Title: The Switch
Author: Beth O’Leary
Narrators: Alison Steadman, Daisy Edgar-Jones
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ . 5
Pub Date: 18 Aug 2020
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Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan Audio (publisher), and Beth O’Leary (author) for providing me with a free review copy of this audiobook in exchange for an impartial review.
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I’d been seeing this book everywhere and I was glad when I was able to get my hands on it via Netgalley. It landed a spot on my TBR immediately. It was a really good book, but I had the hardest time getting into it. The pacing at the beginning was too slow for me and I kept waiting for things to pick up pace. When I got into it, however, it was an amazing ride. I loved the 2 narrators, especially the narrator for Eileen. I ended up loving this book very much, and it was the first time I read a romance novel with an old woman as the protagonist. The story unfolds through two PoVs – Eileen (the grandma) and Leena (the granddaughter). They switch houses and routines for two months and we’re introduced to each woman’s friends and hometown. The story unfolded beautifully, and the author introduces and deals with themes of love, family, anxiety, friendship, betrayal, and community.
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Eileen’s PoV was my favorite, and I always looked forward to reading her parts of the book. There were so many parts there that made me smile and laugh out loud. I loved meeting the other characters. The enemies to lovers trope was also written beautifully into this book. It was also interesting to see Eileen, a traditional old lady, get introduced to technology like WhatsApp and online dating.
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I also really loved that this book wasn’t entirely romance-focused, but it was focused more on each woman’s journey in a new town and exploring new things. I really recommend this one, and it was a nice read.
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Blurb/Synopsis:
A grandmother and granddaughter swap lives in The Switch, a charming, romantic novel by Beth O’Leary, who has been hailed as “the new Jojo Moyes” (Cosmopolitan UK)…
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 long-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.
So they decide to try a two-month swap.
Eileen will live in London and look for love. She’ll take Leena’s flat, and learn all about casual dating, swiping right, and city neighbors. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire: Eileen’s sweet cottage and garden, her idyllic, quiet village, and her little neighborhood projects.
But stepping into one another’s shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected. Will swapping lives help Eileen and Leena find themselves…and maybe even find true love? In Beth O’Leary’s The Switch, it’s never too late to change everything….or to find yourself.
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