I've liked Lucy Foley's previous books so was excited to dive into this one. I struggled to get into it and it was my least favorite of hers so far. The characters were not likeable to me....and there were just too many. We got the POV of different characters as different ages. Some things I did like were the setting (White Lotus vibes) and the ending picked up a bit. Will still read Foley's next one!

Lucy Foley’s “The Midnight Feast” is a captivating and richly woven tale that effortlessly transports readers into a world of intrigue and suspense. Foley, known for her skillful storytelling, has once again crafted a novel that is both thrilling and deeply engaging.

The plot centers around a mysterious dinner party where secrets and hidden motives unravel over the course of one unforgettable night. Foley’s masterful use of multiple perspectives keeps the narrative fresh and dynamic, allowing readers to piece together the mystery from different angles. Her characters are complex and well-developed, each bringing their own unique voice and depth to the story.

One of the most remarkable aspects of “The Midnight Feast” is Foley’s ability to create an atmosphere that is both tense and alluring. The setting is meticulously detailed, adding layers of richness to the story and drawing readers into the luxurious yet ominous world of the feast.

Foley’s prose is elegant and evocative, making every twist and turn in the plot feel both surprising and inevitable. The pacing is expertly managed, ensuring that readers are kept on the edge of their seats until the very last page.

Overall, “The Midnight Feast” is a testament to Lucy Foley’s prowess as a storyteller. It is a must-read for fans of mystery and suspense, offering a perfect blend of intricate plotting, vivid characterization, and atmospheric writing. This novel is sure to leave a lasting impression and solidify Foley’s reputation as a master of the genre.

This was actually a really fun read!! I’ve read The Guest List by Lucy Foley and did not enjoy it so I was interested to see how this one was! While it was a similar style — jumping back and forth between several POVs with so so many details to remember — I felt like this one was written way better! The characters, at least a few of them, were more likable as well. The overall story was super interesting and the creepy folklore of the town was thrilling. While there were a few details left unexplained (or at least not explained well), I was content with ending. Some of the big twists fell a little flat but there were enough small reveals to keep me entertained. A creepy and interesting read! Usually I can have trouble with novels that have sooo many characters but after the first few chapters, it was relatively easy to understand. Not a book you can skim, it definitely gets your brain going! Not necessarily an easy read by any means but a fun one nonetheless.

Lucy Foley is an auto author of mine and I’ve enjoyed all her stories. This one had promise and was eager to read it, diving in immediately. In starting it, I knew quickly that it might not be for me. Lots of characters, so it was hard to keep track of who was who and I found that I didn’t connect or relate to anyone, which made it harder to sympathize with the plot and character struggles. The journal with flashbacks from the past had me skimming the pages. Though, I did enjoy the spooky setting, particularly at night, the focus on class with the divide between the townspeople and those staying in the lodge and its owners.

This was my second ever Lucy Foley book... and I LOVED it! It had me hooked from the beginning. I found myself antsy until I was able to pick it back up each time - I was so ready to get to the ending. The characters were enjoyable, and I loved how it was written - jumping back and forth from each POV and occasionally from past to present timelines. It was never confusing and the extra POVs really made it *that* much more addicting to read since they brought different personalities and perspectives to the story. I'd recommend this if you like a whodunit/murder mystery that is quick and easy to read.

I was gifted this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinions.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

Lucy Foley is an author who has always sounded interesting to me, but I've never gotten around to reading one of her books. I was delighted when I saw I was approved for an ARC of The Midnight Feast, because the premise sounded so fun! The story follows five different characters across three separate timelines. The main story is about an influencer, Francesca, who inherits her family's property in the ancient woods of a small English coastal town. She renovates the property into a luxury resort, sparking a feud between her team and the locals, who wish to continue using the land. The plot centers around opening weekend during the summer solstice and a handful of people involved with the resort's launch - you have Francesca herself, her husband/the architect (Owen), a young man (Eddie) working at the property, and a guest (Bella) who has returned to settle the score from something that happened with Francesca when they were teenagers. The story flashes backward in the form of Bella's diary entries to show what happened between the girls fifteen years ago; it flashes forward, as well, to follow a detective (Walker) investigating the aftermath of a fire that broke out on the property at the end of the weekend. I was hoping this book would be a fun puzzle to solve, but I found it to be pretty disappointing.

There were two big issues that I had with The Midnight Feast, along with a few minor issues that detracted from the story. I'll try to explain what they were and why they didn't work for me.

