Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney fell slightly short for me. While still compelling, well written, and well paced it felt predictable and ultimately disappointing in its conclusion. Still a great read and I have seen many readers share that they love it. The audio performance was great. Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC! Beautiful Ugly is out 1/14/2025.

🌊 Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney OUT 1/14/2025 🌊

Alice Feeney has recently become an auto read for me. Some books are hits and some are misses, but I have been very excited for this one. I was lucky enough to have an advanced audio book copy as well as my BOTM pick!

This story focuses on author Grady Green whose wife just went missing a year prior. He has been unable to eat, sleep, or write since her disappearance. His agent suggests he travels to a cabin in a remote island in hopes that he will be able to write again. While on the island, Grady thinks he sees his wife EVERYWHERE.

I really liked this one!! A fast-paced read that kept me guessing! Feeney has a way of being suspenseful but towards the end I yelled “JUST TELL ME!!” I didn’t see the end coming and really enjoyed snuggling up on the couch to read this. It was a tad repetitive for me but I think it will be very popular when it comes out! 4✨

I was so excited to get an early copy of this audio! The audio performance was fantastic, and I loved all the sound effects throughout, it helped create the creepy atmosphere of the book.

This book had hits and misses for me. I loved the premise, the spooky setting and the suspense, but it moved awfully slow through the middle which caused me to lose some interest. The big twist at the end shocked me, but I guessed some of the other reveals. All in all I’d say this was a 3.5 rounded up to a 4.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my ALC in exchange for my honest feedback!

Fantastic! So many quotes i may need to buy a physical copy to annotate. Several of the prose have brought a smile to my face or stabbed me in the heart. And so creepy!!

This book was interesting and I wanted to see how it all worked out, but it didn't totally pull me in. Some of it simply seemed like a bit too much of a stretch, but the mysterious island was a fun setting. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC.

Author Grady Green is finally getting to experience is dream of becoming a best selling author. He is on the phone sharing the good news with his wife when she mysteriously disappears after stopping to avoid a person in the road. Grady finds her car still running with the lights on and the driver door open. A year later Abby is still missing and Grady is having a hard time living his life and is mostly unable to sleep. His publisher offers him a cabin on a small Scottish island that belonged to one of her former clients. Hoping to find some peace and start writing again Grady and his dog head off to Scotland. He finds the women of the island to be strange and evasive. There is limited ways to contact the outside world, cell phones don't work and there are limited other ways to contact the mainland. He also thinks he sees his missing wife. There are rumors of a woman arriving that has only been seen by a few people. In the cabin he is staying in he finds a copy of the former owner's secret manuscript. Unable to write himself Grady begins rewriting this work to pass off as his own.

This was a fairly difficult book to write up a written explanation for. It was very twisty but I have to say that I was able to figure out most of the mysteries myself. It was still a fairly compelling read. It was pretty eerie and I loved the setting. I don't want to bring up some of the most interesting parts for spoiler reasons.

Richard Armitage is one of my favorite actors. I knew he was going to knock this narration out of the park and he absolutely did! Highly recommend going with the audiobook on this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an audiobook arc for this new novel & was immediately hooked. I would rate this book a 4.5/5, but rounding down to a 4 because of the ending. I’m not sure what I wanted from the ending, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations. I was quick to get sucked into the mysteries that surround Grady the moment he gets to the island. The islanders and Grady had me questioning everything that was going on—constantly. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved Alice Feeney’s Daisy Darker, so if you liked that, I think you’ll enjoy this one as well!

I absolutely devoured this book! From start to finish, it had me hooked, and I couldn't put it down. It has officially become my new favorite—without a doubt! Alice Feeney is a master at crafting these amazing, layered stories, and she weaves so many unexpected twists into this one that I was left shocked. Every time I thought I had it figured out, she threw in another curveball. I love how she keeps readers on their toes, making it impossible to predict what's coming next. The suspense, the depth, the surprises—it’s all so well done. Bravo, Alice Feeney! You’ve outdone yourself with this one!

This one is a strong return to form for Alice Feeney. Beautiful Ugly feels closer to some of her twistier early works. More impactful than Daisy Darker or Good Bad Girl, it's worth diving into.

I quite like the setup and the setting, the remote island Grady ends up on is vividly described. The islanders are a a bit odd and it quickly becomes apparent, not everything is as it seems.

Grady appears to be descending into madness, so we're left to question his recollection and interpretation of everything. This all worked for me but it did get a bit repetitive hearing him moan about his wife and how much they loved eachother.

There are an awful lot of characters introduced which end up serving no real purpose and the ending seems a bit inconsistent/convoluted compared to everything that came before it but overall a fun thriller!

Huge thank you to @macmillan.audio &
@netgalley for the opportunity to listen early in exchange for an honest review. I had a great time with this one!

4.5⭐️rounded up.

I listened to this in one sitting because I needed to know what was going on. This is my first book I’ve ever read by Alice but I’m glad I did.
Grady Green is an author who just finds out he has made The NY Times list and is waiting for his wife to get home to celebrate. Yet while they are on the phone his wife almost hits someone in the middle of the road and gets out to check on them but ends up vanishing. Flash forward a year later and Grady cannot write to save his life. His publisher suggests a stay at a cabin at a small island town that no one really knows much about. When he arrives to this town he swears he sees his wife but convinces himself he’s loosing it because she’s been gone for a year. From there things just keep getting weirder and weirder. And the plot twist was freaking fantastic. This book kept me guessing and wondering the entire time. The ending was phenomenal. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the opportunity to listen to this arc and to give my honest review.

