Highly anticipated release unfortunately this book was not enjoyable for me. Author seems to be hit or miss for most individuals due to the POV styles. In this case, there were too many POVs for my liking as well as a journal entry. The toggling between the past and present day was overwhelming to keep track of. There were weird scenes that I didn’t connect with. I was expecting a thriller but the plot was boring and thrill was not there for me.

The Manor is a new and very expensive resort, opening right in time for the summer solstice. Everything goes well until the night of the solstice, and we start hearing more and more of the dangerous legend of “the birds” in the area.
Overall, I really loved the book! The story switches the narrator with each chapter and skips from the resort opening through different character experiences to the aftermath of the solstice. Thanks to this, I never felt bored and wanted to keep reading on to find out who experienced what! You also get a deeper look into each character, their past, and how or why they ended up at The Manor.
The story keeps you on your toes and absolutely keeps throwing twists at you. I didn't see a lot of the story coming and stayed up way too late finishing it.
I'd highly recommend it!

This book was a whirlwind. Plot twists on top of plot twists. Once you think you have it figured out, BOOM, you're wrong. This is my first foray into the Lucy Foley universe and won't be the last. The words flowed together so freely, almost like a song, not a book. Gorgeous writing and worldbuilding. Never in a million years would I have expected it to end in the way it did.

Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow, and the wonderful Lucy Foley for the ARC!

Release Date: June 18, 2024

This was the first Lucy Foley book I have ever read and I am so impressed. The Midnight Feast had me on my toes! I was constantly coming up with my own theories and seeing if they were correct. The characters are so interesting and have actual personalities.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow Books and the author for the gifted copies of the e-book.

I was completely drawn into this captivating journey right from the first chapter. The unexpected twists kept me eagerly turning the pages, craving to uncover more. The story is brilliantly constructed, with intersecting timelines and multiple points of view that provide deep insight into the characters. The characters are so well-written that I found myself empathizing with some and fervently hoping for the downfall of others.

Murder, deceit, revenge, secrets, and lies made it nearly impossible to set this book aside. I was compelled to keep reading, constantly in anticipation of what would happen next, and I couldn't unravel the mystery until the very end. Lucy Foley's talent for crafting thrilling narratives is truly remarkable. The way she creates a narrative that pulls you in and keeps you on the edge of your seat is nothing short of masterful.

If you enjoy stories filled with suspense and intrigue surrounding murder and deception, I highly recommend this book. It's set to be released on June 18th.

This was tricky for me to get into— I find Lucy Foley’s writing sometimes a bit dense. However, once I got into it, it was super fun. Engaging, tense, atmospheric, truly everything you’d want from a thriller. I think this felt most similar to the Guest List, so fans of that will probably enjoy this as well.

Boy, this one was hard to get through. I loved The Guest List and liked The Paris Apartment so I was excited to start this newest ARC by Lucy Foley! Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Every time I picked this book up I found myself taking an unplanned siesta. Which was nice for me but not great for any plans I had.

45% in I almost DNF'd. But I am a masochist and I force myself to get through any and everything I hate because I'm not a weak bitch.

Things didn't start happening (truly) until 75% in and I stopped passing out after every other chapter. The writing style is very much like her other two books: multiple, multiple POVs and timelines, and the already short chapters become even shorter as the story progresses.

The Midnight Feast was a miss for me. The ending/"twist" was not worth the slog for me.

Many thanks to Lucy Foley, NetGalley, and William Morrow for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Expected publication date June 6, 2024.

3.5 stars if I have to be exact. A bit slower than my fave type of thriller, but an interesting story! Nice short chapters and good character work. I don’t love this many POVs and shifts in time though. Thanks so much for the early copy! ♥️

I LOVE Lucy Foley books, except for this one. I felt kind of lost throughout the story. It was just difficult for me to follow. It was almost too many characters being focused on and I was getting them confused. That could just be me! Lucy is a great author and some may love this book. It was not super suspenseful but decently suspenseful. It definitely kept me guessing.

This book had a really big buildup for a really not so big outcome. I felt like there were too many POV’s and only two or three really were needed. I definitely enjoyed once I got to the end, but it just took a while to really get me into it. There were parts that were creepy and made you think. Overall, I liked that everyone did end up getting the closure that they needed.

Thank you Netgalley, William Morrow, and Lucy Foley for this ARC!

It def felt like I’d read this before and even very recently similarly in The Astrology House - lush manor/resort type place, well-to-do clientele and a midnight feast in this one sure to not disappoint at summer solstice. Great premise but overdone trope and classic Foley - many characters, some have changed names just enough to confuse the reader. It felt like a blindfolded frolic through the woods - very atmospheric - throw in some very creepy birds and village lore. The dead were found by detectives yet that was so drawn out. Again, more wandering through the forest! Clueless.

