Alice Feeney has become a favorite author of mine the last few months, and this book of hers is no exception! I loved the twists and turns this book took, and I definitely didn't trust the characters on the island. Grady calls his wife Abby to tell her the news that he has become a best-selling author. Unfortunately, as she is driving, she comes across someone in the road while she is celebrating the news with her husband. She goes missing after that night. One year later, Grady is given an opportunity to go to a remote cabin on an island to write in peace, however the island and its inhabitants are quite strange, and something is not right. This book absolutely was dark, and I devoured it. If you love thriller, you will love this book!

I was curious enough to finish this and was mostly waiting for the payoff of getting all of my questions answered and the twists that Feeney is known for.

I did get the answers and twists but unfortunately the payoff just wasn’t satisfying or even as surprising as I expected. Sadly, this one wasn’t a win for me.

The narration/audio production was great though.

Ratings
Story Concept 4/5
Quality of Writing 3/5
Pacing 3/5
Plot Development 2/5
Character Development 2/5
Audio Narration 5/5
Overall Enjoyability 2/5

Alice Feeney is an automatic read for me and this book reminds me why. I was immediately drawn in and could not stop reading so I could figure out what the heck was going on! In no way did I no where this book was going and in this case, that was definitely a good thing.

Grady Green receives the news that he is a bestselling author on the same day that his wife disappears without a trace. A year later, he is unable to write his next book and is running out of money when his publisher and missing wife's godmother offers him a cabin on a remote island free of charge where he can hopefully rekindle his spark for writing.

On his way to the small Scottish island, he thinks he sees his missing, presumed dead wife. Obviously his mind is playing tricks on him. As he settles into the cabin and adjusts to the island, he continues to have sightings and strange things start happening. He finds many odd objects at the cabin, has a feeling of being watched, and keeps finding articles written by his wife. What does it all mean. Through it all, he stumbles onto the answer to his writing block and feels that is the key to getting him off the island. Miraculously he writes a book and sends it to his publisher, thinking he will be on the next ferry out of there--but thats not what happens.

The story is told in the present by Grady and in the past by his wife, Abby and there are interspersing memories from Grady as well as articles written by Abby. It is hard to see how it all fits together and if Grady is going crazy or what, but it does all come together in the end.

I gave the book 4 stars because I could have used a little more explanation with the conclusion but it was a fun, fast read. I listened to the audiobook and it was quite the production with sound effects that didn't necessarily add to the story for me.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I’ll be the first to admit that after Rock Paper Scissors it’s going to be hard for Alice Feeney to top herself in my opinion. However, while her recent books haven’t been better they’ve still been enjoyable….until now.

Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared.
A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible – a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

Great concept and with the action starting on page one, I was intrigued. The first little bit reminded me of her writing style in RPS and I was excited. But then much like Abby, she slams the brakes and I got soooo bored for soooo long. The dual povs were annoying and the past timeline slowed the pacing down way too much for my liking. I hattttteeeddddd the sex scenes. Again it slowed the story down and felt rushed and added like Feeney had to meet a quota before the book ended. I strongly disliked the main character and while I thought it was cool to have a male Mc for all of 2.5 seconds that quickly ended when he got egotistical and whiny. The twists weren’t very twisty and nothing was overly shocking or much of a wow factor.

I don’t know what other people read but this was far from the five stars that I’ve been seeing. I will say that if you do plan to pick this up, I recommend the audio version as there were cool little additions to the background. Overall, I’ll still continue to pick up her new books but boy was this disappointing

Thanks to @netgalley and @Macmillanaudio

Who doesn’t love a good thriller with twists and turns? Well this book certainly provides that! I read the audiobook and the inclusion of multiple narrators and some cool sounds between chapters was great! Now the actual story is a fantastic thriller that has you on your toes thinking you know how it will end. Overall really enjoyable thriller!

I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Master of twists Alice Feeney is back with a chilling new thriller, Beautiful Ugly. When investigative journalist Abby vanishes, her husband Grady is left shattered and desperate on a remote Scottish island.

As Grady digs into Abby's disappearance, secrets about their marriage surface. Feeney's trademark suspense builds with every page, keeping you guessing about what really happened to Abby.

Beautiful Ugly is a gripping exploration of marriage, grief, and how well do we truly know those closest to us? If you love a good psychological thriller with depth, this is the perfect next read.

