This book was full of twist and turns. It constantly made me think I knew what was going on and then I was proved wrong. It was a little wild at times but I didn’t want to stop reading. Very unique storyline!

Before reading The Spare Room, I had only heard about Andrea Bartz because I had recently purchased “We Were Never Here”, her third book, on a whim. I never got around to that book but when I read the description for “The Spare Room”, I immediately dove in and I was not disappointed at all.

I love a good thriller and this book one hundred percent held my attention. I had a hard time putting it down. So many plot twists where I verbally started swearing out loud. The ending was something that I did not see coming.

It’s been a couple of days since I finished this book and I’m still wowed by what I just read. Andrea Bartz is definitely on my author to read list going forward. I’m going back to not only read “We Were Never Here” but to pick up her first two books as well. She’s sold me as a new fan!

While some people thrived during the pandemic and lockdown, so many barely survived. What didn't was Kelly and Mikes relationship. Kelly flees their Philadelphia apartment to get some clarity after Mike suggests that they postpone their wedding. She does what every millennial does, finds solace on Instagram and connects with an old high school acquaintance , Sabrina Lamont. Sabrina agrees to let her stay in her mansion outside of D.C. with her husband Nathan in their spare bedroom. When Kelly starts picking up romantic and sexual vibes from both Nathan and Sabrina, she finds herself comfortably in a relationship with her hosts. The only problem, she soon finds out that this is not a first for the Lamont's, and their last partner is noted to be a missing person. Is life in the Lamont mansion all that it is cracked up to be?

I went in to this book completely blind, didn't even know the premise. It was compelling storytelling, but I absolutely despised Kelly the main character and narrator. Truly a cringeworthy adult, who obviously has some relationship and commitment issues that need to be worked out. That being said, the ride was wild and it was fun to read. I felt like some parts of the story dragged on so much because we focused more on Kelly's feelings about Mike and being in a new relationship and her jealousy issues. I wish at times the plot was more the focus than those, and that's saying a lot because I love a deep character building novel. While it was a fun read, I'm not sure it was the best thriller I've read this year. Would be perfect to read by the pool in the summer though.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

This is a sexy, fun thriller that is not like any other thriller that you have read before. The MC moves in with a couple during COVID after she breaks up with her fiancé. The house is a gorgeous mansion where she can write. But soon, she gets involved in a sexy thruple and becomes too deeply involved in whatever secrets the couple is keeping. Go in blind.

Andrea Bartz does it again! This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Just when you think you have the plot figured out the page is turned. Great dynamics of characters and backstory

Unfortunately this story was not for me. I went in hoping for a fast paced thriller, but The Spare Room just fell flat with its predictability and forced shock factor. I strongly disliked the main character Kelly, to the point where it made the story unenjoyable. I understand that the intention was to make Kelly an unreliable character, but it seemed to go too far where I lost all interest in what she felt and seemed to impact my investment in the story.

Listen, many people will enjoy this story and be surprised by the twists, but I had a hard time enjoying this one and just wanted it to end.

🏡Book Review🏡
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Summary: Kelly’s new life in Philadelphia has turned into a nightmare: She’s friendless and jobless, and the lockdown has her trapped in a tiny apartment with the man she gave up everything for, who’s just called off their wedding. The only bright spot is her newly rekindled friendship with her childhood friend Sabrina—now a glamorous bestselling author with a handsome, high-powered husband.

When Sabrina and Nathan offer Kelly an escape hatch, volunteering the spare room of their remote Virginia mansion, she jumps at the chance to run away from her old life. There, Kelly secretly finds herself falling for bother enchanting hosts—until one night, a wild and unexpected threesome leads the couple to open their marriage for her.

At first, Kelly loves being part of this risqué new world. But when she discovers that the last woman they invited into their marriage is missing, she starts to wonder if they could be dangerous . . . and if she might be next.
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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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My thoughts: This is absolutely the most bizarre book I have read this year 😂I still don’t know if I liked it but it was… something 😂I’m not going to reveal much in my review, I would recommend going in blind to this one because I did and it was just insane 😂definitely a very unique read it came out two weeks ago. Maybe go read it if you’re down for a wild and weird ride?

After a tough breakup, Kelly decides to move in with her high school friend Sabrina and her husband, Nathan for some time to move on. Kelly and Sabrina have recently reconnected, but easily fall back into an easy friendship, and eventually into a throuple. At first things seem perfect, but then Kelly learns the last woman invited into this couple has been missing since shortly before Kelly arrived.

This was my first book by this author. I liked it, but the ending was completely strange and I really needed to suspend my disbelief for that. There is endless gates, but an easily climbable tree? Really? I also felt like Kelly would have been a believable if she were 25, but as a 35 year old she came off as a bit of a dolt. Why would she keep trusting everything when there were SO MANY red flags? Especially when she kept saying how much bad she overlooked in previous relationships.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Didn’t totally love the first buck, but thought this was a great second I would recommend this! the plot kept me guessing and I thought the characters were pretty interesting I would recommend

This book was amazing! I never saw anything coming and couldn't wait to find out how it was going to end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel. This is my first by Andrea Bartz. While I did not absolutely love this novel, I will try another book from this author.

I love locked room thrillers and I thought this was a really unique take on that since it was set during the pandemic. I thought that the author did a great job talking about the anxiety and isolation that the pandemic caused and how that could make relationships more challenging.

I wanted this to be more of a "thriller" than it was. It really wasn't too much of a thriller until the last third or so of the book which I read very quickly. I also found the main character, Kelly, to be very tiresome and very gullible. I was often times very frustrated with her.

Overall, it was a quick and entertaining read but not my favorite of this genre.

