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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It’s no great surprise that I LOVE a good rom-com read. And THE FLATSHARE by Beth O’Leary did not disappoint.
Tiffy just went through a tough break-up (finally) and needs a (cheap) place to live; Leon’s brother is in trouble and her needs an infusion of cash to help. And thus, the scene is set for our two heroes to…share a one-bedroom apartment, even a bed, without ever seeing each other.
Okay, it sounds contrived but I promise, it works.
The two have opposite work schedules and don’t meet for months. Instead, they communicate by post-it note.
Tiffy is a larger-than-life character who makes me want to go shop at vintage stores. Leon is a hospice nurse who is kind and sensitive. He CRIES in public in this book and I love him for it. I love a “beta” hero. Alpha heroes are okay but in real life, we’d probably murder them in their sleep because they are way too “extra,” as the kids say.
This book made me laugh and sigh. O’Leary also tackles emotional abuse/gaslighting in a thoughtful way that’s not expected in a rom-com. It added a deeper layer to the story that kept my interest.
Add in quirky, lovable side characters, prison phone calls, an over-the-top ex-hippy, and a lot of crocheting and it all came together for a great read.
Contains: Mild steaminess, some language and adult situations. PG-13 rating.
5/5 stars
Number of Ugly-cries: 1
Utterly charming. This book is a slow burn for sure. I don’t think it can be any other way considering that the protagonists share a flat at alternate times. There only interaction being Post-It notes they leave one another. The story that goes on around them amps up the drama – an unfairly imprisoned brother, a crazy and manipulative ex-boyfriend, and an emerging crochet queen. This was a truly fun read and the perfect breather with a nice hot mug of apple cider during this crazy holiday season.
If I could give this book and author 10 stars I would its absolutely fabulous.
This was a new author for me and this author did not disappoint. I absolutely loved the book and the story. You can see both of the characters point of view which I always like. The characters Leon and Tiffy end up having a flatshare when there both going through stuff, but they don’t actually end up physically seeing each other which is very intriguing. They only communicate via post it notes. This story is so lovely and sweet, I really loved them both as the author describes them, and i was rooting for them. The story is one I just couldn’t put down a real page turner and i was desperate to see what happened next. I felt like I wanted to be friends with them. I loved the story from the get go. The author captures the scene perfectly to help you visualize and it’s very emotional with ups and downs. Its a beautiful, funny heartwarming love story and I would highly recommend this author and look forward to her next book.
A delightful read!
Wow, I enjoyed this book! Though the general premise of sharing a bed with a stranger is utterly repellent, I was hooked on the book from early on thanks to the two different voices of the hero and heroine, and just genuinely enjoyed the small details of their lives and getting to know Leon and Tiffy. They’re a delight.
A bit different to what I was expecting, but in a good way. Interesting concept for the book which grabbed me and made me want to read more, and I think the author added lots of plot twists to keep it interesting! Highly recommend…
The premise of this book is so unique. It was cute, quirky and very British. Tiffy and Leon’s story was utterly delightful. I smiled and swooned my way through this one.
This clever strangers-as-roommates romantic comedy surprises with lots of heartfelt and heart-wrenching twists and turns toward a happy ending.
I loved the concept of this book and happily enjoyed how it played out. Leon’s POV narrative style is a little odd and that took me a bit to get used to, but I really liked the different issues that both Leon and Tiffy had to deal with as they came together. Great characters. In the end a feel-good romance that I’d probably read again in the future when I need it. 🙂
Side note: I like that O’Leary gave Leon a non-white identity and addressed, albeit in small ways, the issues surrounding Leon’s ethnic or racial heritage, but do think it would have been better to address it more head on.
I loved this book! Very well written and fun to read. I enjoyed all the characters! Read it!!
Fun, quirky, romantic read. I highly recommend The Flatshare to fans of romantic comedy!
Such a charmer! I couldn’t stop reading this book, and yet I never wanted it to end.
I will admit, the story started at a slower pace. I think that was possibly due to the story structure and the initial epistolary meet-cute through post-it notes. I desperately wanted this couple to meet and had to wait through their unique slow-building friendship. So, it may have been a slow start, but I enjoyed every single minute of it. I was never bored and the reward of Tiffy and Leon’s romance was worth the slow-build. The story was full of great banter between Tiffy and her friends, Leon and his brother, and of course, the sometimes awkward, but always endearing interactions between Tiffy and Leon. I was attracted to this novel before release by an enticing description and it proved to be just what I wanted.
My wonderful but crazy neighbor loaned me the paperback….
Crap on a cracker…it’s one of the best books by a new author that I’ve read this year.
This book had so much depth and character. Layers that were so heart warming and REAL.
Leon and Tiffy will forever be in my heart.
I really hope the authors continues with the secondary characters having books.
Richie..give me RICHIE!
~BREAKDOWN OF RATINGS~
Plot~ 5/5
Main Characters (hero/heroine)~ 5/5
Secondary Characters~ 5/5
The Feels~ 5/5
Pacing~ 5/5
Addictiveness~5/5
Angst~ 5/5
Steam/Hotness/Chemisty ~ 5/5
Theme or Tone~ 5/5
Flow (Writing Style)~ 5/5
Backdrop (World Building)~ 5/5
Originality~ 5/5
Ending~ 5/5
Book Cover~ Perfect Simplicity
Series~ Stand-alone
Source~ Paperback Borrowed from crazy neighbor
Would I read more from the author? Yes
Would I recommend this book? Yes
A first timer with this author and Beth O’Leary did not disappoint. I saw this novel and it peaked my interest as to what it was about. I saw a movie some time ago where this man and woman shared a flat in London, never met and later became a couple. Hmmm, so I wanted to have a stab at this to see if it reminded me of that movie. Unfortunately, it did not.
The Flatshare is a delightful comfy cozy contemporary romance story. You can’t help but love Tiffany and Leon. The characters were lovely and I really enjoyed the book. It had a quirky and engaging plot and the communication between Tiffany and Leon was beautiful. Tiffany was inspirational and Leon was kind and romantic at heart. There is much dialogue in the beginning where each have their POVs where they were completely oppposites but complimented one another. It was not until halfway through the book when the hero and heroine meets. The other characters in the story were well-developed that helped round out the whole story. Also, I loved seeing the H/h’s friendship and relationship developing naturally.
This was an audiobook listen that was refreshing because the narrators spoke very much in that Londoner dialect which I love to hear. I truly loved how the author allowed the heroine time to heal from what seemed to be emotional abuse and how it affected not only her but her friends and loved ones.
This reader loved the style, plot, cast of characters, sense of humor, wittisism and the romance in a nutshell. There were times I caught myself laughing and times tugging at my heart. I highly recommend listening to this story by Beth O’Leary,
The Flatshare is a super cute and quirky story. I loved the post it notes. Great narration made it even more entertaining. An awesome epilogue was the perfect icing on the cake!
-5 Stars!-
I’m not entirely finished and it’s already one of the best books I’ve read. It is absolutely engaging and charming and I LOVE it.
A wonderful book with a different take on flat sharing.
Funny, original, and endearing, Tiffy and Leon’s lovestory should not be missed! Apart from their unique epistolary romance (via Post It notes), which is sweet and engaging, their respective backstories and side plots of family, work, and friends keep the reading wanting more.
The Flatshare is original, charming, warm and properly funny. I loved it.