I hated loved this book.
Yes. you read that correctly.
This is a book of contradictions, and so are my feelings about this book.
Things I loved:
The atmosphere-secluded Irish island only accessible by a ferry that travels every once and a while.
The residents totally give off the cult vibe
No outside communication
An author stealing a manuscript
Feeny's total creepy vibe and her language-I know her wordage and play on words irks some readers, but can I just say I dig it?
A twist at the end I loved!
THE LAST SENTENCE--my spine is still tingling

Things I didn't Love
The ending, you see what I mean here about contridictions?
So as not to spoil anything, Feeney did something at the end that sparked a nerve. I want to talk it out with other readers to see how they took it
Some parts of the ending were very predictable

So let's break it down...how will I rate it
Did I love the plot: HECK YEAH
Did I love the fact I was totally creeped out: YES YES YES
Was I excited to read each day: YES!!!!
Did this book make me feel things/ think about it when I wasn't reading: YES!!!
Will The Last Sentence Haunt Me: OMG YES!
Do you want to discuss this book: YES YES YES

So my fellow readers of this review....how can I rate it anything less than 4? You are right, I can't. We are going to land at 4.5, round down...4!

I also want to add the audio version of this book was enhanced with sounds, and it was fabulous!!
I mean come on, the female narrator is Tuppance-how amazing is that? But in all seriousness the narrators did a phonemail job of setting the mood.


THANK YOU NETGALLEY AND ALICE FEENEY for allowing me to read this advanced copy audio book. I was not influenced in exchange for this honest review. Get your own copy of this book when it publishes January 14th 2025

This audiobook was really good. The narrators - Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton - did an awesome job bringing the book to life. I loved the music and sound effects.

The timing of this book was slow. Grady - the writer - was sad and just could not write. The author spent a lot of the book making sure that we knew how bad Grady was doing over and over. The other characters in the book were just weird that lived on the island in Scotland. Then the end seemed rushed and unexpected.

Story Location - England and Scotland
Audiobook Length - 9 hrs 19 min
Favorite Character - Columbo - the black Lab

Quotes
“Wives think their husbands will change-But they don’t. Husbands think their wives won’t change-But they do!”
"Marriage is made of a million beautiful and ugly moments stitched together into a shared tapestry of memories, all of which are viewed and remembered slightly differently, like two people staring at the same painting from opposite ends of a room. "

What a wonderful start to the year! I want to give McMillan Audio a special thanks for reaching out to me with the audio version of this book. I loved every second of it. The voice actors did great, and the sound effects really took this book to the next level. Thank you so much for the opportunity. As well as Netgalley for connecting readers, publishers and authors.

The writing style is always top tier when it comes to Alice Feeney. I have loved her books from the very first one I picked up 2 years ago. I should have seen the plot twist coming, but I didn’t. I love how thrilling Feeney’s stories are. They are always well paced and never leave you bored. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a unique read. This one follows an author down on his luck after his wife disappeared a year ago. He is given an opportunity to finish a new novel with an all expenses paid trip to a remote island. Population 25. But nothing is as it seems, and no one is who they say they are.

Lily's Little Library

I will start by saying the audio on this one, narrated by Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton was fantastic! It was engaging, smooth and concise, easy to follow along, very well done, I'm happy to have listened! It was quite the ride!

Author Grady Green’s wife goes missing one night after getting out of her car to help someone. A year later and there is still no word on her whereabouts, Grady finds himself suffering from writers block and under contract to produce another novel. He is in a downward spiral with no solution in sight….what transpires is dark, twisty and mind blowing!

I had no idea where this story was going! I was fully engaged and compelled to keep going (I listened to this all in less than 2 days!) I admit at one point I thought I had it figured out, just in time to realize I wasn’t even close…. At one point towards the end it felt a little far fetched, but that doubt was quickly twisted again into a shocking finish! A clever, dark and surprising story! Quite possibly my favorite of Alice Feeney’s books to date!

At first I was a little nervous that this was going to be just another run of the mill secluded island story. Boy was I wrong! This book gripped me from start to finish. We have Grady Green who is an author whose wife went missing the year prior. Grady is struggling to write so his agent suggests that he go to tiny Scottish island and stay at a cabin of one of her former clients to try get his life back on track and write his next novel. Grady accepts and once he arrives, he realizes just how secluded the island is. Not only that, be he starts to imagine that he is seeing his missing wife around every corner.

I could not put this book down. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a quick read with an amazing ending!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for the eArc of Beautiful Ugly in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Beautiful Ugly is Alice Feeney's latest mystery-thriller, due out on January 14.

Grady Green is an author whose wife disappeared a year before the story begins. He is still grief-stricken and cannot write, having missed several deadlines for his next book. At his editor's urging, he reluctantly agrees to travel to a remote Scottish island and stay at the home of a deceased best-selling author, hoping it will bring him the peace he needs to get back to writing. On the ferry to the island, he thinks he sees his missing wife. The same thing happens repeatedly during his time on the island. Is his wife still alive? If so, what is she doing on this island and why does she keep disappearing from him?

