Review: The Flatshare – Beth O’Leary

My rating: 5/5 stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Their friends think they are crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one bed flat during the day as he works nights, and Tiffy has it the rest of the time. However, with an obsessive ex-boyfriend, Leon’s girlfriend and a wrongly imprisoned brother, and the fact they haven’t met, it seems this flatshare is more complicated than expected.

My thoughts

I am kind of late to the party with this one. I don’t think there are many people who haven’t already read this book. As soon as I received my copy I was desperate to start it, and I must say, it didn’t disappoint.

I don’t even know where to start with this review. I have been reading books so quickly so far this month and I keep thinking the next book I read will surely slow me down. But no, I finished this book within 24 hours!

This was such an easy book to read which may have been why I finished it at such speed. I honestly couldn’t put it down and was so wrapped up in the lives of Tiffy and Leon. I think the first person dual narrative style of this book really elevated it and is a style that I enjoy in romance novels in particular. Tiffy’s voice in the novel was light and colloquial with flowing prose. Leon’s voice was more disjointed and reflected his busy life as a palliative care nurse. This difference in the writing style for them both aided in the process of separating the characters.

The characterisation in the novel was beautifully done. I loved both Tiffy and Leon and was rooting for them to get together, or even meet! However, it wasn’t just the characters of Tiffy and Leon that I loved, I honestly loved them all (other than the abusive ex-boyfriend) and I want Rachel to also be my best friend. No character in this novel was wasted and they all had elements of humour that helped keep the novel mostly lighthearted, even when dealing with difficult themes.

Although time passed quickly within the novel, the whole thing took place over just under a year. Yet it doesn’t feel like chunks of time are missing. Even when Tiffy and Leon had not met they were exchanging Post-It notes about their lives or things within the flat. This helped to keep the plot moving and filled in any periods of time that may feel like they were missing. Tiffy and Leon don’t meet for around the first half of the novel but the exchanging of notes made sure there was no disconnect in their relationship of sharing a flat.

Having Leon’s brother wrongly imprisoned added another layer to this novel that made me enjoy it more. As a law student I enjoyed the legal side of dealing with Richie and would love to be as put together as Gerty as a law professional. I think that this was expertly done by Beth as there was not so much of it that it became boring and I felt it added to the novel rather than being separate to the main plot.

I honestly cannot recommend this novel enough. If you are in a reading slump I feel like this would be the perfect novel to help you out of it. It is lighthearted, humorous and an all-round enjoyable read that will definitely leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy.

Do you have a suggestion for the next book to add to my bookshelf? Let me know in comments.