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 while 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 the window…

I loved this book more than I ever thought I could! I read it for the July pick of the All Grown Up Book Club, and I hadn’t heard anything about it before then. I don’t really read a lot of romance or new adult, and the book club is really opening my horizons in beautiful ways. I am head over heels for this novel, and I’ll tell you a few reasons why.

The main characters were such a joy to read about. I actually read the audiobook, which is full of enchanting accents AND they make distinctions between phones calls and in person chats, which I thought was an amazing audio choice. It felt more engaging to listen to, and made things less confusing as you had to keep up with who was talking with whom, but it wasn’t ever a struggle. Tiffy is beautifully upbeat and quirky, and I love everything about her. She is damaged by her ex and fearfully trying to find her way in a world without him. When she finds the flatshare with Leon, it’s a dream come true. Speaking of my golden boy, I think Leon tops the list of fictional men right now for me. He is unlike any character I have ever read before. He is an introvert and has a way of leaving prepositions out when he speaks, so the cadence of his voice became comforting and felt like home. He is incredibly kind and understanding, and is just as broken as Tiffy is, but he is dealing with the fact that his brother is, he hopes, falsely imprisoned.

The two strike up a friendship despite never seeing each other. We see their bond grow through Post-Its and leftovers, and when they do meet, a knot of tension melted away from my chest in a huge FINALLY moment. There are so many little nuances in their relationship that make my heart soar, and they just get each other in a way that is unexpected because of how different they are. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that they fall for each other, and the way that their romance develops is just, for lack of better word, *chef’s kiss*. I was yelling back at the audiobook at times because I was just THAT into the story, and I will admit that even though we were supposed to stay on a schedule with our reading times cut up into sections, I got to a point at the end where I just couldn’t stop. The ending made me burst out into tears, and it has become one of my favorite reads of 2019.

I love how therapy-positive this novel is, and also what an amazing support system that Tiffy has. It deals with trauma in such a truthful way, and we are also given a love interest who understands this in Tiffy, and who asks for verbal consent before everything. Leon also gives her space to make her own decisions and to be who she is. He lifts her up instead of bringing her down, and in turn, Tiffy shares her huge heart with his brother, Richie, hearing his story, getting him help, and most of all, believing his story. It seems like such a little thing, but to Leon, it’s everything.

This book was funny, sad, romantic, stressful, and GREAT. I want to shout its praises from the rooftops. It has so many wonderful little references, like a nod to the Twilight series that had me ROLLING. Beth O’ Leary has a new fan in me, and I’m highly considering a re-read already. I’m not quite prepared to leave this world. Can I just stay in the flat awhile longer? I’m afraid I can’t get out of the paisley beanbag.

5/5 stars