Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

28 reviews

nottooscarythanks's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death, and Stalking

Moderate: Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gaslighting

mraddd's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Abandonment and Death

wanderinginreads's review

emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse

Minor: Death

twin1's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was such a beautiful read. I don't normally read romance type books but this felt different. The characters were fully fleshed out and you are very invested in their well-being. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Death

wilybooklover's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

Despite covering some very heavy topics (wrongful imprisonment, emotional abuse and gaslighting, hospice care), this was such a soft and heartwarming story. My heart is so full after reading this. I loved the modern take on an epistolary romance without relying on texts or email. I thought they met at exactly the right moment without dragging it out too much or killing the tension too soon. 

Leon and Tiffy were amazing and I absolutely loved them. They felt real and flawed and were adorable together. Leon is now one of my favourite heroes ever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Confinement, Mental illness, Violence, and Sexual content

Minor: Abandonment, Cancer, War, Death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Racism

theirgracegrace's review

emotional funny inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The Flatshare was my book club's first book of 2023 and I will say that I was not initially thrilled with the idea of a romance novel. That was shattered when I actually started reading it! The characters are loveable and real in a very millennial way, the "arrangement" in the heart of the plot is a bit on the nose, and the subplots are where a lot of the most interesting action happens. The "side" plot of Tiffy's

gaslighting and abuse by Justin

caught me off guard, as it reasonably would, and became the most emotionally charged part of the book for me. All in all, an incredible work and one I will love to reread!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Medical content, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Cursing, Sexual content, Alcohol, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Racism, Body shaming, Cancer, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Violence

Minor: Death, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Child death, and Dementia

aj_langley's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Terminal illness

Minor: Cancer and Death

lawsam's review

emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Death, Stalking, Confinement, and Terminal illness

Minor: Chronic illness and Medical content

chalkletters's review against another edition

funny inspiring lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

For professional reasons, I’ve read a lot of self-published romance novels, but they’re not usually something I pick up for fun. Despite enjoying romantic comedies, I’ve just never particularly gravitated towards them. I took The Flatshare home from an office book sale because it had a unique premise in two characters who share space, but don’t actually know one another. I then didn’t get around to reading it for ages, because two book clubs makes it tricky to fit other new reads into my schedule. When a space opened up, The Flatshare got picked partly because I’d seen posters for the new Paramount adaptation, and partly because it’s one of the thickest books on my tottering vertical pile…

The Flatshare is very unlike those instalove romance novels where the characters are immediately and overwhelmingly attracted to one another and can’t stop thinking about getting intimate. Tiffy and Leon’s only understanding of the other’s appearance comes from Facebook photos, descriptions and context clues. Needless to say, their attraction builds slowly, and is based on personality rather than physical chemistry. 

The epistolary elements came as a very pleasant surprise. While Tiffy and Leon’s notes aren’t as amusingly eccentric as Jaclyn Moriarty’s use of post-it notes, they are full of character. Beth O’Leary distinguishes between her two characters’ voices excellently, though the switch between Tiffy’s effusiveness and Leon’s spare use of words can be a little jarring. 

As is probably necessary in a story where the two leads can’t meet face-to-face, both Tiffy and Leon have a number of things going on in their lives outside their interest in one another. While Tiffy’s life as an assistant editor is rather more glamorous (and involves rather less actual work) than is realistic, Leon’s relationship with his brother is a foundational element of the novel. All the threads of plot and subplot are woven together expertly, with Tiffy having a place in Leon’s stories, as well as he in hers.

The climatic misunderstanding, necessary in all romance novels, involves a huge heaping of dramatic irony. It’s certainly tense enough to keep readers on the edge of their seat, though whether that’s pleasurable or painful might depend on individual tastes. The ending is predictable, of course, but effective and very sweet. 

This was a fun change of pace for me, and I appreciated how easy to read it was at a time of year which can be pretty hectic.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Blood, War, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Cancer, and Death

georgiesutton's review against another edition

3.75

I think if I’d known the first half of this book is REALLY sad and not the rom com I’d hoped for I wouldn’t have picked up this book. The second half is good and fun but I’m not sure it was worth the heartbreak to get there for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Car accident, and Death