Cute story, great narration but I’ve discover audiobooks are for me. It is in no means the fault of the book just a personal preference. I loved the authors las book, The Flatshare. This one did not disappoint and was enjoyable.

DNF at 23%

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

The Switch by Beth O'Leary was the first audiobook I downloaded through NetGalley's new program, and I had really high hopes for the story and its characters. Unfortunately, I was bored to tears by both Leena and Eileen, and I never wanted to continue listening to the book. Nothing happens for the first quarter of the book, and by then I'd lost interest in the story.

Additionally, the quality of the audio may have been a tad too good, since I could hear the wet smacks and deep breaths Alison Steadman frequently took while reading her part. She definitely sounded like someone's grandmother, and I could easily picture her as Eileen, but the sounds were too realistic in my ears (especially when I was wearing headphones), and I found myself cringing whenever her character spoke for long periods of time. However, while less mouth-noise would've been nice, the story's slow pace and uninteresting content were the bigger issues.

“Family can be so complicated but if you just pick your own way of doing it, you can end up with something pretty perfect all the same.”

This is the first book by [author:Beth O'Leary|13038484] I've read, but it certainly won't be the last. I snagged a copy of this audiobook on NetGalley simply because I liked the cover. What can I say? I definitely judge books by their cover and I'm not afraid to admit that.

I loved this story. The Switch follows two women: Leena, a young professional who is ordered to take a two-month break from her job after she has a panic attack during a big presentation, and her almost 80-year-old grandmother, Eileen. Eileen has just recently gotten divorced but is very active in her small community of Hamleigh but the romantic possibilities are few and far between. Leena suggests an unconventional solution: she should take care of her grandmother's house in Hamleigh and Eileen should search for love in London.

What follows is a delightful story of Leena figuring out who she is without working 12+ hours/day and getting to know the quirky townspeople of Hamleigh. Eileen jumps into the online dating scene and begins chatting with men (a love story at almost 80? Yes, please) and also makes connections with Leena's flatmates, some of whom Leena has never interacted with. I was captivated by this story and the alternating perspectives. The audiobook narrators were spot on; I would love to enjoy more stories with either one of these narrators telling the story. All in all, this is an enjoyable story that will have you questioning what is most important to you and how to pursue those things.

My biggest complaint with this audio file was the sound was extremely distorted when I tried to speed up the audio. I usually listen to audiobooks at 1.5x speed but there was an awful echo when I listened at that speed. I was able to listen at 1.25x speed, but the sound quality isn't where I would expect it to be. This was disappointing as I would have loved to speed up the audiobook to a speed that was comfortable for me to listen to but a speed I could also understand the narration.

TW: depression, panic attacks, death by cancer

4.5 stars

**Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.**

Leena is put on a two month long stress leave from work after a disastrous presentation. When she calls her grandmother who is recently single, they come up with the idea to switch lives for two months. Lena will move to the village of Hanley and live in Eileen’s house while helping with Eileen’s community volunteering commitments. Eileen will move to London to Leena’s flat with her flatmates and try online dating. They both end up learning more about themselves and each other that they ever thought possible.

The characters in this novel are just lovely. They all had such distinct personalities and I could just imagine what they would look like. Eileen reminded me of my granny sometimes which made me like her more. I thought O’Leary’s depiction of grief was very accurate as we see Leena try to come to terms with the passing of her sister. I loved seeing how Eileen and Leena navigated all of their challenges which could often be comical. The writing style was very light and digestible and I adored Leena and Jackson. If I could choose one word to describe this book it would be cute. It was a feel good story that still dealt with realistic issues. I listened to this one on audio from @librofm, @netgalley and @macmillanaudio and I must say I wasn’t really a fan of the narration. I didn’t let that take away from the writing though!

I have to thank NetGalley for the advanced audio book. Audio books are not my favorite, especially when the female reader does the men’s voices also. This book is a sweet wholesome novel that everyone will love. Beth O’Leary shares with us another perfect read. The story takes place between a sweet little British village and fast paced London. Eileen is 79, her husband just left her for a dance instructor. Leona, her granddaughter works and lives in London. Eileen once had a job and apartment waiting for her in London, but then married and never left Yorkshire Dales. Leena, has a panic attack in a big client meeting and her bosses forces a two month sabbatical on her. The two decided to switch places for two months. Eileen will go to London and have an adventure she always dreamed of. While Leena heads home for the first time since her sister died. Can these women find themselves and recover from the heartbreak they can break out of. Will Eileen survive dating apps and London. Will Leena survive all of her grandmothers jobs she does for the village and being in the same place with her mother, she can’t seem to forgive 🤷‍♀️

beth o’leary does it again. I am absolutely obsessed with this book and I loved it so so much. Like her first novel I really enjoyed the discussion of the toxic relationships and how to not only cope with them but to escape them and to move forward which I thought was a really important discussion that is often overlooked. And I just loved each and everyone of these characters because they were so authentic and genuine with their quirks and their personalities. I felt like a member of their family or one of their friends reading this novel and it was honestly sad to finish the book.

