First, let me start with stating the I have read and enjoyed all of Andrea Bartz’s books. For me, this one fell short of the others. I liked the premise- a pod in the middle of Covid with a bunch of secrets- but I really did not enjoy being in the main character’s head. She annoyed me! I would have much rather spent the book inside Sabrina’s brain.

Unlike others, the poly situation didn’t bother me and I thought it was bold of the author to explore the relationship. However, I thought the immaturity of the main character was really annoying and kept pulling me out of the story.

I enjoyed all the build up in the first 2/3 of the book, and then I wanted so much more for the end. It kind of fizzled out.

This was a tough one to write. I’ll be back for the author’s next release.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this arc!

3.5⭐️

In the height of the pandemic, Kelly's fiancé decides he wants to take a step back from their engagement. Instead of being trapped together in their small apartment, she goes to stay with her childhood friend, Sabrina and her husband, Nathan. Sabrina is a beautiful romance author and Nathan is a gorgeous and charming man who works for the Department of Defense. Kelly soon finds herself falling for both Sabrina and Nathan and they quickly let her into their relationship.

But this isn't the first time they've invited another woman into their relationship and Kelly finds evidence of her everywhere in the house. She soon finds out that that woman went missing and with how secretive Sabrina and Nathan are about her, it seems obvious to Kelly that they have something to do with it.

First and foremost, I really appreciate the author note at the beginning of the book that the cat was going to be okay. More books should have that warning. I'm not sure I'm ready to start reading books where COVID is a big plot point, but here we are. It's a good reason for Kelly to be moving in with this couple randomly, but COVID didn't really play any other big part to the story.

I feel like this was a bit of a slow build up. There's so much drama leading up to the twist but none of it is necessarily that important to the story. The story wasn't really a 'thriller' until almost the end of the book; even when their were bodies and the cops being called, everything felt very low stakes. Kelly was also an infuriating character. She repeatedly snoops in other peoples things and believes this is what ruins her relationships, but does nothing to stop. She repeatedly talks about how she grew up not trusting people and that's why she feels justified snooping, but we're never given any back story to explain why she's so insistent on not trusting anyone. And for not trusting anyone, she is the most gullible untrusting person and just takes every explanation at face value which drove me crazy.

Thanks Netgalley and Ballantine for providing this ARC to me!

This was my first book to read by Andrea Bartz.. The book had lots of twists and turns. I really did not enjoy the whole threesome part of the book. The story was just a little too graphic and did not hold my attention. I had a hard time even finishing this book. Definitely not something a book club would enjoy.

I appreciate receiving an early copy of this book! I was a huge fan of The Herd by Andrea Bartz and was looking forward to this one. However, I was not a fan of this book and also found it problematic in the way it treated its main female character. I often wonder why authors must make their female main characters so dumb. There was no reason for the main character in this book to be so dumb. Every description indicated that she was a capable grown woman, yet she made the worst choices and threw out all of her good senses. I did not think the author provided any justification for it either; I was not buying into the insta-love plot either. I felt no reason to believe she would fall head over heels for Sabrina and her husband overnight either. I appreciated the way the author tried to normalize polyamorous relationships but think she missed the mark on that as well.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for advanced copy for honest review.

Risky Business!

It's during the pandemic. Everyone is on lockdown. Kelly is currently down & out with nothing going well. Instead of living in the dumps of life, she reconnects with an old childhood friend, Sabrina. Sabrina is more than accommodating by inviting Kelly to stay with her and her husband Nathan. It sounds like a dream, a mansion in the Virginia hills, remote with room to breath. Then the wild times begin, engaging with both Sabrina and her husband in a threesome, and Kelly is loving it. Slowly she realizes she is not their first in their open relationship. She also learns of the last woman who has gone missing. With no spoilers, the first part of book is hot & steamy then turns into a thriller we all know from Andrea Bartz! 4 Stars, recommend!

I wanted to like this. But it was rough. There was not one likable character, Kelly was so annoying, the ending just dragged on. It sounded so appealing but it did not hit the mark. Bummer.

An interesting read, I’m just not sure that I am the correct audience for this book. I’m sure others will enjoy it more.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

When you first meet Kelly, nothing is going her way it seems. I could see her need to leave and not be stuck with her fiancé during the pandemic. Kelly could also be very naive at times and a people pleaser, and at times I did want to shake a slap her.

I did not know who to trust, and why a long lost friend would just randomly welcome Kelly into her home. I got a very odd vibe from Sabrina and Nathan, and the whole time I felt like they were up to something. I wanted to know their motives, and if inviting Kelly to stay with them was some sinister plan. There were twists at around the 50% mark, and Andrea Bartz does not let up after that. This was a chaotic, but fun wild ride, and is perfect to read pool side or on the beach.

