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.

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.

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. :(

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

I absolutely loved Andrea Bartz's We Were Never Here so was very excited to The Spare Room, but unfortunately this wasn't for me.

I didn't really read the synopsis (I rarely do for authors I love) and wasn't expecting this to be more of a provocative thriller with the main character joining the couple in an open marriage...

I didn't really feel like this was a thriller until the end, it was very character driven and a main character in Kelly that I couldn't stand. She was insufferable and honestly so naive! Also, wasn't loving the COVID times -- I did like the letter from the editor at the beginning sharing Andrea Bartz's idea for the book though.

Also, this book is set in Virginia in a suburb about an hour outside of DC and I just wanted to know where... I was more preoccupied with wanting to know that than anything else in the book.

If you like more complicated relationships, open marriage gone wrong romantic thrillers than you might enjoy this.

Thanks to Ballantine Books for my advanced copy. The Spare Room comes out on Tuesday - June 20th.

Personally, I felt as if the first 40% of the book was boring. I didn’t particularly care and honestly, I didn’t know where it was going or how it was a “thriller”. Around 50% is when it started picking up and making a little bit of sense, but to me this was just mid. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible either. If you like romance mixed with your thrillers, than I would recommend this to you, but I just thought it was odd.

I really loved Andrea Bartz's previous book, We Were Never Here, and I was super pumped for The Spare Room. Unfortunately, this was a laughably bad text with a horrible cast of unlikable characters. The main character, Kelly, might quite possibly be my least favorite character I have read this year, and that says a lot with the amount of reading I do.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Kelly loves Mike. Kelly thought Mike loved her. Kelly has sacrificed a lot for their relationship, recently moving from Chicago to Philadelphia for his job, leaving her job, friends and family behind. As the Covid-19 pandemic puts the world in lock-down, Kelly and Mike's relationship takes a turn for the worse. Mike suddenly requests that they pump the breaks on their upcoming nuptials.

Kelly is devastated and confused. She doesn't know where she stands with Mike now. It's uncomfortable and stressful being trapped in their tiny apartment together. The only bright spot of this period of time is the friendship Kelly has rekindled with a girl she used to know in high school, Sabrina, who is now a successful Romance author.

Kelly confides to Sabrina about her current relationship issues and Sabrina comes up with a plan; a perfect escape for Kelly to clear her mind and reassess everything. Sabrina offers Kelly the chance to go live with her and her husband, Nathan, at their palatial mansion in Virginia. They have a spare room, might as well put it to good use.

Kelly graciously accepts. She's heartbroken to be leaving Mike behind, as it is still unclear about where they stand, but nevertheless, he doesn't try to stop her. In a way, she feels she doesn't have a choice. Not knowing how long she will ultimately stay with the couple, Kelly packs just the necessities, including her cat, Virgo, and heads to VA.

Initially, things are awkward, but a few glasses of wine help and Kelly finds herself truly relaxing and settling in.
Both Nathan and Sabrina are gracious hosts, who seem truly happy that she is there. So happy in fact, that after a night of bonding over a great meal, drinks and some time by the pool, they end up opening up their relationship to her and a steamy threesome ensues.

Kelly can hardly believe her luck. She has never felt this way. She's happy and falling hard. Mike, who?

There are some red flags though. The most disturbing is the fact that the couple's previous partner disappeared under mysterious circumstances. When Kelly presses for information, she's not satisfied with the answers she is getting from Sabrina and Nathan. What are they hiding?

As the tension mounts, Kelly starts to think she's in over her head. Could she be the next one to disappear?

Y'all, this was such a tricky one to rate. Honestly, there were quite a few things about this story that drove me nuts. On the flip-side though, there was also great intrigue, tension and food for thought. I did enjoy how quickly Bartz got us to the meat of the story. Within the first 10% of the story, Kelly is already getting herself to VA and settled in.

I like that the author didn't waste a bunch of time with filler in the beginning. We're all here to see what happens when Kelly moves into the spare room, after all. I also enjoyed the sexual chemistry between the trio. That was a fun dynamic to watch play out.

It did take a long time to get anywhere though after the initial set-up. I was just hoping for someone to get murdered or something by the halfway point.

I was getting miffed at Kelly because she was making so many dumb choices and I started to dislike both Sabrina and Nathan. It was weird though because even through those negative emotions, I was addicted to this story. I couldn't stop reading. It had the suspense and messy drama I needed to keep me furiously turning the pages.

The second half was all over the place for me. There were some fun reveals and the tension definitely continued to grow, but it felt chaotic at times and not in a good way. It got wilder and wilder as the story progresses, almost to the point where, I won't say I was rolling my eyes, but I was close. Either way, I couldn't stop thinking about it after.

If I were to describe The Spare Room with one word it would be, twisted.

Overall, I walk away from this happy with my reading experience. It was far from perfect, but there's no doubt that I was entertained and compelled to keep reading. Thank you so much to the publisher, Ballantine Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was a memorable one!