I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the plot and there were some very steamy scenes, but I felt like there were also some holes in the story. It was still good, though, and I wasn’t expecting the twisty ending.

Book : The Spare Room
Author : Andrea Bartz
Pub Date : 20 June 2023

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group — Ballantine & the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I ate up this book. I am a sucker for a good thriller and this book sounded like quite the summer thriller. The cover screamed summer and mystery. I couldn’t wait to get into this book. I had never read a book by Andrea before and I can say that I will be keeping my eye on their books because YES! I ended this book having to pick my jaw off the floor because there were lots of twists and turns in this book.

I literally tried guessing what was going to happen in this book turn by turn and I never once figured it out. I was iffy about reading a book that takes place during COVID because COVID is a huge trigger for me but it wasn’t what I thought. I have already recommended this book to a handful of friends who I told that they need to put this on their TBR. If you haven’t already put this on your TBR, you need to do that now. You will not be disappointed.

Easy 4 stars for me.

3.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the E-ARC. To be honest I was done with this book at 80% it would of been a good ending. It started off really strong and was super consistent. Then I feel like it just went downhill and tried to pick up momentum but it was just not vibing with me. But then the ending was in true Bartz fashion as was really good.

During the pandemic, Kelly is living in a new city with her fiance Mike, without friends or a job, when he says he wants to postpone their wedding. Coincidentally, Kelly has reconnected with a former high school friend, Sabrina, who invites her to quarantine with her and her husband at their mansion in the country. This was billed as a thriller, but that didn't happen until near the end of the book. Instead, it was more of a "50 Shades..." story, and I started skimming once I realized that was the case, in order to get to the thriller part. I've heard great things about this author's previous book, but this one was not for me. Thank-you to NetGalley, Ms. Bartz, and Ballantine Books for the ARC of this title.

The Spare Room is a very suspenseful, steamy thriller. Kelly and her fiancé decide to take a break so Kelly leaves Philly to go stay with an old high school friend and her husband, Sabrina and Nathan Lamont, outside of DC. They live in a mansion that is gated, locked securely and next to an old cemetery. This also is occurring during the pandemic so they need to isolate once she gets there. Once Kelly is there she starts to have romantic feelings for both of them and the feelings are reciprocated. What should she do? She also finds out that they have done this in the past and now the other woman is missing. Kelly really needs to leave but she is enjoying the feelings, for now. This was a good read and entertaining. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and give my opinions.

Anytime someone says they have a spare room you won’t be able to not think of this book. It had me on the edge of seat the whole time and couldn’t stop thinking what was going to happen next!

This book was certainly different. I wouldn’t necessarily label it a thriller or romance.

Kelly seems to have a perfect life until one day her fiancé tells her he wants to take a step back. She moves in with a “friend” from high school & quickly finds herself in a polyamorous relationship with her & her husband. Kelly cries..A LOT..like almost too much to the point where she is so unlikeable. She also can’t make decisions for herself & finds herself trusting everyone she comes in contact with..literally. This book also takes place during Covid so if that’s not your thing, steer clear. Overall, this book wasn’t necessarily bad but it definitely wasn’t my favorite. The twist at the end was good & one I didn’t see coming. That’s the only reason it’s getting three stars.

I read about 15% of this one and had to DNF. I feel that it's not fair to give it a rating since I didn't read the whole thing, but I've decided to give it 3 stars. I read "We Were Never Here" by Andrea Bartz and struggled to get through that book... I should have known I might have had the same situation with this one. I decided to give her another chance but I really could not get into the writing style, I just kept falling asleep whenever I picked up the book. I didn't love the COVID/pandemic setting, I thought the concept was highly unrealistic. I just don't think this author is for me sadly, nothing against her at all. May try picking this back up in the future -- could've been a "me" problem/wrong time to read.

Okay, I am very thankful to Ballantine/Random House Publishing Group, Netgalley, Andrea Bartz, and PRH Audio for granting me access to this twisty/turning thriller, but I do have to say, this one was not for me. I couldn't really keep up with the audio, and it just wasn't for me, but I'm eager to see what other people think.

Okay... confused about this one. I don't think I liked it very much, but I also couldn't put it down. The writing and story held my interest, but I could not handle the outlandish way that the narrator thought. I often felt like grabbing her by the shoulders, shaking her, and screaming "HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THAT WHERE THERE IS SMOKE THERE IS FIRE"

However, this was an extremely entertaining read and one that I haven't been able to get out of my mind since finishing it.

