Unfortunately this one just didn't work for me and I ended up dnfing this at 25%. I was really interested in the overall premise as I have enjoyed similar books. However this one I just struggled to get into from the beginning and found myself just not retaining what I was reading,

Thank you to NetGalley and Embla books for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own,

dnf at 32%. this book was slow and so very boring. at 32% of the way through the book, the plot STILL hasn't taken place. everything seemed surface level and bland. the main characters boyfriend of 10 years left her without any cause and i simply did not care. i think this was a good idea for a novel but it was poorly executed, and i couldn't put on with reading such a boring book any longer. however, the writing was rather nice and definitely had potential.

I'm a sucker for forced proximity and ugh I just couldn't get enough of this. I was literally reading this at 3am on WORK NIGHT! And I have no regrets about it. So cute!

Mein Leseerlebnis

In dem Liebesroman dreht sich alles um einen Neuanfang für die Heldin, nachdem sie von ihrem Ex nach Jahren in einer Beziehung abserviert wurde.

In den ersten Kapiteln der Liebesgeschichte ist Rosie noch mit ihrem Ex zusammen, diese Kapitel waren nicht mein Fall. Ihr Ex wirkte auf mich wie eine Nulpe und ich habe im Leben nicht verstanden, warum Rosie überhaupt mit ihm zusammen war.

Nach ein paar kleineren Problemchen velrief Rosies Neuanfang überraschend glatt ab, so wirklich realistisch fand ich das ja ehrlich gesagt nicht. Aber da mir Rosie sympathisch war, habe ich mich trotzdem für sie gefreut.

Rosie als Hauptfigur empfand ich als angenehm und ich habe gerne mehr über sie erfahren. Aled blieb mir bis zum Ende der Geschichte leider etwas fremd, so ganz habe ich sein Reaktionen im Verlauf des Romans nicht verstanden.

Darüber hinaus nervte mich die Familie der Heldin und ich konnte an deren Wandlung im Verlauf des Liebesromans nicht glauben.

Die Liebesgeschichte selbst war nett und vor allem die ruhige Kennenlernphase zwischen den beiden Hauptcharaktere fand ich sehr schön. Auch deswegen empfand ich die Unruhe am Ende der Geschichte unnötig und störend.

Blicke ich auf mein Leseerlebnis zurück, so hat mich der angenehme Schreibstil gut durch das romance Buch geführt. Jenseits davon haben manche Elemente der Liebesgeschichte für mich gut funktioniert und andere nicht.

🖤🖤🖤 1/4

Für wen?

Wer eher heitere, lockere Liebesromane um Neuanfänge mag, für den könnte das vorliegende romance Buch eine gute Wahl sein.

I love forced proximity stories, and this was no different. The idea of two characters sharing a living space and slowly becoming friends and then something more is so intriguiging to me, and that sort of plot is going to do it for me every time.

I found Rosie and Aled to be charming characters, both separately and together with their banter. Rosie especially was someone I was rooting for throughout the whole book - it's not often that we get a bigger romantic heroine, so it was refreshing to see and especially refreshing to see everyone remind her how beautiful she is. I loved her spunk and the journey of her finding herself and figuring out what was next for her - it was nice to see a heroine in her early 30s without everything figured out.

My main (and only, really) complaint with this book was the pacing. I was nearly a third of the way through the book and James and Rosie were still together - that kind of just felt too long to me, and didn't necessarily leave as much time for the romance between Rosie and Aled to bloom without it feeling a bit rushed.

Charming enough and good enough. I wish this was a bit funnier and that there was more tension leading into the ending, but a breezy read is a breezy read.

This is one of those cute and predictable reads which is just what I needed. I thought that Rosie's character was very well written - I liked the person that she became. The story did drag and Rosie's inner monologue about her feelings for Aled felt repetitive, but overall, I enjoyed it.

A fun little romance? sign! me! up! this was exactly what i needed as a filler and i found the story so beautiful!!! <3

The romance was cute; however the FMC talked maybe too much about her size in a disparaging way. It seemed like most of her self talk, especially in the beginning, was around this.

The Spare Room, by Laura Starkey, is a fairly predictable romcom, but still an enjoyable read. It's just what I needed after a much heavier novel. There are fun characters, a not-too-serious storyline, and an ex that is so easy to hate...
Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

Fairly predictable rom com but it was still a good read that I enjoyed. This one was like the flat share but so much better.

The cutest little "palette cleanser" of a book. I thought the characters were all so lovely and i loved the little hints to niche british things e.g 'yorkie' chocolate bars being a man's thing.
This was such a comforting little book. There were a couple of jokes made that could be interpreted as slightly questionable but that's easily overlooked by the fact all the characters were just so loveable.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Spare Room' by Laura Starkey.

