Thank goodness for the ability to curl up and read (or listen) to a good book to escape the real world for a bit. The Switch is my first Netgalley audio read. Once they got the app fixed it was really great. A great cast (with accents and accents I could understand.) This is the Story of Leena and Eileen, a quirky fun duo of grandmother and granddaughter who switch places when their lives take an unexpected twist. It's a sweet story to cap it off.
Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the sweet escape and the opportunity to read this copy prior to its release.

The Switch is very much a movie I would seek out to watch with my friends, a completely sweet, cute feel good plot that makes you feel loved and a strong sense of camaraderie. That being said, this is not my normal kind of book choice (I think this could be best called chick lit) but I had heard so many good things from friends about the book I decided to pick it up anyway regardless of my lack of familiarity with the genre.

The audiobook had two narrators, one for each of the main characters. Both narrators were absolutely perfect, giving life and so much personality to both Eileens and sounding incredibly age appropriate. Everything about their performance including accents, timing and delivery of lines, as well as emotion was so well done, drawing me line after line into this fun story. Side note- older Eileen was a hoot, exactly what I want to be like when I am in my 70s- she really is life goals.

This was surprisingly funny, having a subtle humor that caught me off guard and I completely appreciated. Overall The Switch was such a cute, feel good read that I would read again and of course force on everyone I know to read as well. The audiobook was a great listening experience, I felt like I knew these ladies and I rooted for them and wanted only happiness in the end. I have already picked up another audiobook from this author and I am excited to see what other feel good story she wants to tell.

I was completely charmed by the warmth and humor of this story. The characters are dealing with grief and sadness and do so in such a relatable way. The narrators brought the story to life and conveyed the heart and charm of this story.

While most people have read The Flatshare by the same author first, I went into The Switch with zero expectations for good or bad and since contemporary romance is a genre I have read so few examples of, I wasn't sure I'd like it. But this book manages to be as heartwarming as the premise of its plot makes it sound like. Without shying away from topics like death, grief, loneliness and infidelity, Beth O'Leary manages to maintain the story's light, or rather, hopeful tone.

Without sharing spoilers, I can say that the characters in the story were likable and with their own individual traits and quirks so that in the end the reader doesn't end up facing city vs rural stereotypes. Leena and Eileen Cotton, granddaughter and grandmother, are so alike yet so different at the same time and it's interesting to read what they make of each others' situations. I don't think romance was a crucial part of the story, yet I can't say it was lacking any romance either. Since reading a romance book wasn't my priority, I did not consider it a minus, but readers who want a more romance oriented approach might be surprised. But I definitely think it is worth reading whether your expectations are different from what the book offers or not.

As for the audio quality, I definitely can't complain. To me, the choice of narrators were correct and the characters sounded the way I'd have pictured.
.

What a joyful treat this one was, very cute and heartwarming, which are things I normally don't get to say because of the type of books that I usually choose.
Leena is a type a workaholic who suffers a panic attack at work one day while giving a presentation. Forced into a two month sabbatical by her boss Leena heads to her grandmother’s house. Eileen it’s 79 and spunky, recently left by her husband for a dance instructor. Leena needs to relax and regroup. Eileen wants to find love, but the pickings in her small town are few. SO grandmother and granddaughter decide to switch places. Leena Will move back home to her childhood small town and Eileen will head off to London. This is when the magic of the story begins! Love watching Leena navigate small-town life-The neighborhood watch, the May fair. And it was even more fun watching Eileen find her way in fast paced London-trendy roommates, online dating, crazy traffic.
This book is full of the people from both women's lives and the author and narrators brought them all to life. I need to read/listen to more books like this one because it certainly put a smile on my face. I also know that I'm beginning to get attached to audio books because of this experience

I had some pretty high expectations for this book after really enjoying The Flatshare, And I’m not saying this is a bad book however I didn’t really care about the characters very much. I wish there was more romance so I think with me going into it wanting romance that made it a little bit of a disappointment. Thanks to NetGalley I was able to listen to most of this on audio and I did enjoy the audio narration. I think the narrorator did a good job engaging me into the book I just kept longing for romance lol! I think as long as you go into this knowing it’s not gonna have a forefront of romance then you will probably enjoy it and I can’t wait to read with this author and publisher is next and it looks like she has a new book coming out in April and I will definitely be picking it up.

One of my top 5 reads from last year was The Flatshare, so obviously I was keen to read O’Leary’s follow up, The Switch. (Thank you to Hachette Australia, Mcmillan Audio and Netgalley for my copy.) A lot of writers struggle with their second novels after pulling off stella debuts, but I soon realised O’Leary had another winner on her hands with The Switch.

