The audiobook was done well, with a sound track to accommodate the story! While I found the actual book was all over the place, it reminded me a lot of Daisy Darker. Not one of my favourites by this author, but definitely a great audiobook.

Well, this isn't my normal genre but I've heard so much about Alice Feeney that I just had to see what the hype was about so I tried this audiobook out. There were two things that stood out to me: 1) this story was INTERESTING and let me tell you, I definitely had no idea what was going on and I would say this was def a thriller+mystery because I was getting TENSE! and 2) this audiobook is one of the BEST I've ever listened to! Almost every time a sound was written about (i.e. a phone ringing, a walkie talkie crackling, ocean waves, etc.) they were inputted into the audiobook! It wasn't just narrators, there was an aspect of a dramatized audiobook and it was genuinely very entertaining and it really makes you feel like you've been transported to this kinda spooky, remote Scottish island where weird things keep happening!
I'm kind of intrigued and really enjoyed the opportunity to try something I normally wouldn't! This story was so deep and surprising! I might even look for other Alice Feeney audiobooks!
Thanks so much to Macmillan Audio for this audiobook to listen to before pub day!💖

While I was completely blindsided by the initial plot twists, I found them to be a little dull for the lead up to them. I did really love the VERY end and the audio performance was great! Another solid thriller from Alice Feeney! Thank you for the ALC!

I was excited to receive this as an ALC! Rock Paper Scissors is a book I cannot stop thinking about, and this book will be the same. Absolutely amazing!

Brief premise: a writers' wife goes missing. One year later, his agent allows him to stay at a remote writing cabin left to her by a former client in his will.

The audiobook was incredible. For example, if someone was talking through a phone call, the sound would mimic that slightly muffled tone. We would hear waves rolling throughout the chapters.

I could not stop listening because I had to know what was going on! I would never have guessed the twist (or the twist after that, or the next one...).

Alice Feeney is always good for a twist at the end I didn’t see coming. This book is no different. Here we have a self-absorbed husband/author named Grady, and a secretive journalist/wife named Abby. Abby goes missing on the way home one night. One year later Grady’s publicist sends him to a remote Scottish island to complete the last book in his contract, where he continues to be haunted by the memories of his wife. He thinks he sees her everywhere. If only he knew what happened, you her. They never found her body, only her red coat.

I spent the entire book trying to figure out what is going on. Is this like the Truman Show? Like Shutter Island?? Grady is an unreliable narrator. Is he insane or accidentally drugging himself? Though the story is a little farfetched, it is engaging, creepy, and a wild ride. Just wait for the conclusion, Feeney closed the story perfectly!

While I enjoyed this audiobook, I didn't feel it was Feeney at her best. I was all in until the end; and then she lost me. The characters were great, and I was fully invested in their story, but the resolution seemed weird and kind of like an afterthought. It didn't really make sense.
I loved the atmosphere of the story: the setting, the strange women - audio worked so well for this one. For this reason, I am giving 3.5 stars, rounded up.

I love this author and was very excited to be approved for this ARC. I listened to the audio version and wow 🤯 There are so many twists in this book you won’t have a clue what is coming next! My head was spinning! The audio was fantastic. Psychological Thriller.

The first 80% of this was really great. I was hooked from chapter one, and the book was surprisingly creepy. Each chapter ended on a cliffhanger making it easy to keep reading. However, I really didn’t like the end.

Grady is on the phone with his wife as she’s driving home. She slams on her brakes, gets out of the car, and disappears. One year later, Grady’s life has fallen apart. He decides to travel is a tiny Scottish island to get his life back on track and start writing again. While there, he sees a woman who looks exactly like his wife

This book had me hooked from the beginning, but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy where it went. There was one twist that shocked me, but honestly it didn’t make sense after thinking about it more in depth. There were so many plot holes, and there was one plot point in particular that I really didn’t like. Overall, I liked this book and was invested until the end when everything was revealed.

That being said, I really loved the audiobook. The narrators did an amazing job, and the audiobook had cool sound effects.

