LOVED this! Alice Feeney always does a great job of creating a great mystery setting! Beautiful Ugly did not disappoint! I loved it.

OK, I will start off by saying this audio was excellent!!! I will read anything Alice Feeney writes and this was a very “what the heck is happening story”. Grady is an author and he’s excited to celebrate his good news with his wife, Abby. She’s on her way home when she sees a woman lying in the middle of the road and stops the car. Next thing you know, Abby has disappeared. I feel like the last few chapters were rushed and wish I had the physical copy from BOTM to go back and read it more carefully.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for an advanced copy of the audio in exchange for my honest review.

Pub Day: January 14, 2025

Ultimately this book confirmed for me that Alice Feeney isn't an author for me because I just don't jive with her writing style.

This was a book with an incredible setting. The author did a fantastic job using the setting to create a sinister, creepy vibe. The book held my attention and I kept the pages turning. It was good in dual timelines and by dual perspectives.
However, the last 20% tanked the book for me. I just didn't like where the story went nor the ending. At all.
The narration was good though an added to my overall enjoyment.
Lots of people loved this one, so check out some other reviews.

Release date: January 14, 2025
Length: 9 hours, 19 minutes / 320 pages

Alice Feeney is an author that I’ve heard lots of great things about & I’ve been wanting to read her books for a while now, so this ARC was the perfect way to start! This book focuses on an author & his wife that went missing a year ago, & he hasn’t been able to write ever since. He then gets sent to an island to stay in the old house of a deceased author in the hopes that he’ll find inspiration for his next novel. But while he’s there, weird things start happening & he keeps thinking he sees his missing wife. Is it really her or is he seeing things? Will he ever find out the truth about what happened to her?

I devoured this audiobook in 3 days which is a record for me! I’m not a huge audio listener (I do want to start getting more into audiobooks though) but this one was so well done! I don’t know if it’s common but there were sound effects & music at some parts which made it so much more enjoyable, it felt like I was really inside the story. It did drag a little at some parts but there was, of course, an ending that I did not see coming & I can’t wait to read more Alice Feeney!

Side note: nothing bad happens to the dog!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC.

The way my jaw dropped…then kept dropping!!! This was probably the best Thriller I have had the absolute pleasure of listening to! The summary already had me! Hearing your wife go missing on what should be the best day of your life as an author! A year later being on a writing getaway only to see a woman who looks exactly like your missing wife! This overview was only the beginning of the numerous twists and turns I was taken on! I am still recovering from the last chapter! The last paragraph even! This is a MUST read and listen because all of it was perfectly done! Bravo Alice Feeney!

When I picked up *Beautiful Ugly* by Alice Feeney, I expected twists and turns, but I wasn’t prepared for just how immersive and unsettling this story would be.

What I loved most about this book was its relentless tension. Feeney has a knack for making you doubt everything. Just when I thought I had it figured out, another twist would send me spiraling. And while the pace starts slow, it builds with an intensity that had me racing toward the finale.

Alice Feeney never fails to impress me, and this time was no exception - this woman can do no wrong.

I give this a big fat five stars!! ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I finished Beautiful Ugly today and I’m already looking forward to rereading it, mostly because I’m convinced I missed some of the genius the first time around.

This one has everything, and the audio version was fantastic - I’m definitely getting a physical copy, my bookshelf must display its awesomeness!

Pub day for this gem is January 14, 2025. I highly recommend preordering this novel!

Thank you to @alicewriterland @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for this advanced audio book. I owe you!

3.5 stars

London writer Grady Green pens thrillers, and hopes today is his lucky day. Grady is waiting for a call from his agent, who'll tell him if he's made the New York Times best seller list. As Grady hovers near the phone, his journalist wife Abby is driving home, hoping to celebrate the success of Grady's novel.

When Grady learns his book IS a hit, he phones Abby right away. While the couple extoll the great news, Abby slams on the brakes, saying a woman is laying in the road, and she's going to offer help. Grady strongly discourages his wife, citing possible danger, to no avail. Abby gets out of her car and vanishes. Grady can't cope with Abby's disappearance. He's unable to write another word; drinks too much; and runs out of money. A year after losing Abby, Grady and his black retriever Colombo are living in a shabby room in a cheap hotel, barely making ends meet.

