This book unfortunately did not hit all the right spots for me. Thanks for a copy in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to the publishers for an advanced copy for an honest review.

Kelly and her man need a break. But there’s a lockdown. So she befriends someone on Instagram. I think they went to school together as kids. Dunno. But it’s weird.

Most of the book annoyed me, made me roll my eyes, and cringe. It was much too long and the spicy scenes took up too much room. Kelly was obnoxious. The twist toward the end really helped the book. It’s what bumped it up a star. But it just took so long to get there.

If wasn’t a bad book at all. I just don’t think this author is one that works for me.

𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵— 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤é 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺.

𝘌𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢, 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺’𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯. 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘚𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘝𝘪𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴. 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩.

It’s no secret that I am a HUGE fan of Andi! When I read the synopsis I knew I was in for a treat. I will say, after reading this book that takes place during lockdown and afterward, It was a good reminder to appreciate where we are now.

"𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒆, 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌, 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚."

I thrive when I am trying to unravel a thriller, especially with the domestic suspense elements. AND BOY, OH BOY, I was working overtime with this one. I genuinely thought I knew exactly what was going on, who was responsible for what, and it ALL BLEW UP IN MY FACE. I was eating it up! Those are some of my favorite bookish moments, and I’ll be chasing that rush for a while.

"𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏."

I loved this plot. Andi’s writing style speaks to my soul, and it was paced perfectly. There wasn’t one instance where I wanted to put this book down or reach for my phone. Above that, though, Kelly’s character growth was absolutely fantastic. Finding out who you are and what realizing your worth is a tumultuous journey under any circumstance, but especially for Kellys situation. I was SO PROUD of her!

"𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇."

The third act was absolute chaos, in the best way. I was literally pacing at one point as I read! I couldn’t believe my eyeballs, and I am still shook as I write this. I cannot wait to buy a physical copy to reread and add to my collection!

Also worth noting… this is definitely a steamy thriller! As if I didn’t love it already… I loved that those elements were threaded in.

If I haven’t been plain enough… FIVE STARS!

Thank you to Net Galley, Ballentine Books, and the author for the ARC!

Definitely kept me turning the pages but not a very believable plot line. Did not expect the twist at the end which is always a plus!

This book was very steamy. I dont think I realized how much so until I found myself skimming a lot. I did feel so bad for the MC kelly, but also, I wish she had been a tad brighter! It sounded like the perfect thing for her when she got the chance to get away but then she starts to wondering if it was really to good to be true! It was a bit of a slow burn but the ending was a quick paced read.

Bartz has penned some of my recent thriller faves, and this one is just as twisty and spooky but also WAY sexier... which I liked! You'll plow through it. Smart, fun, and surprising. Love her.

This book was fine. Not great, not terrible, just fine. It was about 100 pages too long and meandered a bit through the middle and near the end. At times there was too much going on (too much drama with every single character) and at other times, not enough (the Nathan-Sabrina-Kelly storyline/romance got a little *yawn* after the first 200 pages). Ultimately, I think this book just needs a little more editing and fine-tuning.

This was a really good read. I think it had a romantic mystery vibe to it and I really liked that. I read this at a good pace which is always good. For readers that like Spice in their books, you will enjoy this read. It will start off with a slow-burn but It does pick up. This was a first read for me by the author and I will be reading more of her books.





Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for allowing me to read this ARC in advance for my honest opinion.

Started off strong but ultimately dragged on. There were a few surprising twists at the end but my interest in the story had waned by then.

Sexy, scandalous, and suspenseful! Andrea Bartz hooked me from the start. This novel is a bit of a departure from her last one, but no less entertaining. Atmospheric and haunting. Come into this one with an open mind and you won't be disappointed!

This book was much different than I was expecting. The story was interesting and I appreciated the final twist at the end but for me I could not stand these characters. Especially the main character, Kelly. I get the whole flawed character complex but this was a whole other level. I did appreciate the writing and look forward to reading Andrea's other books in the future.

