The Flatshare: A Novel

Beth O'Leary

May 2019 · Sold by Flatiron Books

About this ebook

What if your roommate is your soul mate? A joyful, quirky romantic comedy, Beth O'Leary's The Flatshare is a feel-good novel about finding love in the most unexpected of ways.

Tiffy and Leon share an apartment. Tiffy and Leon have never met.

After a bad breakup, Tiffy Moore needs a place to live. Fast. And cheap. But the apartments in her budget have her wondering if astonishingly colored mold on the walls counts as art.

Desperation makes her open minded, so she answers an ad for a flatshare. Leon, a night shift worker, will take the apartment during the day, and Tiffy can have it nights and weekends. He’ll only ever be there when she’s at the office. In fact, they’ll never even have to meet.

Tiffy and Leon start writing each other notes – first about what day is garbage day, and politely establishing what leftovers are up for grabs, and the evergreen question of whether the toilet seat should stay up or down. Even though they are opposites, they soon become friends. And then maybe more.

But falling in love with your roommate is probably a terrible idea...especially if you've never met.

Ratings and reviews

4.5 stars What a wonderful debut novel! The Flatshare was such a sweet and emotional story that surprised me in the best way. I absolutely fell in love with the idea behind this book and was instantly intrigued by the tagline "What if your roommate was your soul mate?" Tiffy and Leon were such interesting characters and complemented each other so well, even though they seem to be opposites in every way. Tiffy is eccentric and has a tendency to overshare, while Leon is quieter and much more reticent. Their meet cute and intimate living situation are atypical, but all the awkwardness only endeared me more to the characters. I loved how a simple note exchange set in motion such huge changes for both of them. It had me asking myself if you really can get to know someone through the traces they leave behind? The author allowed Tiffy and Leon's friendship and relationship to develop naturally and I loved the slow burn between them. The story is told in dual POV, and I will admit that Leon's chapters took a bit of getting used to. I ended up loving his abbreviated speaking/writing style, however, and I really feel like it fit his character perfectly. Some of the Britishisms went over my head, but the author's sense of humor and witty banter had me gasping for air because I was laughing so hard. With all the laughs, there are some serious issues as well, and I felt that they were addressed very honestly. For example, Tiffy struggles for a large portion of the book with her past relationship. I appreciated that the author didn't rush through her healing or downplay the effect that emotional abuse can have on an individual as well as their friends and loved ones. I really loved how patient and supportive Leon and all of Tiffy's friends were. They stood by her and lifted her when she needed them, but what I loved best, is that ultimately, it was Tiffy who had (and did) save herself. The secondary characters really were amazing (please tell me a Richie book is in the works!) and added some wonderful comic relief at just the right moments. I was smiling ear to ear as I turned the last page, and Leon and Tiffy's story couldn't have ended in a cuter way. Definitely recommend this one and can't wait for more from Beth O'Leary. *I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book*

WOW! AMAZING BOOK! Definitely my favorites now, the amount of times I would catch myself smiling while reading was unexpected. the story layout and character development was absolutely brilliant. Can't express how much I loved this book!

About the author

Beth O’Leary worked in children's publishing before becoming a full time author. The Flatshare is her debut novel. The idea for The Flatshare came to Beth when her doctor boyfriend was doing long night shifts as part of his training and they could go weeks without seeing each other, but she could track his life by how many cups of coffee were left on the counter, by how much he’d eaten and whether the bookmark in his novel had changed locations. It made her wonder – what could you learn about someone if you lived together but never overlapped?