⭐️⭐️⭐️💫(Rounded to 4) The Spare Room - Andrea Bartz

I enjoyed this one, especially from the beginning to the middle of the book which was kind of unexpected & thrilling. The last 1/4 of the book turned into a thriller but that part was actually my least favorite. I did like how they tied in that it was around the covid pandemic which fits the theme of isolation and distancing and can be a more believable setting. The part that fell short for me was too many twists at the end - without giving too much away, I dont understand how the murderer could really get away with it. 🤯


This book will be released 6/20/23!


*Thank you to @netgalley and Random House Publishing for the arc!!


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I ended up DNF’ing this at 42%. I couldn’t connect with the characters or the story and once the threesome entered into the story I lost even more interest. This just wasn’t quite what I was expecting,.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 stars.

Fun fact: I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Andrea and Julia Bartz (The Writing Retreat) are sisters.

I honestly think a lot of people will enjoy this book, but I’m definitely not the target audience. And that’s okay!

The mystery to romance ratio was just off for me. There was a lot of intrigue, tension, and mysterious happenings, but too much romance to make it a winner in my book.

On top of that, I sadly didn’t care for the twist at the end; I felt it came too far out of left field.

With that said, this was my first Andrea Bartz book and I for sure enjoyed her writing from start to finish. I’d be open to reading more from her in the future.

I went into this book blind, having read books by the author before and knowing I’d want to read it. It was a solid, entertaining read full of red herrings and characters that were difficult to trust.

During the beginning of the COVID lockdown, Kelly’s fiancée tells her he would like to put their wedding plans on hold after an ugly incident between the two. Kelly moves in with a girl from high school who she has reconnected with via Instagram. Sabrina and her husband Nathan appear to have it all- money, a huge house, and each other. They begin to casually flirt with Kelly and eventually form a throuple with her. Their secrets begin to come out, like the fact that they were previously together with another woman who looked very similar to Kelly and who has now gone missing. Things begin to spiral from there as Kelly can’t decide who to trust.

The pacing in the book is fantastic, keeping the reader intrigued. I couldn’t decide who to trust myself, so I can see why Kelly became so paranoid! Sabrina and Nathan change their stories several times, saying they didn’t want to hurt Kelly or the pain of missing their former girlfriend was too great to discuss. I truly had no clue who committed the crimes that occur in the book, and the final twist was very surprising!

Kelly could annoy me horribly at times with how wishy washy she was, bursting into tears at a moment’s notice. She would go from insecure to overconfident in the span of 5 minutes, and was definitely an unreliable narrator.

Setting this book during the early days of the pandemic added to that unknown vibe, where people didn’t feel safe around others and only felt free at home in their pod, maskless. The atmosphere has dark undertones throughout the whole story and added so much to the overall tone of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Although I think this would technically be a domestic thriller, it read more like a romance in some places and thriller in others. The transition between the two wasn’t exactly seamless and that was my major turnoff with this book.

I did not expect the ending and fell right into the default assumptions. I do think the author did a perfect job of lining up the clues with the resolution. Overall, I think it was a decent thriller/romance and would still recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC

I was curious about this one and seeing it making its way over Booksta and all its rave reviews. This book was sexy! I enjoyed the added touches of sex, and the way Kelly came into her own, discovering herself and things she did not know she felt. She grew so much within the novel, and I enjoyed being able to watch that. The sex scenes were steamy, and I won’t lie-they were hot! It worked perfect to also mess with your head so that you were unsure who the villain was.

The twists were twisty! I did not see the ending coming at all and the big reveal. This one felt fresh, unique, and different then your average “Domestic Thriller”. Bartz did a great job of making you feel tense and claustrophobic using the worlds situation of Covid and the novel only truly taking place within the house. This was perfect for a hot summer night when you are looking for a fresh take on a thriller!

What's it about (in a nutshell):
The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz is a domestic/psychological thriller about love and relationships during the pandemic. Kelly, feeling like her boyfriend needs a break from her, leaves their Philadelphia home a goes to stay with an old high school acquaintance and her husband to give her boyfriend some space. She quickly learns that Sabrina and her husband, Nathan, are much different than she expected and are holding on to secrets that worry her.

Bullet Point Review:

What I loved most about this story was the ending. Not that it ended, but I found the conclusion jaw-droppingly shocking. I didn't see it coming at all.

I also loved the relatively unreliable narrator that the story has in Kelly. She not only keeps secrets from other characters in the book but also from the reader – just giving tantalizing little thoughts that let you know you're not getting the whole story. I always enjoy the extra challenge an unreliable narrator provides.