Beautiful Ugly takes place on a remote, small idyllic Isle of Amberly with a population of twenty-five people. The town is charming, the people seem friendly and welcoming and most of all it is quiet a place. It is here that author, Grady Green comes to reboot his writing career since her wife, Abby mysteriously disappeared. For the past year Grady has been wrestling with the loss of his wife, he has lost just about everything including motivation to write. The question as to what happened to Abby has never been solved. Is she dead or has she just vanished? So maybe coming to the isolated isle off the coast of Scotland will be just what he needs. Or will it? As Grady experiences strange happening, he begins to question what the townspeople ulterior motives. Is staying here safe? And who is this woman in the red coat? The more he tries to dig into the strangeness of this town the more his reality become distorted, the more he fears and the more anxious Grady becomes. Will he ever solve the mystery surrounding his wife’s disappearance? And will he ever find a way to escape this new hell he is in?

Just when you think you have figured out what the plot is Alice Feeney throws a wrench in, changing directions .. it is why she is known as the “Queen of Twist”. Feeney’s ability to paint this creepy, unnatural environment that is described as stunning is masterful – I was actually just waiting the other shoe to drop. The story is dark, thought provoking, suspenseful and at times creepy and I loved it.

Beautiful Ugly narration was superb - Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton captured the essence of the characters and setting right down to sound effects .. static phone lines and walkie-talkies, ocean and creepy music.

Between character development, all the unexpected twist, the amazing narration and that jaw-dropping ending, Beautiful Ugly easily earns a five-star rating.

Thank you, Alice Feeney, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I did a little fist pump to myself when I was approved for this book because I’m a big fan of the author! This book did not disappoint. Every chapter kept me guessing and needed to keep listening. I really enjoyed the narrator for the audiobook. I’d recommend this book!

Whooo boy! That ending! Five stars for one of the best mystery/thrillers I’ve read this year.

Grady Green is an author with a problem: he is having difficulty writing. A year ago, he lost his wife Abby. This sets off a chain of events that leads Grady to travel to the Scottish Island of Amberly. That is when the real fun begins.

This is one of the twistiest thrillers I have ever read. It is well-plotted, and Alice Feeny truly knows how to hook her audience. There is definitely something to be said here for unreliable narrators. I had a very difficult time pulling out my ear buds. The narration is outstanding. Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton really get these characters. It is a true tour de force performance.

Okay - that ending. I will not give any spoilers away, but it’s safe to say that I never saw it coming. I was absolutely stunned. As someone who reads a lot of thrillers, it is difficult at times to blindside me. That was not the case here. Trust me, this ending sticks with you.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this one. If you enjoy audiobooks, this one should be at the top of your list. I highly recommend this one. It releases on January 14th. Preorder it now!

This book has stayed with me!!! I don't know what I expected but I didn't expect this! "Beautiful Ugly" is a domestic thriller that had me gripped throughout the entire listen. I was gifted the audio version through Netgalley, which alternated between two narrators with enhanced audio features which added to this phenomenal story. The two narrators had perfect voices for this genre (there were also British and Irish accents but were easily understandable).

As the for plot, this book started off with a hook and it kept on giving! The twist was not saved for the last few pages and I would NOT have ever guessed it! This book was so imaginative and in a league of it's own. I can't stop thinking about it. My favorite quotable moment is from chapter 34...5 stars!!!

*I received a complimentary audio ARC from the author/publishing company via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

“Trees grow down as well as up and I think it’s the same with people. The more we grow up, the more we learn to feel down.”

“Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.”

Beautiful Ugly is easily my favorite Alice Feeney yet. It was divided into chapters with contradictory titles that I just kept eating up. It’s also no surprise that the thriller queen worked these chapter titles into each chapter. And even left a hidden message. 👀

This book felt like willingly stumbling down a steep hill. You start out in control, but quickly lose all semblance. Reading this felt like my legs couldn’t keep up with my body - but it was literally just my eyes moving as fast as they could so I could inhale this book faster than my brain could comprehend. I read this in two sittings, stayed up way past my bedtime, and let my kids destroy the house just so I could finish it.

