Oh wow!! What a twist! Didn’t expect that!

I loved this book. I thought the structure was very clever. The characters felt real and had so much depth and I really enjoyed the multiple viewpoints/narrators.

Very clever, creepy, gripping, compulsive and complicated page-Turner.
Definitely recommend.
Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my arc.

Amelia and Adam go to stay in a remote converted chapel in Scotland which Amelia won in a raffle. Their marriage is in trouble but Amelia thinks that maybe the break will help them work out a way to move forward.
But all is not as it seems. Strange things start to happen. And who is living in the rundown cottage nearby?
An unusual story, full of twists and turns. Amelia and Adam are not particularly likeable and I found myself not really caring about either of them. This made the book hard going, especially in the middle.

Very easy to get straight into. Once I started I couldn’t put it down. Twists and turns aplenty. Highly recommended

Thank you to @alicewriterland and @HQstories for this advanced copy of Rock Paper Scissors in return for an honest review. Rock Paper Scissors was published on 19th August 2021 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

Mr and Mrs Wright have had problems in their marriage for quite some time. Adam and Amelia win a secluded weekend getaway in a raffle and conclude that it could be just the thing to save their marriage.

Every anniversary the couple exchange gifts in-keeping with the traditional themes of paper, cotton, pottery etc and every year, Mrs Wright pens a letter to her husband that she doesn’t let him read. Until the trip to Scotland. It was always known that this trip could save Adam and Amelia’s marriage, except one of them is a liar and someone else doesn’t want their marriage to be saved.

General Thoughts 🤔

There were parts of this book that genuinely had me petrified. The eeriness and creepiness of the chapel that Adam and Amelia were staying in was captured brilliantly by the author. I always listen to music via my headphones whilst I read and there was more than one occasion I had to slip them off as I thought I heard someone creeping around my own cottage.

The twist in this book is so clever. I had a few different theories and none of them were right. There were some clues along the way that I sensed were going to be important, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. Once it became clear what was going on, everything slot into place. Except there was another twist following it that took me by complete surprise again. The surprises in this book really were the gift that kept on giving.

Characters 👬👭👫

I started the book with negative feelings towards Adam. He seemed very selfish, self absorbed and I felt sorry for Amelia having to be second fiddle to his career. However my opinion of him changed and morphed throughout the book. When I had had chance to think about it, I started to really empathise with his condition (face blindness; he couldn’t recognise even his own face) and I found it hard to imagine what that must be like to live with.

Although I felt those things about Adam from the beginning, I didn’t take very well to Amelia either. I thought that she was demanding and unreasonable. She came across as devious and I instantly thought that it had to be her that was telling lies and keeping secrets within their marriage. I’m not confirming that she was or she wasn’t, but I was certainly in for a surprise.

Writing Style ✍️

My favourite thing about this book was the way in which it was structured. The chapters were written from the perspective of Adam, Amelia or Robin with the anniversary letters sprinkled in between. The mix of perspectives and jumping between timelines kept me highly engaged and worked really well to perfectly pace the story.

I would love to know how the author came up with this plot and the idea of how to tell it. I also wonder which came first, if any. I loved the sprinkling of horror that was added on top to give us readers all of the spine tingles.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

I was hooked on this book as soon as I started reading it. I devoured every page and I’d love to be able to do it again without having already read it. It was tense and chilling and at moments jaw dropping. I definitely recommend this book, especially now that the nights are drawing in and it’s getting colder.

