The Spare Room
By Andrea Bartz
Review and Rating 3⭐️

I love a good locked room mystery and I was so excited to receive the ARC of The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz. However, I soon found, I would probably not recommend this one to just anyone. Part mystery, part erotic thriller, this is not my usual read.
Set during the Covid pandemic, Kelly and her fiancé are taking a break and to get away Kelly is offered the opportunity to move in with her childhood friend Sabrina and her husband Nathan. They offer up the spare room in their remote Virginia mansion and Kelly jumps in. Once there the three fall into a relationship “throuple” with plenty of incidents and complications. Soon, Kelly discovers there was a women before her invited into Sabrina and Nathan’s marriage and she is now missing and she starts to wonder if she might be in danger.
I really loved the Covid lockdown setting with this one, it makes for a great way to do the the locked room mystery! I was not so much into the whole erotic thriller thing. I know, I know, some people love it. I just usually find it cheesy, as I did here. I also had trouble finding anything to like in any of the characters, even Kelly. No spoilers, but her bad decisions just kept mounting. I do plan to keep reading Andrea Bartz though so I am going to give The Spare Room 3 ⭐️.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for the eARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.


Book Rating Key
⭐️ Not Recommended
⭐️⭐️ Readable Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Good Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Excellent Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Near Perfect Book
***Note*** I seldom give ⭐️or ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ratings. If I feel a book is a ⭐️sometimes I just prefer to not finish reading it and not rate it. As for 5 ⭐️books, I think of those as books I would want to take with me to a deserted island 🏝️, and this means I read a whole lot of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️star books. Happy Reading!

Per usual, I did NOT read the blurb before I read the book. This is definitely one of the occasions I am so glad I didn't read it. I went in completely blind. If you are interested in this book and want to go into the book blind know this is a good book.
This is not your traditional domestic thriller. I loved it! Kelly and her fiancée put their relationship and wedding on hold during the pandemic. Okay, having any book set during the pandemic I knew the emotions would be running high. Kelly decides to take her old friend up on the offer to stay at her house, with her husband. Kelly is brought into Sabrina and Nathan's relationship. It starts as a physical attraction but ends up being so much more. And as with any thriller, someone ends up dead.
I can't say much more with out giving away spoilers.
I will say that I did not expect any of what I read. I had not a freakin' clue where this was going to go and Andrea took me on a wild ride! I loved it! I need to add it my physical shelf so I can re-read it and annotate it. I honestly think this would be a good one to re-read in the future.
Read this Book If:
🛌You want a book set in the pandemic
🛌You want a book that has you saying “What the??”
🛌You want a book that is open ended. There could be a sequel!
I rate this one a Buy or Borrow on my scale. If you want to annotate or reread this one I'd definitely buy it.


will post to IG ASAP!

DNFd at 30%. Could not get into it at all. Loved the authors first book and hopeful about any future books that she puts out.

While there were definitely times I was rolling my eyes, if you sit back and accept the premise (broken engagement, offer of a spare room, threesome, pandemic setting), you'll have a good time with this one. I like Andrea Bartz as a writer and enjoyed a previous book more, but this one was tense, sexy, and got me thinking. Its risque plot won't be for everyone but I like a writer that takes chances and goes to places others might not, so it's a four star for me.

This one didn't quite hit the mark for me. It had its moments of entertainment, and the plot was definitely different, but I kept waiting for it to really kick into gear, and it never quite did. Sure, there was a twist, but it felt kind of predictable, like a shortcut. Plus, I couldn't really get behind any of the characters. It wasn't a total snooze-fest, but by the end, it just felt like it lacked that special something.

Overall this was an interesting read, definitely a unique plot line unlike other mysteries I've read. While I appreciated the uniqueness, I was also confused by it at times as this was not at all what I expected. There were ups and downs throughout the story for me. Parts that peaked my interest and other parts where I was wondering how the heck we got here. Truthfully, I was hoping for a bit more of the mystery focus so the polyamorous relationship and the romance aspect were just unexpected, and I'd be curious how polyamorous people would perceive this.

