There was just something about this book that wasn't for me. Good plot, good characters and good twist. But I found some of the storyline a bit much.

I enjoyed this book. It reminds me quite a bit of The Guest List, one of Lucy Foley’s previous books. It also reminds me of the television adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s book Nine Perfect Strangers(I have not read the book!).

I thought the pacing was a good, medium pace. A lot of context was given, which was very important to the story. This story is told from multiple POVs on different timelines and I still found it to be pretty easy to follow. Also, a pet peeve of mine is when a story is told using journal entries and they read like a novel rather than someone’s actual thoughts, and the journal entries in this book were very believable journal entries written by a teenage girl.

There were a lot of characters and a lot of subplots and I think it could have been edited down a bit. It was still easy enough to follow, but I feel like some of these subplots didn’t get their loose ends tied up and they might as well have just been edited out of the book entirely. I also would have liked more clarification on what exactly was going on during the current day Midnight Feast. It felt a little glossed over and since the book is named after the event, it deserved a little more elaboration.

Overall, I liked this book. And if you like Lucy Foley’s other books, and/or you like whodunnits in atmospheric settings, this one is for you!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to read this advance copy!

Blurb: Midsummer, the Dorset coast
In the shadows of an ancient wood, guests gather for the opening weekend of The Manor: a beautiful new countryside retreat.
But under the burning midsummer sun, darkness stirs. Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests. And the candles have barely been lit for a solstice supper when the body is found.
It all began with a secret, fifteen years ago. Now the past has crashed the party. And it’ll end in murder at…
THE MIDNIGHT FEAST

I love a good thriller and The Midnight Feast has it all- suspense, tension, crazy protagonists, folklore and a spooky vibe. Having read so many thrillers, it’s hard to find one that is original in terms of the storyline but Foley delivers just that in this book.

Told from several points of view and different timelines, Foley creates a fast-paced story with the most dysfunctional cast of characters I’ve come across in a while. Frankie/Francesca is one crazy lady and reminded me of Nicole Kidman’s Masha from the Nine Perfect Strangers series.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the arc. 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm afraidI DNFd this book at around 30%, too much flipping between characters which I struggled with.
I found it a real struggle. However, thank you to Net Galley for giving me the chance to read an advanced copy

This book is a suspenseful thriller that dives into the story of The Manor and the problem between the locals and the new rich people. With its multiple POVs and dual timelines, we’re confronted with an old murder from the past timeline that leads to a new one in the present timeline.

I have to admit, at first I was slightly confused and wasn’t sure what was happening but once it started the make sense I absolutely loved this book. Lucy writing is so descriptive that it’s easy to get immersed into the creepy settings of The Manor and the woods and their folklore.

I appreciated the end, how the past and the present were tied and how the plot unfolded and it all made sense at once.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for a digital ARC copy.

#TheMidnightFeast #NetGalley

I was really excited to read this book by Lucy Foley. I’ve read all her books and they don’t disappoint.

I enjoyed the story but did find it a little bit slow. I didn’t feel much suspense and it wasn’t one of those books I “didn’t want to put down”.

It was well written, I liked the characters and how it went back in time to the past and how it all came together in the end.

However compared to her other books, it lacked a bit of excitement for me.

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
⭐⭐⭐⭐⚡4.5/5

⚠️Pub date : 6th June 2024

💥 KABOOM!🧨🧨🎇🎇🎆... This book was like a big ass box of firecrackers!!!! 💥💥...
So much entertainment in one story! Spooky, twisted and shocking! An absolutely brilliant ride!

Essentially this is a time hopping story of revenge, featuring a plethora of main characters all who have buried secrets just waiting to be exposed.

I love a good thriller and this was refreshingly different to any others I've read recently. Including suspenseful and impossible to guess outcomes and reveals, this was a tale far-fetched enough to highly entertain without bordering on the ridiculous.

Go on, grab a copy and dive in....I dare you!

I really enjoy Lucy Foley’s work and this latest book doesn’t disappoint.
With a sense of foreboding pervading the narrative, the story unravels through the points of view of several characters and different timelines all centring around events which occur at an old Manor House in Tome, Dorset. Frankie / Francesca really isn’t a nice person, full of a sense of entitlement and manipulating those around her. You know that something really dark lies behind the facade but what? Then gradually you start to feel that the surrounding cast are all somehow connected more than you think. Full of folklore, mystery and dark sinister elements this book had me turning the pages with my heart beating fast. Some elements I worked out and others took me by surprise. Overall , a great murder mystery!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Harper Collins UK for an arc in exchange for a review.

