I read about 15% of this one and had to DNF. I feel that it's not fair to give it a rating since I didn't read the whole thing, but I've decided to give it 3 stars. I read "We Were Never Here" by Andrea Bartz and struggled to get through that book... I should have known I might have had the same situation with this one. I decided to give her another chance but I really could not get into the writing style, I just kept falling asleep whenever I picked up the book. I didn't love the COVID/pandemic setting, I thought the concept was highly unrealistic. I just don't think this author is for me sadly, nothing against her at all. May try picking this back up in the future -- could've been a "me" problem/wrong time to read.

Okay, I am very thankful to Ballantine/Random House Publishing Group, Netgalley, Andrea Bartz, and PRH Audio for granting me access to this twisty/turning thriller, but I do have to say, this one was not for me. I couldn't really keep up with the audio, and it just wasn't for me, but I'm eager to see what other people think.

Okay... confused about this one. I don't think I liked it very much, but I also couldn't put it down. The writing and story held my interest, but I could not handle the outlandish way that the narrator thought. I often felt like grabbing her by the shoulders, shaking her, and screaming "HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THAT WHERE THERE IS SMOKE THERE IS FIRE"

However, this was an extremely entertaining read and one that I haven't been able to get out of my mind since finishing it.

I liked this, but didn't love it as much as I had hoped I would've. I loved the idea of a thriller focused around a polyamorous couple, but this felt more like a romance and less focused on the actual thriller elements of it. Besides that, I did love the writing style and thought it was very easy to read. I did enjoy the way the story developed, and it did keep me guessing. I didn't see the ending coming at all, which is always a plus. I'd definitely still recommend this to people it just wasn't my favorite.

This was my first Andrea Bartz novel and I’m excited to read her others now! This had a unique plot that was gripping right from the beginning. It was a locked room style, pandemic based thriller full of twists and a touch of spice! I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it to anyone looking for a hard to put down thriller with a unique premise and plot different from most thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine/Random House for my early digital copy!

I could NOT put this book down!!! The love story intertwined with suspense was absolutely gripping. I now just go back and read everything else that Andrea Bartz has written!

Read if you like:
😷 Books set during Covid-19
🚪 Locked Room Thrillers
💍 Domestic Thrillers
💋 Messy Relationships
🍿 Popcorn Thrillers

This one is definitely a super bingeable and fast paced thriller that will keep you listening or turning pages to find out what’s going to happen next.

I hated the cheating but this is a thriller not a romance so I could let it slide and be sucked in wondering how Kelly’s staying with Sabrina and Nathan is going to turn sour and unravel as they began a sexual relationship all while their previous partner they brought into their marriage was missing and signs of her previous place in their lives were continuing to pop up.

The ending was a little anticlimactic for me personally but didn’t see either of the final twists coming, so it was definitely still very worth reading and I bet you’ll enjoy it too.

Thank you so much Ballentine Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz is a strange mish mash of genres that doesn’t work. Thriller, domestic suspense, romance are all mixed together and none of them quite work. I also found Kelly, the MC, problematic. She can’t make any decisions for herself and just lets things happen to her and lets others think for her. Fans of Bartz’s previous work should still check this one out.

This book was definitely not my cup of tea. It was so over the top with what you were expected to believe - Kelly leaving her fiance to move in with an acquaintance, Sabrina and Sabrina's husband Nathan, when she had reconnected with Sabrina only a few weeks earlier and then developing a relationship with the couple and falling in love with them almost immediately. I'm not sure why I finished it other than I was curious to see how everything wrapped up. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

3.5 stars
This book focuses on a throuple during the Covid pandemic. Folks have said those that liked The Last Housewife would enjoy this but I really didn’t like last housewife I just found the writing ridiculous - I think this is a better written book frankly. That said it’s definitely unique and is sort of on the edge of thriller. It almost has an ominous vibe like Megan Abbotts books with a sexy underbelly. It’s one I found myself compulsively listening to (I also had the audio) and I think a lot of folks will be divided on this one.

The Spare Room was a propulsive thriller, once you get through the slow-burn beginning. Nothing is as it seems as Kelly moves in with Sabrina and Nathan. This book is more risqué and spicier than I expected, and that made it more unique and added a sexy element to this psychological thriller. The twist was one I didn’t see coming and my expectations were crushed to smithereens. This book is way better than her last, We We’re Never Here. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books, for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I’m not sure how to even rate or categorize this book. While labeled as a thriller, I didn’t find this accurate until the very end. The majority of the book focuses on the relationship of a threesome during the pandemic. Something that didn’t really speak “thriller” to me.
There was some suspense through, but I could have done without the threesome sex scenes, and would have like to learned more about the exes in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Randome House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the advanced copy of this book I exchange for my honest review.

