I'm new to audiobooks and this one hooked me! I am sure I'd have loved this story reading it myself but the narrators put it over the top for me. I could have listened to them all day!

This story makes you laugh out loud (embarrassing for me as I'd listen to it while out walking) and will also give you a gut-punch of empathy and compassion for the characters as the story goes on.

I want Eileen to be my grandma, and I want to move to the small Yorkshire village where the majority of the story takes place.

This funny, witty story of a twenty-something granddaughter switching places with her 79yo spunky grandma is highly entertaining. Yes, you can see some of the plot twists coming, but the heartfelt way the characters are written (and the amazing job by the narrators) will make you feel you know these quirky characters. You'll feel you are literally there, hanging out with these fun people who all have their own baggage to deal with, and care about each of them.

I will definitely read this author's first book, The Flat Share. She is a fantastic, hilarious author! Thanks o much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this fun story.

Such a sweet story of two women from the younger and older generation doing a life swap. I enjoyed the narration and was happy to cosy up with my hobby, relax and listen in the late afternoons. My thanks to Netgalley for the audiobook in exchange for review.

The Switch was a lovely book about Leena, a stressed out young woman living in London experiencing panic attacks who was forced on a two month sabbatical from her work, and Eileen, her 79 year old grandmother looking for a second chance at love.

Eileen lived in a small villaage in Yorkshire and there was an extremely small pool of eligible seniors to date. Leena needed a rest in the countryside to get away from the pressures of her job.

The two switch their entire lives, including duties, phones, houses, apartments, and friends. Leena no longer has her smart phone and has to contend with a clunker old cell phone and computer. Eileen gets to swipe right and meet a multitude of eligible men if she wishes while sharing Leena’s apartment with the roommates.

Since Eileen is involved with all aspects of the small town including neighborhood watch and the upcoming May Day festival, Leena steps in and tries to fill Eileen’s shoes. Of course hilarity ensues in both scenarios. And maybe even love?

I listened to this story on audiobook with Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones as performers (and both were wonderful!) While I was listening to this story, I could picture it in my head as a delightful rom-com movie. It’s a brilliant idea and I adored both Leena and Eileen. Even all of the side characters were absolutely adorable.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy!*

‘You only have a car in London if you want to practice road rage or high stress parallel parking’ - too relatable! I barely ever drive our car in London, but Ben LOVES driving in London (crazy kid!).

I’d seen this book all over Bookstagram and thought I’d check it out. I saw @l.auraslibrary review of the audiobook version of The Switch and I have to say I completely agree with her! I absolutely love Alison Steadman, but I found her chapters sometimes annoying to listen to, and I LOVE Alison Steadman. I think it would have been a really great book to read physically rather than listen to, particularly after how much I enjoyed The Flatshare, but the conversations between characters over text messages/dating sites etc. being read out by the narrator was sometimes a bit painful to listen to and very repetitive.

Despite this, I really enjoyed Daisy Edgar-Jones reading Leena’s chapters, I thought it was great casting for a VO. I think I was slower to click with this one due to the age between the characters - I often find it easier to read and therefore relate to characters my age. I did love the setting of this book - the politics in the local town were absolutely spot on! A lighthearted read, and just what I needed to get me through a busy work week - I could have it on in the background whilst I was sorting lots of paperwork!

I’ve also seen that Beth O’Leary has her new book The Road Trip ready to pre-order! I’m looking forward to checking that out when it’s out.

I really enjoyed reading the book and that's why I downloaded the ebook. What I have realized is that, it works better for me when listening to audio books, if there are is an entire cast performing the book with background music.

I couldn't keep up with the audio book because my mind wanders off. This is something specific to me so its not a review for the book or the author or the actors performing the book.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for approving my request for this audio book.

I enjoyed this book so much. The characters seemed very real to me, and the dialogue was authentic and funny. I loved seeing how they dealt with grief and life changes and how both Eileen and Lena both carved new paths for themselves. The audiobook version was very well done. I highly recommend this as a book that seems lighthearted on the surface but has some real depth.

I loved this book!! It was a cute story!! First book I read by this author will read her other book!! Received this book from netgally!!

Leena living in London was ordered to take a 2 month sabbatical after being overworked and overstressed that she could no longer function at her job.

