Rosie is let down by her ex. Enter Aled. Friendship, a journey and some romance. A great Sunday afternoon read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book!! 🥹
It was seriously so sweet I was smiling and kicking my feet with every interaction Aled and Rosie had. This slow burn was so worth the wait. I loved the pining and the roommates to lovers dynamic they had.

I felt so bad for everything Rosie had to go through with her family and ex, but I am so happy she found Aled and his group of friends. The man was absolutely perfect - a professor who read books, watched romcoms, wore glasses, and recited poetry for her. 🫠 He was such a hopeless romantic. And Rosie’s character development was absolutely perfect!

“‘Yes, yours, my love, is the right human face’. It was a poem about finding a home about seemingly endless travel - about stumbling upon a soulmate.”

Things I loved:

🌆 Roommates to Lovers
🌆 Soulmates vibes
🌆 Hopeless romantics
🌆 Opposites attract

Thank you Embla Books and Laura Starkey for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was marketed as a romance but maybe I’m wrong. Either way that’s why I picked up this book but it wasn’t much of a romance. There is not much interaction between the two love interests however there is a happy ever after.

This cozy, low stakes romance is perfect for Emily Henry and Talia Hibbert fans. The slow burn of Rosie and Aled isn't too drawn out and has just enough tension. Aled is brooding and mysterious and everything we could want in a romcom love interest. Rosie is relatably hilarious and self-conscious. The unexpected romance trope doesn't feel forced, as the characters' chemistry is electric on every page. They are couple goals and I couldn't help shipping them together instantly! I gobbled up this fun light-hearted romance within hours.

While I was reading the book, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the interactions between Rose and Aled. Once I was done though, I was left feeling the need for more. While we get to know Rosie really well, Aled is very much a mystery by the time we reach the end of the novel. With this being a VERY slow burn love story, I thought by the end of it we’d finally get to know Aled. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

We only get to know him in relationship to Rosie, and while he displays good characteristics then, there’s nothing else we know about him so it’s hard to root for him.

Rosie is likeable, but she reminds me of Louisa Clark in Me Before You. It was hard not to picture Louisa while reading Rosie.

Overall, I enjoyed it and would read more of Rosie and Aled, but definitely would prefer a faster pace next time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I am often forgiving of a twee, low smut romance if it takes place in London. If the same down on her luck heroine was American I would toss that bitch out like yesterday’s trash. But give her an accent and a propensity for solving all her problems w a “cuppa” and I’m in love. Perhaps it’s because I was raised by Bridget Jones that I now idolize an accented, curvy, clumsy British heroine.

Rosie is a millennial Bridget Jones who gets dumped by her very below average bf after dating/mothering him for a decade and then rage quits her soul crushing job. Her hot Welsh neighbor, Aled needs a place to stay while his apartment is being renovated so she leases him her spare room so she can pay her rent. Obvi she falls for her quiet, emotionally intelligent, snack of a roomie bc who wouldn’t? They bang, but we don’t get to watch and it’s a shame, but I forgive you Laura Starkey bc this book is a quiet and sweet story about a woman who turns her shit around and finds herself a happy ending and maybe I needed that this week.

To summarize- this book is low smut and is absent of any assault, kidnapping, threats either MC lives, or dinosaurs BUT it is full of heart, self discovery, a makeover scene, friendship and romance. It’s a little slow going to start, but I truly enjoyed this British rom-com. This book drops on 2/6.

Smut- 1.4 stars
Romance- 4.7 stars
Story- 4.3 stars
London based twee romances- 6.3 stars

A lovely beautifully written book that takes you on a journey about Rosie and Aled.

Rosie has just been dumped by her boyfriend of ten years, knowing she can’t afford the rent of her flat, she puts an ad in the paper. Aled who lives above her, is getting work done to his flat and is needing a place to stay so it’s easy for him to move into the spare room.

Rosie is a great character, she’s stressy, insecure and easily relatable to a lot of woman. I found her fun to read about specially when she came out of her shell.

Aled is the dashing male who lifts the book. No more words needed.

An easy romantic read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy of the novel in exchange for my honest review. This book was just so cute, and a very easy read too. I found myself rooting for Rosie and Aled early on, the author was a master of chemistry and slowburn. I will caution anyone who is looking for a payout from that slowburn to look elsewhere, this is a "fade to black" type of novel. Nothing wrong with that either, just something I'm not used to with the volume/variety of books I read! Other than being slightly annoyed with that fact, I really liked this novel and thought Rosie's journey of self-love was very realistic. All of the characters were fleshed out, and this read was just genuinely so fun and uplifting by the end. I found it so hopeful and truly loved that she found someone that was able to cherish her so deeply. Every woman deserves an Aled!

