The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary Book Review

Posted On April 17, 2021

Hi Readers! How is your April going? I must say, reading-wise, it has been absolutely fantastic for me. We had 2 long weekends, sort of, which I utilized to the fullest to read more books. So far, I have read 7 books this month & there is still half a month to go! Yayy me! 

Since we are already 3 months into the year, I did a review of my 2021 Reading Challenge. And then it suddenly hit me that I have kept a mini-challenge of reading FIVE ROMANCE NOVELS this year. As many of you know, I despise reading romance novels. There is nothing to them that either makes me enjoy my single life or gives me a good reading experience. But, after reading a few heavy books back-to-back, even I realised that some mindless romance novel might be a good break. Of course, I did my research which did not go well, because I could barely find 2 novels which I did not hate right away after reading the Goodreads blurb. So, here we are! One of those two novels was The Flatshare. I won’t do an in-depth review as usual, because honestly, it’s romance & doesn’t need it. 

~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~ 

Tiffy and Leon share a flat 
Tiffy and Leon share a bed 
Tiffy and Leon have never met… 
 
Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time. 
 
But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven’t met yet, they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window… 

~~OVERALL THOUGHTS~~ 

I was completely set on hating this book & started reading it with a well-founded bias towards the genre. I also gave up reading it a few times simply because it was too predictable or too silly or at times too irritating. All the reasons I hated it at first, became the reasons I kind of liked the book at the end. 

First, the characters! Initially I couldn’t stand the way Leon’s chapters were written, with no pronouns. But when I was used to it, I liked that quirky writing which was also his personality. I absolutely adored Leon’s introverted self-conscious, dark-curly-haired handsome, life-saving nurse self. I loved how he thought about everything a bit much, making his character flawed & also instantly likeable. 

And, Tiffy was a character which grew on me pretty quickly. Red-haired 6-foot-woman with an air of confidence, kindness & just so completely human nature is what made me root for her. I loved her character development throughout the novel. 

Now, about the writing style! I found myself waiting for the moment Tiffy & Leon would finally meet, because honestly the post-its were hella cute! I couldn’t wait to watch their love story unfurl. The obvious predictability of the story did not bother me much because of my low expectations. Since this was supposed to be a light read, I did not fixate on the obvious things on which I usually fixate. So, overall, it was an enjoyable, tantalizing & fun reading experience.  

What I also liked was it was not just a plain love story. We saw an important part of it dedicated towards PTSD & emotional abuse with respect to Tilly’s ex-boyfriend Justin. The entire part of it was written with a lot of care & a lasting impact. It also helped in Tilly’s character development immensely. I also liked the additional part about Leon’s brother being in prison. It was a nice touch to the story & added an element towards Leon’s story. 

I think overall it was a good & light read. If you are looking for something like that, you should definitely pick it up. As long as you love romance novels, this one is a good pick. As long as you hate romance novels & keep low expectations, this one is again a good pick! I have rated it at 3.5/5 stars! 

Until next time,