This was so so cute! The story was great and I loved that the focus wasn't on the romance but improving yourself and dealing with grief. Dealt with perfectly.
I loved the two characters who felt appropriately developed and had an interesting family dynamic that was great to read. The character development was perfect, I enjoyed it a lot and am intrigued to read future works from Beth O'Leary as her writing style is definitely my cup of tea.

There are two narrators in this, one the young Leena and her grandmother Eileen. Both narrators are great and are so expressive, it was a joy to listen to them. I especially enjoyed that when the characters were on the phone, it used a filter that made it sound as so. This was a great addition to the experience. The only issue I had with the narrators was the younger of the two had a hiss to the end of some words that was like nails on a chalkboard but after an hour or so I stopped noticing it!

This is such a cute book!!! I loved listening to three generations of women come to terms with life changes, grief, and even find love. Eleanor, the grandma, was my absolute favorite. I hope to be her when I grow up. She's smart, brave, witty, sexy, charming, frankly she's everything I strive to be. This is just a feel good story that will make you smile. And I'm always a sucker for some British humor.

When I picked up the Switch to start reading it, I was expecting a fun summer rom=com, with quirky characters and lots of shenanigans. While I definitely got some shenanigans and the grandmother/granddaughter main characters are quirky, it just wasn't quite what I expected. This is very likely my own fault though, as it's clearly labeled as Women's Fiction, and nowhere does it say "rom-com."

Unfortunately, I'm just not as into Women's Fiction, so for me this one was only a 3-star read. There is nothing wrong with the writing, I enjoyed the characters, but the story was more serious and not as fun as I'd hoped. So while I don't rate this as a 4-star for my own enjoyment, I will give it a 4-star for the genre. If you love Women's Fiction, I think you will really enjoy this tale of life-swapping and finding the self you thought you'd lost.

The narrators made this story so beautiful to listen to.
Alison Steadman is perfect as Eileen Cotton - you can hear the caring gran in her voice.

I enjoyed the alternating chapters narrated by the two narrators as Lena and Eileen. Their voices had a good chemistry between them.

The basis of the storyline is very clever - three generations of a family broken by the death of a sister; daughter; granddaughter. The oldest and youngest members decide to swap lives after Lena undergoes a traumatic experience, for two months. Lena from London goes back to a Yorkshire village and Eileen leaves her Yorkshire village for London.

What happens next is a delightful journey between London and the Yorkshire Dales.

Beautifully read. It'll stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to listen to this book.

Right book, right time. I was in a bit of a reading slump, couldn't find something that really appealed on my shelves and then Netgalley released audiobooks. Yay! This was my first and it certainly won't be my last.

The narrators switch from Eileen a feisty elderly woman, voiced by Alison Steadman with humour and verve and Leena her granddaughter voiced by Daisy Edgar-Jones, who manages to perfectly convince as the frustrated and tired, overachieving businesswoman. I loved hearing their voices, the two different flavours added so much to the story.

Eileen is angry, having suffered her rather insufferable bore of a husband for years, he has taken off with another woman, left her high and dry and desperate for company, and a bit of sex to go with it. Leena has been treated badly at work, a coworker with very mean tendencies has worn her down and she is tired. Her boyfriend who seems so marvellous is very absent which also doesn't help. Both these women are still grieving for Leena's sister who died a year ago from cancer. Then they come up with the brilliant idea of swapping lives, Leena will go to the country, live in Eileen's house and Eileen will go to London and try the lifestyle there. And in this way, the action begins. There are challenges for both women of many kinds.

This book is fun, full of action, and lots of hilarious moments. Your heartstrings will be plucked, you'll cheer at the village fair, squirm at the uncomfortable scenes which bring in some big issues such as family violence and infidelity, but overall you'll have a really fine time. It is a great big dollop of feel-good drama.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for access, I had a really good time. Must just up that rating to 5 stars

This was such a brilliant audiobook and one of my favourites this year!

I loved this simple story of a Grandmother and Granddaughter swapping lives for 2 months. Eileen and Leena were fantastic characters who I emphasised with from the beginning of the book. I must confess that Eileen was my favourite out of the two of them, it was so good to have an older woman portrayed in such a favourable light. I especially enjoyed her getting to grips with going online to find a new man, and her dating adventures! I also loved how she fitted in so well with Leena’s flat mates and how she got to know the neighbours too.

There were a lot of laughs in this book, and some stand out scenes that had me laughing out loud or cheering. It’s a good job I wasn’t in public as I would definitely have got some puzzled looks!

I absolutely loved Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones performances they were superb and I wouldn’t hesitate to listen to anything by them again.

I can see why there’s so much love for the The Flatshare now, and I’m delighted that I’ve still got that audiobook listen to. I’ve also just added her next book, The Road Trip, to my audible wishlist, even though it’s not due for publication until next year!

If you enjoy contemporary fiction you’ll definitely love this on audio.

The Flatshare is one of my favorites reads this year. In fact, it might actually be my first rom/com, what have I been missing, right? So it only stands to reason that I preorder Beth O'Leary's new book The Switch from the UK. Release dates can be earlier there and BookDepository offers free delivery worldwide. A win-win.

Now the wonderful folks at Netgalley have launched a new app and offer audiobooks for review. It gets better...The Switch was available to listen to. How could I say no to that? Well, I didn't and decided that a test of the app and a combination read/ listen was in order.

However, in the end, I ended up just reading it. The readers were wonderful in the audio but I just felt I’d enjoy the book more reading it myself. Obviously this is my issue because most loved the audio.

The Switch is told from the pov of grandmother Ellen and her granddaughter Leena which gave this book a nice contrast in the narrative. Where Ellen is spunky and rather fearless in her adventures, Leena is burdened with past hurts but hid behind a cloud of keeping busy trying to ignore them.

The Switch is a delicious rom/com that tackles grief. Is that even possible? It takes a talented author that can do that with respect to the situation and make it work. Grief is such an individual thing, everyone handles it their own way and this book showed the effect it has on others. I think I would have loved a little more interaction between a couple of players here on that level. But all in all, this was a great read and one I recommend.

Well done Beth O’Leary, you have cemented yourself as a go-to author, can’t wait to see what comes next...actually Road Trip does in 2021.

This book was part of my 2020 Reading Off My Shelf Challenge - #29

Such a cute sweet story. Different too I never would’ve thought about switching lives with my grandma but what a great learning they each had. Enjoyed listening to this cute store about generations finding love in each other’s shoes.

It's official - I'm a Beth O'Leary fangirl. I loved The Flatshare when I read it last year, and The Switch has all the things I loved about her first book: an adorable, what-could-possibly-go-wrong-premise, heart, humor, and substance.

Leena needs a change, and her grandmother needs an adventure. They decide to swap, The Holiday style, and live each other's lives. I cried, laughed out loud, and absolutely adored what happened next.

Told in chapters which alternate between Leena and Eileen's perspectives, the book explores grief, love, second chances, and learning that it's never too late to be the person you want to be. I appreciated that the book confronted my assumptions and ageism when it comes to romance. I loved the family and found family in this book, the small town setting, the friendships and relationships - really everything about it. I sometimes struggle with alternating perspectives or multiple POV books, but the audiobook is voiced by two actors who do a fantastic job, and who enhance the book rather than distracting from it.

Thanks to @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for an advance copy of this book!

TW: loss of a loved one, domestic violence (secondary character)

4.5 stars

Why is this book the actual cutest thing ever? I loved Leena and Eileen and I was so invested in both of their journeys. I loved seeing them truly find themselves. I love how this book really sends the message that it's not too late to find your happiness.

Leena and her grandma switch lives for a bit while doing some self discovery and I was so happy every time they'd find something new that made them happy. They manage to find love, friendship, while also finding their truth, finding who they're meant to be.

This book also deals with the loss of Leena's sister. While this has happened before the book starts, the family is still grieving her loss in different ways and that's definitely something that runs through the entire story. I love how they were able to work on their family and all really find themselves again. This book just brought me so much joy.

**I listened to the audio and absolutely loved having two different narrators for Leena and Eileen. It really puts you into their characters and you grow so attached to them and their happiness. I loved every second of it.

This was such a heartwarming story! Eileen and Leena Cotton are a grandmother and granddaughter who decide to “swap” lives for a few months. I loved how both Eileen and Leena came into their own during this time.

Having loved the Flatshare by Beth O’Leary I was delighted to have ‘The Switch’ to listen to in the shelf app I was slightly apprehensive before starting the book as the Flatshare had been a favourite and I wanted this one to be just as good... and it was!

I think Beth O’Leary has a real knack for creating likeable, interesting characters who you could imagine having coffee or a chat with while out walking your dog.

Although this was a lighthearted romantic story it also touched on grief and healing. I loved the idea that a grand-mother and grand-daughter could swap their so different lives and both fit in so well - after a few minor teething problems...

A lovely engaging story. The narration by Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones was excellent and really brought the two ladies to life for me. Looking forward to Bet’s next book!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley and the author for an advance audio copy of this book.

What a heartwarming book!

