This is the story of Eileen who is 79 and single with no prospects nearby and her granddaughter Leena who flubs a major work presentation. Eileen and Leena switch homes and life roles for 2 months. Humorous and also serious simultaneously. Eileen tries online dating. Leena tries to keep up with all the tasks her grandmother usually does. A great story about family dynamics, mending broken hearts and finding where you really belong.
I listened to the audio version of this book and loved both narrators. They had the perfect voices for the two women characters.

Thank you to netgalley, Macmillan Audio and Beth O'Leary for the chance to listen to this book and give my honest review.

In case you hadn’t heard the news, Netgalley now has audiobooks! I was really excited to find Beth O’Leary’s new book available for download and got to listening right away.

First things first, I loved both Eileen and Leena. I could totally relate to Leena’s struggles with a stressful job and a long-distance relationship. I also loved Eileen and I think she’d be such a great grandma to have! Just like with The Flatshare, O’Leary touches on some deeper topics than just swapping lives. Leena’s dealing with grief and there’s a lot of commentary on mental health and healthy relationships.

I really liked both Eileen and Leena’s romances in this book. Both characters ended up with such sweet romances with such great people. I think this book had a great message about finding love and happiness and not just sticking with the same thing (or the same person) because it’s what’s comfortable.

As for the audio, both of the narrators did a great job. I will say that I listened at 1.75x speed, though, because they spoke so slowly! But sped up, it was really easy to listen to this book.

Overall, I’m giving this four stars because although I enjoyed it, I never really had trouble setting it down.

<b>Eileen is sick of being 79.
Leena's tired of life in her twenties.
Maybe it's time they swapped places...</b>

Is coming-of-old the new coming-of-age? I hope so! After reading the delightful The Love Story of Missy Carmichael, I was thrilled to dive into The Switch. I was lucky enough to listen to the audiobook via the newly-launched NetGalley Shelf app.

Leena is a 20-something who is sent on a two-month holiday at work after blowing a major presentation at her high-profile London job. Eileen Cotton is her 79-year-old year old grandmother. She's been recently left by her husband of several decades for a much younger woman. She’s willing to give love another shot, but the options are limited in her small village.

Both women are still deeply grieving the loss of Leena's sister from the year before. They agree to "switch lives" for two months. Eileen will live in Leena’s London flat with her two roommates (well, “flatmates” I suppose) and try out online dating. Leena will stay in quaint village where Eileen lives. What could possibly go wrong 😉?

I LOVED the dynamic between Leena and Eileen. My own grandmother passed away a year ago, but we’d had the same type of close relationship this duo has. They are both witty women who are easy to love. I laughed out loud several times. Like actual peals of laughter. Eileen is truly a hoot. She makes the book for me. It’s very cute and will give you all the warm and fuzzies a good rom-com should.

NARRATION: I love listening to audiobooks set in London. I’ve been reading the Harry Potter series aloud to my kids and trying my best to be authentic with accents. I’m from West Virginia. Spoiler alert: I’m terrible at it. I also find myself trying to silently read in an accent for a book that’s set outside the U.S. For me, it’s just way more authentic to listen to a native narrate books.

Daisy Edgar-Jones narrates Leena’s role. She stars in the Hulu adaptation of Normal People. She has a lovely voice. I loved the raw emotion she brought to Leena, especially when she’s remembering her last days with her sister. I also loved her interactions with Eileen and the easygoing nature of all their conversations.
Alison Steadman narrated Eileen’s character. She was absolutely perfect! I genuinely felt like she was going through Eileen’s transformation firsthand. I could picture facial expressions, gestures, the tiniest of nuances. She truly brought Eileen to life through my headphones!

I absolutely loved this book and will recommend it everyone! I loved the plot, the characters, and settings. I will continue to read whatever awesomeness O'Leary writes, her books are pure gold.

I read and loved Beth O'Leary's The Flatshare last year, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this story.

