This is my review of The Switch by Beth O'Leary, narrated by Daisy Edgar-Jones and Alison Steadman.

This story is such a wonderful treat! Listening to this book is like opening a box of sprinkled icing chocolate cupcakes. A rather interesting story about a grandmother and her granddaughter switching places. Leena Cotton was burned out from her job in London. Her boss recommended, or I should say ordered her, to take a leave for two months to recuperate. Workaholic Leena was unprepared for this quick turn of events. There’s nothing she can do to change her manager’s mind. So then she decided to use this sabbatical leave as an opportunity to visit her grandmother in the countryside.

Meet the charming and delightful Eileen Cotton. Leena’s 79-year-old grandmother. Eileen’s husband left her for another woman (their dance instructor) and has been keeping herself busy with small projects within her community. Eileen has been taking care of her daughter, Marian, who’s having mental health problems since one of her daughters died—Carla. Leena’s sister. Eileen is on an online dating quest. She was telling Leena about her dilemma of finding a date in their neighborhood because there are not too many men within her age group. While Leena is helping her grandmother with her online dating, that’s when she got this idea of them switching their lives so her grandma could find a date in London where there are more men to date.

So their adventure begins. Eileen left Leena her to-do list, even asked Leena that they swap smartphones and laptops. Hesitantly Leena agreed if she wanted for this to work. Before they both know it, Leena is saying goodbye to Eileen inside the tube off to London.

The story is narrated in two points of view—Leena and Eileen. I listened to the audiobook in NetGalley so please pardon the misspellings of the names. I immensely enjoyed Eileen’s narration. The narrator gave life to Eileen’s character. While Leena’s narration is not so bad. I would say that it was narrated a bit too fast as most British narrators I’ve listened to speaks. This is my pet peeve though the beauty of an audiobook there is a control to decrease and increase the narration speed.

The narration is just half of this review. The story in itself is marvelous. Beth O’Leary has the skill to put the everyday mundane life of a person into something very enjoyable and interesting. Every day, I look forward to listening to Eileen and Leena’s life. This is one of those stories I never wanted to end. I will read and listen to this every day and will never get tired. A lot of Eileen’s parts of the story had cracked me up so hard I had stomach cramps. Like I did 100 crunches without the hard work. Leaving me breathless in a good way. I like everything about this story but if you would ask which is my favorite it would be Chapter 8 when Eileen arrived in London and had five times near-death experiences. This is also the chapter where Eileen first met Leticia. I listen to this over and over again, always have a good laugh. I must say that I love Beth O’Leary’s sense of humor.

There are so many things I love about this book. The story about the familial relationship: grandmother, mother, and granddaughter, women supporting other women, finding love at any age, rekindling feelings, friends, community, neighbors, and loss.

I guess there is only one thing that made me sad that is how Leena has a weak faith towards her grandmother. I will not elaborate any more. But I guess this is Beth O’Leary’s way of making her characters human, frail, and relatable.

I can’t stop going on about how I adore Eileen’s character. She likes to read Agatha Christie’s books that’s why she plays little old lady detective in this story. She makes friends easily. She talks to her neighbors. She has good manners. She’s funny. I want a grandmother like her! Period.

There are so many quotes I loved from this book. I just shared a couple of them here in my review. It is a happily-ever-after where everybody will be together in the end. I laughed. I cried. I daydreamed. I felt like I am part of their lives. Listening to the last part left me teary-eyed. Most of all, it left me feeling so alive.

My wholehearted thanks to NetGalley, publisher Macmillan Audio, and author Beth O’Leary for making the audiobook available, allowing me to listen to this heartwarming story and performance. I plan to purchase the Kindle book and audiobook in the next few days. For now, I am still thinking about the ordinary yet fascinating characters in this book, especially the two amazing women, wondering what is going on in their mundane lives.

This is the second book I’ve read by Beth O’Leary. I read The Flatshare last year and loved it, so I was excited to get started on this one.

I will say, I didn’t love this one as much. It was a cute, predictable and charming novel mostly because of the characters. I think Beth O’Leary has a knack for creating characters that you want to know more about! I felt like the idea of switching houses was a little boring, made mildly interesting by changing up who’s involved in the switching. In this case, it was Eileen, the grandmother, and Leena, the granddaughter. There was a common thread between them of loss and heartbreak, and I felt like that did a lot to add to the story and make it more interesting too.

Overall, if you’re looking for an easy light read, this is a great book.

I was initially drawn into the characters and their separate stories. Reminded me of the movie “The Holiday”. But then I was ready for it to be done! Good book, not fantastic.

20-something Leena Cotton needs to escape her corporate life in London, and 79 year old Eileen Cotton is evaluating her love life. After venting to each other, Leena suggests switching places with her grandma for her 2 month sabbatical. Leena tries to relax in a small village with a fun cast of characters, while Eileen casually dates and organizes group events in London.

