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cj_mo_2222's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed reading The Guest List and The Hunting Party (in spite of the unlikable characters in both) and thought the premise of Foley's newest book sounded intriguing. A luxury resort is having its grand opening celebration. Most people are having a wonderful time, but many local residents resent the resort owner and what she has created. Some of the guests and employees may have a motive for being there other than enjoying the ocean views and curated food and drinks. There is a flash forward very early on in the book letting you know that all is not going to go as planned at the main event - the Midnight Feast.
This book was another one that was full of unlikable people. I was able to find a couple people to root for, but I wouldn't want to spend much time with most of them. One exception is resort employee Eddie, who I really liked throughout the book for his honesty and down-to-earth personality. The story is told in three timelines showing events leading up to the party, the aftermath, and journal entries from one of the characters written 15 years ago. The journal entries are an excellent way to show past events, but I kept getting confused about the sequence of events in the other timelines.
There were frequent mentions of local folklore throughout the book that added to the creepy, foreboding atmosphere, but was also confusing. However, I found it clever how some of the characters are slowly revealed to have unexpected connections. The way everything comes together for a fitting and surprising ending helps bump this book up to four stars.
I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from NetGalley and William Morrow Books. My review is voluntary and unbiased.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Bullying, and Classism
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Sexual assault
uranaishi's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Death, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Classism, Stalking, Alcohol, Grief, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Rape, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Dementia, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Excrement, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Addiction, and Alcoholism
shybearfog's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I've enjoyed Lucy Foley's other thrillers so I was excited to check out this new one. It also has multiple POVs and switches from before the main event, during, and after like the other books. It was really good and I was able to guess parts of the reveals but still was surprised by other elements. This story had some folklore involved which was interesting and different. It was a good mystery and I enjoyed seeing all the secrets and details unfold. I'd recommend this if you like thrillers or her other books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Drug abuse, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Drug use
kriseaf's review
5.0
Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC.
Setting: If you are like me and want to read a mystery/thriller in the same setting as the book, you’ll want some combination of: luxury resort, an old world forest, or a cliffside over a beach. Enjoy!
My thoughts: The first 40% was very slow and hard to engage with. There are a lot of characters, though they’re very interesting, and a lot of information/backstory is very obviously being withheld from the reader. The story elements are intriguing, though, and the setting and ambiance and approaching tension and escalation are very well-crafted. The surprisingly disparate characters also bring a lot of “how is this person possibly connected?” small thoughts to the reader.
Foley is a master at nailing the execution, though. Everything escalates so smoothly, so inexorable, so alarmingly high and tensely. All of the secrets are revealed, one by one, and complete a wonderfully detailed, intricately woven plot. The ending is so satisfying on so many levels, not the least of which is from a craft perspective.
I had so much fun reading this!
Recommended for: I think this book has broad appeal, honestly. It’s more on the thriller side than the mystery—a lot of the secrets unwind quite naturally, rather than any one character trying to solve something within the world itself. There’s also nothing alarming or problematic that I would recommend anyone stay away from the book either.
I realize that one of Foley’s previous books has a big, ugly “Reese’s Book Club” sticker on it that we must all suffer, but I do think her books lend themselves well to chatting with friends or discussing in groups. There are plenty of fun elements that you can think about more deeply or consider how you yourself would react to.
It’s also not bad for reading slowly and in sections, if need be; the story changes POVs frequently and that gives you easy points to enter and exit. I do urge people to push through to at least halfway before giving up on it. I struggled in the beginning but the action-packed second-half more than redeemed any slow moments!
Content/trigger warnings were not included in my version, here’s what I noticed:
Sexual assault (on page and off), physical assault (punching), emotional abuse/gaslighting, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, psilocybin/mushrooms use and abuse (non-consensual and graphic), death (on page and graphic), attempted suicide (off page), blood (descriptive), animal sacrifice (farm animal, off page), familial abandonment, birds*
*Included because my mom is deathly afraid of birds thanks to The Birds movie, and this book would freak her out. So if anyone else has the same issue, this is not your book.
Setting: If you are like me and want to read a mystery/thriller in the same setting as the book, you’ll want some combination of: luxury resort, an old world forest, or a cliffside over a beach. Enjoy!
