Member Reviews
I struggled to get into the book, but admire the high intensity, domestic thriller nature of it.
I didn't see the whole of the twists coming so it kept me on edge.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
An interesting domestic thriller with a very different storyline. Elena and Adam are housesitting in the leafy suburbs of Wimbledon when a chance meeting with glamorous Sophia and her husband Finn change their lives forever. When Sophia suggests an illicit tryst she has an ulterior motive. A story of seduction with a difference and many twists and turns ensures that this book is one you'll find hard to put down and will shock you to the core.
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review
If you suspend belief and morals its an interesting story. The characters have no redeeming features. Two wives swapping husbands without their knowledge.Some twists along the way. Thanks to Random house and Netgalley for a review copy.
This is one of those storylines where you think this is too bizarre to be believable, so why couldn't I put it down! Couples swapping partners is not unusual but when it's done in the dark without the other partner knowing is probably as rare as hens teeth. No one in this strange tale have any redeeming features. One woman a manipulator, the other easily led. Both men having little or no backbone. Several twists at the end sheds light on what is behind the switch leaving a small sense of understanding but still an overwhelming feeling of disbelief. But as the saying goes there's nowt queerer than folk, so who knows, it may be happening somewhere. Strange but good read
** spoiler alert ** Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me access to this eARC
Please don’t read this review if you have not read or haven’t finished the book yet as it will be filled with spoilers and won’t make a lick of sense!
I’m giving this 3 stars due to it keeping me hooked from page 1 but oh my..
Lets begin by saying there are absolutely no redeemable characters in this story. (Even Adam who clearly needs a partner to do all his bidding for him like taking care of his vulnerable mother, cooking and doing the housework for him and then goes back to the women he cheated on Elena with at the end of the book)
All of these characters are utterly unbearable.
- Elena who is perfectly comfortable with participating in a ‘husband switch’ where she and a woman she barely knows will sneak into each others homes at night and have sex with each other’s husbands, which in other words is just rape really. And then getting overly attached with the man she believes is unknowingly sleeping with her.
- Sophia or 'Claudine' uses these switches as a method of getting pregnant as she believes that raping a man is a more conventional and ‘christian’ way of having a baby rather than going down the route of IVF or surrogacy. She is also willing to murder anybody who discovers the secrets that she and Finn have been hiding for years as to not risk them being exposed and also to ensure she keeps Finn to herself.
- Finn or 'Alain' willingly participates in the switches, knowing whoever Sophia sleeps with is being sexually assaulted and forced into getting her pregnant unknowingly. Also at the end of these book he spends one week alternating between Elena in London and Sophia and ‘their’ baby in Cornwall which is just insane and unrealistic to be honest…
Now let’s talk a little about the incest in this book. We discover that as children Finn and Sophia developed feelings for each other and quickly realised they couldn’t be together ethically so instead they live out their lives as a sort of couple but.. not..? They pretend to be in a committed marriage and enter this journey to have a baby together without actually having the baby with each other due to the whole brother-sister issue?
Nobody even tells Adam the truth about the facts of what happened in these switches and the outcome being Sophia’s pregnancy, albeit Elena does try to but he’s too stubborn to listen. However you’d think she would try harder to ensure he understands what has been done to him. Disgusting! Imagine the roles were reversed and these were men committing these crimes? This would be a whole different novel altogether!
Firstly, thank-you to @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
I really enjoyed the first 50% of this book! It was so pacy and enjoyable and I honestly felt worried that it wouldn't keep the pace! 😳 that being said, there was 20% where I felt I didn't know where this was going but the ending certainly made up for that and all in all, the book was very enjoyable! It follows two couples as the woman secretly swap partners for an hour in the middle of the night! It is such a bizarre plot but I still absolutely recommend you read this! 😍
This is a really good, slightly bonkers, domestic drama /thriller.
