TW: emotional abuse, gas-lighting, stalking, harassment, implication of sexual abuse
WHERE OH WERE DO I EVEN START WITH THIS REVIEW.
This book is probably one of the most hyped book over on #bookstagram for this year. If you have been following me for a while you will not that A) I am not really a fan of romance books, and B) I tend to avoid hyped books like the plague because they never live up to the hype. So I have been avoiding The Flatshare with some passion BUT a lot of people whose reviews I trust and who have similar tastes to mine kept recommending it, and I came across an exclusive edition in Waterstones which is signed, with extra deleted scenes, and a beautiful dark pink sprayed edges. So I gave in. I bought it. Read it in one day. AND FELL IN LOVE WITH EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.
Beth O’Leary is one of those incredible authors who can make you want to cry at happy points in a book. Her writing is so incredibly emotive but descriptive; I could really imagine everything that is happening and picture the characters in front of me. Not only that but the world and the secondary characters are so incredibly detailed and they add so much more to the story. They all have a depth to them and just made me love the story even more. This is a romance book, but it never feels cliche or like a typical romance. It is incredibly heart-warming, and although there are some moments that are really light and fluffy, the undercurrent of the book is really serious and Tiffy and Leon are both dealing with really difficult issues in their own lives. I was utterly charmed by this book and just wish I had read it sooner.
I love the format of the book; we alternate perspectives between Tiffy and Leon but the way in which each chapter is written is so different to reflect the personalities of both characters. Tiffy is quirky and chatty and her chapters are full of life and dialogue, whereas Leon is more reserved and quiet and somehow O’Leary manages to represent this through his chapters. I’m honestly inspired by the way in which she does it because it adds such a depth to the main characters and feels really unique to me. I am honestly in shock that this is her debut novel because it is just incredible and has shot to my top ten list. The way in which she writes is so captivating that I would struggle to understand how you don’t fall in love with Tiffy and Leon straight away. Honestly within 100 pages I had laughed, cried, and felt overjoyed with happiness.
This book is incredibly uplifting and is about Tiffy and Leon’s strength, but there are also some really serious topics in this book and O’Leary deals with them so sensitively, but also incredibly realistically. Tiffy has recently been dumped by the main she loved; this has happened before so Tiffy believes that they’ll get back together soon, but when she learns that he is engaged her heart breaks even further. We follow Tiffy on her journey to overcome the breakup, but also her realisations that this relationship was abusive. O’Leary does an incredible job of depicting this journey for Tiffy; it’s a slow process and accepting the truth is very hard, and it is so painful to watch Tiffy go through this journey. Her uncertainty and constantly questioning herself and what she remembers is had, but luckily for Tiffy she has Leon and an INCREDIBLE GROUP OF FRIENDS. Oh god more on her friends later because they are A++++ friends. I loved Tiffy’s strength throughout this book and it really shone through throughout her journey.
Leon is also going through a hard time. His brother Richie (another amazing character) in currently serving time in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Leon is trying to get money to pay for a solicitor who won’t return his calls, and also deal with his girlfriend who wants all his time and doesn’t believe that Richie is innocent. Leon has such a big heart; he’s a palliative care nurse on top of this but he never once complains or moans, he gets on with life and provides so much incredible support to those around him (including Tiffy). Leon continues to persevere to support his brother and has such unwavering loyalty to him that I am desperate for my own Leon. Luckily for Leon, Tiffy’s good friend Gerty is a lawyer and agrees to look into Richie’s case, and quickly realises all the lack of evidence against him and rallies to get him out. Leon’s utter surprise that Tiffy believes in Richie and wants to help is staggering. Tiffy and Leon utterly complete each other and now I want to find my own flat-mate and share post it notes with them.
The surrounding cast is also incredible. Mo, Gerty, Rachel, Katherin, Richie, Holly, Mr Prior, and even Johnny White. They are all so fleshed out and I loved every single one of them and what they bought to the story. I fell in love with Richie whilst he was dictating the post-it note to Tiffy. I just felt that he was an incredible strong and resilient person, but also so kind. When we learn at the end that he’s stacked and well over 6ft I fell in love even more; friendly giants have my heart. Mo and Gerty are the kind of friends that everyone needs; no nonsense friends who are so supportive but will also tell you what you need to hear. They do it in such different ways; Mo is gentle whereas Gerty is more of a battleaxe but they compliment each other so well. Rachel is honestly a boss bitch; the way she takes Martin to task just had me streaming with laughter. I just found it incredible how O’Leary manages to put such depth to so many characters, and have them shine through constantly. The less said about Justin and Martin the better; utter knobs. Kay is a tricky one; I do feel some sympathy for her because she clearly loved Leon and felt she was loosing him, but she was also an utter bitch about Tiffy and the fact that she doesn’t believe in Richie – she’s out.
I would honestly read so many sequels about all these characters, and now i’m even tempted to re-read the book already. Also there are so many Harry Potter references – what is no to love!!
I have so many favourite moments; the post it notes they share, Rachel shouting at Martin, Tiffy and Leon shouting to one another from the balcony and below, AND THE ENDING. MY GOD THE ENDING. I’m not going to spoil it because it’s amazing BUT YOU WILL BE SO HAPPY.
This book was an utter surprise for me; watching Tiffy and Leon fall in love through sharing post-it notes and never meeting just grabbed my heart straight away and I am so so happy that I read this book. I implore you to read it because it needs to be read by everyone.