At this point, Grady's agent Kitty makes an offer Grady can't refuse. Kitty has inherited a cottage on tiny Amberly Island, off the coast of Scotland. The last tenant is gone, and Kitty offers the residence to Grady, suggesting the environment might inspire a new novel. Grady accepts, packs up his and Colombo's few possessions, and they head for Amberly Island. As soon as Grady and Colombo step off the ferry onto the isle, they begin to meet the residents, all of whom know who Grady is, and most of whom refer to him as 'the author.'

The cottage Grady's staying in, called The Edge, looks rustic on the outside but has all the conveniences, minus a television, radio, or phone. The isolated island has no WiFi; no cell phone service; and no working landlines. To communicate with the outside world, the ferry - which runs sporadically - carries passengers between the mainland and Amberly Island, and brings in supplies as needed.

Grady soon discovers that Amberly Island is no London. There are only 25 residents, and the sole shop with regular hours is a grocery store/post office. The manager of the grocery store offers to order Grady anything he needs, and The Edge contains a good supply of expensive scotch, so Grady feels he can make do. As Grady and Colombo are settling into the cottage, Grady finds a hidden compartment in the floor. The space contains the bones of a hand, and the unpublished manuscript of the cottage's previous resident, a well-known author. You can guess what happens next: Grady decides to rework the manuscript into his own 'voice' and submit it as his next book.

In between working on the novel, Grady perambulates around the island and hobnobs with the people. Grady occasionally thinks he sees his wife Abby, but it's never her, and Grady worries that he's hallucinating. Grady's discomfort is heightened by the fact that someone is slipping envelopes with Abby's old newspaper articles under his door - articles that seem to be hinting at something. After a couple of months, Grady is VERY antsy, anxious for the day he and Colombo can return to London. Of course things aren't quite that simple......

The chapters about Grady's life are interspersed with flashbacks to the past, when Abby is speaking to a therapist. Abby is admitting she's become disillusioned with her marriage, and is thinking of leaving her husband. Readers may think they know what's going on, but there are significant plot twists and a head-spinner of a climax.

I enjoyed the book, but feel the author's misdirection is a bit clumsy. Still, this is an enjoyable mystery that kept my attention, and I liked the sweet pooch Colombo.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Richard Armitage, who does a fine job.

Thanks to Netgalley, Alice Feeney, and Macmillan Audio for a copy of the book.

Grady is on hard times, and when his agent and Abby's godmother suggests moving to a writing cabin she's inherited in the Scottish Highlands, Grady accepts. Even on the ferry from the mainland, he begins to feel Abby everywhere. He's losing his mind. And, "the community" of the island of Amberly is unbelievable and odd.

In classic Alice Feeney style, we have unreliable narrators (this is multiple POV--but mostly Grady and Abby) and twists until the very end. No spoilers here, but, honestly, you don't even know what the problem is until wellllllll into the book.

I famously don't love thrillers. I think its because there is so much leg work until you start having fun, and I read for escape. But, the glow up and resolution has me thinking this is a thriller that even my staunch romance girlies will enjoy.

I really wanted to like this book as it had such an interesting premise, but unfortunately, it just didn’t hit the mark for me. The main characters were unlikeable and/or hard to connect with, and while there were a few chances to dive deeper into the mysteries, the answers felt pretty unsatisfying. I kept hoping the twist would pull everything together and make it all worth it, but it was preposterous and disappointing.

On a positive note, the narrators and sound effects were fantastic!

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Alice Feeney for an audio ARC.

Alice Feeney is one of my favorite authors, and this book definitely did not disappoint! I had a feeling the story might take a more spiritual route, like some of her earlier works, but it stayed grounded and realistic instead. I’m always amazed by the beautiful way she crafts her stories!

This one didn’t wow me unfortunately. I paid careful attention to all of the twists and turns, but when the twist was revealed, I was like, huh?? That isn’t even realistic. I am a huge thriller fan, but I also need the stories to have some tie to reality. I need them to make sense!

Alice Feeney delivers another twisty tale in Beautiful Ugly, a book that straddles the line between gripping and implausible. While the story had its entertaining moments and kept me turning pages, some of the plot twists stretched believability to the limit. Overall, a 3-star experience.

