This was a slow burn book. I wouldn’t really call this a thriller. It kept my interest for the most part but was really slow for me. It didn’t keep me wanting more. It was almost more of a Ya book. I have never read a book from this author yet so would definitely read more.

Would you have moved into a spare room with a former high school acquaintance and her husband amid the pandemic? Someone you haven’t spoken to in years? What if it was a beautiful DC mansion?
No. I wouldn’t. But Kelly did. She’s taking a break with her fiancée and connects with an old classmate through social media who’s a very high profile author now.
She takes her up on an offer to move in temporarily but then things get weird of course…
They become a throuple. Yea. This book is NOT like the former “we were not here”, it’s full of relationship awkwardness.
I will admit it came off a bit cheesy with the sexual parts. It felt very YA to me.
Also, this is not a thriller. Maybe the last 15% is a bit but not the main part. More domestic suspense/romance
It was also too long, a definite slow burn, a few twists but pretty easy to figure out.
A possible good beach read for someone who wants romance with a little mystery.
Overall I found The Spare Room to be entertaining enough. I still look forward to reading anything Andrea writes in the future
The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz will be available on June 20. Many thanks to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the gifted copy!

1.5 ⭐️💫 stars. I didn’t DNF so I rounded up to 2.

Oh gosh. I mean… sigh. I was intrigued by the plot but let down, for sure. Let’s break this book down into quarters, roughly.

1st Q: Kelly moves in with virtual strangers when she and her fiancé, Mike, are in need of a break. She spends most of her time wallowing in self pity and wishing she was home with Mike.

2nd Q: Kelly forgets all about Mike, ignores obvious warning signs, and begins sleeping with both Sabrina and Nathan.

3rd Q: Kelly is suspicious of them, but continues to sleep with Sabrina and Nathan, and continues to ignore the warning signs. She’s in love.

4th Q: Kelly gets it all wrong, and so does the author, IMO. The ending twists are dumb, I’m sorry.

Overall I’d say this is a skip.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

This book book had me constantly guessing from the beginning with an ending I did not see coming! There were so many twists and turns that made you second guess yourself on everything you originally thought was going on! The only thing I didn’t like about the book was that it incorporated Covid protocols with mask wearing and quarantining, and if you’re like me that’s just not something I enjoy reading about because we have lived in it for so long. But overall the boom was extremely good and I definitely recommend for when it comes out!

Bartz, consistently an engagingly thrilling writer, takes a step towards something all the much deeper here, and it's unforgettable. This book almost literally throbs with danger, darkness, and the sense that no one can ever really trust anyone, no matter how naked or vulnerable they seem. It's such a good, heavy, unstoppable thrill ride, and I can't stop thinking about it.

Sadly, this was a no for me. It had such great plot potential but it didn’t turn around so it was a miss for me.

I expected a thriller/mystery, but it was more of just a psychological domestic drama, talking about break-ups and living in a threesome..
I will admit vs not DNF i skimmed through many parts that lost my interest.
It just didn’t seem realistic and I continued on hoping for a good ending.

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc of Spare Room in exchange for an honest review.

I HATE giving bad reviews – it just makes me feel so bad, because so much of a review is based on personal opinion.

2.5 Stars

While this is typically my genre, the poly relationship and the way Nathan and Sabrina treated each other did not sit well for me. It didn't really seem like they were ever in a successful poly relationship, and instead were just trying to do it for one another. I questioned some of the MC's early decisions and definitely couldn't stand her in the beginning.

What worked for me in this book was the amount of self growth the MC achieved over the span of this book and the realizations made regarding a number of her relationships. I also definitely felt this was fast paced (which I need). I loved Andrea Bartz's last book, "We Were Never Here" so was eager to pick this one up, however, this one just didn't work for me. I will however continue reading her next pieces of work as I think it was simply the theme that didn't interest me.

There were plenty of twists and turns, and ultimately, the ending did not feel rushed, which I think a lot of mystery/thriller authors have trouble with.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!!