This…..feels like a novel that didn’t even need to be written. The suspense was completely made up and you get a random “twist” at the end to yucky try to wrap things up. Also, why the unnecessary mentions of mask wearing and “because I believe in science”? I get this was supposed to take place during the pandemic but the entire premise of going to stay with friends from high school (who you were never even friends with in the first place!) doesn’t make sense. But then again, that’s about what I expected given the logic. This is my third novel by this author and I have not liked all three. I will call it quits at this one.

I’d give this 2.5-3 stars. It’s very average in every way. I was excited to read this novel because I loved the author’s previous novel, We Were Never Here. However, this one falls far short of expectations.

It’s the story of Kelly, who’s taking some space from her fiancé during Covid. She moves in with an old high school friend and her husband (Sabrina and Nathan). As these three grow closer, Kelly learns that someone close to the couple has gone missing. The book does a good job with the isolated feeling of the pandemic but otherwise it falls flat.

1 star.

"The Spare Room" by Andrea Bartz starts out intriguing enough, but quickly devolves into just the most puzzlingly ridiculous book. It is so absolutely frustrating it's not even funny. This is one of the most annoying books I have ever read. It's a reeeeal stinker. It is disappointing and silly beyond measure. Kelly is such a wretched, desperate, infuriating, horrible character! She ignores every single red flag wave right in her face. She is petulant, absurd, and nothing, not a single thing she does make any freaking sense whatsoever! She is ultra-jealous and suspicious of literally everything while simultaneously being insanely trusting and easy to capitulate! I got whiplash reading this character (actually, this entire book)! The plot isn't even plausible! The relationship Kelly has with Sabrina and Nathan is not convincing in the slightest! Maybe it's because they were all literal freaking strangers with each other!!! The smut and relationship stuff doesn't bother me in the slightest, but it's only added for shock value and isn't ever taken seriously. This is NOT the way to use polyamory in fiction, this is the wrong way to do it. Instead of using a feather-light hand, Bartz is content to pound us over the head with a hammer to make her point. And what, pray tell, IS the point of this book? I have yet to figure that out. This book is terrible and way too slow and way too silly. The twists are dumb, the characters are abysmal, I didn't like this at all.

Thank you to NetGalley, Andrea Bartz, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the complimentary ARC of this book. I was not compensated for me review. All opinions are my own.

Andrea Bartz’ newest suspenseful pandemic pod drama is pure entertainment. When Kelly’s relationship turns sour during lockdown, her high school friend, Sabrina, and Sabrina’s husband, Nathan, offer Kelly a chance to ride out the COVID wave. While the relationships are a little more than Kelly initially bargained for, she embraces her new lifestyle, and that’s when things start to get twisty, weird, and so all-around amusing. When Kelly finds herself in over her head, and things start to get more sinister than she originally thought, that’s when it really gets fun, and the ending has a twist I didn’t see coming. I loved it!

After her fiancé tells her he needs a break, after months of pandemic lockdown, Kelly needs some where to go and she finds an open invitation from an old classmate that she has recently started talking to over social media. Kelly ends up living with Sabrina and Nathan in a gated community and the sexual tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Our protagonist, who starts out as a weak, please everyone person, really grows in her new surroundings and starts to become a strong woman who can think for herself.

The story really takes some big turns and the twists keep coming. Secrets are revealed and there are a lot of surprises.

Definitely a good mystery thriller read, with a slow build. If you don't mind some erotica thrown in with a domestic thriller that keeps you guessing.

This book is not going to be for everyone. Plain and simple. But if you can appreciate that life and relationships are messy as hell, and certainly never black and white- then this book is definitely for you. It's going to delve into aspects of relationships that a good portion of people find uncomfortable, and to that I say, good, because when you're uncomfortable it means you're learning. At the heart of this, though, is a HELL of a thriller.

Just when you think Bartz has hit you with the plot twist and you think you've figured it out...pull up your panties because you haven't, she hasn't and the hits just keep on coming. You're going to want this book in your bag when you go on your beach vaca this year, I promise.

This was such a mysterious and seductive read. Once you settle in to the story, it doesn’t let go. I had to keep reading to try to figure out what was going on! It’s so bingeable! I did not predict a single thing that happened especially when every character was suspicious. I was also intrigued by how isolation influenced the events that unfolded and thought that brought a unique perspective. I alternated between the audiobook and e-book and enjoyed both formats!

This book was wild but I dug it. It was chaos, claustrophobic and hot. I had no idea where this was going. The characters were unreliable. It was a unique thriller.

Kelly and her fiancé get into an argument during the pandemic and she decides to go stay with a woman she knew from high school and her husband. Her friend is a writer. Kelly loves her writing and sometimes strives to be the character.

There’s an unexpected twist I didn’t see coming, but I was here for. I truly had no idea who to believe and felt like Kelly was a bit dramatic but also easily manipulated and always living in her head.

Definitely go into this one blind.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

i went into THE SPARE ROOM pretty hesitantly. i read WE WERE NEVER HERE back in 2021 and it unfortunately was a miss for me. i am happy to report i LOVED this book!

THE SPARE ROOM is a little less thriller, a little more steamy, domestic thriller. and y’all, it is MESSY. (if there’s one thing i love, there’s other people’s mess.)

the book starts off a little slow burn, but i thought the writing and plot were enticing and easily kept my attention. readers are in for a salacious love triangle, jaw dropping twists, and a backstory that is more sinister than you’ll be able to predict.

i read this one a couple months ago (thanks to my friends at @randomhouse and @netgalley for the digital arc!) but had to get this on y’all’s radar for summer. if you like locked room thrillers, other people’s mess, and a dark and salacious setting, you will enjoy THE SPARE ROOM!

and can we get a little commotion for the cover?!