Book Review :: The Flatshare, by Beth O’Leary

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary
ISBN: 1787474410
Published by Quercus
on 2020-03-10
Genres: Adult, Fiction, Romance
Pages: 394
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Tiffy Moore and Leon Twomey each have a problem and need a quick fix.

Tiffy’s been dumped by her cheating boyfriend and urgently needs a new flat. But earning minimum wage at a quirky publishing house means that her choices are limited in London.

Leon, a palliative care nurse, is more concerned with other people’s welfare than his own. Along with working night shifts looking after the terminally ill, his sole focus is on raising money to fight his brother’s unfair imprisonment.
Leon has a flat that he only uses 9 to 5. Tiffy works 9 to 5 and needs a place to sleep. The solution to their problems? To share a bed of course...

As Leon and Tiffy’s unusual arrangement becomes a reality, they start to connect through Post-It notes left for each other around the flat.

Can true love blossom even in the unlikeliest of situations?
Can true love blossom even if you never see one another?
Or does true love blossom when you are least expecting it?

Last updated on 8 November 2024

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The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

The Flat Share is definitely one of my favourite reads this year so far. Hands down.

Tiffy is still living in the flat of her ex-boyfriend and needs to move out, stat. But her job pays barely anything, so finding somewhere in London is no mean feat. With her friends Gerty and Mo, they finally find somewhere that might work for Tiffy: a flatshare with a man named Leon who works the night shift at the hospital.

The agreement? Leon has the flat between 9am and 6pm, and is away on weekends. Tiffy gets the flat during the nights on weekdays and the weekends. And they share a bed. One side each.

“Being nice is a good thing. You can be strong and nice. You don’t have to be one or the other.”

While Tiffy has never met Leon, the two communicate using sticky notes all over the apartment, leaving each other leftovers in the fridge, sharing food, discussing their odd neighbours in the stairwell. Meanwhile, Leon works nights at the hospital, sees his girlfriend on the weekends (if he’s not galavanting around the country trying to find the long-lost love of one of his patients), and getting phone calls from his brother who is wrongfully in prison. Tiffy works her day job at a publishing company, tries to avoid her ex-boyfriend, and eventually gets Gerty (a lawyer) onto Leon’s brother’s case. All without Tiffy and Leon meeting properly.

My thoughts on The Flatshare

I absolutely loved this book. It’s not something that I would usually go for but I had heard so many excellent things about it that I had to read it. I’m so glad I did.

The whole concept of flat share is actually bed-sharing when the other person isn’t here is pure genius, and I love both of the main characters to bits. O’Leary writes in a way that is humorous and light-hearted, and get managed to convey the emotions and hurt of characters and situations incredibly well.

While the story is predictable, that’s what you need in a novel sometimes; romantic fluff that you can call a mile away. It’s predictable but beautiful, and it is full of little bits of crazy (like the entire concept for starters), and fun quirky themes and events that bring it all together.

If you’re looking for a light-hearted (but with a few moments of hard-hitting emotions), romance book with a twist, get your hands on The Flatshare. You won’t regret it.

Update 2023: The Flatshare has been turned into a TV series, which I actually quite enjoyed!

Have you read The Flatshare? What did you think?