The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

This was so much more than I expected. Tiffy and Leon are flatmates that have never met. Leon works night shifts so only occupies the flat while Tiffy is out at work during the day. I thought I was in for a pretty light romance, but it managed to be much deeper with more developed characters and a fuller plot than I expected. I didn’t even expect to like this very much, but only a few chapters in I realised I was wrong about that. I was going to love this book. I didn’t want to put it down.

At first I found the writing style of the Leon chapters a bit hard to get into. A man of few words, he doesn’t tend to use personal pronouns, and his chapters are written reflecting that. I initially thought that very annoying. Once I got used to it though it was actually ok and it worked well. Tiffy and Leon’s voices are very different. Tiffy and Leon are very different. She’s an assistant editor for a publishing company specialising in DIY craft books, and is working on a book about crochet. Tiffy is a very colourful person with a quirky wardrobe. Leon is a palliative care nurse in a hospice. Quiet, definitely an introvert, and cares very deeply about the people who are important to him. They start a cute post-it note relationship, getting to know the stranger they live with in written form. Tiffy’s notes are usually three times the length of Leon’s.

Tiffy has recently gotten out of a bad relationship, and the reality of how emotional abuse affects someone is really well captured, at a level that suits this novel. Leon is all too familiar with bad relationships, growing up seeing his mother go through a whole string of them, so he’s understanding of what Tiffy is going through. There are some excellent love-to-hate characters in the book, including bad ex Justin, and some colleagues of Tiffy’s. There are also excellent characters to love. Tiffy’s friends, Leon’s brother, and some hospice patients. They all felt like such real people, often making me laugh thinking I know someone just like that. Overall a good cast of supporting characters.

So this turned out to be a really pleasant surprise, addressing some important topics, though not too deeply. This was Beth O’Leary’s debut novel, published in 2019. She since has another book out and another one coming soon. After reading The Flatshare I am expecting good things.

Posted by Lara

Catalogue link: The Flatshare