What an absolutely wonderful story! This is 1 of those feel-good books with some real laugh out loud moments.

The narrators did a stellar job and I thought the characterizations were spot on. It felt like I was watching a movie instead of listening to a story! They are definitely up there with the best!

The story was very entertaining and I absolutely adore Eileen! She might be 79 in years but definitely not in spirit! And who says you can't have some naughty fun at that age!

A brilliant listen!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion

I was so excited to read this since I really enjoyed Beth O'Leary's last book The Flatshare. I think this book was better. First of all the Leena and Eileen are awesome fleshed out characters. I instantly fell in love with them both, especially Eileen. Leena is a twenty something who is burnt out and needs a break and Eileen is an 79 year old ready for an adventure into the city to find some new romantic prospects. Honestly my favorite chapters were of Eileen and her adventures of dating online. She's adorable and I loved it. Leena's chapters were good too. The book starts out after a death that both women are still trying to deal with, but Leena is having a harder time. I liked the talk of grieving and some people handle death differently, but I do feel like it was a little surface level. All in all this is my favorite Beth O'Leary book and I look forward to her books in the future. 10/10 would recommend.

I loved The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary so I was so happy to hear she had another novel coming out. I was able to listen to an early audiobook copy of THE SWITCH by Beth O’Leary and it was probably the best literary audio experience I have had so far. The story is told from the perspective of a young woman and her grandmother. As both of them are trying to deal with big changes that have happened in their lives in the last year, they decide to switch lives. This is not a parent trap sort of story – they literally move into each other’s homes and pick up each other’s lives to see what they will learn about their own in the process. The insight into both lives at such different ages is fantastic and the lessons gained from the exposure to an older generation will keep you thinking, especially in a time where reaching out to people you don’t know isn’t something we are doing. I highly recommend the novel for the story but if you are an audiobook fan, pick this up when it comes out!
Thank you NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an Audiobook ARC of this book!)

I loved The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary, so I was excited to dive into this one. It's got a bit of a "The Holiday" vibe with the 2 protagonists switching homes for a bit of a new start in their stagnant lives, so that was a nice little hook to start off with!

Since I was given access to the audiobook version, I need to comment on the recording. It seems to me that the recording failed to use a Pop Filter (screen placed in front of the microphone in order to cut down on extra noise and sound being picked up on-mic). I say this because I can't recall any other audiobook that I've listened to that's had so much "mouth noise" (for lack of a better phrase). You know that thing of when an older person speaks and you can hear the slaps of their cheeks and tongue inside their mouth as they move through their words? Like a wet, soft slap of a mouth in the silent spaces between the sounds they make when speaking. Or when you hear someone swallow their saliva or take a long breath between lengthy sentences. It felt like a terrible version of ASMR. But I was invested in this book, so I just struggled through my auditory frustrations.

(Though, I will say, I really enjoyed the performances from the narrators, and particularly enjoyed that one of the protagonists was narrated by Daisy Edgar Jones aka Marianne from BBC's adaptation of Normal People! She's actually the reason I listened to this book at normal speed, when typically I bump-up the speed on audiobooks to 1.5 or 1.75 depending on the narrator's style).

The story itself is sweet and entirely what you expect it to be. Both main characters are extremely likable and fun to follow in their own unique ways, and there's some emotional gravity as a result of the "death of a loved one" and "different ways of confronting grief" subplot between Leena and her mother.

I liked this book quite a bit. Definitely another great one by Beth O'Leary.

An utterly charming book! The story switches back and forth between the adventures of 79-year old Eileen and her 20-something granddaughter, Leena, who have switched locations with each other for a few months, with Eileen getting to know Leena's friends and surroundings in London and Leena taking up Eileen's life in a small Yorkshire village. Both stories were equally compelling and delightful as both women form and sometimes lose friendships and relationships, explore new interests, bring about changes in the lives they touch and are themselves changed by their new outlooks on life.