The Spare Room
⭐️⭐️💫

After reconnecting through social media, Kelly confides with an old high school friend (Sabrina) about some troubles she’s having with her fiancé. Sabrina then invites Kelly to take some much needed space by coming to live and quarantine with her and her husband (yes, the story is set during the pandemic). While living in the spare room, feelings evolve and secrets are uncovered. This is a story of what jealousy and hate can motivate someone to do.

This book…was a lot, but not enough all in one?! I’m not quite sure how to describe my overall feeling about it. Like most suspense/mysteries, it held my attention enough to finish the book so I could figure out how everything would tie together. It ended up feeling pretty lackluster, and there were things that happened in the story that never really were explained. Kelly also was not a favorite main character. While I felt bad for the toxicity she was exposed to, I didn’t enjoy how easily dependent she was with those she was in a relationship with. If you’re a thriller/mystery lover, you may still enjoy the story and seeing how it unfolds. This book releases in a few days-June 20, 2023.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well, I think that this one kind of disappointedly me. The blurb came across like this was a thriller which made me so excited to read but in all honesty that was only a few chapters in the book. The real story here is about domestic relationships. The writing about the pandemic actually went too far and was really overdone by the author and the protagonist was a mess this time. I have read another of Bartz’s books and thoroughly enjoyed it. But this one was lacking something. Maybe it was how the protagonist was whiny or the relationships with other characters was too over emotional. Either way I really wanted to love this one but sadly, did not.

2 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.
The Spare Room is a very hard read for me to review. I had a solid time reading it, I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the thriller portion, but a lot of the characters fell flat for me. I also didn't love the setting of the earlier stages of the pandemic. The first half of the book fell more in the domestic half of domestic thriller, verging more on a romance/women's fiction type story following Kelly trying to find herself and figure out her relationships. I enjoyed the writing and I enjoyed the overall story.

2.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The story takes place during the COVID lockdown. Kelly and her live-in fiancé are having relationship issues and Kelly shares her story with a former high school friend who is now bestselling romance novelist. When Sabrina offers Kelly a spare room with her and her husband, Kelly moves on in and stays although they are extremely creepy things going on, including a missing woman (who last inhabited the guest room and looks just like Kelly)

I was disappointed in this book, especially because I did enjoy Bartz's previous books. Kelly, as a protagonist was so exceedingly dumb and whiny. I can't imagine anyone I know behaving in the manner described in the book - and not just because they were in a throuple.

This is a review of an Advanced Readers Copy of The Spare Room! This is my first read of this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

The Spare Room is set during the pandemic, when everyone is quarantining and wearing masks. The main character Kelly has moved to Philadelphia with her fiancé Mike, where she is jobless and friendless. Her fiancé wants to pump the breaks on the wedding, and so the book begins with Kelly on her way to stay with a high school friend, Sabrina, whom she recently reconnected with online, along with her husband Nathan. They graciously offer Kelly their spare room in the beautiful Tanglewood estates, where they are kept safe and sound inside a locked gate.

This novel is a slow building suspense story that takes readers through Kelly adjusting to pandemic life in a new setting, while self-reflecting on her wants and needs in life. As she slowly starts to figure out what she wants moving forward, some twists and turns are thrown her way when Sabrina and Nathan’s very recent past comes knocking.

While this book has a slow build up, it takes a turn about a third of the way in that may or may not surprise readers. Without revealing any major plot twists, the last chunk of the book will make readers guess and question who to trust and believe, and that includes questioning the main character herself!

I kept trying to guess what would happen in the last part of the book, and didn’t come close to guessing! I think this book is more of a romance suspense book, and turns a little thriller-ish about 70% of the way through. I wouldn’t say it was a fast-paced thriller, more a slow-burn with a romance story and some twists and turns.

It’s a few months into the pandemic, and Kelly’s life is upended when her fiancé decides he wants to postpone their wedding. Kelly’s old high school classmate-turned-author and influencer Sabrina and her husband Nathan invite Kelly to stay at their luxurious mansion and become the third member of their little quarantine pod. Soon, Kelly finds herself attracted to the sexy couple, and the feeling is mutual. But it turns out that this isn’t the first time Sabrina and Nathan have opened their marriage to another woman, and the woman before her has disappeared without a trace.

The Spare Room is an entertaining read that’s more romantic suspense than thriller, although the last quarter or so of the novel gets pretty twisty! A significant portion of the story is focused on the “throuple” and their interactions both in and out of the bedroom, with some steamy but not over-the-top spicy scenes. There’s an atmospheric and creepy undercurrent running throughout this locked-room plot, and the twists and turns later in the story are totally unpredictable and really pop!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

If you liked The Last Mrs. Parrish or The Last Housewife, I think you'll LOVE THIS ONE.

