This was a wholesome, sweet read with some cute moments but overall it fell a little flat with nothing too exciting. I liked the main characters and the concept of a grandmother and granddaughter switching living locations, but what you read in the synopsis is what you get, there are no big surprises here.
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I'm glad I listened to this, verses physically reading a copy, because two narrators presented the dual storylines, and that worked beautifully.
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Also, when a book inspires a change in your daily routine, you know it's special. I loved The idea of a task notebook! Getting things down in lists make me feel more in control in an out of control world!

After reading and loving Beth O'Leary's previous book, The Flatshare this Spring during quarantine, I was so eager to get my hands on The Switch that I ordered the UK edition of the book, months before it would hit Canadian bookshelves. I'm such a book nerd!

Just as I was about to crack open my hardcover copy, NetGalley announced they'd be offering eAudiobooks to review (Oh happy day!) and The Switch happened to be one of them. So, I snagged a copy and decided to do a combination of reading/listening for this much anticipated book.

The eAudiobook is narrated by two British narrators, Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones who did an awesome job bringing Leena and Eileen Cotton's voices to life. I'll admit to having a bit of trouble with their strong Yorkshire accents at times (this is where having the hardcover came in handy) but I honestly have to say that it was one of the best narrations I've ever heard. The emotion, casual nuances and making over-the-phone conversations sound a bit hollow to distinguish them, made this book stand out for me.

The story is sweet, slow moving and character-driven and focuses on family, long-held hurts and starting over and is told in alternating POVs of septuagenarian Eileen and her granddaughter Leena. Eileen is a spunky granny and I enjoyed how O'Leary shows that the older generation can be just as sassy and desire adventure (and a love life) as younger generations. But Leena's POV paled in comparison to Eileen's and even though this story dabbles in serious topics, the issues aren't addressed in much depth or emotion and a few aspects felt underdeveloped.

Overall, this is a cute read with a good message, a little romance, a touch of loss and some domestic issues. While it wasn't quite the amazing read I had expected, it's an enjoyable, light read with a refreshing focus on older generation that fell into the 'endearing but predictable' realm for me.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for my complimentary eAudio copy of this title via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. The readers were great and I loved how they took turns reading for their chosen character. The author was able to draw me in right away and kept me wanting to hear more. It was light reading but with serious topics that were addressed just as it does in real life. Towards the end I was on the edge of my seat listening to the conversation between some of the characters. Highly recommend this!

The Switch is a sweet story told from the perspectives of both a grandmother and granddaughter who switch homes for two months to shake up their lives a bit. For me, the book was really about building new relationships with both of the characters. It was fun to follow along with the grandmother on her adventures in London, and to see Leena, the granddaughter find her place after much upheaval. I enjoyed this story even more so than The Flatshare.

I received an ARC from NetGalley.

I love this author. I was recommended to read her first book, The Flatshare, and immediately jumped on this title based off of my love for that book. It did not disappoint. The characters are so quirky and lovable!

The Switch by Beth O'Leary is a charming feel good story set in Yorkshire and London.

Leena Cotton is a successful young woman who lives for her job. However, after one of her presentations end up with her having a panic attack.she is consequently sent home for a two month sabbatical.
After the shock of being forced to not do anything, she decides to visit her grandmother. Slowly, truth about her personal life emerges. She is having no relationship with her mother, her sister died of cancer and she barely ever sees her boyfriend.
Her grandmother on the other hand is extremely active seventy something woman, who is a pivotal person in her tiny village. She is however lonely and has been years after her husband left her. She is trying to find someone special but is not having much success.
They decide to switch places for two months, Leena will take all her grandmother's obligations in the village and Eileen will have better chance of meeting people in London.

I really enjoyed listening to this story. Both narrators did a splendid job with different voices and accents, both female and male. Each of them was very distinct and unique.
Narration had a nice rhythm and flow to it. It was easy to follow the tale and it felt like being right there within the story. Characters feelings, background settings everything was conveyed extremely well.
I think that I would have enjoyed this story even if I had read it, however I think audio book brought another dimension to it. It made it more real and vivid.

