Fell flat
Lucy Foley is a little bit of a hit and miss author for me, which I know is an unpopular opinion! I loved The Guest List (although speaking to someone who had read The Hunting Party, it sounded pretty similar), but The Paris Apartment only got 2 stars from me. I was excited to try The Midnight Feast to see if it could remind me of the reasons for her hype.
Unfortunately, reading back on my critique of The Paris Apartment, I can see the same points to be mentioned in this review. Firstly, I didn't feel like I engaged much in The Midnight Feast, I found it difficult to have the impetus to pick it up to keep reading. It didn't really grab me, and I didn't feel invested in the storyline. Part of the issue I think are the characters, the chapters alternate between 4 points of view, as well as flashback sequences and skipping forward with the Police Team at the Crime scene. However, they are all written so similarly I had to remind myself whose point of view we were in throughout each chapter. I also found that I didn't really empathise with any of them either which led to my lack of engagement. The police scene chapters were good to drip feed us information about the crime that was about to happen, but I found myself a bit frustrated with them as they took me out of the immersion. I didn't see the point in learning a lot about each of the police characters and their backstories when the main storyline was happening in the past.
The story should have been interesting - a fancy hotel's opening weekend is plagued by angry locals who believe that they are building on their land and knocking down their trees. However, it all felt a little surface level, and quite frankly, I felt like I'd read very similar stories before - nothing felt very original.
Overall, The Midnight Feast fell a little flat to me - with an unoriginal storyline and too similar characters leading to a lack of engagement in the plot. Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins UK - Harper Fiction for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
