This is a cute romance about a grandmother and granddaughter switching lives. They have both been through recent life changing experiences and needed time away from their everyday routine so why not swap and change it up. Such a great audiobook with great storytelling. I enjoy every chapter being in either the granddaughter Leena or the grandmother Eileen’s POV. This book ended all tidied up with no questioning what happened to each character. Great fun read and clean romance!

This audiobook from NetGalley was my second reading of The Switch by Beth O'Leary. I read this on a roadtrip with my mother and we both enjoyed it. Though I had to explain a few online dating nuances....

This book is sweet and charming. And I have recommended it to several NetGalley users.

A comment on format: There are a number of phone conversations that are played with a grainy quality which are a little difficult to make out depending on the speaker (e.g. Eileen on the phone to Leena).

Leena Cotton is barely holding it together after the death of her sister Carla a year earlier. When she has a panic attack in the middle of a work meeting she realizes how bad things have gotten. Instead of being fired, her boss sends her on two months of vacation time.⁣
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Eileen Cotten, Leena’s grandmother, lives in Hamleigh. She is struggling after her husband left their marriage for the yoga instructor. ⁣
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Both are grieving in their own ways. When Leena suggests they switch homes, Eileen is on board.⁣
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When I first heard about this book, I thought it was a Freaky Friday type situation. That was not the case at all. They switch houses, not bodies. 😂⁣
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𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 pleasantly surprised me. I liked it even more than 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦. In the same way that 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 touched on heavy topics, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 dealt with issues of grief, depression, loneliness, and abuse.⁣
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I thought this was a sweet and powerful story about the bonds of family, community, and healing from heartbreak. Both Eileen and Leena had distinct personalities and voices. I also enjoyed getting to know the side characters from the community! If you are looking for a book that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy, this is a good one! ⁣
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I alternated between reading the physical book and listening to the audio. The audio was well done! I enjoyed listening to both narrators. I feel like they captured the characters perfectly.

I really enjoyed this book. The narrator had a great voice and was able to encompass each character so well. Eileen and Leena were each so relatable in specific ways and the way O’Leary showed Eileen’s wisdom while still keeping her wild spirit made me love the book even more. I didn’t think The Flatshare could be beat but this book proved me wrong and I’m so glad.

This was a heartwarming story of a grandma and her granddaughter who switch homes for two months as an adventure and mental health vacation. The relationships developed and real life problems the women face in this story made it more enjoyable to listen to. The narrator, also, played a large role in my enjoyment of this book. I was glad they had two different people for the granddaughter and grandma.

Lena and Eileen Cotton, grand daughter and grandmother, have both had some major life changes recently. Lena is having a hard time adjusting and after bombing a presentation at work in London is told to take a two month sabbatical. She goes off to the countryside to visit her grandmother and they hatch a plan to switch cities for the next two months. Lena will try to reconcile her relationship with her mom and Eileen will explore online dating in a big city.

I loved the audio book version and being able to hear their two sides of the story was great. The description of the senior citizens in the small town was adorable and there was also some romance as well. If you're looking for a cute story with an English setting, I highly recommend it.

The Switch is the very first book that I have read by Beth O’Leary, and I am excited to have finally read something by her! Her previous book, The Flatshare has been on my TBR for a while now, and I am even more excited to get to that book having now read this one!

I enjoyed so much about The Switch. I was definitely intrigued by both of the characters. Eileen and Leena are grandmother and granddaughter, and while they share the same name, they are nothing at all alike. I enjoyed how the storyline switched between the two women, and how they basically switched lives for a while. It was fun how the chapters switched back and forth between the two. I have to say I think Eileen the grandmother had the most fun in the story, at least that’s how it felt to me.  There are also some great secondary characters in the story as well!

While I have a paperback version of this book, I opted to listen to the audio version instead, and I’m so glad that I did! This book is narrated by two authors, which goes great for the alternating viewpoints between the two main characters. Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones did a really great job narrating the story with all the different voices. It definitely made this read even more enjoyable.

Overall; If you can’t already tell, I very much enjoyed The Switch by Beth O’Leary! Now I’m definitely looking forward to reading more by her, and lucky me, I already have her first book, The Flatshare, queued up and ready to go. I’m so excited to read it!

Happy Reading!

Such a brilliant debut! I do not listen to audiobook as often as I would like because I get picky about the voices. However, this one has been nice to listen to. The storyline is so heartwarming that this is the book I would recommend to my own book club!

After Leena is given a two-month sabbatical from work, she escapes to the familiarity of the countryside to her grandmother Eileen's house. Eileen is a 79-year-old newly single who is looking for a new outlook on life. The solution? Leena proposes a two-month swap; Eileen will move to London to pursue a love connection, while Leena will take a well-deserved break and take care of things in Yorkshire.

I love how although this is meant to be a romantic comedy, Beth O'Leary does a great job going in-depth with her character development. I was absolutely in love with both Leena and Eileen (although I have a soft spot for Eileen as I would love to be like her when I grow up), I really enjoyed all of the secondary characters that brought so much more to the plot.

I listened to an audio version of this book, and I loved the voice actors and everything was so well done. I like how we flip between Leena and Eileen's POV. If you loved The Flatshare, you'll love this one just as much! It just gave me ALL the feels and reminded me a lot of the movie 'The Holiday'.
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I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I voluntarily listened and reviewed this audiobook. This author did a fantastic job writing this book. The pacing is perfect and the characters are described well. This is a humorous and a little bit sad story. The narrator's did a fantastic job reading this book. I highly highly recommend listening to this book to anyone and everyone. As it is a enjoyable funny book. The friendships and the family relationships are described great. This audiobook makes ne think of the Freaky Friday movie and it was so good and entertaining. This audiobook is in stores now for CA$36.50 (CAD).

