It was not the story I was imagining it to be and I couldn't stop picturing all the time what I wanted from it. I loved her previous book and didn't like this one bit.

Audiobook Review - 3.5⭐️

Loved the narration. This is my second book to listen to by this author and I love how they talk on the phone in the narration. The narration was alittle slow so I had to speed it up alittle.

This book was a fun read, alittle slow and marketed as a romance but I found that it really wasn’t romance at all. It was a book about family and about them finding themselves.

I really liked the characters the meddling old ladies and gents, the grandma, mother, daughter all needing to find themselves after a horrible event. The friends and friends that were made.

Over all a nice and wholesome book that left me with happy feelings.

A wonderful audio version of a wonderful book. The narrator was so easy to listen to and the story was lovely!

|REVIEW| The Switch by Beth O’Leary
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I loved The Flatshare last year, and couldn’t wait for Beth O’Leary’s second! When I found out it was available for immediate download from NetGalley, as well as Libro.fm’s ALC program, I dropped whatever else I was listening to and started it right away!
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First, let me say that if there is one genre I gravitate towards, it’s romcoms set in the UK, especially London and/or small villages. This one had both settings, so I was in heaven 😍 I won’t summarize the book, but I loved how it centered on Leena AND her grandmother, Eileen (I pictured quilts like this in Eileen’s cottage, so thought it was a fitting background 🤗). It tackled some “heavier” issues such as grief, loss, family conflict, age, and finding your way in life, but with humor and relatability, making it uplifting and SO comforting.
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The narrators were fantastic, and I plan on getting a physical copy to have as well.
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It’s another hug in book form, and one that I’ll return to over and over again. This is the perfect cozy book as we start to enter the fall (tbh I’m ready for it NOW).
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Thank you to @librofm and @netgalley for the ALC!

This was a really cute book and it gave me all the feels. This was like freaky Friday meets Wife Swap.

THE FLATSHARE was an interesting reading experience for me, as it was for many others. The chapters from Leon's POV were super hard to get used to because he basically spoke in sentence fragments. I thought about quitting the book so many dang times but I kept feeling like I would miss out if I did. I ended up giving it 4.5 stars because it was SO CUTE by the end and I had kind of gotten used to his chapters.

Well, THE SWITCH had all of the cuteness and none of the adjustment period. I saw some people say that it was a little slow-moving for them but I was kind of addicted. I read most of it in one sitting, sneaking it in as my last read for February on the final day of the month. I also had a review copy of the audiobook, which was pretty good. I saw other reviewers also complain about some mouth noises and they didn't enjoy the narration, but I didn't notice. I always listen on 1.5x speed or higher so it was completely masked for me if it existed. I liked the audio overall and always appreciate multiple narrators for more than one POV.

This is the kind of book where I read other people's reviews and was immediately confused by any negatively. This truly was near-flawless for me and such a cute reading experience. Reading about Eileen, Leena's grandmother, felt like it would be weird at first but she was very youthful and adorable. Leena didn't fall far from the tree there either. The way they blended into each other's worlds and took over whatever needed "working on" was so heartwarming. I loved reading both POVs so much and seeing what they would each get up to in London or Hamleigh, respectively. There was an undercurrent of grief after the loss of Leena's sister, as well as Leena trying to repair her relationship with her mother. A few serious topics to make you tear up but even more cute, heartwarming, and lovely sections as well.

My biggest complaint is that compared to THE FLATSHARE, the romances were secondary. I didn't mind this because it quickly became clear that this was more a family-driven story than a romance. That's fine with me! I do think the romances, because they still existed in the story, could have had a touch more page time to feel even more real. I still shipped everyone together and am super happy with the outcome.

I really loved this book! I liked how the focus was on both main characters, Leena and Eileen, finding what makes them happy. Both viewpoints kept me interested with the issues going on and their respective plot points. I loved all the side characters, like Leena's roommates and the townspeople of Eileen's country village. There was a sweet romance for both characters, but I liked how it didn't overwhelm the story. I think there are not enough books that show older women finding love again or going on adventures, so this book was delightful in how it showed Eileen still learning and growing at her stage in life.

