I've heard so many good things about The Switch so I was excited to read it and completely agree that this is an amazing book.

The dual narrative is shared between Eileen and her granddaughter Leena. Although they are decades apart age-wise and living in different parts of the country, both find themselves at difficult times in their lives. Leena is forced to take two months paid leave from her high flying position in the city and Eileen suddenly finds herself single for the first time in her life.

Leena comes up with a plan that for two months only, they should completely swap lives. She travels to Hamleigh-In-Harksdale to take over Eileen's projects including the Neighbourhood Watch (in a village with no crime), dog walking duties, and running community projects. This gives Eileen the opportunity to join the dating game, with plenty of over seventies gentleman to choose from, and a chance to explore the big city of London.

It's the characters that make this such an entertaining read. I loved how they all interacted with each other, the versatility of both Elaine and Leena in their different roles, and how they both grow throughout the story. The bond between them is enchanting and the parallels obvious. They both share incredible heartache but a mutual zest for life is also beautifully portrayed.

I loved the humour, the sense of adventure, and how the story portrays that age is just a number. This is perfectly demonstrated by seventy-nine-year-old Elaine, who is meddlesome, assertive but totally loveable. The story is overflowing with eccentric characters, unexpected romance, and heartwarming moments.

Words cannot describe how much I loved The Switch!

The Flatshare was one of my favourite books of 2019 so I was so excited to be approved for The Switch. It totally lived up to the expectations set by Beth O'Leary's first book.

Not only were the two main characters highly engaging and relatable, the supporting cast of characters were also well rounded with their own personalities and motivations.

This book is witty, charming and a little bit heartbreaking - everything I could want from this book!

I loved The Flatshare so I had high hopes for the second book from Beth O’Leary and it did not disappoint. Eileen and Leena are both on a path of rediscovery and it was both funny and heartwarming to read. I highly recommend this if you are looking for a feel good book to get you through these next few weeks. 5 *****

Last year, I read The Flatshare and I fell in love with the protagonists Leon and Tiffy, their story, and Beth O’Leary’s brilliant writing. And now, one year later, Beth O’Leary is back with another beautiful and addictive story.

One afternoon, a few days ago, I sat down on the couch, I picked up The Switch, I am not sure, but I think at some point I had dinner, and suddenly it was 2am and I had finished reading the entire novel.

The Switch is a fantastic story of family and friendship with a bit of romance in it. The protagonists are Eileen and her granddaughter Leena who, following a rough year, decide to switch their lives, The Holiday-style. Leena, on a sabbatical from work, moves to her grandmother’s house in Yorkshire and takes on her many many projects. On the other hand, Eileen moves to Shoreditch to live with her granddaughter’s roommates and give a try to online dating.

Both protagonists get involved in many hilarious situations that brought tears to my eyes from laughing. Eileen and Leena are funny, strong, and generous and I simply adored them. All the characters are well-crafted and witty. From Leena’s roommates and friends to the members of the Neighbourhood Watch, I liked them all and they made me laugh out loud.

The Switch is a terrific and engrossing novel that everyone needs to read, especially right now. With the right amount of comedy and a few emotional moments, it will keep you entertained and establishes Beth O’Leary as an amazing storyteller that knows how to grip the reader’s attention. I am definitely a huge fan of this author and I can’t wait to see what she has planned next…

Loved this as much as the flat share. Amacing author is recommend to anyone. Coo POI hadn’t put down this book.

A 79-year-ols takes on busy London life with a millenial moves to a quiet little villages and busies herfelf helping the elderly residents and planning the May Day celebration.
Eileen and Leena both need a change in their life and for two months, grandmother and granddaughter swap places.
What seems like a joke at first becomes reality and they both find pleasure in their new lives.
It is light-hearted and just what we need at the moment, because we need something we can count on, which is uplifting, with sweet characters we would like to meet in real life.

I felt this was written better than her previous book, The Flat Share. But to be honest the storyline didn’t really excite me. I was really hoping this would be better.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

I loved The Flat Share and The Switch has not disappointed, great uplifting, sometimes cringeworthy and comical book.
Leena screws up a presentation at work and has to take a two month break!
Her Grandma, Eileen, has recently found herself single and ready to mingle at 79 years of age!
Leena suggests they swap accommodation, Leena to move to Hamleigh, Yorkshire and her grandma Eileen to live in Shoreditch, with Leena's flatmates, to experience London and a wider dating scene, each taking over the others responsibilities.
Can Leena and her boyfriend maintain a long distance relationship, will Leena cope with a nosy neighbour and well meaning friends of Eileens, will the appearance of a very ruggedly handsome primary school teacher distract her?
Leena also has to confront her estranged mother and try to reconcile.
,All set for an interesting tale of village and city life.
Very thoughtfully and sympathetically written, was sad to finish it!

