Author Grady Green has hit rock bottom. It’s been a year since his wife went missing, his book hit the best seller list, and since he’s been able to write a single word. In an effort to help get him back to life and writing – his agent sends him to a remote island where she hopes he’ll be able to put pen to paper again. As he dives deeper into his writing and the history of the island, his grasp on reality begins to slacken. Is he seeing what he thinks he is, or has he stumbled upon a secret the islanders want to keep buried.

I’m on a Feeny kick lately. While I’ve previously one of her books, the rest have been sitting on my TBR for far too long. I’ve been in a small reading slump so when I picked up the audio for Beautiful Ugly, I was hopeful it would get me out of that slump. It delivered and now I’m on my third Alice Feeny book in the past few weeks.

For me, the audiobook made the experience for me. Richard Armitage did an excellent job of bringing Grady Green to life. This book is the perfect mix of twists, turns, and atmospheric. I truly felt like I was on an isolated island, and the grey and rainy days while I was listening was the perfect backdrop.

Told between Grady’s POV and Abby’s, the back and forth between their present and past experiences gave the story plenty of depth. But it was really the character development that won me over this time. The character ARCs for both Abby and Grady was excellent and truly make the story.

With plenty of twists and turns, this was an excellent thriller to pull me out of my slump. It kept me engaged and guessing up until the end. I’m so thankful to Macmillan Audio for getting an ARC to me right when I needed it.

AMAZON | GOODREADS  | BOOKSHOP |★★★★★

Beautiful Ugly comes out January 14, 2025. Thank you to Flatiron Books and Macmillan Audio for my advanced copy in exchange for my review.  If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.