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ClareR (5711 KP) rated The Flatshare in Books

Sep 1, 2019

The Flatshare

Beth O'Leary | 2019 | Contemporary, Romance

8.7

(9 Ratings)

Book Rating

A great feel-good story - and who knew I liked romance?!

In The Flatshare, Tiffy and Leon share a flat and a bed, and yet they’re never in the flat or bed at the same time. This is the only way for Tiffy to be able to afford to live in Central London, and Leon has his own financial reasons for sharing his flat.

Tiffy has recently split up with her rich boyfriend, and she has to leave his flat. Her friends offer her their sofa, but Tiffy realises that she needs her independence (and a decent bed!) - even if it is a bit of an odd arrangement. Actually, when I was reading about it in the book, it didn’t seem at all unreasonable!

Tiffy is a great character. She’s an assistant editor for a publisher specialising in Arts and Crafts, and she’s a real individual - in both her dress and her attitude towards life. She’s also discovering that her ex-boyfriend may not have been as lovely as she thought.

Leon wants someone to share his flat so that he can pay the legal fees for his brothers court appeal. He works the permanent night shift at a local hospice as a nurse (the pay is better for this shift), and he’s a man of few words. He loves his job and he’s very caring towards his patients. And he’s a lovely man.

I really enjoyed this. It’s not your typical rom-com. I would say that there’s a serious side to it as well. I did laugh a lot, but I also worried along with Leon about his younger brother, and joined Tiffy’s friends in their dislike of her decidedly dodgy ex.

So if you’re not usually in to rom-coms, this might just be the book for you too. It was a really very pleasant surprise!

Many thanks to a Readers First for my copy of this book.

Kudos

Kristy H (1252 KP) Sep 3, 2019

Oh this was so good!

Kudos

Becs (244 KP) rated A Wrinkle in Time in Books

Oct 2, 2019

Genre: Fiction, literary classic, children’s, young adult, science fiction.

Audience: children – young adult.

Reading level: middle school.

Interests: science fiction, fantasy, mythical creatures

Style: Fantasy Sci-Fi

Point of view: Third Person with a mix of first person.

Difficulty reading: Not at all! As easy as eating a piece of cake.

Promise: Ground-breaking science fiction.

Quality: Like a banana split with extra sprinkles and a cherry on top on a hot day. 🙂

Insights: I absolutely kick myself in the a** for the not reading this sooner. I think everybody should read it, no matter how old you are. And I didn’t know it was part of a 5 book series until today! SAY WHATTTT!!!??? I’m definitely purchasing the complete series brand new (the copy I have is my mother’s and it’s old and ragedy).

Ah-Ha Moment: THE ENTIRE BOOK. No joke. Like I wasn’t expecting the main character to be a girl, let alone so young and to have such an ordinary family. You don’t see that typically!

Favorite Quotes: “Like and equal are not the same thing at all.” – This is great, especially with our history as human beings. We need to be seen as equals not just ‘like’.

“Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.” – Be true to yourself, for there is nobody like you in the entire universe.

“Experiment is the mother of knowledge.” – You can’t just go into life expecting to know everything and how it’s all going to end. You have to experiment because then you gain the knowledge that others may have not known.

Aesthetics: My old first edition copy has a really neat cover, it’s what drew me in originally. I loved the take on the story and how in my mind, I can actually imagine the different characters and their surroundings. It’s a weird yet interesting book.

“People are more than just the way they look.”