The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary (Audiobook)

 

Following the breakdown of her relationship, Tiffy desperately needs somewhere to live and it needs to be cheap. An advert to share a one-bedroom flat looks promising, even if there is only one bed. The other person works completely opposite hours to Tiffy so they'll never be in the flat at the same time. What could go wrong?

I fancied something a little bit lighter from all my crime fiction and I've seen Beth O'Leary mentioned quite a lot on Twitter recently. When I checked out the BorrowBox library app I found all of the author's audiobooks so decided to start with the first one, The Flat Share.

The audiobook was exactly what I needed, an easy listen with engaging characters. It was obvious from the beginning how the story would end, it's the journey that made the story. Tiffy and flatmate Leon are complete opposites so shouldn't work together, added to this is the fact that they will never be in the flat at the same time. I loved the way that all their communication was through little notes they left each other.

I enjoyed the scenes in the castle as they took a number of rom-com tropes and shattered our illusions. The author could easily have played the scenes out as a fairy tale but did the complete opposite. Similarly, the author didn't over-sentimentalise Leon's vocation. 

A number of serious issues were covered within the story; consent, trauma and mental health, and were handled sensitively. The light touch worked well within the story and didn't bog it down.

Overall, The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary was an enjoyable listen and I'll certainly be heading back for more from the author in the near future.

Author Details

Beth O’Leary is a Sunday Times bestselling author whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages. Her debut, The Flatshare, sold over a million copies and is now a major TV series. Her subsequent novels, The Switch, The Road Trip and The No-Show, were all instant bestsellers, and The Switch has been optioned by Amblin Partners, Steven Spielberg’s production company. Beth writes her books in the Hampshire countryside with a very badly behaved Golden Retriever for company. If she’s not at her desk, you’ll usually find her curled up somewhere with a book, a cup of tea and several woolly jumpers (whatever the weather).