The Switch is told from the dual point of views of Leena and her grandmother, Eileen. Leena’s sister, Carla, passed away from cancer and Leena, along with her mother, Marianne, and Eileen, is still mentally suffering from her loss. Leena’s career is affected to such an extent that her boss forces her to take some leave. It’s at the beginning of this forced sabbatical that Leena comes up with the idea of ‘the switch’ – Leena will go and hopefully relax a little at Eileen’s cottage in a quiet Yorkshire village, and Eileen will go and stay at Leena’s flat in London where she will seek out a better-late-than-never type adventure (which includes the search for an older eligible gentleman). Leena will also, hopefully, reconcile with her mother, with whom she has had a somewhat fraught and tense relationship since Carla’s death.

Both Eileen and Leena are very likeable characters and O’Leary makes it easy for the reader to care about them. Marianne is not as well formed but she does get a couple of great scenes that made me alternatively cry and laugh. Both Leena and Eileen also get to be romanced and their respective beaus are equally as likeable. I was definitely cheering them all on and hoping for a happy ever after ending.

O’Leary’s handling of Eileen being a 79 year old looking for new love, romance and even secksy times was very impressive. I am always searching for really good ‘old people’ romance and The Switch is one of the best I’ve read in this respect.

The Flatshare was a stand out to me due to two major pluses – its humour, and the respectful and organic way O’Leary included some really topical issues (racism and PTSD among others) into the plot. O’Leary managed to make me laugh out loud again on more than one occasion. And this time around O’Leary addressed the obvious (coping with the death of a loved one) as well as a lot of themes I wasn’t expecting, such as domestic abuse in the elderly and internet scamming.

I opted for the audio version which features two narrators. Leena is narrated by Daisy Edgar-Jones who is currently proving to be quite popular in the small screen adaptation of Normal People, and Eileen is voiced by Alison Steadman who many people would know as Mrs Bennet in Colin Firth’s version of Pride and Prejudice. So, it’s no cheap audio format; both narrators were great and their comic timing spot on. I highly recommend this version.

I must admit, I did enjoy The Flatshare more than The Switch but, as I added The Flatshare to my list of all time favourite books ever and would have given it 10 out of 5 if this was possible, this doesn’t take anything away from The Switch. It’s easily one of the best traditional romance/chick lit novels I’ve read this year. 5 out of 5 for this one and I’ll be there with bells on for O’Leary’s third outing, the recently announced The Road Trip.

I absolutely love this author and this book. Unfortunately the ALC was glitchy and I was not able to listen to it fully. I did read a physical copy and cannot wait to see what is next from this author.

This story of a young woman and her grandmother switching lives is such a wonderful story! Lena Cotton, a young woman living in London, working a high stress job, and trying to cope (or not cope) with her sister's recent death, is one day told quite frankly by her boss that she looks like death waking and is ordered to take a two month "holiday" - which horrifies Lena. Once she realizes that she really does he a change of pace, she and her grandmother (who also needs a break from her life) cook up this delicious scheme to swap lives. Off Eileen Cotton goes to share a flat with Lena's friends in London for about 6 weeks (the adventure her newly single self never had) and Lena goes off to stand in for her grandma in the countryside, taking on ALL of her grandmas tasks and local responsibilities , which shucking all of her own. Lena learns so much about the liveliness and spunk of her grandma's friends and takes on many "projects" to make their lives better and winds up finding herself in the process. Her grandmother lives it up in London, and Lena's flatmates come to realize how much they enjoy an elderly roommate. This story had themes of grief, family strife, love interests, and the one theme that i enjoyed the most was just the heartwarming friendships made and how many of those were cross-generational friendships. Ahhh i enjoyed this book much like I did Ove, and much like Bachman, O'Leary is a new favorite author of mine! I want to read The Flatshare now and everything that comes after!!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

This book was so heartwarming. It's about love, loss, and learning to move on without forgetting those who've passed in our lives.

Leena has dealt with her sister's death by diving into work. When her boss forces her to take a two month long sabbatical she finds herself living in her grandmother's house in a small town outside of London. She doesn't know if she can handle the small town neighborhood watch and all the projects her grandmother has left her with but over time she makes some wonderful friendships and starts to rebuild the relationship with her mother. Both her and her mother realize that the death of Leena's sister broke them each in different ways and now it's about healing.

Eileen has a plan up her sleeve to bring her daughter and granddaughter back to life while also learning to live a little after her husband left her for another woman. Eileen moves into Leena's flat in London and takes up the online dating scene. She builds some great relationships with Leena's friends and neighbors. The conversations she has with Leena's friends are hysterical at times. I kind of wish I had a grandma like Eileen. She's so quick witted and isn't afraid to speak her mind.

This book was wonderful. I enjoyed every minute of it and definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good adult contemporary. It touches on grief, love, and family dynamics.

The audio was fantastic and had two different narrators that really made the book come alive.

A 70 year old single grandmother and her twenty something grandaughter, both kind of stuck in their circumstances, decide to switchplaces. Leanna is living in London and finds herself with a two -month forced sabbatical. Her Grandmother, Eileen, is newl single and looking for love. So the women swap locations, Eileen in London with more eligibile men then Yorksire and Lena to Yorkshire to look after some things and to relax.
They find that switch ones circumstances is not that easy.
I love the Flatshare and was looking forward to Beth O'Leary's fun and quirkly characters and she did not disappoint. The Switch was a great uplifting read during these dark times.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I loved the alternating view points between the two main characters and loved how it balances humor with darker subjects like grief. The relationship between the women are very realistic and complex. I absolutely adored Eileen, the 79 year old grandmother. She is hilarious and insightful and I aspire to become her in the future. Overall, a wonderful and pleasant summer read.