The beginning of this book got my attention and the unreliable narrator, Grady, held it throughout the book. In addition, the setting was eerie and creepily atmospheric. Everyone on the island is odd and clearly hiding something. The overall sinister vibe and sense of dread added to the ambiance of the story.

The audio production was so well done from the voices to the sound effects. It was a full experience, and I highly recommend this version if you are able to give it a listen. It might be my favorite audio book – ever!

I find it hard to review psychological thrillers without giving too much away. I will say the twists kept coming, and I was caught flat-footed on several occasions. Unfortunately, there was a lot going on at the end and I was left with a few unanswered questions, so it lost a star for me.

Lastly, I have seen others raving about the end, but (hide) I didn’t like it. Don’t hate me!

What did you think? Did you like the ending or was it a step too far? I thought it was a step too far.

This was a fantastic book with a crazy good ending. Not at all what I expected. This thriller sends an author onto a secluded island to try to write again after his wife has gone missing. But there is so much more going on there.

Wow. I saw none of that coming and I couldn’t stop listening. Definitely put this at the top of your list.

Alice Feeney’s BEAUTIFUL UGLY is a psychological, environmental thrill ride that readers will not forget anytime soon. Dual perspectives, unreliable narrator(s), gaslighting, red herrings, gothic mood, remote setting, palpable tension, twist upon twist, and an ending that will made me gasp out loud.

Pay close attention to the details, especially the chapter titles. The book’s title is not the only oxymoron. There just might be a hidden message, waiting to be discovered.

Think Stephen King’s Bag of Bones meets Midsomar. Fans of Jeneva Rose, Stephen King, and Leslie J. Anderson will enjoy this latest installment from Feeney.

Book Review: Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

Alice Feeney’s Beautiful Ugly brings her signature style of suspense and intrigue, but this time with mixed results. While the setup is undeniably atmospheric, giving off eerie Wicker Man vibes with its isolated setting and unsettling community dynamics, the execution feels somewhat uneven.

The story builds intrigue through its exploration of beauty, deception, and the darker sides of human nature. Feeney’s ability to create tension and craft complex characters is still present, but the pacing wavers in places, and the twists—usually her forte—land with less impact this time around.

The biggest drawback is the ending, which feels rushed and lacks the punch that fans of her work have come to expect. Compared to her previous novels, this one doesn’t quite hit the mark, leaving an overall impression that’s more lukewarm than thrilling.

While not a favorite, Beautiful Ugly still offers some memorable moments and a strong sense of atmosphere. It’s worth a read for die-hard Feeney fans but may not linger in your mind the way her best works do.

<i><b>"I hope you die in your sleep."</i></b>

Grady Green’s life is upended when his wife, Abby, mysteriously vanishes during a routine phone call, leaving behind her car at the edge of a cliff. A year later, consumed by grief and writer’s block, Grady retreats to a remote Scottish island to find peace. But his fragile reality shatters when he spots a woman who looks exactly like Abby. As he unravels the truth, Grady must confront haunting questions: Is this a chance at closure, or has his nightmare only just begun?

If you, like myself, are a Feeney fan, this is definitely another one in the win collum. Not once did I know what was going to happen next and that just kept me hooked from start to finish.
Richard Armitage does an incredible job narrating this book and adds such depth to the story. The subtle use of sound effects was just enough to be enticing without being distracting. Though the first time I heard the bells, it scared this shit out of me. 🙃

<i>Shout-out to my homies at Netgally and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

Alice Feeney did it again! Another novel that keeps you guessing. It's not a twist and turn psychological thriller that I'm used to. It's just one that is bizarre enough to keep you guessing. Definitely grabbed me and held my interest throughout the book. The characters were very eccentric and I enjoyed the way they interacted with each other and Grady and how their relationships developed. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Narrator: they were ok, they did have an English accent which wasn’t as distracting as I usually find narrators with accents. The male narrator was kind of monotone through the book so it was hard to differentiate when it was supposed the FMC monologging and when it was the MMC monologging.

I was a bit confused and bored in the beginning of the book after the abduction happened... There was a lot of back and forth between the characters and a lot of background on the MMC The second half was as good but the plot twist was a bit nonsensical to me. It was crazy unrealistic. The whole book was written around it and to build up the plot twist I get it, it’s a thriller, but it took away from character development. I never fell in love with the characters so when the plot twist happened it was “blah” for me because I didn’t care for my MC it just seemed over the top. I can believe what happened to the FMC and the abduction and the struggles she went through (I’m trying not to give any spoilers) but the whole thing with where she was and who helped her was too unreal for me.

I DO NOT hate the book, it just wasn’t for me. If you’re a Freda McFadden fan then this book is for you! You’ll probably give it a million stars. I’m not I don’t like her books they are kind of bland for me although I do agree she is the queen of twists and turns. I’d rather stick to a more realistic and believable thriller.

Please keep in mind this only my personal opinion.

Thanks NetGalley, author , and publisher for the audio ARC, here is my honest review.

100% a huge Alice Feeney fan and honestly this one just plucked all the right strings for me once again. This audiobook kept me listening on the edge of my seat and kept me wondering where the story was going. When the end came I was breathless and felt fully content with the story. Truly another great story by the author.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Dark, intriguing, and such a mystery of what truly happened. I loved the different POVs. It truly gave more depth to the characters. I was on the edge of my seat, then shocked! The narrator did an amazing job with some sound effects, too! Truly helped me process and love the story even more!

I received this Audiobook ARC from NetGalley and MacMillan Audio to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully listening to this Audiobook.