I love the latest novel by Alice Feeney, she has a particularly engaging writing style which grips you from the very start. As with all her books, this is a twisty thriller which leaves you wanting more with every page you turn.

And as is now typical, all is definitely not what it seems with this one. I don’t want to give any of the plot away so won’t say too much other than the story centres around a troubled screenwriter and his wife who go away for a weekend at a remote Scottish cottage (a converted chapel) to try to heal their marriage. But are they really alone?

Heart thumping read! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

@currentlyreading__
Book 43 of 2021

Thank you to @NetGalley, @hqstories and the writer @alicewriterland for such an amazing ARC of 'Rock Paper Scissors' to be released August 19th. I actually can't believe I have not read anything else by the author which will be rectified very soon. News of this being adapted for a Netflix series has me totally excited too. It was such an original premise for a story and with twist after twist I was left reeling! I got 82% into the book when things drastically changed and with my new knowledge I wanted to start again to read with fresh eyes but, with around 5% remaining there was another twist! Wow!

Set in a remote Scottish location in the Highlands, we follow the tale of Mr and Mrs Wright, following the advice of their marriage counsellor and taking some time to re-connect after winning a luxury stay at a converted chapel. Adam Wright, screenwriter, is a workaholic and all his wife Amelia wants is his undivided attention and surely, with hardly anyone else around, they can be totally focused on each other. The book made me feel cold, tense and totally invested in their characters. The atmospheric snow, howling wind and the chapel regularly plunging into darkness is all the pathetic fallacy us English teachers need and love!

I loved the structure of the book which was interspersed with Mrs Wright's letters to her husband. Following the inclusion of the word of the year, from limerence to schadenfreude and the exchanging of traditional wedding anniversary gifts from paper, tin and pottery, this enables Feeney to delve into the past to help us see how this couple got to where they are now. But all isn't as it seems...

Another pre-order for you and this is one you will be bowled over with. 🪨 📄 ✂️


#bookstagram #bibliophile #bookworm #book #booknerd #bookstagrammer #kindle #instabook #reader #bookobsessed #instareads #currentlyreading #bookchat #bookish #augustreading #books #readersofinstagram #books #netgalley #rockpaperscissors #alicefeeney

I really liked this book but it took a while to get into it. It seemed to drag out quite a bit but it soon ramped up and I loved the twisty turns and the ending. Recommended #RockPaperScissors #NetGalley

I almost DNF-ed this at about 20%, I found it confusing and slooowwww but what a mistake that would have been.

I suddenly got super into it, definitely got into the authors style of writing and realised that she had been purposely confusing and leaving the readers little breadcrumbs to follow from the first chapter. GEEENIUSSSSS.

Its a very claustrophobic thriller and I did not see any of the twists coming. The last 50% of the book was such a rollercoaster and thrill to read, I'd go as far as saying its a masterpiece.

I struggled to get into this story at the start but about half way through the tension suddenly grabbed me and then I raced through the second half. It was a really creepy setting and I was glad to be reading it during the daytime in company as there was a really jump out of your seat element to it. In most instances though the author didn’t seem to follow up on what could have been really scary moments and diffused the tension too easily. Really enjoyed the ending though. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a preview copy of this book. I would recommend it.

Rock Paper Scissors is an incredibly atmospheric and chilling thriller. Amelia and Adam have won a stay in a remote Scottish converted chapel and are using the opportunity to address issues in their marriage. The chapters are told from the point of view of Adam and Amelia and a series of letters written to Adam to mark each wedding anniversary. It quickly becomes apparent that the couple are keeping a lot of secrets from each other, and that the chapel isn’t as a desirable place to stay as it originally seemed….
I raced through this book, there were proper jump scares in places and the twist completely upends what you thought you were reading, very, very clever.
I’m not surprised it is being adapted for TV and I look forward to that, and other novels from Alice Feeney.
Thank you to #netgalley and #HQstories for allowing me to review this ARC

I have read a couple of Alice Feeney’s books before and enjoyed them but fir me Rock Paper Scissors was on another level. It’s full of intrigue and mystery from the start. Adam and Amelia Wright are travelling to a remote place in Scotland. Adam is a self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter who also suffers from face blindness. He can’t even recognise his own wife but every year on their anniversary she writes him a letter, though she’ll never let him read them. Until now. This weekend will make or beak their marriage but it seems they didn’t randomly win this trip. One of them is lying and this will be a weekend they will never forget.

I could not put this book down and devoured each chapter eager to read in an discover how the plot unfolded. It’s a gripping thriller of a book that I can highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author for the chance to review.

This was a really quick, easy to read and highly entertaining thriller.

This is probably my favourite Alice Feeney book I've read so far.

I really enjoyed this book. It was really fast paced, I read it nearly all in one day.

I loved the setting. It's set in the Highlands of Scotland. I loved the claustrophobic and atmosphere nature of the Chapel they stayed in and the dark and gloomy weather.

I also loved the fact that these book included a character with face blindness. It definitely makes this thriller unique and stand out amongst the rest.

I did not see the ending coming. There was a big shocking twist, which I loved.

This is one of the most entertaining thrillers I've read in a long time. Highly recommend, if you love a quick but well written shocking psychological thriller.