I'm pretty critical of domestic thrillers, I usually like them but definitely don't love them - this one I loved! It blew so many other domestic thrillers out of the water because of all of the interesting twists that the author gave us. It definitely isn't your typical domestic thriller, it has much more depth and challenging topics (pandemic living, poly-relationships, missing persons, etc.).

The only critique I had was that the beginning was a little slow (but still engaging), and when we got to the meat of the story it seemed pretty repetitive (MC in a new situation, not sure the "rules", makes a mistake, cries, friends comfort her and tell her everything is fine... about 6 times) haha!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would tell people they should read it this summer!

(will post a review on my instagram closer to pub date! @libslittlelibrary)

So this certainly had an interesting premise--Kelly's fiance calls off their wedding during the early pandemic, so she goes to stay with a high school friend, and ends up getting romantically and sexually involved with both of them. But then Kelly learns their last partner went missing, and it seems that they're both keeping secrets from her.
*
This was completely new to me -- I have no experience with throuples, either in real life or in fiction, so it was certainly interesting to see how this played out. But unfortunately the story didn't really do it for me. Everything about the relationship felt rushed--she sleeps with a married couple once and all of a sudden expects to be an equal partner?--which the book does acknowledge eventually, but it made it hard to root for Kelly.
*
It also felt like it wasn't quite sure what it wanted the main conflict to be. Red herrings were thrown out but it seemed somewhat clumsy, so they never felt like true issues.
*
There were a couple twists I enjoyed, and I think this does a great job of exploring different elements of sexuality and relationships (eventually), but overall this didn't really land for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the advanced readers copy of The Spare Room by Andrew Bartz. Kelly, after a breakup with her fiancé, moves in to live with an old school friend and her husband. I think the story was ok, it did remind me of her sister’s book The Writing Retreat, living in a big scary house with double fencing and an author as the host. While it was a different story, it was a similar premise.

It’s Covid times and Kelly’s new life is falling to pieces. Luckily, she has recently reconnected with an old friend, Sabrina, who is now a famous author and is married to a gorgeous powerful man. Kelly is nervous but elated when Sabrina offers up a spare room in their gorgeous mansion to stay in while she gets things sorted out. Once there, Kelly feels herself falling for both Sabrina and her husband and after a magical night she becomes part of their relationship. But what happened to the last woman they opened up their marriage for? Kelly just might die trying to figure that out.

While the weather is turning hot it is no where near how hot this book is, wow! This is definitely your summer must read book, you just might need a cool drink after reading this and maybe a cigarette. The tension between all the characters is so high and that ending, bravo!

If this domestic thriller were a cocktail it would be heavy on the domestic with a hint of thriller as an aftertaste you almost miss entirely. There was SO much going for it: great isolated setting with a realistic reason for the isolation (pandemic), non-monogamous/non-heteronormative relationship (not the healthiest or most well written but love the representation), and a plot that gives strong thriller vibes (what the hell happened to their last partner?!). Unfortunately, it really fell flat for me. The characters are infuriating, no one communicates and quite frankly Kelly was a bit stupid. Nathan and Sabrina were too if they honestly didn’t pick up on how their words and actions were being interpreted. The plot was very predictable and the one “twist” that wasn’t felt so far out of left field that it didn’t feel like it fit with the rest of the story. And lastly, the pacing was off, it felt slow until roughly 200-250 pages in and by that point even though the story began to pick up there wasn’t enough momentum to make the last third of the book a page turner.

I haven't read Bartz' previous novels but heard good things about them, which is why I was excited to read her newest novel. The blurb sounded very interesting, too. In the end, I think this book mostly fell flat for me because I was expecting something else.
While this is marketed as a thriller, it only really becomes in the last few chapters, basically. More than that it's an exploration of our protagonists needs, relationships, sexuality. Which is all good and well, and the author herself tells us how important and personal of a subject that is for her. I adore stories that focus the often forgotten fact that exploration of oneself, of one's sexuality, does not stop after your teenage years. It's an important conversation to have, it just didn't really work for me in this book. The polyamorous relationship at the center of it never felt organic and at times problematic, though the characters do acknowledge that themselves. While there was sexual chemistry, I didn't feel any romance blossoming there. And then there's the mystery of the missing woman that was the couple's lover just before our protagonist, Kelly, starts her relationship with them. There is very little actually going on with that mystery, and Kelly acts completely moronic most of the time, actively ignoring reveals that would make any person with a brain just leave. Instead, she just shares her discoveries with the clearly lying couple over and over again and lets them tell her whatever they want in order to make her stay. Suspension of disbelief to the max..
When this finally does turn into a thriller, I didn't really care about the big mystery, or this story as a whole, that much anymore. The twists and turns and reveals are okay and exciting enough, though I didn't like the final twist and the solution after the reveal.

So in conclusion, this book is too long and barely a thriller, and because I didn't care about the protagonist I wasn't invested in her personal journey nor her fate. 2,5 stars, rounding up to 3.