Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - 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

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

Kelly moves from Philadelphia down to a suburb of DC toward the beginning of the pandemic. The story starts as she is on the train, moving out of her townhome with her fiancé Mike to her recently reunited friend Sabrina’s house that she shares with her husband Nathan.

Kelly is “pliable,” let’s say. She’s questioning herself, her breakup with Mike, and is in a vulnerable place. And then she gets taken in by Sabrina and Nathan. They woo her, and soon they are in threesome and BDSM heaven. (Okay, ample caution here if you aren’t into threesomes and BSDM. I thought this would be a standard domestic thriller, but … ummm … it’s definitely a few notches above the bedpost!

By about 20% in, everyone is looking shady: Kelly (what was the incident that happened right before she left that gets alluded to every once in a while?), her ex-fiance Mike for the same reason, her recently reunited friend Sabrina, her husband Nathan, and Kelly’s new friend Megan that hangs out outside the house. Then Kelly finds out that the couple had a previous person in their threesome who looks a lot like Kelly and who is MISSING. Egads, the indecisive Kelly is thrown into an even bigger tailspin!

The cue BIG HAPPENINGS and more confusion from Kelly.

The plot is a bit over the top, but aren’t most thrillers edging into the crazy territory lately? The characters are fairly one-note, as you know deception lies somewhere with some or all of them. This is definitely a popcorn thriller. Its plot is a little sexier than readers tend to see in this genre, so that might make it more memorable months down the line. This is one of those books that if you’re really into sexier-than-average thrillers, you’ll probably really like. I didn’t have a problem with the sexiness, but I found the plot a bit *much* and the main character Kelly rather frustrating, so hence my lower rating than I hoped for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine for the Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

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