We follow two women: Leena, who needs to take a much needed break from work, and her grandmother Eileen, who is looking for some adventure and love in her life. The two decide to switch places for two months. Leena escapes to her grandmother’s Yorkshire village, and Eileen goes to her Leena’s apartment in London.

What we get is a wonderfully humorous, but heartfelt story of what happens during those two months.

I really enjoyed how both of them built friendships with the new people around them. They both became more than comfortable in their new surroundings. I really fell in love with the little Yorkshire village. That is just the kind of place I’d love to live. I think the cutest parts of the book were the romantic relationships. The fact that they were not completely fleshed out honestly made them so much more fun to read about.

I did listen to the audiobook of this novel while I was reading the text. I think that added so much to the story. The voices of the narrators were AMAZING! I felt like I was part of the story.

This is the best book I’ve read this year!

An absolutely delightful, feel good, laugh out-loud book. I adored the story of the Eileen Cottons and want to be Eileen Sr. when I grow up! The comparison of two characters in vastly different stages of womanhood was refreshing and heartwarming. I loved how much zest for life Eileen had in her 70s and what a good role model she was for Lena. This book was a mixture of sweet and sassy and there were some scenes that were hilariously crude. After a string of serial killer books this was just the light reading I needed, without being too cheesy. The narrators were fantastic. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook.

This was my first book by Beth O’Leary and I quite enjoyed it. Kind of gave me the Freaky Friday vibes without them actually switching bodies. But this was cute and had some comical moments as well as the journey of finding yourself and love.

I loved how there were two different narrators with alternating POVs. It was so great to see women at two very different ages taking journeys to find themselves and the love they are looking for. Finding their purpose and mending relationships.

Definitely a quick, light read and the audiobook was very enjoyable.

The Switch by @betholearyauthor was such a delightful read! I listened to the audiobook via @netgalley.⠀
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Eileen, 79, and her 20-something granddaughter, Leena, both need a sabbatical from their lives. Thus, they decide to switch homes and responsibilities for 2 months. The dual POVs were so good! I loved how the chicklit clichés were turned on their head, especially by presenting the predominant romance drama through Eileen's storyline. Both women felt authentic and relatable. In particular, I thought it was beautiful how Eileen transforms the world around her by just being herself. She really felt like the shining light of the book.⠀
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I flew through it so quickly, needing *just one more* chapter to see what happened next 👩👵. I previously read The Flatshare, but found that I enjoyed this one more 😊.⠀
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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was super excited to read this one as I have enjoyed the author’s previous book and it absolutely did not disappoint me.

Leena lost her sister and her entire family is dealing with the loss in their own ways so far unsuccessfully. When Leena is given a forced vacation at work, she and her grandma. Eileen and Leena decide to swap their lives and houses for two months so that Eileen can experience some spontaneity in life. I so wished it was a Freaky Friday kind of plot and thankfully it is completely different from it. Leena experiences a small town life and Eileen experience’s life in London and some freaky online dating too.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook so much and Leena’s voice is AMAZING! I loved all the characters and how all of them make each other’s lives so much better. It was so endearing and heartwarming to read this book. It deals with grieving on loss so beautifully. The way Leena experiences small town life and the various neighbours was adorable. Some of the relationships she forms and eventually clears up her mind is so sweet. How Eileen takes off with her London life and online dating is so refreshing. There is this simmering chemistry between Leena and Jackson the entire book that was sweet yet annoying as they never act on it.

It is a happy story with importance on relationships, cute moments and drama within the neighbourhood!

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me a copy The Switch!

This was a darling story of two Eileen Cottons.... grandmother and granddaughter. The two women swap locations and lives for a couple months while the younger takes a mental break after not dealing with the death of her sister.

Themes of mental health, love, community, and self worth made this story relatable.

I really enjoyed this sweet book. Leena and her grandmother Eileen swap homes for a two-month sabbatical. Eileen will move to London to look for love. Leena will move to Yorkshire to reconnect with her mother and have a break from the city. I listened to this one and I love how they switched narration for each character. It was a great audiobook. I looked forward to all of Eileen’s chapters as she made me laugh out loud. Thank you to NEt Galley and MacMillion Audio for my advanced copy. Highly recommend this one if you loved the Me before You books.

A heartwarming story about friendship, family, second chances at love and how to survive after losing someone very important in your love. Three women, grandmother, mother and daughter trying to go on with the epic lives after the death of Karla, Leena’s sister. Leena and her grandmother decide to switch their lives for two months. Eileen is going to live in London and experience the big city and Leena is going to live in the small town and try to reconnect with her mother. A wonderful live and love . The audiobook is great with the two narrators impersonating Leena and Eileen.