I liked this book, but the audio delivery left a lot to be desired. It's told by two narrators and the voice of the grandmother is cringey! I can literally hear her mouth open and close between breaths and it was so distracting. It's like hearing someone chew with their mouth open, it was so annoying! I almost wanted to skip grandma's chapters. I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more just reading it.

That being said, the story was cute. It was a light read with some funny moments, some romance and an interesting cast of supporting characters.

I probably wouldn't recommend this book.

I picked up this audiobook because I had heard great things about this story and I was pumped to listen to it. Unfortunately, this one didn't do much for me. I thought the plot sounded funny and unique, but I found it to be boring and not really what I was expecting. I did enjoy the gradmother-granddaughter relationship some, but that's about where the extent of my like of this story went. I think this book is a good book for some people, just not for me.

Delightful and hopeful, spiced up by raw feelings of all kinds- deep, thoughtful, true love, romance, and family. The Switch focuses on getting the rustic, so British, and cheerful vibes to the readers. Simply speaking, this book made me happy and teary at the same time. I especially loved the grandma, 79, Eileen Cotton’s bright and cheerful character who sees life from such an open-minded and positive perspective. There’s a lot you can learn from the older generation when it comes to life and its ups and downs; since they have been around way longer, I’m assured by that. The story opens up to two lovely ladies, Leena Cotton and Eileen Cotton, granddaughter- grandmother duo story of swapping places from the house, work to a friendship that crosses age boundaries. Leena is tired at work; her grandmother Eileen wants to find love and adventure before time ran out, and after her husband walks out on her in infidelity. What follows down the path was amusement, enlightenment, and heartening occurrences. Not all of them are happy stories, though not sad. Readers will find caught in between chapters melancholic topics on handling grief and loss of loved ones, self-love, the courage to leave an abusive relationship healthily, and the sound mind to walk away from a relationship that has broken.

The Switch has tackled some serious issues about womanhood, young or old, in a tender and compassionate way. It indeed reflected some integral values that keep me pondering about being true to ourselves and others. The writing was entertaining, and the characters were inquisitive and cantankerous, but at the same time funny, raw, and kindly. This is a beautiful book with excellent intent and serves as a vital reminder that life isn’t always as it seemed to be, but there’s still hope, things would become better, and there are people around that would always love and be there for us, no matter what, if we give it a chance.

Special Thanks to Netgalley for the Audiobooks version. I loved the narrator for Eileen and Leena. Their lively and emotional narrations make the story so real and entertaining!

I'm sorry I cannot properly review this. I'm having a hard time getting the audio book going on my cell phone which is how I listen to audio books. I will happily check out the physical book since I'm old school like that. ; )

“We don’t have any good words for talking about death - they’re all too small.”
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What a delightful read this was! As the holidays are upon us, what better time than now to dive into some cute rom coms?
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This one brought together a Hallmark movie worthy love story and mixed it with some feel good family drama.
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The way this book tackles grief and emotions was beautiful and just makes me fall in love with Beth O’Leary’s books even more.
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Be sure to check this one out and if you haven’t read The Flatshare by her, pick that one up as well. You can thank me later 😉
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Many thanks to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for providing me with an audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.

I throughly enjoyed reading Beth O’Leary’s The Switch, a warm and delightful book about Leena, who has just been forced to take a two month leave of absence from her job, and Eileen, her grandmother who needs a little change in her life. They both agree to swap lives, with Leena moving to her grandmother's charming Yorkshire village and Eileen taking on the big city of London. Such a cute idea! What I thought would be a breezy and light read turned into much more, with the author tackling subjects such as grief, self-esteem and even domestic abuse. There is a wide cast of characters of all ages which all added lots of flavor to this absolutely charming romance.

And I am thrilled to read that Rachel Brosnahan will star in the making of 'The Switch' for the big screen!

I am looking forward to reading Beth's other book, 'The Flatshare'!

I just love the way Beth O'Leary writes relationships. I fell for her stories in The Flatshare, and was very excited to see that she had another.
The theme of this one, with the back and forth between Lena and Eileen, wrapped around the intertwining grief between the two of them and Marianne, mother to one, daughter to another.
The story has laughter, tears, betrayal, encouragement, acceptance. just beautiful.
thanks Netgalley, for the opportunity.
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I absolutely adored this book. It was so lighthearted and heartwarming, I definitely need to buy a physical copy for my shelf. This book made me cry on several occasions (particularly any part where Leena’s pregnant flat mate was involved because she just spoke my mine right now!) One quote that has stuck with me from right near the start is “the foetal position isn’t quite as static as everyone thinks”. Oh isn’t that true!

Beth O’Leary’s writing is like that of a Richard Curtis film. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy every time I read something by her. I am already waiting with baited breath for her new book to be released next year.

As I listened to the audiobook, I have to say Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones read the story so beautifully (even at double-speed as my copy was nearing its library due date before I found it on Netgalley). For someone who usually only listens to audiobooks in the car, this was one I could not turn off and couldn’t wait until I was next able to listen in peace.

I was excited to get this audiobook because I've had this book and author on my TBR for a while. Honestly, it was a bit of a let down. First, this read more like "chick-lit" than romance, which is fine because I like that genre as well. However, this seemed excessively long for the story that was told, and it lagged a lot for me - to a point that I found myself skipping chapters. I have heard SO many good things about this author that I'll give her another shot and skip the audio to see if I like it better.

Do I think that this is the best romance of 2020? No. Was it good? Kind of. I think that it took too long, and suffered from one perspective being better than the other. And it's not even not being a fan of older romances, because I liked the endgame for Eileen, I just found it gratiuitious.