My thoughts: The first 40% was very slow and hard to engage with. There are a lot of characters, though they’re very interesting, and a lot of information/backstory is very obviously being withheld from the reader. The story elements are intriguing, though, and the setting and ambiance and approaching tension and escalation are very well-crafted. The surprisingly disparate characters also bring a lot of “how is this person possibly connected?” small thoughts to the reader.
Foley is a master at nailing the execution, though. Everything escalates so smoothly, so inexorable, so alarmingly high and tensely. All of the secrets are revealed, one by one, and complete a wonderfully detailed, intricately woven plot. The ending is so satisfying on so many levels, not the least of which is from a craft perspective.
I had so much fun reading this!
Recommended for: I think this book has broad appeal, honestly. It’s more on the thriller side than the mystery—a lot of the secrets unwind quite naturally, rather than any one character trying to solve something within the world itself. There’s also nothing alarming or problematic that I would recommend anyone stay away from the book either.
I realize that one of Foley’s previous books has a big, ugly “Reese’s Book Club” sticker on it that we must all suffer, but I do think her books lend themselves well to chatting with friends or discussing in groups. There are plenty of fun elements that you can think about more deeply or consider how you yourself would react to.
It’s also not bad for reading slowly and in sections, if need be; the story changes POVs frequently and that gives you easy points to enter and exit. I do urge people to push through to at least halfway before giving up on it. I struggled in the beginning but the action-packed second-half more than redeemed any slow moments!
Content/trigger warnings were not included in my version, here’s what I noticed:
Sexual assault (on page and off), physical assault (punching), emotional abuse/gaslighting, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, psilocybin/mushrooms use and abuse (non-consensual and graphic), death (on page and graphic), attempted suicide (off page), blood (descriptive), animal sacrifice (farm animal, off page), familial abandonment, birds*
*Included because my mom is deathly afraid of birds thanks to The Birds movie, and this book would freak her out. So if anyone else has the same issue, this is not your book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Death, and Drug use
Moderate: Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Animal death, Abandonment, and Suicide attempt
booksbytheglass's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
ok listen I really wasn’t feeling this premise even before I picked it up - and that’s saying something because lucy foley is the queen of locked door remote location thrillers!! and the atmosphere of this one (a hotel in the middle of the woods) was perfect!
except, the characters were not it 🥴🥴 I never felt so annoyed and disconnected as I did with these folks!! it was set up to be a mean girl revenge story as bella returns to her childhood best friend, francesca’s new hotel to confront her about the past - but bella had absolutely no plan, was constantly derailed by flirting with a 19 year old for no reason, and spends more time reading her old diary than having the gumption to just talk to francesca?? it all felt very unnecessary
the side characters of eddie and francesca’s husband, owen, were also very unnecessary. they could have been introduced through the POVs of the ladies without having chapters of them moaning about “poor me” and “if I done things differently” 😐
this entire book would be completely null and void if bella and francesca had one conversation 😬
what I did enjoy was the secrecy of “the birds” (caw caw motherfuckers!!) in what was a clear misrepresentation of alfred hitchcock’s the birds… BUT! it added a spooky element that kept me from DNFing the book 😅
overall, I still will read anything lucy foley writes but this was a yikes miss from me. thank you to netgalley and william morrow for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
rating: 2 stars
wine pairing: chile chardonnay
except, the characters were not it 🥴🥴 I never felt so annoyed and disconnected as I did with these folks!! it was set up to be a mean girl revenge story as bella returns to her childhood best friend, francesca’s new hotel to confront her about the past - but bella had absolutely no plan, was constantly derailed by flirting with a 19 year old for no reason, and spends more time reading her old diary than having the gumption to just talk to francesca?? it all felt very unnecessary
the side characters of eddie and francesca’s husband, owen, were also very unnecessary. they could have been introduced through the POVs of the ladies without having chapters of them moaning about “poor me” and “if I done things differently” 😐
this entire book would be completely null and void if bella and francesca had one conversation 😬
what I did enjoy was the secrecy of “the birds” (caw caw motherfuckers!!) in what was a clear misrepresentation of alfred hitchcock’s the birds… BUT! it added a spooky element that kept me from DNFing the book 😅
overall, I still will read anything lucy foley writes but this was a yikes miss from me. thank you to netgalley and william morrow for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
rating: 2 stars
wine pairing: chile chardonnay
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual assault
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