This book started with such promise! Grady was speaking with his wife on the phone when she suddenly stopped her car and told Grady someone was laying in the road. Grady begged his wife not to get out of the car, but she did ….and she disappeared.

The rest of the book, until the last few chapters, really dragged with not much happening. The only reason I continued was because of the amazing narrators on this audiobook! They did such an incredible job and were able to hold my interest even when not much was going on.

I’ll definitely read other books by the author, but this one was a miss for me! I will still recommend this audiobook on publication day because other listeners may enjoy it, and as I said before the narrators are phenomenal!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to listen!

Alice Feeney does it again 😍

As always, this book is based in the vibiest, coziest location in the Scottish islands. I absolutely blew through this 9+ hour mystery and thriller novel in just a few days 🫣

It kept me hooked from start to finish and the narration was FANTASTIC! This was the first book I’ve listened to that actually includes sounds that are mentioned in a book (rain on a windshield, walkie talkie static [iykyk], etc.) which improved the experience tenfold.

This book is set to be released January 14, 2025 so mark your calendars - you already know I’m going to order a hardcopy for my bookshelf! Thank you, @macmillan.audio for the ARC!

Grady Green was speaking to his wife on the phone as she was driving home one night. She told him someone was lying in the road in front of her car, gasped and the line went dead. Grady's latest book had made the New York Times bestseller list and he had wanted to celebrate. A year later, Grady still hadn't seen or heard from his wife and he hadn't written anything. at all. With no income, he was eventually forced to sell his house.

His agent, who was also his wife's godmother, offered him the use of a cabin she owned on a tiny Scottish island. Grady took her up on the offer and moved to the island with his dog. The cabin was great but the island was very isolated and the islanders somewhat odd. Then he sees a woman who looks exactly like his wife. He tries to see her again but the islanders seem to be conspiring against him.

Feeney has packed the book with twists and turns, right up until the end. Her fans will enjoy it and those who like to read psychological thrillers such as Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train will enjoy this one. Personally, I didn't find any of the characters very appealing and was not invested in how it all turned out, but I'm sure others will disagree.

Narrators Richard Armitage captures Grady's insecurities well and Downton Abbey veteran Tuppence Middleton brings wife Abby to life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the eARC.

First I was so excited to be approved for this. I love Alice Feeney. Her books are the best kind of twisty and even when I think I may have something figured out, I don't.

The narrators in this book did a stellar job at keeping me hooked. I liked all the additional sound effects throughout and the way the story really blossomed in my mind. I did not see all of the twists as I anticipated despite predicting some.

The hardest part for me was that Grady, our main character, was absolutely insufferable. And while I may have found myself having a twinge of sympathy for him in the beginning as things progressed I was just so over him. The ending sequence was just punch after punch.

A solid 4/5 for me.

4.5⭐️ that I actually rounded up!

Wow, this is definitely the case where the right narrator can completely make a potentially slow book come alive and be its best. I’m not sure if I would have rated the book as high as I did had o not had Richard Armitages vocals to listen to as he propelled the story forward during slow passages.

I want to thank Net Galley and MacMillan audio for the audio AlC so I could have the chance to write a forthright review.

I honestly didn’t know what I was getting into when I hit play as when I choose audiobooks I only look as the most basic of info as k prefer to go in blind. I have never read Alice Feeney before (yeah I know, what?) so I had nothing to compare it to but I expect she will be out on my TBR for the future.

The best way I would describe this would be a “slow burn” except it’s not a romance. I did have to speed it up to 1.25 rate to be able to focus on the narration as it was very slow for me individually as it was recorded.

Whilst reading so many scenarios flooded my head as to what could be going on and the outcome did have pieces of some of those musings but the entire package was definitely a nice suspension twist. Twist is the wrong word but it’s all I have right now!

While this book is a mystery/thriller it also gives a bunch of social commentary both underneath and then blatantly toward the conclusion. So it does lend itself to some thought provoking material that many need to hear.

