The Switch's plot reminded me of The Holiday, and I was thrilled to read it! This was my first audiobook on NetGalley, and I was so excited to be able to read this during my long commute to work. I loved having two narrators. It was such a good book. I loved Eileen. Leena was a little harder to get behind, but you can't see yourself in EVERY character!

i read and loved this book so much that i couldn't resist the audio when it was available on netgalley. absolutely fabulous narration and such a joy to listen to. narrators can really make or break a book and both narrators were so good and really got me swept up in the book - even though i'd already read it! i recommend reading or listening, they were both a charming, fun, fabulous time.

Overworked, over stressed Leena finds herself in a forced two month holiday from work in London after blowing a big presentation. Her 79 year old grandmother is on the lookout for love and not pleased with the options in her tiny town. So the two decide maybe it’s time to swap places for a bit. ⁣
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I’m apparently still on this quest to read all of the British contemporary romance books - and loving every minute of it! The Switch is such a lovely story. And although it does have a bit of romance, it’s honestly more women’s fiction. Grandma Eileen is likely one of my favorite characters that I’ve read this year, sweet, but no nonsense, and searching for her second chance at love. She finds friends (and lovers) no matter where she is. I was honestly thrilled to see a book focus on a senior citizen’s second chance at romance!! You felt for Leena. After a very significant life trauma she finds herself a bit lost in most every area of life. This book is truly about the strength of women and their growth from trauma - with some sweet romance thrown in (I just wanted a tiny bit more of that romance 😍)⁣

This was cute but nowhere near as fun or cute as The Flatshare. I didn't enjoy it as much as O'Leary's debut and because I was constantly comparing it to that, I was kinda disappointed. I didn't really like Eileen or Lina to be honest; I found Lina VERY irritating and Eileen just rubbed me the wrong way. It was enjoyable though.

the cadence of both the narrators was perfect! they both had such distinct voices and it made for such a fun reading experience! They were very calming and wonderful and it was so so lovely

Loved this audio book I can not stop recommending it to everyone.
I found myself laughing out loud of the spicy grandma who got her groove back.
I really enjoyed seeing how a grandmother and her granddaughter both in different stages of their life but both trying to navigate love and finding themselves.

I enjoyed the cast of characters, they were quite entertaining. The narrators are wonderful and bring them even more alive.
This is a fun concept for a story and recommend this!

I've read books about switching before. People switching bodies, like Freaky Friday. People switching jobs (I wish I could remember the title - it had something to do with switching jobs with a stripper. I liked it). But this is the first time I read a story of a granddaughter switching lives with her grandmother.

WHY THIS BOOK IS MORE THAN YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE: First off, I have to give a big shout out to the narrators. Each chapter in the book goes back and forth between Leena and Eileen, and my goodness, the actresses hired were great! Narrators can make or break an audiobook for me, and this one was on point. Bonus points to me for being American but knowing Alison Steadman from Gavin and Stacey and The Worst Week of My Life!

I thought this was going to be a simple, light and fluffy tale. How wrong I was. There were some heavier storylines hidden beneath the tale of switching lives. The mother-daughter relationship between Leena and her mom, as well as Eileen and her daughter. A story of loss in numerous ways. Facing the truth and finding yourself.

The stories weaved together very nicely. The supporting characters were well thought out and did not feel like props just there to add more people. They were interwoven into the story as well. All in all, I thought it was a great read!

I really enjoyed this one! I will be looking into trying The Flatshare once my reading challenges have ended. I have a feeling Beth O'Leary is an author I will be keeping my bookish eye on.

Move over, Freaky Friday, there's a new pair in town! While this switch was not like Freaky Friday, it did remind me of it a bit with a combination of Jojo Moyes and Josie Silver.

Leena Cotton is an overachiever and is ordered to take two months off of work in London. Her grandmother is looking for an adventure as she ages in her small England town. They decide to switch places for the two months.
Each woman experiences her own joys and sadness in their time during the "switch" which makes this a fantastic read!
While this book is not at an appropriate level for my students, I will post it as a highly recommended read on my bookstagram!

Leena Cotton has been trying to deal with her grief over the death of her sister by working herself into the ground, and she's burned out. Her grandmother Eileen is looking for love, and struggling with the lack of eligible men in her small country town. So Leena and Eileen switch - Eileen moves to the city and starts using a dating app, and Leena takes over her grandmother's committee and dog walking duties. However the results of their experiment aren't quite what they expect.

