Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the copy of The Spare Room. The writing was hypnotic and drew me in even when the story slowed down. The story had promise, but got bogged down with the shallow relationship of the main characters. Kelly was annoyingly needy, and fell for Sabrina and Nathan’s superficial compliments. We never really learn much about the other characters, probably because everything is from Kelly’s POV. If you like a twist that comes out of nowhere, you will love this book. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 because I loved the writing.

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.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this ARC that will be released June 20, 2023!

The Spare Room was dark and seductive and kept me on the edge of my seat!

Taking some time away from her fiancé after the pandemic cancels their wedding, Kelly moves in with her former high school friend and her husband. The three soon begin a romantic relationship, but Kelly feels they’re not being entirely open with her. She discovers they had former partner before her, another woman, one who just happens to be missing. Not one to let things lie, Kelly begins searching for answers.

The pandemic provided the perfect, realistic setting for this thriller. We all experienced the life changing event of quarantine, which led many to reevaluate their life choices (the great resignation) and make different choices and big decisions for their futures; just like Kelly does when she decides to live with Sabrina and Nathan.

One of the things I appreciated most in the novel was the exploration of Kelly’s fears and intrusive negative thoughts, dubbed “the gremlin.” These constant thoughts and worries are so often overlooked by others who don’t experience them. I am grateful to Bartz for giving voice to these types of obsessive thoughts and anxiety.

The Spare Room was full of suspense and kept me engaged with every twist and turn. Like Kelly, I too needed to uncover all of Sabrina’s and Nathan’s secrets. A great follow up to We Were Never Here!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random
House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Andrea Bartz has written another twisty thriller that I read in less than 3 days (and as a mom, that's saying something!). Main character Kelly has left her fiancé as she realizes he's not entirely certain he wants to be with her in the backdrop of the pandemic. She's recently reconnected with an old high school friend, who's invited her to stay with she and her husband. Kelly arrives and is relieved to feel completely welcomed by these people who are SO nice--maybe too nice? She grows closer to them, and soon, they become a throuple. She all but forgets her ex (yes, she broke up with him!) as she starts this new life where she feels more complete. But soon it's revealed that this couple has history that includes a missing (dead!?) woman as their last partner. Kelly can't help but dig deeper as twist after twist and reveal after reveal happen. This was an excellent book and follow-up to her last one!

This is definitely a more slow burn character driven story than I was expecting going into it going into it - it takes about 70% into the book for anything ‘thrilling’ to really happen, most of it is spent on a romantic plot between Kelly and the married couple she is staying with and I found myself skimming through a lot of it.

Kelly was an irritatingly frustrating narrator to follow, her naïve and emotionally driven decisions throughout the book made me physically angry at times (maybe this was Bartz’s intention), but i can’t say i enjoyed it. I don’t mind an unlikeable narrator but Kelly was just insufferable.

The story definitely picks up once we finally make it to the more thrilling parts but by that point i was already pretty disconnected from the story.

I didn't love this one. It was definitely suspenseful, but I thought it lacked character development.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for a review.

2/5 stars! I think I was the wrong audience for this. The writing itself was well done but it felt like a weird jab at polyamorous relationships and a strange angle for this story. I haven't read anything else from this author, so I'm certainly not calling her out. It was just the vibe I got from this story. Kelly is also a really hard character to root for. Overall, just not for me.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

A few months into 2020's Lockdown, Kelly Doyle has done something to give her fiance cold feet and decides a change of scenery will make his heart grow fonder. She has connected with an old school mate on Instagram. Sabrina is now a famous writer of steamy romance novels. While the two women weren't really close at school, she invites her to come and stay with her and her husband in Virginia....in the midst of a pandemic. With few options, Kelly moves in. She is dismayed by some neighbors who are quite rude about the couple but Sabrina doesn't say why they feel that way. Kelly also makes an acquaintance while walking in the nearby cemetery. Before long, Kelly begins an intimate relationship with the couple. Secrets are exposed and explanations don't really ring true, but Kelly can't quite make herself leave. Then there is a murder, but which of them is the killer? I guess my biggest problem with this book was the lack of character development. I didn't feel anything for any of the characters because I never felt like I knew them and this also goes for the first-person narrator. At first I thought it was just an unreliable narrator and that's how these things play out. Lots of foreshadowing never seemed to pay off and the ending just went on and on before revealing a killer which really didn't make sense to me. I liked the writing style and kept reading, but the story never came together for me.

Delicious, twisted, wicked and seductive. The main character's troubles and feelings were relatable and interestingly written as well, which can be a rare thing in the thriller genre. Really enjoyed this.

I liked Andrea Barry’s first book but I think I liked this one much more. I really liked the relationship between the three main characters. It was different but in a good way and they were all interesting people. I really loved the twist at the end.