This story kept me guessing throughout and had me on the edge of my seat a few times. The audio narration by Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton adds to the story. I especially enjoyed the male perspective narrated by Armitage. There are also ambient sounds such as waves crashing that really enhance the listening experience.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a review copy of this audiobook.

Author Grady Green finds out that is a New York Times best selling author on the same night that his beloved wife goes missing. A year later, no one knows where she is, although she is presumed dead. Grady's publisher sends him to a remove Scottish island to write a new novel, since he has been unable to write since the disappearance of his wife. Plenty of twists and turns, and an ending that you will never see coming.

TLDR; a story about a self absorbed man who doesn’t know how to communicate (go figure)

Okay no but seriously this was a twisting thriller that I honestly couldn’t see how it was going to end. Those are my favorite types of thrillers and I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a twisty story about women’s resilience. I love a good audio book and the male narrator for this book was unbelievable. Literally the perfect voice. I enjoyed the sound effects and found the overall experience incredibly enjoyable. Overall 4.25 ⭐️’s from me!

No idea how I ended being approved for this but thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio 🫶🏼

#bookreview #audiobook #netgalley #macmillan #tbr #booksta #bookstagram

Holy Guacamole was this book good! I could not stop listening to it. I did not see the twists and turns coming. The characters were so well developed that I was even rooting for the “bad guys”. It was a deliciously slow burn with just enough bread crumbs to keep me turning the pages. I waffled back and forth between giving this a 4 or 5 star rating. I landed on 4 stars because the ending was a little far fetched, but I would still absolutely recommend this book!

Wow this book was like.. crazy haha. (idk if that's a good thing or not though).. like literally so much happened. but honestly there were often times where stuff didn't make a ton of sense. like there were so many times i didn't know if it was the characters going through hallucinations or me LOL!! 3.5ish stars rounded up :)

anywho i quite liked the main characters i think. I'm not really sure if i understand much about them yet though tbh. this book definitely reveals so much about them as the book continues. and has literally so many character driven plot twists.. and it's a surprisingly small cast, but still feels like a large cast? like everyone was very unique and different in their own ways. and like i said the further you read the more you learned about literally everyone. absolutely crazy honestly.

the story was in many ways confusing, but also so exciting. the vibes of this book like previously mentioned basically felt like a giant hallucination lol! there were so many crazy things that happened. like i think this book features an unreliable narrator, AND has different timelines/ povs and sometimes that can give you conflicting information that creates a sense of eeriness and confusion. but honestly i will admit i got confused several times. and it felt sometimes like things weren't quite adding up. but maybe that was the point.

i listened to this book on audio, and it was such a good time. honestly think the narration saved this story for me in many ways! i was pleasantly surprised by the sound effects that were featured. there were things such as phone sounds, ocean waves, and even the crackling of walkie talkies. i also quite liked that this was dual narration! the book is divided into two different POVS (a man and a woman) and they are both narrated by different people, which is such a nice tough.

all that being said though i would definitely still recommend this book! I don't think i would read it again, but i'm so glad i got the chance to! I want to thank Netgalley, Macmillan Audio for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

Publication Date: January 14, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5/5

I was initially skeptical about another Alice Feeney book, as Good Bad Girl didn't work for me.

Mini Synopsis:
Grady Green, a successful author, believes he has it all—a beautiful wife, Abby, who is an investigative journalist. One day, Grady calls Abby to share some exciting news, but during their phone call, he hears her slam on the brakes as she sees someone in the road. After the crash, Abby disappears without a trace. Is she dead? Did she fake her death? No one knows what happened to her.

Kitty, Abby's godmother and Grady's publicist, suggests a solution. Grady, who received an advance for a two-book deal but has only delivered one, is facing pressure to return the money. Kitty's idea? Send Grady to a house on the isolated Scottish island of Amberley, once owned by Charles, one of her former clients who is now deceased. The island can only be accessed by boat, and visitors are forbidden to bring cars.

While there, Grady discovers Charles's last book hidden under a floorboard. Grady, a once successful author, now feels overshadowed by Charles's legacy. Desperate for a hit, he decides to rewrite Charles's manuscript and claim it as his own—his path to a New York Times bestseller. But as Grady spends more time on the island, his sanity begins to unravel. He starts seeing Abby everywhere and wonders if she faked her death and left him because he was a terrible husband. Abby wanted children, but Grady, consumed by his writing, didn’t.

The island is home to a small group of women, who are still haunted by a terrible accident that occurred years ago. The local sheriff, Sandy, has implemented strict rules for safety. Everyone carries a walkie-talkie, and communication with the outside world is limited to snail mail—there are no phones, no internet, no connection to the modern world.

