I absolutely loved Rachel Hawkins’ book The Wife Upstairs. Her next novel, Reckless Girls, fell flat for me so I had high hopes that The Villa would be reminiscent of the first novel that I enjoyed so well. Sadly, I have DNF’d this one at 48%. The sexual sleaziness was just too much for me and I didn’t see it coming to an end any time soon. Maybe the plot actually has some substance, but at this point I’m not seeing it.

Thank. You to the publisher and Netagalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! Rachel Hawkins has done it again. I really enjoyed reading this book. The duel timelines kept you invested and guessing what was going to happen next.
I did see some of the things coming, but it didn’t take away from the overall story.
I highly recommend picking this book up when it’s released.

I’m really not sure what I just read and while the idea of this book seems good. It just didn’t come off as well as I would of liked.

This book is a dual time playing out with out as letters being read by our man character and just from the pov of the previous timeline main character. (That sounds so confusing, but makes sense when you read it.) For the beginning part of this it felt like two different books and I couldn’t quite figure out how this two parts came together. They are quite different though which I guess should be good, but to me felt like I was reading two books in one. As time went on it was easier to understand how the stories come together, but they do feel like what the stories states that they just happened to be at the same place at the same time. I wasn’t a fan of this one.

This book was great and kept you involved from the beginning. The ending was a twist that I wasn't expecting and very well written.

The Villa is an absorbing and suspenseful gothic novel set in Italy.

Emily, the author of a long-running book series, feels like her life is in a rut. Not only has her husband left her, but she’s also suffering from writer’s block. When her lifelong best friend and self-help guru, Chess, invites her to Italy for the summer, Emily joins her, thinking it will be the reset she needs to write her next book.

The villa in Orvieto happens to be where a brutal murder occurred in 1974. Back then, a famous rockstar invited an aspiring musician and his muses to stay at the villa while they produced a new album. After the murder, some of their careers took off, with one of the guests penning a novel that became a classic feminist horror novel. Another, composed a platinum-selling album.

Emily becomes super invested in this tragedy and begins to think there’s more to the story than previously supposed. Meanwhile, tensions between Emily and Chess thicken.

This suspenseful drama has dual timelines and dual perspectives. I would not classify this as a thriller. There are several good twists and the pacing is consistent, if a tad on the slower side, which might not be for every reader but worked for this reader here.

It touches on grown men going after minors and the competitive streak that can sometimes surface between friends.

I enjoyed the author’s last book Reckless Girls, but I liked this one even more. The plot is a bit more complex, and the writing is engaging. I don’t usually enjoy rockstar themes, but as this took a different approach, it worked for me. And Emily’s POV became more interesting with every chapter. The tidbits on being a published author and the writing process were insightful.

I think it’s safe to say Rachel Hawkins is now one of my go-to authors. I can’t wait to see what else she has in store.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Pub Date: January 3, 2023

Childhood friends Chess and Emily’s relationship is becoming increasingly complicated. Desperately hoping to reconnect, the best friends plan a girls trip to Italy. The beautiful villa they are renting for the summer has a mysterious, murderous history that Emily can’t help but investigate. As past secrets and present day truths are revealed, Chess and Emily’s friendship becomes more and more strained. Emily will do whatever it takes to discover what really happened at Villa Aestas in 1974. What she finds will change her life forever.

This book was a slow burn for me. I wasn’t completely pulled in from the beginning and it took me quite a while to really get into it. There are three storylines and mainly a story within a story. I was really confused at the beginning, but once I got everything figured out I actually enjoyed the dual timelines and multiple POVs.

I liked how Hawkins connected the past and present. I especially liked the past perspective and Mari’s story, it kept me wanting to know more. The present honestly didn’t do much for me.

I did really enjoy the last part of the book and the ending. It tied up the loose ends and wasn’t something I was expecting.

The book is good, but it didn’t have the wow factor that stuck with me. I wasn’t thinking about this one long after I finished reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC!

Emily has had a tough year; after a severe and unexplained sickness, her husband left, and she has a bad case of writer’s block. Chess, a best selling self-help author and Emily’s best friend since childhood, invites Emily to join her in Italy for the summer, where they can write, relax and catch up. The villa Chess rents was the location of a notorious murder in 1974. Dual narrator perspectives tell Emily’s story and that of Mari, one of the people at the villa in 1974.

