a lot about each other and themselves in the process. It felt like the movie The Holiday but if you swapped with your grandmother! I found the characters endearing. The secondary characters were well-developed and their interactions with Leena and Eileen revealed a lot of their personalities. The story unfolds slowly and is definitely more character-driven. Even though the plot lacked propelling action at times, there were so many lines that made me chuckle out loud. A nice read if you like dreaming about the idyllic English countryside.Lovely, delightful, and uplifting. Exactly the book I didn't know I needed during uncertain times.

79 year old Eileen decides she’s tried of life in her small town and wants to escape by switching places with her granddaughter Leena who lives in London. Definitely a book for fans The Holiday. This book is so wholesome and a great all around story. Overall a cute book.

The audio has a separate narrator for Eileen and Leena. Both women are easy to understand and the pacing is perfect. There’s even instances where the characters call each other and the voice of the character on the phone becomes distant like an actual phone call would.

*Thank you to Macmillan Audio/Flatiron Books and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

I enjoyed The Switch from the first page to the last. The author’s premise of a 29-year old driven professional and her 79-year old grandmother switching homes for a time is unique and works well for the story. I love that one of the main characters is an older female, and I love even more that she isn’t stereo-typed. The story tackles the tough subject of grieving a loss but does so in a loving way that shows us sometimes changes in setting and perspective can helps us heal and move forward. This is a thoroughly charming story with a bit of humor and romance. The narrators were great, and I will listen to this book again. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance listener’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was late to the Beth O'Leary party having only read The Flatshare recently but I knew that she would be an author who's work I would love and the Switch proved me right. What a lovely story. Leena is struggling with life since losing her sister so when her grandmother suggests they swap lives she takes the chance to try and change her life. It's a story about loss and love and family and it made me sad and smile and laugh. I loved the characters even cranky Arnold. There was something so uplifting about this one even though it is based around such a hard topic.
I find audio books very hit and miss. I think you really need to connect with the narrator to enjoy it and these ladies did a fantastic job. I could really visualise there characters from listening to them especially the lady who portrayed Eileen. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone.

The Switch is a good reminder to step back and take a good look at those around you. When things seem tough, there are always those who love and support you to help you see clearer.
This story was a fun look into family and how cool Grandmas really are. I enjoyed the antics of the characters and how they came to resolve their issues, but do feel like the story stayed on a very surface level and those issues were resolved easily.

As an audiobook, I was not too fond of the narrators. There was a lot of tongue clicking and swallowing that drove me bonkers. The pacing was a little slow and there was not a lot of tone variation to define characters.

After her husband leaves her, 79 year old Eileen Cotton is ready to start dating. the only problem is she’s not thrilled with the options in her small Yorkshire town. Meanwhile, her granddaughter Leena is ordered to take a 2 month sabbatical from work and isn’t exactly thrilled. After the death of her sister, Leena has thrown herself into her work to avoid dealing with her grief and unresolved feelings towards her mother. When Leena visits Eileen, then decide to swap places for 2 months: Eileen will get a chance to test out the dating pool in London while Leena can rest. A story that proves it’s never too late to change or realize what’s important, and that sometimes the best thing for you is adventure and sometimes its home.

I adored Beth O’Leary’s first novel, and could not wait to get my hands on this one. It exactly is the sort of warm and humous read I’d come to expect. Her characters are rich, the setting vivid, and the story, while well developed and comforting, never too predictable. I loved having two narrators telling each perspective, and particularly loved the audio detail of having a tinny effect when characters are on the phone. I think this book is brilliant in its wide appeal, as young and old alike will fall in love with The Switch, and perhaps feel ready to tackle anything after.