I listened to the audiobook version of this and loved it!! It had to grow on me, but once I got into it, it was a wonderful story. I would highly recommend it! Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to obtain this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Ms O’Leary’s The Flatshare and her new romantic comedy is equally as charming and appealing.

Leena Cotton is still struggling to get over her younger sister’s death and she’s falling to pieces in her high-powered London job. Eileen Cotton, Leena’s grandmother, is feeling the smallness of her life in her Yorkshire village after her husband leaves her.

As you can guess by the title, Leena and Eileen switch their lives. Leena goes to live in Hamleigh, taking over Eileen’s projects and activities including membership of the Neighborhood Watch Committee, walking a dog, and organizing the May festival. Eileen moves into Lena’s apartment and starts online dating as well as getting involved in the lives of Lena’s friends and neighbors.

Both Lena and Eileen find a new lease of life in their new circumstances and, of course as this is a romance, they both find love but in an unexpected (though not to the reader/listener) place. There are some darker themes, dealing with grief, urban and rural loneliness, and even domestic abuse, but Ms O’Leary keeps a sure hand on the tone, expertly mixing dark and light.

The audiobook was a delight with Daisy Edgar-Jones taking the part of Leena and the iconic Alison Steadman performing as Eileen as the chapters switch between the two characters.

If warmhearted British romances are your cup of tea, as they often are mine, I thoroughly recommend The Switch.

Thanks to Flatiron and Netgalley for the digital audio review copy.

What an absolute delight of a book! I thoroughly enjoyed O'Leary's debut, The Flatshare, and I'm thrilled to report that her sophomore novel was equally delightful! The audio, with dual narrators, was just perfect and brought the characters to life. I adored both young, struggling Leena and her strong, wise grandmother Eileen. As with The Flatshare, there were some deep issues in this book; namely, the loss of Leena's sister to cancer. Grief is threatening to completely overwhelm Leena and she's forced to take a break from work to try and come to terms with it. But for Leena, work is her refuge. When she's struck with the crazy, brilliant idea for her and her grandmother to trade lives for two months, she soon wonders what the heck she was thinking!

Craziness, humor, heartache and plenty of life lessons ensue. I adored both Leena and Eileen, and Marianne, too. Their pain and grief was so palpable, but I loved how they worked through and ultimately accepted it. And of course the friendships and romances brought much humor and levity - not to mention joy! - to the stories. The ending was perfectly wonderful.

O'Leary has a wonderful voice that manages to balance real human pain with the humor and happiness we all seek. I will read everything she writes! So charming and exactly what I needed in my life during these challenging times.

A really lovely novel that looks at the habits we make and how hard they are to break, and also has a really sensitive take on grief and family relationships, while still being light-hearted and hilarious at times.
It is brought to life with the expert narration of Alison Steadman as Grandma Eileen and Daisy Edgar-Jones as granddaughter Leena, who on a whim decide to swap lives for two months, and take over each other's projects in
London and rural Yorkshire respectively. They brought a heart to this story which reminded me why I love audiobooks so much, as I find the story stays with me and is often more memorable when I've listened to it compared to reading it, maybe due to feeling more immersed in the setting.
The way the story is told in turns by the two main characters helps us dive into their lives and get to know them as individuals. I loved Eileen's success in making things happen in London and Leena solving conflicts at the village committee meetings and I was rooting for them both all the way.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Leena is overwhelmed with her life and her job living in London. A bad meeting leads her boss to give two months off paid.

Eileen is 79 and bored with her life and the romantic opportunities in the small town she lives in.

So the grandmother and granddaughter decide to switch places.

This book was nice. I felt like the writing and the humour was really great. I really liked Eileen’s romance. However, I found Leena’s romance really lacking and kind of underwhelming.

Thank you Netgalley Macmillan Audio and Beth O'Leary for gifting me a copy for this audiobook. This review is my own opinion.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 Stars
🔥 1/5 Steam Rating

What do you do when life gets a little bit too much? You trade lives with your Grandmother of course! I love the premise of this story. Leena has been forced to take a two month sabbatical from work and Eileen is newly single at the age of 79yr with no acceptable bachelors in the area. So for two month, they switch cities and find what they’ve been missing.

This is a sweet story about discovering what it really important in life and opening your eyes to what’s around you. I loved the relationship that grandmother & granddaughter had, but of course this wouldn’t be a good family story without some drama sprinkled in.

The only part about this book that threw me off was when it came to Grandma Eileen and her sex life. 🤣 It’s one of those things that’s uncomfortable to think about, yet you KNOW it’s a normal part of adult life so you appreciate that it’s brought up. Sex is a part of life but don’t worry, it’s very mild.

Romantic comedy that comes from the heart and captivates the reader. I love when offers offer a unique perspective.

O’Leary does it again! I loved Flatshare and was so excited to see a new novel. I always love the idea of switching lives and was thrilled to read this version.
Eileen Cotton the older was my favorite. What a cool, intrepid lady! A reminder that you’re never too old (or too young) to try something new!

I enjoyed both the narrators immensely.

I don't feel like this lives up to expectations from enjoying the Flat Share. The dialogue and humor felt rather forced. I had a hard time investing in the plot. The narration of the audiobook was good except for the fact that there were a lot of mouth noises (for example swallowing) and to get past this I had to increase the playback speed to 2x. Usually I speed up audiobooks because the narration is painfully slow, not the case here. I found the pace pretty enjoyable, I just found my self very aware of the narrators saliva in the beginning. Weird, I know. I did love the fact that there were multiple narrators, which makes multiple POV stories easier to follow when consuming via audio.

"It’s an awful lot easier to be independent when there’s somebody else there with you."

2.5

I quite enjoyed The Flatshare by the same author and I really like the way she writes her characters, they're quirky, warm and lively. I found myself struggling through this book though, after a while it felt like a showcase of characters and situations with no engaging plot. Nonetheless, I am still willing to pick O'Leary's next work, her concepts are quite unique despite their simplicity!

This book is so funny, but at the same time so deep and heart warming! This was my first experience with audio book and I really loved, because Daisy and Alis9n are such good narrators! Beth O'Leary really just wrote a comfort story with love, friendship and, above all, the notion that we dont know everything in life.

Leena Cotton is a young overachiever woman who has a panic attack during a very important presentation, so she is forced to take a couple of months off of work. Leena's grandmother, Eileen, has recently divorced and is looking for new romantic adventures, but there are only a few men in her small rural town. That is how they decide that it would be a good idea for them to swap. Leena moves to her grandmother's house and takes all of her projects, while Eileen moves to her grandaughter's flat in London and dates a handsome actor that she meets through a dating app. This situation brings them several challenges and adventures, but it also makes them discover hidden elements of themselves and motivates them to face their feelings regarding the last moments and death of Carla, Leena's sister. This story is heartwarming and easy to read.

The narration: I wanted to listen to this audiobook while I was working on my cross-stitch and the story was simple enough for me to do both activities at the same time (English is not my first language, so there are some books that require my full attention). I think that the narration was very good, as there was a narrator for the chapters that showed Leena's perspective and a different narrator for the ones that were written from Eileen's point of view. The pace was also appropriate for every moment and the intonation made that some situations were funnier than if I had read them. The only thing that was a little weird was when the narrators had to make sounds or onomatopoeias.

What I liked: I really enjoyed how the author portrayed Eileen because senior citizens are usually ignored or depicted in stereotypical ways. She was a vibrant and strong older woman who was not afraid of trying new things at 79, and I believe that is true for so many women of similar ages, so it is great to see them represented in a book like this one. It was also interesting that this story explores the emotional consequences of grief. The way that Leena had to release her feelings and deal with her need for mourning for Carla's death (which actually had repercussions in her job and her relationship with her boyfriend and her mom) was one of the strongest parts of the book. Also, this story was a little cheesy and some problems were suddenly solved in such a simple way that it was actually uplifting and heartwarming. I adored the love stories because they were based on good chemistry and self-discovery, and they were not absurdly complicated.

What I did not like: Some parts of the introduction of the story were slow, for example, the first meeting of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee. Also, there are some topics that could have been explored further but were treated only superficially, like domestic violence, mental health issues, cheating, and catfishing.

(I want to thank NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and the author for this ARC, which I received in exchange for an honest review.)

Received this audiobook from NetGalley for free in exchange for honest review.

I -adore- this book. It has such a lighthearted and cheeky theme throughout the whole book. When I started the book I was expecting more of a freaky Friday vibe but that wasn’t it at all. I couldn’t get enough. The ladies chosen for the audiobook narration could not have been more perfect. I am now reading the other book she has written. I do quite love her style of writing. Look forward to seeing more of her works.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. It was just the kind of lighthearted read I needed. I fell in love with the characters and was a little sad when the book was over. Yes, not al of it was light and airy. There were some serious parts. But, I laughed and I cried.

I did this in audiobook and really enjoyed the narrators. They were great at emoting and changing the voices for the various characters.