Review:

I absolutely loved this book! Going into the audiobook, I had some mixed feelings, but Alice Feeney completely exceeded my expectations. From the very beginning, she masterfully develops each character with depth and complexity, which kept me engaged throughout the entire story.

At first, I thought I could predict where the plot was headed, but I was quickly proven wrong. The twists and turns that Feeney weaves into the narrative kept me on the edge of my seat, and I was shocked by each unexpected revelation. This book is a perfect example of how to deliver suspense, mystery, and thrilling twists, with a plot that never lets up.

The pacing is spot on, and the way the author keeps you guessing until the very end is brilliant. It's a beautifully crafted piece of literature that I'd be happy to revisit again, as the story is layered and keeps you thinking long after you've finished.

If you enjoy books full of suspense, unexpected twists, locked-door mysteries, and psychological tension, this one is definitely for you. A must-read for fans of domestic thrillers!

Alice Feeney is an auto-read for me. I am an avid mystery/thriller reader and this one was another good read! There are many twists and turns along the way and definitely a few things that I absolutely did not see coming. I go back and forth on my feeling about this book as a whole- some seriously good twists, but also, there was something that made it stay "good" and not "great" for me.

*3.75 stars

4 1/2 Stars

I love that Alice Feeney will be forever tricking me with her words. I listened to the audiobook version of this story and it was great. The narration and accents of the characters felt perfect and spot on.

While best-selling author, Grady Green is in the midst of celebrating his newest book, his wife is in the middle of disappearing. As Grady listens on the phone, his wife is lured into stopping her car to check a body lying in the road. She then vanishes and Grady is devastated. He can barely function and can't write at all. His life is in limbo and only Abby's return will help.

When his agent gives him the use of a small retreat on a somewhat rural island, Grady jumps at the opportunity. But this tiny island isn't exactly what he expected and it will gradually show its true colors over time.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early copy of this audiobook.

It was easy to listen to and the voice actors did a phenomenal job.

The storyline was good but I couldn’t stand the main character, Grady, although I think that was the point. The twist caught me off guard which is what I like in these types of books.

I recommend this as a quick read or listen.

I enjoyed the narration of this but that's about it. It's twisty just for the sake of being twisty without making much sense.

Another excellent novel written by Alice Feeney! As one of my favorite authors, I know I can count on Alice to have twists and turns galore. My favorite part of her writing is the point of view. You never really know how reliable the MC is…and in this case, I was pleasantly surprised by the major plot twist! Although I could see some parts coming, overall, this was not a predictable read. The ending wasn’t quite what I was expecting but I can’t say I was disappointed. The setting being an isolated island with minimal characters gave it a bit of a claustrophobic feeling, which just added to the suspense.

I listened to this as an audio and absolutely adored the performance by the narrator. His voice had me totally sucked in and kept me fully engaged in the story. The audio quality gets a well-deserved 5/5 stars. Overall, I rate the story 4/5 stars.

A huge thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with this gifted audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

🏔️ Beautiful Ugly - Alice Feeney

4.5 ⭐️- Alice, my thriller queen, does it again. The way my jaw was on the floor when this ended!! Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a thriller girlie and a big time Alice Feeney fan. I’ve read them all and now I’m sad I don’t have anything new one. Beautiful Ugly sure did scratch the itch tho! It’s only right that this is my last review of the year!

Again, my jaw was on the floor. I did the audio of this and loved it! The added aspects of sound effects gave the story more depth and imagination. The characters are unreliable, untrustworthy, and frankly, creepy. There were multiple times I thought I knew what was happening, I was wrong. I loved the setting, the thrills, the twists and turns. The pace keeps you engaged and the suspense keeps you going. This one is deff worth adding to your TBR if you’re looking for a quick bingeworthy thriller for 2025!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the early audio and BOTM for making it an early release pick in December’s box! This one hits shelves on 1/14!

Thank you MacMillan audio for an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I have read two of Alice Feeney's other books and was excited to get an early copy of Beautiful Ugly. Alice Feeney is the queen of epic twists and this book did not disappoint. The narrators did a great job reading the book. I felt like I did not know what was going on in the book up until the very end. My only complaint is that the ending seemed a little too far-fetched to be real. I also found the MMC to make poor choices that made it hard for me to sympathize with him.

I do think Alice Feeney has stronger books, but this was is just as twisty and unexpected as her others!

Good book… creepy and weird all the way up until the last page! Will definitely read more of her books!

Wow! The story opens with a bang, grabs your attention, and then doesn't let go until the stunning conclusion. I'm a big fan of Alice Feeney and this is my favorite book of hers so far. The plotting is mysterious, creepy in spots, and so well-executed. Grady is an intriguing main character and the book delves so deep inside his head which I found so satisfying. The narration was also amazing and mood-evoking.