Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by bethanyangharads
The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary
4.0
Tiffany and Leon have never met, yet they share the same bed. Both of them are in need of some smart financial decisions, so it seems to make sense for Leon to advertise his flat for the hours he’s doing nurse night shifts. Tiffy, herself in a predicament after a nasty break up, doesn’t see the issue in saving some cash by sharing a bed. Over the months both of them communicate strictly through post-it notes, before their first fateful face-to-face meeting, where they can’t get off each other’s mind.
This was a fun adult read that takes place over many months, so you really got to see Leon and Tiffy’s relationship develop. I was 100% rooting for them the whole way through and I thoroughly enjoyed how their relationships developed from a place of friendship. In fact, the characters themselves were the highlight of this novel for me. You have the bright cheerful and loud Tiffy, juxtaposed against quiet and reserved Leon. But you also have Tiffy’s three best friends and Leon’s brother. Between these four mates you get to see that just a few close friends is more than enough, but also that no friendship comes without its hurdles.
I do have a few 8/10 sections in my review breakdown and that just boils down to not being hooked 100% of the time. Sure, I did read this cover to cover in one afternoon (it was a fun read!) but there were a few moments were I found myself waiting for the next ‘thing’.
Something I did appreciate, however, is that Tiffy’s antagonist is her stalker ex-boyfriend who was emotionally abusive. I didn’t like his abuse, obviously, but I liked seeing an author not resort to sexual assault as a form of trauma. Instead, O’Leary was able to show how dangerous ex-partners can be when they think they deserve the world. Gaslighting pricks.
Anyhoo, if you want a kinda cutesy romance book (read above paragraph, it gets a lil intense at spots), a novel where strangers develop into something more, or enjoy seeing people overcome life’s obstacles, consider this one.
Triggers include fat shaming, bad break-ups, controlling partners, a hospital setting with very sick patients from assorted illnesses, victim blaming, wrongful imprisonment, gaslighting, and a stalker ex-boyfriend.
As per the Australian maturity classifications, I would recommend this novel to mature audiences of age 16 and up.
This was a fun adult read that takes place over many months, so you really got to see Leon and Tiffy’s relationship develop. I was 100% rooting for them the whole way through and I thoroughly enjoyed how their relationships developed from a place of friendship. In fact, the characters themselves were the highlight of this novel for me. You have the bright cheerful and loud Tiffy, juxtaposed against quiet and reserved Leon. But you also have Tiffy’s three best friends and Leon’s brother. Between these four mates you get to see that just a few close friends is more than enough, but also that no friendship comes without its hurdles.
I do have a few 8/10 sections in my review breakdown and that just boils down to not being hooked 100% of the time. Sure, I did read this cover to cover in one afternoon (it was a fun read!) but there were a few moments were I found myself waiting for the next ‘thing’.
Something I did appreciate, however, is that Tiffy’s antagonist is her stalker ex-boyfriend who was emotionally abusive. I didn’t like his abuse, obviously, but I liked seeing an author not resort to sexual assault as a form of trauma. Instead, O’Leary was able to show how dangerous ex-partners can be when they think they deserve the world. Gaslighting pricks.
Anyhoo, if you want a kinda cutesy romance book (read above paragraph, it gets a lil intense at spots), a novel where strangers develop into something more, or enjoy seeing people overcome life’s obstacles, consider this one.
Triggers include fat shaming, bad break-ups, controlling partners, a hospital setting with very sick patients from assorted illnesses, victim blaming, wrongful imprisonment, gaslighting, and a stalker ex-boyfriend.
As per the Australian maturity classifications, I would recommend this novel to mature audiences of age 16 and up.