This was such a fun book to listen to! I loved the different narrators--it helped me feel invested in the characters.

I was looking for an uplifting audiobook to listen to while sewing and I came across this book. I immediately fell in love with the characters and the story. I love how the chapters switch between the two main characters and how they got two different narrators so it’s so easy to know who you’re listening to if you miss the beginning. This is a perfect feel good story with twists and turns along the way. Would love to find out what happens next even though there was a great conclusion.

If you are in need of a distraction, this is the audiobook for you! A fun story of a granddaughter who has been given a leave of absence from her high powered job and needs a quiet place away from London to sort things out. Her grandmother suggests a trade of homes, as she is feeling like she is in the rut in her small town community. Each character finds herself out of her element, yet willing to go on an adventure with a change of perspective. A charming listen with the narratives providing the English accents - recommended for anyone looking for a little escape!

This book was so entertaining. Its sweet, funny, full of amazing friendships, a little sad at times, and just all and all an uplifting read that I think everyone can use right about now.

I listened to this book on audio and it was fantastic. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Alison Steadmad did an amazing job narrating this story. They made the characters come alive. I truly lost myself in this story.

Thank you for the free listen. I so enjoyed this book

This was my first Audio book every, and I loved it so much. The narrators described everything in such good details. This is a story of a 29 year old (Leena) and her grandmother a 79 year old (Eileen) who decided to swop life's for two months. This story is about the obstacles they had to face, the making of new friends and the journey they had and everything they learned about themselves in the process. Thank you very much Netgally and Beth O'Leary for this amazing read

Great character dynamics. I loved this being narrated by two different characters. It just added to my enjoyment of listening. This is a must read for anyone who wants to laugh out loud!!

The Switch is a nice re-telling of Freaky Friday but instead of mum & daughter we have Grandma & Granddaughter switching places. I listened to the audiobook and it was easy to follow. It is not the best book I've read in 2020 but it really is a lovely, "rosie" one for when you want to have a rest from Thrillers and True Crime.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

Leena Cotton has a panic attack in the middle of an important meeting. Instead of getting sacked her employer orders her to take a two month paid holiday. tory

Leena goes to visit her grandmother Eileen. It has been quite a while since Leena made this journey because she is avoiding her mother.

Leena and Eileen decide to swap lives. Leena will get a much needed rest and Eileen will get to experience life in London and maybe find a little romance.

What ensues is a story filled with friendship making, dicovering love, growing as a person in ways the characters did not expect, mourning, facing awful truths.

This story comes with all of the feelings. I quite enjoyed it. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for and honest review.

I really wanted to like this book, but the story was too unbelievable for me. The author is a great writer and the words flowed. It was the story line I couldn’t get on board with. I did like Eileen’s character the best.
I like the idea of the swap, but a lot was left unexplained. The reader doesn’t see Leena explaining the swap or that she was leaving for two months to her boyfriend Ethan or even to her flatmates. I would have liked to know what they thought about it. I can’t imagine the flatmates would agree so quickly with Leena’s grandma living with them. It’s not like they know her. I also thought it was unrealistic for Leena and her grandmother to switch devices. Some of the conversations between characters were unrealistic and abrupt as well. Leena’s mom lives near and Leena said she would look in on her, but she doesn’t call her for three weeks. I know she is not happy with her mom, but it seemed like too much time passed to make a phone call. There are several time jumps that made me pause, and too many scenarios happened off the page, jarring me once they were revealed as an afterthought.
The Flat Share by the same author got great reviews. I will check that one out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I used the author's first book, The Flatshare, in a library program I ran in July. I liked the parts of that one that I skinned before the program, and most participants seemed pretty excited about it. Just before the program, I saw early press for this book and gave a 2-sentence promo during the program. Checking stats in the weeks afterwards, The Flatshare had some holds, but the records for the pre-order for this title had more. When I saw this on NetGalley's new audiobook service, I thought it would be a good title to use to try out their app for audiobook listening. Whew, I don't usually give backstory for why I picked a title!

This is a sweet story about facing grief and personal growth. It was a little Hallmark-Channel-y for me, but I think that was because of the reading-- when Lena's narrator was speaking, I constantly found myself thinking how I would have read the line differently in my mind: I would have added some snark, or force, wry humor, an understood eye-roll. Instead, Lena came off as whiny and/or sappy. I guess this why I don't usually listen to audiobook fiction-- the narrator makes the lines come out only one way, whereas when we read to ourselves, there is more room for ambiguity, interpretation, other emotion creeping through. None of this is bad, just that this reading of Lena was not necessarily how I would have read it.

The narrator for Eileen was very good, except some listeners will hear all her mouth sounds and want to stab something. It was a near thing for me sometimes. Listeners sensitive to that should steer clear!-- which is a shame, because she's otherwise excellent.

