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.

You Guys!!
I loved this book so stinkin much!
Even more than The FlatShare- which I adored last year.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for my advanced copy on audio.

This past year I have been loving audios and this one was absolutely amazing. There were two narrators and they both did a fantastic job of bringing the story and the characters to life. I was engaged and entertained throughout the entire book.

Other Things I Loved -

The Premise- I loved that Eileen and Leena Switched lives. It totally made me want to watch the movie The Holiday lol. ( This book and that movie - which is absolute gold- have nothing in common other than the fact that the two main characters swap living spaces)

The Characters- were well developed and likeable. I loved reading about both the main characters and side characters.

The Relationship- This book totally gave me all the warm and fuzzies. I loved Eileen and Leena's close relationship.

The Romance- Romance took a back seat in this book and I have to say- I am not mad at all. The romances featured in this book were adorable.

The Writing- this book is fun and easy to follow. I found myself easily sucked into the story and unable to stop listening. I usually listen while getting ready for work and during my short commute. Once I started listening to The Switch, I could not stop.

Heavier Topics- this book deals with loss, grief and forgiveness. This may be a bit of a spoiler so I will flag this review. This is the first time since my father's diagnosis that I have read a book that deals with cancer and haven't completely fallen apart. The story was very moving and ended beautifully.

Overall- I highly recommend this book. It will be in my top 10 at the end of the year.

Beth O'Leary is now an auto-buy author and has a book already listed to be released in 2021 called The Road Trip. I need it now!

I enjoyed this book! It was an enjoyable book to listen to while I was driving!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced audio version of this book!

The story reminds me of the movie The Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, but with a greater focus on friendship. I really enjoyed her debut novel, the Flatshare and this was another sweet, endearing novel.

I enjoyed this sophomore book by Beth O'Leary. It wasn't as engaging as The Flatshare though. I loved all the villagers and the quirks of village life. As intriguing as Eileen's plotline in London sounded it just didn't pan out for me. I think the book could have worked just fine with Leena coming to visit her grandmother for her two month sabbatical. I look forward to reading more from this author though.

Thank you to Netgalley for an audio arc of this book! This really isn’t my usual type of book but I recognised the author name from her other book The Flatshare which I haven’t read but have on my kindle.

It was a light, fun read. Although I did find myself getting annoyed by both Leena and Eileen.

The narrator was a bit difficult to get into, the Leena voice was fine but the Eileen voice was really annoying especially the Letitia voice!

The book had a very ‘Me Before You’ feel to it and it was a nice break from the constant thrillers I read

This book was a first for me, it was an audio book! I’ve always steered clear of these as I love to read but recently bought a cross stitch to do and thought this would be the ideal time to try an audio book out. I also had the book in my to read pile so .. two birds, one stone!

The book was narrated by Daisy Edgar-Jones and Alison Steadman. Daisy reading the part of Lena and Alison reading the part of Eileen. Both voices were nice to listen to, clear and expressive but overall I preferred Alison’s voice she has a lovely tone. The book is 10 hours which flew in, I listened to it in one day, I enjoyed it that much.

The story is about Lena who is struggling after her sisters death. She takes a sabbatical from her job and switches places with her gran, Eileen, who has recently split up from her husband, and is looking for an adventure. Lena goes to stay in her gran’s house in a Yorkshire village and Eileen goes off to London.

It’s a lovely story of how both women taken out their comfort zone adapt and thrive. There are a few laugh out loud moments and lots that tug at your heart strings. I love how Eileen is portrayed she may be in her 70s but shows you shouldn’t be put into any set category of what is “acceptable” for that age. Life is for living after all! Lena was also a lovely character and you feel her grief for her sister, it’s touching how the whole village helps her. The story also touches on domestic violence which is written sympathetically.

Thank you to Netgalley, Quercus Books and MacMillan Audio for the ARC

I loved the flatshare so I was super excited to read this one! While I did enjoy this one, I didn't love it quite as much. This one is much more about self discovery and family, with romance as a side story. That was fine with me but I felt like this one was missing a little of the quirkyness that I adored from Flatshare. This story is a bit slow, very character driven and has a whole lot of heart. It's a great feel good story with some entertaining moments but overall I just didn't love it as much as I had hoped. I am still looking forward to the authors next book. For the audiobook version of the book I did love the narrator and I think that helped to keep me listening, even during the slower parts!

Leena, young professional living in London, is grappling with the death of her sister. Meanwhile, her grandmother, Eileen, is not only grieving her granddaughter, but also her husband leaving her after a long marriage.