This is the story of Leena and her grandmother Eileen. Leena is deeply burned out and is required to take two-months off work when she blows a major presentation and Eileen is newly single and looking for both some fun and companionship in her life.

To help each other, they decide to switch homes for a while so Eileen can live in the bustling, urban London and Leena can relax in the quiet life of Eileen's little neighborhood.

What I loved most about this book is how lovely both of the women were and how they each found ways to bloom where they were. Even though things don't go as planned, of course, and they learn so much about themselves and what they really want, of course. And they get to see that the people they think they understood, maybe they didn't understand as well as they thought. Even with all that, most of the moments of this story and happy, hopeful, and show you how strong both Eileen and Leena are.

How they have each other and other community to help and support them. And how they show up for the people around them, too. O'Leary knows how to create characters that stay with you.

This lovely book was made only more lovely by the narration of Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones who play their parts beautifully and really make these characters come alive.

with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of 2 women – Eileen & her granddaughter Lena.
The book starts with Lena struggling with a panic attack & this affecting an important presentation at work. I didn’t think this was very realistic & as a consequence I struggled to get into the story but once I got past the first chapter, I really liked this book.
Burnt out from work, Lena is given a 2 months sabbatical from work and she goes to stay with her grandmother in a small village in Yorkshire. Eileen is 79 & since her husband left her, she has decided that life is too short for loneliness so she has decided to try & find a new man, but there are very few options in the locality.
After a short time together, Lena is desperate to return to her life in London but Eileen knows that she must relax & feels that Yorkshire is the place to do that. They then decide that they will swap lives - Eileen will go to London and have the adventure she was forced to abandon as a young woman when she became pregnant with Lena’s mother. She will learn about dating apps & maybe find the love she craves whilst imparting wisdom in her straight-talking way. Meanwhile Lena will take over Eileen’s commitments in Yorkshire – she will look after the cottage, and take over Eileen’s place on the Neighbourhood Watch group and on the MayDay fair committee.As both women start to understand each other’s world, they learn more about themselves as well as starting to impact the people around them. I love Eileen’s non-nonsense way of speaking, and the way she imparts wisdom whilst Lena makes an impact on her new community in rather different ways – by losing a neighbour’s dog, burning the chocolate brownies she intended as a peace offering & leaving the handbrake off the car so that it runs into the hedge.
We soon find that Lena’s sister died a year ago from cancer, and that throwing herself into work was her way of coping. The book sensitively deals with several difficult topics, including cancer, grief, infidelity, abusive relationships & prejudices against people of different generations by mixing delightful observations & insights with moments of humour and

The story is narrated by 2 fairly well known actors: Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Their voices were perfect – Lena was young, dynamic and refined. Eileen was older but full of character, she perhaps lacked a slight “Yorkshire accent” but the voice fit the character perfectly & I felt that I could picture both characters easily. The quality of the narration is great – it’s not somebody just reading a book like so many audiobooks can be, it’s acted really well. I liked the way that the chapters switched between Lena’s story & Eileen’s story – it was easy to follow throughout. Each chapter had just one actor - the actors voiced the other characters too with slight intonations in their voices. These were also easy to follow as there was only 2 or 3 people per “scene” and there was sufficient differentiation between them.
The ending is not unexpected, but it is quite nice that it doesn’t end quite when you expect it to. Overall it was a heartwarming story with excellent narration.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this audiobook free from the publisher via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the publisher & author for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.

The Switch is a humorous romantic story where Leena and her grandma switch lives to experience a little adventure in their lives. Both women need a change. Leena moves into her grandmother's house in Yorkshire and grandma ventures to London to find a new man. This charming story warms your heart as a group of misfit characters figure out what it important in life and their true feelings about themselves; to figure out what they need to be truly happy. I would also say that this one isn't a high romance book, so if you are looking for something with more "love" this one probably isn't for ya.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook.

What a fun book! And so much fun on audio. The narration was great!I loved listening to a story from the point of view of both a grandmother and her granddaughter. It was a refreshing read, perfect for summer.