I liked the way Hawkins used the novel Mari was writing in 1974 to bridge to Emily’s present. I did guess some plot elements early on, but I would love to discuss this novel with other readers and compare reactions to other elements of the story. Atmospheric and twisty, this modern gothic novel should provoke a lively book club discussion.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Villa is two books in and features Mari’s story (1974) about her trip to the Villa with her bf Pierce and sister Lara. This story had a good twist and was honestly more enjoyable than the present story of Emily and Chess.
In the present day, Emily and Chess who are supposed best friends go on a trip to the Villa to get away and finish their books. I immediately took a disliking to Chess, who was a totally fake friend who was always trying to one-up Emily. Unfortunately, even at the end, Chess was a very unlikeable character. Emily gets caught up trying to understand Mari’s story and the murder that took place in 1974.

Overall, I would give this 4 out of 5 stars and look forward to reading more from this author.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I like Rachel Hawkins writing. This book was a dark and twisty read. It was a good fit for summer into fall. It was moody.

I have always love Rachel Hawkins and The Villa is another masterful work of art.

Emily and Chess, two best friends, both writers, one epic vacation of a lifetime to Italy to stay in the most charismatic, amazing, and breathtaking villa with a well known history of murder.

Told in dual timeline, this was a story inside a story. Or more like a novel, within a novel. I do not have words for it but it worked to keep me over the edge. I can’t say it was suspenseful because to me, it was not. Nor can I say it was full of mystery and thrill because it was not like that either. It just have enough details to keep me wondering and waiting where the twist will come. When the fear factor will finally woo and scared the living breath out of me. It has so much possibilities of an outcome that even as a reader, I was plotting together with the characters. It was a whole concoction of contemporary events mixed with betrayal, sibling rivalry, friendship, competition, secrets hidden so deep, ugly divorce, lots of Italian wine and of course, -murder.Because, why not?!

I enjoyed this book that I devoured for less than twenty-four hours. I stayed up late feeling the chills with the ebook copy from St.Martin’s Press via Netgalley and have missed my exits driving the interstate while listening to the audio from the one and only LibroFM. Julia Whelan, Kimberly M. Wetherell and Shiromi Arserio were phenomenal on audio together. So yeah, they are the reason why I missed my turns on the road! Thank You to St.Martin’s Press, Netgalley and LibroFM for giving me the chance to review this book!

This started off strong and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It has consumed my thoughts for the entire time I've been reading it, which is fitting because of how consumed all the characters are by their own thoughts.
I read The Wife Upstairs when it came out and this was SO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT IN THE BEST WAY. This story *captures* you.
Alternating timelines, alternating narrators, media pieces, a book within a book, all come together in Emily and her best friend, Chess, spending an Italian summer together. They are there to write - they both have books to finish. But "houses remember" and the villa they are staying in has plenty of secrets. But it soon comes out that Emily and Chess do as well.
The Villa gives the most dramatic buildup of both stories. I loved that it was a "take the power back" situation as well.
My ONLY beef with this was that Emily's story ended kind of flatly. It seems everyone was always getting what they wanted and finally Emily was going to get what she wanted and then even then she was kind of derailed in the end. I don't know if that's intentional or if I'm interpreting it wrong, but I just think she deserved so much more even though she got so much if that makes sense.
Last thing: The men in this story are trash. Perfectly fitting and well written trash for this story but trash nonetheless which lends a sort of simmering anger to the whole story which I did like very much.

Emily is an author of a cozy mystery series who is struggling with her latest book and with a messy divorce in which her husband demands a cut of future book sales.
Then she receives a call from her childhood best friend, Chess, a hugely successful self help motivation writer. Chess wants Emily to spend the summer with her at a villa in Orieto, Italy where they can relax and write but once they arrive, Emily is much more interested in the history of the villa and the 1970’s murder of an up-and-coming musician that happened there.
We have the current storyline following Emily and Chess and we alternate that with Mari, girlfriend to the murdered Pierce, and what happened at the villa in the '70's when five young creatives blur the lines of their friendship with the assist of drugs and alcohol.
This was a bit of a slow burner for me but still highly enjoyable. The ending is where this one really shined for me though, I loved it.

4.5 Stars (rounded up)

“Houses Remember” couldn’t be a truer statement about the Villa Aestas.

The novel is told through a duel timeline, the past being 1974 where Pierce Sheldon, a young musician, his girlfriend, Mari, her stepsister, Lara, and rockstar Noel Gordon stay at the villa for a summer that ends in a tragic murder. The present being on and off again best friends Emily, a cozy mystery writer going through a writing slump, and Chess rent for the summer long trip to Italy.

I love a good duel timeline book and this one does not disappoint. Mari ends up writing “Lilith Rising” whose opening words are “Houses Remember” which tells you exactly where she got her inspiration. While staying at the Villa, Emily ends up reading “Lilith Rising” which in turns gives her inspiration for a new book, completely unlike her normal books.

