While I don't consider myself a true romance fan, I continue to dip my toes into the pool romantique occasionally. I like a good romance, but it needs to have some oomph. Some substance. Some depth and deeper elements and not just be an endless series of romps between the sheets with cliched characters, a predictable plot and a damsel in distress. No sir. No ma'am. Not for this gal!
The Flatshare, the debut novel of Beth O'Leary, caught my eye as I perused my library's digital collection last week. It has a cute cover but it was the premise of two strangers, Tiffy and Leon, timesharing a flat (and a bed) in London (one has it at night, one has it during the day) that piqued my interest. These two insist that through this agreement, never the twain shall meet … until they do. Kind of an oddball premise but it works and I thought it was cute how they initially communicate using post-it notes around their flat.
This is a sweet romance with a quirky couple but it's got that little something more. Leon and Tiffy (a slightly cringeworthy name) are the central characters and the story revolves around their individual journeys and how their relationship evolves over time. I loved the bumps they experience along the way and the secondary characters, particularly Tiffy's protective squad of friends, who see her through the rough and rougher patches of her life. They added levity and often said (perhaps in different words) what I was thinking. I also liked how deeper issues, such as emotional abuse, obsession, long-term effects of abuse, gaslighting and standing up for oneself, were woven into the plot. These are heavy, emotional subjects and I appreciated that they weren't slapped with quick fixes.
But sadly, it wasn't all roses and love notes. There is one wee thing that I didn't love (besides Tiffy's name) and that was the odd way Leon had of speaking where he regularly omitted pronouns. I think it was meant to make him quirky, but it was an odd choice and was more off-putting and distracting than endearing.
Overall, this is a charming and ridiculously impressive debut that balances heart and depth and is sprinkled with occasional snippets of snark and British humour. If you want a romance with a little more zip and a unique cast of characters that give you that close-knit extended family feel, then you'll want to pick up The Flatshare. I
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Author: Beth O'Leary
Genre: Romance, Light Fiction
Type: eBook
Source: Local Public Library Digital Collection
Publisher: Flatiron Books
First Published: May 28, 2019
Opening Lines: You've got to say this for desperation:
It makes you much more open-minded.
Book Description from GoodReads:
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.
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