The Switch by Beth O'Leary

I feel like I'm going to get a reputation as someone who only writes glowing reviews, in light of how well my reading streak has been going recently.  My review of The Switch by Beth O'Leary is not going to change that impression. (Here are some non rave reviews if you miss that sort of thing.)

In The Switch, Leena, a twenty-something in London, is forced into a two-month long sabbatical after she screws up a presentation at work. Her grandmother Eileen, newly divorced and nearing eighty, lives in a small British village. It is determined that Leena will live in the village and Eileen will move into Leena's apartment in London for the duration of the sabbatical. What we have here is a sweet romance with two romantic storylines, including one with a mature protagonist AND an intergenerational family drama. (Is this a true romance novel? I don't know about that...the focus on the romantic plots seems to be secondary to the family drama.)

Interesting characters: O'Leary hits this out of the park, particularly for the female characters.  Our two main female leads, Eileen and Leena, are interesting in their own ways. What makes Leena so focused and ambitious? How is Eileen going to handle the transition from quite country life to the bustling city? Meanwhile, there's another storyline about family grief and Leena's mother that makes an appearance. And that's not even talking about the huge cast of friends for each woman. It's really well-done for such a sweeping cast of characters. Admittedly, I wanted to spend more time with Eileen, but that's because the well of romance novels about ambitious twenty-somethings is deep and wide, but reading about septuagenarians who are dating is new, at least it's new to me.

You'll notice that I'm leaving out the male characters. Well, honestly, that's because O'Leary doesn't seem to care much about them, so why should I even talk about them?

Believable conflict: Oh, the family drama and family miscommunication over a terrible loss felt real and, at times, quite heavy. Some of the scenes between Leena and her mother were so hard to read because it felt very much like intruding on family squabbles that you know are just going to repeat themselves over and over. 

(Oh, are you interested in the conflict in the romantic relationships? That's...quite manufactured.)

Emotional tension: Again, as a family drama, this is pretty great. As a romance, the tension was pretty non-existent. 

Happily ever after: Each of the characters did get a HEA with their respective partner. The family drama seems to be mostly resolved, too, although I might have liked O'Leary to do a bit more flushing out of that resolution.  You will end the book feeling satisfied and with hope for the future, so I guess that's the best I could hope for.

I think there are some legitimate criticisms of this book. For one, it could come off as sugary and treacly. I think this is prevented because the characters ARE dealing with grief and all the sweetness in the world can't make you forget that as you read the book. The male characters are flat and rather lifeless, but it's really a book about female relationships, not men, so I also let this criticism float on by me. Most of the criticisms are that this was sold as a romantic comedy, but it's really a family story and I think that is a legitimate criticism, but once I put the idea that the romantic storyline was central out of my mind, I enjoyed the book for what it was.

I recommend this one, particularly if you enjoy elderly ladies up to no good.