WHERE OH WERE DO I EVEN START WITH THIS REVIEW.
This book is probably one of the most hyped book over on #bookstagram for this year. If you have been following me for a while you will not that A) I am not really a fan of romance books, and B) I tend to avoid hyped books like the plague because they never live up to the hype. So I have been avoiding The Flatshare with some passion BUT a lot of people whose reviews I trust and who have similar tastes to mine kept recommending it, and I came across an exclusive edition in Waterstones which is signed, with extra deleted scenes, and a beautiful dark pink sprayed edges. So I gave in. I bought it. Read it in one day. AND FELL IN LOVE WITH EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.
Beth O’Leary is one of those incredible authors who can make you want to cry at happy points in a book. Her writing is so incredibly emotive but descriptive; I could really imagine everything that is happening and picture the characters in front of me. Not only that but the world and the secondary characters are so incredibly detailed and they add so much more to the story. They all have a depth to them and just made me love the story even more. This is a romance book, but it never feels cliche or like a typical romance. It is incredibly heart-warming, and although there are some moments that are really light and fluffy, the undercurrent of the book is really serious and Tiffy and Leon are both dealing with really difficult issues in their own lives. I was utterly charmed by this book and just wish I had read it sooner.
I love the format of the book; we alternate perspectives between Tiffy and Leon but the way in which each chapter is written is so different to reflect the personalities of both characters. Tiffy is quirky and chatty and her chapters are full of life and dialogue, whereas Leon is more reserved and quiet and somehow O’Leary manages to represent this through his chapters. I’m honestly inspired by the way in which she does it because it adds such a depth to the main characters and feels really unique to me. I am honestly in shock that this is her debut novel because it is just incredible and has shot to my top ten list. The way in which she writes is so captivating that I would struggle to understand how you don’t fall in love with Tiffy and Leon straight away. Honestly within 100 pages I had laughed, cried, and felt overjoyed with happiness.
This book is incredibly uplifting and is about Tiffy and Leon’s strength, but there are also some really serious topics in this book and O’Leary deals with them so sensitively, but also incredibly realistically. Tiffy has recently been dumped by the main she loved; this has happened before so Tiffy believes that they’ll get back together soon, but when she learns that he is engaged her heart breaks even further. We follow Tiffy on her journey to overcome the breakup, but also her realisations that this relationship was abusive. O’Leary does an incredible job of depicting this journey for Tiffy; it’s a slow process and accepting the truth is very hard, and it is so painful to watch Tiffy go through this journey. Her uncertainty and constantly questioning herself and what she remembers is had, but luckily for Tiffy she has Leon and an INCREDIBLE GROUP OF FRIENDS. Oh god more on her friends later because they are A++++ friends. I loved Tiffy’s strength throughout this book and it really shone through throughout her journey.
Leon is also going through a hard time. His brother Richie (another amazing character) in currently serving time in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Leon is trying to get money to pay for a solicitor who won’t return his calls, and also deal with his girlfriend who wants all his time and doesn’t believe that Richie is innocent. Leon has such a big heart; he’s a palliative care nurse on top of this but he never once complains or moans, he gets on with life and provides so much incredible support to those around him (including Tiffy). Leon continues to persevere to support his brother and has such unwavering loyalty to him that I am desperate for my own Leon. Luckily for Leon, Tiffy’s good friend Gerty is a lawyer and agrees to look into Richie’s case, and quickly realises all the lack of evidence against him and rallies to get him out. Leon’s utter surprise that Tiffy believes in Richie and wants to help is staggering. Tiffy and Leon utterly complete each other and now I want to find my own flat-mate and share post it notes with them.
The surrounding cast is also incredible. Mo, Gerty, Rachel, Katherin, Richie, Holly, Mr Prior, and even Johnny White. They are all so fleshed out and I loved every single one of them and what they bought to the story. I fell in love with Richie whilst he was dictating the post-it note to Tiffy. I just felt that he was an incredible strong and resilient person, but also so kind. When we learn at the end that he’s stacked and well over 6ft I fell in love even more; friendly giants have my heart. Mo and Gerty are the kind of friends that everyone needs; no nonsense friends who are so supportive but will also tell you what you need to hear. They do it in such different ways; Mo is gentle whereas Gerty is more of a battleaxe but they compliment each other so well. Rachel is honestly a boss bitch; the way she takes Martin to task just had me streaming with laughter. I just found it incredible how O’Leary manages to put such depth to so many characters, and have them shine through constantly. The less said about Justin and Martin the better; utter knobs. Kay is a tricky one; I do feel some sympathy for her because she clearly loved Leon and felt she was loosing him, but she was also an utter bitch about Tiffy and the fact that she doesn’t believe in Richie – she’s out.
I would honestly read so many sequels about all these characters, and now i’m even tempted to re-read the book already. Also there are so many Harry Potter references – what is no to love!!
I have so many favourite moments; the post it notes they share, Rachel shouting at Martin, Tiffy and Leon shouting to one another from the balcony and below, AND THE ENDING. MY GOD THE ENDING. I’m not going to spoil it because it’s amazing BUT YOU WILL BE SO HAPPY.
This book was an utter surprise for me; watching Tiffy and Leon fall in love through sharing post-it notes and never meeting just grabbed my heart straight away and I am so so happy that I read this book. I implore you to read it because it needs to be read by everyone.