Recommended in multiple formats for public libraries and readers who like women's fiction.

I tried several times to finish this audiobook as I was enjoying the story. Sadly, I couldn't seem to bookmark where I'd got to and I had to listen to huge chunks all over again if I stopped listening at any point. It may be user error with the software, but it spoilt my enjoyment of the book and ultimately meant I couldn't finish it.
What I did listen to was thoroughly enjoyable and I want to know how things turned out in the end!

This is exactly the kind of wholesome, endearing, and sweet content everyone needs in their lives right now.

It makes me so sad that I didn't love this as much as i wanted to, but its definitely not the books fault. I just wasn't in the mood for such a slow, character driven novel.

The entire story is explained in the synopsis - nothing new is given to the reader, everything that happens is mentioned in the blurb. so there really wasn't anything for me to look forward to in terms of plot because I already knew how the story would play out. That's not always a bad thing, especially if a reader is able to connect to the characters, but I definitely needed more from this.

I never did read the Flatshare, but I wanted to give this one a try. The british writing style is so hard for me, and I just found myself not enjoying this audiobook. This is also women's fiction and not romance, and I don't really like women's fiction. The plot was also really predictable.

I admit I was a little hesitant going into this book. I was afraid of encountering a Freaky Friday type of plot, so I didn’t have high hopes. I’m so glad I was wrong!

A grandmother and her adult granddaughter are stuck in their respective ruts and decide to switch lives for two months to each try something new and gain some perspective on their lives. Even though this book is essentially a Hallmark Christmas movie (minus the Christmas), with its predictable city-girl-meets-country-boy side-plot, I nevertheless found myself really enjoying it. I felt invested in the characters and their goals, I loved the grandmother’s cheeky humour, and the primary plot felt original and engaging.

I would definitely watch The Switch if it were a movie, and I will enthusiastically recommend this title to readers seeking romantic comedies, light reads, hope, family stories, happy endings, and small town/village settings.

This book moved a bit slow at times but I thoroughly enjoyed it! I loved that I could identify with both main characters despite the age differences and it moved me to tears quite a few times. I appreciate that the author was able to paint a picture in my head of the two separate yet intertwining lives that grandmother and granddaughter are living. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a light but heartfelt romance novel that doesn't take itself too seriously! Stick with it through to the end and you'll smile at the wrap up.

This was is one of my favourite reads of 2020. It is so feel good and I was smiling for pretty much the entire book. It is pretty predictable and hits all the expected beats but this didn't impact my enjoyment at all. It is so nice to see a elderly protagonist in a romcom, and I absolutely adore Eileen's time in London. She is witty and take charge and loved all her interactions with Leena's friends and those in the apartment. The characters really are the true strength of this book. Both protagonists are absolutely wonderful and the the large cast of side characters are well developed and shine through on page. I reread on audio thanks to netgalley and the publisher, and would highly recommend both narrators were fantastic and did a brilliant job bringing the story and characters to life.

THE SWITCH--in which Leena Cotton and her grandmother Eileen switch places--was just as winning as The Flatshare, despite being heavier on family and friendship than romance.

As the family struggles with a recent loss and each of them has her own reasons to need a break from their current lives, grandmother and granddaughter decide to switch: Eileen will spend time in Leena's London flat (taking her cell phone and laptop with her), while Leena retreats to the town her estranged mother is still in, and where her sister died.

A strong cast of secondary characters ensure that, while this deals with some tough topics--cancer, grief, infidelity, and an emotionally abusive relationship--it is overall a heartwarming tale. I was pulling for the romance, but even more, pulling for Leena and her mother's reconciliation, for everyone to come terms with their grief, and for Eileen's romantic adventures to fulfill dreams she thought she left behind decades earlier.

Recommend this one to anyone, not just romance readers!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.
I really enjoy Beth O'Leary's storytelling. I saw another individual posting that, "The actress reading for the character Eileen has an engaging voice...; however, the audio technical quality did not find the right way to prevent hearing all the mouth noise of the actress, who seemed to have dry mouth/ thick saliva. This was distracting and off-putting, since I often listen to audiobooks on ear buds. I have never had that experience before with any other audiobook, and I'm sure that many voice actors make mouth noises, but it's imperative for the recording technicians to fix that issue before releasing the final recording."
I would second that notion. It was quite distracting. The story was enjoyable but I think you'd be able to reach more readers if the audiobook was fixed.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
Another great read by Beth O'Leary! She creates wonderful characters.

I was not able to listen to this audiobook due to the app's errors. I've heard good things about the author and the story, so I was really looking forward to reading it. I'll probably end up getting the ebook at Amazon if it's available, but until then, this goes without an honest review.