This book was so sweet. Grandma Irene was so spry and I loved Lena. All the characters were a hoot. I will definitely be recommending this book. Thanks so much for the early listening copy.

• ModernMrsDarcy.com 2020 Summer Reading Guide
• NetGalley Shelf Audio ARC


Leena Cotton is a 20-something who, after blowing a big presentation at work, was ordered to take a two-month sabbatical. Leena’s grandma, Eileen is newly single, 79-years-old, and looking for second chance at love. There aren’t many eligible men in her small Yorkshire village. So, Leena proposes a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love while Leena takes care of everything in Yorkshire. So begins a touching and humorous tale of love and family.

Beth O'Leary did it again. I loved the Flat Share and The Switch had just as much charm. Both narrators were wonderful. A lot of books I listen to have just one narrator and function perfectly well but Lena and Eileen here were narrated excellent and perfectly suitably to their age differences, their characters and their personalities. The Switch was possibly a little less credible than The Flat Share, the scenario of which already hugely lacked credibility, but when I heard of Lena wearing her nan's shoes and carrying her Nokia around in her back pocket, I exclaimed with an 'ah here!!'. A twenty, thirty or forty something year old in today's technological world would most likely rather chew off their own arm than exist without their smart phone for a weekend never mind for two months. It was all part of the challenge though. Despite that though, I did really enjoy this book and loved listening to its narration. I highly recommend it just as I did The Flat Share. I'm looking forward already to Beth O'Leary's next installment.

Beth O'Leary's first novel, The Flatshare, got wonderful reviews.  The Switch, her sophomore effort, will be sure to please those who enjoy women's fiction. 


This book tells the story of Eileen, a grandmother who lives in a small village, and her granddaughter Leena, an urban dweller, who has recently faced some work difficulties and major anxiety issues.  Both also have been deeply affected by the death of their sister/granddaughter.  In addition, Eileen's husband has left her.


This novel comes so vividly to life in the audiobook version that I listened to.  The settings are so different between city and country and the flavor of life in each is well portrayed. With a different narrator voicing each of the two main characters, they have distinct voices and their personalities really come through.  In this instance, I think that the audio really enhanced all of the good qualities of the story.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this enjoyable listen in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Beth O'Leary's The Flatshare because it was quirky, fun, and well-written. So, of course, I was excited to read The Switch. I wasn't disappointed! In the middle of a pandemic this book was just what I needed.

The Switch, at its core, is about loss and how we cope with it. Following the passing of Leena's sister/Eileen's granddaughter, the pair are both having trouble moving on with their lives. After some rather unfortunate events, the granddaughter and grandmother decide to switch places for 2 months. Leena heads to her grandmother's house in a quiet English country town while Eileen decides to live out her dream of moving to London. Along the way the pair each meet a funny and diverse cast of characters.

This book was a real breath of fresh air. Very rarely do you come across an elderly character in a book and if you do oftentimes they're disillusioned or crabby. Eileen was kind, charitable, funny, and go with-the-flow in a way I wish I could be! I very much identified with Leena, who was about my age, very organized, and passionate about work. The book moved quickly over the 8 weeks with both Leena and Eileen going on some funny adventures along the way. It was also very refreshing to read a book that had some romance, but where it wasn't the main focus. It felt natural that the characters ended up with who they did, but it was not until the end that their compatibility was even realized. By the end, it felt like a natural conclusion to their journeys.

I listened to this as an audiobook and felt that this only added to my enjoyment of The Switch. There were a few sections during phone calls where one person sounded like they were coming through a phone, kind of far away, which I thought was distracting. I would much prefer to hear a regular conversation. Otherwise, the acting was very good, I especially liked the voice of Eileen.

Thanks to the publisher's for a chance to listen to the audiobook!

