I can only imagine what a daunting task it must be writing a second novel when your first one is so well received. The author has set herself a huge task following the success of ‘The Flatshare’ and I almost didn’t want to start ‘The Switch’ for fear it wouldn’t live up to expectations but I needn’t have worried. Despite wanting to savour this read for as long as possible I actually finished it in virtually one sitting so wrapped up I became in the fictional lives of Eileen and Leena.
‘The Switch’ is a charming and funny novel with a wonderful cast of characters and has quite a quirky storyline. Grandmother Eileen lives in the Yorkshire dales in the village of Hamleigh-in-Harksdale whilst her granddaughter Leena is busy forging a career in London but both are struggling to come to terms with the death of beloved Carla. When life doesn’t quite go according to plan for Leena, what better way to deal with life’s curveballs than to swap places with her grandmother for a couple of months so they can both rediscover their true selves.
Eileen is such a fantastic character, brave and adventurous despite her advancing years and most definitely a force to be reckoned with. She loves to meddle!! I loved that someone of vintage years takes such a central role in the narrative, and her switch to London life, flat sharing , is quite inspirational. Forging new friendships with a much younger age group gives her a new lease of life proving you’re never too old to discover new experiences and that both young and old have much to learn from one another. It’s so easy to fall in love with Eileen, she’s such a breath of fresh air and THE coolest grandmother!
I was swept up in the storyline very quickly, immersed in Eileen and Leena’s worlds as if I was living alongside them both. Leena is an interesting character in that she has shut herself off from her grief over her sister’s death and it will take the elderly inhabitants of this Yorkshire village to make her confront her feelings and mend bridges with her mother Marion. She throws herself into village life, surprisingly learning to embrace a different way of life very quickly. I liked Leena, almost as much as her grandmother, even though her driving skills leave much to be desired!
This is a novel bursting with love and warmth and humour and I absolutely adored these elderly characters and their seemingly pointless meetings. Reading these scenes will definitely put a smile on your face and brighten your day with Arnold and Betsy et al providing plenty of giggles along the way. In a time where kindness is so important this novel speaks volumes about family and love and community. Addressing the issue of isolation and loneliness in a lighthearted and heartwarming way really struck a chord with me with Letitia symbolising the way modern day living can be so lonely.
All in all ‘The Switch’ has all the ingredients necessary for a perfect romantic quirky read; larger than life characters, a generous helping of romance, a sprinkling of cheesiness, a large dollop of silliness and a pinch of predictability. Yes, this is unashamedly sentimental in places but I wouldn’t expect anything less. For me, this is comfort reading at its very best enabling you to enter a fictional haven where goodness prevails. A joy to read and highly recommend without hesitation.
MASSIVE thanks go to Beth O’Leary, the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed being ‘Eileened’ and hope this second novel is received as well as her first. Beth O’Leary’s writing career deserves to go from strength to strength and I already eagerly await her next offering!! NO PRESSURE

Wow, this was an absolute treat! I enjoyed O'Leary's first novel but this one is even better. It's not a genre I usually read, but I couldn't resist this big-hearted, charming, touching story of a life swap between grandmother and granddaughter.

Lena Cotton is a high-flyer in London and supposedly living a dream life with her high-powered job, handsome boyfriend and trendy warehouse flat in Shoreditch. When a presentation at work goes wrong and she is told to take a two month sabbatical, she retreats to the Yorkshire village where her mother and grandmother live, each dealing in their own ways with a family tragedy. The grandmother in question, Eileen, is at the centre of village life, always organising and busy but unsuccessfully looking for love. When the two agree to swap lives for the two months of Leena's leave, neither foresee the results of their quirky experiment.

The novel is packed with lucky coincidences and chance events that make everything perfect and neat, but that (which I thought might annoy me) was just lovely. What makes the book, however, is the cast of characters. They are a great and astutely observed bunch of people and they become like friends in a way that reminded me of the eclectic mix of family and friends surrounding Bridget Jones (another book I love). The plot was predictable in places but always charming and touching - it didn't shy away from the subject of grief but without becoming maudlin or mawkish.