No one was likable and the back and forth time line jumps were disjointed thrown in with journal entries as well from years before. My biggest annoyance was why those who had secrets and knew each other from years before didn’t recognize each other - a bit of a stretch there, Ms. Foley.

Thank you to NetGalley. This is my 3rd read by this author and probably my last.

Lucy Foley is a genius. This book had me guessing the entire time. Between the creepy birds, flashbacks, small town vibes, urban legend and multiple POV I was sucked in deep!

Trouble is afoot in the woods in Lucy Foley’s new thriller The Midnight Feast. A new resort has opened in the woods on Francesca’s family land. She intends to offer the highest class of treatments for her wealthy guests. The locals are not impressed with her offerings. While she purports to be supporting local interests and businesses, she is instead importing goods and cutting off right of ways. Mysterious things begin to happen and everyone wonders if the ancient birds who are thought to be guardians of the woods are responsible.
With a wide cast of characters, Foley creates a layered and suspenseful mystery. Bella is a mysterious guest. Through her journal we find that she has had very close ties with Francesca and these woods in the past. Eddie is a local working as a dishwasher secretly as he thinks his family won’t approve. Francesca’s besotted husband has secrets of his own that seem to be catching up with him. Everyone seems to. Through this variety of narrators, Foley expertly illustrates how the sins and mistakes of the past can have profound impacts on the future. She plumbs the need for revenge and for reparation. The structure is complex as Foley manages different timelines. We know fairly quickly that someone has died and that the resort has burned. She tracks the progress of the day of those discoveries. She tracks the events leading up to the fateful night - through the different points of view of these characters. She uses a summer journal to explore events from years before - when Francesca and Bella were kids. I am as always fascinated at her ability to manage the complexity of the work - in such a way as to build suspense and keep me guessing. Throughout, she weaves the legends of the birds - who guard the land and exact justice - an excellent fantastical element.
I recently had a conversation with a friend who finds herself living in a nursing home at a fairly young age. She mentioned how often the older residents speak of their regrets - the relationships they would repair - the things they would do differently. In many respects Lucy Foley is focusing on these ideas in The Midnight Feast. Certainly the events and regrets - the need for revenge and change are much more intense as needed for such a successful thriller, but the needs seem very similar to me. I spend more time than I care to admit revisiting the past - considering what I might change if I could. While some reflection is productive and necessary, the danger of too much time spent there is clear. Foley captures well the horror that can happen if a balance between the two cannot be achieved. I have enjoyed all Lucy Foley's work. The Midnight Feast is my favorite - excellently a thriller and exploration of human nature.

I liked this book and the story and it was a quick read. I enjoyed the writing but I did find it a little bit of a far fetched story.

*Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Lucy Foley is back, baby!

Small town secrets lead to murder, destruction, and more questions in The Midnight Feast. Between the creepy atmosphere of the woods, the constant PoV shift, the journal entries... it was just delightfully spine tingling. The burn is slow on this, but I was hooked at 30%. Could it have been faster? Sure. But sometimes I like it when your investment in a book creeps up on you. It reminded me a lot of Midsommar and the Court of Owls, but with a bit more magic mixed in. This would be absolutely perfect as a mini-series and I can't wait to see what Lucy Foley does next.

Lucy Foley va sacar su mejor libro el 18 de junio. Si, su mejor libro!!

The Midnight Feast (4⭐️), la próxima publicación de esta autora me dio vibras de “The White Lotus” (la serie de televisión) pero muucho más macabro.

Como es típico con Lucy, la historia es un “slow burn”…va desarrollandose lento y incrementando el ritmo a medida avanza la historia. Los personajes son complejos y TODOS tienen algo perturbador😅.

Diría que su estilo de escritura no es para todo mundo ya que es suuuper descriptiva y eso puede ser tedioso ya que hace el desarrollo bastante lento (todo el libro toma lugar en 3 dias).. pero para mi eso le sumó a la historia ya que me hacía sentir envuelta en el ambiente y en los pensamientos de los personajes.

La historia gira alrededor de “The Manor” un nuevo y ultra lujoso hotel en las afueras de un bosque en el Reino Unido, diseñado para proporcionar un escape tranquilo a sus huespedes privilegiados. La dueña, Francesca Woodland, con su fachada de pureza, trata de hacer todo en su poder para que el fin de semana de apertura salga a la perfección. El día después del gran evento, la policia es llamada porque hubo un gran incendio, con varias victimas, en las instalaciones del hotel… quien habrá sido el culpable? La dueña? El esposo? Los locales? La ayuda? O la huesped misteriosa?

Si te llama la atención pone alarma para la fecha de publicación de este libro…el 18 de Junio!!

Thank you so much for the ARC copy of The Midnight Feast. This one was sadly a not hit for me compared to her other work.
The story had way to many POV's which I do not like too much in a book and just the back and forth in the story had me just overwhelmed in a way. There was just way too much going on in the book. Like I said lots of flipping back and forth between the timelines, lots of just weird stuff going on that I just couldnt attach myself to with this story.