I had the great pleasure of listening to the audiobook production of this novel. Both of the narrators were absolutely first rate, infusing their characters with charm and personality and making them all the more lovable. Some of the additional production values--like the change in sound quality when a character was speaking on the phone--were also effective. Sometimes I search for audiobooks featuring certain narrators, and I would definitely seek out these actors. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this lovely book. I'm so thrilled that some ARCs are now being offered in this format!

As you know, I loved The Flatshare recently, so I was super excited to get an early audio copy of The Switch by Beth O’Leary from @netgalley last week!

This novel, due out on 8/18, is SO cute!! In it, 20-something Leena and her 80-year old grandma, Eileen, swap lives for two months. Leena leaves behind the hustle of city life to take over planning the May Day festival and volunteering in the Yorkshire countryside (which had major GG Sleepy Hollow vibes), and Eileen gives herself a second chance at finding love on the internet dating scene in London. 🥰🥰

This book was funny, clean, and charming: the kind of book you could easily recommend to your mom/grandma, but that you will love too!! It’s light, but also deals with grief, heartbreak, family dynamics, and the value of relationships. I think I’m officially a @betholearyauthor fan now!!!

Beth O’Leary’s book The Switch lives up to the standard set by her previous book, The Flatshare. In The Switch, we follow a young lady from London who’s been forced to take a 2-month vacation. She and her grandmother decide to swap houses for 2 months, to give them both a grand adventure. The book treats each plot line pretty equally, as we follow Lena through her time as a small town girl and her grandmother through her time as a new Londoner at the age of 80+.

In terms of audiobook quality, this one is definitely high quality. Both main characters are narrated by a different reader, which really adds authenticity to the recording. I especially like the way that the sound quality changes when characters are having a phone conversation, making it sound like a real phone call. I read at 1.75 speed, and it was just right.

Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

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Sign me up for whatever Beth O’Leary puts out. I want to read her grocery lists at this point. Gimme gimme gimme. I finished The Flatshare last month and immediately ordered The Switch from Book Depository because I did not have the patience to wait for it to come out in the USA. But then, Netgalley released their app and this GEM of a novel was an ALC. ⠀
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Leena and her 79 year old grandmother, Eileen, decide to swap places. Eileen moves to London and stays in Leena’s flat with her roommates and Leena moves to her Yorkshire village and stays in her cozy cottage. Leena’s forced to take a two month paid leave from work, so she dives into her grandmother’s social calendar and takes over all her responsibilities in the community. Meanwhile, Eileen tries her hand at online dating and looks for ways to make apartment living more homey for all the tenants. They both run into a delightful and charming cast of characters. There’s romance, there’s so many funny scenes (the tea leaves) and there’s some seriously heartbreaking yet heartwarming moments.⠀
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It did not disappoint. A lot of people are comparing this one to the movie The Holiday (my favorite Christmas movie) and YES that is the vibe, but I was truly more invested in the grandma’s story line! We need more books about charming seniors. ⠀
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The narration was EXCELLENT. The production was fabulous and I love how they even made phone conversations sound so realistic. I loved both actor’s voices and both characters feel like real people I need to meet. ⠀⠀
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Beth O’Leary, you are on my auto-buy list! I absolutely adored this story and can’t wait to see what you put out next. ⠀
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This audiobook will be released on August 18th! Add it to your TBR. Such a feel-good winner and I can’t wait to hear what you think! ⠀
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Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio or this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

A feel good story about the beautiful relationships between Grandma’s and their Granddaughters. The Switch by Beth O’Leary reminds us that sometimes we just need to change things up a bit and that grandmas are in fact cool, not boring!

Leena is a young professional living in London and her grandma Eileen lives in a small town. They each have different things going on in their lives and need a change, so they swap houses for two months. They both discover themselves again, help heal what they have lost, and move forward with their lives. I enjoyed the adventures and discoveries of both women, but Eileen shined brighter for me. She had such wisdom, insight, and an adventurous spirit. This book reminded me a bit of the movie The Holiday. So, if you are a fan of that movie, I recommend this book even more.

