I gave The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary a 3.0/5 stars. This contemporary romance story was a bit flat and dry for me. It was also slow but I do recommend it for romance readers to give it a try.
Here are my uncensored thoughts while reading:
In chapter 1 we learn of the unfortunate circumstances of Tiffy and how she needs a cheap place to live fast. I’m glad that Leon also has a POV. I enjoy watching both sides fall in love.
When Tiffy starts exchanging notes with Leon it starts our a bit boring and mundane and I didn’t care too much about the topics they were choosing since they’re err so pragmatic in nature.
A strange thing to point out is that the font size of the edition I have is abnormally small. It makes me wonder if they were all printed this way. But in case you struggle reading fine print, you may need to grab some reading glasses.
Sidenote: There’s a bunch of unnecessary small talk that slows the pacing and distracts the plot from what matters.
Page 107 is a game changer that I’m grateful for. Random thought: I’m glad that a contemporary character’s brother is in prison. It helps make them feel more real so their lives aren’t always perfect.
At chapter 27 I’m feeling like the dialogue exchanges are too stiff for my liking.
Things shifted again in chapter 28 and we have the classic accidentally nudity scene.
At the halfway point I’m having trouble with the lack of white space on the page. This usually shows that it’s a more burdensome narration with heavier exposition. Also, all the back and forth text messages almost make me nauseous reading it. Each one has the time of text and everything. It doesn’t flow very well.
After 325 pages, at the conclusion, I felt as if this novel could’ve been half the length and accomplished the same goal. I recommend this for those who like love letters, messages and texts but overall the way it was written wasn’t my style.
Cassie Swindon 