The two decide to swap places leaving Leena in the countryside at her grandmother’s and Eileen moving in temporarily with Leena’s flat mates in London.

While the story was a bit cheesy and quite predictable, I did enjoy listening to it. A nice get away from the real world. One thing I did not enjoy was the narrators talking in the phone. They tried to sound muffled and it was quite annoying.

Overall, I’d recommend as an easy listen with likable and diverse characters.

This was a unique idea of switching lives between a grandmother and her granddaughter. Even with that, it was a predictable story line. That does not mean it was bad, just predictable.
I am glad that I got an audiobook version of it because I would have been bored reading it. I really enjoyed the narrator, but wish there was a lot less lip smacking. It was distracting. But I really think the narrator did a great job.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for providing me with this audiobook.

"Eileen is sick of being 79.
Leena's tired of life in her twenties.
Maybe it's time they swapped places..."

I absolutely adored this audiobook. The narrators were fantastic and endearing to listen to. They truly brought the characters, especially Leena and Eileen, to life. The storyline was slightly predictable, though the events, characters, and dual narration made it enjoyable to follow along.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of "The Switch" by Beth O'Leary in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for allowing me to review this beautiful story.

The Switch by Beth O'Leary is a charming story about a granddaughter and grandmother who switch places. After the loss of her sister, Leena was having trouble coping. She is put on a two month sabbatical, in which she decides to go visit her grandmother, Eileen. Eileen, who is almost eighty, is feeling very lonely after her husband leaves her. Eileen, decides to look for love in London, while Leena throws herself into her grandmother's responsibilities in her village. They both soon find themselves, healing, and love.

This is a story jumps between the perspectives of grandmother and granddaughter, and has elements of loss, healing, love, family and community. My favorite element was the strong show of community. Eileen brings together the people of Leena's apartment building, and they embrace her and what she is trying to accomplish. Things were a big tougher for Leena, as she had to try and change the minds of the elderly community that were very stuck in their ways. In the end, it showed how tight knit that community was, and how they care for their own.

As I listened to the audio book, I want to add that I really enjoyed the duel narrations of the story. The two narrators did a fantastic job making it feel like I was sitting in a room, while they were telling their story to me.

The one thing that I would say is, the story did seem to go rather slowly at times. In some moments, it would drag on a bit. I also felt like it could have concluded a bit sooner than it did.

All in all, this is was a lovely, sweet, and endearing story that I enjoyed. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys charming, witty, and uplifting stories. I look forward to reading other novels that this author has to offer.

The Switch is Beth O’Leary’s sophomore novel which can oftentimes be a letdown. That is not the case here.

Leena is a twenty-something workaholic in London. After a major flub at work she is forced to take a two month sabbatical to relax and figure out what is going on in her life.

Eileen, Leena’s grandmother and namesake is a 79 year old recent divorcée, living in the northern England countryside. She is looking for a change of scenery and to start dating again.

The two make a plan to switch lives for a while, all the way down to their phones and computers.

This book was adorable and full of grandmotherly spunk. Eileen made me miss my grandma something fierce and wish I could call her up just to chat.

Thank you to Net Galley for giving me the chance to listen to the audio of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was such a delightful, heartwarming audiobook with exquisite narration. Imagine The Holiday and Philomena having a movie baby and you get The Switch.

What do you get when a grandmother and her 20-something granddaughter decide to switch places for a couple of months? A fun and charming story alternating between the English countryside and city life in London. I loved this book! A big thank you to @netgalley for the audiobook of The Switch. The narration was excellent and I found grandma Eileen especially endearing! I’m inspired to read The Flatshare from last summer too!

💭 REVIEW TIME 🌟
The Switch by Beth O'Leary

I ADORED THIS AUDIO BOOK!
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Eileen Cotton simply won me over with her quick whit and charm, she's the very best kind of granny. Leena is all of us at one point or another in our lives: a bit lost, looking for "what's next" and wishing life was less complicated. Switching things up a bit will not only allow both ladies to deal with their personal baggage, but allow them to also heal from an unbearable loss that is still affecting their family's happiness.
💚
O'Leary did such an fantastic job at creating characters that bring both laughter and heartache to the story. I found myself cheering on Eileen and Leena, wishing them a happy ending... one they create for themselves outside of family and romance.
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Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for advanced access to this novel on audio.

STAR RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Switch by Beth O'Leary was my first audiobook from Netgalley. The premise for the story sounded intriguing and I was not disappointed. It was narrated by Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones. The chapters alternated between Grandma Eileen, a young, active and feisty seventy-nine year old woman whose home was in Leeds, Yorkshire and her granddaughter, Leena, a twenty something young, ambitious and hard working woman living and working in London. The Switch had all the right elements included to make it a strong 5 star book for me.

