The Switch

by Beth O'Leary

'SO CHARMING, SO SWEET AND SO LOVELY' MARIAN KEYES

Leena is too young to feel stuck.
Eileen is too old to start over.
Maybe it's time for The Switch...

Ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, Leena escapes to her grandmother Eileen's house for some overdue rest. Newly single and about to turn eighty, Eileen would like a second chance at love. But her tiny Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen... So Leena proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love, and L Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire.

But with a rabble of unruly OAPs to contend with, as well as the annoyingly perfect - and distractingly handsome - local schoolteacher, Leena learns that switching lives isn't straightforward. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, and with the online dating scene. But is her perfect match nearer to home than she first thought?

• ISBN10: 1250769868
• ISBN13: 9781250769862
• Publish Date: 18 August 2020 (first published 16 April 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Flatiron Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[marciemarie]

This was one of the sweetest books I've had the pleasure to read! It's so rare to come across a contemporary romance that includes the POV of an older adult, and getting the experience made The Switch feel extra special and distinct from its peers. It was lovely to explore the ways in which people are never done growing, regardless of age and circumstance. By the end I didn't really care all that much about the specific romances, all I waned was for these two women to find happiness and fulfillment in their lives.

[celinenyx]

A really charming story of a grandmother and her granddaughter swapping places for two months to find out what they want in life. It was really fun, but the secondary characters occasionally blurred into one. It relies heavily on a story of grief and family loss - Leena's sister Carla died of cancer a year ago, and the aftershocks are still being felt in their family.

[tweetybugshouse]

The switch is an adorable story about a grand daughter in her 40”s switching life with grandma who in her 80”s. It totally needs to be made into a movie. The antics and comedy that ensue are quite funny. The audio is perfect as you swtich between a young sounding person and an older grandmother type voice. I highly recommend.

[Amber]

Read more reviews on my blog, Books of Amber!

I absolutely adored The Flatshare when I read it last year, and Beth O’Leary shot to the top of my “to buy next” list so I could explore what else she has to offer. I nabbed this one when I saw it up on Netgalley as an audiobook, and I think I definitely made the right choice.

I had a hard time connecting with either of the characters in The Switch, and I think the main reason for this was because a) Eileen is really old and we had absolutely nothing in common and b) Leena was just a bit dull, really. It’s a shame, because I thought O’Leary wrote some amazing characters in The Flatshare, but I don’t think she pulled the same thing off here.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a unique experience reading about a 79 year old. I don’t read books about older characters that often, and it was something that I wanted to try to explore. I think if I hadn’t been listening to the audiobook, I would have had an even harder time getting into the book than I did, so I’m pleased with my choice here.

That said, I didn’t hate the book, and the narrator made it a fun read that I enjoyed listening to. I just didn’t connect with it the same way I connected with The Flatshare. I’m going to be checking out more from Beth O’Leary in the future, but maybe I need to stick to her more serious stuff!