I feel really conflicted about how to rate this story. It’s one of those books that I wanted to love, but ultimately left me feeling disappointed and somewhat frustrated. The first half had me hooked with its eerie atmosphere and compelling premise, but by the end, I was questioning everything, including the logic behind the twists. It’s messy, all over the place, and emotionally chaotic—much like my own experience reading it.

Let’s start with the positives. The audiobook was absolutely fantastic. The narrators did a stellar job, especially with the different voices and accents, and the added sound effects—like the ocean crashing or a walkie-talkie buzzing—enhanced the creepy atmosphere. The setting of an isolated island off the coast of Scotland really sets the tone for the book. It felt claustrophobic and ominous, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. The first half had just enough suspense and mystery to keep me engaged, and I was eager to find out what was going on.

However, as the story progressed, my enthusiasm began to wane. Grady, the protagonist, got increasingly tiresome with his repetitive inner monologue. There was no real plot progression for the longest time. It was just Grady brooding, drinking, and reflecting on how much he hated people and loved dogs. I found myself waiting for the plot to kick in. And when it finally did, it took a full 65% of the book! The pacing was frustratingly slow.

Then came the twist—oh boy, the twist. At first, I was intrigued, but the further I got, the more implausible and laughable everything became. The plot seemed to be built entirely around the reveal, but when it came, I couldn’t take it seriously. It felt absurd, and many of the characters' actions made no sense. And don’t even get me started on the convoluted backstory of the island, which felt like a narrative mess. There were too many ideas crammed into this book, making it feel cluttered and overstuffed. The full-circle moment at the end, where everything somehow ties together in an over-the-top reveal, just didn’t work for me. It felt forced and, frankly, ridiculous.

The characters were a major letdown. I never connected with any of them, and Grady in particular was hard to root for. He was whiny, entitled, and emotionally manipulative, and I found it difficult to care about his journey. The feminist themes felt heavy-handed and ultimately fell flat. The women-empowerment message didn’t quite hit home for me, as I had trouble understanding the characters’ motivations. The sense of justice at the end felt forced, and the unreliable narration left me feeling lost and disconnected from the story.

While there are elements in this book that may appeal to fans of isolated settings, missing persons, and shocking twists, for me, Beautiful Ugly was a wild ride in all the wrong ways. It was messy, melodramatic, and sometimes laughably absurd. It felt like Alice Feeney was trying too hard to create a twisty, suspenseful story, but it ended up being frustratingly tiresome. If you liked her book Rock, Paper, Scissors, you may see some similarities here, but I personally found it repetitive.

It’s a shame that this book didn’t deliver for me, especially since I’ve enjoyed her other books. I’m still holding out hope for her next book, though—after all, every author has a miss now and then.

Would I recommend this book? If you’re a fan of unreliable narrators, isolated settings, and mysterious twists, you might find something to enjoy. (Highly recommend the audiobook!) But if you’re like me and prefer a more tightly woven, believable story, you might want to pass on this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio copy to listen to in exchange for an honest review.

This book was (forgive my lamguage) a total mind-fuck! I have only read one other thriller that I've given 5 stars to and no surprise it was by Alice Feeney. The twists and turns this book took gave me whiplash. I'm reeling. Incredible. Just incredible. Now excuse me while I go recommend this book to everyone I know. And some I don't.

Feeney’s new psychological thriller is as haunting as it is addictive! I love how the story unravels a sinister mystery that will keep you guessing until the final page.

Feeney’s knack for weaving suspense and emotional depth shines as Grady’s grief and paranoia spiral. The line between reality and imagination blurs when Grady spots a woman who looks exactly like Abby, wearing the same red coat she left behind.

With themes of love, trust, and the unsettling ways people can change, this story masterfully toys with your expectations. The atmospheric setting amplifies the tension, making you feel the cold, creeping dread of the cliffs and the secrets buried there.

Beautiful Ugly is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and it will leave you questioning everyone’s motives! Another 5-star novel for 2025!

I was so excited to read this book! I love the author, the cover and the story. The book starts with a husband and wife talking on the phone together when all of a sudden the wife disappears… you will need to read it to find out what happens next!
I loved this book, it kept me entertained, interested and guessing. Slow burn with a dash of revenge.
This is a fantastic thriller that doesn’t disappoint.
Thanks NetGalley!

This book was a bit slow at times. I sometimes found the audio hard to follow as it was flipping back and forth. The twists were not expected and the last chapter!!! Overall I enjoyed it. Narrators were enjoyable to listen to.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the advanced copy of Beautiful Ugly in audiobook format. The audiobook was outstanding, with stellar narration and immersive sound effects that elevated the experience.

This might just be my favorite Alice Feeney book to date! While the story had a fresh and unique take on the thriller genre, it often offered a different vibe than her previous works. Early on, I was certain it was heading toward a 5-star rating—it hooked me completely. However, as the story progressed, it started to drag in places, and some elements felt a bit over the top.

That said, the twists and creativity kept me engaged overall, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ultimately, I landed on a 4-star rating for this gripping yet engaging listen.

Grady, a writer, is grieving the disappearance/loss of his wife on the best worst day of his life: landing on the NYT bestselling list. He heads to Scotland to write in peace and grieve.

The setting feels eerie yet beautiful. I loved that aspect of the book. The audiobook's sound effects—
waves and bells—added to the story's creepy, mysterious aura. I had no idea where the story was going, and I'll admit, the twist literally made my jaw drop when I read it. I also loved that it's a bookish book, since both the MC and his wife are writers.

If you love a mystery, a good twist, some good ol' fashioned girl power, or great audiobooks, yu should read this one.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'd love to say this was a fun read but I'm not sure fun is the right word. It held me and as much as I wanted to finish it I didn't want it to go too fast. At one point I thought I knew what was going to happen but nope, not even close. Since this was my first book by this author I will now be reading her others. Very well done!

This is the story of author Grady Green, whose wife Abby had mysteriously vanished a year earlier. Grady is still mourning her loss, losing his grip on reality and sinking lower and lower with no closure, not knowing if Abby is still alive or if she has been killed. He's becoming desperate. He has lost his home, all his money, living in a cheap hotel, unable to write and can barely afford to eat.

He begins to see a woman in a red coat. He doesn't know if it's real or not, but he knows it's irrational to believe it's Abby -- Abby's red coat was discovered by the side of the road not far from her abandoned car after her disappearance -- and yet he keeps chasing this hallucination, each time discovering it is not Abby.

And then Grady's agent (who is also Abby's Godmother) drops him a lifeline, she sends him to the remote and off-the-grid island of Amberly where she has a cabin he can stay free of charge while he works on his new book. This is where things get weird. Amberly is full of characters that on the surface seem perfectly lovely and welcoming, but things are never what they seem. There is a creepy edge to every exchange, leaving Grady with an uneasy feeling that he brushes off each time. He just wants to finish his book, and as soon as his agent can sell it, he wants to get the heck off of Amberly, and back to the mainland. Easier said than done.

A lot of the story is far-fetched and you do have to just roll with it and enjoy it for the imaginative story it is, there are so many twists and surprises throughout the story. This being my first time reading Alice Feeney, I didn't know to expect the twists, so she got me every time...although, like Grady, I kept having a nagging feeling that everything was not exactly as it seemed. And good Lord, "I hope you die in your sleep" is NOT another way to say "I love you". So creepy.

There is a lot of back and forth between time lines and the point of view of both Grady and Abby -- with Abby's back story revealed as she is speaking with her therapist. The reader begins to understand the relationship between Grady and Abby was not at all a mutual and loving partnership that Grady describes. In fact, at the time of her disappearance, Abby was thinking about leaving him. She planned to tell him though, she would never just disappear...

I listened to this on audio, which in my opinion always enhances a novel when you have an excellent narrator. So while I was unsure how to rate this novel, because there were some slow parts, and at times I was confused about who was speaking -- I think on more than one occasion, it was Grady's agent/Abby's Godmother speaking when the reader was led to believe it was Abby, I rounded up to 4-stars because of entertainment value. And I loved the ending, even though I wondered all along if it was eventually coming, I was still surprised.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc.

Dear Author,

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I have already started recommending this in my store to any reader who is even remotely interested in thrillers, mystery, or suspense. I picked this up because the copy said Alice Feeney was the "queen of twists". I thought, 'I'll be the judge of that.' Well, without a doubt this book had such amazing twists that kept guessing! I had the privilege of listening to the audio book, Richard did not disappoint!

Thank you,

J.D. McCoughtry

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook ARC.

This was really good. I was in a slump i guess and this is the best book i've read in a while. I really do like the idea of that kind of island. I'd like to read more.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

This novel was an engaging mysterious read that had me interested the whole way through. While I teach younger students and this is above their maturity level, I would recommend this novel to my friends and colleagues! I am a fan of Alice Feeney's novels and this one did not disappoint. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Beautiful Ugly.

I was really hoping to like this book. To be fair I really enjoyed the premise. However with such an incredibly so start I was hoping for something that I didn’t end up finding so incredibly predictable.

Title: Beautiful Ugly
By: Alice Feeney
Pub. Date: January 14, 2025

Genre:
Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense,

Red Flags:
Graphic Sexual Content in Chapters 9, 12, 22 (Sexual Assault, Sexual Pleasure)
*I skipped these parts on my audiobook, and the plotline transitions were still smooth.*

Favorite Quotes:
“Life is beautiful and life is ugly and we have to learn to live with both sides of the same coin and see the light in the darkness.”