Grandma Eileen and Leena had a very close relationship. Leena tried to visit her grandmother as often as she could and they spoke on the phone regularly. Grandma Eileen had had a very hard year. Her husband left her for another woman and she lost her granddaughter, Carla, to cancer. Carla was Leena's sister. Eileen was also trying to help her daughter, Leena and Carla's mother. She was struggling with depression as a result of her daughter Carla's death. Despite all the hardships she had encountered, Eileen had not given up on the possibility of finding love again. The only thing was there were no eligible or suitable men in her age bracket living anywhere near her.

Leena was having a very hard time coping with Carla's death. She had heard about an experimental drug and treatment plan that she wanted Carla to try. Her pleas to not give up and to try this new treatment fell on deaf ears by both her mother and Carla. Since Carla's death, Leena and her mother had become estranged. Leena blamed her mother for not wanting to give Carla every chance she had to live. Carla's death was also affecting Leena's performance at work. After botching up a presentation to one of Leena's firm's big clients, Leena was directed to take a two month paid leave. Given no opportunity to dispute the directive, Leena decided to visit Grandma Eileen.

Grandma Eileen and Leena devised a brilliant plan to help both their situations. They would swap or switch places for two months. Grandma Eileen would live in Leena's flat with Leena's flatmates in London and pursue her quest for romance. She would be exposed to the idea of casual dating, Internet sites for dating, creating a dating profile and chatting on line to several different men simultaneously. Leena, on the other hand would live in Grandma Eileen's house and represent her grandmother in all the neighborhood meetings and projects her grandmother was involved in. Neither Eileen nor Leena knew how hard this switch would prove to be in the beginning. Would it help both of them come to terms with Carla's death and change how it was affecting their everyday lives? Would young at heart Grandma Eileen find love again? Would both Grandma Eileen and Leena discover things about themselves they had not known existed before the switch?

I loved listening to The Switch by Beth O'Leary. It had just enough humor to make me smile and even laugh out loud. It focused a lot on grief and coping with the death of a loved one. There were elements of hope, discovery, love, family, caring for others, sense of community, friendship and new beginnings. I laughed, cried and felt inspired while listening to The Switch. I highly recommend this book.

I received a complimentary audiobook version of The Switch from Macmillan Audio and Flatiron Books through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I enjoyed this book so much! It was a unique twist on the theme of swapping lives and I loved where the author took it. I also loved that one of the main characters is an older woman, since they are seen less in contemporary romantic fiction. The audiobook narrators were wonderful - the voices were exactly what I would want for these characters. I definitely need to add more British audiobooks into my rotation! Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy!

Oh gosh where to start with this one. I flat out LOVED this book. I was sad for it to end, I feel like I just left friends behind to move on with my life. I got to listen to the Audio Version of this book and I was enthralled. I could not stop listening. Daisy Edgar Jones and Alison Steadman do an amazing job at narrating for Leena and Eileen.

The story begins with Leena (the younger Cotton) having a nervous breakdown at work following the death of her sister and being forced to take a two month holiday. She ends up on Yorkshire to visit with her grandmother and comes up with a plan for them to switch lives for two months. Grandma Eileen (the elder Cotton) has always wanted to be i London, but put her dreams on hold for her good for nothing ex husband, Wade, and to raise her family. Now she is getting the chance. Leena helps Eileen sign up for online dating and sends her off to London to make her mark. Both women end up making their mark in their new lives and as much as they enrich the lives of those they touch, they gain just as much. There is a cooky list of characters, lots of laughs, and two great adventures to find in this book.

Switch is a wonderful story that follows Leena and her grandmother, Eileen, as they navigate life after it deals them some difficult and tragic circumstances. They swap lives for a few months to give their "new" lives a jump start. I especially loved 79-year-old Eileen. I found myself grinning widely at some of her antics and snorting with laughter at others. Beth O'Leary fabulously portrayed older people as full, valuable members of society and did not shy away from romantic relationships for the senior crowd. Although it took me a bit more time to embrace Leena, she doesn't fall too far from the proverbial tree. Like Eileen, she's a gem. Both women are adept at developing delightful, intergenerational friendships. Leena and Eileen are joined by a wonderful cast of quirky, secondary characters that made me wish they were real. Switch is wonderfully quirky with an undercurrent of emotion.

I listened to the audiobook and highly recommend it. The narrators are fabulous and add value to the story.

Thank you to Netgalley for audio review copy.