Publish date: 20 June 2023

🚪THE SPARE ROOM by Andrea Bartz🚪

📆Pub date: June 20th, 2023
➡️Swipe for synopsis
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: E-book
Read if you like:
📚Unique plot
⏱️Books set during peak covid
📖Thriller genre

Thank you so much @ballantine for the advanced copy of The Spare Room! Andrea Bartz is the author of former Reese’s Book Club pick We Were Never Here, and her second book releases on June 20th, 2023. This book was WILD. It’s set during peak pandemic amid the strict lockdowns when everyone was staying home, so if that’s not something you’re ready to read about, I would pass on this one.

Kelly and her long term boyfriend are taking a break, so Kelly decides to quarantine with her friend and husband in their mansion in remote Virginia. This book gets super weird when Kelly enters a polyamorous relationship with the married couple. When Kelly finds out that the last woman they opened their marriage to is missing, things start to get even weirder. I’ve never read a thriller with a premise even close to this, and I can’t say I’ll start seeking others like it out… lol. But it was entertaining, and the twist was something I did not expect. Overall, this was just okay😕

Ugh. Where to begin. I had high hopes for this one. The blurb sounded great! But thriller it was not. Kelly, the protagonist, leaves her fiancee in the middle of the pandemic to live in the spare room of a high school acquaintance - weird and out of nowhere. There was so much to this novel that just didn't work - Kelly was dramatic and ridiculous in her decision making at the very least. And the thriller part of the book didn't actually thrill until the very end. Most of the novel was the threesome between Kelly and her married hosts...also weird and out of nowhere. I spent most of the novel sighing and rolling my eyes. Disappointed to say the least.

I am so grateful to Random House - Ballantine Books and to Netgalley for the gift of this advance copy in exchange for my opinions!

Kelly needs a change of scenery when her relationship hits the rocks. The only issue? It's early days of the pandemic and there is nowhere for her to go. But then her recently rekindled friend, Sabrina, offers to host Kelly in her pod at her beautiful home outside of DC Somewhere between healing heartbreak, sparks flying, and the suspense around their enclosed mansion, things take a turn for Kelly.

***

I have to say, I loved the suspense and sexiness of this novel. I know a lot of reviews didn't want to put it in the thriller category, but I actually think it works. Sure there's the suspense of the romance, but there's always something sinister lurking under the surface. There's some great balancing between wanting the romance and being nervous for Kelly.

All that being said, it didn't fully connect for me in the end. I definitely didn't see the ending coming, but not in a good way. In a, OKKK WHATEVER, way. I just didn't feel satisfied.

I'd still recommend just for the first 80% alone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

The Spare Room has an intriguing story that will draw the reader in to the book. There is some suspense with a steamy storyline mixed together. It is an enjoyable read worth checking out.

Dare I say that this is my FAVE book by Bartz thus far?! YUP! I am saying it 🙌🏻 Thanks so much to the tagged publisher and @netgalley for my gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review🤗



✨𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤?

Bartz does it again! This was such a fun, addictive, bingeworthy, unputdownable, juicy and suspenseful read! Once I picked this one up it was hard to put it down, and that is rare for me, but I absolutely felt the need to find out what happened next. I really loved how unique and different this thriller is compared to others, including Bartz’s past thrillers. This one is set during the pandemic, so it may not appeal to all, but it definitely sucked me in with the writing style, the characters, and the claustrophobic feeling that Bartz created with this one. This starts off as a slow burn, but it sucks you in and picks up pace picks up with each chapter. This book is sexy, juicy, and addicting-I loved where Bartz went with this one! One minute I thought I knew where this one was going, only to be thrown a twist that took things in a whole other direction-and I loved every minute of it. 🙌🏻🙌🏻

✨𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤?

I won’t say that I disliked this-but I do feel that this was more of a romantic suspense/drama rather than a thriller-either way, it worked for me!

✨𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤?

I think many readers will enjoy this one, my only advice is to go in with no expectations when reading this one and know that this is not your typical thriller.



𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫4.5/5

Sadly this book wasn't for me, I didn't finish it, I just can't handle how it was written.
Thank for the advance copy.

The Spare Room is a locked room mystery taking place in the early days of the pandemic - when someone is brutally murdered during quarantine, who in the pod could've done it? 👀
Kelly and her fiance decide to take a relationship break mid pandemic, and Kelly leaves to join a childhood friend and her husband's bubble. While staying in their home, she becomes romantically involved with the couple and they become a throuple. After some time, the couples' previous ex joins their bubble and is murdered that same night.
Honestly, this book should probably be shelved as romantic suspense. The Bartz sisters are writing a lot of spice into their thrillers! I found it really readable, and thought it was going to be very predictable - however I was very surprised by the reveal at the end and some of Kelly's choices. This is the first pandemic fiction I've read where it didn't bother me at all! It was more a tool to keep the throuple locked in a house together.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.
ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The setting of this book is the pandemic which is the first book I read with this setting. I feel like this book missed a huge opportunity for a story line. I needed more in the ending. Disappointed because I was looking forward to this book.