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3.04 AVERAGE
3.04 AVERAGE
During the pandemic, Kelly pulls up stakes in Philadelphia to move in with a former high school acquaintance and her husband at a mansion in Virginia in The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz. The opportunity couldn't have come any sooner because her fiancé Mike just called off their wedding. Once she's settled at the palatial home that's surrounded by woods, she falls for not one but her two new roommates. Red flags start appearing, however, when she learns that their former lover went missing.
On the basis of Bartz's last book, We Were Never There, I was highly anticipating this book. It sounded kind of scandalous, and I expected a suspenseful mystery would arise. I wanted to be scared and thought the fact that they were basically trapped there would lead to things that go bump in the night--and not the newly formed throuple engaging in relations.
If you're looking for or concerned about the sex in this book, it all depends on what you hope to find. Honestly, the racy sex scenes are incredibly tame, so if you're not into it, it's not in your face. For readers searching for steam, you may be disappointed. Personally, I wanted a much more suspenseful book rather than sexy.
The main character Kelly is so easily led by everyone she encounters. And she doesn't seem that intuitive. So many red flags arise that she barely acknowledges. She falls so quickly in and out of love that I found her immature, and the relationships she embarks upon so unbelievable. Was she in lust instead of love?
And I didn't find much chemistry in any of the relationships, whether between Kelly and her fiancé or the threesome. To me, none of the relationships struck me as genuine.
On top of that, some characters and plots sprung out of nowhere, and the thriller aspects of the book were so far-fetched to the point of groaning. At times, I felt like this book couldn't find its footing, too. Is it a thriller or a "woman finding herself" type of book? I feel like the thriller plot could have been scrapped.
I will say, along with some other reviewers, that the best character was the cat Virgo. I loved how the author incorporated Kelly's cat into the plot. Some of it was funny while other times you could gauge the mood from how the cat acted.
Anyway, I do like how Bartz writes, so I will still be interested in her future books. And I'm still holding out hope that she and her sister, author Julia Bartz, collaborate on a future novel.
On the basis of Bartz's last book, We Were Never There, I was highly anticipating this book. It sounded kind of scandalous, and I expected a suspenseful mystery would arise. I wanted to be scared and thought the fact that they were basically trapped there would lead to things that go bump in the night--and not the newly formed throuple engaging in relations.
If you're looking for or concerned about the sex in this book, it all depends on what you hope to find. Honestly, the racy sex scenes are incredibly tame, so if you're not into it, it's not in your face. For readers searching for steam, you may be disappointed. Personally, I wanted a much more suspenseful book rather than sexy.
The main character Kelly is so easily led by everyone she encounters. And she doesn't seem that intuitive. So many red flags arise that she barely acknowledges. She falls so quickly in and out of love that I found her immature, and the relationships she embarks upon so unbelievable. Was she in lust instead of love?
And I didn't find much chemistry in any of the relationships, whether between Kelly and her fiancé or the threesome. To me, none of the relationships struck me as genuine.
On top of that, some characters and plots sprung out of nowhere, and the thriller aspects of the book were so far-fetched to the point of groaning. At times, I felt like this book couldn't find its footing, too. Is it a thriller or a "woman finding herself" type of book? I feel like the thriller plot could have been scrapped.
I will say, along with some other reviewers, that the best character was the cat Virgo. I loved how the author incorporated Kelly's cat into the plot. Some of it was funny while other times you could gauge the mood from how the cat acted.
Anyway, I do like how Bartz writes, so I will still be interested in her future books. And I'm still holding out hope that she and her sister, author Julia Bartz, collaborate on a future novel.
If you're looking for a good argument against thruples, this book is for you!
Maybe if I hadn't read it all in one go I would have enjoyed it better, but it wasn't anything too enticing to me.
Maybe if I hadn't read it all in one go I would have enjoyed it better, but it wasn't anything too enticing to me.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
You might need to take a cold shower after reading this!
It's 2020 and Kelly hasn't been living in Philadelphia very long. She moved there for her fiancé who just put the brakes on their wedding planning. She's stuck in lockdown with him, no job or friends, isolated in every possible way.
The one bright spot in her life is her newly rekindled friendship online with an old friend, Sabrina. She offers Kelly the opportunity to stay with her and her husband in their mansion in Virginia. Kelly jumps at the chance to get some space from her situation and think about what she wants.
Once she arrives, Kelly is in awe of their mansion and their relationship. She wants to be liked and accepted by them and slowly starts to also feel an attraction to both of them. What surprises Kelly is that they both like her too. Here's where things really get spicy!
They open their marriage to Kelly and she's with both of them equally. To me, that's not the spicy aspect. There's nothing risqué about polyamory. However, a big portion of this book revolves around the sex Kelly has with them together and separately. I don't think that's something you would expect in a suspense/thriller novel unless you're specifically looking for that in what you want to read. I'm not bothered by it, just giving a heads up to those who might be.
Their relationship is off to a good start, Kelly feels like a new person and is high on the new love feelings. Then she discovers they've done all this before and the woman before her disappeared. Before her fresh start, Kelly was an insecure and paranoid person. So she falls back into her old ways of thinking once she doubts everything she thought she knew about them. She slowly spirals as she investigates, afraid she's living with a murderer. Or are they both killers?
The Spare Room is a unique, steamy, suspenseful ride. The very end was especially chilling.
Thank you Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC.
It's 2020 and Kelly hasn't been living in Philadelphia very long. She moved there for her fiancé who just put the brakes on their wedding planning. She's stuck in lockdown with him, no job or friends, isolated in every possible way.
The one bright spot in her life is her newly rekindled friendship online with an old friend, Sabrina. She offers Kelly the opportunity to stay with her and her husband in their mansion in Virginia. Kelly jumps at the chance to get some space from her situation and think about what she wants.
Once she arrives, Kelly is in awe of their mansion and their relationship. She wants to be liked and accepted by them and slowly starts to also feel an attraction to both of them. What surprises Kelly is that they both like her too. Here's where things really get spicy!
They open their marriage to Kelly and she's with both of them equally. To me, that's not the spicy aspect. There's nothing risqué about polyamory. However, a big portion of this book revolves around the sex Kelly has with them together and separately. I don't think that's something you would expect in a suspense/thriller novel unless you're specifically looking for that in what you want to read. I'm not bothered by it, just giving a heads up to those who might be.
Their relationship is off to a good start, Kelly feels like a new person and is high on the new love feelings. Then she discovers they've done all this before and the woman before her disappeared. Before her fresh start, Kelly was an insecure and paranoid person. So she falls back into her old ways of thinking once she doubts everything she thought she knew about them. She slowly spirals as she investigates, afraid she's living with a murderer. Or are they both killers?
The Spare Room is a unique, steamy, suspenseful ride. The very end was especially chilling.
Thank you Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book started off strong, but then I thought it became over the top and didn’t want to finish it. I began to hate some characters and was kind of disappointed on the ending.
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No