This wasn't one of my favorite books. I can usually get through a couple of audiobooks over the course of a few weeks, but it took starting this one up a few times, and even then I couldn't get into it. I'd heard great things, but I wasn't captivated quickly so I wasn't in the mood to pick it up again.

Excellent Story! LOVED the grandma! The narrator for the audio was excellent. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I have had this on my NetGalley shelf for quite sometime now and I am sorry that I waited so long to read it. It came across to me as a romance and at that particular time I was approved to read it I wasn’t in the frame of mind for diving into a romance. The Switch is more than just a romance story. It’s a love story about not only finding true love in the most unsuspecting places, but a love story about finding the true version of yourself and loving that person no matter how flawed.

A granddaughter and grandmother swap lives for two months as a sort of sabbatical from their complicated lives and find out that it wasn’t as easy as they both had thought. It’s a story about living your best life in order to honor those we’ve loved and lost.

I absolutely loved this book. I found myself giggling at the funny moments and tearing up at the heartfelt ones. I cared about every single character in this story; even the not so likable ones that danced through the pages. I was rooting for the happily ever after for all characters involved.

Fun, refreshing, and thought-provoking. Exactly what we need in this time of uncertainty in this world of ours today. Beautifully written.

I smiled a lot while reading this book and that is definitely a good thing. Smiling is good.

“To being the best woman you can be.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC of The Switch in exchange for my honest review.

Overdue book review - party of me . . . .

After reading The Flat Share I knew Beth O’Leary was going to be a gal for me. The Switch takes what seems to be nearly everyone’s favorite trope and turns it on its ear just a titch . . . .

“My granddaughter wanted a break in the countryside, and I wanted some excitement in the city. So we swapped lives…”

Actually, said granddaughter Leena was sort of forced into a sabbatical by her boss and said granny Eileen is looking for a final chance at love. Enter the house swap. Eileen will move to the hustle and bustle of London and stay in Leena’s flat while Leena goes back to a quieter lifestyle at granny’s house in Shoreditch. The result is exactly what a book like this is supposed to deliver. (Also, can I just mention that I’m almost positive at this point if “Shoreditch” is the location, Imma give the book a high rating.)

I ended up scoring an audio copy of this last year when NetGalley started offering them as an option and this was a “Listen Now” selection. Of course, I didn’t realize I was clicking for an audiobook. I just saw Beth O’Leary’s name and was like "don't care how, I want it now."

Thanks to Covid I had no commute time so I waited for the library copy and read ¾ / listened to ¼ of this one. Good news to listeners, the narration was lovely. Even better news to everyone, this author has a new release coming up later this year and if you thought this trope was good, it has my all-time fave - THE ROAD TRIP!!!!

I need it immediately.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review. This is the first audiobook I received through Netgalley and I received it with some trepidation for 2 reasons. 1) This is not my normal genre - I usually love historical mysteries and romances and this book is decidedly modern and 2) the narrators can really make or break an audiobook because you have to listen to so much of one voice.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. I loved both the narrators and I thought it was an excellent idea having two voice actors. They really made the characters come to life for me.

This is already a popular book with heaps of great reviews about the story on Goodreads and Amazon so I won't bore you all with my thoughts on the plot or the storyline except to say that I think the author treats the subjects of anxiety, grief and maturity with real sensitivity and compassion. I really felt for Leena and Eileen. I loved their relationship and I really thought the whole book celebrated the best things about female relationships.

Yes, there's romance and it's written well - but I got a lot more out of this book than 'boy meets girl' or 'old lady meets old bloke'. I laughed and I cried, and then I recommended it to my Mum.

loved this book. it is very different from the authors debut novel. the switch is a novel that portrays grief through many lenses. it is also a novel about three generations of women finding a way to move forward and continue living after losing a loved one. there is genuine respect and understanding of that process of grief. and this is all done in a book that still made me laugh and smile with it's gentle british humor.

The blurb failed to mention the fact that a character had cancer and the main character was dealing with that. I don't read cancer stories so I DNFed. I did like the narrator, especially Grandma Eileen; very well done.

