All the things I loved about The Switch by Beth O'Leary

The Switch by Beth O'Leary landed in my letterbox mid-May and and oh my god, can I just say the book truly got me through the last few weeks of my uni semester and exams. It was the perfect blend of wonderfully crafted characters, snappy dialogue and an intertwining storyline that pulled on my heart strings so hard, I was a weepy mess at the end! I went into The Switch with high expectations as I'd recently read O'Leary's debut novel, The Flatshare and loved it so much and I'm SO over the moon The Switch more than delivered. And in fact, after thinking about it for a few days, I think The Switch has stolen the top spot over O'Leary's books so far (so bloody excited for her next release, I know it's literally a year away, but I can't waaaait!).

One thing I've been blown away by in both of O'Leary's books is her expertise in weaving two completely different perspectives and POVs in one story. There is nothing more I begrudge when reading a book then having to trudge through two or more POV's that either sound exactly the same or one of the character's voice and/or storyline is so boring that you either skim or skip to the more interesting charter's chapter (Eragon, anyone??). That's never the case in O'Leary's books however, and The Switch is a perfect example of that. The great grandmother and granddaughter combo, Eileen and Leena are interwoven so well together in shared chapters but also stood out as individual characters in their own chapters and personal arcs throughout the book as well. I was really impressed how clearly different and engaging Eileen and Lena were from their stories to their characters to their voices and Eileen was my faaaaavourite (of course!). Look, I would go to the ends of the earth for Eileen...

I also LOVE how well O'Leary can flesh out all her characters, not just her main characters! Is there anything more annoying when the main characters are fleshed out to perfection in a book but all the secondary characters feel like bits of cardboard that suck?? Because I know I do! All of the characters in this book, not just the main characters felt so incredibly real and fleshed out. I instantly fell for all of them (except some people who shall not be named...) and felt like I knew them SO well by the end of the book. I wanted them all to have their own spinoff books/stories, dammit! Would 10/10 buy a novella/short story collection about all the secondary characters...

The sneaky and snappy humour that O'Leary is so good at writing that had me cackling so much while I was reading The Switch! All the characters had some really good lines but OF COURSE Eileen was full of the best ones. Honestly, I'm surprised she didn't give stand up a go while she was in London, because she would've KILLED IT. Also, I normally never cry when reading romance/uplifting fiction but phewww Beth O’Leary knows how to get my tear ducts GOING and they didn’t stop once they did. The way grief was written hit me hard in the heart and done so well. And then that ending??? The last page??? I WAS SOBBING and messaged my friend Lara @ Words With Lara as soon as I finished the book literally telling her how much the book had messed with my feelings/emotions URGHHHH, I’m still a soggy mess!