This year, I made the decision to move away from historical fiction for a bit. For that reason, I decided to read more rom-com books. Normally, I feel very overwhelmed by the clichés and flat characters in such books. (I am not saying that’s always the case).

While looking for possible books, I found The Flatshare on Amazon– a book that soon after came up on my FYP page on TikTok. The plot is simple: a girl moves into a guy’s flat, but they never meet each other. They only leave post-it notes for the other to read. But somehow, they fall in love. When I first read the synopsis, I thought, interesting plot. I never read anything like this before.

Even though the plot was somewhat unique, the story in itself lacked something. The first half of the book was very slow. It helps build the characters, but even the characters weren’t too layered. However, towards the second half of the book, some complex themes like mother issues, abusive relationships, and unfair incarceration were revealed.

In my opinion, the book should have started at a “later” point in the story. Like I said, the first hundred pages felt like they were there to fill up space. Now, if we talk about the powerful parts of the book… * SPOILER ALERT* I liked how the author dealt with emotionally abusive relationships. Even though the last part didn’t feel entirely realistic (I assume a lot of romance novels are this way though– don’t hate me!), the reflections from the main character, Tiffy, seemed right. She was reluctant to admit she was in an abusive relationship until she could no longer escape the truth. The author could have taken more time to explore those complex themes rather than expand on their life “before” they met each other.

Overall, it’s an interesting plot but not a book I would recommend. But, again, I ask that you consider that I am not a huge romance reader.