The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

Quercus | January 2020 | 400 pgs

Source: Purchased

Tiffy Moore has broken off with her boyfriend and she needs a flat fast. With her limited finances, she could only rent a cheap flat but most of the units she's seen are either messed up or so run-down that she wanted to give up hope until one ad caught her attention. It's a one-bed flat and though the rental meets her budget, she has to share not only the flat but the bed as well. Before you think otherwise, the rental requirements are pretty decent and straightforward. That is, Tiffy will occupy the flat during the evenings as she'll be at work in the day. She's not met up with the flat owner but she's went through all the necessary procedures with the owner's girlfriend who helps oversee the whole arrangement. Now her accommodation problem has finally resolved and she's happy although her two close friends think she's crazy to accept such an arrangement. 

Leon Twomey works as a palliative care nurse and since he mostly work night shifts and that he needs money badly for his brother's legal case (there's a little backstory how he was wrongly convicted), he figured renting out his one-bed flat wouldn't pose too much of an issue. His girlfriend has met up with the tenant personally so there wouldn't be any insecurities or jealousy issue standing between them. Communication-wise, it's simple too as they'll leave Post-it notes to each other. But, as much as these two people trying their best to get on with their lives, fate and circumstances seem to have their own plans and since this book is a romance, you could very well imagine what'd happen next. 

Cliché or not, I love it when a romance makes me feel some warmth and romantic (but of course), moved and some humanity that move beyond the characters' relationship. This book has it all. I liked how Tiffy and Leon didn't know each other in the beginning and instead, communicate and get to know more about each other through their little notes here and there. I also liked it that they're able to see eye to eye on several things and being there for each other during their most vulnerable moments despite their differences (never mind if their first meetup was disastrously embarrassing but hey, nothing is perfect, right?) And finally, how helping others (these secondary characters are fun to read as well) together have sort of bring them even closer and made them see through many things in general, including their own. All in all, this book was an entertaining and an escapism read and I welcome this little distraction especially in these gloomy times.

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