This is a lovely, warm-hearted book - Leena and her mother struggling with their grief is realistic and touching, and Eileen bringing her style of community engagement to a block of city flats is wonderful. I really enjoyed O'Leary's first novel, The Flatshare, and The Switch is another delightful book.

This was a great summer read. The plot is funny (more than once I was laughing out loud), light, and easy going. Both narrators were great at getting into character and showing their emotions.

Thanks NetGalley, Beth O'Leary and Macmillan audio for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this audible book. The narrator’s voice was perfect for the story and made me look forward to my next listening session! A great story with likeable characters, I really loved both of the main characters and was a little sad when the book ended!

This was a charming audio book of granddaughter and grandmother switching lives. It was fun a fun listen. There are many new beginning and some endings in this book. It is very easy to engage with the characters and root for their success.

Oh I loved this... just what I needed after my usual psychological thrillers! I read flat share earlier this year and loved Beth’s style of writing so was intrigued to try this book as an audio book! ( first one I’ve tried) I listened to it when I was running and it certainly made the time pass quickly! I thought both Leena and Eileen were great characters and loved how the story went from one to another! Light hearted and fun

The Switch by Beth O'Leary is a fun listen on audiobook! I was excited for this novel since O'Leary's previous book, The Flatshare, was such a smash hit. The Switch is told in alternating perspectives from Leena, a young and overworked (who isn't, these days?!) overachiever in her 20's, and her grandmother Eileen, 79 and feeling trapped in a tiny town. Their twin journeys through the highs and lows of love are sweet and relatable - regardless of whether you're more of a Leena or an Eileen. The plot has its tropey moments, particularly as the story builds toward the end, but the through line of intergenerational female relationships prevents the predictability from overwhelming. In the audiobook edition, narration from Daisy Edgar-Jones (who you might recognize from the Normal People tv series!) and Alison Steadman helps refine Leena and Eileen's respective personalities. As with many audiobooks, the narration can feel a bit slow at points - antsy readers might prefer the print version - but I could see this being a great backdrop to a mother/daughter road trip or spa weekend. 4/5 Stars.

After thoroughly enjoying ‘The Flatshare’ last year, I was excited to read another of Beth O’Leary’s novels - and what a lovely read this was!

‘The Switch’ is about a grandmother and granddaughter who decide to switch lifestyles for two months. This sounds like a somewhat unlikely premise, but like in her previous novel, O’Leary makes it all sound rather plausable. Eileen is 79, and Leena is in her twenties, and the two characters are both appealing and warm. I felt that the choice of readers for this audiobook version was excellent - Eileen is voiced by Alison Steadman, and Leena by Daisy Edgar-Jones. Eileen reminded me very much of my own grandmother, and I liked that she had plenty of life and mischief in her, unlike the depiction of elderly ladies in some other modern novels.

In terms of plot, you have a very modern, over-worked Leena and her love life, and the equally-busy Eileen and her relationships. It was nice to see the similarities between their lives and the issues that they face. Yes, the conclusion, for both characters is rather predictable, but it’s nice to see how they get there, and this book was overall like a nice warm hug.

In terms of setting, I liked the depiction of Eileen’s Yorkshire village, although I didn’t feel that Leena’s London was depicted particularly strongly (it could have been any town or city really), and it would have maybe been nice to get more of a sense of what Shoreditch. I’m not sure that the is was really a negative point, but worth noting if you’re looking for a book about London.

I’m looking forward to see what Beth O’Leary writes next - I’ll certainly be reading it!

This book was very sweet and just what I needed for the summer. I enjoyed the premise and I really liked learning not only about the 2 main characters, but about all of the neighbors as well. Overall this book was so wholesome and I loved that Eileen was able to truly have an adventure, even at 79. Lina was a joy as well and seeing her overcome so much and have so much self realization was wonderful as well. If you like books about community, growth, friendship and romance then this is the book for you.

I received this audio book in exchange for an honest review. What a delightful book! This audio book was very well written and narrated. I enjoyed the story line and had several emotions throughout the book. The narration was great. I loved that there were two narrators for the characters. I am excited to purchase this in paper form as well so that I can enjoy it more. I will definitely purchase this author’s other books.

Such a sweet, feel good story! I especially loved spunky Grandma Eileen. And bonus, the narration on this audio version was wonderful. Highly recommend!

ugh my heart is now a melted puddle on the floor....
This is so so wonderful, and reminds me of old Hugh Grant films... Notting Hill anyone?
Both of the charters pulled me in and had me following both story lines at with excitement. Which usually not the case, but this one was done so well. I had a blast listening to this novel, and the audiobook was very good quality and easy to follow.