What if your roommate is your soul mate? A joyful, quirky romantic comedy, Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare is a feel-good novel about finding love in the most unexpected of ways.Tiffy and Leon share an apartment. Tiffy and Leon have never met.After a bad breakup, Tiffy Moore needs a place to live. Fast. And cheap. But the apartments in her budget have her wondering if astonishingly colored mold on … her wondering if astonishingly colored mold on the walls counts as art.
Desperation makes her open minded, so she answers an ad for a flatshare. Leon, a night shift worker, will take the apartment during the day, and Tiffy can have it nights and weekends. He’ll only ever be there when she’s at the office. In fact, they’ll never even have to meet.
Tiffy and Leon start writing each other notes – first about what day is garbage day, and politely establishing what leftovers are up for grabs, and the evergreen question of whether the toilet seat should stay up or down. Even though they are opposites, they soon become friends. And then maybe more.
But falling in love with your roommate is probably a terrible idea…especially if you’ve never met.
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A fun romantic comedy based around two people sharing a flat – he works at night, she works during the day – and their relationship developing in the form of notes. Perfect way to end a long week
As soon as I read the book’s description after a friend recommended, I knew I’d found a fun, escapist story, exactly what I needed. The Flatshare is witty, good fun. Romantic with a unique spin to keep it from being cliche. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
One of the greatest slow burn romances I’ve ever read. This debut novel captured my heart and will stay with me for some time.
The Flatshare is my first, 5 star read of 2020 and one of my new all-time favorite romance book reads (and it take a LOT to make that list!). I loved so many things about this book but will pick a few to highlight in this review.
The Original & Intriguing Plot Line
Do you believe you could fall in love with someone without even meeting them?
I kind of wonder what that would be like (especially in this era of catfishing and what not) but I was instantly captured by the set up of this novel: Two people become flatmates – sharing the same 1 bedroom flat where one gets it by day and the other by night. Tiffy, a DIY book editor with her own unique style, accepts this offer for a flatshare posted by Leon, a quiet hospice nurse who works the night shift. Despite this unique living situation, she moves in without either of them meeting the other. Since they never cross paths, Tiffy and Leon’s main form of communication is through notes that they begin leaving for one another around the flat.
What I Loved About This Book
Now, for an age where we all have our heads glued to cell phones and other devices, I love that they “passed notes” to one another. They didn’t call and they didn’t text. They used good ole pen and paper. And it’s through these notes that they start to get to know each other and become friends.
It’s also refreshing to see that “looks” really didn’t factor into the start of this relationship, given that they never met before and false presumptions were made by both. Even their first impressions of one another didn’t scream “instant attraction” which is what made their growing connection all the sweeter.
The Perfect Slow Burn
As soon as I read the first page, I was just along for the ride with this story. I just let it take me on this slow, slow burn between the two leads, happy to just see where it was taking me.
This was such a different experience from other romance books that follow a predictable plot line, where you’re not really surprised by events that happen and can already see where its going and what the characters are going to do. That type of book can still be good and entertaining, but you’re not really surprised or wowed by anything.
This book however enthralled me and made me invested in the story just to see what these characters would do, say and write next. That is an incredible gift from an author and so skillful on O’Leary’s part to make that happen. This was not a formulaic romance novel!
Two Amazing Lead Characters
Leon broke the mold for me with what I look for in a book boyfriend and in a man.
He’s a man who’s soft, yet not. He’s aloof and yet so aware of what others around him are feeling and needing. He’s an introvert and yet others flock to him. What I love most is that there’s something so SAFE about him. How that feeling can be conveyed by words and his actions, I can’t put into words myself, but it was the overwhelming feeling I got from his character and is just one example of how I was floored by O’Leary’s writing talent.
At first Leon’s words (literally) were so very stunted at the beginning of the book. I didn’t understand it at first when the book turned to his POV because it was just so jarring. Yet this was such a unique, literal way to show how limited and empty his current life was, especially with girlfriend Kay. O’Leary’s writing from his POV however gradually changes as the book goes on to reflect Tiffy’s influence in his life and I think it’s genius.
My favorite scene with him is when he pokes Tiffy in the cheek, checking to see if she’s a real woman because he finds her so unbelievably wonderful. I LOVED this part because it seems like something a woman would do and say to a man in any other romance book.
Tiffy is such a fun, free spirit and a remarkable woman. Again, I was just in awe of O’Leary’s character development because you start off with one way of thinking about her (or at least I did) but then as the story continues, O’Leary weaves in more nuances so you learn a completely different part of what makes Tiffy, Tiffy.
Without giving away any spoilers, you come to learn about an underlying issue at play with Tiffy’s past relationship which I thought was so artfully well done in its depiction and portrayal. You’re not bashed over the head with its serious topic but really see how she absorbs and moves on from it, with Leon’s help.
Awesome Secondary Characters
I always have a soft spot for secondary characters that are just phenomenal in their own right and who can capture my attention and heart with their limited words and/or appearances. Mo and Gerty were fantastic friends to Tiffy and sort of have reverse stereotypical gender roles when it comes to their personalities.
Mo is the empathetic friend, always one to listen before sharing any suggestions. He’s so thoughtful in his approach to Tiffy and her feelings and really helps her sort out what she’s going through. Gerty loves Tiffy just as much but is a more in your face, speak before listening type of woman. She really comes through with a favor for Tiffy, but is almost a complete opposite to Mo.
