I loved this book! Eileen and Leena are very charming characters with such a lovely relationship. They are Grandmother and Grandaughter who decide to switch lives for a couple of months. It’s not a “Freaky Friday” body type of switch, more of a place swop as they move into each other’s homes when Leena takes a break from work. I liked that the perspective alternated between the two main characters and I felt equally invested in both. I had wrongly assumed that Leena, being younger, would be the main focus but was happily surprised to find that Eileen’s story was just as big a part. Also had a nice mix of lighter and more serious plot lines. I’d recommend to anyone looking for an uplifting read.

I absolutely adored The Flatshare, and I would go so far to say that The Switch was even better! I just love Beth O'Leary's style of writing, its gentle and very easy to read, whilst still managing to address some underlying issues facing society. The Switch made me laugh out loud in almost every one of its chapters. It's hilarious, heartwarming and genuinely moving.

A large part of the narrative addresses grief and how it can affect every aspect of your life. I loved the idea of the two Eileen's switching lives to help them both heal from the traumas of the past few years. I felt the way they were handling it was all very accurate. From reading the blurb, I was worried the plot would feel a little too farfetched, but I never felt like that whilst reading, it all felt very genuine and as though it could really happen.

The portrayal of life in Britain is just perfect, I feel like the book drips Britishness. I laughed constantly through Eileen's first days in London, because it's just so accurate. If you weren't born in London, it can be such a massive shock how people behave on a daily basis, and this was just captured so perfectly. Similarly life in little villages, and how minute details become huge parts of your life. The observational humour is simply brilliant!

Eileen was just wonderful to read, I thought she was absolutely fantastic. I loved her so much and I could read another 100 books from her perspective. Her brutal honesty and continued lust for life was inspiring and beautiful. Leena struggled to stand up against her grandmother, but I really enjoyed watching her grow and learn to love herself again. Her relationship with Jackson was dreamy, and I was rooting for them from pretty much the first appearance he made.

Not to be overshadowed by the leading ladies, there are so many amazing side characters to fall in love with. Fitz stood out to me, always willing to embrace Eileen and the older ladies that have found their way into his life, the banter they shared was wonderful. I also adored pretty much every resident of Hamleigh-in-Harksdale, and if I could, I'd be packing up and moving there tomorrow. There are lots of themes explored with these fantastic people, loneliness, domestic violence, parental relationships and many more.

Beth O'Leary is rapidly cementing herself as one of my favourite authors, her books are a warm hug and a mug of hot chocolate on a chilly day, just perfection. I can't wait to see what she writes next, and big thanks to Quercus for the chance to read an early copy of this beautiful tale!

I loved Beth's first book The Flatshare so much it was one of my favourite reads in 2019 so I was really looking forward to The Switch and I'm pleased to say I wasn't disappointed. This book had everything for me and when I wasn't reading it I was thinking about it. Such a funny, warm read

Well what can I say? I am going to say what usually say is a cliché but
I loved this book! It pulled me in from the start!
Eileen Cotton is a fiesty but amazing older lady who is the matriarch of not only her family but also her local community.
She is a force to be reckoned with for certain but she has a heart of gold and an answer for everything!
Her grand daughter Leena is the opposite.. She hurries about whilst all the time having her head buried in the sand.
Leena's sister Carla died of cancer and this broke the family. Leena's mum (Eileen's daughter) has been falling apart since it happened and Leena has thrown herself in to her work. She is angry with her mum. After having a panic attack at work she decides to switch lives with her grandmother as Eileen has always wanted the London adventure whilst Leena needs to get away from itm
In the 8 weeks that they swap lives they both learn a lot about themselves and each other. A fantastic read which I will be recommending to anyone who will listen!
Thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review

This is the second book by Beth O’Leary. The story follows the journey of Eileen and Leena (grandmother & granddaughter) after the death of Leena’s sister Carla. Leena is given 2 months off from her job in London after suffering a panic attack and her grandmother invites her to stay with her in Yorkshire. They then ‘switch’ lives which sees Eileen moving into Leena’s flat in London and Leena staying in Yorkshire. What follows is a story of love, grief and self discovery. It touches on many aspects of modern life including loneliness and isolation of the older generation in society, love and misunderstanding between families, how grief affects us all differently and the process of healing. It’s a heartwarming story of modern society and Beth does a brilliant job of tying it all together in the end, an enchanting read which gives you lots to think about.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored the author's first book. It was sweet but not too fluffy.

When I read the blurb for this book, it really caught my attention. How would a young lady and and elderly woman manage to swap lives?

