Welcome to my review of Rock, Paper, Scissors By Alice Feeney. Like many readers, I saw this book all over social media. Suppose you know anything about me by now. In that case, you’ll know I can’t resist a recommendation and have severe FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) regarding the latest social media book recommendations. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the one for me despite my best efforts. I also felt so disappointed by this, as it has such good reviews.
Ten years of marriage.
Ten years of secrets.
An anniversary they’ll never forget.
Adam and Amelia are spending the weekend in the Scottish Highlands. The remote location is perfect for what they have planned.
But when their romantic trip takes a dark turn, they both start to wonder – can they trust the one they’re with?
Because every couple tells little white lies. Only for Adam and Amelia, the truth is far more dangerous.
Alice Feeney is a New York Times bestselling author and journalist. Her debut novel, Sometimes I Lie, was an international bestseller, has been translated into over twenty languages, and is being made into a TV series by Warner Bros. starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. His & Hers is also being adapted for screen by Jessica Chastain’s Freckle Films. Alice was a BBC Journalist for fifteen years, and now lives in the British countryside with her family. Rock Paper Scissors is her fourth novel and is being made into a TV series for Netflix by the producer of The Crown. It will be published around the world in 2021.
Rock, Paper, Scissors focuses on Adam and Amelia, a couple who have been married for ten years and are having difficulties. The chapters are short and switch between Amelia, Adam and later, a mysterious woman named Robin. In addition, there are parts written as a series of letters written by Amelia on every wedding anniversary to Adam reviewing their year but never sent. While these helped to give more information, some of them felt like they were just for information purposes that could have been conveyed better.
Amelia and Adam have headed to a remote converted chapel in the Scottish Highlands for their anniversary and to ‘fix their relationship’. But, of course, the chapel hides more secrets than this couple does! Adam has face-blindness, which makes the story hold together better than possible otherwise. However, there are times he appears to struggle with this more than others.
The chapel is quite eerie, and, with the help of others, numerous odd events take place, and things begin to be uncovered.
The way the short chapters unfold means that you have new information to process on almost every page. Having not read one of Alice Feeney’s books before, I can’t comment exactly but believe misdirection to be her trademark. Here you will find your head almost rolling off and a mild case of whiplash as you go from one set of information to another. This isn’t an issue, but partway through the book, you scrutinise every piece of information with suspicion.
The plot felt like a mixture of being on a rollercoaster and listening to an old acquaintance with marital issues. You’re not really interested to hear about them. I didn’t connect with the characters, which didn’t help. Alice felt like a gullible fool most of the time, and Adam seemed a disinterested, sleazy man who used his disability at times. ‘I thought it was you’, yeah, ok mate, pull the other one!
I wanted to love this book, it has so many five-star reviews, yet I felt like it wasn’t the one for me from the beginning. I persevered, wiling each part to get better and the ending to blow me away and change everything I thought. Still, unfortunately, it all felt a bit too far-fetched for me. What a shame when I was so excited to finally take this one off of my To Be Read Mountain!
| Title | Rock, Paper, Scissors |
| Author | Alice Feeney |
| Series | N/A |
| Format | Kindle |
| Page Count | 320 Pages |
| Genre | Psychological Literary Fiction |
| Publisher | HQ |
| Release Date | 19th August 2021 |
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