This book comes out January 14,2025 and is the perfect book to curl up with after the holiday letdown. I highly suggest the audiobook so you can sink into listening to the silk of Richard Armritages voice.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Read this if you like:
•slow burn mystery
•atmospheric reads
•immersive audiobooks


Alice Feeney has been hit or miss for me the last few books. The audiobook of this was so well done, partly because it was immersive. They use sound effects to add to the story. This was a bit more of a slow burn than I would have liked but the audiobook helped kept me going. I adored the quote “life is beautiful and ugly”, because it’s spot on! & I’ll be thinking an out the ending for awhile! Thank you Macmillan for the ALC

Thank you to NetGalley and McMillan publishing for the advanced audiobook copy.

Alice Feeney is an automatic buy for me so I was excited to see if she had a new book and excited to review the audiobook copy. The narration was great. I loved it.. I enjoyed the occasional sound effects. And there was a few plot twist. I didn’t see coming.

Hellooooo to my favorite Feeney novel to date!
This book gave all of the mysterious, spooky, “what is even happening!?” vibes.
Although the novel slowed a bit for me in the middle, it picked up quickly for me toward the end with several shocking twists that had my little thriller loving heart alight.
Feeney is a master at story-telling, creating a visual scene that never misses, and the conclusion of this book was a total win to me.
I didn’t love her most recent novel, Good Bad Girl, so I went into this one with hesitant expectations and left finished the book feeling pleasantly surprised, 4.5 stars rounded up to 5!

I'm delighted to share my thoughts on this captivating read! Alice Feeney's latest work has left me in a state of bewildered enthusiasm. Following the disappearance of Grady's wife, the bestselling author struggles with writer's block. In an effort to rekindle his creativity, his agent sends him to a secluded island, where strange occurrences unfold. Will Grady uncover the truth about his wife's vanishing and break through his writing barrier? Beautiful Ugly is a masterfully crafted psychological thriller that kept me engaged and guessing, expertly weaving together suspense and twists.

Grady Green was on the phone with his wife Abby when she saw someone lying in the middle of the road. She stopped to check it out and it was the last time he ever talked to her. A year later, he is on his way to a cottage on an island off the coast of Scotland and sees someone who looks just like Abby. Once he arrives on the island, weird things start happening to him and he starts to receive his wife’s old articles under her door. Is he hallucinating or are strange things happening on this island?

Holy shit Alice Feeney. What it must be like to live inside her brain where strange ideas like this originate. I'm a big fan of this book and I love how the story is all tied together. Not gonna lie, it’d be pretty cool if some place like the island actually existed. I always enjoy reading Alice’s books and the multi POV and trying to figure out what’s going on. The twists never stop coming and Alice kept me on edge and guessing until the very end. Well done!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audiobook, it was an amazing story!

Include spoilers:

I am woman, hear me roar!

I really enjoyed seeing the marriage of Grady and Abby through their own perspectives and how incredibly different two people can view the same relationship. The concept of an island or safe haven run by women sounds pretty appealing sometimes, especially after some of the articles Abby wrote. Sadly, this stuff happens all the time. Alice Feeney did a great job building each character and giving everyone enough quirks and flaws to make them seem suspicious.

Thrillers are by far my pickiest and stingiest category for judging, yet I can’t quite pin point why? What it generally comes down to is three things:

Did I have fun?
Was I surprised in some way?
Did the story fit the vibe fit the plot?

Beautiful Ugly had all of the above and the stellar audiobook narration and production completely captured the atmosphere.

I have loved many of Alice Feeney’s books and I’ve hated a few. She is generally a formulaic writer, but this felt really fresh for her. It toed the line of cinematic versus atmospheric and to me that’s a winning combination offering up lots of twists and turns.

This is a story that I encourage you go in blind, less is always more when it comes to thrill seeking, but here’s what you can expect, unreliable narrators, a mysterious island, feminist undertones and one or two shocks. But it’s the ending that’s the real winner, guess you’ll have to read and find out for yourself.

Life is beautiful and ugly. So true.

