Tuesday 16 April 2019

Review: The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

Tiffy and Leon share a flat

Tiffy and Leon share a bed
Tiffy and Leon have never met...

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they're crazy, but it's the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy's at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.

But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven't met yet, they're about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window...

Review: Oh I just loved this book, I am so in awe of how this author managed to cover so many sub plots as well as the wonderful main romantic plot in the pages of just one book. This novel is so inclusive and sends such a positive message whilst covering real life issues, some of them not always pleasant. I don't know why I waited so long to read!

I love Tiffy as a character, I could identify with her. I loved her outlook on life and her sense of personal style. I could also identify with her on the bad ex boyfriend/bad break up front. Not enough people talk about what she's been through and so it was great to see it in the pages of a novel. 

Leon is also a great character. Too often in this type of novel, the Male lead has money from somewhere and we don't know where. Leon is a nurse who is struggling with money a little bit. He is loyal to his family (his brother and his mum) and he knows where he has come from. I also really like that he needs some quiet time after everything has been a bit hectic or work has been full on. You don't often see men admitting to this and yes I did fall in love with them both over the course of the novel!

Then we have the various sub plots going on. The obsessive ex boyfriend. I loved the fact that this is woven into the main storyline so cleverly, it is Tiffy's issues, but becomes part of the whole story and I love that it doesn't become the be all and end all of the whole book, it is dealt with very well. I liked Robbie as a side character and really held my breath every time there was news from him in prison. I also loved the plot involving a book launch and what the run up to publication looks like, it was a great insight and something I really enjoyed. We also have a hunt for a former lover and of course the patients that Leon deals with on a daily basis-just all so heartwarming. 

This book also deals with society's perception of what is means to be a woman. How if your proportions are larger than average, in any direction, you get comments or are seen as less 'feminie' I like the fact that this was included and as I have already mentioned I could really identify with this as a reader. This book also covers the fact that women get paid less in the work place and includes a romance between a white woman and a black man without making it a book about that whole thing. It was just accepted and the romance was wonderful.

In case you can't already tell, I loved this book and everything about it. I read the whole thing over the weekend and I really want more from this author, it was just fabulous-highly recommend!

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

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