I absolutely adored this audiobook! The dual narrators totally make the story and listening experience!! It reminded me of Gilmore Girls, but set in England. I really enjoyed the dynamics between grandmother and granddaughter and the dialogue. What a fun, feel good story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

After reading Beth O'Leary's debut The Flatshare I was very excited for her follow-up. This follows Leena and her grandmother Eileen who decide to switch houses and lives for 2 months to rejuvinate themselves. I loved following both characters but Eileen was particularly charming.

Eileen finds herself in London after a life in a small English town dating for the first time since her husband left her and making friends with other seniors who have felt lost and forgotten in the city. It is seriously darling and I just love any story about older people falling in love.

Leena's story is more traditional contemporary fare - young Londonite goes to small English village and falls in love with the simpler way of life (and maybe one of the townspeople).

I overall really enjoyed this book. There is a running storyline of grief and lots of family relationships to explore. The romances are definitely on the back-burner in this one but that didn't bother me at all. Would recommend and will definitely continue to read from Beth O'Leary.

3.5 Stars
I'm very picky when it comes to audiobook narrators and both of these women did a really good job!
The story was very quaint and I loved the grandmother, Eileen. Our society often depicts older generations as demented, dull, and asexual people and I really appreciate the fact that this book challenges those ideas. Overall, the book was enjoyable in the moment, but not one that will stick with me in the long run.
My one complaint is that both main characters were named Eileen and despite so many opportunities, no one used the phrase "come on, Eileen." lol.

Very cute, sweet read. The two main characters were both unique and strong. I would recommend to just about anyone.

A warm and charming book to read. The grandmother in the book, Eileen Cotton was truly an affable character that I fell in love her with right away. The narrators too played their roles to the "T", making the audiobook a delight to listen to. But the book overall, was like one of those Christmas holiday movies, cute and endearing,where the girl and the boy end up together eventually.

Beth O’Leary has become one of my favorite authors. One of my favorite reads this year!! I could not recommend it more.

This was my first novel from this author and they didn’t disappoint. The Switch was such an adorable story, definitely what we all need right now.

Slow paced and character driven, but kept my attention. The concept was brilliant and I loved the dynamics between the main characters. It’s a wonderful view into the lives of grandmother and granddaughter, one I wish I had.

The audiobook was lovely and I enjoyed the narration. Soothing and cozy, definitely easy on the ears and I’d probably listen again.

Thank you to netgalley, publishers and author for the ALC of this wonderful story in exchange for an honest review

I was really looking forward to this one because I enjoyed The Flatshare so much, but this one fell flat for me (it may have been in part due to the audio version which I found very underwhelming).

Sorry, I thought I would not be able to listen and review this title, but t still appears on my bookshelf on my NG app, It may be due to me sampling the start of the narrator. I will update my review once I finish listening to it (over my holiday break).

thank you

I received this book in audio form from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly I think I just like something about the way Beth O’Leary writes. Her writing makes me smile. In this one, the older characters in particular sang off the page. Eileen is a delight!

While this feels slightly unrealistic, I loved the concept of 79 year old Eileen going to London and connecting with all Leena’s friends. And I loved what she accomplished while there. Honestly I want an Eileen in my life.

Leena is also lovely and it’s actually fun to watch her slow down to village life readjust her priorities. Her passion for the activities really shone through, even if her over enthusiastic execution sometimes was hilarious. I also liked that she’s clearly not dealing well with her sisters death and even before this is something that comes up in detail it is obvious. Grief is hard to show and I think it was really well done here. Especially that Leena thinks she’s doing better than her mum when I think it’s the opposite!

Romance wise, I liked that Eileen was open to life in London. Her fling was so fun. I liked that we get to see her chats too, but also get to see that online dating doesn’t come without it’s cautions. And Leena begins to realise she may want more than the business relationship she seems to have developed with her boyfriend. However that side of things left me a little cold - it’s all a bit too convenient. Plus while I know this is a “feel good romance” it really does seem to portray romance and relationships as a solution and it would have been nice to reflect on someone who was happy alone. Leena’s mum or Fitz for example seem to be but it’s never delved into.

In the theme of continuing to like the older characters better - the villagers were way more intriguing to me. From Eileen’s neighbour lightening up (even if this did feel sudden and too easy) to her best friend living with an abuser, there’s a lot going on that we get to see Leena dealing with.