I found the pacing of the storylines well done, and I never felt bored.

The narration was done by two different women which I loved. Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar- Jones did a fabulous job narrating. I knew exactly who was talking just based on the voice, which I love, and you don’t always get that in audiobooks. There were subtle sound effects such as when they would talk on the phone the person on the other end would sound distant. Little additions like this to me make the story seem more real or like you are watching a movie.

I would highly recommend this book to people. It was the perfect feel good listen during such a difficult time. I cannot wait to read more by O’Leary.

I received an advanced audiobook copy for review from Macmillan Audio through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

The Switch by Beth O’Leary is a charming story of a grandma and granddaughter who decide to switch lives. That doesn’t sound like it would be all that exciting but it was! Leena Cotton is placed on an 8 week administrative leave after suffering a panic attack at work. Eileen Cotton is looking for love in her small Yorkshire town but at 79 the pickings are slim. So they switch lives-Leena moving to Yorkshire, taking on grandmas day to day activities, and Eileen moving to London to look for love.

In the 8 weeks of their “Switch” they rediscover themselves, reconcile relationships and realize what’s important in life.

I really enjoyed this complimentary audiobook provided by #Netgalley and the publisher and highly recommend #theswitch!

As soon as I found out that Beth O’Leary was releasing another book this year, I knew I had to get my hands on it. In typical Megan fashion, I did not read what this book was about before starting it and just dove in blind, so you can imagine my utter surprise when I found out this wasn’t the romance I expected but a cute story about a grandmother and a granddaughter switching homes for two months. Even though it wasn’t what I expected, I still enjoyed this heartfelt story! 
 
I found that I absolutely adored Eileen (the grandmother) way more than Leena (her granddaughter). The older characters were absolutely delightful, charming, and hilarious while I found that the younger story line was a little too one dimensional for me and I kept trying to speed read her chapters to get back to Eileen’s parts. After reading this, I figured out that I need more stories about the olds. PLEASE.

I went into this book thinking it was going to be a romance but was pleasantly surprised to find a sweet story about family dynamics and life after loss. There were some romantic interests, but nothing steamy. The story alternated perspectives between Leena and her grandmother Eileen. The pair switched places for a couple of months and learned a lot about each other and themselves in the process. It felt like the movie The Holiday but if you swapped with your grandmother! I found the characters endearing. The secondary characters were well-developed and their interactions with Leena and Eileen revealed a lot of their personalities. The story unfolds slowly and is definitely more character-driven. Even though the plot lacked propelling action at times, there were so many lines that made me chuckle out loud. A nice read if you like dreaming about the idyllic English countryside.Lovely, delightful, and uplifting. Exactly the book I didn't know I needed during uncertain times.

79 year old Eileen decides she’s tried of life in her small town and wants to escape by switching places with her granddaughter Leena who lives in London. Definitely a book for fans The Holiday. This book is so wholesome and a great all around story. Overall a cute book.

The audio has a separate narrator for Eileen and Leena. Both women are easy to understand and the pacing is perfect. There’s even instances where the characters call each other and the voice of the character on the phone becomes distant like an actual phone call would.

*Thank you to Macmillan Audio/Flatiron Books and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

I enjoyed The Switch from the first page to the last. The author’s premise of a 29-year old driven professional and her 79-year old grandmother switching homes for a time is unique and works well for the story. I love that one of the main characters is an older female, and I love even more that she isn’t stereo-typed. The story tackles the tough subject of grieving a loss but does so in a loving way that shows us sometimes changes in setting and perspective can helps us heal and move forward. This is a thoroughly charming story with a bit of humor and romance. The narrators were great, and I will listen to this book again. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance listener’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was late to the Beth O'Leary party having only read The Flatshare recently but I knew that she would be an author who's work I would love and the Switch proved me right. What a lovely story. Leena is struggling with life since losing her sister so when her grandmother suggests they swap lives she takes the chance to try and change her life. It's a story about loss and love and family and it made me sad and smile and laugh. I loved the characters even cranky Arnold. There was something so uplifting about this one even though it is based around such a hard topic.
I find audio books very hit and miss. I think you really need to connect with the narrator to enjoy it and these ladies did a fantastic job. I could really visualise there characters from listening to them especially the lady who portrayed Eileen. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone.