I’ll be honest, my feelings with this one were kinda all over the place. First. I am just a fan of the way Andrea Bartz writes. It’s easy to read. It’s entertaining. And it’s zippy. This story never lagged, for me. She also has a real gift for writing nuanced characters with unique personalities and voices. I felt the biggest disservice to this book is calling it a thriller. This book is maybe, generously, only about 10% thriller. It’s more of, what I’d call, contemporary fiction with a slight mystery/suspense/thriller twist. But I feel like the beautify of the story will be lost on everyone picking it up expecting a thriller from beginning to end. I loved the exploration of heteronormative relationships versus the kinds of relationships that can actually make people happy. All in all, I’m a big fan of Bartz after reading this one and her previous and I will definitely be reading her backlist and looking out for future releases!

It feels slightly weird to now be reading books set during COVID, but The Spare Room deftly uses the backdrop of the pandemic to create the perfect set of circumstances for this domestic thriller. Kelly's once-perfect life is crumbling and she finds herself leaving behind her fiance to stay in rural Virignia with a recently reacquainted friend from high school and her husband. Things soon get complicated as the three become increasingly intertwined and ghosts from the past resurface.

Overall, it's a great premise and I really enjoyed seeing how the story unfolded. Things do fall apart a little towards the end as the author tries to pull off some twists with only a small cast of characters and mixed success. I personally liked some of the choices that were made, which I won't spoil, and think this book would make for excellent book club discussion material. Highly recommend as a fun, diverting summer vacation read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Giving this one a 3.75 (rounding to 4) out of 5 stars. The Spare Room starts out as a slow burn then turns into a raging fire of sex, lies, secrets... and murder.

The story revolves around our main character Kelly who has just called off her wedding from her fiancé during the height of the COVID Pandemic. She reconnects online with with her old high school classmate Sabrina, and ends up leaving Philly to move in with Sabrina and her husband Nathan down in Virginia. They live in an amazing house and live the perfect "hashtag" Instagram life. Kelly soon gets sucked in and falls under their spell. What was just supposed to be her staying in their spare room has turned into a steamy throuple of secrets. When the romance heats up, so do the twists and turns of this novel. I thought this was a great domestic thriller and would definitely recommend to everyone who enjoys this genre. However, my only gripe was the mention of the Pandemic. Everyone has their own idea of when something might be too soon, and this is mine. I honestly think the author could completely erase any and all mention of the Pandemic and quarantining, masks, etc. and this book would be perfectly fine. That is probably the only thing that brought down the rating for me.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC!

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 who’s just called off their wedding. The only bright spot is her newly rekindled friendship with her childhood friend Sabrina. 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. But what exactly is she running TO?

I'm going to start by saying that I'm a HUGE fan of the Bartz sisters. We Were Never Here was one of my favorites of last summer and I LOVED The Writing Retreat earlier this year.

That being said, I was disappointed by this one. The Spare Room had all the right parts, but I could not get around my hatred for Kelly and what an idiot she was. The plot was confusing (what exactly was Beth's story??) and the end result really didn't make much sense in the larger plot. Despite that, I eagerly await what Andrea Bartz comes up with next.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz, was not what I was expecting. I thought this was a suspense/ thriller/mystery. Yes it is partially all of those things, it's also a steamy lust story. I think if that would've been left out, the story would've been fine, and is also why I am sticking with a 3 star review. I enjoyed the twisty plot, the lust just wasn't for me. I really did not see that ending coming. Thank you to NetGalley and Andrea Bartz for the complimentary e-galley.

The beginning is a slow burn, but it starts getting better fast, and you will find yourself drawn to this very tense story.

It’s sexy, steamy, with wild twists that will make you gasp for air.

I enjoyed this book and its story, and kept me holding my breath, I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this advanced digital copy in an exchange of my honest review.
Coming out on June 20, 2023.

This was a very different book than I thought it would be! I went in thinking it would be a locked room/domestic thriller and it ended up giving romance, heat, suspense and more twists and turns than I thought possible!

Intriguing characters who kept you slightly suspicious was at the heart of thr book. Kelly as the main narrator managed to gain sympathy and have me eye roll her at least 100 times. Fantastic storytelling!

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine publishing for the ARC.

This was definitely a slow burn to a fast-paced finish! It is more of a romantic thriller than a domestic thriller. I think the main character Kelly is somewhat annoying and some of the things she does are naive and unrealistic. I really wanted to like this one but it just wasn’t for me.

Thanks netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This story didn't disappoint. I loved the premise and the unexpected twists that just kept coming. Fans of her first novel will love this one! only critique I could give is that some of the end of chapters it felt dragged the story a bit and even though I loved all the twists.