I tried a couple of times to get in to this title and unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. I’ve read the authors other title, but ultimately was left disappointed. I think that some readers will really enjoy this, I just found it a little predictable.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing my with an eARC of this title.

Ever want to read a book about horny adults during quarantine, where everything is described as "sexy"? If so, this is the book for you. If not, steer clear. The plot was full of holes, the pace was confusing, and the mystery didn't make sense. It was like reading two books. One mediocre erotica, and one suspense novel that felt like the author was making it up as she went along. I would have DNF'ed this book if I weren't reading it for a book club discussion. But I have nothing nice to say about this book, so I think I will say nothing else at all about it.

this is another book that shouldn’t technically be on my beach books list because I started it before vacation but I finished it on vacation so I’m going to count it. this just didn’t work for me.

A twisty and well written psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I love Andrea Bartz!

Set during the pandemic, Andrea Bartz’s The Spare Room centers on a woman who moves in with a friend after the end of her engagement, only to become entangled with the couple in a way that could be deadly…

My Thoughts

After really enjoying The Herd and We Were Never Here—previous books by Andrea Bartz—I was thrilled to get my hands on this one. The premise sounded interesting—a woman becomes involved in an affair and relationship with a married couple, only to learn that the woman in their marriage before has gone missing. This sounded too good to pass up! For me, this book didn’t deliver what it needed to. I think this may have been cathartic for the author (and certainly many readers enjoyed it), but the story didn’t fully work for me.

What I liked

The premise of the book was fantastic and I really enjoyed Sabrina as a character. She was alluring, mysterious, caring, charismatic—everything she needed to be for the story to work. The reader needs to understand the magnetism Sabina has in order to make Kelly’s bizarre decisions make sense, and Bartz delivered.

I will note, while the teaser for the book mentions Sabrina as an old friend, Kelly and Sabrina weren’t really former friends. More like acquaintances. This actually made the dynamic between them better, because Kelly was sort of this naïve character at the beginning who just wanted to try someone else’s life. I think if Sabrina had been too close of a friend, their relationship wouldn’t have worked as well. It needed to be largely one-sided to start.

The story got right to the meat of it. We didn’t spend really any time on the set up of the end of Kelly’s relationship, her connection with Sabrina, and her move. It was touched on sufficiently to get things moving, and then the story quickly moved to the main events at Sabrina and Nathan’s house.

There were lots of twists and turns and the ending will certainly surprise most readers (though this is in part because it really wasn’t set up at all by anything we saw in the book). The ending was drawn out enough to feel like we got closure, if that’s what readers are looking for.

What didn’t work for me

The first half sort of read like steamy romance fan fiction, and not in a good way. I saw some readers that loved the way the throuple developed, but I thought it was a tad on the cringey side for me. I thought that the way it unfolded made Sabrina and Nathan not really seem like a real couple. Though I presume this was intentional because we are supposed to be suspicious of their motives, it detracted from the way the relationship unfolded.

Kelly is a completely unlikable main character, but not in the fun way. I think the reader is supposed to like Kelly and root for her, but I didn’t. This makes some of the later twists less impactful than if she had been a character whom I wanted to see things work out for. I didn’t and I honestly felt that she lucked into her circumstances rather than growing or developing.

As the book got towards the middle, Sabrina and Nathan felt sort of predatory. That ruined the throuple for me because it felt like they were just luring insecure women to their house to use them. This made some of the events unpleasant to read about, and made one of the twists completely not work for me. The back half of the book is wild and didn’t totally make sense because a lot of the character development stalled for the sake of the twists and turns.

Final thoughts (TLDR)

For fans of steamy thrillers, this one is a book to check out. Also for those who love a wild jaw-dropping ending you definitely won’t guess, this book delivers. I definitely wanted to finish this and see what was happening, and that is credit to Bartz. However, for readers who like character development, this likely won’t be for you. Also take note of where your headspace is about reading a book set during the main part of the COVID-19 pandemic before beginning. I buddy read this with Berit and Carrie and they found the COVID-19 element more effective (and less bothersome) than I did.

Kelly has had a hard time navigating the national quarantine, she has lost both her job and her dream wedding. She receives a lifeline when she reconnects with an old school friend who offers Kelly the use of the spare room in her Virginia mansion. Kelly jumps at the opportunity to escape, but cannot see that the year ahead would end in lies, deceit and death. This domestic thriller is a twisty, twisted tale of manipulation and murder.

A decent thriller, albeit a little drawn out. If you do not like reading about COVID times, this may not be for you. (that didn't bother me at all, in fact, the concept of the lockdown/quarantine was part of what prompted me to request this book).

Kelly is taking needed space from a damaged relationship with fiancée Mike. She tumbles into a relationship with a past school friend Sabrina and her husband, Nathan. A threesome becomes her new love. But Kelly is super insecure and always has to feel that she is being denied info, both in her previous relationship and now.
The couples missing ex has her searching for info. Lots of twists and unexpected drama. A recommended read!