I'd highly recommend this to anyone who wants a big slice of comfort reading. Its engaging and humorous, life-affirming and reassuring that it's never too late to find your place in the world.

Beth O’Leary has done it again. Taking a slightly cynical reader who takes a while to ease into a romantic book because she’s not a fan of cheesy love stories, and completely warming their heart by the end! The Switch is fun, and romantic, and keeps family at the heart. The surrounding characters are so well-constructed - they are completely three-dimensional and that’s without mentioning the village itself! What a beautiful, fun, warm book. Now, can we have a sequel?! I am desperate to know what happens next!!!

I liked this one. Like The Flatshare, I do find Beth O'Leary's character arcs so richly drawn and ultimately satisfying. It felt like I really got to know Eileen and Leena, their fears and burdens and grief, and all the characters felt so likeable.

I think I like the Flatshare better, just because I was such a sucker for the central love story, but I think if you like that then you'll get along with this.

Leena had a panic attack in her high powered job and it makes her realise she needs a break! So when she is given two months leave she travels back to the Yorkshire Dales to visit her grandmother, Eileen. Despite a rocky relationship with her mum and the encompassing grief at the death of her sister Leena needs a break. Eileen also needs a break so the two swap homes! Eileen falls into the London scene easily but Leena struggles with the stoic villagers until she wins them over. Will Leena be able to resume her life in London after this?
Wow wow wow! I devoured this and laughed, sniffled and maybe a tear leaked out too! It was just beautiful. Despite my apprehension at wondering if it would be as good as ‘the flat share’, it ticks all the boxes to be one of my favourites books so far!
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Such an incredibly sweet & funny read! I absolutely loved the family relationships and the friendships between all the different characters.

There is something about Beths writing that is so heartwarming & familiar. I was instantly sucked into the story and I couldn’t put it down!

This book is a perfect light read but with moments of heartbreak and grief.

Beth is definitely an auto buy author for me.

I’ll start this review by saying that I adored The Flatshare – in fact it was one of my top books of last year, so I was a little nervous going in to The Switch. I really wanted to read it, but at the same time I didn’t want to start it in case it couldn’t live up to my expectations. I needn’t have worried, Beth O’Leary has created yet another awesome book, with more characters to fall in love with.

Just like Flatshare this book entices you in with an interesting idea, this time – if a Grandmother and Grandaughter swapped lives for 2 months, what would happen then?
Well I’ll tell you (with no spoilers, I promise), the answer is a whole lot and at the same time not a lot at all. By which I mean, no one saves the world or has a personality change, instead we get to know everyone between the pages, the communities they live in and the small everyday challenges that must be overcome in all our lives. The Switch is a very human story, at it’s heart is the question of who we are and how we find ourselves again once we get lost.

It’s a rare thing in a work of fiction to find an older character who is fully rounded, who still has their own wants and desires but that is exactly what Eileen is, it feels like she could step off the page and straight into bossing you around. I wish Eileen was my Grandma so I could spend time hanging out with her.

Leena was the same, she could be anyone’s friend. She feels absolutely real and not like she was formed in someone’s imagination at all. You felt her pain, cheered on her on and absolutely understood her.

If you were wondering whether or not to give this book a chance the answer is yes you should. By the end of the book I loved the people between it’s pages.

I adored this book. Loved the characterisation - such a strong follow-up after the incredible success of The Flatshare. I couldn’t put it down.

I had very high expectations for this book, considering how much I loved The Flatshare. It turned out I didn't have any need to worry.

I adored this book. I wish I had a grandmother figure like Eileen in my life, and I want to wrap Leena in a hug (or, ironically, cotton).

This book goes into quite a lot of deep topics, such as elderly loneliness, abuse, and anxiety. I cannot recommend it higher.

I'll say this right out of the gate: it's not as good as The Flatshare. That book had hype coming out of its
ears and it was one of my favourite books of 2019. It was a very tought act to follow. And whilst I think
Beth O'Leary has done an excellent job avoiding a sophmore slump, there's something about 'The Switch' that
lacks the charm and uniqueness of her debut novel.

However, it's not bad. In fact, it's rather good. So I'm going to be positive from here on out.