The Switch is a humorous romantic story where Leena and her grandma switch lives to experience a little adventure in their lives. Both women need a change. Leena moves into her grandmother's house in Yorkshire and grandma ventures to London to find a new man. This charming story warms your heart as a group of misfit characters figure out what it important in life and their true feelings about themselves; to figure out what they need to be truly happy.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook.

The Switch is a bittersweet and charming slice-of-life story. Ever since Leena’s younger sister passed away from cancer, a heavy shadow of grief has hung over her family. Leena and her grandmother Eileen are both struggling to find satisfaction in their days. When Leena has a panic attack at work, she is forced to take time off. Eileen is looking for love in her tiny village, to no avail. Leena suggests a switch- Eileen will come and stay in her apartment and Leena will travel to the village. Both have preconceived notions and misconceptions about what it will be like to switch, which are beautifully unraveled throughout. As both women search for romance, deal with grief, and make friends, they learn that switching lives is much more complicated than it seems.

I was lucky enough to receive an audiobook of this book! The story is read by two voice actresses, one for Leena and Eileen each. Both were very accomplished and pleasant to listen to. I absolutely loved the voice of Eileen, she perfectly captured and expressed Eileen’s personality. One thing that did not work for me is when an effect was used to simulate being on a phone call. This sounded scratchy to me and was a little difficult to listen to. Overall, the audiobook production was well-done and I enjoyed listening to it very much.

This adventure into the lives of the Cotton women and their journey was delightful. I preferred Eileen’s chapters, finding her wisdom and personality to be very heartwarming. While both women are dealing with lingering feelings of grief and sadness, Leena is younger and has less experience dealing with such things. This is understandable, but I almost wish I could go into the book and give her advice! The supporting characters of the villagers and Leena’s friends were an absolute joy to meet!! I felt as if I had traveled to a small village in England. There’s plenty of wit, jokes, and underlying lessons about grief. This story is not a romance, instead it is the story of two women coming to terms with grief and choosing to live their lives with as much meaning and happiness as possible. It was a very pleasant experience to listen to The Switch. The Switch releases August 18, 2020. Thank you to Beth O’Leary, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK. I loved O'Leary's last book, so I knew I wanted to give this one a try, but this is not the typical type of plot I am drawn to.

I am so glad there is now an audio option for books on NetGalley. I loved listening to this, and having two different narrators for the two difference perspectives.

Oh my...this book was just lovely. When grandmother and granddaughter switch homes and essentially lives, adventure ensues. I fell head over heels for the feisty 79 year old Eileen. Quite honestly, I want to be her when I grow up! Beyond the romance aspects of this novel, I was utterly enchanted by the relationship between Leena and Eileen. Highly, highly recommend!

Delightful Book! Loved the storyline, but found it to be a bit unbelievable at times, 79 yr old Eileen and 20 something Lena, trade homes and cities for two months. I just couldn't buy into a 79 yr old Grandma suddenly moving to the city and becoming besties with her granddaughter's friends. I would have also like to see more character development with Jackson and the relationship between him and Lena. Ms. O''Leary does deal with several difficult topics; cancer, death, infidelity, and abusive relationships very well. With tact and grace and a bit of humor, she takes these topics and weaves them into a light story of family and healing.

If you are looking for a book with characters, this one will fill the bill quite nicely! A 29-year-old woman switches "lives" with her 79-year-old grandmother for 2 months, including living in each other's homes, interacting with each other's friends, and fulfilling each other's obligations. The inclusion of the realities of today's dating situations, personalities, relationships, and grief for the death of a family member make this book full of action, reflection, and hope. I listened to the audiobook, which held my attention as the book started slowly and switched viewpoints and narration with each chapter. The narrators were excellent for this book and helped me as an American really feel like I was in Britain with the characters in their locations..

When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen's house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She'd like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen.

Once Leena learns of Eileen's romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire."