t.w loss of family member

oh this was such a wonderful book after the first few chapters I knew I was going to enjoy this one very much and for sure I did. t

his was such a gooooood read with two main characters that just felt like friends when you were reading from both Their perspectives. my fav out of the two was for sure grandmother Eileen she was my spirit animal I just loved her and how she was all about living life to the fullest and making the most of everyday. plus if I had a neighbour like Eileen I would love It.

plus the cottage Eileen swaps with her granddaughter for can I just live there too, it just sounded like such a quaint and welcoming community of people, young and old and loved how they all bond with each other through community meetings at the community centre in the village or doing bingo/ setting up the fait for the village.

ive got to say it gave me kind of vicar of dibley vibes while reading (don't ask me why ahah) which I enjoyed too.

with the light hearted and warmness of this book we do get some emotional scenes with Leena the granddaughter who's not been on speaking terms with her mother after the loss of her sister, but really enjoyed the handle of that storyline that weaved through the others too and felt very organic and wasn't rushed in anyway.

the only critique I would have to ask is I would loved to have had more romance from leena and Jackson but everything else loved it.

I have now read both of Beth O'Leary's books in a space of a month and loved them both equally.

The switch follows two Eileen Cotton's. Leena Cotton is 29 works in central London and has dreams of starting her own business but this all comes to a screeching halt as she grieves the death of her sister. The other Eileen Cotton is 79 and still reeling from her husband leaving her for some Pilates instructor and trying to juggle helping her grieving daughter and projects for the local village.
When Leena is given 2 months off work to find herself she goes up to the Yorkshire dales where her family live. Both Eileens are stuck in a rut and need adventure to find their true selves once again, and so the switch is formed. They will both live as one another, Leena taking on her grandmother's duties in the community and Eileen re-living her 20's in London.

I really enjoyed this book. It had the dual perspectives every other chapter. It had great comedy and banter. The voices between the two characters were distinct and was just a pleasure to read. As like 'The Flatshare' it has serious/heavy topics and might need trigger warnings for such as; Death of a loved one, Cancer and adultery.

A lovely story about a Grandmother and her grandaughter who switch their lives for 2 months ! Leena the grandaughter lives in London and has been throwing herself into her work since her sister Carlas death, things come to a point when she messes up an important presentation. She is asked to take off 2 months and goes to visit her Grandmother Eileen. Eileen is 79 and feels like life has passed her by - her loathsome husband has finally left her and she is left wondering what would have happened if she had gone to London when she was younger - she is also on the lookout for a love interest and has declared that there are no eligible batchelors in the village she lives in. So Leena and Eileen switch for 2 months and both leave tasks and lists that need sorting in each others lives - A lovely funny and heartwarming read that I really enjoyed.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters and the idea of the main characters swapping lives for a bit.
I enjoyed the chapters when village life was described and it reminded me a bit of Agatha Raisin - some of the silly things that neighbours argue about and rival villages.
I liked Leena and her friends and could understand how she felt when someone close to her died.
I would recommend this book and I can’t wait to read Beth’s next book.

The Switch is a book I’ve been waiting to read because I enjoyed “The Flatshare” sooo much but unfortunately this missed the mark for me.
I have to start by saying a don’t like leaving a review of a book that I didn’t particularly like and I hope I am in the minority with this but I struggled with this book from start to finish. It took me two weeks to read this as I jumped in and out of it whilst reading others. I think there were two main reasons I didn’t particularly enjoy this book, the first being I didn’t like the main characters, I found them to be self centred and a little boring. The second reason being the middle part could have had a whole chunk cut out of it and it would have been much better as the middle was very slow with not a lot happening.
I really, really enjoyed Beth O’Learys last book and I won’t give up on her yet. I am hoping the majority like this and it’s just me and the strange times we are living in.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

It’s a story from two perspectives - a granddaughter and a grandmother.
A heartwarming and uplifting novel with a lot of laugh out loud moments but it also covers more serious issues such as loneliness/ isolation,grief,death, mental health, heartbreak and growing older, job loss and so much more

It explores differing family relationships from different points of view - I found it a great read and didn't want it to end

I especially loved Eileen's role and watching her character learn and develop

I‘m sorry to say that I didn’t enjoy “The Switch“.
After reading and loving “The Flatshare“ last year, I was really excited to get my hands on this book, but sadly it was an absolute letdown.
While the concept of the plot sounded very intriguing and creative, ”The Switch“ failed to hold my attention because it was so incredibly slow. It took me a few weeks to finish this book because I couldn‘t care about the plot or the characters at all. They both lacked depth.
Another factor as to why I didn’t love this book were the romances. They weren’t interesting and the couples didn’t have the spark they should’ve had.
Overall this book had a great premise, but failed to deliver.