Lets hope others will enjoy it more than me. Thank you again though still for the copy to read early!

I'll read anything by Lucy Foley, and when I read the premise for THE MIDNIGHT FEAST, I was immediately intrigued. An old manor? A fire and a mangled body found? Eccentric small-town locals? Superstitious folklore? A mystery guest? The founder being oddly zen? YES PLEASE! This book did not disappoint. I will admit I had trouble getting into it at the beginning, as I wasn't sure how all these characters were eventually going to fit together as the book has a fairly large cast. About a third of the way through a diary gets introduced to add a layer to the storytelling, and the back and forth between the past and the present really starts to tie elements together. The plot immediately started to pick up and I was HOOKED and could not put it down. I especially love how pompous I was while reading and thought I had all the twists figured out. And while I did sleuth out the major players, Lucy Foley is an expert at adding twists upon twists, and I was absolutely shocked at not only the first twist, but the twist on the twist. It was SO well done! I will also note that she captures an essence of creepy/horror that was enough to make me jump when my husband walked in the room while reading a particularly tense part, but not enough to make it so I had trouble sleeping that night! I would LOVE to see this novel be adapted into a mini-series. The atmosphere and the mystery were so engrossing, and I give this book 4.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for a DRC of THE MIDNIGHT FEAST by Lucy Foley in exchange for my review and personal opinions. THE MIDNIGHT FEAST is out on June 18, 2024.

It’s the opening night of The Manor, and no expense, small or large, has been spared. The infinity pool sparkles; crystal pouches for guests’ healing have been placed in the Seaside Cottages and Woodland Hutches; the “Manor Mule” cocktail (grapefruit, ginger, vodka, and a dash of CBD oil) is being poured with a heavy hand. Everyone is wearing linen.

But 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. This is the premise for The Midnighr Feast, Lucy Foley’s newest novel. It sounds fun and interesting but I was unfortunately bored for the majority of the book. It was a slog to finish and it would have helped if I liked any of the characters but I just didn’t. It may not have been the book for me but if you’ve enjoyed Foley’s previous novels, check this one out for yourself! Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC copy.

3.5 Stars*
I received a copy of this book as an ARC through NetGalley.
"The Midnight Feast" is the latest multiple POV mystery from Lucy Foley. Tonight is supposed to be a grand affair: the much-anticipated midnight feast during the opening weekend for the luxury hotel: The Manor. Everyone is dressed perfectly, all of the food and drink was thoughtfully sourced, and things seem to be going well, until something terrible goes wrong. Is someone out to put an end to The Manor, or are the rumors of the Night Birds true, and they have come to exact their revenge?
This novel was very fast faced, and very easy to get into. In true Lucy Foley fashion, the story follows several points of view and jumps around in the timeline a lot. This definitely makes the story fly by because the reader is only receiving some information at a time and has to read several chapters more to get back to the big reveal. I do think Lucy Foley does a great job at keeping the story coherent and easy to follow despite how erratic the storytelling is.
Something special about this book in comparison to Lucy's previous books that I really enjoyed was how connected all of the characters are. In the beginning the reader learns of a few noteworthy connections between characters, but by the end not only is everyone deeply connected, but they learn that they always have been. This story relies heavily on something sinister that happened fifteen years ago, and I loved learning how all of the characters were connected to that mystery and the roles they played in the present-day tragedy.
The characters were diverse, and all had a unique voice, which greatly helps the reading experience. All of the characters seem complex as well, which was great to read. No one is simply "good" or "bad". All of the characters had redeeming qualities, which makes the reader empathize with everyone in one way or another.
By far, my favorite character was Eddie. He arguably had the least connection to the mystery of fifteen years ago, but his role in the present day was so pivotal to the story. For someone so young, he really seemed the most mature and level-headed.
The reveal that took me most by surprise was Owen's connection to the mystery of fifteen years ago. I did not see that reveal coming and it had me gripping my Kindle and devouring the rest of the book voraciously.
I was okay with what ultimately happened to the person responsible for all of this hardship. I think they met a poetic end, but I wish they could have had a little more justice served to them first.
As much as I enjoyed this book, I did have a few grievances. I figured out a lot of the mysteries early on in the story, which is satisfying, but slightly disappointing. I also could not stand Francesca's point of view. She screams entitlement and way too New Age for me to enjoy reading about her finding good vibes. I can appreciate her character as a contrast from the others, but she was just awful to read from.
"The Guest List" is a book I have fondly looked back on because of how much I enjoyed it, and unfortunately, I have not found that same magic in a Lucy Foley book since. I think her books are great, but I am not as captivated as I was.
I do think this book is a great summer mystery read, and I recommend it to those looking to uncovering the secrets of rich people who behave badly.