The Switch

Genuine Loveliness
I absolutely adored The Flatshare, and I would go so far to say that The Switch was even better! I just love Beth O’Leary’s style of writing, its gentle and very easy to read, whilst still managing to address some underlying issues facing society. The Switch made me laugh out loud in almost every one of its chapters. It’s hilarious, heartwarming and genuinely moving.A large part of the narrative addresses grief and how it can affect every aspect of your life. I loved the idea of the two Eileen’s switching lives to help them both heal from the traumas of the past few years. I felt the way they were handling it was all very accurate. From reading the blurb, I was worried the plot would feel a little too farfetched, but I never felt like that whilst reading, it all felt very genuine and as though it could really happen.The portrayal of life in Britain is just perfect, I feel like the book drips Britishness. I laughed constantly through Eileen’s first days in London, because it’s just so accurate. If you weren’t born in London, it can be such a massive shock how people behave on a daily basis, and this was just captured so perfectly. Similarly life in little villages, and how minute details become huge parts of your life. The observational humour is brilliant!Eileen was just wonderful to read, I thought she was absolutely fantastic. I loved her so much and I could read another 100 books from her perspective. Her brutal honesty and continued lust for life was inspiring and beautiful. Leena struggled to stand up against her grandmother, but I really enjoyed watching her grow and learn to love herself again. Her relationship with Jackson was dreamy, and I was rooting for them from pretty much the first appearance he made.Not to be overshadowed by the leading ladies, there are so many amazing side characters to fall in love with. Fitz stood out to me, always willing to embrace Eileen and the older ladies into his life, the banter they shared was wonderful. I also adored pretty much every resident of Hamleigh-in-Harksdale, and if I could, I’d be packing up and moving there tomorrow. There are lots of themes explored with these fantastic people, loneliness, domestic violence, parental relationships and many more.Beth O’Leary is rapidly cementing herself as one of my favourite authors, her books are a warm hug and a mug of hot chocolate on a chilly day, just perfection.

I cannot think of anything negative to say!
Last year I took a risk on Beth O’Leary as a debut author and pre-ordered a hardback copy of The Flatshare to take on my holiday, and it was a complete joy to read.It’s a testament to just how much I enjoyed The Flatshare, that I read this as soon as I could, and oh my word, did I love it!The author has a vibrancy about her writing style that gives her characters such energy and Eileen Cotton is a sensation. When her granddaughter Leena is put on a mandatory two month sabbatical, Eileen suggests a life swap, which sees Leena living her Grandmother’s life in her quiet Yorkshire village, and Eileen living a rather more cosmopolitan existence in London. It’s a brilliant concept, and a timely celebration of the older generation, who have far more to offer than knitted cardigans and afternoon naps, with their wealth of wisdom and quirky personalities.I love that these novels are so much more than froth. The Flatshare, when you scratched the surface actually dealt with some pretty dark themes. And whilst this novel is far less dark, it does tackle problematic themes such as the cliched perceptions of age within society. The Switch breaks downs generational walls, characters of all ages mingle and mix and those aged cliches are smashed.I absolutely tore through this and I really cannot think of anything negative to say. My husband was woken late at night by my giggling and has been treated to chunks of the novel being read to him, just because I found it so brilliant I had to share it. It’s been the perfect antidote to the anxiety of lock down and I actually think that The Switch has taken everything that I loved about The Flatshare – humour, charm and warmth – and levelled up. It is bursting with zest and was just a pure delight to read. I cannot recommend higher than suggesting that you pop on over to your retailer of choice and order…..right now!In the meantime, I will be once again be hotly anticipating (and most likely pre-ordering once more) Beth O’Leary’s next novel!

I started reading this book because I read the flatshare first and loved it.This book was a lot of fun to read. I loved seeing the two perspectives, with the grandmother and her granddaughter. It provided something different that I loved!

It was a good one, but I guess I’m a bit overwhelmed with Beth O’Leary. She starts fun, but from the middle of the book, it starts to switch my mood to low or angry