Elena is a proofreader, house sitting with her boyfriend in his Aunt’s house for a few months whilst they save for a deposit. They are house sitting in Wimbledon, which is a world away from their previous rental.
Adam, her boyfriend seems a staid, traditional type, manipulated by his mother. Then, Elena meets Sophia, a glamorous new friend with an incredibly handsome husband, Finn. When Elena meets Finn, she feels an instant attraction so when Sophia suggests a sexual ‘switch’ Elena is intrigued……I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
It’s well written and despite the implausibility of the storyline, it’s very well done and kept me reading, pretty much in one sitting!
It’s also got an excellent twist at the end that I definitely didn’t expect.
So, overall, I’d say it’s a 3.5 but rounded up for the uniqueness.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK Cornerstone for the opportunity to preview in exchange for this honest review.
The concept of the story is quite simple; two women are going to swap their partners, late at night, with a clear plan to ensure that the partners don't know that a switch has occurred. Although the story is excellent, well written and a good read, I did find it a stretch to believe that the male targets involved would not suddenly realise that their sexual partners had performed quite differently between the sheets. It did become quite clear that Sophia was probably either a little or a lot unstable. There are some twists and turns that were quite unexpected, but a couple of revelations did seem quite obvious to me, but that doesn't mean everyone will think the same. The characters are well written, well-rounded and enjoyable to read. You can expect that the switch will not go as well as this story continues, otherwise there isn't much point to the story. For me personally, this was a new drama or storyline as I haven't read anything like this before. Even if you can guess some of the twists in the final few pages, it probably won't spoil everything you've read before and after. This is one of those books where you may find yourself shouting at the characters as many make consistently bad decisions, but this makes for good reading.
This had some good potential to it, the synopsis was intriguing however it was a little far fetched for me and was hard to believe certain aspects to it.
There was some good twists, some I had worked out but it still was good to read. The characters were quite unlikeable so it was hard to route for any of them so the ending felt quite appropriate to me.
I am really sorry but I personally don't think rape is not rape because men just love sex. Persons being abused, used as sperm donors, bringing a child in the world under false pretext, condemned to a life born in lies should not be entertainment! But maybe that's just me.... If I were to ignore the huge elephants in the room, the story is also predictable. The switch was more than evident, and maybe that was not to be a surprise, seen the title, but I for one, just knew that Finn was a partner in the plot, Claudine's identity again so very obvious..maybe the only thing I did not anticipate was the last few pages...
An interesting plot with The Switch being two women swapping partners and the drama and suspense that creates. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books from this author. Recommended to those who enjoy thrillers with a romantic touch to the story. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.
Two couples meet and the women, who look quite similar, decide to switch partners for sex but without the males knowing. Putting aside the moral dilemma I found this book entertaining but was feeling quite quickly “where is this going? Someone is going to get hurt”. I’m not going to give the plot away but needless to say I was intrigued enough to finish it within a day. I did see the plot twists coming but that didn’t really matter.
When Elena meets Sophia, the insta perfect beauty, in her local coffee shop in Wimbledon she spots a chance at having a nice couple for her and her partner, Adam, to have meals and nights out with.
When Sophia meets Elena she spots her chance to play a twisted game of deception.
Will this duo become BFF’s or will the truth come out and destroy their friendship?
I found myself hooked on this book from page one, what a strange concept for a book. Despite the sinister main part of the book it felt like quite a fun lighthearted read.
It was easy to relate to the female leads, they had been portrayed in such a manner that you understood why they did what they did.
I was found reading late in to the night unable to put the book down so I most certainly would recommend this book to anyone looking for a gripping easy read.
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.
Gripping story from the first pages about Elena and Adam and their neighbours Sophia and Finn and when Sophia suggests to Elena that they actually switch and sleep with each others husband without the husbands knowing it gets you really hooked.