I picked this audiobook because I love the description. I thought it’s an interesting idea and even better, the setting is in the U.K.
The main characters: Leena Cotton, the grand daughter and Eileen Cotton, the grand mother.
Leena...is just a generic contemporary character. A supposedly successful and smart professional but is the passive member in a relationship. In the end she was just being carried by events. She is very passive that she has to be pushed kicking and screaming by the people around her to see that her boyfriend is cheating on her. She’ll just vanished in the crowd of contemporary characters tomorrow.
The grandmother, Eileen Cotton, now she is a memorable character. Her character, or at least her crowd are often placed in stories to be side characters but in this story she makes romance and dating in people over 60 fun and adventurous and actually lovely without it sounding trying hard. I think the way Eileen came out is a credit to this author - a first read/listen for me. If I’m to introduce Eileen: “This is Eileen Cotton, who lived and tasted life’s sweet and bitter flavor. She almost sat and take a rest but then said ‘not yet!’ And picked up her proverbial bootstrap and took on that next hill and showed me that age 60 onward does not have to mean end of the adventure.”
After putting down this book I wonder why I never read romance with main characters over 60 in age. If they were written like this one, I will definitely love to read it.
Also the community created in this story is relatable, and yes, a place I want to be. I love that not all the characters are that perfect people, instead each community is made up of mostly good people, dotted with those neighbors we love to glare at, yet are still accepted in the community.
The narrator did a great job in interpreting the voices, specially Eileen’s voice. And the author is definitely one I’d like to check for another book.
Audiobook is provided by netgalley.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this AC of the Audiobook The Switch by Beth O'Leary in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first novel by this author and I had heard great reviews from her last book: The Flat Share. I enjoyed the story of The Switch and the narrators Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones but found the pace of the novel a bit slow for my taste.

Resumé from the book description: 

When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen's house for some long-overdue rest.

Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She'd like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen.

So they decide to try a two-month swap. 

Cozy listening, some humor and lots of feelings involved. I would move in with Eileen, the grandmother!

I listened to the book on the new NetGalley app and technically, it needs some improvements.  While listening to it, in many occasions, the next chapter had to be selected manually, which doesn't make for a pleasant listening experience. Also, the volume and quality of the sound during telephone conversations dialogues were varying and disturbing.

I would recommend this novel and can picture it as a movie as well.

Loved this so much! I have the book too. Beth oleary has such amazing books and I highly reccomenedd her. Her stories are real feel good stories. A real turn pager

Eileen and her granddaughter Leena swap places for two months. 79-year-old Eileen goes to London to look for a new love, and Leena stays at her grandmother's house in the country to look after her things.

A few things did not convince me. Why the panic attack at the beginning of the book? Maybe I missed something. The almost 80-year-old granny from the country goes to live alone (ok not really alone, but you know...) in a big city like London? Hm, I don't know.

Easy to listen to and funny. But at a few points, I lost interest in the story and found it quite boring.

This novel does not quite fit my style or genre. All in all, it is a nice and sweet little story, but that is all. There is nothing special about it. One of those I'll forget in a heartbeat.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this! All opinions are my own.

This was such a feel good book. It didn’t quite live upto my expectations as I was comparing it to Flatshare but it was still pretty great. I loved the character of Eileen. She was such a badass Grandma!!! Leena didn’t particularly leave much of an impression but I still loved her PoV because of all the small town shenanigans it showed. All the characters were quirky and memeorable in their own way. I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for an easy breezy feel good book.
I consumed this book in the form of an audiobook. The narrator did an excellent job but I had problems with the quality pf the audiobook. There was a weird echo the whole time I was hearing it. It happens at higher speeds like 2x. I don’t know if it was a problem with the Netgalley shelf app or if it was the audiobook itself but it made the listening experience quite uncomfortable in the beginning. I got used to it later but it still wasn’t the best experience. Speeds higher than 2x caused skipping issues with the audiobook, so I would like to request Netgalley to hopefully correct this issue in the future.
But again, the book was pretty great and I would definitely recommend it!
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook

Much props for having a main character in her 70s and characters well into their 90s. I've always found myself friends with people older than I and it's so enriching, but I don't often see that reflected in shows and books, so this is great.

