Review: The Switch

Today I’m sharing my review of The Switch by Beth O’leary. Last year I read and loved The Flatshare by the same author so this was a highly anticipated book for me.

Synopsis

Eileen is sick of being 79.
Leena’s tired of life in her twenties.
Maybe it’s time they swapped places…

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. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another’s shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.

Leena learns that a long-distance relationship isn’t as romantic as she hoped it would be, and then there is the annoyingly perfect – and distractingly handsome – school teacher, who keeps showing up to outdo her efforts to impress the local villagers. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, but is her perfect match nearer home than she first thought?

Why did I choose to read this book?

I loved The Flatshare so I was excited to pick up the author’s latest book. I received an advance copy and free audiobook from Libro.fm.

Rating

4 Stars (An Excellent book!)

My Thoughts

This was a lovely book that touches on some heavy topics (see content warnings below). This is not a romance, while there is some romantic relationships it focuses on other types of relationships. I loved all the characters and you can’t help but root for them. This is one of those books that gives you all the feelings, you’ll feel sad, but also feel joy and laugh out loud at times.

The ending is what made this book a 4 star for me (even though it was predictable). I liked it throughout but I teared up at the end and really fell in love with the characters. I identified with Leena and want to hang out with Eileen. There’s something about the older characters (Eileen is 79 years old) that I am loving reading about lately.

I listened to the audiobook and while I loved the british accents and there are two narrators for each point of view I wish I had read the physical book. I’m not sure what it was about the audiobook that made me feel disconnected from the story at the beginning.

Content Warnings

Death, grief, mental health, infidelity

Who I recommend this book to

If you liked The Flatshare I think you’ll enjoy this one even though they are very different. Fans of British lit would love this one! This book reminded me of the movie The Holiday (as far as the vibe) so if that is something you like you may like this one.

Get the Book!

Did this review of The Switch convince you to read it? You can get the book from Bookshop.org here. Please consider ordering it from a Black owned independent bookstore. This list of Black owned independent bookstores accepts online ordering.