For fans of 'The Flatshare', Beth O'Leary's writing will feel familiar. The story is simple, predictable, and calming to listen to. The dual perspectives are distinct, but neither brings anything too exciting to the table (the very opposite of a fast-paced story). Overall, this was not an unpleasant reading experience, but was not one that I'd repeat any time soon.

Leena is a bit of a workaholic. After her sister’s passing, she was so closed to a mental breakdown that was ordered to take 2 months off work.
Eileen just recently divorced and is set on rediscovering life and taking a long due adventure in search of her next big love.
Leena soon ends up in a tiny Yorkshire village dealing with the myriad of responsibilities her grandma took over in town, and Aileen ends up in London trying online dating for the very first time.

The Holiday (movie) done with your grandma. I read the synopsis and I couldn’t stop myself. I normally find old people really cute and I haven’t read that many stories with 80 year olds as protagonists. I was immediately sold!

Eileen is the coolest lady ever. She may not fit in London instantly, but she’s an intrepid woman who won’t stop. She loves lists and meddling but only with good intentions! It’s no surprise that just a couple of days in London she’s already trying to fix her flatmates' lives as her secret project, because juggling several men at once it seems to not be enough.

Leena’s breakdown has more depth than it initially appears and moving closer to her mom forces her to deal with unsolved issues and rethink what her life is really about. Both ladies go through introspective journey’s that help them grow, but Leena goes through the biggest change.

That small town has your typical picturesque, close-knit community, where everyone knows everyone else (picture - Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls) The struggles Leena goes through with her new elderly and not so elderly neighbors are so very amusing. All secondary characters are very diverse, real, well built.

The love interests are not that surprising, maybe Aileen’s has a bit of a fun twist, but you can see signs from the very beginning. But it’s the journey that counts, right?

As a whole, a really heartwarming and enjoyable read, with a really upbeat and fun writing style. I’ll be sure to check out the author’s other works.

Leena lives in London while her Grandmother Eileen lives in Yorkshire and both are still reeling after Leena’s sisters death. Leena screws up a work presentation and is asked to take a leave from work to recover. The two decide to switch locations for Leena’s leave and get a new perspective.

While her sister’s death is always part of the story and somber, it’s a nice story about changing perspectives. With a little bit of romance and some self discovery, even for Elaine at 70, it is an enjoyable story.

And listening to the audiobook, both narrators are superb.

The Switch, a contemporary British work, follows Leena and her grandmother, Eileen, as they swap places for a month. The premise is reminiscent of The Holiday, and was super charming. Leena needs to get away from her stressful work life, and after being put on sabbatical, she agrees to switch locations with her grandmother who is seeking some fresh candidates for dating after ending a lengthy marriage with her husband.

I indulged in the audiobook version of this novel and enjoyed the charm of the separate narrators for the two main characters. Although there are not any huge surprises in the book, it was a light, easy read that is perfect for this time of year.

Thanks to Netgalley, Beth O’Leary and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook.

I loved The Flatshare, I was beyond excited for Th Switch to come out. I really wish I would have read the book instead of doing audio. I think the narrators is what stopped me from giving it a 4 star rating. I like the characters and the plot, but I had so much difficulty getting over the narrators voices, that I truly struggled to enjoy the story.

I absolutely loved listening to this audiobook! I have heard so many good things about Beth O'Leary's work from friends and other reviewers on Bookstagram and Goodreads and <i> The Switch </i> did not disappoint. It was a very easy five star read, as it had just the right about of seriousness to go with the cheesiness of the premise. Leena and her grandmother, Eileen, switch places for about 2 months -- Eileen goes to live Leena's life in London, and Leena moves to her grandmother's small town cottage. They each find a certain type of adventure in their new life.

I found this story to be character driven, but I would also consider the small town (I don’t know how to spell it, as I didn’t physically read this book) its own character. This did not both me at all, as I generally prefer my audiobooks to be more character driven than plot driven. Also, <i> The Switch </i> contained some of my absolute favorite tropes (small town guy/big city girl, anyone?), so if you want a sweet, character driven read or listen this is definitely a book for you.

Content warnings: death in the family, domestic abuse

I will also be posting a review on my Instagram: @lphreads and will update my feedback to include that when I post it.

Eileen lives in Yorkshire, and Leena, her granddaughter, lives in London. Eileen is freshly divorced, and Leena blew it at work on a big project. Escaping from the big city, Leena heads to quiet Yorkshire to visit Eileen, and they commiserate over their separate yet terrible woes. After some chat, they realize that what they really need is a little life swap. Leena will stay in Yorkshire, and Eileen will enjoy London's charms for two months. It seems like the most perfect of plans, and the girls set off to their new lives that may yield life-changing happiness. Of course, even the most perfect of plans comes with a few wrenches, and the two soon find that swapping lives isn't as easy as swiping left (or was that right?). Sometimes what it takes to open our eyes is to view the world through somebody's else's, and often what we really need is closer to home than we imagine.

