NetGalley Top Reviewer

NetGalley Top Reviewer
NetGalley Top Reviewer

Sunday, January 19, 2025

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

 Things in life are often not at all what you think they are. Nor are people. 


After his wife’s disappearance, Grady Green escapes to a small Scottish island. He’s an author who can’t write since Abby has gone. This retreat at Amberley Island, in a former bestselling author’s cabin, is his last chance to publish a book and redeem himself now that he has nothing left to lose. But the conditions on the barely populated isle are fraught. 


I started out intrigued and then became irritated with the slow pace and the repetitiveness of Grady’s hallucinations and insomnia. His behavior was erratic and his angsty thoughts were an annoying stream of consciousness. I lost patience with him, struggled to find any characters likable, and had a lot of difficulty with some of the ridiculous situations Grady got himself into. I don’t really like when an author dangles hints and never gives more explanation. So I was already struggling and started to disengage when the last third of the book became so out there that I just raced to the end. I didn’t like what transpired and even looking back in the pages left me feeling duped, not happily stumped. 


This author has always been hit and miss for me and this was a miss. I can’t say more about things that put me off without spoiling some of the plot points. I had no idea the narrative was going to go in the direction it did and had I know, I would never have picked this up. 


I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrators did a decent job and it helped a little to improve my reading experience. I especially enjoyed the sound effects. 


I would give this 2.5 stars but I rounded it to 3 because the first part of the book was a good premise and set up. Unfortunately, it was ultimately a let down. 

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Tags: marriage, revenge, women power, mystery

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