This book may not have a unique plot on the surface - two very different people switching positions for a time. It's a classic tale. But, in "The Switch", the characters are delightful and engaging from the start, and you are pulling for them to find what they need. In the classic tales, the participants are so uncomfortable in their new places in the world that they can't wait to get back, but in this story, they are more conflicted - enjoying their new life and missing their old. It is a delightful story, and it was sad when it was over.

I listened to this on audiobook, The narrators couldn't have been a better fit. The voices of the two main characters were perfect for them. It brought to mind a vivid image of what they both looked like and kept the story rolling. The one complaint is most likely with the NetGalley app which is fraught with bugs and design flaws. Because the book is told from both Leena and Eileen's viewpoint, each chapter alternated. But it skipped every other chapter. If you listened to chapter two of Eileen, it would go straight to chapter four and miss Leena's Chapter three. I was so tired of trying to locate the in-between chapters, that I ended up listening to Eileen all the way through and going back and listening to Leena. So I cannot recommend the audiobook for that reason. If it were to be fixed, I would recommend it to anyone.

I simply couldn't.. I tried, and I kept pushing, but the story was too bland for my taste. Leena's anxiety attacks were not believable: why would you screw a presentation in from of clients when you are so good at your job and so well regarded by management? Why would it be so difficult to take a two-month leave when your company requires you to take the annual leave you are entitled to? Then we have Eileen, Leena's 79 year old grandmother who asks her granddaughter to switch life with her. So she ends up living in London, in Leena's apartment and learn how to work Tinder and try to understand when men send women dick pics..

If you are looking for a lazy Sunday romance read, that might be a book you might want to pick up.

The audiobook was narrated by two actresses. I enjoyed the Leena's narration --it was cute, young, dynamic. Eileen's narration on the other hand was very hard to listen to.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received a copy of this audiobook from Netgalley. Thank you to the author, to the publisher and to Netgalley. This is the first book that I have read by Beth O'Leary and I really enjoyed it... It was a quick, light read, but I still felt a connection to the characters. The story was fun and fast paced.
I would recommend this book...perfect for reading on the airplane, on vacation or anytime you want a quick read

I received a free advance listening copy of this book from Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Switch is a charming story, reminiscent of The Holiday, in which Leena, 29-year-old management consultant in London, and Eileen, her 79-year-old grandmother in a Yorkshire village switch houses for two months. Although each character is dealing with grief and loss, the book also contains a number of laugh-out-loud moments as they navigate their newfound surroundings. The audio narrators enhanced my enjoyment of the story, reminding me of the setting, although I found that I needed some time for my ears to adjust to unfamiliar accents combined with the quick pacing. Once I got acclimated, I wanted to keep listening to find out what happened next. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a delightful story about reinventing oneself and creating community.

I loved this.
If you are looking for an escape book this is one I would recommend.
Leena and her Grandmother Eileen swap lives after Leena is given a sabbatical from her job for 2 months.
Eileen leaves her Yorkshire life for fun in London and Leena takes on the role that Eileen left behind, both find they love their swapped lives but also miss parts of their old lives.
Eileen tried online dating while Leena has left her boyfriend in the City.
Do both women love their new lives and friends enough to make the swap a permanent one?
I think this worked really well as an audio with the text conversations and also the online conversations Eileen had on the dating sites.
For me this book was just as good if not better than the authors debut novel Flatshare.

Sweet, charming and feel-good in the best way... Sort of ‘The Holiday’ meets ‘Calendar girls’ meets ‘The Lido’ in a very British rom-com that’s less about the romance and much more about community and friendship....
I did an audio/print combo and enjoyed both very much.... Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones are perfect on audio as grandma and granddaughter Eileen and Leena, who swap homes and lives, find themselves and a community to be a part of... and of course a little romance. I was drawn to Eileen’s story more, and find her quietly heroic and truly inspiring. I hope at eighty I am as feisty, adventurous and go-getting as her.
Thank you to both Flat Iron books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this lovely book. And so happy to hear that both this one, and Beth O’Leary’s debut ‘The Flatshare’ are making it to the big screen... these stories are perfect for it.