I liked this, but didn't love it as much as I had hoped I would've. I loved the idea of a thriller focused around a polyamorous couple, but this felt more like a romance and less focused on the actual thriller elements of it. Besides that, I did love the writing style and thought it was very easy to read. I did enjoy the way the story developed, and it did keep me guessing. I didn't see the ending coming at all, which is always a plus. I'd definitely still recommend this to people it just wasn't my favorite.

This was my first Andrea Bartz novel and I’m excited to read her others now! This had a unique plot that was gripping right from the beginning. It was a locked room style, pandemic based thriller full of twists and a touch of spice! I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it to anyone looking for a hard to put down thriller with a unique premise and plot different from most thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine/Random House for my early digital copy!

I could NOT put this book down!!! The love story intertwined with suspense was absolutely gripping. I now just go back and read everything else that Andrea Bartz has written!

Read if you like:
😷 Books set during Covid-19
🚪 Locked Room Thrillers
💍 Domestic Thrillers
💋 Messy Relationships
🍿 Popcorn Thrillers

This one is definitely a super bingeable and fast paced thriller that will keep you listening or turning pages to find out what’s going to happen next.

I hated the cheating but this is a thriller not a romance so I could let it slide and be sucked in wondering how Kelly’s staying with Sabrina and Nathan is going to turn sour and unravel as they began a sexual relationship all while their previous partner they brought into their marriage was missing and signs of her previous place in their lives were continuing to pop up.

The ending was a little anticlimactic for me personally but didn’t see either of the final twists coming, so it was definitely still very worth reading and I bet you’ll enjoy it too.

Thank you so much Ballentine Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz is a strange mish mash of genres that doesn’t work. Thriller, domestic suspense, romance are all mixed together and none of them quite work. I also found Kelly, the MC, problematic. She can’t make any decisions for herself and just lets things happen to her and lets others think for her. Fans of Bartz’s previous work should still check this one out.

This book was definitely not my cup of tea. It was so over the top with what you were expected to believe - Kelly leaving her fiance to move in with an acquaintance, Sabrina and Sabrina's husband Nathan, when she had reconnected with Sabrina only a few weeks earlier and then developing a relationship with the couple and falling in love with them almost immediately. I'm not sure why I finished it other than I was curious to see how everything wrapped up. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

3.5 stars
This book focuses on a throuple during the Covid pandemic. Folks have said those that liked The Last Housewife would enjoy this but I really didn’t like last housewife I just found the writing ridiculous - I think this is a better written book frankly. That said it’s definitely unique and is sort of on the edge of thriller. It almost has an ominous vibe like Megan Abbotts books with a sexy underbelly. It’s one I found myself compulsively listening to (I also had the audio) and I think a lot of folks will be divided on this one.

The Spare Room was a propulsive thriller, once you get through the slow-burn beginning. Nothing is as it seems as Kelly moves in with Sabrina and Nathan. This book is more risqué and spicier than I expected, and that made it more unique and added a sexy element to this psychological thriller. The twist was one I didn’t see coming and my expectations were crushed to smithereens. This book is way better than her last, We We’re Never Here. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books, for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I’m not sure how to even rate or categorize this book. While labeled as a thriller, I didn’t find this accurate until the very end. The majority of the book focuses on the relationship of a threesome during the pandemic. Something that didn’t really speak “thriller” to me.
There was some suspense through, but I could have done without the threesome sex scenes, and would have like to learned more about the exes in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Randome House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the advanced copy of this book I exchange for my honest review.

Publish date: 20 June 2023

🚪THE SPARE ROOM by Andrea Bartz🚪

📆Pub date: June 20th, 2023
➡️Swipe for synopsis
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: E-book
Read if you like:
📚Unique plot
⏱️Books set during peak covid
📖Thriller genre

Thank you so much @ballantine for the advanced copy of The Spare Room! Andrea Bartz is the author of former Reese’s Book Club pick We Were Never Here, and her second book releases on June 20th, 2023. This book was WILD. It’s set during peak pandemic amid the strict lockdowns when everyone was staying home, so if that’s not something you’re ready to read about, I would pass on this one.

Kelly and her long term boyfriend are taking a break, so Kelly decides to quarantine with her friend and husband in their mansion in remote Virginia. This book gets super weird when Kelly enters a polyamorous relationship with the married couple. When Kelly finds out that the last woman they opened their marriage to is missing, things start to get even weirder. I’ve never read a thriller with a premise even close to this, and I can’t say I’ll start seeking others like it out… lol. But it was entertaining, and the twist was something I did not expect. Overall, this was just okay😕