This book has me hooked from the first page. It had me giggling and also gave me all the feels at the same time. I really enjoyed it, I wanted to devour it but at the same time I did not want it to end. I read it sparingly so that I could savour it. I'm not a huge fan of romance (I really was before) but what I do like about her books is that they are not too corny and they are heartwarming and just make you feel good. You're in for a a treat with this one.

This author is now officially one of my favourites and I cannot wait till she releases a new book again.

Firstly thanks to Netgalley for approving me to read this as an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I loved reading Flatshare last year and was beyond excited to get stuck into Beth’s latest book.

This story was so different and not what I imagined it to be.

The fact that the switch was between granddaughter and grandma held a special place in my heart and oh my how I fell in love with Eileen Cotton. She made me laugh out loud on several occasions and she made me miss my own Grandma terribly.

This story is full of love, laughter and tears.

The characters well and truly make this book and I’m a bit gutted it’s over. I would recommend if you enjoyed Flatshare.

Fantastic! After reading the flatshare I was beyond excited to read this and it didn’t disappoint! I loved the unique plot, and loved both characters! I can’t wait to see what Beth O’Leary writes next

The story is about Eileen and Leena, who are grandmother and granddaughter, they both need a change in their lives and so the decide to switch places. They have to also takes each other's responsibilities, which soon helped them discover that it isn't as easy as it looks from the outside.

Eileen hopes to find someone who can be a friend and a companion. She is looking for a new adventure at London. Eileen challenges herself to go out of her comfort zone, to meet new people and try new things.

While Leena begins to let her hair down, figuratively and literally, and enjoys herself more than she expected. From the beginning Leena is in a relationship with Ethan, someone who helped her though a difficult time, her loyalty to him comes more from a place of gratitude than love. While on her grandmother's village she meets Jackson, a father to a sweet little girl, but she doesn't act on her feelings. I wish there was more romance between Jackson and Leena through the story, their interactions were exciting.

With time both heroines learn that finding the one person might be easier than it seems if you only look at the right place.

The people in the village had different and remarkable personalitie, they were very fun to read, they are the people anyone would want as a neighbour, always there for each other.

The Switch is a book about finding yourself after a big loss, finding the strength inside you and with the help of those around you, to keep going.

*I received an arc from the publisher through Netgalley.

Totally enjoyable, heartfelt novel with such lovely, funny and deep moments of connection across generations. Read it in 24 hours and can't wait for Beth O'Leary's next book!

I was excited to read another book by this author! I have to be honest and say I didn't enjoy it *as* much as The Flatshare. I think this is because I really struggled to connected with Leena until right near the end. I absolutely adored Eileen and wish she lived in my block of flats! I also wasn't entirely convinced by the romantic element to the book, I felt it was rushed into the last few chapters. Amazon has informed me there is already a title for Beth's book next year so I am already looking forward to that!
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication.

This book did not work for me. I loved Beth o Leary's The Flatshare to bits. I thought The Flatshare was well crafted with good plotting and excellent characters. The Switch reminded me of the film The Holiday, but in this case a grand daughter and her grandmother swap places. I found the characters underwhelming and if I wasn't such a big fan of o'Leary's earlier novel, I would not have finished the book.

For those who are still interested, the book deals with dating in seventies, mother-daughter relationships and women in family who always have your back.
Rating : 2.5/5

3.5
I completely fell in love with The Flatshare, so it's perhaps inevitable that I wouldn't love The Switch quite as much. I absolutely flew through this charming novel and couldn't put it down, but as someone who loved The Flatshare much more for its rom-com rather than its up-lit qualities, this book wasn't quite for me.

Swap lives with your grandma. Deal with your grief. Not a compelling concept but a story of getting away from your day to day norm means that you can deal with the big things. The total contrast between the two settings of London and rural Yorkshire and the characters is brilliant. I conjured up images for everyone.
Overcoming bias, ageism and the North South divide make for humour all the way through the book.
I cheered the characters on and would look out for the next instalment.

The Switch is the second novel from Beth O’Leary, and has a similar storytelling style to her much loved debut, The FlatShare.

The story follows career-girl Leena and family matriarch Eileen who are both experiencing discontent in their lives, so decide to switch things up.

Much like The FlatShare, this is an uplifting and easy read; the plot is fairly straightforward with likeable characters and again O’Leary uses the alternating perspectives of Leena and Eileen to drive the narrative forwards.

Through this, the reader starts to learn more about what is causing them unrest in their lives (despite being at opposite ends of the age spectrum, they have man-drama in common) and we grow familiar with the people in their support network. O’Leary is skilled in creating a supporting cast who enhance the main characters, and the “switch” element of this premise makes for an interesting read - we see Leena and Eileen in a whole new light, and perhaps this is a revelation to them both as individuals too.