TW: miscarriage, infertility, death, murder and violence

ck Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney is a gripping contemporary psychological thriller that captured my imagination from the start.
The snowy, cold setting in a converted chapel in Scotland mirrors the tone of the novel. It is told from alternating points of view as the reader tries to work out who is the silent figure who is coming and going.
Everyone has dreams but sometimes our dreams can morph into nightmares.
The reader becomes absorbed in the action. All is not quite as clear cut as we first believe. Alice Feeney manipulates the reader’s emotional responses. There were times when my jaw literally dropped. As a pet lover I also had an emotional connection to the dog who has unconditional love for his owners. “Dogs don’t hold grudges or know how to hate.”
Our words are powerful. We can build up or destroy by merely using our tongues. “Words don’t come with gift receipts and you can’t take them back.” We should use our words wisely.
Rock Paper Scissors was a unique, mesmerising and at times, creepy read. Definitely not one to be read in isolation! I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I received a free copy from Harper Collins via Net Galley. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

What a great thriller Rock, paper scissors is. I didn’t want to put it down, it was atmospheric & creepy & being set in a bleak & remote chapel in Scotland really helped deliver the isolation that husband & wife Adam & Amelia feel when their make or break weekend away starts going very wrong. I won’t give anything away but definitely worth a read.

Such a gripping read. Kept me on the edge of my seat and reading late into the night. A hugely entertaining thriller!!!

A real treat of a book! More than a touch of gothic horror, hidden secrets leading to very satisfying twists and a big black labrador - what's not to like? Ms Feeney just keeps getting better and I can't wait for her next one.
Thank you to netgalley and HQ books for an advance copy of this book

This kept me entertained.

We follow Adam and Amelia during their weekend away. This is a last desperate attempt to save their wedding. But clearly, something else is going on. Their accommodation is as remote and as spooky as it gets. Their versions of the same story differ so much one has to ask what will happen.

And I kept guessing until the very last moment. At the moment of the big revelation, I had to go back a page or two to see if I had mis-read anything. It took me a few seconds to understand what was going on. But in the end, it was what one wants from a book finale: unexpected yet unavoidable.

The pace is good and it never bored me. I got annoyed a few times when, on multiple occasions, I had to face a shock which then turned out to be something silly. I am looking at you, sheep.

The narrative is simple and clear. It reminded me of Gone Girl a little, although the style is much simpler.

What I did not like was the passive nature of Adam, who, despite all the talk and planning, in the end just went along with whatever happened to him. Plus, there are some things I didn’t quite get (or simply they were not explained), like: how did Adam know about the squeaky steps?

Overall, a good, short and entertaining book. Not one I would definitely recommend, but it works as a good beach read.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion***

I usually love this author’s books but this one left me underwhelmed. The premise sounded good but it was a slow burner and a little far fetched. It took me longer than usual to get to the end as it did not pick up pace until the last third of the novel.
Just ok so was disappointed with it. Would definitely read her next novel though . Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Woahhhh this was a mind bending read with a plot line that was so clever and inventive I defy anyone to guess just what was going on it was amazing. Alice Feeney just grips you from the start of the book and with completely unreliable narrators spins your head in a dizzying display of brilliance and the twists just kept coming!
I didn’t read the overview for the book I just saw the name Alice Feeney and knew it was a book I had to request and was thrilled when I was approved. Well I knew it was going to be a good read but hell it was much more than that and having no clue as to what the book was about made it even better.
So the book has everything a creepy and remote chapel for the setting, strange happenings, a snow storm and no power it really makes for a menacing start to the read and there is so much more to come !
Beautifully written keeping me guessing till the end I loved it, highly recommended and one not to be missed.
My thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow not only did this book really mess with my head but the twist in this story really got me and usually I can work them out so this is a good book. I thought this was an exciting thriller of a read about a marriage in crisis and a make or break weekend away to Scotland for a screenwriter and his wife. There secluded location for their weekend away ends up being anything but the romantic retreat they thought it would be. Loved it!!

Absolutely loved it. Devoured it in 2 sittings.
Adam and Amelia head to Scotland for a make or break weekend away that she won in a raffle at work.
Told from the point of view from Adam who is a screenwriter and suffers from face blindness and Amelia who works at Battersea dogs home the weekend.
It's bitterly cold and snowing when they arrive. The Chapel sounds really creepy and there are strange goings on.
This is a real page turner, I enjoyed reading each of there thoughts about the other.
That twist, brilliant. As the pieces slot together it all starts to make sense. And then another twist right at the end.
This is the first time I've read anything by this author and it won't be the last.
Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for the ARC in return for an honest review.

The first thing that drew me to this book was the title. ‘Rock, paper, scissors’ … I automatically knew this would be a book about choices, decisions and luck.

I absolutely loved how the story was told through the two main characters in present day and past letters (on the couples anniversary) from the wife’s perspective. I really liked the history from the letters and the present story from the couples weekend break. It tied in nicely together.

It was a really tense, fast paced story and the twist was amazing! It was one I didn’t see coming at all. When it was revealed I was genuinely shocked.

Thank you NetGalley and HQ for the opportunity to read this.

Amelia and husband Adam drive through a raging snowstorm to a weekend stay at a converted chapel at Blackwater Loch in the Scottish Highlands in an attempt to rescue their failing marriage. Amelia won the stay through a raffle at work, but all is not as it seems......

This is one creepy and eerie psychological/domestic thriller that will have you guessing for most of the book, despite the clues that are scattered through out it. It is well written with well drawn characters and I defy anyone to guess what is happening before the twist.

Highly recommended!

The news that this is to be a Netflix series from the producer of The Crown is pleasing because this is a cracker of a novel. Not everything is as you think in this twisty thriller from an author whose work I have adored for years. Adam and Amelia are spending their weekend in the Scottish Highlands. The remote location is meant to be romantic, away from prying eyes – and perfect for what’s been planned. But away from the rest of the world, and having to confront some unexpected truths, Adam and Amelia begin to wonder whether they can really trust the other. This is definitely going to be an unforgettable anniversary… It is a clever, cunning read and one where you expect a twist, but when it comes, it’s so perfect and wonderful that you want to tell everyone. But you won’t because you want another reader to feel the same. Brilliantly gripping. Guaranteed to make you look at your partner differently…