Amazing narration! This story blew me away and had me in the edge of my seat! I loved the twisty parts and Feeney’s writing is amazing! This storyline was absolutely enthralling! A must read!!

I struggled a lot to get through this book. Grady’s struggles between hallucination and reality did not do it for me. The novel set in the eerie island of solitude just felt like a long, slow journey of fog. Yes, there’s a twist at the end, but I simply did not enjoy!

Alice Feeney always delivers, especially in audio format, as expertly read by the fantastic Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton. Beautiful Ugly is another page turning mystery pitting spouse against spouse that kept me questioning and guessing until the end. Would absolutely recommend to readers and fans of Feeny's previous work. Five stars!!!

What a weird story! Weird and good at the same time. I liked it. I liked how everything slowly unraveled to be as original as it can get.
It gave me "The Secret Window" movie vibe where we have a Depp as a lost writer. Here our main character in never ending self-pity tries to write something after his wife mysteriously disappears (that on it's own could have been some inspiration). Yet, he decides to move on to small island where his publicist tells him the biggest inspiration lies.
I liked the audiobook, it kept me entertained during long commute to work. With that being said, I still feel there could have been more and as much as surprising the ending is, it left me yearning for something more.
Audiobook production was as always perfect and I enjoyed it very much.

Now this one is a wild ride! Just when you think you know exactly what happened in this mystery, another curve ball comes your way! So well done, as always.

This is the first Alice Feeney book I have listened to/read. I did not love the narration - only because it reminded me of The Fury and I did not enjoy that book. That is truly a personal opinion but in case anyone else felt the same - it is worth mentioning.

Other than that, wow - I have been getting into more thrillers as a palate cleanser for my romance books. This was so good and the setting I just loved. The twists and turns were so unpredictable and I enjoyed the plot twists. I know she has a strong fan base and this one will no doubt land at the top of readers list.

We all know an Eeyore like Grady Green, the forever victim. Everything happens to poor Grady, and he is always surprised at his bad luck or lack of respect from others. When his beloved wife disappears in a desperately tragic way, he shuts down, drinks away his only remaining money, and doesn't see how he'll ever find the strength to be a great writer again.

Grady's agent exasperatedly offers him a chance to get away, to a remote island in northern Scotland, where he can clear his head and maybe, just maybe, get his profession and life back on track. If you think you know where this is going, you will be dead wrong, but you will also find the discovery of what does happen deliciously "right".

I have read every one of Alice Feeney's books, and each one delighted my twisty mystery senses. While Beautiful Ugly was a much slower burn than I usually enjoy, it paid off in ways I couldn't have imagined. My book club simply HAS TO read this one, because I need lots of wine and to gather all my girls to discuss this one in unflinching detail.

"Beautiful Ugly", the new thriller by Alice Feeney, has gotten more hype than it's worth. With fewer expectations, I might have enjoyed it more. It's a decent book. It just is not a fantastic one.

This is a thriller set in modern days in London, England, and then on the small island of Amberly in Scotland. Grady Green loses his wife, Abby. He doesn't know if she died or what happened to her. A year later, he ends up on the island to write his next book. On the island, there is no internet and no phone service and no outgoing ferry and only 25 residents. It's a form of a locked room mystery.

The story has some chapters from Abby's point of view with mostly chapters from Grady. This, "He said, She said," helps you realize you have an unreliable narrator.

The audiobook is narrated exceptionally well by deep voiced Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton.

The feeling of the book is creepy, confusing, and suspenseful. There are several twists in this book.

I also feel I should mention that I fell asleep repeatedly while listening to the second half of the book. I'm not sure how much of that was me vs. the writing. I did go back and relistened to everything I missed. The end didn't make sense to me.

Characters - 4/5
Writing - 5/5
Plot - 4/5
Pacing - 3/5
Unputdownability - 4/5
Enjoyment - 3/5
Narration - 4/5
Cover - 3/5
Overall - 30/8 = 3 6/8 rounded up to 4 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, MacMillanAudio, and Alice Feeney for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced audiobook copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I equally loved and didn't so much love this one. The narrators absolutely brought the story to life, but I felt like it took forever to get to the point. I enjoyed parts of the suspense, then there were times I felt the book was moving a little too slow.

Hight points for this included: A lot of atmospheric and beautiful writing, fantastic audiobook production with effects and sounds- seriously so good!, as well as alternating points of view in the novel that do keep the plot building even if it is a little slowly.

Last but not least, I can't forget to mention Feeney's signature twist. It did catch me off guard, well-done.

Other thriller lovers and fans of Alice Feeney will likely find this to be enjoyable, especially on audio.

Wow! My head is spinning from all the twists and turns I just experienced while listening to Beautiful Ugly. How many times can an author shock me? Apparently, a lot. Alice Feeney's newest novel is dark, atmospheric, rich in intrigue and expertly crafted. Her characters are unique and well done. The audio version of the book was excellent, I loved the accents of the characters, the sound of the sea and it really kept me in the setting of the island. I'm not sure if I would have like it as much reading it as I did listening to it.
Grady is an author who's wife has gone missing, while he was on the phone with her. He's also experiencing the dreaded writer's block. He gets the opportunity to write on a remote island and get his life back together. Along the way he thinks he sees his missing wife. Everything is not as it seems on the Isle of Amberly. This was a wild and fun ride, quick read and very suspenseful. I recommend to all thriller lovers and Feeney fans. Thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for the audiobook. 4 stars.