I had been waiting for a long time to read this book based on the sypnosis and the recommendations. But I was let down because it was not what I had expected. I expected more contemporary romance and it was more just contemporary in my opinion.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The Switch was advertised as a fun rom-com, but it was never as fun as I had hoped. The concept of a twenty-something switching lives with her almost eighty-year-old grandmother is awesome. I expected laugh-out-loud moments based on fish out of water scenarios, but I never got that. Instead, The Switch was a quiet tale of lessons learned from walking in each others’ shoes. Leena and Eileen’s journeys of self-discovery while living in each other’s homes were filled with moments of them learning about themselves and evaluating their place in the world. Unfortunately, the book didn’t quite feel like it was filled with much else. I never felt like I knew Leena or Eileen. We are given just the briefest of backstories about them, but they never fully came to life for me. Also, there were a lot of hints of romance, but the relationships didn’t work for me. Leena and Eileen both find love, but both of their romances developed too quickly to be believable. I did enjoy aspects of this book, and parts of it were charming (I especially enjoyed Eileen making friends in London and Jackson’s daughter) but, for me, the book was a little disappointing.

I was itching to read The Switch because I had seen quite a few mentions of it on Bookstagram and I wanted in on the action. I had little idea what it was about other than it was the must-read comedy of the moment.

Whilst I enjoyed the read, I wasn't overly in love with it. The plot tells the tale of how an overworked Leena swaps homes and lives with her 80-year-old grandmother. During the tale they lot a lot about themselves and each other as they indulge in things they would never give a second thought in their normal day-to-day meanderings.

There is a generous sprinkling of comedy, a little sauciness, a lot of predictability and some unexpected twists.

This book would appeal to late teens/ twenty-somethings looking for a light read, perhaps on the beach or as part of their daily commute.

Overall, I give this book a 4/5 stars. It has wit and charm. It provides the comedy that it promises . There are a few different storylines that develop amongst a varied cast. SOme characters are plain, whilst others stand out as being quite modern and different. The overall style is easy and carefree making the book easy to read in one sitting.

I am unlikely to purchase this book because it's the type of story that personally I think you read once and pass it on. I would expect to find this in one of these modern community free libraries or at the train station exchange.

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.

Listening to this audiobook was an absolute breath of fresh air. I adored every single thing about it, and here’s why.
The dual narration was excellent. Alison Steadman really brought Eileen to life with her portrayal. She really came across as the no-nonsense, deeply caring grandma figure that the village relied on so much and that Leena really needed in her life. Daisy Edgar-Jones gave Leena a vulnerable edge but still kept her sharp thinking and intelligence whilst portraying a character who had lost herself a little. Both voices were really entertaining yet soothing to listen to and I never tired of them.
The plot was such an emotional roller coaster for both characters.
Leena was stuck in grief and developing some mental health issues from this and working too hard. Some-times Leena’s story was absolutely heart-breaking to follow, especially around her relationship with her mum. I loved how she processed and worked through lots of things throughout the book and I adored her.
Eileen was also stuck in a rut, regretting missing out on things in her younger years I enjoyed watching her experience a different side of life in London and spreading her wings a little. I loved how feisty and adventurous she was whilst maintaining her ‘grandma’ like qualities to help and guide others.
There is also an array of colourful characters from both ladies lives and I’d actually love to see a linked series of books including them. In London, Eileen impacts of Leena’s neighbours and changes the community with such a wonderful ideas. Leena also leaves her mark in the village but I’d say the villagers have a bigger impact on her.
This is such an uplifting novel, despite making me ugly cry in places. It reminds us that we have things to learn from the people around us and also that it’s never too late to make changes and follow our dreams. It’s a narrative about throwing yourself into life fully and finding what truly matters to you. It’s a lesson about being open to receiving the help of others and also helping those around you.
I cannot recommend this novel enough. It’s so much more than a romance novel. It has love, family, community and friendship and it’s beautiful.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. You can really tell that the narrator made a connection with each character on a personal level and took the time to share that through their voice.