Ricky, Leon’s brother, gives us another intriguing aspect to the overall story in the book. And I’m already begging O’Leary to bring us another book so we can see more to his story. And Leon’s patients, Holly and Mr. Prior, are amazing additions to the story as well.
A 5 star romance book for me is one where I get swept up in the story, fall in love with some amazing characters and am left in awe by an author’s craft and writing ability. This one knocked it out of the park and showed me why it was deserving of its nomination as a 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards Best Romance Book nominee.
A definite must read for anyone who loves a beautifully, well-written love story that is the sweetest slow burn romance.
Read my full review on my romance book blog, She Reads Romance Books, here: https://www.shereadsromancebooks.com/book-reviews/the-flatshare. You can join my list to get all my reviews and my list of top 10 Romance Book Boyfriends here: https://www.shereadsromancebooks.com/boyfriend-list-sign-up.
I fell in love with this book and its characters about 2 pages in – it’s the perfect warm, quirky, British romcom. Even though the story is generally light and romantic, it also manages to deal with some tougher subjects – such as abusive relationships and an unfair justice system – in a thoughtful and deep way. Felt like a cross between Liane Moriarty and Jojo Moyes. I absolutely loved it and can’t wait for more from this author!
Ah! I loved this book so much. Such a clever concept, and wonderful characters! I loved the quirky heroine, and Leon was just so….kind. I recommend this in a big way.
This book is wonderful! A slow burn of strangers to friends to lovers, with wit and pathos and a marvelous cast of supporting characters.
FLATSHARE is the perfect rom com escape from COVID-19. The relationship between Tiffany and Leon–two damaged people–is a glorious slow burn that develops as they ‘time share’ an apartment without meeting in person. They communicate through Post-It notes and leftovers, gradually guiding each other through two dark subplots–one involving an emotional abusive ex. Everything about this novel is spot on: substance and humor, light and dark, balanced out with a full cast of quirky characters. I can’t recommend it enough.
Loved this book! The characters are strong and original and the story is utterly romantic. Highly recommended.
I really loved this book, and prefer it over O’Leary’s other two because it leans heavier into romance than women’s fiction. I love the dynamics of our MCs learning about each other through post-it notes. The supporting characters are really fun, and I really loved the subplots.
I struggle with the conflict being strong enough during the crisis moment, but it hasn’t stopped me from relistening to this audiobook a few times. Love the narrators!
I loved the premise of this book and the ways the characters unfolded for us. What a delicious hero!! Not a steamy read, but that’s okay.
Such a fun read. The premise is great and allows for an interesting and fun story line that isn’t your typical romance.
I saw the description for this book because it was on sale and then realized my library had this audiobook to borrow. So I borrowed it and didn’t want to stop listening. The characters were fantastic- sweet and funny. And I loved how their relationship progressed. I’m a character driven reader and I really liked these characters, including many of the supporting characters.
The gist is that Tiffany needs a place to go and Leon is looking for a flatshare who will literally stay in the apartment when he’s not there (he works night at a hospice). They start communicating via notes until they finally meet, become friends and then their relationship evolves. As separate characters, you see how lovely they are. Together, they are adorable and sweet, sometimes a little awkward which I loved. Interacting with other characters show how big their hearts are. In general, this book was paced well, sweet and just overall fun. Definitely a fun listen. By the way, the audiobook, narrated by 2 new to me narrators,Carrie Hope Fletcher and Kwaku Fortune was definitely worth a listen. The narrators did a great job navigating through all the characters and I liked the “sound effect” where calls sounded a bit distant and tinnier to showcase that they were corresponding via a phone. The volume there went a little lower but I think it felt accurate and drew me in more!
This was such a lovely and unique story! This is not your typical rom-com. Of course, it has romance and comedy, but also, talks about an issue that is not usually approached in rom-com. Toxic boyfriends. I don’t want to give any spoilers so all I’m going to say is that I absolutely loved how Beth wrote about this.
The characters are amazing! I loved Tiffy so much and all her quirkiness. And I just loved Leon he’s just so lovable.
Also, I loved how the story developed. It wasn’t just about their love story. It was about friendship, healing, personal growth, and other sides stories quite fun. To be honest, at first, Leon POV’s writing style was a bit uncomfortable. But then I got used to it and it makes so much sense to his personality.
The settings, characters, and good writing contrive to make a very satisfying romance with some surprising depth!
The perfect set-up and character development of any upmarket fiction novel I’ve read. A real joy!
Introduced me to a new housing concept-flatshare! I guess it might work except for sharing the same bed.
I really enjoyed this book. From the start, the premise intrigued me. The main characters are flat-sharing (where they share an actual bed, just not at the same time. Is this actually a thing?) Furthermore, the two don’t even meet face-to-face for a huge chunk of the book. I know it seems odd, but it works fabulously in this book.
The mix of tropes, friends to loves and opposites attract is perfect! I also loved how the author tackles the imporatant topic of gaslighting.
This was one of those stories I couldn’t stop listening to, (which I recommened the audio book. As an Amrican I wouldn’t have know the accented referred to in the book) but I also didn’t want it to end.
If you’re a fan of real life/serious issies mixed with humor and romance, this books is for you!
Really enjoyed this one! Not a “traditional” romance by definition–more of a chick-lit mixed with romance. Great characters, fun premise, but some heavy subjects are dealt with. Love how it was done.
So much fun to read! Loved the characters and the premise. Highly recommend this one.
A unique premise. Light easy reading with likable characters. Nothing deep or too thought provoking. A pleasant diversion.