I’m really not one for negative reviews but, gah, this book was unbearable. Basically nothing happened, the characters sucked, the dialogue was cringey and not realistic, and it took all of my will to finish it.

Spoilers incoming-
James should have broken up with Rosie in chapter one. We had to deal with his shitty attitude and emotional abuse for 40% of the book.

The book is called the “Spare Room”, but Alad didn’t even move into the spare room until the halfway point of the book. It was such a waste of time.

I barely know what any of the characters look like. We know Rosie is blonde and plus sized (seriously, it was mentioned so many times that it lost its gravity), James had ugly sneakers and Alad looked studious. That’s it.

Rosie was annoying and needs to get her shit together. It was a constant complain fest. Her boyfriend sucked, her job sucked, her family sucked, her life sucked.

The book had sooo much fluff. Meaningless dialogue and plot lines. It could have been 50% shorter and told the exact same story.

And lastly, there was absolutely no chemistry between Alad and Rosie. There was so much potential to build their story, but the author fell flat.

📚Thank you NetGalley and Laura Starkey for the ARC of Spare Room.

This was a very enjoyable, slow burn read. I liked Rosie and found her very relatable. Aled was a sweetie and their slow burn journey from sort of neighbours to friends and then possibly something else was lovely. Whilst I felt there was a little too much focus on looks (Aled’s in particular) and weight I did like the journey that Rosie went on. The book had some good supporting characters in Niamh and Rihanne as well who were great friends to Rosie the lead. Well worth a read, 3⭐️

Thank you netgalley for the chance to read this!
I really enjoyed this! I've said this before and I'll say it again: British/Welsh writers and characters just KNOW banter. The dialogue is so impressive in this, it feels so real and flows so well, even when peppered with culturally specific slang. It's perfection.
As for the story: I loved Rosie/Aled's story. Their slow burn friends to lovers, even when heavily PG-13/closed door, was just so well done. You could feel the chemistry grow as they grew to be friends and you could palpably feel Aled's resistance. Really well done.
But I think this story actually shines with all of the B storylines: Rosie's friendships (and how genuine they felt), Rosie's parents and their impact on her confidence, and Rosie/James and their flawed relationship. I loved that her character growth really had nothing to do with the A romance plot: made it really enjoyable!

Such a fun and relatable five-star read. I adored Rosie and just wanted to shake so many people in her life, including herself at some points, and maybe I identified a little too much with her, as we have similar mothers, and get similar feedback, like my mum always buys be clothes that are too small for me, and encourages me to eat healthy when we go to lunch, thankfully I have no qualms on telling her no and eating the fattest burger on the menu just to run it in. I also started uni and now in my forties and finishing my journey to become a counsellor, the only difference is that I got rid of my ‘James’ and married another James who is much kinder and more like me. That could be why I just adore this story and all of the characters, they just felt like real people, people you would want to hang around a coffee shop all day with and just chat, eat and drink and relax with. This was the first story by this author, but I guarantee it won’t be the last, I liked the freshness to the writing, it may be a well-used trope, but this author really brought something fresh to the story.

This is a cute (clean) romance which is the perfect romcom for anyone looking for a quick and loveable book. The characters were great, and the plot although predictable at the end was exactly what I wanted out of this book.

Summary: Rosie's ideal evening turned into heartbreak. Facing rent struggles, she reluctantly rents her spare room to Aled. As flatmates, their emotions stir, making them question their connection.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book, all thoughts are my own.

The Spare Room is a cute, easy read. Forced proximity, friends-to-lovers that you see coming from a mile away, found family by way of major life changes, and so on. I didn't find it to be anything new, but if you like this genre, it's a fine read. I found Rosie to be a bit annoying, like she was being one of those quirky on purpose girls, but that could be my own hang up. Overall, fine!

I really enjoyed this sweet rebound romance. The MFC is relatable and lovable.

Thanks Net Galley for the temporary ARC to review.

I really enjoyed this book. I was genuinely laughing out loud whilst I was reading (which doesn't happen a lot) and the forced-proximity trope is definitely one of my favourites. It's not a life changing book but it was an easy read which I would recommend to others!

This was fab. I really liked Aled and Rosie as characters- very likeable and the kind of people I could imagine being friends with. The way Rosie put up with being treated by her family I found very frustrating so I was pleased when she stood up to them, and the less said about James's appalling behaving the better. I enjoyed the predictable nature of the story, it was well written and I was rooting for them to realise their feelings for each other. Great book

Thank you to NetGalley and Embla Books for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this book.

This is a VERY slow burn, closed door romance. I found it mostly boring until Aled moves into the spare room. I didn't particularly like Rosie and wish she hadn't been such a doormat for most of the story. Her family and ex were absolutely awful. No surprises along the way - it was predictable. I definitely liked the second half better which elevates this to 3 stars from the 2 stars I thought it would be. Can't say I'd recommend it though.