Amazing book! The audiobook is really good. I wasn’t sure what I was hearing about the book was going live up to my expectations. I did not see the twists coming. And the end left me gasping. I recommend thriller lovers read this one!

When Grady Green's wife disappears, his life falls apart. Once a best-selling author, he now struggles to write anything. When his agent suggests a remote Scottish cabin to ignite his passion for writing, he reluctantly accepts. But this remote island also has it's own secrets.

I received the audiobook version of #BeautifulUgly from #NetGalley, which was fantastic. The audiobook alternates with a male and female narrator who absolutely nail the accents required. I listened until my ear buds finally died and then actually bought the book on Kindle to continue the journey.

Highly recommend this book. I read her other book, Rock Paper Scissors, which was OK. But this book.... this one blew my mind. Fantastic plot, fast-paced, and a truly enjoyable read. If you have a busy day ahead, the audiobook is a 9 hour read and is also an amazing option.

This book absolutely gripped me and reminded me why I love Alice Feeney, she absolutely has a way of writing two POVs such that you have no idea which is truly accurate and manages to keep you guessing. Grady can't write since the disappearance of his wife Abby so he gets sent off to this tiny island in Scotland. The vibes here were absolutely on point, I love me a ''locked room'' style of mystery and this absolutely fits the bill. The entire time he is on the island, things are ominous, something is clearly wrong but putting the finger on WHAT, wasn't an easy task. My brain worked for this one. Grady isn't a likeable character and has questionable morals. That being said Feeney got me, I bought the picture she painted. If you like books with some good old feminine rage style revenge - pick this one up.

I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrators were excellent! There were also some sounds incorporated in the audio and I found that a fun touch!

A huge thank you to MacMillan audio and NetGalley for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy of this audiobook. First off, the narration was excellent. It usually annoys me when men do women’s voice and vice versa and this was the exception. I also loved the added audio elements - the music, the sound of the sea, etc. It was very well produced.

The novel itself started a bit slow but the next thing I knew I was to the halfway point so it does move along. I was surprised by the twist which did answer a lot of the questions that popped up along the way. While I didn’t LOVE the ending, I did enjoy the book enough to give it four stars. This is my second book by this author and I liked it the most so far (other was Daisy Darker).

How do I admit that I did not like one of the most antcipated books of the year? I struggled with the believablity of this one. There were too many convenient coincidences and connections for me to really feel connected to this book.
The book started off as any pyschological thriller should. I was sucked right in. I needed to know what was happening. The husband is waiting for the wife to come home so that he can share really exciting news with her. They are on the phone as she is driving home and then just vanishes into thin air about a mile away. Grief takes over, but the job of a writer is never really done. He needs to get out of his writing slump and his agent has just the right plan. Then things just get a little weird. Grady becomes a little unreliable as a narrator. The reader is taken on some wild rides but not really in a good way. I'm still not even sure I understand how it ended and how we got there.
I listened to the audiobook and the production was really well done. There was sound effects in between chapters which was a really nice touch.

Beautiful Ugly falls into a type of thriller that just doesn’t work for me—one built entirely around an outlandish twist. While the premise is intriguing, and the eerie first half kept me reading, the characters felt flat, and the plot became increasingly implausible.

Grady, a struggling author, is haunted by his wife’s disappearance a year ago. She vanished after stopping to help someone by the roadside, and now, unable to write or move on, he takes a chance on a retreat in a remote island cabin once owned by a famous author.

Despite an interesting setup, I found it hard to care about Grady or Abby, and the story unravelled as the twists piled up. Some plot points were so bizarre they made me laugh, and by the time the island’s backstory was revealed, it felt like a needlessly convoluted mess. A good twist should surprise, but it also needs to feel earned—and this one just didn’t.

It's always an interesting set of circumstances that moves the reader from connecting with a character to despising him in the last chapter.  
    Grady is a despairing character: missing wife, writers block, no income, flashbacks of the night she disappeared. His agent throws him a life line in the form of a free cabin on a remote island where he can write undisturbed and hopefully be back on the best seller list again.
    This island is not without its quirks: no daily ferry service, no cell tower, postal delivery is random. It sounds like a dream location to work uninterrupted but unfortunately he is. He keeps seeing his missing wife, random lights are turned on, notes are left, objects moved, he was spooked.  
    The cabin, once the home of a famous writer, held a few secrets of its own.  Under the floorboards he discovers bones and an unpublished novel, a well written one, and with a few tweaks he makes it his own and sends it off to his agent.
   But there is something strange about this island which he discovers: there's a history that is disclosed in small increments that lure the reader into its horrific history.
    Grady discovers the  islanders are less friendly, he is constantly under surveillance, he wants off this island and the reader is feeling his anxiety..........until the real story unravels.
    An electrifying  chain of events that keeps the reader spooked and engaged until the final twist.

The middle of the book is a bit of a slow burn, but wow the ending really delivered! The audiobook was done well with multiple narrators and the addition of sound effects.

I loved this book. I finished it in 1 day. It's a short read that drags you in right from the start! Highly suggest to anyone who loves thrillers!

I absolutely loved this book! It was thrilling and exciting with excellent pacing. I've always been an Alice Feeney fan and this was one of her best books. The story was so unique and a real twist on the predictable thriller. The main character was struggling with long term grief which helped to make some of his twisted beliefs and self talk make sense. I enjoyed the connections between the characters, like the wife's godmother was Grady's agent.

I did not see the plot twist coming and I read a LOT of thrillers.