Kelly has just broken up with her fiancé and is coming to stay with an old high school classmate and her husband. It’s during the height of the pandemic, so being sequestered in their big, fancy house could turn into a lot of fun, or a huge nightmare. But when Kelly keeps coming up with questions that her hosts either can’t or won’t answer, something has to give. This book definitely had me wondering where it was heading and kept me guessing all the way until the very end, which isn’t always easy give all of the suspense fiction I read! Some mild spice is included in this one, so consider yourself warned!
Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wouldn't say the book was eroctic but it leaned heavily into the sexual part of the storyline. It was a slow burn that didn't actually become a thriller until I was 70% into the book and then the it was twist after twist and the paced picked up. For me the last 30% saved the book. Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Umm, what a WILD ride! It’s a binge-worthy book (read in less than 24 hours) that will have your jaw dropping. The chapters are super short (big fan) and most are left on a cliffhanger so it’s hard to stop reading! The overall premise is risqué and not everyone will be onboard with it! In that aspect I commend the author for stepping outside of the box!

I’m not fan of the setting (pandemic lock-down). It didn’t make me dislike the book but thought it wasn’t a pivotal part of the book and the suspense could have been the same without it. The ending was a bit too far fetched for me and I thought there were a few loose ends, but overall it’s entertaining!

This book was definitely different from your mainstream thriller. It takes a unique stance and I'm curious as to how other readers will react. The Spare Room has lots of twists that I didn't see coming. I could definitely see this becoming some sort of Lifetime movie...

Anyways, would I recommend this title? If you're adventurous and looking for something different, yes. If you like your typical thrilling thrillers, no. I was on the fence with this one. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I am a big fan of Andrea Bartz’s We Were Never Here and was excited for the opportunity to read an early copy of her newest book- The Spare Room.

I enjoyed the pandemic backdrop (my first pandemic storyline!!!) but the characters, especially Kelly, were unlikable, simple, and a bit predictable. It was bingeable but in the worst way. I wanted to like this so much more.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Kelly's life has turned into a nightmare. She's friendless and jobless and the pandemic lockdown has her trapped in a tiny apartment with the man who just called off her wedding. This is the beginning of the blurb for Andrea Bartz's new thriller, The Spare Room. Sounds good, minus the "pandemic" stuff. I am still having PTSD from the pandemic, so when I see a book set during that time, I have to prepare mentally.
Kelly rekindles an old friendship with her friend, Sabrina and her handsome husband. They volunteer to allow her to move in with them and into their relationship. It's all glamour and excitement until she finds out that the last woman who went into their marriage is missing.
So where did this pandemic thriller with a side of spice go exactly? I wondered this as well, as it went in circles. It has an interesting set up and a complex plotline. The characters were not as well developed and I would have liked. Some choices didn't add up. It was a solid 3 star book, may have been better if Kelly herself was a bit more likeable.
Thank you to the publisher, author and netgalley. 3 stars.

This was a definite twist on your standard every day domestic thriller. I loved that it kept me guessing until the very end. and it wasn't one of those stories where the answer had been there all along. I got to go along for the whole ride from beginning to end without searching for the answers along the way.

I didn't love all of the characters, and didn't truly understand the attraction any of them had to each other, which made it a little hard to get into. But it was a fun read!

I'm sorry this was not my favorite book.
I listened to this one on audio and barely made it through.
It sounded interesting in the beginning but quickly took a turn for the bad.
I really wanted to like this one but it was just not for me

A special thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for this advance copy of The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz in exchange for my honest review.

I’m landing on 2.5 stars rounded up - a lot of this rating revolves around marketing this book as something it definitely was not. It’s a shame because I really enjoyed Andrea Bartz’s first novel, but this one just didn’t do it for me. I would categorize this one as more of a romantic drama with a disappearance/murder thrown in. I also read a good bit of romance, and I’m not sure Kelly’s polyamory was necessarily explored the best - it was kind of written as a power struggle, and while I’m in a monogamous marriage and have never dabbled in a polygamous relationship, it was painted as really negative. I’m also hoping that Kelly was written as making really stupid choices and being super blind to some of the obvious going on in front of her, but it was really hard for me to root for her as a protagonist.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC - The Spare Room is out today!

This started a bit slow but definitely picked up towards the middle. I liked the isolated pandemic setting and not knowing who to trust at every turn. I did not see the ending coming, though I’m a bit disappointed by how it ended. Overall, 4/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was published on June 30, 2023.

An interesting premise. A young woman who is about to be married breaks off her engagement [well, he does] and she leaves town to go stay with a long-lost acquaintance from high school during the beginning stages of the pandemic. Very fun book, lots of twists and turns, and definitely not for the faint at heart! I enjoyed the writing, it was a quick read and it was definitely engaging and I enjoyed picking it up each time I reached for it. I would recommend this book if you want something somewhat mindless, but at the same time grabs you and doesn't set you down until the very last pages.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited for this book, since I had read the author's previous novel and really enjoy it.
This was definitely not that.
The plot was weird and didn't always make a whole lot of sense. None of the characters were likeable, and at the end of the day I just didn't care about any of them. Kelly, the main character, has to be one of the dumbest protagonists I've encountered in some time. The "twist" at the end made me laugh out loud, which I don't think was the intent.
I would not recommend this to others.

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