Thank you so much to the publisher, the author, and netgalley for sending me an e-ARC to read. I gave this book four stars.

Firstly, I'd to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for the eARC for an honest review. I got the audiobook through Audible.

This is my second Beth O'Leary book this year! I'm fast becoming a fan. I absolutely adored this book. It's a book that I'd label a comfort read. Eileen is one of the best characters I've ever read. She is everything I miss about my own Grandma and it definitely made me quite emotional at times. I loved the whole concept of Leena and Eileen swapping lives for two months. At first I thought it was going to be a Freaky Friday situation and cringed but thankfully not. I loved watching Leena grow as a character and process her own grief with the help of all Eileen's very honest friends and neighbours. I loved seeing her fall in love with a simpler life and see her start to make decisions that benefited her rather than what she thought she ought to be doing.

Eileen living out her dream of her twenties was such a joy. She made me laugh throughout the book. The dual POV was great and to have Alison Steadman narrate Eileen's chapters was just perfect. I never thought I would love a book so much that focused on an (almost) 80 year old woman, as well as her grand daughter. Romance is more of a secondary element to this book - both characters have romantic interests that I enjoyed watching play out. It's more of a general fiction that focuses on growth and human relationships.

I really look forward to reading more from Beth O'Leary in the future and definitely recommend her books to everyone!

I really loved Beth O'Leary's debut, The Flatshare, and after watching the new adaptation TV show, I was craving more Beth O'Leary. The Switch definitely has a different feel to the Flatshare, with a central inter-generational relationship between two women, in a non-romantic way. However, it's really wonderful to see the examination of women at different points in their life and finding romance along the way.

It was sweet, wholesome and loving - just what I'm looking for when I pick up a Beth O'Leary novel.

Lena Cotton isn't having a great time - she's just suffered a panic attack in work and has been granted a two-month sabbatical to get it together and finally face up to her grief after losing her sister to cancer. Lena's grandmother Eileen is also in a rut, especially romantically now her cheating husband left her for a younger dancer. The two decide to switch lives with Eileen taking on London's internet dating scene for the over 70's, and Lena coming home to Yorkshire to reconnect with her mother and help out on the neighbourhood committee - how hard can that be?

This was a charming, fun and often emotional novel that I really enjoyed and utterly charmed me by the end. I've read two other Beth O'Leary books and this one is definitely my favourite so far.

I think I actually liked Eileen's chapters best as I loved seeing an older character (she's a very sprightly 79) living her best life in London, and taking on dating, new projects and even battling her granddaughter's yuck boyfriend. I think this book did such a great job at showcasing how society often fails older people in so many ways and how there should be so many more facilities and events for people of a certain age who may be lonely to socialise. I also appreciated that the book showed through Eileen that you're never too old to find love again, or just enjoy a bit of a good time with a fling.

On the other hand, Lena's chapters and her time with the neighbourhood committee felt like it was something straight from The Vicar of Dibley in the best ways, and I came to really love the myriad of characters from Betsy, Basil and Penelope, not to mention Roland and his mobility scooter. The way Lena processed her grief, and allowed herself to heal and also understand and make up with her mother following the dark times of her sister's illness and death were done really well and I often found myself close to tears as I listened to the book. I think the subject of grief was done sensitively and showcased that while losing someone never gets any easier, you learn to live with it everyday and remember that person in lots of different ways and that includes speaking about them freely and easily instead of bottling everything up.

Overall, this was just a lovely read and I really enjoyed my time with it. I think I'll be getting a copy of this book for my gran too as she might just love it as well!

Beth has done it again!!!!
Beth has written an uplifting, heartfelt book. A book where all your emotions will pour out. Crying, laughter…. The lot!!!!
Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this book.

"The Switch" by Beth O'Leary is a heartfelt, uplifting and comedic novel about the adventures of two very different women, Leena and Eileen, and their unexpected liveswap. With charm and wit, O'Leary brings together two vastly different perspectives and provides an amusing story full of light-heartedness and humour. Alongside the storyline, we learn the importance of friendship, resilience, and taking risks in order to find the right path. All in all, The Switch is a captivating and enjoyable read. Highly recommended.

This book bought all the feels. Such a hear warning read. Sometimes a change is exactly what you need

A wonderful book about two women who switch over lives for two months - a grandmother and her granddaughter. This book makes you laugh, cry and see.how changing your environment can help you to see life in a different way. The relationship between the grandmother and her granddaughter was strong and I loved the grandmother who went to London to have an adventure, something she missed out on when she was younger. A light warming story !

I adored The Flatshare but I did not get on with The Switch at all. I'll still read the other books by Beth O'Leary, as she's still a wonderful writer, but this story didn't connect with sadly.

Beth O'Leary has a gift for heart-warming, adorable stories. <b><i>The Switch</i></b> was such an enjoyable ready, it really made me smile. It tells a story of a grandma and her granddaughter - Eileen and Leena. After the latter suffers a panic attack while presenting to a client, she breaks from her fancy London life and switches places with her grandmother. They are both amazing characters, full of energy, and truly forces for good. It was amazing seeing how similar they are in their completely different environments.

The romance element of the book is just an addition to an emotional journey the main characters go on - it is never about the man for them. They make their world how they want it, they are full characters on their own, and they don't need validation from a man to define them. The cherry on top is that this message is delivered via a story of a nearly eighty-year-old lady - and I don't see that in books very often.