Lovely is the operative word here, because that's the best way to describe this book. It's lovely.

The novel follows grandmother Eileen and granddaughter Leena, both of whom need a break from their ordinary lives. So, they switch places with each other. The city rat goes to a village in Yorkshire and the homebody takes on the bright lights of London. It's a sweet novel with a premise that I do feel as though I've seen before, but O'Leary carries it off with her charming prose and cast of flawed, but interesting characters. The village setting was perhaps the more interesting of the two, with Eileen being the more interesting character, but the relationships work well against each other.

I also appreciated that the finding of a partner took a secondary seat to what the two women actually wanted to do: shake up their lives. They actually change their perspectives and take care of themselves, rather than always relying on other people. It's a nice touch that you don't often see in classic women's fiction.

Ultimately, I did really enjoy this book. Beth O'Leary has cemented herself as an auto-read author for me and whatever she comes out with over the next few years, I know I'm really going to enjoy. Hopefully she keeps capturing the spark and wit that came with 'The Flatshare' and, to a lesser extent, 'The Switch'.

I’ve been Eileened! This book is joyfully, gloriously, wonderfully, sweet and uplifting. At first I thought it would be a cheesy Freaky Friday imitation but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Absolutely makes me want to leave my office job behind and seek adventure in the Dales. Loved it.

This book was a joy to read. I loved the characters and laughed out loud on occasion. It was so nice to have older central characters and a welcoming change from the usual chick lit format.

Hilarious book read in one sitting funny characters and a great plat well done looking forward to more fro, this brilliant writer.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I loved this story almost as much as Flat-Share which was always going to be a very hard book to follow. I felt like I knew each character personally due to the description of them. I wanted to live where they lived and have friends like they have lol. Moreover, i felt totally invested in each one of them! The storyline was so clever and unusual. This is not my usual genre, I’m more of a crime/thriller reader therefore am extremely pleased and grateful for opening up my mind to something totally different. 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. Having read The Flatshare by this author and loving it I hoped her next book would be as good, it was absolutely brilliant. The characters and story were perfect and I couldn’t put it down. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.

Oh wow what can I say. If I could give more than 5 stars I would. I was really lucky to be allowed to read a preview copy. I enjoyed the Flatshare so much and was a bit worried that the 2nd book might not be as good. I didnt need to worry it was excellent . The writing is just wonderful and all the characters - both the main ones and the characters that play a smaller part in the story are so well written they seem real.
The storylines could have been really sad but the authors style is both uplifting and true to real life. I only hope I can read other books this year that are half as good. There was absolutely nothing in the story that I could fault and I only wish I hadn’t finished it!!!
I am so looking forward to the next book Beth O’Leary writes.

Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare was a huge hit with me and so The Switch – out April 2020 – is one of my most anticipated releases. I read it during my Christmas break and it was the perfect choice – warm, uplifting and totally different to anything else I’ve read lately. Review continues over on prettybooks.co.uk

A really easy, heartwarming read. I flew through it - would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who wants a tale of community and love in modern day cities and the countryside. Big fan of Beth O'Leary!

I was looking forward to reading this book since I very much enjoyed The Flatshare, Beth O'Leary's previous novel, and it didn't disappoint. I thought it had an unusual premise that would appeal to a wide range of readers. The author deftly combined some very poignant moments alongside amusing sections that brought a smile to my face. I did feel that some of the plot was slightly predictable in parts but it was a light-hearted and enjoyable read.

"Men. They always bloody let you down, don't they?"

4.5/5 stars

Well, that was such a lovely, feel-good read! It seems like a sweet book at first, but when you actually start reading, there's so many layers of important theme's that the author deals with, that it's so much more than a feel-good book. Grief, abuse, adultery, loneliness, it's all in there, and it's done so brilliantly.

I really liked the concept of Leena and Eileen switching their lives, but I've got to say that I was a lot more invested in Eileen's (grandma's) life than in Leena's. The sweet old lady took on the big city and made it her own. She really found her place, and not only that, she even had fun!

Leena's time in the village. well, I've got to say that I wasn't all that interested in it. I don't really know why, but the elderly lady moving to the city just interested me so much more!