Basically all books need more senior citizen characters! A fun, light read despite some of the serious content. 4 stars.

Trigger warnings - abuse, grief, catfishing

I like the idea of an audiobook more than I can actually pay attention to an audiobook, so I had some difficulties paying attention to this book. But I actually enjoyed the narration and how their lives got switched up. Now I want to actually read this book as well.

𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤🌻: I’ve heard so many great things about The Switch so it saddens me that I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to. I’ve been listening to the audiobook and I just couldn’t focus with the book because I was uninterested in it.

The novel is truly heartwarming and cutesy, I mean who wouldn’t want to spend some time with Eileen on her adventures exploring the city while Leena enjoys her time in Hamleigh? The characters developed really well but yet so slow, making it a little boring to continue reading it. The novel still has many great reviews but this just wasn’t for me.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for providing me a free E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.


𝑀𝑦 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔🌻: ★★★☆☆

This was exactly what I needed to read these days! A sweet, fun and fast-paced story with lovely characters.
Leena is a young woman who recently lost her sister to cancer and has just had a major melt-down at work. Desperate, she reaches out to her grandmother, Eileen, who is now looking to meet new people after her husband left her. What would happen if, just for a few weeks, they switch places? What if Eileen went to London and Leena goes back to her old town, trying to mend the pieces of her life and family after her sister died?

I loved this book. It really read like a Hallmark movie, without being too cheesy. I genuinely cared about each character, the story was never boring, and the narrators did a great job. I was sorry to finish this book!
Five stars!

This was very well-written with emotional depth that I was not expecting. I really enjoyed the grandmother-granddaughter connection and enjoyed reading about the older characters in the book. Grandmother and granddaughter swap places for six months with grandma living in London and granddaughter landing in rural Yorkshire. The book touches on grief and family and it’s not your typical rom-com.
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

I absolutely adored this book! It was the perfect mix of funny and emotional. The characters were all extremely easy to get attached to. The audiobook was superb, they different narrators really brought the characters to life!

This was a super cute story! I loved having this one as an audiobook because the narration (daisy edgar-jones in particular) was fantastic and elevated the story.

The switch is an adorable story about a grand daughter in her 40”s switching life with grandma who in her 80”s. It totally needs to be made into a movie. The antics and comedy that ensue are quite funny. The audio is perfect as you swtich between a young sounding person and an older grandmother type voice. I highly recommend.

I loved loved loved the narration to bits. The book ? I'll be honest and say it didn't live up to the really HIGH expectations I had about it after having a great reading experience with O'leary's debut novel The Flatshare. I enjoyed the latter quite a lot and this one felt just okay against it! Everything about The Switch lacked more development and the overall plot felt either too slow or too rushed, especially the ending. I didn't get how the ending was so easily wraped up 🙈 However, Eileen was the savior of this book really! What a sweet ray of sunshine she was and the I loved the voice narrating her POV so much. ❤

This book was just what I needed during this time. As the perfect distraction, it was light and uplifting! I enjoyed the narration which honestly helped give the vibe of more of a tv show than an audiobook, which also helped the up

The only reason I am not giving more stars is that I found the story to be a little slow and also predictable. I enjoyed listening to it but did not feel especially drawn to the story line or the characters.

The switch

The premise of this book was pretty cute. It follows Eileen and her granddaughter Leena. They are both in a place in their lives where they need a change. They decide to switch places for two months after Leena is put on forced sabbatical after blowing a presentation at work. Eileen will stay in Leenas place in London, where she can perhaps meet some eligible bachelors to mingle with. Leena will stay at her grandmothers place and get two months away from work to rest and reset, while also looking after her mother who is going through complex grief after losing her daughter, Lenas sister, to cancer.

There was kind of a lot going on here, and sometimes it was just bordering on too much. The grandma was looking to get her groove on, which I loved. She was a pretty great character. After Leenas sister died, she and her mom had a falling out. They needed to resolve things, and spending two months together made that possible. This book was about finding yourself, no matter your age or circumstances. There are always opportunities to look at your life and identify parts of yourself you need to accept or let go of. Eileen and Leena both found their way, and I was rooting for them.

Overall, it was a sweet, hallmark movie of a book. I give it 3 stars.