Loved the mystery surrounding Finn and his background story and Sophia who is a real psycho and felt sorry for Adam who has no idea of what is going on and being caught in Sophia's lies. Loved Elena who proves to be strong and fights for herself and this is a great mystery and intriguing story which keeps you captivated.
Would highly recommend.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
A story told for the viewpoint of the two female main characters, Sophia and Elena. There is a suggestion of a husband swop, which causes all kinds of consequences afterwards! Twists and turns with a great ending, this is a great story and easy to read. I felt like I didn't want to put it down as I was intrigued to know how it all ended.
Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC
The Switch is told from the point of view of the two main female characters, Sophia and Elena. Sophia suggests to Elena that they swap husbands secretly at night, and sleep with them without their knowledge. What follows is a succession of events where the reader has to suspend their disbelief, and an ending that was incredibly twisted.
The book has 4 main characters, all of whom are unlikeable, and a disturbing storyline with multiple moral and ethical questions raised. The book made me feel very uncomfortable, but I liked the writing style and would probably read another by this author.
Opposites attract, not always for the same reason. Elena’s attraction to Sophia is partly upward mobility; Sophia’s reason is complex and dark. Elena (37) is a freelance proofreader, and she usually does it in a local café in Wimbledon Village. Sophia (30) is a woman of independent means who frequents the café. They first meet when Sophia’s handbag is stolen while she’s in the Ladies and Elena helps with the aftermath (or possibly that was a setup, because we don’t hear any more about it). Elena and her husband Adam – a middle manager in a bank – can’t afford to own a property in the area, but are house sitting for a relative, whereas Sophia and her husband Finn – who owns his own business but is rich anyway – live in a large mansion in an exclusive street. The two women meet regularly and have a very friendly relationship, the men are peripheral, but aren’t very sociable when they do meet. However, everything is rolling along nicely until Sophia asks Elena if she is familiar with Roald Dahl’s adult short story collection “Switch Bitch” and, in particular, the story titled “The Great Switcheroo”. In this story two men agree to swap wives. Sophia suggests that she and Elena reverse the roles and swap husbands. The husbands are not to be made aware. A detailed plan, involving switching perfumes, swapping jewellery, hair cut to the same length, and blackout blinds being installed (and other refinements) is drawn up. And the whole thing works like clockwork, more or less. What can possibly go wrong?
To answer that question you’ll have to read the book, after suspending all disbelief, including the notion that any man who has been in a monogamous marriage for several years would not notice that the ‘wife’ had changed. The sex scenes are well written, and highly detailed. The rest of the book is also well written, but the plot becomes not so much twisted as tortuous and your suspension of disbelief needs to be ratcheted up as you move through the reveals, the dénouement and the epilogue.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.
• 3.5⭐️ •
If you’re in the market for a suspenseful slow-burn mystery/thriller, look no further! The Switch was unsettling and twisty and I enjoyed it a lot.
The couples at the crux of this story are Elena and Adam & Sophia and Finn, and they are all very intriguing (and unlikable 😅) characters. I can truthfully say I’ve never read a book with this sort of premise before! I was a bit skeptical before I took the plunge and although there were some scenarios that were pretty implausible, overall I ended up being vastly enthralled by the story. Swapping partners at night ~ without their knowledge ~ is wild, and also pretty fucked up 😶 but it definitely did make for a compelling plot.
Despite the bulk of the story being quite insane anyway, events only get weirder towards the ending somehow. I’m not sure if I liked the conclusion, but I can’t deny that I was flicking through the pages like a madwoman as I was really curious to see how everything panned out.
Thank you to Random House UK & Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I struggled with this one. I definitely wouldn't call it a thriller, more a domestic drama full of not very sensible people!
Struggled to finish this to be honest, if it hadn’t been an advanced copy I probably would not have.
A book of manipulation, dark secrets and generally characters who I disliked immensely. First few chapters I felt it could be working up to a good story but I felt the rest of the book was way too unbelievable and I really did not like it.
This is my own opinion only.