First, the author spends 80% of the book keeping the reader in the dark about essentially everything. Readers are told that something horrible happened between Francesca and Bella, but we have no idea what it is. Consequently, we don't know Bella's intentions behind returning to Tome. Owen says he's hiding a terrible secret. Eddie implies something bad happened to his older brother. Every single character has some sort of mystery surrounding them, and we never get any answers until the end. As a result, I could never connect with the characters, because I knew nothing about them. I had a tough time wrapping my mind around the plot, as well, because it was all so fuzzy. Even Walker's chapters were really frustrating, because he'd find evidence of death and other harmful incidents, but would never reveal any important details. Even the writing was worse off from all the mysteries; there were countless instances where Foley described something (a body, an object, etc.) vaguely, because revealing its nature might give readers half an inkling about one specific plot point. It was exhausting. I understand that this is a mystery novel, but every individual detail did not need to be hidden away until the end. It would have been much more satisfying if I got to learn at least some characters' histories as the story went along, because then I could have been more invested.

The other main issue I had was that the quick pacing (and the endless mysteries I just detailed) made the characters extremely underdeveloped. They all were one-dimensional. Francesca is essentially a cartoon villain. Owen and Bella are both just kind of unpleasant and mysterious. Everyone is unlikable except for Eddie, who is probably only given a half backstory because he's so young that he couldn't have been involved with all of the plot points fifteen years prior. Even the detective, Walker, is your stereotypical cold-hearted investigator. I never felt like I truly knew any of the characters, since they were never given any backstories. In a story where there are a thousand different threads and moving pieces, it felt tough to care about anything, because none of the characters stood out to me.

There were a few other minor things I took issue with, as well. The writing was not great overall. I liked how atmospheric the setting was, but I found that many individual scenes were clunky and had far too many irrelevant details. The syntax was also strange; it felt like the sentences were written too quickly and not enough consideration was put into what could have been the best word choices to convey specific meanings. Additionally, the time skip brought up a few plot holes. It had only been fifteen years since the events happened when Francesca and Bella were teenagers, and yet no one recognized anyone from 2009... I think it would have been more believable to use a time skip of 20+ years. Lastly, there was a folklore element that was included to make things even spookier. However, I thought it was not fleshed out nearly enough, and it ended up just coming off as silly. It's a pet peeve of mine when thrillers include fake paranormal activities as red herrings; The Midnight Feast would have been stronger, in my opinion, if the Birds were left out completely.

This is the first book in awhile that I have considered rating 1 star. However, there were a couple of positives that ended up persuading me to give it an extra star.

I did like how I could keep every character straight throughout all of the shifting perspectives and timelines. Foley did a good job of at least keeping each character distinct enough that I could track everyone. Given how many characters there were throughout this story, that's no easy feat. Additionally, I liked the imagery and the setting. I wanted to keep reading, because I was drawn into the lush world of the novel. Lastly, even though I found the twists to be predictable, I appreciated that the plot was wrapped up nicely in the end. There were no loose ends or forgotten characters.

I would only really recommend this novel to readers who already like Lucy Foley, because I assume you'll be more inclined to like this book. If you're not a Lucy Foley fan but are simply looking for a good thriller, then I would only recommend this if you really think the plot sounds interesting. To me, it does not stand out from other stories in the genre. However, I hope I'm just the odd one out here; I'm not trying to be negative, but the book just didn't work for me.

2 stars out of 5 stars.

3.5/5 ⭐️ Rounded Up

The Manor is the highly anticipated new hotel offering a luxurious, immersive, outdoor experience targeted exclusively for the wealthy. Francesca Meadows will stop at nothing to ensure that the opening weekend and festivities are nothing short of perfect. But when things being to slowly go wrong in the days leading up to the main solstice celebration, Francesca’s perfect facade is put to the test as she is faced with the local angry townspeople, the ominous long rumored cult, and the secrets she believed to be buried in the past.

Midnight Feast has the easy storytelling and plenty of twists that we know and love from any Lucy Foley story. It’s filled with quick chapters, multiple POVs, and multiple timelines that keep the reader guessing along the way.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and the twists and surprises that I didn’t see coming until it was too late. But this story fell a little short for me, especially in comparison to other Lucy novels, for two main reasons:

1. The first half of the book was slow. Sure, it had details and tidbits that mattered to the story, but it felt like a slough to get through the first half. I am not one to “DNF” books so I pushed through, but I can see how this may lose readers in the beginning as it takes some time to really pick up and get interesting.
2. I am an early 30’s, American reader. While I am aware of many UK terms and slang words, I felt like this story had excessive verbiage used throughout that didn’t land for me. I know I don’t represent all audiences, but I feel like the overuse of current trends, pop culture, slang, etc. will make this story miss the mark for many other readers and not stand up well to the test of time.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and William Marrow for an eARC of Midnight Feast. This was a fun read and I continue to be thrilled to get my hands on anything by Lucy Foley

While this wasn’t my favorite Lucy Foley book, I did enjoy it. It took some time to get into the book for me, but after the first half I was sucked in. Great summer thriller/beach read and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for something along those lines.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was a really solid thriller and probably my favorite that I've read this year. It was a little slow at first, but the pay off at the end was really good.