I went into this blind and I do think that was helpful, just allowed myself to go along for the ride and that in and of itself kept me wanting to know where this was going!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

I could not get into this one.

Thank you Net Galley & to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz in exchange for my honest review and opinion. OMG this book has it all! I started this after dinner thinking I'd be ablt to put it down before bed = boy was I wrong, I was up until all hours of the night reading this as I had to finish it as it's THAT good! So much suspense and jaw dropping action! One of the best books I've read in quite some time. Loved it!

A scandalous and sexy read with a story as stunning as the cover! I enjoyed this one and will definitely be reading more by Andrea Bartz!

"The Spare Room" by Andrea Bartz is a riveting psychological thriller that delves into the complexities of friendship, deception, and the consequences of keeping secrets. Bartz masterfully crafts a tense and atmospheric narrative that keeps readers guessing until the very end. The characters are deeply flawed and compelling, drawing readers into their world of lies and manipulation. With its sharp prose and clever twists, "The Spare Room" is a gripping read that will leave you questioning the true nature of trust and loyalty. Andrea Bartz proves herself to be a skilled storyteller, cementing her place in the realm of contemporary suspense fiction.

Shortly after I started this book, I realized it was not for me. The cover intrigued me but I only got to 20% before throwing in the towel. I did not connect with any of the characters at all. It's supposed to be a mystery/thriller but to me, it's 90% Fifty Shades of Gray and 10% thriller.

I loved "We Were Never Here", and this was a good read, but it just didn't hit me the same way. It was an enjoyable read, with multiple POV's, and a good twist.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for the ARC.

This book just wasn't for me. Kelly has moved in with an old college friend and her husband during lockdown when she takes a break from her fiancé. They have a gorgeous house and all seems idyllic on the surface. However, things begin to turn strange and Kelly starts questioning everything.

I enjoyed Bartz's first novel This one just had a weird spin to it that didn't increase the interest for me. Kelly is a highly unlikable character. I could not understand most of the decisions she made.

If you enjoy a locked-room mystery, you may want to try this. There is definitely a strong locked-room aspect to it that I'm sure many would enjoy.

Kelly Doyle is is on the outs with her boyfriend Mike. She decides they need a break and moves in with her friends Sabrina and Nathan Lamont. They live in a mansion on Tanglewood Estates overlooking a creepy cemetery. She starts up an affair with the couple and learns of another girl’s disappearance that was involved with them.
She finds things around the mansion that creeps her out and uncovers disturbing secrets and lies.
This book was a great read full of twists and turns and left me gobsmacked by the ending.

Not my favorite thriller, but also not the worst too. Some eye rolls along the way as the characters progressed through the book. Certainly not going to let a stranger stay in our house anytime soon!

This was such a sexy, twisty mystery! I honestly had no idea where this story would end up and it definitely took me by surprise! I will say that at times it became a bit redundant, and Kelly (the main character) drove me nuts at times, but by the end I really enjoyed her character development! Overall such a fascinating mystery!

Maybe this author just isn’t for me I really struggled with this one and trying to care about the story at all. It could just be a me problem but I wasn’t that interested.

I really enjoyed this book! It was paced perfectly for a suspense set in paradise. I'm a sucker for multiple POVs and this didn't disappoint. It kept my guessing and reading because I was desperate to find out the twist. I read another review that explained it so well- it was a read that gave you the clues and you had to put the puzzle together. I would rate it 3.5 stars!

Trigger warning for graphic murder details and physical and sexual abuse.

Thanks to NetGalley, Avid Reader Press, Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster and Caro Carver for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tense, taut, and sensual. I really had no idea where the story would take me and I'm glad that I picked this one up. Bartz's writing is beautiful as always.

Set during the pandemic, Kelly finds herself in a polygamous relationship after a recent break up and finding herself quarantining with an old friend. Inside the mansion there are secrets that end up deadly. I was given this book as an ARC from Netgalley and really struggled to finish it. I found the main character to be insufferable and had such a winey inner dialogue. I did not find the book to be much of a thriller until the very end. The last few chapters i actually found myself enjoying the book.