Alice can really do no wrong in my eyes. Every single one of her books has been a 4 or 5 star read for me, and this one is no exception! I absolutely loved the setting and the plot of this one... and the twists! Alice never ceases to amaze me with her plot twists / endings. Beautiful Ugly gave me the vibes of The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jonasson (one of my all time favorite books) and Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson. So so good and an easy 4 stars from me! Loved it!

Specific to the narration, Tuppance Middleton's was wonderful. Another name added to the list of narrators I specifically seek out audiobooks by!
Richard Armitage, unfortunately, was a little difficult for me to understand at the speed I prefer to listen to audiobooks (2x). I'm fairly sure the accent was the main problem, which is completely a "me" thing.

For the story, oh man. One of the more predictable of Alice Feeney's for me, I'm afraid. I often lost interest until Tuppance was narrating again because the MMC felt so "basic", for lack of a better word. I lost track of how many times I rolled my eyes at his one-liners.

Beautiful Ugly is one of those novels whose movie I'd be down to watch, but whose book I wouldn't recommend.

{Thank you bunches to NetGalley, Alice Feeney, Macmillan Audio and Flatiron Books for the DRC in exchange for my honest review!}

The twists were a little too far fetched for my taste but I really loved the Scottish setting and that the MC was a writer. I also thought the audio book was excellent quality even if the story itself wasn't for me. The narrators (yes, there are multiple- yay!) really nail it and I appreciated the Scottish accents when applicable. Also, the audio includes special sound effects and tunes which elevates the listening experience. It was great and I would definitely recommend listening if you choose to read this one.

so i want to start by saying that the audio production and both narrators were phenomenal, i honestly dont know if i would have continued with the book had it not been for this. the random sound affects made everything more daunting and spooky which i loved, the voices for both narrators were super smooth and had me holding onto every word even if the book itself wasn’t necessarily speaking to me.

this is my first book of feeneys and i find myself a bit underwhelmed as nothing really happens for the vast majority of this book, you catch on that the people on this island are very obviously psychologically torturing Grady and its fun for a bit but then it just started to get quite boring.

there was one specific twist that i was like oh shit about but the rest were kind of eh for me as it felt very ridiculous and super far fetched.

an extra star solely for the fact nothing happens to columbo

Beautiful Ugly

I do so enjoy the twisty world Feeney creates. Always with a level of extra drama, atmospheric perfection, and deeply complicated characters, her books never fail to put my mind spinning. I enjoyed the isolated Scottish island setting and the heightened level of tension between all the characters. The end was interesting, but I’m still trying to piece together why she choose to end it that way. I’m guessing mostly for the dramatic effect because it felt incongruous to how she’d laid out the story.

Very entertaining and an excellent audio experience.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the alc via Netgalley!

Eating: 4/5⭐️
Pub day: Jan 14, 2025

Life is Beautiful Ugly.

WOW. Alice Feeney does it again! I couldn’t guess how anything was going to happen! The story was making me look all around to try and figure it out but it would lead me one direction and a whole other thing would happen and is now taking me somewhere else.

The way Alice Feeney writes her stories! It always has me in a chokehold, it was hard to have to keep stopping when I had to because all I would think about is what’s gonna happen next!

This story was told by dual pov and definitely had you rooting for the MMC and empathize with his situation but throughout each side of POV you start to feel a shift and by the end it had changed completely.

Cause let me tell you my flabbers were gasped when the twists kept unfolding and the END, omg the ending was so so satisfying. As a woman, my fist was pumping in the air out of pure delight.

The narrators were great, kept my interest and attention. They portrayed the characters really well!

A HUGE thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this amazing ARC audiobook.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. The narration by Richard Armitage is excellent!

Fantastic!!! The queen of seriously toxic relationships, spooky twists and suspense has written her best yet! An author who has recently lost his wife and is unable to write anymore goes to a remote island off Scotland to try to heal his life and work. Things do not go as planned.

I cannot give any more details without spoiling the ride. This is Alice Feeney's best book yet...mark your calendar to buy it January 14!!!

5 stars!!!

I would write this review in all caps if that wasn’t rude, but I want you to read this like I’m yelling it - I LOVED Beautiful Ugly so much. So so much.

I started listening to this Netgalley audio arc as a distraction and anxiety coping mechanism during a 90 minute dental crown appointment. As the drill did its work, Alice Feeney performed a miracle and kept my brain engaged in a beautifully written story while my body underwent trauma. I then spent the next 24 hours looking for reasons to listen instead of the billion other things I needed to be doing.