I feel as if 'The Spare Room' heard of Beth O'Leary's flatshare and went "I can do it too!" Spoiler alert: nope. This book fell flat on me. I didn't really connect to any of the characters I just wanted them nowhere near me. The writing style was okay but it just didn't justify the plot and characters. Is there an audience for this book? Sure, but that's not me.

The Spare Room by Laura Starkey is a heartwarming and engaging romance novel that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. The story follows Rosie, a young woman who is left heartbroken and in a financial crisis after her boyfriend abruptly leaves her. In need of extra money to make ends meet, she decides to rent out her spare room to Aled, her upstairs neighbor who needs a place to stay while his own place is being renovated.

What follows is a charming and beautifully written tale of two people who are brought together by circumstance and find themselves slowly falling for each other. The chemistry between Rosie and Aled is palpable, and the author does an excellent job of building the tension between them as they navigate their growing feelings for each other.

But what sets The Spare Room apart from other romance novels is its nuanced and realistic portrayal of the characters and their relationships. Rosie and Aled are fully fleshed-out individuals with their own quirks and flaws, and the author does an excellent job of exploring their past traumas and how they affect their present-day interactions.

Overall, The Spare Room is a must-read for anyone who loves a good romance novel. It's a heartwarming and uplifting story that will leave you with a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart. Highly recommended!

The Spare Room is such a good slow burn romance book. Thrown together by some difficult circumstances, mostly being dumped by her boyfriend of ten years, Rosie finds herself letting her new landlord stay in her spare room. Rosie has absolutely no interest in men right now, but after spending more time with Aled, she starts to enjoy his quiet company and begins to find that he isn’t as elusive as she first thought.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Let’s start off with Rosie. She is an unbelievably relatable character and I couldn’t help relate to her so much. She’s also just so likeable, and not at all too nice… she really brings something extra to the story and I just loved her as a main character. And Aled is such a sweet guy with a heart of gold, I loved how he wasn’t just the typical main male love interest.

Laura Starkey has written a fast paced, fun and easy read that I’d definitely recommend to anyone who loves a good romance!

Thank you Laura Starkey, Embla Books and Netgalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was cute but I just don’t do good with so much body shaming, I know it’s life but I guess reading about it isn’t my cup of tea I felt bad for the main character.
I did enjoy the main character she was written well , the ex boyfriend was awful and immature but wasn’t shocked . It was a slow burn story so know that before going into it.

Sometimes negative life changes seem to feel like the universe is against you. They end up being for the best in the end. This is the case for Rosie. She picks herself up and realizes she’s been a pushover and learns her self worth. Her love story with Aled helps her along with these changes. I really enjoyed reading this book. Thank you to NetGalley for the free advanced copy. I’m leaving this review voluntarily

This is a slooooow burn romance. Rosie is our main character that we follow on a journey of ditching the toxic people and finding the right ones. Rosie is a pretty good character that has growth throughout the story which I appreciate. Our main love interest Aled, is such a sweetie and mysterious. However, as he opens up you just love him more and more. These two are both sensitive creatures that are two peas in a pod both giving each other what they need. The supporting characters that aren’t Rosie’s family or James were awesome and such a great group that support Rosie in different ways for different reasons. The only quip I had with this story is that the beginning really dragged on. I’m happy I kept going but for the first 50 pages I was extremely bored and half tempted to skip chapters.

DNF at 25%
All of these characters were really insufferable and I just couldn’t push through.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is a very sweet, breezy read - not too serious - that falls somewhere between women’s lit and a closed door romance. The romance element is definitely slow burn, emphasis on slow, so if that’s not your thing, this isn’t the book for you.

Rosie is unexpectedly and unceremoniously dumped by her self-involved boyfriend of 10 years. Unable to afford her rent, she strikes up a deal with her mysterious new upstairs neighbor - he’ll move into her spare room while his flat is remodeled, and she has someone to help with rent for a few months while she figures out her next steps.

I’m surprised to see this book has some fairly low reviews. While I agree that the pacing was a little uneven, I wasn’t as put off by it as others seemed to be. I’m a big fan of Mhairi McFarlane, and this read like some of her books (though not quite the same quality of writing - Mhairi is queen). The book was focused on the FMC’s journey as a whole - not focused on only the romance element - so it didn’t bother me that it takes a bit to get to the Rosie & Aled element of the story. The conclusion was satisfying, if not a little cheesy.

Tropes: he falls first, forced proximity

Full disclosure - this was an advanced reader copy, courtesy of NetGalley.