The Flatshare by Beth 0’Leary | Flatiron Books | Book Review

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

Book Summary:

“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 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.”

Publication Date:

May 28th, 2019

Genre:

Contemporary Fiction

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Review:

The Flatshare is the debut novel by Beth O’Leary and came highly recommended from some of my book reviewing friends. I was excited to check it out as I was looking for something that was both light-hearted and engaging. The flatshare fit the bill and I was pleasantly surprised how well it balanced being a “romantic comedy” while also having enough depth. I was pleased to see that the author was able to incorporate some tougher issues in such a meaningful and powerful manner…this included both abusive relationships and prioritizing mental health. This book made me laugh and also get teary-eyed which was a great balance as a reader.

The Flatshare is told in a dual point of view, alternating between each chapter. I found the characters endearing and I enjoyed that the relationship grew slowly over time. This felt more realistic and allowed the relationship to come together in a more natural way than a lot of books seem to do in this kind of “accidental love story” situation. I loved the friendships in the Flatshare and this eccentric book is definitely one I would recommend adding to your summer reading list! I look forward to reading more of Beth O’Leary’s writing in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.