I had a hard time getting into this one. May just have been my current mind set. Some interesting twists and reveals towards the end.

This book didn’t contain any content warnings so be advised it contains graphic or moderate descriptions/depictions of the following: Blood, Death, Animal Death, Violence, and attempted SA (brief).

Very interesting plot/story. Had me on the edge of my seat throughout the entirety of reading it. There were even a few times where I thought I had figured out where the story was going and I was still wrong. Can’t say a whole lot without giving anything away, but I definitely recommend adding this to your list of you like thrillers with a bit of a dark creepy vibe. Or even if you don’t I still think it’s worth giving a try!


Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I was hoping to love this book given that I have read other books by Lucy Foley and enjoyed them, However, this book unfortunately fell flat for me. I might try it again in the future, as I am quite a mood reader and its possible I was just not in the right mood to read this book.


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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It took me a while to get into this one. For a bit it felt like not much was happening and they concealed who died from the reader for a very long time. I also didn’t find myself liking any of the narrators and to be honest, at the end of the book I still didn’t really care for most of them.

With that being said, it was very exciting when things started to click into place. The author kept me on my toes and even towards the end, there were little things that I didn’t expect. Without giving any spoilers, I didn’t love the way drugs played into the plot. I feel like you can explain a lot of things away because “drugs” but it doesn’t feel very clever to me.

Overall, I think this is a solid book in the thriller genre, but I’m starting to think these kinds of thrillers might not be for me personally.

Note: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As much as I love Lucy Foley, this one just didn't do it for me. Francesca Meadows owns The Manor, a posh boutique hotel catering to the rich and famous. The locals are not thrilled about this, and seem hell-bent on its downfall. "The Birds" are referenced throughout the novel as superstition seems to surround the town. The premise of the story surrounds a murder, but the way it unfolds feels like a slow burn. Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for this digital ARC! #TheMidnightFeast #NetGalley

Plot: Everyone has a secret, and everyone aren’t as they seem.

Pace: Medium ish

POV: Multiple. multiple POVs + jumps in the timeline.

Review:
This book may be suited for those who love multiple POV, easy-to-read / follow, “thriller” where most of the answers will be revealed in the last third of the book. I do like how she tied all the characters' connections in the end, how things maybe touched on in the beginning also had resolve. There were some “surprises” revealed throughout the last third and the epilogue but not shocking enough for me to win me over and garner more than 2 stars.

All that to say….

This book just wasn’t for me.
I never read a novel by Lucy foley before. I did enjoy her writing style overall.

By the 67% mark, I was ready to reach the ending. I understand what the author was trying to accomplish here, but the way it was done didn’t captivate me. I think it dragged on a bit for the first 2/3s. Actually, I feel the middle third could have been removed altogether and you still would have had the full story. I realized by half way, that every character in the book has a secret and tie to one another. Here’s the thing though, I knew what happens to the manor more or less, at the end because of the timelines. You are at “day before solstice”, for what seems like forever with summer journal entries from 15 years ago sprinkled in throughout, to the “day after solstice” also sprinkled in early on. The last third felt faster pace because the POVS kept switching with even shorter information between them. I felt like it was it was trying to elongate the suspense towards the end, when really I was already ready for the ending, just give it to me?

There was a scene or two that happened around the 50-67% mark that I’m just not even sure what the point of it was? It was pointless to me. It was just there to serve as a reason for anger and possible confusion.

The ending left much to be desired for me. Personally.

TLDR:
It dragged in the middle, not enough to keep me invested. I became more aggravated with BIRDS. It all came together/made “sense” in the end, but it did not leave me satisfied.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me to read the ARC of this novel and leave an unbiased review.



Youtube: coming soon (theskyylife)

I’ve read three other Lucy Foley books to which I thoroughly enjoyed! So it was a no-brainer to want to read her latest release, “The Midnight Feast”. Unfortunately, this didn’t hold up to her others. I actually found it quite boring at times. I would recommend picking up “The Guest List” or “The Paris Apartment” instead.

Foley stuck with her notorious multiple characters POVs and various timelines. Something different from her other books is her introduction of journal entries to speak to the past. Those chapters are really what kept me going.