#TheSwitch #NetGalley

This is my first read by this author and it wont be my last.

I listened to the audiobook of the novel, the characters, the narrators, all fantastic and the story of the book, just great.

This book deals a little with depression and loss and will have you shedding some tears and then there are many laugh out loud moments and wishing that I had a grandma as cool and outgoing as Leena has.

This is a must read/listen for sure

After I read The Flatmates and enjoyed it so much, I knew I had to read The Switch. Beth O'Leary has written another enjoyable book. Although I liked The Flatmates more, this book was still enjoyable.

This is the story of Eileen (age 79) and her granddaughter, Leena. Both Eileen and Leena have grown tired of their lives for different reasons - Eileen is recently single and has realized that her home city just doesn't offer very many candidates for dating. Leena is stressed out at work and needs a mental break. Her company has issued a mandatory 2 month sabbatical. Eileen and Leena decide to switch places for those two months. Eileen was hopeful that London would provide more dating candidates and Leena knew that the small town would give her the blank slate she needs.

During this time, both women find themselves in a new way and both realize that their old lives are no longer acceptable.

I listened to the audio version of this book - I would recommend the print version instead. There is too much "smacking" noises by the narrators - it is very distracting.

I was provided this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are mine without biases.

I was gifted this audiobook from Netgalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for my honest review. I am absolutely thrilled that I was chosen for this audiobook. The Narrators made the story come to life.

I believe it can be hard for authors to portray a masterpiece in the sense that you feel completely enthralled within the book. Like you are one of the main characters and while you read the book, you are playing it like a movie, featuring yourself as one of the main characters. Beth O' Leary accomplishes this EVERY.SINGLE.TIME with EVERY.BOOK she writes!
You can tell with every single word that she writes, that her passion is true. Follow this Dual Narrative on an adventure that will make your day that much better!

-Meet Eileen, a Grandmother in her 70's who life is a little dull. Living the single life at her age is taking a toll on her loneliness.

-Meet Lena, the Granddaughter of Eileen who lives a very busy life in the hustle and bustle of London, UK that sometimes gets so overwhelmed she struggles with panic.

Welcome to the Switch. The Adventure that both Eileen and Lena take in order to hopefully find that one part that they are missing in life. Will Eileen at the age of 79 find love? Will Leena find a place that she belongs? Take the adventure of this wholesome book and follow these ladies as they figure out what it is they are missing in life.

I CAN NOT wait for the next Beth O' Leary Novel as she has become one of my favorite authors that I specifically seek out. Her stories are always fun, humorous, and full of good vibes!

The Switch is a charming rom-com told from two points of view - a twenty-something woman and her grandmother. Both are experiencing a loss that has hobbled their family and when they are given an opportunity to swap lives, they take it. The characters in the book are funny and kind and it's easy to be drawn into their stories. The two narrators do a great job conveying the wide range of emotions these ladies feel, from devastating loss to giddiness. This is a great choice for those who enjoy humorous romances with just a bit of spice. And bonus points for an active senior protagonist.

I have abandoned some audiobooks because I cannot spend hours in the company of the narrative voice, but the instant I started listening to The Switch I fell in love. I am so glad I chose to listen to this book rather than read it. The voices of Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones added so much to the experience, fleshing out the story, drawing out the emotions, bringing the characters to life. Both narrators are a perfect fit to read the chapters designated for their character as the story passes between the two. Listening to Alison Steadman, her voice tinged with sadness, or holding onto a chuckle I could imagine Eileen. Likewise, listening to Daisy Edgar-Jones, her voice anxious, sorrowful, apologetic, I could see Leena. The story is so original, so very lovely - Eileen in her eighties abandoned by her husband looking for a bit of the excitement she missed out on in earlier days; Leena struggling to cope after losing her beloved sister. Swapping into each others’ lives, homes and friendships, they try to come to terms with what has happened to them. The result is funny and poignant and life affirming. I didn’t want this to end. With thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook

Thank you Netgalley and Flat Iron books for access to this audiobook in return for my honest review.

This book has just the right amount of family, drama, love, and laughter. The main grab for me were the characters. They were well written and gave the story life. I also liked that the story bounces between Lina and Eileen’s points of view. It was written in a way that didn’t make it hard to follow who was talking.

I really enjoyed the book and plan to follow up by reading the other books by Beth O’Leary.

I listened to this as an audiobook from Net Gallery and thoroughly enjoyed it. I haven’t read The Flatshare yet but I know it’s popular. The Switch is a lovely story about family relationships, the pressures of life and so much more. A beautiful and wholesome story with characters that you root for.