You flip back and forth from Mari’s perspective leading up to the tragic murder and Emily’s present day perspective, digging into the events of the murder trying to learn more about what really happened.

I couldn’t put this down, I was thoroughly enthralled. Highly recommend. This is the second book I’ve read by Rachel Hawkins and while I still prefer “The Wife Upstairs”, this was a close second and I cannot wait to read more by her.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

After seeing the following blurb, I know I HAD to read this new Rachel Hawkins novel!

“Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle––the birthplace of Frankenstein––The Villa welcomes you into its deadly legacy.”

Old friends, Emily and Chess, decide to reconnect and go on a girl's trip to Italy. They stay in Villa Aestas, previously known as Villa Rosato, with a complicated history. As Emily digs into its past, she starts to believe something more sinister at play. Between rockstars, horror novels, and a brutal murder, will Emily discover what really happened in the summer of 1974?

This story had such a unique premise it immediately caught my attention. It definitely kept me interested throughout. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to all Rachel Hawkins lovers.

The Villa is two stories in one book. One is set in the present and one is the early 1970s. Both have young women dealing with unreliable men and friends. This is my favorite novel by Hawkins. It kept me guessing until the end and I enjoyed both story lines. It has mystery, unreliable narrators, and a gorgeous setting. Hawkins writing kept me engaged and it was hard to put the book down.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

Fame, romance, complicated relationships, and murder all occur in one house... told from two time lines the story revolves around a famous rockstar, two sisters, and the musician they both love.... and the murder of said musician... but after his death they both sky rocket to fame... and now in the present timeline two friends, both authors, spend a vacation at the villa in which the murder occurred... but soon they are in their own complicated web, The story follows Emily and Chess, now both in their 30s, they use to be best friends but separated due to life circumstances but Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy so both of them can work on their writing. They’ll be staying at Villa Aestas in Orveito, it is also known as Villa Rosato, a place that was rentsd by a famous rock star Noel Gordon in the summer of 1974 and in attempt to reignite his creative spark he invites up and coming musician Pierce Sheldon as well as pierce’s girlfriend Mari ( a writer) and Mari’s step sister ( a musician). This sets of a chain of events that lead to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time and Lara composing a platinum album... and ends in pierce’s brutal murder. As Emily digs around the villa she begins to find Mari’s writing about the events that occurred that summer. The more she digs in the more she becomes inspired herself yet she finds her own life reflecting those circumstances and the relationship between her and Chess are much more complexed than she thought. Think of Mari and Pierce and Mary Shelley and Percy Shelly, and their time at the villain as the time they spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva Castle, they have an open relationship but it’s complicated especially since Pierce is also sleeping with Lara, but the more time they all spend together the more trapped Mari feels and soon she’ll need to free herself. The story was anticlimactic and I found myself getting irritated with a lot of the characters and their actions. The whole murder mystery twist at the end was meh at best and honestly made the book even less likeable to me. I’m happy they got their happy endings but honestly, I just wanted the book to end.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This is a story about two friends vacationing together in a house in Italy that has a murderous backstory. I found the story honestly to be an interesting weaving of three different stories: Mari, Emma, and Chess. I found it slow at times because it was trying to weave them all together in a way that made senses, but honestly it did it well. I personally didn’t care for the twist at the end involving Emma, but I did enjoy the other twist. I found the explanation for Emma’s twist to be kind of lacking? Like I have a hard time understanding how the character that was built during the book would be involved in the twist. Overall though I think it was a surprisingly good read. This is not a thriller or suspense in my opinion but more of a mystery that focuses more on the main character than on the mystery.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC of The Villa!

I've loved Rachel Hawkins books previously, but I am pretty sure The Villa is my new favorite!
I couldn’t put this book down once I started reading. This is definitely a book I will recommend to fellow readers upon release. The characters were likeable, which made me invested in what would happen with them. I loved the twist at the end! I think that many people will enjoy this book.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I have pretty mixed feelings about this one.

On the one hand, The Villa was a fast-paced, compulsively readable novel. I read it in one sitting, and I enjoyed the overall premise of the book. On the other hand, I think the dual timeline was overly repetitive and neither time period was that interesting. I usually find thrillers to be entirely too long and the twists to be obnoxiously unbelievable. However, here, I felt like I wanted more, or needed more. Due to the dual timelines, you never really have enough time with the characters or the storyline of each time period, and yet somehow, there is too much happening. I never really cared about or found any of the characters interesting. Of the few twists, one was incredibly predictable, and the other was just sort of there.

I think if you enjoy thrillers, which I will be honest, are not my favorite genre, and if you like the author, I think you will enjoy this.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and the author for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are entirely my own.