I enjoyed this book I liked how all the characters were linked and the way the diary linked them all and how in the end the true identity of the birds was revealed

Lucy Foley's book The Paris Apartment is one of my favourite reads of recent years so when the opportunity to read The Midnight Feast came up, I was quick off the blocks to accept the invitation.
Written from various points of view, and in dual timelines, it could quite easily have become a muddled mess of a book, but kudos to Lucy Foley everything stays neatly in its lane and at no point did I feel confused. Once again Lucy manages to make the location very much a character in itself, with the atmosphere of the new wellness centre seeming to carry the weight of earlier events into its new persona despite every effort to 'detox' it with mindfulness and positive thinking.
Everyone seems to be harbouring a secret or two as the opening evening draws near - whether it's who they are or why they are there remains hidden amongst the shadows. With the local myths about The Birds adding to the background spookiness that surrounds the story, I found this to be another very cleverly structured novel which kept me looking for answers from start to finish.

A truly gripping read that I enjoyed start to finish. Told in true Lucy Foley style - a locked room, whodunnit.
Francesca Meadows is setting up a new boutique hotel in Tome, Dorset. It is the opening weekend with the main event of ‘The Midnight Feast’. Her husband, Owen Dacre, helped design the place. Bella is there to expose the past and Eddie is a local, whose brother went missing fifteen years ago, is now working at the hotel.
The book is told through multiple POV and different timelines. The first part of the book has a slower pace as you get to know more about the characters and their background. A body has been discovered in the water but you spend most of the book wondering who and the list of suspects makes this book difficult to predict. Lucy Foley has helped weave the different perspectives together into a tale of suspense and intrigue, infused with small town communities and folklore.
Thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins for the chance to read this fantastic book.

I was really excited for this book, as I usually love Lucy Foley's books and the worlds she creates but this one didn't do it for me unfortunately. The thing is, I think the actual plot and the twists were really clever and felt really refreshing but it was the execution of the narrative that I felt let the rest of the book down.

I loved the distinct POVs, I felt like Owen & Francesca were polar opposites and Eddie's individual character came through very distinctively in the book. I always enjoy how Lucy finds interesting ways for these characters to meet and interact beyond being in relationships. Saying that, it would've been nicer if we heard a bit more about Delilah and Eddie's backstory and maybe even had Delilah's POV as she seemed like such an interesting character from Eddie's POV that it felt a little like an undeveloped diamond in my opinion.

I think the main form of confusion for me was structural. The time jumps felt a bit confusing and especially the jumps to the future with the police investigation felt really out of place. The POVs after the time jumps also were even more confusing - at one point it jumped from the police investigation to Owen's POV and I really didn't understand the link there. It was only at the end, that the jump to the police investigation felt relevant, but even then it didn't feel like a good enough payoff for me being confused for 80% of the book up to that point.

All in all, I would've definitely rated this book higher if there was a more straight forward structure of '10 years ago' and then present day without the jump cuts to the future police investigation and also if there was a bit more action. It felt like certain scenes that could've been very suspenseful were over and revolved very quickly so it would've been nice to see them fleshed out a bit more.

Entertaining but not as strong as her previous books. I felt that there were too many POV's and at times it started to drag a bit.

Thank you HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This was my first novel by Lucy Score that I have fully read, after starting The Hunting Party last year and DNF’ing, I really enjoyed The Midnight Feast. It quite literally felt like I couldn’t trust anyone, and if you’re a good thriller author, you have exactly those characters in your novel!

I gave this book 3.75 stars, as the start was a little bit tricky to follow; and the multiple POVs came into effect. It also took until over 50% for things to pick up a bit and was slightly weird to follow.

I’m a sucker for things getting a bit weird and whacky, so I enjoyed the introduction of ‘The Birds’ and the whole mysteries in the town of Tome. I really liked Eddie, and following Bella was super interesting too but my GOODNESS Frankie was a weirdo from the get go!

I think if you like the twisty turns and plot twists in a thriller and are a fan of Lisa Jewell, you’ll be a fan of this one too.

