A review by mushmysteriesandmore
The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing tense 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

5.0

 Confession time! I had this book in paperback a while ago, it sat on my shelf and kept looking at it over and over and ignoring it until eventually, I donated it, unread (I know, I know, put the pitchforks down!)
Since then, I have read a couple of other Beth O’Leary books and loved them and the folly of my actions hit me full force. 
 
So I decided to get the audiobook version instead, read by Carrie Hope Fletcher as Tiffi and Kwaku Fortune as Leon, the flatmates who share a flat and a bed but have never met. I was so glad I did finally see sense and read this book.

The forced proximity trope takes on a whole new meaning here as Tiffi and Leon both share the same flat, just at different times. Leon is a palliative care nurse and works nights so he gets the flat in the daytime and Tiffi works for a book publisher and gets the flat nights and weekends and never the twain shall meet.

They correspond by post-it notes, starting with little things such as help yourself to leftovers or when is bin day until it advances and they share more about their personal lives with each other. Until inevitably they finally do meet (unexpectedly at first, the old walk-in on-someone in the shower ploy) and then make time to spend with each other until they are in fact dating.

Throw in an innocent brother in jail (Leon), an abusive ex (Tiffi), the search for a long-lost wartime friend (Leon’s patient) and some supportive and crazy friends (Tiffi) and you have a totally immersive story that you can’t stop reading. 
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