The Switch is a good reminder to step back and take a good look at those around you. When things seem tough, there are always those who love and support you to help you see clearer.
This story was a fun look into family and how cool Grandmas really are. I enjoyed the antics of the characters and how they came to resolve their issues, but do feel like the story stayed on a very surface level and those issues were resolved easily.

As an audiobook, I was not too fond of the narrators. There was a lot of tongue clicking and swallowing that drove me bonkers. The pacing was a little slow and there was not a lot of tone variation to define characters.

After her husband leaves her, 79 year old Eileen Cotton is ready to start dating. the only problem is she’s not thrilled with the options in her small Yorkshire town. Meanwhile, her granddaughter Leena is ordered to take a 2 month sabbatical from work and isn’t exactly thrilled. After the death of her sister, Leena has thrown herself into her work to avoid dealing with her grief and unresolved feelings towards her mother. When Leena visits Eileen, then decide to swap places for 2 months: Eileen will get a chance to test out the dating pool in London while Leena can rest. A story that proves it’s never too late to change or realize what’s important, and that sometimes the best thing for you is adventure and sometimes its home.

I adored Beth O’Leary’s first novel, and could not wait to get my hands on this one. It exactly is the sort of warm and humous read I’d come to expect. Her characters are rich, the setting vivid, and the story, while well developed and comforting, never too predictable. I loved having two narrators telling each perspective, and particularly loved the audio detail of having a tinny effect when characters are on the phone. I think this book is brilliant in its wide appeal, as young and old alike will fall in love with The Switch, and perhaps feel ready to tackle anything after.

This book was like an amazing cup of tea. It was heartwarming, comforting and a just what I needed. I really enjoyed The Flatshare but have to say The Switch was even better. I loved the generational differences between the characters and the aspect of switching lives to really find out what you need.
Leena was just so darn cute and normal. I totally could see being friends with her, especially in the business world. And the instant connection between her and the neighborhood, swoon! I loved the romance.
Eileen was a delight. She was witty and so adventurous. I loved seeing her work with online dating as a 79 year old woman and take on a non-commitment dating life. The way her story ended, also swoon!
These two - ugh so good! Mixed in with the heart wrentching death of Leena's sister from cancer and the road to understanding her grief, this book really had it all for me.

A cute read with good narration. I did prefer the narrator for Eileen over Leena, but it wasn't a huge issue.

Leena is a London career woman that gets burnt out after working herself to the bone while avoiding dealing with her sister's death. Eileen is Leena's grandmother living in the countryside. Her husband has recently left her and she is having a bit of a struggle with finding a man to date in her area. Leena gets forced to take some time off of work, and gets the idea to switch places with her grandmother.

Not much happens in this book, but I still enjoyed listening to it and finding out what trouble the characters were getting themselves into when they swapped lives. A bit predictable in spots, but regardless it was a cute read. A good palate cleanser.

3.5/5⭐️

What a fun book! I loved this one. I listened to it on audiobook. The narrators were great! I thought they did such a great job of capturing each characters personality. I love the movie The Hoilday. This was the fun of that in book form. A grandmother, Eileen, and granddaughter, Leena, switch places in this one and take on many of the other’s social obligations.

I found it to be an quick, easy read. It has heart. There a themes of a complicated family family relationships, death, change vs tradition, disillusionment and dreams, motherhood, power of words, and wisdom of experience. I thought there was a lot wrapped up in a conversational, chatty tone. It made it easy to read where it could have been so heavy. I found I related equally well to both Leena and Eileen. I found them both to be fascinating women who get things done. It ended how I expected which made me very happy. That was very satisfying.

I would definitely recommend this book. Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this copy.