Short Take Reviews: The Flatshare, Getting Played, and Red, White & Royal Blue

THE FLATSHARE
Beth O'Leary
Publication date: May 28, 2019
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: Hardcover, 325 pgs
Source: Library Loan
3.5 STARS
GOODREADS 

After a bad breakup, Tiffy Moore needs a place to live. Fast. And cheap. But the apartments in her budget have her wondering if astonishingly colored mold on the walls counts as art.

Desperation makes her open minded, so she answers an ad for a flatshare. Leon, a night shift worker, will take the apartment during the day, and Tiffy can have it nights and weekends. He’ll only ever be there when she’s at the office. In fact, they’ll never even have to meet.

Tiffy and Leon start writing each other notes – first about what day is garbage day, and politely establishing what leftovers are up for grabs, and the evergreen question of whether the toilet seat should stay up or down. Even though they are opposites, they soon become friends. And then maybe more.

But falling in love with your roommate is probably a terrible idea…especially if you've never met.

What if your roommate is your soul mate? A joyful, quirky romantic comedy, Beth O'Leary's The Flatshare is a feel-good novel about finding love in the most unexpected of ways.

M Y   T H O U G H T S

My feelings for The Flatshare run the gamut. Some things really worked for me: Tiffy's quirky personality and willingness to put herself out there, the humor which was spot-on, and the dialogue that flowed like honey. Other things, not so much: Tiffy's memory issues regarding a relationship that just ended (yes, I understand gaslighting), and Leon's passiveness. While it took me two weeks to read The Flatshare (and it's not a lengthy book), I don't think it was the book. (It's not you, it's me. Really.) There was a lot to enjoy and I loved seeing Tiffy and Leon's relationship evolve from flatmates who communicated via post-it notes, to friends, and then tentatively moving towards more. I adored Richie, and his story, along with the search for Johnny White, converged with all the rest to make an enjoyable story with (mostly) sweet, funny, and lovable characters.

RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE

Casey McQuiston

Publication date: May 14, 2019

Genres: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, LGBT

Format: Trade Paperback, 421 pgs

Source: Purchased

4.25 STARS

GOODREADS

When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius—his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.

Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through?

M Y   T H O U G H T S

Red, White & Royal Blue had hype. I'm talking serious, over the moon, crazy-insane hype. And while this wasn't a 5-star read for me (gasp!) I still enjoyed it from start to finish. Mainly because there was just so much to love. Brilliant yet sometimes remarkably clueless Alex, oh so precious Henry, a heart stopping first kiss, text messages that were both hilarious and revealing, the most clever/snarky/witty banter ever, young women who were brilliant and ambitious, politics and campaigns, laugh out loud moments (killer turkeys!), angst, scandal, romantic declarations, epic speeches, and so much more. My main quibble is that it felt overly long and at 400+ pages the pacing did sometimes lag. Even so, RW&RB was incredibly smart and the perfect blend of serious issues and swoony rom-com. 

GETTING PLAYED
Emma Chase
Publication date: June 11, 2019
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: Audiobook, 6 hrs 57 min
Source: Purchased
4.25 STARS
GOODREADS 

Dean Walker is all about keeping life simple. He's effortlessly talented and intelligent - spending his summers playing drums in the local band and the rest of the year teaching high school in the same Jersey town where he grew up. He likes his love life simple too, enjoying the commitment-free hook-ups his good looks and sexy charm have always made oh so easy.

Then he meets Lainey Burrows. And his simple, easy life gets turned upside down.

One wild one-night stand was all it was ever supposed to be, so Lainey is shocked when she discovers that her sizzling summer fling is also her son's new math teacher. But that's nothing compared to the most unexpected twist of all - their hot hook-up left Lainey knocked up, and now they're about to become parents. Together.

M Y   T H O U G H T S

I tend to forget about Emma Chase when I think about my favorite go-to authors but then I read another one by her and I instantly think, "Oh yeah, this is why I love her books so much!" In Getting Played, Chase created two main characters that were so incredibly likable. Lainey and Dean were stable, intelligent adults who (shock!) acted like adults. When faced with an unplanned pregnancy, there was no big drama or hysterics - just two adults who actually talked and listened, were honest with each other, and worked together instead of running away. Imagine that! It was so easy to care for these two people and pull for them. Lainey's teenage son was sweet and I really enjoyed the interactions between him and Dean. I can see myself listening to this one again and again when I'm in the mood for a swoony/sexy/sweet feel-good romance.

HAVE YOU READ ANY OF THESE BOOKS?