Thanks to NetGalley for this one! I picked it up and didn’t put it down until I had finished. Was it perfect? No - there were a few parts that felt a bit dragged out, but overall, it kept me guessing. A bit thriller, a bit sexy and a bit about a woman finding her way — would absolutely recommend picking this one up on pub day!

A woman, with a fractured relationship to her fiance and to herself, goes to stay with an acquantance and her husband and gets involved in a three way relationship. As she is forced to look at herself and look at them to see who can she trust, esp made more so by pandemic paranoia. While this becomes more of a thriller two thirds of the way through, I did enjoy it. But it is mostly a coming to terms with yourself story

I had complicated feelings- the relationships all were so weird. They felt so sadistic and strange so I really didn’t see the twist coming. I hated the main character so that made it a little hard. It does take like 60% of the book before the real mystery starts but once it gets going it really takes you on a ride. I enjoyed it, it’s worth reading for something different.

Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine Books for a chance to read this ARC. When I was approved, I was immediately excited as I loved her previous book, We Were Never Here. While the premise of the book being set during the Pandemic and the cover looked thrilling, to me it sorta lacked and at times felt drawn out. It wasn’t a suspenseful thriller I was hoping for until the very end, but it was very well written. The author does a great job story telling and character depth, but the throuple part wasn’t my cup of tea. It went for a turn that I wasn’t expecting, so I will be giving this 4 stars.

Thank you Netgalley & Ballantine Books for an eARC of The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz. This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2023, so as soon as I got approved I knew I needed to dive in. The cover was calling my name - It is beautiful, right?!

Kelly's living with her fiance during lockdown, and he just called off their wedding. She's rekindled a friendship with a childhood friend Sabrina and decides to stay with her and her husband in Virginia for a bit. What's the worst that could happen? What starts as a fun arrangement quickly takes a sinister turn.

I really enjoyed this book! The first half had me like - OOH, whoa, we are getting some steamy open marriage scenes with an atmospheric creepiness that is clearly lurking. I had a lull in the middle that had me utterly confused about the direction the book was taking - And then again loved the ending when it swerved and hit with a final BOOM. This is a unique novel that is, like Bartz's others, extremely well written and will have you guessing throughout. I don't want to give anything away, but if you're looking for some steam and a bunch of WTF-IS-GOING-ON moments, look no further!

The Spare Room is Andrea Bartz’s best book yet! Set in the pandemic, there are so many twists and turns that you won’t be able to put it down! This is also one sexy book that will grab you from the start!

The Spare Room is a bit all over the place - a little steamy, a little romance, a little suspenseful, a little thrilling towards the end, and a little annoying the entire time. The writing style felt like it was trying too hard, the MC is as dumb as bricks, and ultimately the ending did not feel realistic to me. I really loved Andrea Bartz’ We Were Never Here, so I’ll still check out her future works, but this was a real stinker.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Kelly's life is in a downward spiral. She quit her job to move to a new city with her fiance, but then the pandemic lockdown starts and she is trapped in a tiny apartment with nowhere to go, no one to talk to, and a fiance who decides he needs to take a relationship break. Kelly's friend from high school, Sabrina, offers her the chance to get away for a little while and come stay with her. Sabrina is a successful author with a powerhouse husband and they live in a mansion outside of DC. Kelly takes her up on the offer because there are worse places to wait out a lockdown. Once Kelly arrives, things start to change in her relationship with both Sabrina and her husband. Suddenly their dynamic is very different and Kelly starts to question everything about their past and their future. Kelly discovers that the former occupant of her spare room is now a missing person, but the stories aren't quite adding up. Everything starts to unravel as Kelly digs deeper to find the truth.

This book was not what I expected, but I still really liked it. There were a lot of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end. I found the relationship between Kelly, Sabrina, and Nathan to be fascinating, while also not being something I could personally relate to. Overall, this is a good thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publish Group - Ballentine for the ARC of The Spare Room.

I had to quit reading at 30%. I didn’t realize this book had an open relationship element and that’s not what I was looking for.

This book does take place during the pandemic - and while I am often cautious with those sorts of things, I decided to give this one a shot. I liked it overall, though I think I would have preferred for there to be more thriller elements, but that's just my own personal taste!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the chance to read this book!

A fun, steamy thriller set in the pandemic, bringing the meaning of the words ‘locked-room thriller’ to a whole other level! Kelly and her long-term boyfriend are on a break, so she temporarily moves in with childhood friend Sabrina and her husband Nathan. Romantic feelings soon develop between the three and they enter into a throuple, sexy interludes included. But then Kelly finds out they’ve done this before. And the last woman is missing. A clever, unique and sexy sizzler!

I don't normally like books that surround the pandemic because living through it was nightmare enough but this book was really good! Andrea Bartz brings her A Game with The Spare Room and readers who enjoy twisty thrillers are going to love this one.

This isn't a bad book, it just wasn't for me. The description of the plot was intriguing, but I wanted more thriller and less steamy romance. I did like the authors writing style how she made the Main character add in some snark. It was refreshing.
Thank you for the Publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

Andrea Bartz never disappoints!! Her latest novel The Spare Room is a domestic romantic thriller that will have your head spinning! I always love that Andrea Bartz creates a storyline that is fresh and original and this gem definitely delivers! The characters are realistic and although their situation wasn’t relatable (for me), I could not put my kindle down because I HAD find out the who, what, where, why of this crazy situation! The pacing was perfect and trust me when I say you need to read this 5 star read until the very last page—wow! If you are looking for a summer read that completely captivates and keeps you on the hook from start to finish, than I highly recommend The Spare Room!