The story revolves around the wealthy and the local population from the town, Tome. The main characters are Francesca, the owner of the new luxury wellness hotel; Bella, a guest of the hotel; Eddie, a main worker of the hotel; Owen, the hotel architect; and D.I. Walker, the lead detective on the case. Everyone, except for Eddie, was not who they were portrayed to be so the repetitiveness of that got a little old and the shock factor wore off exponentially as the book went on. It wasn’t made known who was murdered until about 3/4th of the way through, and even then, it wasn’t super clear. The remaining fourth of the book had potential but by that time I was quickly skimming through just to finish as I was rather quickly losing interest in both the plot and the characters.

Then there were the birds and the woods. This could have been a more interesting part of the book if they both weren’t so vaguely described. I had a hard time following what was even going on there. Were they real birds? Were they people in bird costumes? What was the point of them? How close was the woods to the hotel? A little more upfront setting explanation would have gone a long way.

As always, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Holy Sh*t this book. I loved every second. Its a little bit trust the process. Lucy Foley throws so many puzzle pieces at you and you know you should be fitting the pieces together but you just can’t (or at least I couldn’t and I pride myself on my ability to guess what’s coming but I digress). Then one after another little bombs turn into big bombs throughout the book and it blows you away time and time again! The characters were unreliable and unpredictable in the best way to where I truly never knew what was coming next. It was a masterclass in thriller writing and I loved it.

Lucy Foley is an auto-buy author for me. This one did not disappoint! She has a fantastic way of weaving together stories from multiple perspectives, and creating deliciously evil characters. This one takes place in a luxury retreat center in the woods where some weird things are happening after dark. This will be one to read this summer!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I usually really like Lucy Foley’s books but this was not a winner for me. I followed along fine, and I predicted some of the twists before they were revealed but it was just a weird storyline. Honestly the best way to describe it in my mind is trippy which seeing that a lot of the time the characters were on something, it makes sense.

Thank goodness for the half to quarter of the book that finally made things interesting because it wasn’t looking too good for me at the beginning.

It took me A WHILE to get into this one. I almost stopped reading after about 40% but I love Lucy Foley books and I knew it just had to get better, and it absolutely did.

The way everything came together in the end was so clever & it was a page turner those few chapters.

What a ride! A lot of characters and story lines to keep up with in the beginning, but definitely worth it to keep going.

Grateful for the opportunity to read this one!

This book had a completely different plot and storyline than any other Lucy Foley book. I was super excited to read it, but the book kind of fell flat. This felt like a forced read on my end and I considered DNF'ing it a few times. The fact that Lucy Foley tends to throw together a good ending kept me going. The last 20% of the book saved this for me, but not sure it would be in the top contenders for me to recommend.

Excited to see what Lucy releases next!

2.5, rounded up to 3
My Summary:
A woman comes back to a town and manor that has haunted her for a long time. She wants to make sure that certain people don’t get away covering up any more crimes. Boy, does she succeed, but not in the way you’d expect.

My Review:
I’m not quite sure what to say about this one. If you’ve seen the movie Midsommar..that’s what it felt like reading this book. It felt like a fever dream, some sort of haze. It was unsettling, which I think is the point. I think it was too unsettling for me though. Too far out. None of the characters were likable. The plot was great though; a good amount of twists that were all believable. Definitely a thriller, more horrific than her other works though!

You’ll like this if you like:
-Ayahuasca
-luxury retreats in creepy settings
-crystals

Similar titles/vibes:
-The Troop
-Ninth House
-The Atlas Paradox

Lucy Foley has done it again. She entertains us with her imagination that plays out perfectly as a movie in your heard. If you’re a fan of her past work, you’ll absolutely be pleased caressing the lovely cover between your fingers!
This was a 3.6 read for me

One of the most anticipated thriller's from best selling author, Lucy Foley - Francesca and Owen cordially invite you to the grand opening of an exclusive resort touting a holistic- themed experience. Booked solid, everyone is thrilled to be part of the savvy festivities. Everyone that is except the locals who want no part of this venture. This novel is told from multiple POVs, each a fully developed character which was easy to follow along. Short chapters made it easy to continue to turn the pages. Definitely a go-to read!

My favorite Lucy Foley book! Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow

Set at the opening weekend of a fancy wellness retreat, a group of visitors and area locals deal with a present day murder and how it’s connected to secrets from the past. The woodsy, seaside atmosphere was perfect for the small town, folklore inspired mystery. So many twists/reveals got me good! It’s not a perfect book and actually kinda dumb in many ways, but I had a blast reading it.

