Reviews

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

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I really enjoyed this book, although it is a little removed from my usual reading matter.

Tiffy and Leon share a flat, they share a bed, but they have never actually met. Their relationship develops through post-it notes and thay quickly become part of each other's lives despite not knowing each other in person. There are serious issues in the book and sometimes the issues and the light hearted romance sit a little uneasily together but to be honest I was willing to suspend belief and read right through to the HEA which was inevitable.

This was the author's debut novel so I think there are some problems. A couple of the sub plots didn't really work for me, feeling shoe horned in for inclusivity purposes, and I hated the character of Katherin who seemed to me to strike a completely false note. I also wondered

Spoiler

what happened to Justin's fiancee who was mentioned as the reason Tiffy had to find a new place to live then completely vanished

. I also took on board some of the negative comments about Tiffy's friends

Spoiler

not trying to warn her about Justins abusive behaviour but as I understand that in these situations the victim is often so completely under her abusers control that she is likely to reject her friends and family rather than the abuser then I think Tiffy's group took the right stance, especially when one of them was a therapist

dreyuhreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing slow-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

2.5

no.

i HATED the way that leon’s inner monologue was written. HATED IT. for my office fans ‘why say lot word when few do trick,’ is literally all that leon’s pov was giving. i hated it so much i almost dnfed at 30 pgs. i kept going because i try to get a third of the way before dnfing, and then the story started getting better so i kept with it. that lasted all of like 20 pages. by this point i was over halfway through when i started suffering through the book again and decided to just finish it.

negatives aside there were positives.
some of the supporting characters were great and really played a big role in my continuing of the book. the fmc has some issues that i think she works through quite nicely. the mmc is sweet and funny at times (usually through tiffy’s pov, because again, his is excruciatingly terrible). there are also some subplots that take place that are interesting and are a nice way to move some of the story along, i.e. Johnny White’s. the characters are all imperfect, but not in a way that makes you hate them, but in a way that feels realistic. i even enjoyed the authors writing style when it came to tiffy’s pov. there are also a lot of very cute moments between out mcs that made me smile throughout.

overall, this book was not for me, and i should’ve trusted my instincts to dnf it. i’m not gonna recommend it to ppl, but it wasn’t the worst thing i’ve ever read.

the only thing i will say is spice level is 1/5 and nothing graphic. if you like a closed door romance this is for you. okay. that’s the only recommendation of this book i will make.

benitat's review

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funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Thoroughly entertaining !

teresarwalsh's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing

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

4.0

It was fun! A nice quick romance.

danigryffindor515's review

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

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

4.25

niararain's review

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emotional hopeful informative tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

jay_mack9712's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

This was delightful! I loved it! It is certainly a slow burn but the romance is worth the wait! I love how the characters dealt with their past trauma and how they used each other to grow and learn! The group of ragtag friends was also a delight and I enjoyed their interactions too! It just had some many English quirks and quirkiness in general that it just added so much to the story!