Any book by the author is a must-read for me, and this one proves why. I enjoyed spending my time with the characters, getting to know them and learning to like them even though they seemed so annoying at times. This book will make you feel better.

Wow I can’t believe I had this sitting on my shelf for so long. This book is so charming, heart warmining and just so lovely. There is an underlining element of sadness to it but I couldn’t put it down. Really makes me also want to plan a trip to the Yorkshire dales so I can feel some of the magic.

Eileen is sick of being 79.
Leena's tired of life in her twenties.
Maybe it's time they swapped places...

I loved the idea of the book and the story lived up to my expectations. Both Eileen and Leena were a joy to meet and spend time with and I loved how they embraced the swap and threw themselves into the other's life and loves.

The ending was a little bit too predictable for my taste, but a delight nevertheless.

Beth O'Leary's sophomore novel is a sweet breath of fresh air. Leena and Eileen both need a change in life and find a way to help one another by switching homes due to life circumstances. Through this switch they both come to a better understanding of themselves and it also brings new people into their lives. This book is a gem.

This is delightful, heartwarming, poignant, beautiful novel with different likable narrators/heroines: grandma and granddaughter. I enjoyed this one just not as much as The Flat Share

A really lovely novel that looks at the habits we make and how hard they are to break, and also has a really sensitive take on grief and family relationships, while still being light-hearted and hilarious at times.
I ended up listening to the audio version, brought to life with the expert narration of Alison Steadman as Grandma Eileen and Daisy Edgar-Jones as granddaughter Leena, who on a whim decide to swap lives for two months, and take over each other's projects in London and rural Yorkshire respectively. They brought a heart to this story which reminded me why I love audiobooks so much, as I find the story stays with me and is often more memorable when I've listened to it compared to reading it, maybe due to feeling more immersed in the setting.
The way the story is told in turns by the two main characters helps us dive into their lives and get to know them as individuals. I loved Eileen's success in making things happen in London and Leena solving conflicts at the village committee meetings and I was rooting for them both all the way.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely loved The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary and was thrilled when this book was released as I wasn't disappointed. Fab feel good book that was a very enjoyable read. Thanks to Netgalley and Beth O'Leary for this arc

*I was gifted my copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review*


It's been a while since i read a really good contemporary or at least it feels like it. I wanted something feel good and light hearted and when i spied this on my netgalley shelf i knew it would tick all the boxes.

We meet Leena as she heads into an important work meeting, except she isnt on her finest form as she suffers a panic attack during the meeting, soon after it is suggested she take some of the annual leave she hasnt used and give herself chance to recover and grieve a bit over the death of her sister. Although she really doesn't want to take a break its kind of forced upon her.

We also meet newly single Eileen at nearly eighty she is not in a position she expected to be, she still wants her big life adventure. So when Leena (her grandaughter) goes to visit she suggests they switch lives for a while, Leena can stay in rural yorkshire and find herself a bit and Eileen can live the glam life in London. The pair decide to go for it and what follows is a journey for both characters as they learn about who they are and what they deserve.

The Switch is a lovely feel good read with a fantastic bunch of well rounded characters, complete with flaws. Eileen is something else, she is funny, stubborn srtong and caring. She wants not only happiness for herself but those around her. I loved reading her interactions with her friends and seeing her personailty and loyalties shine through. She had me laughing out loud and my heart warming within the same sentence.

Leena initially comes across as a high powered focused business woman committed to her work but she is so much more than just that, she is focused but she can be focused on any task given to her, she is strong willed, like Eileen she is also stubborn. Yet there is a hidden layer to her that we discover as she spends time in the countryside.

I thought this was a great read that takes two peoples lives and flips them over and lets it all unfold.If you want something that is going to lift your spirits and brighten your mood by the end then this is a great choice for you.

A charming fish out of water book with two sympathetic, compelling characters at its center. I love the humor, charm, and tenderness of Beth O'Leary's books.

I had very high hopes for this after reading and enjoying ‘The Flatshare’ and wow, I wasn’t disappointed! I absolutely loved this from start to finish, any available chance I got I played it, I really struggled to put this down and I was absolutely gutted when it came to the end!

The story follows two main characters, Leena and her grandmother Eileen. Both a little stuck in their current lives, so they decide to switch places for 2 months. Leena moving to Yorkshire to help keep everything running smoothly for her Grandmother while newly single Eileen heads to London for some fun and a second chance to find love and companionship.

Beth’s storytelling is an absolute pleasure to get lost in, she creates such wonderful heartwarming relatable characters. I think Eileen is one of my most favourite characters, she has this loveable personality and good humour but she’s a caring soul and I think a lot of people would love to have her as their grandmother!
The audiobook narrators were a perfect fit, both Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones were brilliant, helping me to set the scene. I always think narrators are a big part of audiobooks and having the right person tell the story makes all the difference.

Following Leena and Eileen’s 2 month switch had me feeling all the emotions. I laughed loads throughout especially listening to Eileen on the dating scene, Eileen takes no prisoners and I loved her straight forward talking.

‘The Switch’ is highly entertaining but I wasn’t surprised to find the story had multiple layers, covering tough topics such as grief and mental health which Beth wrote and handled sensitively with such care. It’s one of those stories where you finish and you feel a positivity that you can do anything and everything at whatever age.. it’s never too late! A truly wonderful heartwarming read!

I loved this book.
The characters Leena and her grandmother swap lives for two months after Carla dies and they both try to continue with their lives. I loved the characters and their story and wanted them to find happiness again.
Really lovely book that I read in a couple of days.