Really enjoyed this novel by Laura Starkey. It was so refreshing to have a main character who wasn't stick thin and didn't find a magical new career suddenly. I loved the slow burn of the relationship between Aled and Rosie and really liked the other characters in this story too.

Maybe it was the stilted writing or the immature characters, but I was bored out of my mind with this story and I dnf-ed at 14%. I wasn't even able to read up to the forced-proximity trope which is one of my favourites.

I initially requested this for the promising premise, yet by the 10% mark, the storyline failed to even touch upon any significant plot points. It had also been compared to "The Flatshare", an incredibly popular book following a similar storyline. I was excited to read this before O'Leary's to see how it measured up compared to the original, but unfortunately, I could not get through the book.

Rosie, to me, felt very over-the-top and quirky. Aled felt very closed off in the few short moments that I read, considering he never spoke even after Rosie fell into his arms and her joke which provided me with second-hand embarrassment. Their chemistry felt forced and their 'meet-cute' ridiculous and heavy on the insta-lust.

For a contemporary romance, a lot was going on in the first 4 chapters. You learn about her friend Niamh, about Rosie's job and her co-workers, and the 2-and-a-half-page conversation she has on the phone with a male Karen who, quite frankly, makes Rosie seem bearable. You also read about a stray cat which is more interesting than all the chapters put together. There are also lots of references, which aren't always necessarily a bad thing, but it made the writing feel all the more cluttered. I also didn't like the 3rd-person POV which I don't always hate, but here it made the book feel intolerable for me.

In all fairness, it probably wasn't the best book to read in a slump due to the incredibly slow-paced writing, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it either.

Thank you to net-galley and the publisher for an e-arc!

This book was a great story of self growth and self actualization. I would deem this more women's fiction than romance, though it does have romance in it.
It's a good story about Rosie, who does everything for everyone else at her own expense. If you have experienced childhood trauma, her character will make complete sense to you. As she goes on her journey of self discovery and recognizing and implementing boundaries, her growth is perfection.
I love that you get to witness her growth in every relationship in her life.
I definitely recommend this one!

First of all, thank you NetGalley & Embla Books for the arc! Everything I'm about to say is my own opinion.

So I didn't particularly like this.... I hate not enjoying books but this just didn't do it for me unfortunately. Rosie, the FMC, is quite frankly annoying & embarrassing, which is a huge pet peeve of mine in books. Without spoiling, she was so ridiculous in the first part of the book I was struggling to get through it. Like be so serious girl. Alongside Rosie, pretty much all of the characters aren't that great; they're all pretty immature & annoying when they're meant to be in what, their 30s? The romance wasn't that good, it feels like it kind of happened out of nowhere. I don't believe it adds any value to the romance genre, especially being a very-slow-burn. Also, the writing didn't really work for me, especially with some of the language used. I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy this, but it just wasn't for me!

Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend but I'm thankful to have gotten access to the arc and to have given this a go!

The Spare Room by Laura Starkey is a cute and funny close or forced proximity romance. Rosie and James have been together for years until one day he wants to break up, leaving Rosie to have to pay both halves of the rent. Cue A. Thomas, the mysterious new upstairs neighbor!
The story is a little slow in some areas but overall the story comes together well thanks to the secondary characters.

The general premise sounded fun and exciting but overall I found this didn't quite hit the mark for me.

"The Spare Room" is the first book I've read by Laura Starkey, but it won't be the last! In this book, Rosie has been in a long-term relationship for almost 10 years. Although her boyfriend is selfish and self-centered, Rosie is still convinced that he's doing his best and will propose soon. But when he unceremoniously dumps her one day, she finds herself in trouble: single and now having to somehow pay for their apartment by herself. And when she quits her job after repeated insults from her boss, she's even more desperate to find a roommate. When her new landlord (Aled) needs a place to stay for a few weeks, she offers up her spare room to him. But is this really wise when there's so much chemistry brewing between them?

I enjoyed reading about Rosie's transformation into discovering that she is worthy of more than what she's been putting up with for years: from her romantic relationships and her family relationships. Aled's sweet and soothing presence is exactly what she needs, and I can understand how she would fall for him so quickly! This was a sweet and enjoyable romance. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The blurb for this drew me in, but unfortunately I found it a bit predictable and lacking a little in the plot. I did enjoy reading the characters and the slow burn of their relationship.

A fun, easy read with no surprises but a lot of satisfaction. The characters are really appealing and there is plenty of humour here. I really liked the writing style and think this is the sort of book which will appeal to many.

Thank you to NetGalley and Embla Books for the ARC of The Spare Room. This debut novel is such a delight. I fell in love with Rosie and Aled and their love story. The characters are so quirky (in the best possible way), and I loved the slow burn romance as well as the personal growth that so many of the characters experience. I'd definitely reread this one and recommend adding it to your TBR!