Skip to main content

Member Reviews

Big Thanks to Random House - Ballantine Books and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC of The Spare Room to read and review.

I am a massive Andrea Bartz fan - We Were Never Here is one of my favorite thrillers, ever. I was so excited to hear about her upcoming book, and to get an ARC! From the press I read I knew that this was a new direction, and I welcome that with authors - I love watching them stretch and try new things.

There was a lot in this that I enjoyed - the twists and turns, especially in the last third of the book. Unfortunately, other pieces fell a bit flat to me - I never got as invested as I wanted to in Kelly, and particularly in her relationship with Nathan and Sabrina. It felt like things moved quite fast and weren't as earned to feel authentic.

While this may not have been my favorite of Bartz's, I still tore through it and was guessing until the last page. And I remain so excited to see what she writes next.

Was this review helpful?

Gotta love a domestic thriller! I really expected vacation vibes, per Andrea's last book, but it still featured an escape (just from the pandemic, as it turns out). This is also the first book I've read featuring a throuple! This did have a twist I did NOT see coming, so that won some points!

Was this review helpful?

It's lockdown. A difficult time for anyone. For Kelly, it is even worse since her fiancé decided on a break. To deal, she heads hundreds of miles away from him and into the arms of her friend from high school and her husband to form a pod. But what is on the surface of everything is not all that it seems.

This book had me hooked. I liked the characters. I liked the eerie setting (and I worked very hard to stay away from Covid books!). I liked the mystery. I really did like all of it...up until about 70% in. That's where the story took some turns that I just couldn't get behind. By the end, I was disappointed in all of the characters and honestly disliked them. The trend of having characters be dislikable and make horrible decisions as a plot device is one that I am not a fan of (and it happens quite a lot in thrillers).

Now, this is just my opinion. I know this book will find its audience and will be loved by many thriller lovers!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the gifted copy. My reviews are always honest.

Was this review helpful?

this was… a ride. I liked it but also hated it. the main character was increasingly irritating, unlikable, and unreliable. the supporting characters were similar. I was excited to read it because I love a good thriller + am pro-non-monogamy, but this fell flat. most of the time, I was cursing the main character and her choices.. she seemed incredibly naive and not very smart. I also felt like there were too many plot twists; it started to feel a bit unrealistic.

Not my favorite book ever, but I did just buy We Were Never Here on my kindle, so hopefully that redeems Andrea’s writing for me!

Was this review helpful?

I felt like this was less of a thriller and more of a character study. It was interesting to read Kelly’s character growth and arc . She made some really terrible decisions throughout the book. I would sue the last 20-25% read more like the traditional thriller.

Was this review helpful?

This is my second book by Andrea Bartz. So I was pretty excited to pick this one up. This book was more a mystery than a thriller in my opinion. I loved the several twists at the end of the book. I didn’t like repetitiveness in some parts and felt like the story could be cut a little shorter. The last 30% is where all action/mystery is happening and the story unfolds. This book will be great for people who love slow-burning romantic mystery/drama. Overall 3.5 stars.

Was this review helpful?

I just could not get into this. It was too outlandish for me. There was too much internal dialogue from Kelly about every little thing. The first 50% was so slow that I almost thought of not finishing, but it picked up and I wanted to see the twist and how it ended. Kelly was very unlikable and gullible as a main character, and it was hard to root for her. Overall, this book was just not my style, unfortunately. :(

Was this review helpful?

3.5 ⭐️

I enjoyed the mystery behind this one, but so much of the beginning of the book focuses on Kelly's internal and external struggle between her relationship with her ex, Mike, and her new relationship with her hosts, Sabrina and Nathan. Spicy thrillers are not really my preference, but if they're yours then you may enjoy this one more.

The need to know exactly what the real story was and who did what was ultimately what lead me to finish this one. I did not guess the ending so that kept it interesting for me.

I did not like how there was still some question for me over if Elizabeth or Renee was the bad guy in their relationship at the end, they're not necessarily main characters, but their story is a puzzle piece in the bigger picture in my opinion. The story seems to point the reader in one direction, but after not trusting any of the characters, because there was so much secrecy in the book, I didn't feel confident in believing one side or the other.

Was this review helpful?

This book was so strange! I felt like I couldn’t trust anyone. Everyone was a suspect in my eyes. As soon as I started to suspect someone another person did something sketchy to make me question myself. And I STILL didn’t see the end coming! I really enjoyed this one!

Was this review helpful?

The Spare Room is a domestic thriller by Andrea Bartz.

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 both her 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.