“People rarely know what they have until they lose it. They spend their lives searching for a better one, wanting more, needing more, blind to the fact that they already had it all…sometimes it’s only when something gets taken from a person that they appreciate what they had.”

“Success is often the result of a series of failures. Try to remember that. You never learn anything from success, but failure can teach you everything about a person. Especially yourself.”

Summary:
The day has arrived and author Grady Green is anticipating the best news of his life. However, when an unexpected turn of events takes place his best day quickly becomes the most unforgettable, bittersweet day of his life. After a year of devastation, and a haunting deadline, Grady decides to escape to Amberley Island. What was meant to be an escape soon turns into a nightmare, leaving him fearing for his life. Will Grady make it off the island alive?

Review
Oh my, what a ride! Alice Feeney does it again! She masterfully crafts vivid, unsettling imagery with eerily haunting characters, weaving a plot brimming with unpredictable twists and turns that keep the reader on edge until the very last word. This narrative shocked me with the unforeseen emotional, yet disturbing elements! I listened to the audio version of this novel, and the narration was done by Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton. They were excellent! The overall intonation, and building suspense was the highlight of my listening. I highly recommend it!

Thank you to Alice Feeney, MacMillan Audio, and Netgalley for the Advanced Readers Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#BeautifulUgly
#AliceFeeney
#RichardArmitage
#TuppenceMiddleton
#MacmillanAudio
#reluctantreaderreads
#advancedreadercopies
#NetGalley

Another great story by Alice Feeney. I really enjoyed the narration and atmosphere the music created. The beginning really sucked me in and the end had me questioning everything and confused. So far this is my top psychological thriller of the year.

Things in life are often not at all what you think they are. Nor are people.

After his wife’s disappearance, Grady Green escapes to a small Scottish island. He’s an author who can’t write since Abby has gone. This retreat at Amberley Island, in a former bestselling author’s cabin, is his last chance to publish a book and redeem himself now that he has nothing left to lose. But the conditions on the barely populated isle are fraught.

I started out intrigued and then became irritated with the slow pace and the repetitiveness of Grady’s hallucinations and insomnia. His behavior was erratic and his angsty thoughts were an annoying stream of consciousness. I lost patience with him, struggled to find any characters likable, and had a lot of difficulty with some of the ridiculous situations Grady got himself into. I don’t really like when an author dangles hints and never gives more explanation. So I was already struggling and started to disengage when the last third of the book became so out there that I just raced to the end. I didn’t like what transpired and even looking back in the pages left me feeling duped, not happily stumped.

This author has always been hit and miss for me and this was a miss. I can’t say more about things that put me off without spoiling some of the plot points. I had no idea the narrative was going to go in the direction it did and had I know, I would never have picked this up.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrators did a decent job and it helped a little to improve my reading experience. I especially enjoyed the sound effects.

I would give this 2.5 stars but I rounded it to 3 because the first part of the book was a good premise and set up. Unfortunately, it was ultimately a let down.

This review is of the audio version of this book. The narrators are Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton.

Author Grady Green is impatiently waiting for his wife to get home. He is expecting the call any minute to learn if he is finally a New York Times best selling author. Abby does not make it home before the call. Grady's dreams have come true. He phones Abby to tell her the good news. While on the call she suddenly stops and states there is a woman lying in the road. Grady begs her not to get out of the car, but she doesn't listen. When Grady arrives at the scene, her car is there but no woman and no Abby.

One year later, there is no sign of Abby. Grady has lost it all and is unable to write another book due to his grief. His friend and editor sends him to a remote island in hopes he can restart his career.

The island is remote and creepy. Visitors are not welcomed with open arms. The residents are eclectic to say the least.

The eerie vibe continues throughout the book. It did not go as I had expected. Then again I would have never expected THAT.

Phenomenal narration with music and sound effects included.

I loved it.

Thanks to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc.

This book had a lot of twists and turns. The way the women on the island acted was not surprising, but the ultimate surprise of what the main character actually did was a hook I was not expecting. I do not think the author needed to be as descriptive of the sexual acts.

This is another great book from Alice Feeney! I spent the entire novel trying to figure out what was going on. I would think one thing and then it would turn out to be something completely different. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to the audiobook in advance of it s release date.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for an advanced copy audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Loved listening to Richard Armitage's narration!

How badly do you want to write a book?
Alice Feeney does not dissapoint! I loved the setting of this story that takes place on an island in Scotland. A husband is desperate to find his wife or is he desparate to write a best selling novel.

Lots of twists and turns. The setting was so beautiful!