Review: The Flatshare | Beth O’Leary

This review is spoiler free.

“It was never home until you were there, Tiffy.”

Published: 2019, by Quercus.
Length: 10hrs 8mins (Narrated by Carrie Hope Fletcher, Kwaku Fortune)
Format: Audio-book
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Womens Lit, Chick Lit, Adult
Contains: Strong Language, Prison, Domestic Abuse. Abuse, Sexual Content, Violence

‘The Flatshare’ follows Tiffy Moore, a young woman who needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and is in need of cash, and fast. Their friends might think they’re crazy, but to them it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat in the day, and Tiffy occupies it on the night. It’s all too perfect, even though the pair have never met.

‘The Flatshare’ has been on my To-Read the shortest, finding it via Instagram as everyone was talking about this book. However, what pushed me to purchase it from Audible was the narrators: Carrie Hope Fletcher has been a huge literary inspiration of mine for years, and Kwaku Fortune has an incredibly soothing voice to me, so between them, it seemed like the perfect match to me. Needless to say, they both made this read worth it.

Tiffy Moore made for an absolutely wonderful protagonist. She’s bright, colourful and an all-round delight to read about. Her journey and development was incredibly inspiring, learning as she becomes more sure of herself and settles into her new life brilliantly. She has a wonderful support network, which comforts you throughout her rocky journey and discovers that she’s more capable than what she initially thought.
Leon Twomey made for another brilliant protagonist, narrating his life and own discovery as he overcomes obstacles that he never recognised he had. He was known for pushing his struggles down and aside, yet those around him eventually leads him to confront them and its beautiful to read. Both him and Tiffy are equally as inspiring and wonderful, managing to grasp the readers interest as they journey towards self discovery and their relationship with one another together.

The story itself moves at a gradual pace, overcoming multiple obstacles that keeps the tale interesting and fun. Although, it lacks on occasion, becoming slower, the narrators still manage to pull you through. The concept itself is incredibly entertaining, grasping the attention of the reader and holding it whilst watching the characters interact with one another; It’s a brilliant way of bringing strangers together and forcing them to interact. The story is told in the first person from two characters perspectives, which is a fun way of showing the same narratives from mixed perspectives and was one of this novel’s key strengths; the characters bounced off one another and it worked really well.

Overall, I deeply enjoyed this read. It was a fun risk taking a break from my usual genres and expanding my literature knowledge. This novel truly deserves the recognition it receives and I’ll definitely be looking into more from O’Leary in the future.

4/5