It’s the opening night of The Manor, a brand new hotel amongst a rural town. The infinity pool sparkles; crystal pouches for guests’ healing have been placed in the Seaside Cottages and Woodland Hutches; but the locals are not happy about this happening. Under the burning midsummer sun, darkness stirs. Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests. Just outside the Manor’s immaculately kept grounds, an ancient forest bristles with secrets. And the Sunday morning of opening weekend, the local police are called. Something’s not right with the guests. There’s been a fire. A body’s been discovered.

I didn't hate this book but I didn't love it either. I found myself not caring much about any character (minus Eddie) because there were too many of them and they all annoyed me lol. I thought there was too much telling instead of showing. I did not need to be reminded a million times of the Birds. I also saw the twist coming from almost the beginning. Which isn't always the worst thing, but in this case I was hoping the end would save the book for me and sadly it did not.

What I did like was the setting of the book, I like Foleys style of writing, and I like when there is justice served.

Overall I rated this book a 2.5 (rounded up to 3)

Lucy Foley has done it yet again! I've read her last three "locked room" (and/or island?) mysteries, and have enjoyed them all since The Hunting Party. The Midnight Feast is another great entry.

Told from multiple perspectives and timelines, this story weaves together a creepy tale that is ultimately about class, and how we are defined by our choices and childhoods. Every perspective adds to the growing mystery, and there are tons of callbacks and fake-outs through. I thought all of the characters really shined, although I would have liked more understanding of Francesca. I felt that even though I spent multiple chapters with her, I never really understood her motivations.

I will say that if you are familiar with Foley's writing, you may seem some of the twists coming. I figured out at least two of them, but found myself genuinely surprised at others. Almost every character plays a pivotal role in the mystery surrounding the Manor. That being said, if you are familiar with her work and have enjoyed it, I suspect you will enjoy this one as well. I finished it in about a day and a half because I wanted to know what would happen next.

This is my 3rd book by this author, I’ve read The Guest List and The Paris Apartment. With this book I did like the multiple POV of the character that made the story. I loved the small town vibes with folk legends. The story was very slow paced which made it hard to stay interested in. The last 20% of the story with the reveals was amazing. The plot reveal wouldn’t have been guessed….it just took too long to get there.

I love Lucy Foley but unfortunately this wasnt my fav read by her. I found myself slightly bored and confused. Too many characters and too little thrill.

Thank you for this ARC!

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 362 / Genre: Psychological Thriller

Frankie is the rich girl who summered in Dorset at her grandparents’ mansion, the only mansion in town. Out of boredom, she and her twin brothers would befriend the poor kids in town to toy with for their amusement. Until one summer when the unspeakable happened. Fifteen years later Frankie, who is now Francesca, returns, turning her grandparents’ mansion into a trendy wellness retreat. And the townies she victimized, also return.

Don’t tell me a story about people who get victimized if you’re not going to give me some pay back. I just LOVE it when victims rise up, take control of their lives, and get their bloody revenge. Yes, please! I really enjoyed this psychological thriller. It’s a bit slow at first. A lot of atmospheric tension. But as the story builds with each character, the crescendo of how everything falls together is worth the wait.

Thank you, @NetGalley, @WilliamMorrowBooks, and @LucyFoleyAuthor for my gifted copy. I loved it!

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: mystery/thriller 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
An atmospheric thriller filled with multiple POVs and lots of birds and secrets

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Multiple POVs
Atmospheric and creepy reads
Intriguing storylines
Luxury resorts
Sinister birds
All the secrets and twists
Town folklore

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Short chapters
Everything comes full circle

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
It starts off slow
It was hard at times to keep track of all the characters

HAPPY PUB DAY!!! This book was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I was so honored to get the ARC! This book was good! I loved getting to see in different people’s points of view but it wasn’t TOO many. Everyone had a hidden past and I LOVE that! It also bounced between past and present and even a future timeline which was fun. I was a smidge confused about some aspects and wish there was more info on them (which I don’t say often). Make sure to pick this up soon!!! 🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛

Synopsis in my words: Those story starts during the opening weekend at The Manor- a luxury woodland getaway. It follows five different points of views- all with a different agenda and even more secret.

Secrets. Lies. Murder.
Let the Festivities begin!
The summer solstice dinner party of the century is about to begin at the newest most luxurious resort. The cocktails are flowing, the pool is sparkling, the guests have custom crystals to provide good energy. But not everyone at the resort is there to relax and be pampered. Old friends, old enemies, deep secrets and even darker folklore meander through the resort. When the past collides with the present at the party…let the Midnight Feast commence!

💭Whew. This book is wild. The secrets and lies and twists that come out through the story will leave your mouth hanging open! It’s a slowwww simmer but when it burns, it’s explodes! And it’s the perfect week for this to release since summer solstice is this week! Maybe I need to host a Midnight Feast…😅😈

4.5 Stars!

This author never ceases to amaze me with her words, her plots, and her characters.

"Because when you've behaved for this long, it feels so good to be a little bad."

Lucy Foley does it again with this eerie and enchanting story that is White Lotus meets Nine Perfect Strangers.

