--- description: Find out why 'The Flatshare' made the list. title: 'The Flatshare' Is on TIME’s List of the 50 Best Romance Novels image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8aa79aac167a64c/698a5948cabb1d5580e54605/The-Flatshare-Beth-OLeary.png?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 01, 2024 # The Flatshare by [Shannon Carlin](/author/shannon-carlin/) ## Shannon Carlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Carlin is a contributor for TIME.  In Beth O’Leary’s popular 2019 debut, _The Flatshare,_ assistant book editor Tiffy Moore needs an apartment in London, and fast. So when Leon Twomey, a night hospice nurse in desperate need of extra cash, agrees to share his one-bedroom flat with her, she jumps at the chance. While Tiffy’s friends think she’s crazy to occupy a bed with a complete stranger, even if it is at different times, Tiffy believes her 9-to-5 schedule and Leon’s night hours will make it easy for them to stay out of each other’s way. But in this clever take on the only-one-bed trope, as Tiffy and Leon’s lives gradually begin to intersect, she starts to wonder if they could be more than unconventional roommates. **Buy Now:** _The Flatshare_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781250295651 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4fhOA5C "undefined") These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996688/the-flatshare-book/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996688/the-flatshare-book/"},"headline":"The Flatshare","datePublished":"2024-08-01T12:16:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:34:13.691Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996688/the-flatshare-book/","keywords":["Books","E-Commerce","list","Special Project"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8aa79aac167a64c/698a5948cabb1d5580e54605/The-Flatshare-Beth-OLeary.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shannon Carlin","jobTitle":"Carlin is a contributor for TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/shannon-carlin/"}],"creator":"Shannon Carlin","articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8aa79aac167a64c/698a5948cabb1d5580e54605/The-Flatshare-Beth-OLeary.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996688/the-flatshare-book/","name":"The Flatshare"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Romance Authors Share Their Favorite Tropes","description":"Romance authors share their favorite tropes","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Dul0O82x/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-07-30T10:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Dul0O82x.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996688/the-flatshare-book/","duration":"PT57S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996688/the-flatshare-book/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```