Life swaps are certainly enjoyable. Who doesn't love The Parent Trap? Of course, in The Switch, magical hijinks aren't quite afoot, and the real magic is the change in perspective once these two ladies step outside their comfort zones. Eileen is a real hoot of a lady, and I hope I keep her same vigor for life when I am as mature as she is! Leena deals with some typical twenty-something problems, though I liked that being away from home forced her to confront them in a way that was unusual for her. I read The Switch in audiobook format, and I really enjoyed the different narrators for Eileen and Leena, and there was obvious effort put into the production. The Switch isn't exactly groundbreaking, but it is a laid-back tale of self-discovery that transcends generations and asks not for these women to be perfect, but allows them to explore, to stretch their expectations and capabilities, and offers them a chance to change their life into something they can live with and love for a long time to come.

❣️Genre❣️Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Romance

❣️Premise❣️ A non-fantastical Freaky Friday-esque novel in which 20-something year old Leena and her namesake 79 year old Eileen switch lives. In the midst of a tragic loss, both Eileens need space from and perspective of their current lifestyles.

❣️Narration❣️ Unfortunately, you can hear the narrator’s saliva when she changes accents and pauses, which is very off-putting to me. I probably would have opted for the physical text over the audio in this case.

❣️Thoughts❣️I absolutely loved the sweet grandmother-granddaughter relationship: too cute for words.

❣️Thoughts❣️If you are having a chick-lit itch, this will definitely scratch it: it is sweet, smart, and witty.

I listened to The Switch by Beth O’Leary last week while working and it gave me all kinds of cozy fall vibes! It tells the story of Eileen and her granddaughter Leena who decide to spice up their lives by swapping places. Eileen goes off to London and enters the world of online dating while Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbors and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another’s shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.

The audiobook was excellent and I enjoyed both narrators. They did a great job characterizing the cast of friends and family that surrounded the two. Fantastic!

Words I’d use to describe this book- warm, sweet, funny, light, and heartwarming.

It is billed as a romance, but really that’s such a small part of The Switch. Personally, I’d describe it as a book about family, loss and forgiveness.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmilllan Audio for the audiobook!

This was a cute story that is very British (which I love!). It was a bit slow at the start, but finally started picking up towards the end! The character narration was great - engaging and interesting! This was one of the better audiobooks in terms of the narration.

Overall, it would a 3.5 star selection for me.

Lena and Eleanor, granddaughter and grandmother, switch lives for a two month sabbatical that teaches them a lot about each other and about themselves. This is a sweet tale that was just what I needed at this point in time.

A really heartwarming read of bravery to try again. Loved Eileen's character especially, and of course Ant & Dec. The narrators were excellent.

This is not my usual genre. I don't usually read any fiction without magic, horror, sci fi, anything unreal or spooky. And certainly not usually realistic, white family drama. Honestly, I'm not sure why I requested this from NetGalley at all.

So why did I like this book so much???? I thoroughly enjoyed Beth O'Leary's The Switch, so much so that I will likely read her other books too, despite not being my go-to genre. What a wonderful surprise! This book is a treat.

The Switch is a charming novel about Lena, a young workaholic in sore need of a vacation, and her grandmother who has been reclused in the country for too long. Lena's grandmother is ready to date again, so she heads to London to enter a fresh pool of eligible bachelors while Lena rebuilds her relationship with her mother and herself in the calm country--both women still reeling from Lena sister's death from cancer the year before. They swap homes, and care for each other's friends and "projects" for the length of this temporary arrangement.

I went into this audiobook blindly, and never quite knew where it was going. I had some guesses, but overall I found it unexpected. The story is full of smaller stories of the neighbors within the womens' peripheries. We follow all the types of personal dramas that are common in the human experience: loneliness, dating hardships, single parenthood, cancer, death, aging, unemployment, divorce, domestic abuse, cheating, and more. We see how each character's struggle bumps and bounces into other's. How do we support each other when we ourselves are hurting? How do build community when people are messy? Is it ever too late to try something new or get a fresh start?

The audiobook is excellent. I don't generally like any amount of dramatization in audio, but the little bit we get from the two female narrators is good. Their voices are easy to listen to and well acted for the story. I can't help but question if I love it as much as I do in part because the narration was so pleasant.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

🎧 Audio Book Review 🎧

Book - The Switch
Author - Beth O' Leary
Genre - Fiction Romcom
Published -18th August 20
Narrator - Alison Steadman, Daisy Edgar Jones
Listening length - 10 Hours 10 minutes

🎧This was my first experience of audiobook as I'm a diehard reader where I bookmark or highlight or re read whenever and whatever part I want to read. Honestly I was skeptical and initially I took little time to get accustomed to it. But narrators were outstanding as their emotions and grip of character was very authentic and intimate.