5 stars -- unsurprisingly! I loved The Flatshare, so I knew I was going to love this. O'Leary's writing is just so... refreshing.

Leena is struggling following the loss of her sister. Elaine, her 79 year old grandmother, is on the hunt for a new man but finds the talent distinctly lacking in her village until an idea is born and the two switch places. Elaine goes to live in London and Leena moves up to Yorkshire temporarily and that’s when the two really start living. A lovely heart warming tale around delicately tackled issues. Thank you netgalley for the advance copy!

A great follow up to The Flat Share!
The characters are the beating hard of this book. They are believable, likeable, raw and humorous. It is a real mark of talent for an author to create so many characters you can connect to in one novel.
I guessed the ending way too early on - which made it difficult for me to finish it quickly, but when it came around it was executed perfectly.
Another recommended read by the fabulous Beth O Leary!

The story is told from dual perspectives, and our protagonists in this book are Eileen and Lenna. Eileen is Leena’s grandmother, and they decided to swap their lives. Leena was a successful career woman in London, who was very affected by the death of her sister. Eileen is a 79-year-old woman who is a very active part of village society, that got dumped by her husband. Not only these two ladies, but all of the characters are fascinating personalities. I loved how these two generations entwined, enriching the lives of one another. I really loved Eileen in this book, I loved her parts the most, she is so entertaining, and her adventures were really fun to read about. Leena, on the other hand, has a lot of pain and anger built up in her, and a repetition of it kind of took the joy away from her hilarious mishaps.
The narrative of this book was very well delivered and a true joy to read. I loved that there were plenty of funny accidents from both of the stories, mixed with grave topics. The topics discussed were grief, family relationships, domestic mental abuse, the loneliness that older people face, tight community’s pros and cons, friendships, and many more. The thing that I wasn’t very impressed was that Leena’s story felt like an every Hallmark romance story at times, and it was very predictable. :( But at the moment, I was in the mood for something breezy and fun to clear my head, and it did the job. :)
I really liked that the narrative and the setting was constantly changing, depending on the character. The writing style was very creative, the characters and the plot were very well delivered. The chapters have a very decent length, and for me, the pages just flew by. The ending was quite predictable, but I liked the way it rounded up this story.
So, to conclude, if you are looking for a book, filled with amusing and hilarious situations, perfectly combined with serious social issues and intriguing characters, this book is for you. It lifted my mood and taught me some serious life lessons, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

‘The Switch’ gave me so many warm and fuzzies it was like a hug from family.. I read Beth O’Leary’s latest novel in a day, helplessly transported between a fictional, rural English hamlet of misfits with hearts too big for so small a town, and a London apartment of hopeless (but actually absolutely bloody perfectly stereotypical) Gen Y-ers. The premise of this book is Freaky Friday-esque, although with a little less fortune cookie and a lot more agency. Leena Cotton is a classic Type-A personality on the brink of success, and if we’re honest, a mini breakdown. Eileen Cotton is Leena’s grandma, seventy-nine years young, recently abandoned by her husband for their dance instructor but with a wicked sense of humour (her cats are called Ant and Dec). When Leena’s boss forces her to take two months off work, Leena trades homes and lives with Eileen, and a fair bit of hilarity ensues. There’s online dating (including the requisite catfishing experience), a romance carried out through dog walks and competition over the annual village fete theme, and neighbourly calamities aplenty. Simultaneously, there is that same careful, nuanced and empathetic handling of enormously challenging subjects like grief and domestic violence that made ‘The Flatshare’ as impactful as it was. The question I know you’re all mentally clamouring at me to ask is: but is ‘The Switch’ as good as ‘The Flatshare’? Like a person talking about their ex-lover to their current paramour, I’m going to say they’re ‘different’. If you were feeling isolated with all that’s going on, this book will be the perfect cure. I can’t be held accountable though if, once this is all over, this book makes you set up a dinner club for silver-haired septegenarians or host a Medieval/Hawaiian themed village fete. I’m down for both if you do. I gave ‘The Switch’ by @betholearyauthor 4 out of 5 pairs of political socks, which say ‘Brexit is bollocks’ around the ankle 🧦 🇬🇧 🧦 🇬🇧 #theswitch