This is my fourth Lucy Foley book. I LOVE "The Guest List," liked "The Hunting Party," was supremely disappointed by "The Paris Apartment," and was won back over by "The Midnight Feast."

In this book, Francesca has opened a new upscale boutique hotel/retreat on her grandparents' old land and the locals are not a fan of this development. Other characters include Francesca's husband, a frenemy from twenty years ago, and the dishwasher who is the son of the farmer who lives down the road. Oh, and did I mention that there is town mythology and lore about "the birds" who serve vengeance when necessary? As the opening weekend progresses, things get worse and worse for Francesca and she starts seeing "the birds" everywhere. Also, we know that the night after the major solstice party, there is a dead body in the sea, but who is it? and more importantly, why did they die?


This book had everything I loved from "The Guest List." Immediately we know that there was a death, but we don't know who and we don't know why. There are multiple POVs and nonlinear storytelling. We get both before and after the solstice and twenty years prior to the event. There were so many secrets that I never knew exactly what was going on until the very end of the book, and I absolutely adored that!

A great beach read that you'll finish quite quickly because you will NEED to know what happened.

I've decided to DNF the book. The plot of the book intrigued me, which is why I was practically jumping up and down when I received the title! However, I wasn't aware that there would be so many perspectives and that it would bounce between timelines as much as it did. I have, since, been made aware that this is a reoccurring theme in this author's books! I just felt that I was so confused with the timeline and became so uninvested in the story! I've settled on a 2 star rating because I never felt like I absolutely did not want to pick the book up, since the plot was so intriguing. Ultimately, I decided to DNF because it was dragging and I was working too hard to understand the timeline/become invested in the characters. I would definitely recommend this one to people who love thrillers with lots of build up!

I just finished reading The Midnight Feast and it was unsettling, creepy, and kept me guessing the whole time!

Set in June 2025, the story begins with the opening weekend of The Manor, an exclusive, cliffside health and wellness resort in the tiny village of Tome, Dorset. With the beach on one side and the woods on the other, the retreat promises three days of luxury, spirituality, and pampering, culminating in a Midnight Feast on The Day of the Solstice.

However, just before dawn on The Day After the Solstice, fishermen make two grisly discoveries: a body floating in the water and The Manor burning on the cliff. What really happened during The Midnight Feast?

Lucy Foley proves to be the master of misdirection in this novel. The plot had more twists than the trees described in the story, and the mystery was multi-layered, clever, and exciting. The shocks and secrets just kept coming, especially in the last 25%, which I can’t stop thinking about!

The characters were a mix of those I cared about, others I was unsure of, and a few that were evil to the core. All were compelling, three-dimensional, and intriguing. I even teared up a couple of times, surprised at how emotionally invested I became in their situations and trauma. The setting of Tome was vividly brought to life, steeped in class conflict, justice, customs, and folklore. While I wouldn’t say I’m terrified of birds, the bird legends in the novel and the ominous feathers found by characters really freaked me out.

The story is told through several timelines: the present-day retreat weekend with its three main days, flashbacks to the summer of 2010 via a teenage girl’s journal, and flash-forwards to The Day After the Solstice with the fire and unidentified body. There was also a spooky, foreboding prologue titled "The Woods." The summer journal entries were my favorite part until the last 25% of the book, when every moment became my favorite.

Now, I can't decide which Lucy Foley book I love more, this one or The Guest List. I think I love them both equally.

Thanks to NetGalley UK, Harper Collins UK, and Lucy Foley for the e-ARC!

Thank you Netgalley & William Morrow Publishing for an eARC 😊🥰


_4 stars

"The midnight feast”

by Lucy Foley

A Chilling Tale of Secrets and Superstition

I devoured this book like a ravenous bird, and now I'm left with a haunting sense of unease. The Manor, with its labyrinthine halls and whispering locals, is a character in its own right - a place where the past and present collide in a swirl of secrets and superstition.

Francesca Meadows' transformation of the historic estate into a wellness hotel is a clever facade, hiding the dark truth beneath. And then, there's the mysterious woman from her past, hell-bent on exposing the rot beneath the surface.

DI Walker's investigation is a race against time, as the body count rises and the tension builds. But the real question is: are the locals' warnings about "the Birds" mere superstition, or a chilling reality?

This book is a masterclass in suspense, with a twisty plot that will keep you guessing until the very end. While it didn't quite reach the heights of Foley's other works for me, it's still a gripping summer thriller 👍🏽🔥

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley was not what I was expecting. I was so excited to get an ARC from Netgalley. I read The Guest List by the same author and enjoyed it, so was looking forward to her new book. Unfortunately, I just cannot get into it! I am about halfway through and it's taken me almost a month to get there. Usually if I like a book, I can finish it in a week or so. This one is so slow and dragging on. At 50% through, I feel like nothing exciting has really happened. And I'm really confused with what's going on with the plot. It's very confusing and honestly kind of boring. I'm assuming and hoping that all will be revealed at some point, but I'm struggling not to DNF this book. Usually this far into a book, I'm invested enough to want to know how it ends. So this is a weird feeling for me not to care about finishing it. At this rate, I don't think I will finish it before the release date, which is why I've decided to go ahead and write this review. Hopefully, others will enjoy this book more than I have!

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