The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary

It seems being limited on what you can do and where you can go was just what I needed to finally get my head stuck into a book or two again. I feel like my reading pace is slowly creeping back to pre-motherhood levels and I am really enjoying making time to sit down and read more again. I recently finished The Flat Share, a very popular book by Beth O'Leary; here are my thoughts on this Sunday Times bestseller.

The Back:

Tiffy and Leon share a flat

Tiffy and Leon share a bed

Tiffy and Leon have never met....

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they're crazy, but it's the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat whilst Tiffy's at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time. 

But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven't met yet, they're about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out of the window...

At first, I was really sceptical as I started to open myself up to the complicated worlds of Tiffy and Leon. Their living arrangements are far from perfect - yet equally sublime -, and to me, it was a really unrealistic format to have the characters in. Yet despite not quite being able to believe that anyone would find themselves renting a flat in this way (although, this is 2020 and you could probably easily prove me wrong), I couldn't help but find myself drawn in. 

The dynamic between two people who have never met, yet are so intimately connected, is unlike something I've come across in a book before. I was left willing them to accidentally cross paths, and hoping that showdown conversations would be had with characters needing a swift exit. But it's the unique relationship between Tiffy and Leon that kept me reading - I wasn't overly entranced by the writing and didn't really care overall what happened to who. It was more a 'fly on the wall' type of interest which spurred me on to keep reading; I needed to know what happened if and when Tiffy and Leon met.

I can see why it's been such a popular read, it's quite easy to get into and one you can pick up and put down at your leisure, the story not so complicated you have to give yourself a quick recap. I wasn't as enthralled as big fans seem to have been, but I wouldn't rule out reading another book by Beth O-Leary.

Have you read The Flat Share? Did you love it as much as everyone else, or was it not your cup of tea? Let me know over on Instagram @TattooedTealady where I love talking books, and you can also catch me on Twitter @TattooedTealady and over on the Tattooed Tealady Facebook page.