While Arnold and Betsy became some of my favourite characters to read about, I found myself wanting more development for Ethan. I felt myself being pulled out of Leena’s love bubble, but I thought his character, and their relationship, needed more depth before I could muster a strong emotional reaction towards him, his actions and their situation.

A final reflection was that the ending felt a little predictable, and a little bit rushed. While the plot isn’t exactly packed with twists and turns, it had a certain sense of inevitability about it quite early on; for me, that slowed the pace of my reading because I was quite confident of where the story was going. While I wasn’t disappointed, I wasn’t particularly hooked or invested either.

The gentle pace and lighthearted tone of this read makes it perfect for a Sunday afternoon, but it’s unlikely to be a page-turned that keeps you up reading into the wee hours.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my advanced copy of The Switch, in exchange for my review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

TW: death in the family, grief, domestic abuse, cheating

All the stars for Beth O'Learys newbie, #TheSwitch! ✨

I loved everything about her debut novel, The Flatshare, and was initially worried that this book might not live up to how I felt about it, scrap that I absolutely loved every page!

The Switch follows granddaughter Leena and grandmother Eileen as they swap lives for two months. Leena heads to her hometown, a tiny Yorkshire village, for a long overdue break from her high pressures job, whilst Eileen who is nearing 80 heads to London to search for a second chance at love after being newly single and to discover the bright lights. Add gossiping neighbours, difficult family dynamics, trendy flatmates and online dating to the mix and being in one another's shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.

Just like The Flatshare, the story is written as a dual narrative from Leena and Eileen’s perspectives. The story features so many wonderful characters, that all add to the experience of the life swap. Whilst being an uplifting, heart warming and feel good story, it also cleverly and so compassionately tackles the hard issues of grief and loss.

Huge thank you to @quercusbooks for the early copy via Netgalley. And to @betholeary, thanks for making such a beautiful story for us all and enjoy all the well-earned praise for your amazing book! 👏

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

The Switch is a novel about the women of the Cotton family -- the corporate overachiever, Leena, and her grandmother who lives in a quiet village in Yorkshire -- who decide to swap lifestyles for two months, to shake things up and see where they go from there. The title intrigued me by offering things I are dear to my heart: themes of inter-generation bonding between women in a family, work burnout, grief, and hopefully a sprinkle of jois de vivre that comes with the concept of a grandmother taking on a dating scene in London and sorting out all these youngsters and their hipster nonsense.

These things do happen in the book, but unfortunately, not in a way I found satisfying. I felt that the tone fell flat in between the two things it was trying to do: explore the themes of family/community and grief/healing, and a do a rompy intergenerational comedy of manners turning romcom. The themes could have been explored with more finesse, and romcom, well, could have been funnier. There were moments and scenes when I felt the connection with the characters, but they weren't really strung together in an impactful story. The general momentum of the book seemed more governed by the narrative inevitability of the genre cliches, rather than actual enjoyment of going through the process. Overall, itt felt like a Christmas Hallmark movie without, well, the actual Christmas (or Vanessa Hudgens to play Leena, lbr).

Eileen and Leena, a grandmother and a granddaughter who decide to switch their life for awhile. Would it work for each of them? The story presents family relationship, grieving, love, friendship and community life. It reminds us that no matter what age you are, you need someone else to rely on. Overall it's a sweet funny read. Thanks Netgalley for an electronic ARC.

Another lovely novel from Beth O’Leary that will give you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside ... after an emotional and draining year, London life is getting a bit much for 29 year old Leena. Meanwhile, her 79 year old grandmother Eileen wishes she’d taken more of the chances that she had in her youth ... the clue is in the title as to what happens next 😅 An easy read that somehow still deals with difficult subjects in places, the characters are all fantastic and so relatable - if you’re a fan of Marian Keyes and Lucy Silver etc, you will enjoy this book - and if you loved the flat share you will not be disappointed.

Leena Cotton is grieving for her younger sister Carla, who died recently, and is ordered by her boss to take two months off, after making a hash of an important presentation.. She doesn’t know what to do with herself so decides to go home to Yorkshire, to see her grandmother, Eileen. She also knows that she needs to see her mother, who lives in the same village, as they haven’t really connected since Carlas death.
Eileen is a sprightly 79year old, as well as grieving for her granddaughter, her husband Wade has left her after 50 odd years together. She wants adventure in her life. So the decision is made for them to swap homes for the 2 months.

I really enjoyed this book, it’s a heart warming read, explores how we all work through grief differently, and when it’s a family member, things are made harder as your normal support network are grieving at the same time. However, there is also lovely gently humour running through the tale, with some very realistic characters, most of who I really loved. A definite feel good factor by the end.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.