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I've been loving the lighter books lately to balance out all my favorite murdery thrillers and 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 by @betholearyauthor fits that bill perfectly! Leena and Eileen, her grandmother, are both at an impasse in life. Leena is on an involuntary sabatical after a mishap at work, and Eileen is 80 and newly single. While Eileen sets off for the hustle and bustle, and hopefully a love connection, in London, Leena takes over her Yorkshire cottage and simpler, quieter life.

Which escape suits you - two months in a big city or two months in the country?

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So much love for this book! So sweet, wholesome, and uplifting. It made me wish I could do something similar with my own grandma, haha. One of the best books I've read this year.

Thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC of The Switch. I alternated between the audio and written version of this book, and both were excellent.

I had high hopes for The Switch, since her previous novel, The Flatshare, was one of my favorites from last year. It did not disappoint, and was just as charming and easy to read. I loved the characters Leena, and her grandmother, Eileen. The dialogue was cheeky and fun, and I laughed out loud throughout the book. On the other hand, both characters dealt with grief from losing a loved one, and there were a lot of self-realizations and digging through feelings that made the book a bit more serious at times. Overall, The Switch was such an enjoyable read with very lovable characters. Although a few parts were predictable, O'Leary writes in such a way that really makes you root for the protagonists and hope for a happy ending. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone who needs an uplifting book!

This book was cute and quirky. It is a novel that is set in England, and centers around a grandmother and granddaughter relationship. When granddaughter Leena needs to take some time off of work to compose herself she and her newly divorced grandmother, Eileen decide to switch places. Leena moves out to the country side while Eileen goes into downtown London. Each women finds something that they were missing, a longing that they didn't even know they needed. Healing takes place for one and the other finds that spice that was missing in her life.

I rather enjoyed this novel, it did start off slow, however when all the drama started it got rather juicy. I have to say that the grandmother Eileen was my favorite character. She is so loving and such a hoot for a 79 year old woman. There are many characters in this book that you get to know and love.

3.75/5 stars.

Thank you for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

My heart! This book was everything, I loved every second of this book. Leena Cotton has recently lost her sister from cancer and has bottled her pain internally, during a meeting a meeting at work she suffers a panic attack, so she’s ordered to take a two month sabbatical from work. Leena’s grandma Eileen whose husband left her for the dance instructor is looking for a second chance at love, living in small town Yorkshire, she knows all the men and is making a list of their likes and their faults the list made me laugh. While talking on the phone with Leena they decide their going to swap lives for two months! Leena moves into Eileen’s house and Eileen moves into Leena’s flat in London with Leena’s roommates. This is where the story just takes off! Leena is working through the small town life living her grandmas life, which includes making sure the May Fair is perfect and helping with the neighborhood watch. Leena soon finds herself befriending grumpy neighbors “Arnold “ who I found myself loving, form lifelong friendships and learn to love herself again and possibly find love. Eileen gets help from Leena’s roommates who help set her up a dating profile on a dating website, deal with fast paced London and the crazy traffic. Eileen quickly befriends Leena’s roommates and her neighbors and finds her own place. The Swap helped each woman in its own way. This book was heartwarming and was filled with so many amazing characters who each had a story to tell. Told in the POV of Leena and Eileen with just added to the story. The book had layers and I never wanted it to end I’m giving the book five stars!

This charming story was so pleasurable to listen to with two great narrators for the main characters. This reminded me a bit of The Holiday, with a grandmother and granddaughter swapping lives for two months- Leena, the younger because she's being forced to take a leave from work, and Eileen to try a different dating pool and social scene than her small town holds. They both find challenges and surprises about the other's lifestyles, and it's just overall full of love. While they are both dealing with lingering grief from loss, the story focused on the ways they move forward.
(Listened to ALC via LibroFM)

O'Leary shot to the top of my auto-buy list after The Flat Share and she has cemented her pre-order place with THE SWITCH. I loved the concept and I loved the characters, especially Eileen. I was so happy to read a multi-generational romance novel. It was so well written that I can already imagine the movie adaptation.

