Book Review: Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

Book Summary

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible — a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.

My Review

Admittedly, this book likely suffered from being overhyped, but I still felt a bit let down by it. At the 70% mark, I was still waiting for it to get “thrilling” or exciting. The pace felt slower than I expected. Thankfully, the cast of characters was interesting, and the setting was enchanting. I just expected it to be more…well, more.

Characters 3.75⭐

It’s been a few weeks since I finished this, and the only characters I remember are the main ex-couple (Abby & Grady). I remember a few others and their roles, but I can’t honestly think of too many other names, which tells me I may have rated this higher than it deserved…

Setting 4.5⭐

Atmospheric Scotland. Enough said.

Plot 4.25⭐

This is one of the areas I know in my heart I rated higher than I should have. The plot was interesting, but that was mainly due to the things we learn in the last twenty percent of the book. Yes, I was curious throughout what had happened to Abby, but there really wasn’t much to this story until the end.

Writing 3.5⭐

Better than average, but nothing stood out as exceptional.

Enjoyment 3⭐

I spent most of my time reading wondering when the “exciting” or “thrilling” parts were going to happen. The atmosphere was amazing–because Scotland–but I was considerably underwhelmed.