Eileen who is about to turn eighty is looking for another chance at love but its slim picking in her Yorkshire village.

What a perfect suggestion to switch for two months for Leena to wind down and relax in the countryside, while Eileen enjoys her life in the city meeting some eligible gentlemen.

The story is told in their point of views and it was lovely to read about the city and village life neighbors, gossips, and matters of the heart. Beth O’Leary’s writing is easy to read, heartwarming, and funny, while also embracing how important friendship, family and the community we live in. Her characters are realistic and relatable, and despite challenges and difficulties, the writing is full of hope and positivity. I love that O’Leary gives me that tender fuzzy feeling when I read her books. 

After reading this book in March, I had to listen to this on audio, which was phenomenal! I loved the narration by #alisonsteadman and @daisyedgarjones that truly embodied the characters. I also enjoyed how the sound changes when the characters are speaking over the phone. It was a nice touch that I really appreciated!

I highly recommend this for a wonderful and fun escape read!

What a fantastic novel! Beth O'Leary did it again with this sweet, heart warming story of a grandmother and granddaughter who swap places. I love how O'Leary always mixes serious topics within a lighter story. It makes the book not too heavy but not only light. The characters in this book were loveable, relatable, and inspiring. The audio was incredible and I loved the narrators. I definitely recommend this book.

After loving The Flatshare, I have been anxiously awaiting The Switch. And it didn’t disappoint! The relationship between Lena and Eileen was warm and beautiful, and each character was developed with depth and humor. I was fortunate to listen to this book, and the dual narrators enhanced the joy of the story. The threads of human emotion are woven throughout, and the reader processes grief, love, loss, friendship, and hope. I tore through this one and recommend you devote the time to do the same.

Eileen and Leena have both lost a person in their lives, but it affected very differently. Their lives are set in polar opposite places and both are in need a new surroundings full of what they think they need. Somehow, they do in fact find everything they didn't know they needed. Loved the dual narrative and seeing the two situations simultaneously.

Title: The Switch

Author: Beth O’Leary

Content Warnings: character death, cancer, sex, sexual jokes, infidelity, depression, anxiety

Rating: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unspoilery Blurb
A year after the death of her sister, Leena has been dealing with the loss by overworking and not stopping in her crazy life in Shoreditch, London. When she begins to fall apart at work, she is forced to take time off for herself.

Leena’s grandma, Eileen, is tired of feeling old and has decided to start looking for a significant other after her tedious husband cheated on her months ago. The problem is that there are not very many good options in the small town where she lives.

When the two ladies decide to switch lives for two months, Leena takes time away from the city to relax in her grandmother’s house and Eileen tries her luck at dating and socializing in the big city. As the two navigate the world of nosy neighbors, friendly flatmates, and confusing romances, Leena and Eileen learn how taking chances can be good for both of them.

Unspoilery Review
This was a super cute book! I really enjoyed reading both the points of view, and I found the plot entertaining! This didn’t feel quite like a typical romantic comedy because of its quirks and fun storyline, and it was refreshing! I recommend this book to anyone looking for an easy, sweet read that deals with overcoming loss and taking care of oneself.

There were such great side characters in this book! I feel like I really got to know all the people in the countryside! It was fun to see them all interacting at the neighborhood watch meetings, and I had a great time planning the May Day festival with them as well! Arthur was the sweetest old man, and I loved getting to know Jackson and his dog, Hank! Leena’s friends in London were also amazing, and I loved getting to know Bee, Fitz, and Martha. They all had such great personalities, and they played such an important role in Eileen and Leena’s stories. It was also interesting to see Marian, Leena’s mother, and explore how she has dealt with the loss of one daughter and anger from the other.

Leena was clever and determined, but she has had a rough time since the death of her sister. I loved seeing Leena grow and overcome her grief in this novel through hard work, laughter, and friendship. It was entertaining to experience Leena meeting with all the elderly people in rural Yorkshire, and I loved watching her start to relax! Leena’s little love triangle between her boyfriend from London and her family friend in the country was well done and enjoyable to read!

Eileen was witty and crafty. She knew what she wanted, and she would do anything to make it happen. I loved getting to know Eileen better and see her really shine in London. She is such a sweet, outgoing elderly woman, and I loved that she had a wonderful adventure! It was so great to see Eileen interacting with all of Leena’s young friends and helping them through difficult times in their lives. Eileen had such a great time dating in London, and it was entertaining to see how everything changed by the end of the book.