This book was like an amazing cup of tea. It was heartwarming, comforting and a just what I needed. I really enjoyed The Flatshare but have to say The Switch was even better. I loved the generational differences between the characters and the aspect of switching lives to really find out what you need.
Leena was just so darn cute and normal. I totally could see being friends with her, especially in the business world. And the instant connection between her and the neighborhood, swoon! I loved the romance.
Eileen was a delight. She was witty and so adventurous. I loved seeing her work with online dating as a 79 year old woman and take on a non-commitment dating life. The way her story ended, also swoon!
These two - ugh so good! Mixed in with the heart wrentching death of Leena's sister from cancer and the road to understanding her grief, this book really had it all for me.

A cute read with good narration. I did prefer the narrator for Eileen over Leena, but it wasn't a huge issue.

Leena is a London career woman that gets burnt out after working herself to the bone while avoiding dealing with her sister's death. Eileen is Leena's grandmother living in the countryside. Her husband has recently left her and she is having a bit of a struggle with finding a man to date in her area. Leena gets forced to take some time off of work, and gets the idea to switch places with her grandmother.

Not much happens in this book, but I still enjoyed listening to it and finding out what trouble the characters were getting themselves into when they swapped lives. A bit predictable in spots, but regardless it was a cute read. A good palate cleanser.

3.5/5⭐️

What a fun book! I loved this one. I listened to it on audiobook. The narrators were great! I thought they did such a great job of capturing each characters personality. I love the movie The Hoilday. This was the fun of that in book form. A grandmother, Eileen, and granddaughter, Leena, switch places in this one and take on many of the other’s social obligations.

I found it to be an quick, easy read. It has heart. There a themes of a complicated family family relationships, death, change vs tradition, disillusionment and dreams, motherhood, power of words, and wisdom of experience. I thought there was a lot wrapped up in a conversational, chatty tone. It made it easy to read where it could have been so heavy. I found I related equally well to both Leena and Eileen. I found them both to be fascinating women who get things done. It ended how I expected which made me very happy. That was very satisfying.

I would definitely recommend this book. Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this copy.

Fans of Beth O'Leary's first book The Flatshare, will not be disappointed by her newest novel, The Switch.

It was a fantastic story of love and loss, of three generations of women in a family discovering themselves and navigating their relationships with each other as they each deal with grief, but also enter their own different life stages. Readers looking for some more mature aged characters will be pleased by the Grandmother and Mother's roles in this book. The audio narration was well done, and this book was a great read.

This was such a beautiful depiction of two women at different points in their life as they trade places and find what really matters to them both. I loved both Eileen and Leena on their own and the way they related to and learned from each other. The audio narration was fantastic! I also enjoyed the romance side of the story and how well it fit with each woman’s personal journey. Exploring grief, heartbreak, self-discovery, The Switch is a gorgeous piece of women’s fiction that I know so many readers will love!

A lovely book about a grandmother and a granddaughter that swap lives. I especially enjoyed Leena's life in the tiny Yorkshire village and the cozy feeling of the setting and the characters. An enjoyable read that touches on the heavy subject of grief and moving on. But this is a book mostly on what a wonderful and fulfilling life you can have if you stand up for yourself, tell the truth and search for joy even if you are 80 years old!
A fantastic audiobook where the voices of Alison and Daisy really brought the book protagonists to life.
Charming and uplifting.

The Switch by Beth O'Leary is the second book I have read by this author, the first one being The Flatshare. I would like to put it right upfront, I really liked this book. It was written beautifully! It is about coming to terms with the circumstances/ tragedies in your life, coming to terms with them, learning to live with them, and learning to stand up for yourself and be your own person!!

It was a splendid experience in the form of an audiobook! When reading a book, you imagine a lot of things but rarely the voice of the character. Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar- Jones as voices for Eileen and Leena Cotton somehow made the whole experience a lot more personal.

What did I love about this book?
The premise, the flow, the depth of each character, the hilarity of their situations on switching, and the finality of all of it. It gave me a sense of peace and contentment and left me craving for more (happy sighs..). I wish to be like Eileen Cotton when I am 80 years old.!! The dialogues were really witty and intelligent!

What did I not like about this book?
It ended too soon!!