It was freaking BRILLIANT.

I found this book both extremely creepy and yet underwhelming all at the same time. I didn’t realize those two takes could coexist but here we are. Feeney is a hit or miss for me. She’s the queen of twists and unreliable characters, but nothing has quite hit the bar I set for her since Rock, Paper, Scissors.

I give the premise and the slow reveals an A, but the ending was…not great. I still tore through it and would do it again. Feeney is always a fun ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow @alicewriterland with another amazing piece of work. I always go into each of her books with so much excitement. Thank you to NetGalley and @macmillan.audio for the privilege of receiving this AMAZING audiobook to listen to and review.

Grady Green, an author is waiting at home for the phone call of a lifetime to find out if he has become a New York Times best selling author. His wife Abby is on her was home when he calls her after receiving the exciting news he had been waiting and hoping for. But during that phone call his wife comes across someone laying in the road… while on the phone she disappears and Grady goes out to find her and discovers her car but no sign of Abby.

The story then jumps forward by one year and as one can imagine he’s not doing so well and is on the brink of losing everything. His publisher then offers for him to use a cabin on a tiny Scottish island called Amberley to hopefully help him find inspiration to write his next novel. And maybe also find answers to where his wife may have disappeared….

This psychological thriller has so many layers of suspense. The story telling is spot on and the image that’s painted of the Scottish island was so magical and beautiful. The twists and turns of this book had me pining for more at each turn. This is probably one of the best audiobooks I have listened to. The added sound effects were my favorite part of it all. I highly suggest listening to it in audiobook form because you won’t be disappointed!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC audio of "Beautiful Ugly" This will for sure be a hit NYT Bestseller. I liked the book and it was entertaining enough, but it almost had dystopia vibes with all women on the island, which got to be a little far fetched to be considered fiction in my eyes.

Alice Feeney books always create an atmosphere you can get lost in, and this was no different. The book really pulled me in and had some great mystery to it. The story felt a little slow at parts but that ending made up for it! I highly recommend this one to mystery and thriller lovers. The audiobook was a great way to consume the story; both narrators were very easy to listen to and added value to the experience.

Another great twisty book from Feeney! This one kept me on my toes wondering what was real and what was imagination or grief.

Richard Armitage & Tuppence Middleton narration was very well done I am happy that Armitage has gotten better with his female voices since he started narrating regularly.(if you listen to his early books you get it)

I enjoy this author so much she is definitely a auto buy for me!

Highly recommend this one!

4 Stars

I received this audiobook from the publisher Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

I think I’ve decided that Alice Feeney books aren’t for me. I’ve listened to His & Hers and Rock Paper Scissors and thought they were OK, so I figured I’d try this one because I do enjoy Richard Armitage’s narration. This one, however, was dreadfully boring and the twist was disappointing, I hated the characters, and everything just started to feel wayyy too far-fetched and I just didn’t care anymore.

As far as the production, I don’t think the sound effects really added much to audiobook. I also think this may have benefitted from a duet narration, but nothing could really have saved the plot.

“I hope you die in your sleep” 😯 I mean, come on! This was so good. When I finished listening, I ran to my husband and said “that was SO good”

I am a big fan of Alice Feeney, and beautiful ugly did not disappoint. I listen to this on audio and found it to be incredibly suspenseful and atmospheric… Especially the wave and telephone sounds - which, in most novels I would’ve found to be incredibly cheesy and distracting. Bonus points for Feeney!

This twisty story is about a husband who is mourning his missing wife. After riding the high of becoming a best selling author, he’s hit with writers block. His agent sends him to a remote Scottish island to a cabin to write. This takes remote to a new level. As in: no car, so phones (not just cell service. There’s literally not even a landline for this guy), no internet, and no way off. His cottage is quite literally perched on the edge of a cliff. His only companion is his dog. Nothing is what it seems - and you’ll be ignoring your family so you can listen just like me 😂😉