This is definitely a beach read!

A wonderful thriller full of twists and turns you don’t see coming. Well written characters. I never lost interest in the story at all.

Andrea Bartz is becoming one of my favorite thriller writers.

Review is on goodreads and Amazon and will be on my social sites as well.

I think someone who went into this book expecting a typical thriller would be disappointed, which might account for some of the reviews here. It is a slow burn with the first 70% focusing on romance development. Most of the twists occur in the last portions of the book. Overall, I enjoyed the full story which seems be a perfect mix of two popular genres right now: steamy romance and thrillers.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC is exchange for my honest feedback.

Thanks to Random House - Ballantine and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of this psychological thriller.

Although this novel is a mystery and a psychological thriller, it also chronicles the emotional growth of the main character Kelly. We begin the story as Kelly is navigating her way out a conventional monogamous relationship, and into an very untraditional polygamous relationship (with a married couple).

This novel is well-written and relatively engaging (at more than 300 pages it has to be) however, although I was neither offended nor intrigued I wasn't by the "experimentation" in this novel I disliked the main character as she left emotional (and physical) wreckage in her path as she ended each relationship at the stage when most people would have just attained the "deeply committed" stage.

I feel a need to address a rather uncomfortable subject before completing my review, this is something I have never encountered before when reading a novel, but perhaps by addressing it I will be able to spare those of you with similarly delicate constitutions. I found the author's frequent detailed descriptions of bodily functions off- putting (such as when a character leans into a mirror to remove an "eye booger" or when a man confessing to a crime who has a "shiny trail of snot similar to a snail trail under his nose", among other mucous-related scenarios mentioned throughout the pages of this novel.

Authors, please remember, your dear readers are seeking a temporary REPRIEVE from reality, and I cannot IMAGINE a scenario where the inclusion of this type of graphic description would contribute to a reader's enjoyment of the story.

It is like picking up a book and being forced to suffer through detailed descriptions of a character's bouts of constipation or diarrhea, yes, human beings are forced to deal with such maladies on occasion, but THIS reader (and I think the vast majority of readers will agree with me) chooses NOT to read about such indignities while seeking an interesting bit of escapism by reading a novel.

That said, this story will be an excellent fit for just the right type of reader looking for a particular type of unique intelligent psychological domestic thriller.

Until next time, keep your nose clean and firmly buried in a book (if you are like me odds are your choice will be another yet another addictive psychological thriller)!

After a break up, Kelly goes to stay with an old childhood friend and her husband in ritzy Virginia, outside of DC. As she settles in, she gets involved intimately with both her hosts. It may be an odd arrangement, but they are happy.. until she begins to look into their romantic past.

This was different than I was expecting. It’s more of a mystery than a thriller for most of the book but the ending unravels quickly and becomes surprising. I can definitely say I was not expecting a few twists. I think it could have had a little more steam to it, considering the plot and action, but I think the way it is will likely appeal to a wider audience.

“If everyone knew how good they could feel, the world would be a different place.”

The Spare Room comes out 6/20.

Okay. To start this review, I have to say one thing: if you suspend all logic and everything you know about people/the world, then this is quite an entertaining book. Now we can begin…

The synopsis gives us a lot: Mid-Covid, Kelly and her fiancé, Mike, get into an altercation and he says he wants to postpone their wedding. He needs space. Kelly had recently been talking online to an old acquaintance from high school, and was given an invitation to her house to isolate with this woman and her husband. Kelly took the chance and headed out of the city to gain some perspective.

Sabrina, now a successful sex-positive romance author, and Nathan, who has a secretive job with the Department of Defense, turn out to be great people. Kelly was worried it would be awkward to be in a house 24/7 with a woman she hadn’t seen in 20 years and her husband, but they were as excited as she was to see a new face.

The threesome are getting along swimmingly, and eventually, Sabrina and Nathan ask Kelly to enter their marriage. Though she’s a conservative person who’s never considered kissing or doing more with a woman, she finds herself diving into the relationship. Could this be her new life - living in a mansion with two people she adores?

Soon though, she realizes she’s not the first person to share a bed with this married couple. This opens up everything, and around the 75% mark, the suspense really ratchets up. I think the ending was a little drawn out, but there were plenty of twists to make up for it!

Overall, this book is overly dramatic and unrealistic, but also entertaining and somewhat of a page-turner. I couldn’t stand Kelly … so many times you’ll want to shake her, because she’s so naive and moronic. None of the characters were very likable, but I still enjoyed this. It’s better than a three-star book, so I’m giving it a 3.5, rounded up.

(Thank you to Random House - Ballantine, Andrea Bartz, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on June 20, 2023.)

I couldn’t put down this book and finished it in less than 24 hours. Kelly Doyle is on the outs with her fiancé Mike and decides to go stay with her high school friend Sabrina and her husband Nathan. Kelly ends up under their spell and they end up in a relationship. She learns about a woman from their past that is missing and then becomes skeptical. Is she being paranoid? Or do they have something to hide?