Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

22 reviews

alexiconic's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

really, this book did so much right. i loved the (side) characters and their relationship with our main characters, and the ways in which they brought color to the book and illuminated the main characters’ best attributes and flaws. 

the story built up our main characters with great delicacy and care. the book gave us so much slow buildup - and it worked.

and then came the mid-to-end part where everything was suddenly fast-paced. that conflict just hadn’t received the same careful buildup as the rest of the narrative. and it could really have been so much better if it had. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, and Violence

lahars_little_library's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Love love Love! This was so much deeper than I expected!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Stalking, and Mental illness

Moderate: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Confinement, Racism, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

Minor: Cancer, Vomit, Homophobia, War, Drug use, and Body shaming

clairewhitmore's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Mental illness

wilybooklover's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

Despite covering some very heavy topics (wrongful imprisonment, emotional abuse and gaslighting, hospice care), this was such a soft and heartwarming story. My heart is so full after reading this. I loved the modern take on an epistolary romance without relying on texts or email. I thought they met at exactly the right moment without dragging it out too much or killing the tension too soon. 

Leon and Tiffy were amazing and I absolutely loved them. They felt real and flawed and were adorable together. Leon is now one of my favourite heroes ever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Confinement, Mental illness, Violence, and Sexual content

Minor: Abandonment, Cancer, War, Death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Racism

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The Flatshare was my book club's first book of 2023 and I will say that I was not initially thrilled with the idea of a romance novel. That was shattered when I actually started reading it! The characters are loveable and real in a very millennial way, the "arrangement" in the heart of the plot is a bit on the nose, and the subplots are where a lot of the most interesting action happens. The "side" plot of Tiffy's

gaslighting and abuse by Justin

caught me off guard, as it reasonably would, and became the most emotionally charged part of the book for me. All in all, an incredible work and one I will love to reread!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Medical content, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Cursing, Sexual content, Alcohol, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Racism, Body shaming, Cancer, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Violence

Minor: Death, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Child death, and Dementia

sixthspring's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

laurajordensharris's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gaslighting, Stalking, Body shaming, Bullying, Sexual content, Infertility, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness

jennylarue's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don’t usually like dual perspective but this book did it SO well. It took me a minute but I really enjoyed the difference in writing styles. I read this book as a nice breath of rom com ness and it delivered just that. Main couple was compelling and developed  so naturally!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Terminal illness, Medical content, and Mental illness

internationalreads's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Stalking, Grief, Vomit, Sexual content, and Mental illness

ruby_the_gem's review against another edition

The toxic ex-boyfriend and the abusing relationship Tiffy had with him was too much for me to handle right now. How much he, his relationship with Tiffy, and the mental health problems he caused Tiffy come up is deceptively often for a book that is a romcom. Anyways, be forewarned that if obsessive, toxic ex-boyfriends and relationship trauma are triggering for you or make it difficult to consume a piece of media, this book is not for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Mental illness

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Stalking

Minor: Cancer