My biggest issue with this story is that it was very wordy when it didn't need to be. I prefer a thriller that stays tightly focused and moves quickly; this story didn't do that. It happened over a relatively short period but meandered to the point where it didn't feel short in time. I wonder if it was to distract the reader, but if it was, I don't care for that technique.

The story goes to some weird and freaky places; I'm unsure how I feel about that. Basically, I have mixed thoughts about it. Of course, I can't mention specifics because, well, spoilers!

The story is timewise during the pandemic, and I thought that was handled in some intriguing ways. Ways that added to the creepy atmosphere that winds its way through the story.

The characters could be more well-developed, as they stay one-dimensional from beginning to end.
They are also not relatable or even likable at all – which is not a bad thing in thrillers. Still, it is nice to have that one character you can hang on to as you are reading.

The pace could be more consistent rather than rotating between slow and medium-paced until the end. I didn't care for the pace, as I enjoy a consistently faster pace.

The story is set outside of Washington, DC. I can't say that the setting had any relevance to the story or was utilized well, which is a shame because there are lots you can do with DC as a setting since it is our nation's capital and home to many politicians and national/international law enforcement, etc.

Read if you're in the mood for:
* A mysterious, ark, and tense thriller
* A medium-paced story that is a mix of plot and character-driven
* A thriller with highly flawed and unrelatable characters

I absolutely loved We Were Never Here so I was excited to see this arc. I liked this one pretty well but for me, it was no where near We Were Never Here status. The characters are interesting but I didn’t love it.

Who doesn’t love a suspense thriller, locked room mystery? They’re my favorites, especially when set in a glamorous big mansion, perhaps adjacent to a cemetery, where an incredibly successful and mysterious couple live. Sold, I need to read more! I enjoyed the constant twists, the major gotcha moments, however, those big spectacular surprises quickly fizzled, and we were onto the next one that didn’t quite produce the longevity that I wished. For a story centered around a newly created throuple, the intimate scenes were soft. I wanted more. The MC was going through some life changes and completely upends her life to assimilate into life with this couple, by shutting out everyone in her past. She would grow a backbone, only for it to quickly curve.

I had high hopes for this one since I really enjoyed We Were Never Here, but I hate to say this didn’t quite meet my expectations. Kelly was pretty unlikable for a lot of the book. Her paranoia was extreme at times, and while in a thriller that can be a good thing, I felt like it was done in a way that didn’t always work, and often came across as annoying. The plot felt a little slow/repetitive in the middle, and the second half had a few too many twists.

However, there were still things that I liked about this book. Kelly’s constant paranoia definitely made me feel anxious during certain scenes, and added to the overall suspense. I also love the “don’t know who to trust” aspect of the story, and it kept me guessing at who was being honest. The last 1/3 really picked up the action, and I had a hard time putting it down because I needed to know what happened next. I didn’t see the big twist at the end coming, and while I don’t think it totally made sense, it did take me by surprise.

I’d say if you’re thinking about picking this one up, give it a try! I can definitely see people enjoying this even if it wasn’t a home run for me.

This tense, steamy thriller provides yet another amazing read by Andrea Bartz. Kelly Doyle, locked inside a tiny apartment in Philly reconnects with an old classmate via Instagram, and just at the right time, too. Kelly's fiance, Mike, wants to postpone the wedding. When Kelly tells her old friend this, she is immediately invited to stay with her. Sabrina is a successful author and is married to Nathan, who has a mysterious job with the Department of Defense. Together the two form The Lamonts, and they are Kelly's new quarantine pod. What surprises Kelly is that they both like her too. Read on for a unique, steamy, suspenseful ride and an especially chilling ending!


Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this ARC.

Holy cow... I was not expecting this book! I also passed on it due to the setting of the pandemic, but was intrigued enough by the description to give it a go, and I’m glad I did. Luckily for anyone who is triggered by the topic of the pandemic in their reading, this one is more of a mechanism for how a person can go missing or basically start a whole new life, and no one is the wiser. I felt like it was a little slow to start, but once some pieces started to fall into place – the broken engagement, the affair, bit by bit the ex’s backstory coming out. There were many twists and turns along the way, but even I wasn’t suspecting the final clues falling into place. If you’re looking for a steamy, sexy and gripping thriller, this one is it.

Hmmm. Know in advance that Kelly, Sabrina, and Nathan will become a throuple, Kelly and her fiance have broken up and she's got no where to spend COVID lockdown until she hooks up with her high school friend Sabrina, who, thanks to her steamy novels, owns a big creepy house in Virginia. Sabrina and her husband Nathan welcome Kelly- of course they do since well, they've been a throuple before, But something happened then and now Kelly is feeling the menace, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a hard one to rate because it's easy to be judgey about the characters and their sources, Leaving that aside, it's a thriller (of sorts) with a twist. It's different from Bartz's previous work but her storytelling remains the thing that will keep you reading.