The Spare Room is a pandemic based thriller laced with deception, romance and a “who done it” mystery. This book hooked me from the very beginning, the characters are entrancing, so full of life and mysterious air, you want to know more about them and what makes them tick. There are so many twists and turns, you won’t know who to trust, what is happening and will be questioning yourself throughout the entire story. This is a fast paced thriller you won’t want to miss!

This was a fast paced read. I read it in one day. It started off pretty slow though. I didn’t love the plot line, I gave it overall three stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book.

Unfortunately, I do not believe I am the right reader for this book. The sexual content is so pervasive and the scenes are interwoven so much into the story they take over, making it unreadable for me and I couldn’t finish.

However, if you are unbothered by explicit content and are looking for something with strong Verity vibes, this writing could easily keep you pulled in and this could be a very bingeable book for you.

Where do I start?!
The Spare Room was excellent, keeping me hooked right from the beginning. This is a hard one to review. I’m still speechless.
While poly does not interest me whatsoever in real life, I still found this very well written.
The beginning/middle of the book I thought I had predicted everything. I was definitely wrong and thrilled at the same time. The twists and turns were amazing.
One issue I did have, but knew prior to reading was the pandemic. I feel this could have been just as amazing with that being a major role. I think all of us have had quite enough of hearing about it. This did not have a major impact on my feelings of the book, just a personal opinion.

I would absolutely recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley, Andrea Bartz and Ballentine Books for the opportunity to read this ARC. I want to also thank Hilary Teeman for the wonderful editors letter in the beginning. I thought that was such an amazing touch. I was thrilled knowing how much they do appreciate our honest reviews. I wish more ARC’s included this personal touch.

*All opinions are my own.

Whoa! I'm not sure what I just read! It was amazing! I thought I for sure knew how the ending would turn out but I was sooooo wrong. I enjoyed the spice too! 😋

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!!

Andrea Bartz is an auto buy writer for me! “The Herd” was one of my favorite thrillers of recent reads, and I enjoyed this advanced copy courtesy of NetGalley!

I thought the premise of being in lockdown and the ability for those circumstances to both lead to/ conceal crimes, as well as to escalate the high emotions involved was well done and the nov moved at a fast clip. I predicted quite a few of the early twists but not the ending!

I liked the amount of suspicion in multiple characters and thought the sexual dynamics were a unique and interesting addition to the plot and the motives for

The Spare Room takes place in early 2020 during the onset of the covid pandemic and centers around 35-year-old Kelly Doyle. Kelly recently just moved to Philadelphia with her long-term boyfriend and since the lockdown, Kelly has been stuck in their new apartment in a new city jobless, friendless, and now her relationship with her boyfriend is becoming strained.

Kelly's childhood friend Sabrina Lamont, along with her husband Nathan invites Kelly to temporarily stay in the spare room in their glamourous mansion in Virginia. Kelly jumps at the opportunity in hopes the time away from her boyfriend will help to mend their relationship. Soon after Kelly arrives, she starts to develop romantic feelings for both the Lamonts, and much to her surprise Sabrina and Nathan’s feelings are mutual. As their three-person relationship begins to deepen, Kelly learns that the Lamomts have done this before with another woman. And much to her surprise, the woman is missing.

I always looking for a unique story, especially when it comes to thrillers. So the unique plot synopsis immediately drew my interest to The Spare Room. The book took me on a couple of unexpected turns. At several points, I expected the story was going to go a certain way but then a twist was dropped and I was completely wrong.

Even though this story contains a plot twist, I'm not sure that The Spare Room should be categorized as a thriller but instead it's more of a romantic mystery. I was really surprised with the spice factor in this one. A large portion of the story centers around Kelly’s sexual relationship with the Lamont’s.

Overall I found The Spare Room to be an entertaining read. Even though I didn't like The Spare Room as much as I loved We Were Never Here, I still look forward to reading anything Andrea writes in the future. I think a lot of readers will enjoy this one, especially readers of romantic suspense.

The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz will be available on June 20. Many thanks to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the gifted copy!

