THE SWITCH

 

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 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.

Title: The Switch

Author: Beth O'Leary

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Publication date: August 18, 2020

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Well, as the author predicted in her acknowledgments, I’ve been well and truly Eileened! What a heartwarming and adorable story. I loved every single minute of it. When I finished it a had a huge smile on my face (and a fair amount of tears). Although I had already read it, when given the chance to listen to the audiobook version I couldn't help but take it as I had heard both narrators, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Alison Steadman, did an amazing job, and they certainly did!

After suffering a panick attack at work, Lena and her grandma Eileen decide to swap their houses and lives for a couple of months, so Leena can get much needed rest in the small village where her grandma lives, and Eileen can experience the London scene she could not when she was younger. Meanwhile, they’re both mourning Leena’s sister death, who passed away from cancer a year before.

I found very interesting how the different generations of Cotton women coped with their grief, although I think Leena was not fair with her mum at first. I didn’t like how she directed her anger at her mum, as if she herself was the only one who had lost someone dear to her. All this added a layer of depth to the story that made it much more enjoyable.

I absolutely adored how both Leena and Eileen embraced the swap to their fullest, not being afraid of facing new things. Although I liked them both, my favorite, hands down, was Eileen. After all, she’s a big Agatha Christie fan, how am I not gonna love her? She was lovable, hilarious and I truly hope to reach her years with her stamina. It is so refreshing reading about older characters pursuing love.

I’ve always thought of myself as a big city guy but, after reading this, I wouldn’t mind at all to move to Hamleigh-in-Harksdale. I loved the sense of community and how all the characters were 100% there for their neighbors and friends. I fell in love with all the characters, both in London and the village, minus a couple of exceptions. You know who you are!

Beautiful story about family and friendship, loneliness in the old age and the loss of a loved one, taking a look at the grief and anger that can bring about and showing how everyone needs to heal in a different way and time.