It's the summer solstice and a posh new resort is having their inauguration under the trees - The Manor. But what many of the guests do not know is that there are secrets in these woods.

Told in multiple POVs between the present and the past, including the old journal of a young girl, the truth about what once happened in these woods begins to uncover.

Once I started this book, I was immediately pulled in. We have Eddie who works at the resort, a sweet an innocent 19-year old kid. There's the "founder," Franchesca, and the characters in her POV were truly brilliant because you can immediately tell just how unhinged she is. There are also the Architect, the mystery guest, and a whole slew of employees who also live on the outskirts of the forest.

But before the night is over, there's a fire, and a body is found.

I loved the past and present and how ALL the connections started to unfold. And the presence of the forest itself was so well done that I could see it like a movie in my head. This is a perfect summer thriller. It took me a tiny bit to get into it and I don't think I loved it as much as The Guest List and The Paris Apartment but those were absolute FAVES of mine and will be hard to beat!

"Because the Birds are like nature. And nature always finds a way."

This was fine. I've read her previous books and between those and the promising premise I was super excited to read this book as well. It just fell a bit short of expectations. The large cast was hard to keep straight, and it wa sfairly predictable at other times. Still a fun read, but not exactly what I was expecting

This book is a typical thriller. It felt pretty formulaic to me. There are some twists at the end, but I found most of them predictable or unsurprising. I liked The Guest List better, but this could also just be me getting burnt out on thrillers like this: teenagers who experience some deadly secret thing, jump to the future with a big event where the secrets come out.

Pick it up if you like:
- scary birds
- timeline jumps
- multiple POV
- short chapters

4.5/5 Stars

As always, I loved this Lucy Foley book. It did take a little longer than usual for me to get into it, unfortunately, but I really liked all the twisty turns in the last 25% of the book, even if I guessed most of them. I also had to stop a few times to look up something, since this took place in the UK and I'm not as familiar with DI & DS structures, but it was quite a fab read. Definitely recommend to those who like twisty thrillers that aren't dark or gory!

This one is all over the place, I had to DNF at 25% it was just too confusing, I wish I would have told the story in a normal way. I had absolutely no idea what was happening.

Lucy Foley's latest novel, The Midnight Feast, bears a strong thematic resemblance to The Guest List, with a thread of revenge for past misdeeds running throughout. The Midnight Feast, however, takes the revenge beyond the personal to the community and even the cosmic level. The Manor, an opulent getaway for the rich has opened on the Dorset coast. Its proprietor Francesca works to make everything social media perfect, while the locals brood with mistrust and the trees rustle with ancient foreboding. Multiple points of view and time shifting take a bit to settle into, but the characterizations are sound and the plotting tight and rife with suspense, twists, and open questions. Another excellent entry into what is becoming a remarkable oeuvre for Lucy Foley.
Thanks to WIlliam Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I read this book all in one sitting! It kept me drawn in and I really enjoyed it. Everything was tied together so well in the end, and it all made sense! Definitely recommend this one!



Review also posted on Goodreads.

My jaw is on the floor! This twisty, eerie atmospheric tale is packed with a suspenseful tension not unlike a summer heat with temperatures rising bit by bit until there's a spark that ignites and someone snaps. Prepare to be sneaking glances over your shoulder as you read this, for it will spook and unnerve you..

This was an ARC from NetGalley. I enjoy Lucy Foley's books as the pace is blistering with continuous transitions between characters with all the connections coming together at the end. This book did not disappoint, as it was a very quick read, the transition between characters increasing and taking place every page near the end. This follows the opening of a new resort that is opposed by the locals all the whole looking back 15 years on several characters present at the opening. Culminating in a present day who dun it, and exposing secrets of the past. Overall, the story itself was not the most interesting. I think the pace didn't allow me to get invested in the characters, and the amount of twist and secret connections oversaturated the book. By end, they didn't add anything to the story. This was middle of the pack for me when looking at the author's catalog of work. Great entertainment while reading, but nothing memorable or unique. #lucyfoley #midnightfeast #birds #mystery #suspense

BOY did it take me a while to get into this one. Almost 50% if I’m being honest. At first the plot felt utterly dull. A bunch of rich socialites getting together on a private Manor to celebrate Midsommar (yawn). BUT, I was pleasantly surprised at the turn of events that followed. I was hooked. Scorned locals seeking revenge on the filthy-rich, dark and ominous folklore, and even a “happy-ish” ending. Lucy Foley will keep you on your toes until the very end.

It has a slow start but the ending really surprised me. I liked the different character perspectives. It really made the story interesting.
I received an advance review copy but my opinions are honest and my own.

I loved The Paris Apartment and was looking forward to Foley's latest. This started off slow and I almost set it down because I mistakenly assumed it would be too supernatural / horror rather than mystery / thriller. I kept going and I'm glad I did. It's more of a locked room mystery with a little small town folklore mixed in. The dual timeline was a little confusing at first as well as keeping all the characters straight. Overall, I'm glad I stuck with it and it's a satisfying twisty ending!