Well, this book took me round the houses and back again as I eventually gave up trying to second guess what was going on and just sat back and allowed the book to take me.
We start with the opening of "The Manor" a very posh new resort with no expense spared, the creation of Francesca Woodland, and the height of luxury. Designed to be an "escape" for the extremely privileged, with woodland and seaside huts. The majority which have been finished. A kind of wellness retreat.
Obviously, the locals are up in arms against the endeavour and there have been ructions between staff and locals. Throw in some mysterious folklore regarding the woods and the Night Birds and you have the starting of what will soon become a tragedy...
As we follow the events of the present, the run up to the first main event of the opening weekend, a "Midnight Feast" held on the solstice, we also go way back to when Francesca was a youth and what happened between her and some of the locals, the same locals who are pretty against what she is up to in the present. And then we also fast forward to the day after the event, after the fire, when the body is found...
And that's all I am saying as it all gets a bit convoluted and interconnects as masks start to come off, true identities are revealed and secrets come out.
Ooo I absolutely loved this book. I do love a healthy dollop of dysfunctional behaviour and definitely got more than my fair share of that herein. And with three timelines and a pretty big cast list, with some pretty clever obfuscation around who is who from each timeline, the author definitely kept me on my toes throughout. But, that said, I did guess a few connections and did a wee celebration when I got one right. She also delivered a few jaw-drop moments with some of the reveals that I never saw coming. All cleverly done and without giving me the feeling of being duped. The pace escalates as the end of the book neared and I had to rein myself in a bit as shock after twist were revealed, culminating in an ending which I found to be wholly satisfying.
So yeah, another winner from another favourite author whose back catalogue I can also heartily recommend. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

'here among the trees, hidden from the moonlight and starlight, it is as if the modern world is the fairytale: other and strange'

It's summer solstice in Tome, Dorset - perfect timing for Francesca to open her new luxury wellness hotel. The place is sold out, the welcome weekend has been planned to perfection and Francesca is feeling very zen. But, as different POVs are heard, and their reasons for being at The Manor are revealed, the veneer of opulent tranquility begins to crack and peel; chapter by chapter, person by person, 'When you open up the past like this, it can have repercussions you never imagined'. Add together the rising tide of animosity flooding from the surrounding locals, unhappy with being cut off from the ancient forests and access to the beach and the hottest summer weekend on record, truly becomes scorching.

This is my first Lucy Foley book and I readily enjoyed the rapid pace of tension and complexity building. Using multiple points of view, journal entries, and pre-event as well as post-event timelines, keeps the reading a pacy, page-turner. I did slightly grumble at the way the ending wrapped up, but with so many threads to cast off, it's hardly surprising. Part mystery, part thriller with horror and folklore elements, this book is bound to keep most readers entertained.

'I always did love sneaking out at midnight as a youth. There's something so alive about this hour: magical and elemental. As though anything could happen'.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK Harper Fiction and Netgalley for arc of The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley.

Once again Lucy doesn't fail to impress it is remarkable! And I could not put this down I read this so quickly and got me hooked right in highly recommend to all to read if you read Lucy's other books then I'm sure you'll love this as I did!!

5 stars!! (If I could give more than 5 I would!!)

I’m so disappointed in this book and it’s such a shame. This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I ADORE Lucy Foley but this for me was the weakest of her books so far. The plot was extremely boring and felt so flat for me. I wasn’t interested in the characters or invested in the plot, it was very one dimensional. It only started to pick up and get better towards the end, it was such a drag to get through. I would have DNFd this if I wasn’t reviewing it, such a shame :(

The Midnight Feast is the second novel I’ve read from author Lucy Foley, and I can firmly and confidently say that an area Foley excels in is giving me the creeps. Foley plays on the supernatural and the paranormal, however all deeds have a human explanation and presence behind them (although sometimes I do wonder…).

Let me tell you — I already had a wary distrust of birds before this (sorry birds) and this just heightened it for me even more so. Next time I sense those beady little eyes on me I will be thinking of this book.

I really liked how the past and present played off of each other in this, with the diary entries portalling us back in time to when our protagonists were younger and enjoying (to varying degrees) the summer season. I liked how this began to set up and weave with the plot in the present. However, I do feel like this was very slow paced and really drew out the tension and the suspense to the point that when it came to revealing what happened that summer and how it is intersecting with the present it was a bit of a let down.

I, like other reviewers, take umbrage with the different perspectives. I didn’t really think that the characters stood out from each other that much, and I never felt really connected or invested in any of them. While I was curious to know where it was all going, the plot barely revealed itself before it was time to conclude, and I did not feel there was much afterwards. There just felt like there was a lot of lead up, creepy vibes, a dramatic reckoning, and that was that.

I gave this three stars because I thought there was some decent writing, in particular when it come to settting up the atmosphere of the novel. However, I think the plot could have been better paced and more could have been done in terms of characterisation and making their individual perspective chapter more distinctive.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | HarperCollins for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely devoured this book. It's so readable & kept me gripped.
It's true Lucy Foley style, a good who dunnit, with lots of twists and turns.
The unmasking at the end made me laugh, but I also felt a bit sorry for young Eddie. Caught up in all of the chaos.
A good mix of weirdness, mystery & horrible people! Oh and birds. I loved the local tales and how each of the local people were involved in some way. Definitely a recommended read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.