The Switch was an adorable story, I really enjoyed both points of view. Leena proves that sometimes working hard and living the city life isn’t everything. Eileen shows us that it’s never too late for love and new friendships. The Switch would make a great movie.

I’d like to thank NetGalley & Macmillan audio for the chance to listen in exchange for an honest review!

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌠

My Thoughts:
This was such a wholesome, happy & fun story to read. I absolutely loved the concept of grandmother & granddaughter living each others life for 2 months. It was an interesting & refreshing concept.

Out of the two MCs I enjoyed Eileen's part of the story more & her personality was super fun. This is a book for almost all ages. I loved that the author explored various aspects like family dynamics, love, friendships, the relations with the neighbors in the book. There was lots of character development to see in all the characters as the story progressed.

The narration was really good for both the characters. But I faced a lot of issues initially on the app & it made me feel disconnected from the story intially in the 1st quarter. That was the only minus for me while listening to this audiobook. Everything else was awesome.
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Disclaimer: Thanking Netgalley & the publishers for providing me with an audiobook of the book in exchange of an honest review. The thoughts expressed in the review are therefore completely my own.

The loss of a child or sibling can be one of the hardest things that a family can endure and this novel takes a look at the way that loss affects three generations of women- grandmother, mother, and daughter. After her sister Carla dies, twenty-nine year old Leena throws herself into her work to the extent that she almost suffers a breakdown. After a panic attack while working on a major account, her London-based employer takes the unusual step of forcing her to go on holiday rather than terminating her employment. Leena's grandmother Eileen, age seventy-nine and recently divorced, feels lonely and stifled in her small town in the Yorkshire Dales. At loose ends, Leena travels to visit her grandmother, carefully avoiding seeing her mother Marianne, who lives in the same town. Leena and Eileen hatch a plan to switch homes for a time, so that Leena can relax in the countryside and Eileen can go to the big city to see if she can rekindle her dating life.

This is a nicely written, if a bit cliché, contemporary romance. You know everyone will end up fine and happy again, that grandmother and granddaughter will find romance, and the mother will ease her heartache over the loss of her other daughter. While not treading a lot of new ground for this genre (women's contemporary fiction/romance) the novel is well-written, and the secondary characters are interesting. I very much enjoyed the focus on older characters, who get to have their own interesting lives, and the insight that just because someone lives in a small town or in the country doesn't mean they can't have had a fascinating and useful life. The injection of pragmatism about Eileen's online dating experience near the end was a welcome development, as there was so much I found unlikely in her experiences to that point.

The audiobook of the novel, voiced by Alison Steadman (Eileen) and Daisy Edgar-Jones (Leena) is very well performed and engaging for the listener.

I received digital audiobook copies of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book! I was afraid to pick it up because I was afraid I wouldn't care for the old Eileen storyline but I reallllllllly liked her as a person and her storyline was great. I don't know why I am surprised because I loved Beth's first book.
I think it is great that the two main characters are voiced by different actors, but I was bothered by how silent the phone calls were and I didn't like the effect that was used to make them realistic. Overall the app needs a lot of work because I had so many issues, but that's nothing to do with the book.

The book is excellent and I would encourage people to listen to it on other platforms.

The Switch was such a fun audiobook to listen to. The narration was superb and I had no problem with immersing myself in the story while listening to the audio. I loved both main characters, Leena and Eileen, with Eileen being my all-time favorite. I am not sure what attracts me to novels where the main characters are elderly, but I love their funny antics, thought provoking analysis of life, and most of the time, their openness to self-discovery and personal growth.

I highly recommend this audiobook to anyone that is looking for a fun read with a hidden message.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and the author for providing me with an ALC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am not sure what drew me to this novel, but I am so glad I did. I fun mix of romance, loss and learning to be yourself regardless of your age. Lema and Elaine are both great characters and the homes and friends are lovely and well detailed. Highly recommend the audio versions with great narration.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the audio version of The Switch in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first audiobook I have completely listened too. I've tried on many occasions but have not been able to listen to the narrator and have given up and just though audiobooks were not for me. However I had heard good things about The Swith and was really interested in it so thought I'd give it a go! I realised that it is not that audiobooks are not for me, it's the narrator!
The switch is narrated by Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Alison Steadman and they did a fantastic job. I was fully engaged and they completely brought the story to life.
I throughly enjoyed this book, even though I did find it a little far fetched at times, as having two grandmothers in their 70's I could not imagine them behaving like Eileen, however it was a lot of fun and kept me entertained throughout. I would definitely recommend this book and will be looking to read Flatshare next.

I loved this sweet tale of two family members with very different circumstances switching lives. I wish there were more books with older main characters - they are easy to love and can be so much fun to follow around. They also have the advantage of life knowledge, which we sure see a lot of in The Switch.

The characters are amazing, the settings are described in a way that makes it easy to imagine and the plot is perfectly balanced between personal development and drama. The side characters (aka friends and lovers) are nothing but fun additions to the story and I really hope to get a revisit in a sequel so I can know what becomes of them all.

