You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.04 AVERAGE
3.04 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
WOW. This book kept me reading and guessing and wondering until the very last page. It’s one of those books that is so good, you need some time to digest it.
The Spare Room is Andrea Bartz' pandemic thriller. Kelly is in the throes of relationship woe, so when her glamorous childhood friend offers her an escape to stay in her and her husband's spare room she jumps at the chance. What ensues is a toxic threesome, but what Kelly doesn't know is what happened to the last woman they invited into their marriage. Could she be in danger too?
This book was slow. It was a very slow build, with a lot of sexual tension between Kelly, Sabrina and Nathan. Being in Kelly's head is an acutely uncomfortable experience. There is not a single likeable character in the story. While it is definitely a twisty and very original tale, I could not get into this. It was too slow and uncomfortable.
That being said the author did such a good job at describing how psychologically messed up Kelly was, you truly were uncomfortable with her thoughts. If you can get past truly unlikable characters and a super slow burn of a book, then you will probably love this thriller. It is twisty and deranged.
Overall, I just could not get into this book. I ended up dreading reading it because all the characters were so awful and it was so slow. Nothing really happened until the last ~25% of the book. The toxic relationships were just super over the top and it was not an enjoyable read.
This book was slow. It was a very slow build, with a lot of sexual tension between Kelly, Sabrina and Nathan. Being in Kelly's head is an acutely uncomfortable experience. There is not a single likeable character in the story. While it is definitely a twisty and very original tale, I could not get into this. It was too slow and uncomfortable.
That being said the author did such a good job at describing how psychologically messed up Kelly was, you truly were uncomfortable with her thoughts. If you can get past truly unlikable characters and a super slow burn of a book, then you will probably love this thriller. It is twisty and deranged.
Overall, I just could not get into this book. I ended up dreading reading it because all the characters were so awful and it was so slow. Nothing really happened until the last ~25% of the book. The toxic relationships were just super over the top and it was not an enjoyable read.
I was really enjoying this, life just got busy 😢 Planning to pick up later when I have time to read
dark
mysterious
tense
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
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"The Spare Room" by Andrea Bartz is my second book by her and I enjoyed "We were never here" so I was pretty excited to receive this advance copy to review.
The synopsis definitely raises the intrigue level..... We have Kelly who has just been been dropped by her fiancé during covid. Distraught she ends up being roommates with her roommate Sabrina and her husband in their mansion and soon those three start engaging in some "not so safe for work" escapades. But it soon takes a dangerous turn when something sinister may hay have happened to Sabrina and her husband's last roommate. Just how safe is Kelly living there??
Nope, this book doesn't really do it for me. For one, it's suppose to be a thriller and it's absolutely not. I would go so far as to call it pretty boring actually. The "thriller" part doesn't even happen until late and I was fairly checked out by then. And even if wasn't I can't get past the prose. Especially the dialogue! Every other sentence ends in a exclamation mark! Why are they yelling all the time?!?. lol. And the dialogue itself is really dumb. Like these characters aren't making any sense or making rational decisions. I love my new roommates! But I miss my finance... Oh, you want a three way, let's do it! But I miss my fiancé.
So not sure what this book is but if you like corny dialogue and badly written sex scenes then go for it. This book actually would make a decent beach read if you want to turn off your brain.
I really appreciate Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for giving me advance review copy for my honest review and this one has a publication date of June 20, 2023
The synopsis definitely raises the intrigue level..... We have Kelly who has just been been dropped by her fiancé during covid. Distraught she ends up being roommates with her roommate Sabrina and her husband in their mansion and soon those three start engaging in some "not so safe for work" escapades. But it soon takes a dangerous turn when something sinister may hay have happened to Sabrina and her husband's last roommate. Just how safe is Kelly living there??
Nope, this book doesn't really do it for me. For one, it's suppose to be a thriller and it's absolutely not. I would go so far as to call it pretty boring actually. The "thriller" part doesn't even happen until late and I was fairly checked out by then. And even if wasn't I can't get past the prose. Especially the dialogue! Every other sentence ends in a exclamation mark! Why are they yelling all the time?!?. lol. And the dialogue itself is really dumb. Like these characters aren't making any sense or making rational decisions. I love my new roommates! But I miss my finance... Oh, you want a three way, let's do it! But I miss my fiancé.
So not sure what this book is but if you like corny dialogue and badly written sex scenes then go for it. This book actually would make a decent beach read if you want to turn off your brain.
I really appreciate Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for giving me advance review copy for my honest review and this one has a publication date of June 20, 2023
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes