Completing the Beth O'Leary set

I've now read all five of the novels British contemporary fiction writer, Beth O'Leary, has written to date. This post covers three of her books. Check out my review of her other two, The no-show and The road trip.

I love O'Leary's books! She's so unashamedly British and I love the eccentric band of characters in each of her books. Weighty subjects are tackled but they are balanced out with typical British charm and wit. O'Leary might be described as a chick lit writer, but I think she's so much more than that.

The flatshare | Published April 2019 | Read September 2024

Tiffy and Leon share a flat. Tiffy and Leon share a bed. Tiffy and Leon have never met…

This is such a clever premise for a romance novel, not that Beth O’Leary’s books are your standard romance fare. The central characters are completely charming. Tiffy Moore has just broken up with a controlling boyfriend and needs a cheap place to rent. Leon Twomey works nights as a nurse in a hospice facility and needs cash. The perfect solution to both their predicaments is to share Leon’s one-bedroomed flat but never see each other due to their work schedules It sounds completely mad, but Tiffy and Leon make it work. They share the same bed, but Tiffy has the place to herself in the evenings when Leon is at work, and she is gone in the mornings to work by the time Leon gets home.

I absolutely loved this book! It’s my favourite Beth O’Leary novel, in tied number one spot with The no-show. It’s a totally unique take on a relationship story and the progression of the relationship between Tiffy and Leon is a joy to read. The book alternates between their points of view and I loved reading the post-notes left around the flat as the two of them communicated about the mundane organisational things of living in a shared space and then slowly their lives became intertwined, but in a quiet, simple, and sweet way.

O’Leary does a fantastic job of making the reader fall in love with Tiffy and Leon, to go deep into their characters and their triumphs and struggles. Everything about them – other than their unusual living situation – felt authentic and grounded. They were vibrant characters to get to know and simply good people, and I was rooting for them the whole way. The progression of their relationship from flatmates to friends, and finally to a romantic entanglement warmed my heart and I didn’t want the book to end.

While the flatshare situation grounds the novel, there’s a lot going on outside of Tiffy and Leon’s unconventional arrangement. They weren’t lightweight characters, and they were both dealing with A LOT of stuff. The cast of players were all important and distinctive in their own right. I’ve always thought it takes a lot of skill to write a novel packed with people and make them all interesting and well fleshed out.

As with other O’Leary novels, the relationships of the main players, the humour, and the quirkiness provide a wonderful balance to the weighty subjects that the author tackles. This time, it’s gaslighting, emotional abuse, ageing, and incarceration.

I was completely enchanted by The flatshare. It’s adorable, realistic, and fluffy yet gritty. Highly recommended!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The wake-up call | Published September 2023 | Read October 2024

The wake-up call is next on my list of favourite Beth O'Leary books after The flatshare and The no-show. It’s a story of the crumbling Forest Manor Hotel and its two rival front desk managers, Izzy and Lucas. The hotel is destined for closure in the new year due to financial troubles when Izzy finds a collection of wedding rings in the lost property stash. Izzy is convinced that returning the rings to their owners and collecting any reward money will save the hotel. She and Lucas set about competing with each other to return all the rings and keep the hotel afloat.

The wake-up call takes the enemies-to-lovers trope and makes it work. Izzy and Lucas are seemingly mortal enemies – her shiny optimism pitted against his brooding stubbornness - but their rivalry and competitiveness masks a chemistry that has been simmering for some time.

As with other O’Leary novels, sure, it’s a romance story, but not a conventional one. There’s witty banter galore, madcap antics, and a cast of endearingly odd hotel guests. There’s also the hilarious hotel owners in true Basil and Sybil Fawlty mode and the eccentric hotel staff, all of whom make the reader feel like they are in the hotel with Izzy and Lucas and the supporting players.

The book is quirky and funny and goes some way to restoring one’s faith in humanity. I was hooked from the beginning. The story takes you from Izzy’s embarrassment and vulnerability at being crushed by Lucas’s rejection the previous Christmas to a predictable ending, but I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.

The miscommunication between Izzy and Lucas that provides the premise for their relationship development is a little unrealistic, but if you can overlook that niggle, the book is fun. It is a bit frustrating, granted, as you kind of want to scream at the book and make the characters have a proper conversation to sort themselves out. That said, the charm of the characters, the hotel, and the New Forest setting made up for that frustration. You also might find Izzy a bit immature but she’s a nice contrast to Lucas’s more introspective, serious personality. O’Leary explores their vulnerabilities in sufficient depth to make me warm to both of them. I ran with the Fawlty Towers vibe and the inevitable Happily Ever After and immersed myself in the story.

The wake-up call is lighter than O’Leary’s other books so it’s a nice comfort read, with bonus British humour, a beautiful setting, and a cast of lovable eccentric characters.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The switch | Published April 2020 | Read October 2024

The switch is my least favourite of Beth O'Leary's books. As the title suggests, it is about two women who switch lives. One is Leena Cotton, an overachieving PR executive living in London, who is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work. The other is Eileen Cotton, Leena's grandmother. Leena escapes to her grandmother's house in a tiny Yorkshire village for some much-needed rest while Eileen takes up temporary residence in Leena's warehouse flat in Shoreditch. Eileen is 80 but is looking for a second chance at love after her hideous-sounding husband left her.

I didn't dislike the book, it just didn't resonate with me like O'Leary's other books have. That might be because it is more sentimental and romance-driven than her others. Yes, the other four books could be categorised simply as romance, but they deal with weighty subjects and serve up a bunch of quirky and interesting characters.

The switch was just a bit predictable and twee for my liking. I saw a comment on Goodreads that pointed out how the blurb told the whole story so there was nothing to learn by reading the book. I'd have to agree with that. The plot isn't hugely engaging nor does the story develop in much depth. The novel hasn't left as big an impression on me as the others by O'Leary, especially knowing from the outset how it's all going to play out.

There is still the characteristic O'Leary wit and a certain charm to the book. I liked watching Leena shift gears and reinvent herself in Yorkshire and even though the romance was predictable, it was still kind of sweet. She wasn't a character I could warm to, though and I ran out of patience with her quite quickly. I loved the older-aged crew in the Yorkshire village, though. The hilariously eccentric Neighbourhood Watch Committee kept me interested in the goings-on and I thought Eileen's neighbour was adorable. I also liked Eileen's foray into the dating world (mostly for the scamming angle, mind you) with the aid of Leena's lovely friend, Bee, and her determination to set up a social club in the warehouse flat. Eileen was kind of bad ass for an octogenarian.

The switch is still hilariously British, poignant and charming. If you love a slower paced story with a predictable ending, then go for it. I remain a Beth O'Leary fan after having read all of her books published to date and I eagerly away her next outing.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