🎧Leena Cotton from London is in her twenties who has occupied herself heavily in work after her sister's death. But after having a panic attack at work,she is forced to have a mandatory sabbatical. She decides to visit her grandmother Eileen in Yorkshire village who is in her seventies.

🎧They decide to SWITCH houses for a good deal in their lives. It indeed brings altogether great change where Leena realizes how she always under estimated the country life and Eileen adjusts quickly with city life and finds solace in her life. Navigating grief and holding together bravely is crux of storyline.

🎧This book is certainly an ode to the relation between granddaughter and grandmother. It has grieving, happy, funny, romantic and substantial sweet elements wrapped to it. October certainly began with sweet and adorable romcom.

❤️ Thank you @netgalley @betholeary for this free audiobook in exchange of my honest opinion. I liked the storyline, cast and audio❤️

The Switch is a Contemporary British novel, which sets the main characters Leena and Eileen Cotton up for swapping places for a whole month (think The Holiday, but less questionable because these two women actually know and love each other ahead of time). Leena has been run down by her all-consuming job after using it as her reason for not fully grieving the loss of her sister. Eileen's been left by her husband after years in a (for lack of a better word) meh marriage. Both women switch homes (and mobile phones) in order to gain a foothold on life. A cast of loving family and friends ensue with both women finding themselves in the process.

Let me just start by saying, what a great audiobook! The Switch is one of the more immersive audiobooks I've listened to - the separate narrators for both Leena and Eileen (Daisy Edgar-Jones and Alison Steadman, respectively) were great at characterizing the cast of friends and family that surrounded the two Cotton Women. Also, Daisy Edgar-Jones' (previous film credits include Normal People and a feature on Gentleman Jack) performance could be considered a strong table read for a film rather than a narration for a book. Well done, indeed!

If you love - We Met in December, most of Carrie Hope Fletcher's books, Stars Hollow Town Meetings, the relationship between Mia and Queen Clarice from Princess Diaries, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, or The Holiday - you're going to love The Switch!

This was such a cute Chick Lit/ Romance! It left me with all the feels! I think something cute and light is perfect right now because of all the YA I’ve been reading lately, this was a great palette cleanser if you will. It perked me right up and kept me from falling into a slump. And we all know how those are!

Eileen and Leena are grandmother and granddaughter. Eileen lives a leisurely kind of life in a rural Yorkshire community and Leena is living a fast paced London life. What both of them have in common is they both seem to be in a rut. Eileen, just having gone through a divorce is ready to get back out in the dating world but there is no worth while or available men available in her small town. And Leena has just been given a 2 month forced sabbatical after blowing a meeting with a big account. So with their dilemmas they decide to do a switch where Eileen can find all the silver haired eligible bachelors to her hearts content in London and Leena with her go get em attitude can take care of all her Grandmothers projects in Yorkshire, as well as look after her mom who has been dealing with Carla’s death.
But the switch doesn’t go exactly as each had hoped with Eileen wondering if a love interest is actually closer to home and Leena intent to get back home as her relationship with Ethan has taken a beating with the long distance.

I want to be Eileen in my 70’s with all that energy and spunk. She fits right in with Leenas friends. This felt like it could be a RomCom movie with all the hysterical little slips Leena was having taking care of her Grandmothers Neighborhood Watch meetings and all the other projects she lined up for her. And then there were all the misunderstandings with Josh.. including losing his dog! I just laughed out loud at times.
And Eileen with all her online trolling for men. And her constant need to fix Bee up with the perfect guy. I just couldn’t stop smiling.
If you are looking for a cute, funny and witty read look no further The Switch is perfect.

Narration:
Both Daisy Edgar Jones & Allison Steadman
did a terrific job. They fell into their characters and I felt like they were the real deal right away!

I really wish I had gotten this as a book instead of an audiobook because even though it’s a cute story, I really didn’t like the narrators so it wasn’t a very enjoyable experience for me.

This was an absolutely delightful read! I had previously read The Flatshare and had been looking forward to this new novel. It did not disappoint! I loved the characters and the story, particularly the relationship between Leena and Eileen as well as the growth that they both showed in their respective life situations, Funny and heartwarming at the same time . A true treat that was much needed during this year of uncertainty.

This one is coined as a romance but it's so much more. I loved all of the characters in this story and the way the author wove the story between Eileen and Leena and all of their friends and family was so beautiful. This book made me laugh, cry and reflect if you haven't read it yet. Go now, read it! I absolutely loved how it was so much more than a second chance love story and both Eileen and Leena found themselves as fish out of water in each other's homes and lives but they grabbed the chance to embrace change and see how they could help those around them. The communities they build and people they encounter are really something. Well I'm off to read flatshare, I think I've found a new favourite author!

What an adorable story! I really enjoyed the narrators and it was so nice to hear Daisy Edgar-Jones as Leena.
I haven't read The Flatshare yet, but I was delighted with this book. It is always a delight to read stories about family relationships, overcoming the pains of Life surrounded by great friends who never leave us alone..

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.