Beautiful Ugly was a wild ride. I wasn't sure how it would end, but I found myself fully engaged as the story played out.

3.5⭐️ rounded up

I am a big fan of Alice Feeney and was thrilled to receive this audiobook. It’s not my favorite book of hers but was still a solid thriller.

The isolated, atmospheric island setting was great. I was hooked from the beginning and while some parts dragged a little, things pick up toward the end. Some good twists, some meh twists.

I loved the narrators and the little extra sounds added in - the walkie talkie feedback, the waves.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This story was WILD... and the ending "chef's kiss". I was honestly shocked more than once and found myself saying "no way."

This is the story of Abby and Grady. A married couple who've lost their way to each other. Quite honestly, it is very relatable. The "Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t. Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do." quote gave me goosebumps.

Part M. Night Shyamalan's The Village and part The Secret Window, Beautiful Ugly is a psychological masterpiece.

As far as the audio goes, I didn't care for many of the sound effects. I felt like they were more of a distraction rather than adding anything extra.

Columbo the dog is not harmed in this book
There were parts I liked and parts I didn't.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book. The dual narrators do an exceptional job with the voicing of the different characters. There are also some various sound effects and modulation of voice when they are speaking on the telephone which really elevates the experience.

The book starts with author Grady Green celebrating his book becoming a New York Times bestseller. His wife Abby is on her way home, she calls him to tell him she's almost there. She says she sees a woman in the road, gets out of the car, and then disappears. Her car is found with everything inside, but she is gone. A year later, Grady is still reeling from his loss. His agent offers him the opportunity to visit a remote Scottish island to write and he takes her up on it. While on the ferry, he sees someone he never imagined he would see again--Abby. When he arrives on the island he is desperate to find Abby, but strange things keep happening to him--is she really there?

This book is a bit of a slow burner. It takes a long time to set up and being inside of Grady's head is not a pleasant thing. The repetition of how tired he is and how he can barely function got really old, really quickly. He was very unlikable and I found myself rooting against him, which didn't bode well for the story . That said, there are some fantastic twists and once things started happening I was very invested and wanted to know what was going on and why. Some parts are really far fetched, but I just went with it.
Overall it was a bit uneven, but I am a fan of Feeney's books so will definitely read another in the future.

I am always such a fan of listening to Alice Feeney’s books on audio because they are always so well narrated and produced. Beautiful Ugly was no exception.

It gave me a lot of Rock Paper Scissors vibes with the setting on a remote Scottish island and the marital dynamics and past memories at play.

The ending got a *little* too weird for me compared to previous books, but I still enjoyed listening to this one!

BEAUTIFUL UGLY
Alice Feeney

I love Alice Feeney and she is an auto-buy, auto-request author for me. BEAUTIFUL UGLY is a solid thriller in the long line of great thrillers Feeney has crafted for us over the years.

BEAUTIFUL UGLY is set on a Scottish island, pardon me if I didn’t believe in its existence at first. We are following author Grady Green who a year ago had what the publishers are describing as “his worst best day of his life.”

He received some exciting news and when he calls to share the news with his wife the call ends with her silent on the other end, the line going dead. He never sees or hears from her again. She goes missing, not dead, not alive, somewhere in the ether.

This year, on the Scottish island, Grady is plagued with survivors’ guilt, is having trouble writing his next novel, and is having trouble moving on. He is there to write but oftentimes finds himself without words, without a good story, without the closure he so desperately needs.

The atmosphere is thick. The misdirection is the only thing thicker. The lies roll off of characters' tongues so smoothly that you’re never really sure whom to trust, or who is telling the truth, which is at times even hidden from them.

If you’ve read Feeney before, BEAUTIFUL UGLY may remind you of ROCK PAPER SCISSORS. It similarly explores marital dynamics and asks the question of who is telling the truth. In this case, as was with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS, you won’t truly know where everyone stands until the very end.

I enjoyed my time reading it and I am happy to recommend it. It is perfectly set to be released in mid-January. And is a perfect fit for the coldness of winter and the aridness of the season.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy!

BEAUTIFUL UGLY…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️