Wow!!! This book will have you hooked and you will guess who was killed in the beginning. But could you be wrong? I was!! This book has karma will get you all over it. I read this in 2 sittings because I just had to know how it ended.

Oh I loved this! What a creepy, culty read. All of the points of view kept this interesting. Sometimes too many POVs can be tough to follow but I didn’t think this one was. I also loved the short chapters. It made it easy to binge through! AND THAT LAST SENTENCE?! YES.

Francesca is opening a beautiful resort for the elite to escape and unwind. The Manor seems likes it should be dreamy, but the locals aren’t happy about it and “The Birds” don’t seem to be either. Everyone seems to have secrets and it’s only a matter of time before they are unearthed.

This is my 3rd Foley book and some people might not enjoy the multiple characters she puts in her books, but I do. It reminds me of Agatha Christie and I love to see how they all connect at the end.

This book has multiple POVs, including a diary entry, and different timelines. And although I thought the plot was great, I do feel that it was very slow and hard to get into until over the half way mark. There were some good twist, most of which I figured it, but a few good ones I did not.

I did feel that it was a little long and this isn’t my favorite read by her. But, I loved the ending, especially the last line! I also loved the folklore element. I will definitely continue to pick up Foley’s books in the future!

*3.5 stars rounded up*

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy of this book!

I’ve read 2 other Lucy Foley books and have felt 50/50 on them. I think I’ve come to the decision that her writing and story style just isn’t for me. Overall I found this one enthralling with a cross between Midsommar and SaltBurn.

I really enjoyed this book. For me personally, I tend to figure out the plot of thrillers relatively quickly, but I still think it's a good book if I enjoyed the journey. And this book has one hell of a journey. Flipping between characters and timelines, it certainly keeps you on your toes. I finished the last page and said out loud, "Wow, that was fun!" Because it was.
I will be recommending this to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC!

The night of the solstice. A midnight feast planned for guests of the posh and luxurious Manor, a guest experience like no other, ran by the fabulous and alluring Francesca. Everything seems perfect and ready for the big event, until it's not.... Murder, hallucinations, secrets, ominous creatures...what may come to light under the solstice super moon?

Ooo what fun this was! I have to admit that while the first half of the book didn't seem to grab me, I'm glad I stuck with it to the whiplash inducing end! Filled with twists and turns meant to run the reader right off a cliff! It could have been the vast amount of characters woven into the fabric of this multi-layer tale, but that's somewhat expected from this author and ended up easier to follow as the book progressed. I loved how it all came together so splendidly at the end and even left me feeling like I wanted to re-read again to help me see what I may have missed the first time. Definitely recommend for fans of this author, readers who like a slow burn thriller with a huge bust of twists, and those who enjoy multiple point of view thrillers. Fab read, will be an excellent summer winner!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest review!

I can say this is my favorite thriller of the year so far, it keeps you in suspense and the plot twist is something you didn’t see coming!!

This was the best of Lucy Foley's thrillers yet. I really enjoyed all the different perspectives and watching the story unfold in the present day, while also getting glimpses into the past and how it's all connected. The lore in this book was really interesting too. Overall, this was a very solid thriller that I couldn't put down.

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this book. Partly it just wasn’t my taste with the folklore elements but I also thought it wasn’t very engaging. I never felt invested in the story/mystery and didn’t find any of the characters interesting. And the reveals and twists weren’t that shocking to me and one of them made me dislike part of the ending. I also wasn’t a fan of the journal entries and would maybe have preferred actual flashbacks instead. The setting and atmosphere imagery was well done and I think it captured the vibe of the story well. I would recommend this book for readers who like elements of folklore, toxic friendship dynamics, and discussions about social class.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC for review!*

Lucy Foley's latest novel is set in the evocative Manor, now a luxury wellness retreat, featuring her signature dual timelines and multiple perspectives. Although the plot is engaging with its suspenseful twists, the pacing is uneven and the characters are difficult to connect with. The narrative may feel a bit tedious at times, and the tidy ending might not satisfy all thriller enthusiasts.

This book stays true to Foley's style, making it a good pick for her fans and readers who appreciate intricate mysteries. While not the strongest in her collection, it offers a satisfactory mystery that's especially fitting for those looking for something different from typical romances or straightforward thrillers.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for my advanced reader. Copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

If you liked Lucy Foley's first books, then this one is an enjoyable read, however, it is my least favorite of hers so far. The setting & writing are the only positives from my experience reading it. I found the characters in this book to be really unlikable across the board and I didn't care what happened at the end, which to me is one of her strengths as she wraps up the multi-perspective twists. The mystery also feels really poorly paced and uninteresting with almost no lore on the wrap up which felt like a big miss throughout the book. Overall, would not recommend unless you like the author already and are interested in returning to her style because it is very on brand.