Unfortunately the review I was writing in my head to explain how the story paid homage to particular authors, books and genre cannot be shared because mentioning any of those other beloved works would spoil your journey.

Just get this book. I can highly recommend the audio narrated by the fabulous Richard Armitage who knocks everything he touches out of the park.

Probably my all time favorite book of the year. Five glorious stars.

Author Grady Green’s life gets turned upside down when his wife, the love of his life, disappears one night, without a trace … In order to attempt to get himself back on track a year later, he travels to a tiny Scottish island. He hopes that he can relax and write a new book while he’s there, but his progress gets derailed as soon as he sees a woman who looks almost identical to his wife. She has no recollection of him, so it can’t be her, but something isn’t sitting right with Grady.

The chilling plot twist at the end of this book will stay with me forever. I definitely did not see everything typing together the way that it did. It felt like more of a slower burn to me, which I’m not the biggest fan of, but the story itself was great. If you like Feeney’s previous stories, this one is definitely worth a read when it comes out.

This book surpassed all my expectations and I just couldn’t turn the pages fast enough while reading it! This story was packed with tension and unexpected twists that kept me up all night. Feeney does such a great job weaving suspense with character drama. The more I read, the more I questioned what was real and who I could trust. Each character brought their own secrets and complexities, making me second-guess everything. Even the quirky, nosy neighbors had me wondering what they were hiding.

And the setting! I could practically feel the mist and cold air of the Scottish island, and it added so much atmosphere to the story. Every twist felt sharper, every reveal hit harder—it’s the kind of book that makes you feel like you’re right there in the middle of it all.

If you’ve read any of Alice Feeney’s previous works, you know you’re in for a wild ride where nothing is as it seems, and nobody is who they claim to be. This book is no exception—trust nothing, question everything, and brace yourself for a story that will mess with your head!

The narrators really brought this story to life for me—they added so much depth and emotion to the characters that it felt like I was right there with them. I also loved the sound effects at the start of each chapter; they helped me stay oriented and added a little something extra to the experience. If you’re thinking about reading this book, I’d definitely say go for the audiobook—it made the story even more immersive for me!

An absolutely brilliant novel—one of the best thrillers I’ve read this year. If you’re looking for a thriller that will keep you up all night questioning everything, you need to read this. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This isn't the first book by this author that I have read. Alice Feeney is an amazing writer. I enjoyed this book so much. I couldn't stop listening to the audio book. The characters were well written, and I loved the progression during the story. The plot twist at the end was epic! I was shook, and I thought about it long after I finished the book. It was an excellent book, and I would highly recommend it to everyone. I can't wait for more from this author.

Thank you Net Galley ARC and MacMillian!

I listened to this book and liked it.

Grady green is an author and his book finally makes it on the bestseller list. He wants to celebrate with his wife but she never makes it home from work. She mysteriously vanished and now Grady is barely able to function let alone write anything. His editor mentions that she owns a remote cabin in the Scottish islands and he should take a break there.

I loved the setting of the island. This is my second book that takes place in the Scottish islands and now I want to go maybe not to this particular island though.

Grady is creeped out by the island and the people living there. This book is one of those that makes you question everything. Is it him? Is it his wife? Is he going crazy? Is this really happening!? If you like books like this then you will love this one.


Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this audiobook.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC!

About the book: Grady Green is having the best day of his life - making the New York Times Bestseller list - until he isn't, because as he's on the phone with his wife telling her the news, he hears her slam on the brakes and get out of the car... and then she disappears.

My review: The unreliable, sleep-deprived and potentially drugged narrator is done really well in this story, and I always love a remote island because it's so atmospheric in a thriller. The overarching themes of the story are great - and I don't want to get into that too much for *reasons*, but this is what I appreciated most about this book. Otherwise, I really didn't love this overall... it engaged me enough to keep reading and had some interesting twists at the end, but something about it just fell flat for me. The dual narration by Richard Armitage & Tuppence Middleton was great and I did like listening to this on audio.

Wow, wow, wow. What an easy and fast listen! I found myself completely enthralled in this story, which is hard with audiobooks. 4/5 stars since some aspects were predictable, however THAT TWIST? I loved this thriller (as I always love Alice Feeney) and was so excited to be approved for this ARC! The narrators are wonderful, and the sound effects add a lot to the story/transitions. Definitely glad I listened to this book vs. read.