It was okay, was it my favorite? No, but I didn’t hate it. Slow burn romances just aren’t my jam, but neither is insta love, I love something in between. It took some time to get into the story and once it did pick up, I was kinda over it . So sad this one didn’t work for me

Thank you Netgalley & Embla for access to this title in exchange for an honest review. 🤍

This was such a lovely story. I really saw myself in Rosie and her issues with her body image and the way we’re hardwired to believe we are unlovable.

I absolutely loved the way this story progressed into Rosie & Aled’s love story. The side characters really enhanced this book and I adored the found family aspects.

I’m so happy I requested this, I absolutely devoured it!

I unfortunately did not love this romcom. It was very slow and hard to get through. I felt like the characters just were not love able. I also feel like this should've gotten to the part where you don't wanna stop reading earlier (within the first 15%) and instead I found myself bored.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the opportunity to write a review of the advanced copy of The Spare Room.

Firstly - I really didn't like how much body shaming and body insecurity even in the first 10 pages. This kind of thing turns me right off of a book, and I had to kind of power through - was tempted to just set it down (and in face did for a while). The body insecurity continued throughout as a theme. Stop writing about women hating their bodies, please, universe (even if it ends in being happy or body positivity).

I enjoyed the breakup scene early on - especially her evisceration of him wanting a last goodbye to his playstation and James wanting to take the pizza with him. I also loved the shared love of reading between Aled and Rosie and the process of becoming comfortable with each other, and Rosie finally having someone on her side sticking up for her.

The romance was sweet but... the whole book was a bit detached (yet also somehow over the top) for me. Very surface level without going deep (and I live for deep emotions!) I didn't feel like they were real, complex people. Usually I like the forced proximity and slow burn tropes, but I think I just didn't like the main female character that much.

I absolutely loved this book. It’s an adorable take on roommates falling for each other. It was easy to read and easy to fall in love with the characters. I loved Rosie and feel like she’s a real life bff. I would recommend this to anyone who likes romance and rom-coms!

I don't typically read a lot of roomates to lovers romances but I'm glad I read this one and I would definitely read more after this. It was such a sweet and loveable story that flowed really well and I fell head over heels for Rosie's character.

This was such a lovely story. It made me chuckle at times and I loved the way the characters behaved with each other. The story flowed along so sweetly I finished it quickly. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This was a cute forced proximity romance, but didn’t completely enrapture me the way I was hoping it would. The beginning was slow and I struggled to resonate with the writing style, but once I got used to it, it was a fairly enjoyable read.

This is a lovely story of the challenges of love and life. The story is a reminder that it is always worth it to wait for the right person who will love you just the way you are!

I love me a good slow burn! Very easy and quick read. I've been on a romance kick lately and this book definitely met my needs.
Rosie needs some therapy lowkey, I have no idea how she put up with James for so long.
Aled needs to loosen up and learn how to communicate better tbh
Overall though was a pretty good book

I love a cheesy romance book. Nothing is more comforting to me, but this one felt like it was missing that special something. It felt like a story I've read 20 times before and unfortunately not the best version. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, I just didn't love it.

Rosie seemed sweet, I loved her character, although it really wasn't necessary to mention her weight soooo many times.

James is worthless. The whole James plot line could have easily been removed and the book would have still be the same.

Aled was meh, there was nothing particularly special about him. Tho I did really enjoy the rollerblading scene cause that was a cute date. And he was super sweet to Rosie like 24/7, and isn't that what every girl dreams of?

Overall - 3.5⭐️

This book was so flippin’ cute! This book had me giggling and kicking my feet! The things the MMC says and does… swoon. It was a taaaaad slow for my liking during the first part, but by the end I had fallen in love with the characters and their love story. I loved the banter and tension between the MMC and FMC. I enjoyed the character development in this book. Even the side characters had important growth that had me saying "aww" and feeling excited for them. There were some unexpected events that occurred during the later part of the book that had me audibly gasping and saying OMG! Worth👏🏼 the👏🏼 read👏🏼, especially if you love a good rom-com Hallmark movie in book form! (Really this book earned 4.5 stars for me, but I couldn't add half stars.)