Eileen is laugh out loud funny. The book tackles serious topics like loneliness and grief but is so humorous throughout.

The audio version was pretty good too, I'm happy there were two narrators, both in the right age range for the characters. Nothing is more unsettling than a 13-year-old character who sounds like a high schooler/20-year old, or a character in their 80s who is narrated by a 30-year-old.

My only critique on the audiobook is that audible swallowing and mouth sounds could be heard often enough to trip me up a little, if you have that sensitivity too. But the story and narration was so well done that I wasn't wigged out enough to stop listening.

Lots of characters - I could have seen less of them and more in-depth delving into the love interests more, find out what makes them tick. Overall, I recommend "The Switch" because it shines a light on a population we need to see represented more!

Thank you NetGallery for the ARC of this book.
First of all I was really really excited for this audiobook for 2 reasons; the first one cause I recently read the flatshare and loved it and the second one was cause I saw that Daisy Edgar Jones was one of the narrators. So based on those 2 aspects I will review this book.

As a book written by Beth O´Leary, I kind of enjoy half of the book, literally just half. I love the story of Eileen and how her character reminds of in a way to my own grandmother, full of energy and power as the woman of her age. Nevertheless the chapters of Leena were kind of boring and nonsense; I feel like she didn't even know herself. Super slow burn… for real super slow. Definitely Eileen´s chapters saved; the book at least for me.

On the other side the audiobook was amazing. The sound effects, the narrators, the emotions they show were amazing. It was nice in general and especially I found it calming and such a nice thing to listen to during the day.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook!

I really loved "The Flat Share" by Beth O'Leary, so I had high hopes for "The Switch".
The plot reminded me a bit of the movie "The Holiday": two women changing homes and taking some time off. But, in this case, we're talking about a grandma and her granddaughter.

Leena, the granddaughter, lost her sister recently and doesn't get along with their mother. She's been extremely busy, working non-stop, doing everything she can to keep her mind off her feelings. She has a boyfriend, Ethan, but he also works a lot and they only see each other once a week. She has friends, but it's pretty clear how lonely and unhappy she is, even though she doesn't want to admit it.

Eileen, her grandmother, lived her whole life trying to please her husband and living by his rules. Now that he's gone, she wants a new relationship, with someone who actually loves and respects her. At the same time, she's a bit embarrassed, since she considers herself too old and doesn't know where to find a good man. She has no interest in anyone from her small city... But she's feeling so lonely, she's even willing to "grow to love" someone, even if they have absolutely nothing in common. That's her newest project.

When Leena causes some trouble at work due to her exhaustion, her boss demands her to take a two-month license. When she finds out about Eileen's project, it becomes hers too. She wants to help Eileen to find happiness. That's how she comes up with the idea: they're switching homes for 8 weeks. She stays at her grandma's home, dealing with her mother and with all Eileen's chores, completely disconnected from everything work-related, while her grandma goes to her place in London, going out on dates and living the adventure she always wanted when she was younger.

It was a good read, but I think my expectations were too high and that got in my way. The characters are great, each one has a very distinct personality, which made the whole process even more interesting… But some parts were a bit too slow for me.

Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones did a really great job as narrators.

One of the most delightful books I've read this year! Leena and Eileen are a hilarious granddaughter-grandmother pairing and I found myself frequently laughing out loud at their wit and shenanigans. Many professional women will feel a camaraderie with Leena and I suspect, like I did, will think how lovely it would be to have a grandmother like Eileen. She's a hoot and still making things happen at 79! Follow their adventures with endearing friends and neighbors as these two switch residences and re-learn who they are. Bravo to the narrators who did a fabulous job bringing this charming novel to life and transporting me to lovely England. To Mrs. O'Leary, could you write a sequel because I'm missing my new friends?