The Switch by Beth O’Leary book review and audiobook review. Thank you Flatiron Books for the ARC giveaway win and Netgalley for the audiobook ALC.
Review…
The Switch is told in alternating POVs between granddaughter, Leena, and grandmother, Eileeen. I loved how effortlessly and subtly O’Leary switches the voice between a 29 year old and a 79 year old woman. It’s a sweet and cozy read that transports you back and forth from an English country village to life in London.
If you’re expecting this book to have a lot of romance, I’d recommend adjusting your expectations. This is more of a story about the love of family (across three generations of women), community, and self discovery. There is romance, but it’s minimal. The book has so much to offer that it wasn’t needed, however I really wanted more as the little we got was so good!
For fans of cozy Brit lit like Jill Mansell; there’s also an amazing community of secondary characters that gave me certain Backman vibes.
Audiobook review: I absolutely love the audio narration and production for this book! The Leena and Eileen chapters have separate narrators and they’re both wonderful. The production details like the phone calls actually sounding like phone call are so fun! Highly recommended!
TW: Cancer and loss of family member. Infidelity.
The details…
Rating: 4.25 Stars
ISBN: 9781250769862
Get the hardcopy at: Bookshop.org or Amazon or Book Depository
Get the audiobook from: Audible or Libro.fm (use my code lfm122316 to get your first audiobook free from Libro.fm!)
Publication date: August 18, 2020
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Summary from the publisher…
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.
The Switch by Beth O’Leary Book book review and audiobook review.