AudioBook Review:
Stars: Overall 4 Narration 4 Story 4

Eileen is nearing eighty and finding herself in need of a change after her husband left her for a dance instructor. Leena is her twenty-something granddaughter hit a stumbling block during a presentation at work and has been told to “take a break”. Grandmother’s house is the country is the perfect place to regroup – and her flat in London becomes Eileen’s preferred ‘shake it up’ option for the immediate future.

Eileen is wonderfully drawn and charismatic: even Leena’s friends and flatmates adore her and her ‘been there done that’ sensible advice, given with a dash of ‘take the chances’ attitude keep her far more the star of this story and the one you can’t help but cheer on and appreciate. Everything isn’t always easy for her – but her determination to take life by the horns and make something new and different for the next stage of her life brings her fully into the reader’s imagination.

For me, Leena was far less engaging and far too immature for a grown twenty-something person who needs to get her own stuff together and never learn from her own mistakes (and there were plenty). Her personality and Eileen’s worked well together, but if Leena felt more like Eileen I think the contrast in the two personalities, and my patience with Leena would have been more to my liking.

Narration (and I read the story too) for this book is provided by Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones and the duo combined to make for snappy conversation, solid emotional access and a wonderfully clever set of tone and volume changes that affected the listen in all the best ways. There are moments to laugh, to cry, to giggle and sigh here and the story has something for everyone with a message that resonates for all.

I received an eArc and AudioBook copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aMe /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

What can changing places with someone else tell you about yourself? About that other person? After a cringe-worthy performance at work, Leena is given a two-month sabbatical from her high octane job. She visits her grandmother in a charming northern village and the two realize that they are both in need of a change. Leena offers to take over Eileen's projects and volunteer work in the idyllic northern village while Eileen gets to spend time in the big city that was denied her many years before. The switch is viewed from both perspectives and what fun it is to watch them realize that walking in the shoes of another is never as easy as it looks. They have more in common than they realize and the folks around are not the same at the end of those two months. As with "The Flatshare," Beth O'Leary uses situations that can be at times humorous and at others heartbreaking to remind us of the realities surrounding serious issues in our culture. In this one, she spotlights spousal abuse, infidelity, and losing a loved one to cancer. I read this one on my Kindle, but have no doubt that it will also be an excellent audiobook with a voice for Leena and one for Eileen. Recommended for fans of Josie Silver!

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

This quick read is about a grandmother and granddaughter who both need a change in their lives, so 29 year-old Leena leaves her London flat and goes to her 79 year-old grandmother Eileen's house in a small village in Yorkshire while Eileen does the opposite and moves into Leena's place. All for two months. Most of the characters were very enjoyable and quirky without being annoying. Except for Leena and her boyfriend, who were just a couple of drips.

I should have felt more for Leena; she has a type A personality and throws herself into her job, only to have a panic attack in the middle of a presentation for an important client. Her boss gives her a 2 month vacation (paid! I wish) and tells her to come back better than ever. Then the reader finds out that Leena's younger sister had cancer and died a year or so before and she hasn't really dealt with it. Her relationship with her mother (who lives in the same village as the grandmother) is very shaky, again, because of the younger sister's illness and death.

Now, Eileen, on the other hand, is a spitfire. She has a zest for life and is very active in her village: giving rides to other seniors, organizing activities and events, and keeping her finger on the village's pulse. But her husband left her a while before and maybe it's time she find herself a new man. Thank goodness for London, because her village has no decent prospects.

The supporting characters are wonderful. Whether young or old, city or country, they all have something to add to the story. They give it a lot of flavor and make it very enjoyable. I have rounded up to 4 stars because I found myself getting lost with the characters and thinking of them as friends.

My thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was in the mood for a light read and this book was exactly that. It gave me all the feels of a Hallmark movie (which I love) but was a bit snarkier (which I also love). The story is about Eileen and Leena (grandmother and granddaughter) who literally switch lives for a couple weeks. Eileen longs for a London adventure and Leena has not taken a break from work in a long time. They switch homes, cell phones and responsibilities, and this is just the start of the story. The older characters in this story are so funny and quick-witted! This was a fun, heart-warming story with a bit of romance. If you are looking for a feel-good story, this book is for you!

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I loved the Flatshare so I was really excited for this one! Beth O'Leary writes such heartwarming characters with beautiful plots filled with wit and depth. I thought she did a great job with the topic of grief. Everybody handles grief differently, even within a family and I think she really captured that beautifully in this story. This book also proves that you are never too late to start your life and try something new! I think Eileen the grandma is the true hero in this novel. I love a story with a meddling grandma and she really nailed it here!

Overall, a heartwarming read but the plot didn't really pick up for me until around 50%. If you love character driven books, this may be more for you.

3.5 star!

Favorite Quotes:

“Well, she better not leave it too long,” Betsy says. “I am eighty!” I smile at that. Betsy’s eighty-five. Even when she’s trying to make the point that she is old, she can’t help lying about her age.

I look down into the tea leaves. Letitia’s shoulders start shaking before I see what she sees... The tea leaves look like … genitals. Male genitals. It couldn’t be more distinct if I’d tried to arrange it that way on purpose. “I think it means good things are coming your way… That, or it’s telling me the tea-leaves game is a load of cock and balls.”

Leena keeps telling me that there are good men out there, that you have to kiss a few frogs, but I’ve been smooching amphibians for almost a year now and I am losing. The. Will.

It’s quite all right,”I tell her. “I’m seventy-nine. I may seem like an innocent old lady to you but that means I’ve had fifty extra years to see the horrors the world has to offer, and whatever that was, it’s got nothing on my ex-husband’s warty behind.


My Review:


This was great fun and my first experience reading Beth O’Leary and I’d gladly enlist for a lifetime of more of the same, she has mad skills! The Switch sparkled with clever levity, snarky observations and insights, sneaky wry humor, and razor-sharp wit. I gleefully indulged in a pleasantly entertaining day of fully engaged reading while giggle-snorting and smirking my way through this delightfully penned tale. Relevant social issues and concerns were laced throughout in a thoughtful and engaging manner while still amazingly maintaining an amusing tone overall.

The characters were fully inhabited, honorable, uniquely peculiar, realistically flawed, and significantly struggling with a variety of rather serious concerns, yet expending their energies creatively and in the intent of the betterment of others. I adored them although I found myself favoring the unpredictable antics and verbal exchanges of the elder contingent quite a bit more than the younger set.

And I hit a bevy of new words for my Brit Words and Phrases List with maungy – sulky or peevish, shambolic – chaotic and disorganized, and sling your hook – telling someone to go away.

Thank You Publisher for Sending me and ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book, but just couldn't get into it. I think it could have been really fun but I just couldn't get into the writing style. I think I also wanted more romance, and it was more of a personal growth type of story.

This book made me so happy! I both read and listened to this book. I loved The Flatshare and could not wait for The Switch to be published. It had the feel of a cozy mystery book with its small village and quirky characters but was so much more than that. The book was uplifting - can't we all use a little bit of that right now? The audio version had a great narrator - she used different voices for characters and even mimicked the sound of people talking on the telephone! I will recommend this title for fans of uplifting fiction! And pretty much anyone else who will listen to me :)

my blurb!
The Holiday meets Gilmore Girls meets The Golden Girls…. in Britain.