Alice Feeney is back with another haunting psychological thriller. The plot was giving Gone Girl at times, but with a unique spin. I was hooked to the end; although, I’m not sure the resolution was completely plausible. I really enjoyed the setting. I think the isolated island in Scotland set the mood.

Thank you Alice Feeney, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this audiobook! The sound quality was great, and the narrators did an excellent job of bringing the characters to life. I like how there are sound effects sprinkled in here and there, like a ringing phone and radio static.

Oh my Gosh this was good.

Alice Feeney has been one of my favorite authors for a while now. I first fell in love with her when I listened to "Sometimes I Lie", and ever since then I cannot wait to finish whatever she writes. Out of everything she has written, I think that will always be my favorite, but "Beautiful Ugly" is my second favorite without a doubt. And it is a VERY close second.

I think because the books are quite similar in style; two points of view, story/plot is very seemingly simple, and there is a WTF moment at the last 5% of the book. And I haven't read "Sometimes I Lie" in I think 5/6 years. A book like that stays with you, I think that's why people love it or hate it.

This book is more of a slow-burn. But I believe it moves along at a nice pace and isn't too slow. The character development is relatively well done and throughout the book you can begin to understand them a little bit more and more. And the dynamic between the characters is one that had me continually thinking to myself, "hhmmm, well who is telling the truth then?". And I like it when I don't know who I can trust, especially when it is in first person

I am going to end this review by saying I think that this book is probably tied as my favorite, because it is just that good. And the audiobook just kicks it up to next freakin level.

I went in with zero expectations, besides knowing I wanted to read Alice Feeney’s newest book asap. I was so excited to get approved for the audiobook ARC and realized I wasn’t even sure what the story was about! I wasn’t expected a creepy island vibe and totally ate it up!

Grady is an author at the top of his game when his wife mysteriously goes missing while he’s talking with her on the phone. Everything continues to crumble until Grady is given the opportunity to spend the next few months on an island to focus on writing his next novel. The island only has a couple dozen residents and they seem…off. (While listening, it reminded me of the movie Hot Fuzz: perfect community that prides itself on no crime while all the residents seem unique, and use walkie talkies!) I loved the creepy feel while listening and couldn’t wait to find out how everything would come together.

Audiobook: this isn’t your usual straightforward audiobook. There is more production involved including ocean sounds, walkie talkie/speaker phone call sounds (different from regular speaking voice). The walkie talkie noises reminded me of those children’s books where every time you see a specific picture you pressed the corresponding sound 😆 So every time walkie talkie was mentioned, a walkie talkie sound was “pushed”. I liked it.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
Media for this audio ARC. This review will be shared on NetGalley, Goodreads, and Barnes and Noble.

Pub Date Jan 14 2025

A year after his wife disappears, author Grady Green heads to an isolated Scottish island to work on his next book. But the island isn't what it seems to be.

Alice Feeney is a queen of twisty thrillers. Here's what I loved:

The eeriness: This book is so atmospheric. I loved the isolated feel of the island. On top of that, everything is so off with everyone that you really don't know how to feel the entire time. I was hooked right away just because of this.

The narration: I loved Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton. Armtiage in particular does such an amazing job with Grady. There were times that I felt his panic as he searches the island for answers. There is also the added sound effects and music that help to add to the already eerie book.

The twists: This had a few really good ones and one that I really didn't see coming. But, it all does fall into place as you go along. The ending in particular really got to me.

All in all, this is a really good and twisty thriller that will keep you on your toes.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📑MMC Author
☎️Missing Wife
📑Dual POV
☎️Mysterious Island
📑Twists
☎️Secrets

This was a wild book. The narrators were phenomenal.

I was constantly questioning what was going on throughout the whole book.

Everyone on the island was suspicious to me. I trusted nobody.

When you actually figure out what’s going on in the book, it’s crazy. I did not expect what really happened to the wife that was not on my radar.

The author had a good way of misleading the reader, and to assuming certain situations which I appreciate.

The ending was perfect! One of my worst fears comes to life. Wow! I would highly recommend this book.

This was the first book I read by this author. I will definitely be checking out more books.

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