Beth O’Leary wins our hearts all over again. After thoroughly enjoying The Flatshare, I was nervous that I would not enjoy her follow-up novel. But no worries, I really enjoyed it. The Switch is a perfect stay home, pandemic read.
Summary
Leena Cotton, an overworked overachiever, is forced to take a two-month sabbatical after bombing a big work presentation. She retreats to her grandmother Eileen’s house for some overdue rest. Eileen, 79 years old and newly single/abandoned by her trash husband, would like a second chance at life and love, but her small Yorkshire village doesn’t offer many qualified and age-appropriate gentlemen.
After learning of her grandmother’s romantic goals, Leena proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen will live in London in Leena’s place and look for a bit of romantic adventure. While Leena will take care of everything back home in her grandmother’s community in Yorkshire Dales and the tiny village of Hamleigh-in-Harksdale.
Lenna navigates medaling and gossiping neighbors, tackles long avoided and complicated dynamics with her mother, and her long-neglected emotional health. Grandma Eileen lives her best (and steamy) life with Leena’s trendy London flatmates and online dating.
Eileen and Leena learn some important lessons about life, love and themselves .
Review
The Switch is a funny and lovely tale about finding yourself and even romance at any age. Set in contrasting locations with related women in very different times of their lives, The Switch is whimsical while feeling plausible.
The Cotton women (Leena, her mother and her grandmother) are still grieving loss of her sister, a loss that has resulted in an estrangement with Leena’s mother. Both Eileen and Leena are strong personalities and forces of nature in their community. These community leaders and organizers give us many pages of story to help find a little joy and peace during the crazy that is 2020.
O’Leary confirms she is a charming and witty storyteller whose humor I can definitely vibe with. She crafts beautiful worlds that I now find that I love exploring. She isn’t afraid of a non-traditional storyline or set of characters that you can’t but help adore.
Comments on Narration for Audiobook Listeners
The voice actor did a solid job. The acting was neither annoying nor a distraction. The narrator was emotive, clear and consistent. There was a quirky over the phone audio sound change when the characters would talk on the phone, which some might find annoying, but I actually like. Overall solid, and if your preference is for Audiobooks, I think you won’t have any material issues or complaints with The Switch.
Trigger Warnings
Flashbacks to death of a sibling. Unfaithful significant others.
Steamy Rating
Since this technically falls under Romance in some categories, we should note the steam levels for the sex/intimacy scenes: They are mostly on the part of the grandmother, which is awesomely inclusive. No long and drawn out thirst bucket scenes, which was awesome for me because I don’t vibe with literature that reads like porn. The steam makes sense and does not feel forcefully and endlessly inserted into the narrative.
Many thanks to Net Galley for the advanced copy.
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