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cassie7e's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book bombards you with context and explanations, so every new one feels immediately suspicious and you never know who to trust.
Kelly is excruciatingly self doubting and insecure. Combined with the narrator's voice for her in emotional scenes, I found her annoying. However I did relate to her moments of frustration at being consistently left out of the loop or her desire for plans and predictability being treated with disdain. And she does grow, which of course we get to see in her thoughts in elaborate detail, which slows down tense moments so much it's shocking the other characters don't comment on her long pauses before reacting!
In addition to some moments being drawn out, others are glossed over and omitted, only told to us later. Kelly's thoughts refer to past moments of relationship building that we didn't get to see, which makes them feel fake and trying too hard prove the closeness is developing. Would have been more effective for me if those fond moments were on page, not mental reflections.
I'm still not sure how I feel about stories being set during the height of the pandemic - they either feel like inauthentic shallow set dressing or way to heavy for me to think about. This one leans toward shallow and mainly serves to further isolate the characters. Also for how often Virgo appears and does very catlike things, no mention is ever made of feeding her, even though other mundane daily things (like feeding the humans) comes up a lot! Minor observation, I know.
Kelly is excruciatingly self doubting and insecure. Combined with the narrator's voice for her in emotional scenes, I found her annoying. However I did relate to her moments of frustration at being consistently left out of the loop or her desire for plans and predictability being treated with disdain. And she does grow, which of course we get to see in her thoughts in elaborate detail, which slows down tense moments so much it's shocking the other characters don't comment on her long pauses before reacting!
In addition to some moments being drawn out, others are glossed over and omitted, only told to us later. Kelly's thoughts refer to past moments of relationship building that we didn't get to see, which makes them feel fake and trying too hard prove the closeness is developing. Would have been more effective for me if those fond moments were on page, not mental reflections.
I'm still not sure how I feel about stories being set during the height of the pandemic - they either feel like inauthentic shallow set dressing or way to heavy for me to think about. This one leans toward shallow and mainly serves to further isolate the characters. Also for how often Virgo appears and does very catlike things, no mention is ever made of feeding her, even though other mundane daily things (like feeding the humans) comes up a lot! Minor observation, I know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content and Domestic abuse
snoopyfanclub's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Kelly is dumber than a bag of rocks. Like good god. Truly have to suspend a LOT of disbelief over this plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Gun violence, and Grief
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Blood, and Miscarriage
Minor: Vomit
estimpert's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse and Sexual content
megwilli's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Gun violence, Violence, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Gaslighting and Domestic abuse
nailartklaudia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
v_spain's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I wanted so much more from this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Stalking
Moderate: Abortion
brittanyisbooked's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Although I think this would technically be a domestic thriller, it read more like a romance in some places and thriller in others. The transition between the two wasn’t exactly seamless and that was my major turnoff with this book.
I did not expect the ending and fell right into the default assumptions. I do think the author did a perfect job of lining up the clues with the resolution. Overall, I think it was a decent thriller/romance and would still recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC
I did not expect the ending and fell right into the default assumptions. I do think the author did a perfect job of lining up the clues with the resolution. Overall, I think it was a decent thriller/romance and would still recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal death and Domestic abuse
jillwedemeier's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
From the New York Times bestselling author of We Were Never Here comes the domestic suspense novel The Spare Room.
In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, Kelly’s fiancé, Mike, has just told her that he wants to pump the brakes on rescheduling their wedding. During the pandemic, Kelly reconnected with her childhood friend Sabrina, a bestselling romance novelist. To give Mike some space (and hopefully beg her to come back), Kelly takes the train from Philadelphia to D.C. after Sabrina and her handsome husband, Nathan, invite Kelly to stay in the spare room of their remote Virginia mansion. There, Kelly finds herself falling for both of her hosts, and an unexpected threesome leads to the couple opening up their marriage for her. Kelly is excited about her new life, but then she discovers that the last woman they invited into their marriage is missing. She starts to worry that Sabrina and Nathan might be dangerous, and that she could be next.
I went into this book blind, and everything about it was so unexpected. It was an entertaining read, but I was expecting more of a thriller than a romance novel, and at times it felt like I was reading “Fifty Shades of Grey.” The book started off really strong, but it fell off in the second half when the plot seemed to change. Despite this, it was a wild ride from start to finish. It was very suspenseful, and I did not see any of the twists coming. If you like a spicy book, then this is the one for you.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Infertility
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