3.5 stars rounded down

What to expect in this book:

-Atmospheric read
-Multiple POV
-Slow burn mystery/thriller
-Locked door thriller
-Seaside manor house setting
-Summer solstice

Thank you to William Morrow and #NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thoughts

Lucy Foley is one of my favorite mystery authors and as soon as I saw that she had a new book coming out in 2024, I knew this would be one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I have read her four most recent novels and loved them all, with The Paris Apartment being my favorite. As usual, this book features several characters with overlapping storylines and back stories, however this book felt the most different from her others to me. Francesca Meadows has created a mysterious and exclusive retreat in the cliffside residence of The Manor. She has spared no expense or effort in preparing it for their opening night on the Summer Solstice. Riddled with folklore and local tales, The Midnight Feast at The Manor is said to be the event of the summer and every has come ready to celebrate. However, as old friends and enemies gather on this night, the ancient forrest is full of secrets and as of the following morning, police become involved as there has been a body discovered. Told from various points of view before, during, and following the solstice, The Midnight Feast draws readers into a secret that is fifteen years in the making.

This story gave me vibes of The Village. There are mysterious within the small town of Tome and the forest that for years locals have been afraid of. When after fifteen years, several characters reunite for an evening of debauchery and celebration, it feels like the fantasy of it all ends up being much different than I would have imagined. Without spoiling for potential readers, the atmosphere or environment plays a large role in this novel and I felt immediately drawn in and intrigued by this pagan group known as "The Birds" that play a major role in this story. I enjoyed elements of this, but by the end found this plot line to be a little disappointing. Also, Lucy Foley always brings multiple characters together that seem to have nothing in common all to reveal the connections that are hidden under the surface--so I was not surprised at the connections that were ultimately revealed, however, I found some of these aspects to be unbelievable given the short amount of time that had passed since they had last seen each other.

I think this is an entertaining read and enjoyable, but not my favorite of hers. I think the setting makes this a great summer time read and will transport readers (and hopefully make them grateful to not be a part of The Manor or the midnight feast!) I recommend to those who are looking for an intriguing and mysterious read.

The Midnight Feast

This book reminded me of Nine Perfect Strangers, and White Lotus, mixed with the strange masked people from Riverdale. So, it had some pretty unique characters and vibes.

Read if you like:
⭕️ Closed circle mystery
🏨 Newly built Hotel party
📔 Journal entries from past
🔗 Linked characters
🤫 Secrets

This was a very quick and easy read. There were quite a few characters’ points of view, but not too many that it made it confusing. I really liked how it was set up, the short chapters, and the tidbits you got out of each character throughout the story! The end was the perfect climax /resolution and the final sentence made me smile.

I enjoy the consistency of Lucy Foley stories. Thank you @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for the digital ARC!

4.5 stars rounded to 5! I enjoyed this one immensely. Multiple POV pieces can sometimes be overwhelming, but Lucy Foley is one of the best at writing them. While there were several characters and timelines, it didn't feel like there were too many, nor did it seem confusing. I did enjoy how she tied the timelines together and the characters. There were a few small details that I didn't expect to occur. The setting itself is well described, and I did like the basic premise of this new upscale retreat having its opening weekend against some backlash from the community. Initially, I thought we'd be dealing with more supernatural elements based on the description, but I was proven wrong...and happily so! This book may be my new favorite from this author!

Did I squeal and run to my Kindle the minute I received the "approval" email? I sure did! I love Lucy Foley's books; and this one is not an exception. She is a master of the multiple POV narration and the twists... *chefs kiss.* She continues to exceed my expectations and I cannot wait to see what she releases next.

I jumped into The Midnight Feast...and jumped back out. I couldn't find my groove. Maybe I was thrown by the lack of characters? Had my lucky streak come to an end? Not to worry, I jumped back in and following those first few chapters, I was fully hooked and committed. The story was masterfully written; peppered with folklore...it really was perfection.

The story centers around The Manor, a luxurious estate hidden in Woodland Hutches, designed to provide an escape for the uber privileged. Owner Francesca Woodland is preparing to host a summer solstice feast at the Manor, however her plans are derailed when a ghost from her past appears, looking to confront an event from years prior. Finally, Owen, the much younger husband of Francesca, is so taken with her, that he doesn't see the dark secrets she is harboring, and vice versa, putting their future at risk.

Murder, mystery, and fire...this book is full of the twists and turns that Foley is known for. She once again has hit it out of the park. You will not regret this read!

Huge thanks to William Morrow, NetGalley, and Ms. Foley for this ARC.