After loving Bartz's last book, I had a feeling that this would be a winner for me and I was correct! Definitely recommend to those that love popcorn thrillers, can't wait to see what Bartz does next!

I really enjoyed Andrea Bartz’s previous books THE LOST NIGHT, THE HERD, and most recently WE WERE NEVER HERE. As such, I was excited to get my hands on an ARC of THE SPARE ROOM! When Kelly needs an escape from her life and an old friend she has recently reconnected with offers up the spare room in her and her husband’s palatial Virginia home, she eagerly accepts. In the isolation of the pandemic, Kelly is happy to be spending time with new people in a new place. However, as things progress Kelly begins to doubt that she is as safe as she thought. That’s all I can say without spoiling anything!

Definitely pick this one up when it publishes on June 20, 2023. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a unique and twisty thriller that I was not expecting. While I did have to suspend my disbelief to get on board, it was a super fun ride. I loved the soapy drama of it all and thought the author did a great job creating tension and suspense. Would definitely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, and Andrea Bartz for a copy of this ARC!

The Spare Room, by Andrea Bartz, is a mystery/thriller that to me felt more like a domestic drama book. Kelly, the main character, is offered the opportunity to stay with a childhood friend Sabrina, and her husband, Nathan, after her engagement is ended and she has nowhere else to turn. Over time, she starts to fall for both Sabrina and Nathan as they open up their marriage for her. Things start to seem off to Kelly, who starts to uncover cracks in their relationship. Cut off from the rest of the world, Kelly must uncover the secrets of Nathan and Sabrina before it's too late.

While I was able to stay engaged with this story and plot, I found Kelly's character to be extremely frustrating. Overall, this was a slow burn for me and it felt unrealistic at times. I did, however, like how the author incorporated the pandemic and lockdown into this story!

This was my first book by the author and I still plan to read "We Were Never Here" because I have heard such amazing things about her writing.

My rating for this book is a 2.5

I'm not really sure if I would consider this one a thriller, definitely a slow burn. It took until about 70% in for anything twisty to happen. Even still, I really enjoyed this one.
During the pandemic, Kelly moves in with her former high school friend, Sabrina, and her husband, after her fiance cancels their wedding. Kelly quickly develops feelings for both her hosts, and they begin a romantic relationship. Kelly then discovered they had a previous partner who has recently gone missing. Kelly is determined to find answers.
Thank you netgally for the ARC.

I was excited to read this one after reading Andrea Bartz's "We Were Never Here," but this book didn't do it for me.

Kelly's fiance needs space, so Kelly and her cat, Virgo, move to live with an old classmate, Sabrina, and her husband, Nathan. Sabrina and Nathan are practically strangers to Kelly, so I thought that would make for an interesting plot. Sadly, I was mistaken.

I expected a thriller/mystery, but I didn't feel anything thrilling or mysterious until I was already 70-75% done with the book. I rarely DNF a book, but I was close to not finishing this book several times because it wasn't at all what I was expecting.

To make matters worse, I must not have read the description well enough when I requested this book on NetGalley because I missed the information regarding the couple becoming a throuple. If you'd be interested in reading about that type of relationship, then maybe you'd like this book, but I didn't care for it.

Here is a quick list of other things I didn't like about this book:
-I feel like everything happens too fast. I don't know if this book was supposed to be like that because it takes place during the COVID lockdown, and time did move quickly then, but the pacing was odd.
-The frequent reminder of the lockdown, in general, bothered me.
-Kelly did her fiance dirty for no reason. I feel like we barely get any backstory about their relationship, but I had to suffer reading about her complaining about him non-stop. Kelly was annoying in general.
-All of the characters are annoying. The only character I liked was Virgo, the cat.
-I already touched on this one, but this book's mystery/thriller aspects sucked. It was not done well, and I felt nothing when more information was finally shared with readers about the lingering "darkness" in this book.

Again, I wanted this book to be good, and I feel bad leaving such a negative review, but I have to be honest. I would not recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.