A review by vereadsbooks
Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

dark mysterious medium-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

3.0

 Beautiful Ugly reminded me so much of Rock, Paper, Scissors by the same author. It seems she loves to write about messy and rotting marriages.

Grady calls his wife to celebrate his achievement of becoming a New York Times bestseller. But the best day of his life turns into a nightmare when his wife mysteriously disappears. A year later, Grady is in ruin. He can't sleep, and he is struggling to write. So, when his agent offers a writing retreat to an island in Scotland, Grady accepts. During this trip, Grady sees something impossible - a woman who looks exactly like his wife.

The story is told mainly through Grady, with a few chapters presenting Abby's perspective before her disappearance. Grady is unlikable, overly whiny, and manipulative. He's not a complex character but rather a simple one. Abby is a blank canvas that we fill in based on what Grady tells us. While we get to know Abby with certainty near the end, she's a flat character who, even at her best, doesn't make much of an impression.

As I said before, the book reminds me of the other book by this author. A seemingly perfect married couple with secrets and a desperate need for therapy. The atmosphere of the island is the highlight of the book. It adds a halo of mystery, ominousness, and creepiness to the story. 

The book is entertaining, but too slow. The ambiance was really good, but something plot-wise wasn't clicking. The plot gives a false sense of progress, but nothing substantial happens until the end. Something similar happened when I read her previous book.

In Feeney's books, the plot twists can be predictable, surprising, or even outrageous. While some of these twists were predictable, others caught me off guard. However, Feeney's endings tend to leave me with a bitter taste, and Beautiful Ugly was no exception. 
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