The Switch

A Novel

By: Beth O'Leary

Narrated by: Alison Steadman, Daisy Edgar-Jones

Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

"Daisy Edgar-Jones and Alison Steadman team up as a fun, quirky grandmother and granddaughter pair in this lively narration...The two narrators, each portraying her respective character's point of view, are a perfect match." (AudioFile Magazine)

This program is read by British actors Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones, star of Hulu's Normal People.

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 80. 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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books

"The Switch brilliantly encompasses all the humor and whimsy of The Flatshare while delving into emotional topics like grief and the importance of watching out for neighbors." (Booklist, starred review)

"A cozy, hopeful escape that will make readers laugh, cry, and feel inspired." (Kirkus, starred review)

©2020 Beth O'Leary (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Try the print version

AVOID the audiobook version if you cannot stand wet talkers! There are far too many saliva noises - I couldn’t finish chapter 9.

Great Rom-Com Spanning Two Generations

Had to purchase this because The Flat Share was unique, well written, and just lovely. This novel is more of the same and also excellently narrated. I quite enjoyed listening to the older voice. O’Leary got me addicted to British rom-coms and I find them all light-hearted. I hesitated a few times before purchasing this novel because the synopsis didn’t appeal to me much. Really glad I went with it though. A little bit of everything without getting too dramatic. The only thing that had me pausing was the long list of characters. Other than that, another great one by O’Leary.

Cute story, terrible narration

I really loved The Flatshare and went so far as to pre-order The Switch when it had zero reviews. It's a cute little story about a granddaughter and grandmother switching apartments for 2 months so they can each shake things up a bit. I enjoyed the dynamics between the generations and was inspired by Eileen's quest for love (and sex!) on the cusp of 80 years old. I may have enjoyed this more in a printed version because the audio recording drove me nuts. The narrator reading for Eileen sounded like she was a millimetre away from the mic and had mashed bananas in her mouth. It was dreadful listening to all those mouth sounds and breathing while still trying to concentrate on the story. If that sort of thing doesn't bother you, then go for it. The story is sweet even though it's pretty predictable. But if you have even an iota of auditory sensory issues, then maybe skip this one.

Adorable fun story!

I’m a fan of Beth O’Leary, so I’ve been looking forward to the release of “The Switch”. The story was sweet and fun and the characters endearing and likable. The narrators were both terrific, except they both sounded like they were eating peanut butter sandwiches between sentences. It drove me absolutely crazy throughout the entire book. I don’t know if this is an editing thing or a narrator thing but it was unbearably annoying. I hope it’s an editing thing because both narrators were delightful and I would love to listen to them again in different circumstances. The fact that I still listened to the entire book is a testament to how great this book is. If you’re looking for fun British romcom this is it! But if you have sensitivity issues with lip smacking sounds, skip the audible and buy a hard copy of the book :)

Good story not as good readers

I enjoyed the story quite a bit. It got off to a slow start and wasn’t funny for awhile. Then the characters developed and the story picked up and I wanted to listen more. At first the older lady reading was awful cause I was very spit noised. How someone can have that much spit noise is astounding. I almost couldn’t listen. But eventually I got immune to it. There were odd breaks in the story where I wi served if my story had accidentally played without me hearing it. Over all I can only give it a four star but did like it enough to finish it.

Great story with an unusual twist

Woman-power in 3 generations told in a funny way with great characters. I listened to it twice!!

Not as good as the flat share

But the flat share was really good. This one has good characterization good dialogue, but the story is a little thin, and the romance is almost not there. Maybe read it if you like heartwarming stories about older people, and otherwise skip

Slow start but thoroughly enjoyed

It was slow for me to get started but I throughly enjoyed this cute story. Especially the grandma perspective.

Excellent story, but poor narration

Ugh, I find it a genuine challenge to write about The Switch because I loved it so much that it is hard to pinpoint what I loved so much about it, but I shall try my best. First off, I feel that I should start this review with the disclaimer that I have admittedly never gotten around to reading The Flatshare, so I didn't quite know what to expect from the writer's style. However, I was not disappointed. In terms of the characters, not only were the main characters (Eileen and Leena) delightful, but everyone else in the book was too (even the grumpy characters) - as a reader, following these characters felt like sitting down and having a cup of tea with friends. As for the narration, I did find that there was a fair few audible mouth noises throughout the story, which was a distraction. Overall, I adored The Switch by Beth O'Leary and found it to be a fabulous escape from *points vaguely* whatever 2020 is; the story was funny, heartwarming, and sad all at once, and I would recommend it.

Decent book

Book was not bad. It had an interesting premise. Lots of characters. I didn’t get attached to any of the characters except perhaps grandma Eileen. She was like the grandma you wish you had. I don’t understand why the grandma and granddaughter had the same last name since they were related through the maternal lineage. I didn’t mind the narrators, although I love British accents. Perhaps it was the microphone or something a bit off with the recording equipment. It was a decent although not fabulous read.