Beth O'Leary is becoming one of my go-to authors for when I want to ground myself gently.
#NetGalley #TheSwitch and Macmillan Audio for making my first audiobook experience memorable.

Readometer rating - 4****/5

Definitely recommend reading if you are looking for something light but meaningful !! :)

In ‘The Switch’ we follow Leena Cotton, a successful business woman in London and her Grandmother Eileen who lives a simple life in a Yorkshire village called Hamleigh.

Leena is working tirelessly to the point of her experiencing a panic attack during an important boardroom meeting. Following this she’s being given two months paid leave to get herself back into a healthy mindset.
Meanwhile Eileen is looking to start dating again after separating from her ‘less than ideal’ husband. The only problem is Hamleigh doesn’t offer any suitable men.

As the title suggests Leena and Eileen decide to switch lives for two months seeing as they could both do with a little break from their lives.

I thought this was a cute and charming story albeit predictable. I liked how it covered the topic of grief in a relatable way without being too heavy. I also found Eileen to be incredibly endearing, I warmed to her almost immediately and found myself longing for an Eileen like grandmother of my own.

The audiobook narration was my favourite part of this reading experience. I found the two narrators brought their characters to live perfectly, their performance was very believable.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced readers copy.

Twenty-something Leena is an absolute go-getter who never stops. After the death of her sister, it all becomes too much. Leena takes a "mandatory" two-month vacation after having a panic attack at work.

Grandma Eileen is 80, traumatized by deaths of her daughter and her granddaughter. If that's not bad enough, her husband has just left her.

Leena returns home, but Eileen is headed to Leena's old haunts in London, looking to recapture her lost youth. Leenna shacks up in grandma's house and adopts her friends and responsibilities as her own. Eileen is doing much of the same, befriending Leena's closest pal and navigating the new world of online dating.

The book was really charming. It definitely had me smiling and giggling at times. The dialogue is fun between the characters. The grandma, Eileen, reminds me of Blanche from "The Golden Girls." It was a light, enjoyable read.

While the narrator did a great job of making the listener feel they were in the story, I could hear every bit of moisture in the older narrator's mouth -- which was distracting. You can tune out her loud, audible breaths, thankfully. Whenever they talk on the phone, it's a recording within a recording and the quality is tinny.

The Switch by Beth O'Leary is a romance, contemporary fictional novel which is a story about finding love, self-love, family, and much more. I had high expectations from this book after The Flatshare.

We see Leena, who is in her 20s, Eileen who is in her late 70s. Both of them are tired of their regular life and are looking for a change. They both change their places in life and end living eachother's life for a while. Leena swaps with Eileen to live at her grandmother's place whereas Eileen goes to live in London for a while and finding new love in her life.

I enjoyed the book overall no doubt, but I expected more from this novel, after reading The Flatshare. And I am not gonna lie, The Flatshare was way better. The story is sweet, with tint of humor at required places. But the message potrayed by the author could have been way better explained and narrated considering her potential from previous novel.

This was a really adorable book! Nothing very exciting happened but it was just one of those stories that was enjoyable to read and you wanted to know how things turned out. I really enjoyed the characters especially Eileen and thought all the supporting characters were great. I would definitely recommend giving this one a read!

This was a sweet story, a quick read, and I loved the characters. It was also so interesting to hear the point of view of a woman in her late 70s along with a woman in her 20s. A little predictable but that was totally okay. Loving this author for original, and fun stories.

I just adored Eileen’s story line! I found her more fascinating than Leena’s storyline. I felt like Leena’s chapters kind of dragged in the beginning until her major drama happened. We alternating chapters while telling this story.

Audio Experience: I LOVED that there were two characters to do the reading for this. Since this is a character driven book, I highly recommend the audio. I find slower books work best for me with audios. I enjoyed how there were several parts in the story that the characters spoke on the phone and they clearly portrayed that in the audio. I wish the narrators had done some voices to emphasize when other characters were talking so I could tell right away who is saying what.