5 out of 5 stars
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

🔥 out of 5 steam level
REQUIRED READING FOR FICTION LOVERS.


what I liked:
Well that was just perfectly lovely. You know when you finish watching the Kiera Knightley version of Pride & Prejudice and you just want to go around drinking tea, taking long walks and speaking in an English accent? No? Just me? Well this book left me with similar vibes.
There were so many quotes I loved throughout the book but since it was an advanced readers copy I can’t share them all with you. But trust me, you’re going to love it.
The characters were so likable. I loved them! It took me a while to get everyone’s names down because there are strong friendship groups for both Leena and Eileen, but it’s worth the effort. And honestly as you continue reading you catch on to who is who even if you can’t remember initially. I’m personally very much hoping that Fitz and a girl with a car get a book of their own!
You know I love Gilmore Girls, which features two (well, three if you’re paying attention) Lorelai Gilmore’s. This book features two Eileen Cotton’s and I was so here for it!
It was so well written that I could picture every scene. I can’t always do that with neighborhoods or cities, but I really could in this book!
What else did I love? You know when you’re watching a Hallmark movie and you’re rooting for some characters to get together and you just have a feeling that the guy you don’t like is really a schmuck but you just haven’t seen that yet? …oh come on… that’s just me too?! Well anyways, that happened in this book and I was so here for it.
This has romance in the novel, but it’s not the driving force. You should know that going in if you’re looking for a romance read. It is a fiction novel with romance elements.
Overall I found this book to be like a hot cup of tea on a rainy day. And just the coziness I needed during this insane time in the world. Highly recommend!

what I didn't like:
I pretty much loved this book. Leena had a personal climactic moment that I didn’t love her response to, but it didn’t make me subtract from the star level.

Content warnings: family member with cancer, death of a family member, infidelity, depression, panic attack, verbal abuse (secondary character).

Looking for a book featuring LGBTQ characters? This book features a secondary character who you’ll like.

while reading you should
Listen to: Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran (mentioned 98% of the way into the book)
Do: Call your grandma and your mom.
Drink: tea of course!

This book is charming, entertaining and all around lovely!

Set in England, Leena and her grandmother come up with the idea to swap houses for 2 months to take a break from each other’s lives and daily routines.

Leena, the granddaughter, moves to her grandma’s quaint English town while Eileen, the grandmother, moves to a flat in London. They not only swap houses, but also responsibilities, phones, laptops and even friends.

I absolutely adored Eileen, the spunky, witty grandmother. She has such a carefree personality. She has no problem telling people to “bug off” and her dating adventures had me laughing out loud!!!

As delightful and endearing as this book is, it also addresses some more serious topics such as grief, anxiety and mental health. As the main characters cope with the loss of a close family member, we learn that they’re overcoming battles of their own which manifest in entirely different ways.

Full of charm and humor, this book was just my cup of tea!

The Switch is dual narrated by Leena and her grandmother, Eileen. Leena is a workaholic in London and is using her work to push aside her grief about her sister's death over a year ago. Eileen is recently single and not having any luck finding someone to date in her small countryside town.

When Leena's boss forces her to take a break, she gets the idea to 'switch' places with her grandmother. Leena takes over her grandmother's duties and Eileen goes to live in London to expand her dating pool.

I enjoyed this one. It was a good in-between read to mix up my reading. I would switch from the e-book and audio. I really liked the narrator that voiced Eileen. She really brought her to life.

3.5/5⭐️

This book is one of the most heart warming, funny books I’ve read in a long time and I loved every minute of it! I loved the dynamic of the grandmother and granddaughter.

Short review: This book is the Donkey to my Shrek.

Long Review: I loved Flatshare, Beth O'Leary's first book, so dang much I was honestly a little afraid of this book. I wasn’t sure if I could overcome my assumption that no book could live up to that one. Scratch that. I was pretty sure no book could live up to it.

I was wrong.

This book is a beautifully written, character driven, masterpiece. I fell in love with every single main and supporting character from Grandma Eileen and granddaughter Leena, to Arnold, Betsy, Jackson, Martha, Fitz and all the others. I loved getting to know them and watch their lives unfold around Eileen and Leena's life "swap."

I savored every minute of the journey as they overcame their struggles, hurt, sorrow, anger, and in the end, followed their hearts and found the true meaning of love, healing, forgiveness, family, and friendship.

Now is the time where I adopt my best Shrek voice and say “That’ll do Donkey...that’ll do.”

Get this book on your must read list. You won't be disappointed. Thank you to Flatiron and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.