The Spare Bedroom: A totally heartwarming, funny and feel good romantic comedy

Elizabeth Neep

May 2020 · Bookouture

About this ebook

**Listed Today**: Fun and friendly professional just arrived from London seeks room in central location, double bed preferred, ex-boyfriend optional extra.

 

Armed with a super-sized backpack full of optimism, Jess sets off in search of sun, sea and a much-needed new beginning.

 

Things don’t get off to a good start.

 

Instead of sunshine, she’s met with torrential rain. Her job prospects are as dismal as the weather and that friend-of-a-friend she was meant to stay with has fallen through. Just as Jess is homeless, jobless and wishing she’d gone for the waterproof mascara, she runs into the last person she expected to see. Sam. The ex she never got over. Jess always believed that one day fate would bring them back together. Now he’s here, more gorgeous than ever.

 

Before she knows it, Jess is accepting Sam’s offer to stay in his spare room. But while she may have been less than truthful about the mess she’s in, there is also one rather important thing Sam has neglected to mention.

 

Suddenly Jess isn’t just living with her ex, but with his new girlfriend too. All of that baggage she thought she left behind may have caught up with her…

 

A touching, funny and uplifting look at how finding and losing love can lead you to discover yourself along the way. Fans of Mhairi McFarlane, Sophie Kinsella and classic rom coms like My Best Friend’s Wedding will love Elizabeth Neep’s wit and warmth.

Readers are falling in love with The Spare Bedroom:



‘A funny and feel-good read, and Jess is such a relatable character! I couldn't put down the book … I'll definitely be reading more from this author!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I had a blast with this one … I can honestly relate to the main protagonist of the story … I recommend it to all rom com fans’ The Diary of a Young Book Reviewer

 

‘This book was so good! The characters were so well rounded, you felt like you actually knew them! The plot was so good you didn't want the book to end!’ Goodreads Reviewer

 

‘I really liked the character of Jess and her chemistry with Sam … This is the first book I've read from Elizabeth Neep but will certainly be looking out for more books by her. Good holiday read!’ Goodreads Reviewer

Ratings and reviews

I was expecting a warm hearted, sweet and funny romance but I didn't get any of that. The only "romance" was her being a homewrecker or being flattered by another guy, but no romance. The MC making mistakes that hurt others isn't something I'd count as funny... Not the vibe that's advertised. If it was advertised as a coming of age drama then sure but a bit of a bummer. Sorry. Note: it does have some inspirational tones near the end but my main issue was it wasn't the book I was planning on reading.

Organized into parts that roughly outline Jess and her journey: we meet her just as she’s hoping that a change of scenery and place to live will also change her luck in life and in love. We see Jess in each stage – how she came to move, how her relationship ended, her railing at the fates, finding new opportunities and finding her own happy ending. Going from London to Sydney is a HUGE move, and takes guts and some determination, as well as a huge gamble. Particularly when her first flat-share option doesn’t happen and she runs into her last boyfriend, the one she thought would be her last and always. He’s kind enough to offer her an out – the spare bedroom in the flat he has with the current girlfriend. For me, Jess was immature and selfish, and not a bit self-reflective or even aware of the mixed signals she sent, or the fallout from her mistakes and bad choices. Sam, however, wasn’t much better, and the two have a relationship that while ‘friendship based’ often is treading toward dangerous waters. Neither is particularly honest or willing to (or even really aware of) their own missteps- and frustrating didn’t quite go far enough to deal with the frequent wallowing (from Jess) about the past and her what ifs. A bit of a struggle to start – the story has to introduce characters and set the frame, and while this was well done and helped overall, the flashbacks to Jess and Sam as a couple, combined with the multiple lies and facades that Jess built (that will all crash around her of course) just didn’t fit neatly with the tie-in to religion and the messages that were sent / ignored / resent frequently. Wandering a bit about Sydney and noticing the differences from London, the determination to show the good, bad, and ugly behaviors in the situation and finally finding a way for Jess to grow and move forward after sort-of acknowledging her own mistakes but fully moving into the future was solid. Decent writing, characters (particularly secondary ones) that were cleverly built and defined, and the requisite happy ending after some revelations FOR the main character kept this story light and fun, but perhaps better suited to a reader other than I. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

If you've ever been stuck in a rut, making wrong choices all the time - then this is the novel for you! Jess set off for the other side of the world hoping for a fresh start; with her career having stuttered to a halt and a seeming inability to move on from her last relationship which ended three years ago, a new beginning sounds like the ideal motivation. However, when her promised accommodation falls through and she finds herself roaming the streets of Sydney jobless, homeless and - let's face it - not exactly looking her best in the pouring rain, the last person she expects to meet is the aforementioned ex . . . This is very different to other rom-coms I've read of late, and it took me a bit of time to get into it. I dithered between getting frustrated at Jess's decisions and understanding them. However, this is a book well worth sticking with as the story must apply to so many and isn't all hearts and roses but an extremely well thought out tale. With some ups and a lot more downs, the author keeps the story flowing well and moving on without glossing over the more difficult times and it's not only an enjoyable read but a very thoughtful one too. It's definitely worth carrying on to find out why Elizabeth Neep wrote the novel; I felt everything clicked into place when I read that! Touching, funny and enjoyable this is one I'm very happy to give four stars. Thanks to the publisher for my copy vi