Rock, Paper, Scissors is Alice Feeney doing what she does best which is leasing you down a garden path that’s so long and twisty you don’t know where you are.
Mr and Mrs Wright are the main characters in this new book, Amelia is lucky to have won a weekend away at a rundown chapel in the Scottish Highlands. Amelia and Adam arrive and it is clear that this marriage is in trouble. The couple are together and at that moment I don’t think either of them know why.
I’m not going into any storyline as it will spoil it for you, all I can say is the plot is fantastic, I wasn’t sure about there really only being three characters, four if you count the dog but I was wrong it works well and I think now I’ve finished it anymore characters would have spoilt it. I liked how the book was set out so Amelia and Adam have their own chapters and then a letter in between about their year of marriage. A very cleverly written book.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Found this to be a little slow to start but once it got going I could not put it down !! Enjoyed the different POVs and was completely thrown by the turn around at the end the last few chapters blew my mind for a minute I thought I had read the whole Book wrong. Very cleverly done.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

Adam and Amelia are on a make-or-break weekend away in the Scottish Highlands, staying in a converted chapel in the middle of nowhere. No one is around for miles… This is the perfect weekend for them... Until their perfect, romantic weekend takes a dark turn, and they wonder if they can really trust each other...

Oh wow!! That was AMAZING!! THAT TWIST?!?! I had to re-read THAT particular section more than once to really take it in! Wow!! Read it! Read it now!

Told from a multi-person viewpoint, each character has so many different dimensions and holds secrets; I did not know who to trust. The fact Adam has facial blindness is an absolute genius idea, and leads to trouble!

Very clever, amazing twist! (As I said above!) Creepy, gripping, a little bit disturbing – you will not be able to put it down!

Alice Feeney is the queen of the unreliable narrator so I knew going into this it was going to be an absolute headwrecker deciding who to trust. I thought I was prepared, wow was I wrong!

The book starts off with the very clearly broken marriage of Adam and Amelia. From the very first page there's an overwhelming sense of unease and a creeping feeling that there is so much that is going to go wrong. Just who is it that is going to come out of this the victim or victor?

There are so many little intricacies that you see unfold and reveal themselves as you read on. It's brimming with little plot twists and a few smaller storylines converge towards the end for that a-ha moment.

Very little is as it seems in this very dark, creepy, whiplash inducing thriller.

I really loved this book. I thought it built up to a fantastic twist and was creepy and atmospheric. Quite a quick read which I devoured. Highly recommended.

Adam and Amelia win a weekend getaway in an old converted chapel in the Highlands. The trip coincides with their 10th wedding anniversary, and they both hope the time spent together will determine if they can still save their marriage.
They certainly don't expect that they might not survive it.

I love Alice Feenley's books, so I was excited to be approved for this ARC. This book didn't disappoint; it gripped me from the first page and didn't let me go until the last. It was fast-paced, suspenseful, intriguing: everything one expects from a good thriller. The twist blew my mind.
Rock Paper Scissors takes a place amongst my favourite books of the year.

✨ One failing marriage
✨ One old *spooOooky* house
✨ One excellent twist

I dabble in psychological thrillers mainly because they freak me out but sometimes I just need a good one to grip me. And this my friends, is an excellent book.

Amelia and Adam's marriage is on the rocks. Tensions are high and they'll do whatever they can to try and salvage their relationship. SO they decide to do what every normal couple does and haul ass up to the Scottish Highlands for a 'romantic' weekend away in a cold and spooky house. Nothing brings hearts together quite like it.

Throughout you're peppered with a bunch of unset letters that give you a snippet into Amelia's true feelings for Adam. Whilst building up a solid foundation for their life together, you soon get a rough idea as to where this is going but let me tell you right now - the twist will get you 😘

What a cleverly written book. It drew me in from the start and just kept hold of me.
Very atmospheric, you just did not know who to trust or how it would end.. The twist was totally unexpected, I never saw that one coming, not even a hint unlike some other books I've read.
The pace never flagged and the continued twists kept me on my toes and mentally revisiting what had gone before.
An excellent engaging read, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Alice Feeney has done it again. - an intricate story which is spooky, tense and intriguing. The sort of book when I have finished it I want to start all over again to see if I can spot the reveal any sooner. The characters are well drawn and the writing full of atmosphere..
Adam and Amelia have won a free weekend in a raffle and the description of their experience, trying to save a rocky marriage, is interspersed with secret letters written each anniversary of the marriage admitting lies that have been told and how the marriage is progressing from the wife's point of view.
Very clever twist, yet again!
Many thanks to Netgalley/Alice Feeney/HQ for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

To be honest I neatly put this down as couldn't get in to it at first, so glad I didn't and then really struggled to put it down, a great story told really well, loved it

What a great book! I was so scared at times, but when the twist came, and I was shocked and wanted to read it all over again!
Such a great story about a married couple who have troubles with their relationship and secrets from each other.

I spent a long time in this book wondering what was going on. When I thought I knew, turns out I was wrong. Basically, don't trust this book. It twists and turns more times than a creeping vine! I really enjoyed wondering what would happen next, who would happen next and I especially liked the speed at which I could delve into the book.
We start with Amelia and Adam going to Scotland for a last chance get away to put their marriage back on track. Each chapter is written from a characters perspective and it becomes very clear that Amelia and Adam do not like each other very much. And so begins the feeling that they are trying to kill each other - or are they? Are they exactly who they seem? And why does this weekend raffle prize seem too good to be true?

This potentially could have been another run of the mill relationship thriller, except for two things. First, one of the protagonists, the husband, had a condition where he can't differentiate between peoples' faces. A whole book of possibilities there for a start. And second, the technique that throws all perceptions out of the window. Of course, this is one of the features of the book that makes it what it is...

A couple win a holiday in a remote Scottish converted chapel, which they use as a last-chance opportunity to try to save their failing marriage. There is so little trust or affection in this relationship there is the question of why they are even trying to save the marriage when it seems as if neither of them like each other. Displays of deceit and nastiness occur all the time, such as the wife taking the husband's phone out of the car and letting him think he's forgotten it.

The location is set to indicate isolation and gothic style creepiness, with creaking doors, no electricity and eyes at the window. Unfortunately for me, this is my idea of a perfect home. Stained glass windows, high ceilings, creaky doors and stairs, dusty library and basement crypt are some of my favourite things, but I can appreciate how this works to increase tension and atmosphere.

Throughout the novel the story is told from the perspective of the married couple in the first person, a woman who lives by the chapel and a series of letters from the wife at each of the wedding anniversaries. Initially I thought the letter idea was another form of flashback information dump and a little outdated strategy. However, this redeems itself as everything makes sense by the end of the story.

An easy to read book that flows well even if sometimes the imagination is a little too stretched in places. There is a touch of irony and humour, too, and the 'word of the year' parts are an absolute joy. A very enjoyable read.

It was okay. I did not feel the tension when the couple were staying isolated on their weekend getaway. The twist was good but I just didn't feel it.

Wow, where do I even begin? Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney is one of those books that’s almost impossible to review other than to say:

‘What are you waiting for? Go read it NOW!’

To say much more than that would do this book a disservice, as this is a story that needs to be read and experienced for yourself without knowing too much about it beforehand. So do yourself a favour, buy yourself a copy right now and start reading it today!

One of the few things I feel safe to tell you is that the story begins with Adam and Amelia going away for a romantic weekend in the remote Scottish Highlands. But when the romantic trip takes a dark turn the couple begin to wonder if there’s anyone they can trust. Anyone at all. Even each other…

I don’t know how she does it, but once again Alice Feeney has written a superbly plotted, dark and twisted story that keeps you guessing throughout. Her writing is sharp, her characterisation perfect and the plot is quite simply pure brilliance from beginning to end.

Rock Paper Scissors is so good I read the whole thing in one sitting, something that doesn’t happen very often these days. With twists, turns, shocks and surprises that will make you gasp out loud, this is a chilling read that I absolutely adored!

An exceptional read that I would highly recommend.

I love me a good moody, psychological thriller and this one truly delivered. The eerie, claustrophobic setting in remote Scotland gave me the heebie-jeebies all throughout the story, and those cheeky twists made me go EXCUUUSE ME! out loud like only the best thrillers do. Highly recommended.