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The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary

“He's where my mind goes when I'm feeling my best.”


I was gifted this book for my birthday from one of my best friends. I’d heard about it, seen that it had been made into a series and it was on my ‘to read’ list - but I’ll be completely honest and say that a lot of books have been added to that recently and none, have in fact, been read.

This one started off slowly for me - I wanted to love it, but I think I’m out of practise at this reading malarkey and was unsure if some of the subjects covered would be a trigger for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those readers who wants a page full of ‘trigger warnings’ at the beginning of every book I read, but everyone has triggers, right? And I didn’t particularly want to tentatively peek out from my looooooong book slap slumber and be thrust head-first into a big trigger for me. I’m happy to say that all subjects were dealt with perfectly and I was able to sink fully into Tiffy and Leon’s world.



I really loved Tiffy’s whole attitude to life - she’s real and flawed and genuine and a teeny bit crazy. Her utter carefree attitude to how she dresses had me thinking of Lou Clark from Me Before You (which just so happens to be one of my favourite books of all time) and I found the more we got to know Tiffy, the more I loved her. The struggles she faces throughout the book had my heart clenching for her - struggles I am very familiar with, but for different reasons, which I think gave me a connection to her from the off.

Leon was more reserved and calm. He was brooding and troubled and seemed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. I adored his caring nature, the fact he gave so much of himself to his job and his brother that he ran on empty for himself was commendable. The difference in their personalities meant, I think, that the two worked well together. The famous ‘opposites attract’ was certainly true in this story.



For such an easy read, it covers some difficult themes exceptionally well which I personally think is really difficult to do. To get the balance of heart-wrenching emotions and lighthearted humour is a difficult line to walk, but Beth does it so well. There’s just the right amount of real-life meets romance in it too. The supporting characters were joyous to read and I’d love to see more from Richie one day.



The best bits for me, were of course the Post-it notes - it added excitement and romance. I couldn’t wait to see what they wrote on the next note and there’s just something insanely romantic about falling in love over something so old school as a post-it note and I just adored it. I also loved the Harry Potter references- how could I not!?

I’m giving this delightfully warm and funny book 5 stars and will be searching for another Beth O’Leary book to read soon! Thank you for ending my book funk, Beth.
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Location: Chelmsford, UK

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