The novel is atmospheric and full of tension. It definitely takes is time to develop character motivations, particularly of the main character, and plot. And once it really gets going it GOES! The second half of the book was full of twists and turns. All of the secrets. Shocking revelations. Surprising twists. Hits on obsession, desire, revenge and also self-worth and self confidence.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballentine books for the digital advanced reader copy. The Spare Room comes out this Tuesday, June 19, 2023!

Was this review helpful?

I really wanted to love this book because I loved “We Were Never Here” by this author. Unfortunately, I didn’t love this one. I started reading and it was not bad, but soon I got bored and put it down. I had a hard time picking it back up but I knew that I had been given the opportunity to read this before it was published in exchange for an honest review, so I decided to give it another try.

Honestly the first half of the book is just a bit boring, though there’s an interesting relationship dynamic that develops.

I knew the book was labeled a thriller so I kept waiting for the thrill to see what was going to happen. For me it took a little too long for this part of the story to develop.

The characters definitely got on my nerves from time to time. Some aspects of the thrill seemed unrealistic. But the ending was definitely unexpected.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Was this review helpful?

This slow burn takes place during the pandemic, so the isolation and remove from normal life is felt. With the tensions of this time period, the main character and her fiancé are taking some time apart and their relationship is rocky. She goes to stay with a friend who she connected with on Instagram. Things take a kind of interesting sexy turn…but not a ton happens and I found myself feeling antsy as I read because this thriller didn’t have a ton of thrills other than the sexual kind and even that wasn’t really my cup of tea, personally. I wish it were faster paced or had more going on.

Was this review helpful?

This book is ...ridiculously out there. I really liked Andrea Bartz's last book We Were Never Here. This book is not as good. I think I spent most of the book thinking "this woman is an idiot."

Was this review helpful?

What a strange book. I don't really know how to review it. Of COURSE the bad guy is named what he's named. I didn't really love the ending but I was definitely intrigued throughout the book. The newly discovered queerness also felt a bit unrealistic to go from 0 to 100 like that.

Was this review helpful?

I got over forty percent through and nothing has happened, except for the development of a boring throuple. The writing is cheesy and I hate the main character.

Was this review helpful?

The beginning starts as a slow burn, which may drag on more than some readers would prefer. Once you get about halfway through, the narrative picks up with numerous twists and turns that kept me engaged until the end. Set during the pandemic, the story explores the psychological effects of lockdown and social distancing, portraying how people gradually lose their sanity. One downside is that the protagonist, Kelly, could be infuriating at times due to her overwhelming emotions, speculations, and paranoia. Overall, I would rate this book a solid 3 out of 5 stars. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing the e-ARC for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Way too many endings, almost none of which were entirely satisfying (or necessary), but overall, I had as much fun with this as I typically do with Bartz's books. I really appreciated the exploration of sexual expression, its newness and awkwardness, and the fact that this kind of a story and time of self-reflection really only happened for most of us during the COVID lockdowns. When other authors are ignoring that the pandemic happened (and continues to happen), Bartz fully embracing a story that could only occur during that time in this specific way felt oddly refreshing.

Was this review helpful?

Wow, what a wild ride 🫢 I was HOOKED.
The plot is unlike anything I’ve read before!

🔍 the writing is super suspenseful and had me constantly throwing around theories in my head
😷 set during the pandemic
🌶️ quite a bit of spice
📖 the chapters are short which made it hard to stop reading — I kept wanting to squeeze in just one more chapter 🙌
😲 there were twists that I did NOT see coming 👏

Bartz grabbed my attention from the very first page and I couldn’t stop reading until I saw it through to the end. The subject matter is risqué and not everyone will get past that, but I for one was thrilled to read a thriller that pushed the limits.

Was this review helpful?

This book just did not do it for me. The premise was bizarre. The characters were ridiculous, but not in an enjoyable way. I am not sure I will ever be ready for a pandemic read - so that may be part of my issue. The thriller part did not happen until the very end of the book, and honestly it did not really add to the story. It was just a lot of living and existing and not a lot of the good stuff.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy

Was this review helpful?

Going into The Spare Room I wasn’t sure what all to expect but the synopsis sounded interesting. This story follows Kelly who goes to stay with a friend she reconnects with after her wedding falls through. What starts out as space from her relationship quickly escalates to a throuple…and then murder. While the book did hold my interest through to the conclusion there were too many moments and warning signs for the MC to just blindly ignore. Parts of the story just personally took too much suspension of disbelief to imagine a person continuing on.

Was this review helpful?