I also very much hope that someone will turn this great story into a movie - I would love to see our main characters get into trouble on the big screen!

This is such an endearing, cute and yet hilarious story.

Meet Leena Cotton, ever the problem solver, hard-worker and fix-it-all. Except the cancer that took her fierce little sister a little over a year ago. That she couldn’t fix. Her way to cope? Work, work and then work some more. The result? A two-month paid leave after blowing a big presentation and almost losing a client.

Now meet Eileen Cotton, Leena’s grandmother. At her 79 years old she’s ready to give love another chance after her husband left her for their dance class instructor four months ago.

They both need a change in their lives, so they decide to swap houses for two months. Leena will stay in Hamleigh-in-Harksdale, a little town in Yorkshire, and Eileen will move into Leena’s flat in London and dive into the world of online dating.

Had I physically read this, I may not have liked it as much. Not only because it is a slow, unhurried story but because the narration was utterly flawless, especially Eileen’s. She was my favorite in every possible way. She’s a sassy old woman who lists the pros and cons of every eligible men, is on neighborhood watch and leaves Leena labeled diagrams of the TV remote. She knows that “you can get away with an awful lot when you’re an old lady” and plays that card to her advantage whenever she can, to my utter delight. Of course, Leena’s flatmates fall in love with her and she manages to get acquainted with everyone in the building. And her friendship with Fitz, one of Leena’s flatmates, is priceless.

Overall, it's a fun, fluffy contemporary but it’s 100% character driven, so the audiobook is definitely the way to go.

I really enjoyed this audiobook about Lena, a workaholic living in London who is dealing with the death of her sister the year before. This book also includes Lena’s grandmother Eileen (who is in her late 70’s and living in a small village in northern England) and has recently gone through a divorce. When Lena goes on a forced sabbatical from work, the women decide to swap houses so Lena can try to deal with her grief and so Eileen can look for love in London.

This audiobook was incredible. The narrators (Daisy Edgar-Jones reading Lena and Alison Steadman reading Eileen) were absolutely wonderful with great Northern accents! I really enjoyed that each woman’s perspective was given and loved how the phone calls between characters was recorded in the audio.

This book dealt with some heavy topics and one of the big ones is about emotional abuse in relationships and how people know it is happening but don’t want to “stick their nose in”. I felt the topic was handled really well, with understanding and with a great ending.

I will definitely be looking for Beth O’Leary’s next book on audio as I enjoyed this one so much!

Finally managed to listen to this and I loved this audiiobook! The story itself was good, but the audiobook was awesome, the way both actresses could represent these characters was amazing. It truly got me, I caught myself laughing so hard, then crying like a baby.

I do think that the story got a little boring and predictable halfway through the book, though it was still very cute. The characters from Eileen's storyline could've been better explored, but from Leena's plot, they never failed to make me feel everything.

Plus, I felt such a cosy feeling reading on cold rainy days.

I couldn't recommend this enough, and if you have a chance to read the audiobook, even better.

Beth has done it again. A lovely feel-good book that is perfect for a cosy read this Autumn. I loved how Aileen was not your traditional grandma and had so much she wanted to achieve and do.

“The Switch” by Beth O’Leary was one of the first audiobooks I have listened to in a long time. I usually listen to audiobooks during commutes but haven’t been spending much time in the car due to quarantine.

I was very excited to listen to “The Switch” as I had just finished reading the “The Flatshare.” I love reading books that are based in England and this one was no different.

I enjoyed both of the narrators in this the audiobook as well of their storylines. I feel that their voices added to the plot and did not deter from the context.

Overall, I would highly recommend this audiobook to a friend and look forward to more audiobook on NetGalley.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of the audiobook “The Switch” in exchange for my honest review.

The Switch is a heart warming and cozy story of a dystopian family. The story revolves around the duo Grandmother and the grand daughter who decides to switch their lives and lifestyle for a change. In the process of change the characters experience the value of broken relationships. I love grandma, she is full of energy with full of life who encourages other. All the characters have their own importance.

If you are looking for something light to read go for The Switch....

This was my first audiobook I’ve ever listened to, and it won’t be my last! The narrator kept me intrigued throughout the entire book. I thoroughly enjoyed the listening experience for this story. Beth O’Leary’s writing is beautiful. I’ll definitely be recommending this book to others!

I really enjoyed this story of a grandmother and granddaughter who decide to switch lives for a few months. Eileen and Leena both need a change of scenery and hence form a plan to swap places for a few months. Eileen is almost 80 and single and decides to try the online dating world while Leena cares for her grandmothers home and responsibilities, while also making a mends with her own mother. In the end, they both find happiness in the most unexpected ways.

This book was an excellent story, but an even richer audio experience. I love love loved it! I will be recommending this audio book to my listeners over and over again.