I hope you all read and enjoy this entertaining and sweet book!

I am always having trouble liking romance novels, they usually feel so tacky, stereothypical, predictable with characters so unnatural and unrealistic. But then The Flat Share happened and I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it, so I just had to grab The Switch as soon as I saw it. And yes, it had the same endearing chatacteristics as The Flatshare: such sweetness, such warmth and fuzziness it leaves you with. The Switch mixes two perspectives and two lives, life of a grandmother and a granddaughter. They decide to switch their lives, their living spaces, friends and contacts to try to change their lives and come up with something new. It is a story generally about love, finding love in an older age, love that looks like love but isn't that at all. About grief and coping, wellbeeing, sickness and coming to terms with loss. About friendships, the comparison of living in the city and in the country. About family ties and love within a family. The characters are lively, lifelike, lovable, the plot is fast paced, interesting, fun and not lacking more meaningfull elements either. The audiobook is perfectly read by two actressess, well performed, showing the different perspectives in a dynamic way. In conclusion, Beth O'Leary is my go-to romance novel author.
Thank you @netgalley for providing this lovely audio book for review.

Reminiscent of the movie “The Holiday,” this novel is a dual-perspective of a young woman who has been through grief and her grandmother who also needs a change. They decide to switch places to get out of their respective ruts.

The narrators were each fantastic, and I really liked the choices made in terms of how phone calls sounded, etc. While I did like this more than The Flatshare, I still found the story fairly slow in pace and a little boring. However, I do think it has an audience and will recommend it for sure.

This was a fun, light romp. Listening to the audiobook was great. The dual narration was fantastic. Both narrators gave such heartfelt, dramatic readings, the book came alive for me.

I loved everything about this book. The story was cute, possibly far fetched, but still lovey. The characters were so charming and endearing. I love the familial relationships that were written so beautifully even when they were strained. The narrators were perfection! They were perfectly cast for the book and their reading and delivery made this book even better. Loved it all so much. Beth O’Leary is such a gifted author with romance and relationships.

I absolutely adored The Flatshare, and was thrilled to see a new release by Beth O'Leary. She has an incredible talent for writing quirky characters and charming British humour - two things that make for a fun, absorbing contemporary romance.

The Switch started out a little slow for me, as it took me a while to get invested into the characters' lives. But once I got about 1/4 of the way through the story, I was hooked. I loved the concept of a grandmother and granddaughter switching lives, especially when the characters end up in "unconventional" situations, i.e. 79 year-old Eileen engaging in a whirlwind romance in London, and twenty-something Leena moving to a sleepy village where the talk of the town is a dog that's gotten loose.

Although both characters do have romantic relationships (which are equally fun in their own ways), my favourite part of the story was actually the relationship between Leena, Eilieen and Lena's mother/Eileen's daughter. If you are a fan of Beth O'Leary's writing, and enjoy small-town settings (think Stars Hollow - there was a character that I could not imagine as anyone other than Taylor Doose), this would be a great book to pick up! The audio version was fantastic. I loved the narrators for both Leena and Eileen, and thought they did an amazing job of portraying the characters.

The Switch provided the perfect escape from quarantining. When Leena and her grandmother need to escape, they switch places. Leena tackles small town life while her grandmother tackles internet dating. The audiobook was worth a listen and switched back and forth between two narrators to reflect both Leena and her grandmother's point of view.

The narration on this audiobook is fantastic. Daisy Edgar Jones and Alison Steadman bring life to the two main characters in such a wonderful way that I missed their voices when it was the other's turn to narrate. For example, when Daisy spoke for Alison's character.

Apart from the narration, I didn't find this book that enjoyable. I went into it wanting a nice contemporary romance, but there was a lot of drama in the beginning and then it was just slightly boring.

I was so happy to get this audiobook from NetGalley, and I immediately recognized one of the narrators – Daisy Edgar Jones played Marianne in Normal People on Hulu! I really loved the narrators – I thought they fit the characters perfectly. However, I found the story to be kind of boring; nothing really happened. There were also a lot of side/secondary characters that was initially a little difficult to keep track of on audio. I really wish there was more on the relationship between grandmother and granddaughter, but the stories were largely separate,

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.