984 reviews for:

The Spare Room

Andrea Bartz

3.04 AVERAGE

rmarcin's profile picture

rmarcin's review

3.0

This book immediately pulled me in, but then it got VERY strange.
Kelly and Mike are engaged, but he calls it off after they move to Philadelphia. Kelly is devastated, but she moves out, and moves in with a school friend, Sabrina, and Sabrina's husband, Nathan. Then it gets very weird.
Sabrina is an author, writing steamy stories. Kelly starts imagining herself as the main character in the book. She enters into a relationship with both Sabrina and Nathan. Later, she discovers some information in their home about a former woman in their lives. She begins to suspect foul play.
You will be surprised by the ending, because, really, it comes from out of left field.
dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

hapstercat59's review

2.75
emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
kindcaroline's profile picture

kindcaroline's review

3.75
dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

This pandemic thriller with a polyamorous love story had a setting that felt eerily relatable with the whole Covid lockdown thing. The twists kept me guessing, with some wild turns, maybe even a few too many by the end. 

I appreciated the unique love story and found the characters intriguing, but the ending felt a little...cheesy. The resolution for the main character felt forced, and the final epilogue twist was unnecessary and a bit much.

Overall, it was a fun, if slightly overstuffed, ride. 

tranquil_night's review

1.25
tense medium-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
dark mysterious sad fast-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

This reads as more of a romance novel than a mystery. Everyone had a happy ending when they didn’t deserve it.
Poor Renee got the short end of the stick.
No closure, no job, no money and Kelly never even texted her back.
nicolebarelyreads's profile picture

nicolebarelyreads's review

5.0
challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

marysasala's review

1.0

DNF

juliaconnelley's review

2.0
mysterious tense slow-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

emmybeee's review

4.0
dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes