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A review by litwithleigh
The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary
4.0
Writing: different | Plot: fun but you gotta lean into it | Ending: MY HEARTTTTT!!!!
SYNOPSIS
Tiffy is getting out of a toxic relationship and needs a place to live, which leads to her "bed-sharing" with Leon.
MY OPINION
After loving [b:The Switch|45134200|The Switch|Beth O'Leary|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573576865l/45134200._SY75_.jpg|69811310] I decided to check out her debut and I was not disappointed. As I said above, you need to lean into the ridiculousness of the plot to enjoy it. Because if you step back and look at this logically, sharing a bed with some random man is absolutely bonkers insane. Living with a random man is already bonkers, but a man you NEVER met and just happen to sleep in the same bed with???? NAHHHHH!!! This is what Darwin was banging on about. Clearly, I leaned in and enjoyed the journey.
I liked the writing style for Leon's POV. It was different, and I can understand people being a lil throw off by it. She said subject verb object?? NAH you getting VERB and whatever else I throw in there. Tbh I'm one of those party poopers who doesn't typically enjoy the male love interests POV in a book. I think not knowing how they feel is part of the tension, and oftentimes (from the six romcoms I've read LOL), I find they're written for the 'feminine gaze'. I have a hard time believing any man is thinking about the delicious curve of her collarbone and how her hair is like ribbons of fire and sunlight. Probably because I only date sporty men and ribbons isn't in their vocab. Moving on....
I loved the post-it note convos and how their relationship came together. It was sweet, funny, and the tension was tightly wound. I also thought Beth did a great job getting deep with it regarding toxic relationships and PTSD. The brother's legal battles was a nice touch too. Overall, a very well-rounded book and impressive debut. It's too bad that the consensus is her books have gone downhill since. I can attest to that with the crapshow that is The No Show. Hopefully she can find her way back to her quirky roots.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, great balance of funny, light-heartedness and VERY serious topics, serious aspects were handled with grace and empathy, LOVEDDDD the post-it notes, and that ending... be still my beating heart!
Cons: to enjoy this you really have to ignore the reality of how dangerous it would be to bed-share with a rando man
SYNOPSIS
Tiffy is getting out of a toxic relationship and needs a place to live, which leads to her "bed-sharing" with Leon.
MY OPINION
After loving [b:The Switch|45134200|The Switch|Beth O'Leary|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573576865l/45134200._SY75_.jpg|69811310] I decided to check out her debut and I was not disappointed. As I said above, you need to lean into the ridiculousness of the plot to enjoy it. Because if you step back and look at this logically, sharing a bed with some random man is absolutely bonkers insane. Living with a random man is already bonkers, but a man you NEVER met and just happen to sleep in the same bed with???? NAHHHHH!!! This is what Darwin was banging on about. Clearly, I leaned in and enjoyed the journey.
I liked the writing style for Leon's POV. It was different, and I can understand people being a lil throw off by it. She said subject verb object?? NAH you getting VERB and whatever else I throw in there. Tbh I'm one of those party poopers who doesn't typically enjoy the male love interests POV in a book. I think not knowing how they feel is part of the tension, and oftentimes (from the six romcoms I've read LOL), I find they're written for the 'feminine gaze'. I have a hard time believing any man is thinking about the delicious curve of her collarbone and how her hair is like ribbons of fire and sunlight. Probably because I only date sporty men and ribbons isn't in their vocab. Moving on....
I loved the post-it note convos and how their relationship came together. It was sweet, funny, and the tension was tightly wound. I also thought Beth did a great job getting deep with it regarding toxic relationships and PTSD. The brother's legal battles was a nice touch too. Overall, a very well-rounded book and impressive debut. It's too bad that the consensus is her books have gone downhill since. I can attest to that with the crapshow that is The No Show. Hopefully she can find her way back to her quirky roots.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, great balance of funny, light-heartedness and VERY serious topics, serious aspects were handled with grace and empathy, LOVEDDDD the post-it notes, and that ending... be still my beating heart!
Cons: to enjoy this you really have to ignore the reality of how dangerous it would be to bed-share with a rando man