Below are my play by play thoughts while reading the book — though I don’t think I’m spoiling anything they could be interpreted I suppose as spoilers.

Okay, hear me out — the beginning was annoying. Kelly kept referencing this bad thing she did and of course never told us what that bad thing was that tore apart her engagement and got her packing on a train to DC, which you quickly realize is the hook of the book and you find out about 20% in. You have to wait for the reasoning and you’re wondering did she cheat, kill someone or something? Your mind starts to wander. We only know that she breached Mikes trust.

Sabrina and Nathan seem relatively normal which makes you wonder what is this book about and when does it get weird.

Then — it gets weird and freeeeaky. I feel bad for Kelly because she seems like she has extremely low self worth/confidence and is grasping at anything and anyone that gives her one iota of attention without thinking of all the ramifications of what can happen after the shine dulls.

The book really makes you kind of sympathize with the way Kelly isolated herself though. It’s a pandemic, people aren’t socializing much but businesses are open, so it must not be during the height of the pandemic where everyone was on lockdown.

How Kelly treats Mike though when she’s moved on and found someone more exciting is kind of cruel. I’m feeling Sabrina and Nathan are getting her to cut herself off from everyone so no one will care about her anymore and then with Nathan and all of his high tech surveillance stuff will somehow frame everything so there’s no footage like with the second dead animal thing.

It takes until about half way through for one of them to start acting slightly off and then it all goes downhill from there and you’d think that would be the warning signal but — no, we keep going lol her ability to completely dismiss every red flag reminds me of a very bad cliche horror movie where someone goes to open the door while they are home alone after getting 8374920 crank calls.

I must admit though - the ending did catch me off guard but seemed so far fetched, I didn’t get that happy feeling at the end of the book when you realize how everything unfolded.

Big Thanks to Random House - Ballantine Books and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC of The Spare Room to read and review.

I am a massive Andrea Bartz fan - We Were Never Here is one of my favorite thrillers, ever. I was so excited to hear about her upcoming book, and to get an ARC! From the press I read I knew that this was a new direction, and I welcome that with authors - I love watching them stretch and try new things.

There was a lot in this that I enjoyed - the twists and turns, especially in the last third of the book. Unfortunately, other pieces fell a bit flat to me - I never got as invested as I wanted to in Kelly, and particularly in her relationship with Nathan and Sabrina. It felt like things moved quite fast and weren't as earned to feel authentic.

While this may not have been my favorite of Bartz's, I still tore through it and was guessing until the last page. And I remain so excited to see what she writes next.

Gotta love a domestic thriller! I really expected vacation vibes, per Andrea's last book, but it still featured an escape (just from the pandemic, as it turns out). This is also the first book I've read featuring a throuple! This did have a twist I did NOT see coming, so that won some points!

It's lockdown. A difficult time for anyone. For Kelly, it is even worse since her fiancé decided on a break. To deal, she heads hundreds of miles away from him and into the arms of her friend from high school and her husband to form a pod. But what is on the surface of everything is not all that it seems.

This book had me hooked. I liked the characters. I liked the eerie setting (and I worked very hard to stay away from Covid books!). I liked the mystery. I really did like all of it...up until about 70% in. That's where the story took some turns that I just couldn't get behind. By the end, I was disappointed in all of the characters and honestly disliked them. The trend of having characters be dislikable and make horrible decisions as a plot device is one that I am not a fan of (and it happens quite a lot in thrillers).

Now, this is just my opinion. I know this book will find its audience and will be loved by many thriller lovers!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the gifted copy. My reviews are always honest.

this was… a ride. I liked it but also hated it. the main character was increasingly irritating, unlikable, and unreliable. the supporting characters were similar. I was excited to read it because I love a good thriller + am pro-non-monogamy, but this fell flat. most of the time, I was cursing the main character and her choices.. she seemed incredibly naive and not very smart. I also felt like there were too many plot twists; it started to feel a bit unrealistic.

Not my favorite book ever, but I did just buy We Were Never Here on my kindle, so hopefully that redeems Andrea’s writing for me!

I felt like this was less of a thriller and more of a character study. It was interesting to read Kelly’s character growth and arc . She made some really terrible decisions throughout the book. I would sue the last 20-25% read more like the traditional thriller.

This is my second book by Andrea Bartz. So I was pretty excited to pick this one up. This book was more a mystery than a thriller in my opinion. I loved the several twists at the end of the book. I didn’t like repetitiveness in some parts and felt like the story could be cut a little shorter. The last 30% is where all action/mystery is happening and the story unfolds. This book will be great for people who love slow-burning romantic mystery/drama. Overall 3.5 stars.