A quick read with switching viewpoints, The Villa sucked me in but also often left me wanting more. I found the present day characters to be a bit insufferable with a frustrating friendship. However, the flashbacks were fun and spooky, with a twist ending I did not see coming. A good pick when you want an easy suspense to breeze through over a weekend.

For me, Rachel Hawkins does it again. I really liked her previous novel, “The Wife Upstairs”, so I had high hopes for this one, and I wasn’t expected her to exceed those, yet she surprised me and far exceeded those for me. Her previous novel, while it kept me on my toes, I was able to foresee a lot of what was coming. For “The Villa” - I appreciated the twists and turns that I wasn’t able to anticipate, and those are the thrillers for me that I really love the most. I love when an author can keep me on my toes, and keep me from guessing what’s going on.

I also really love her writing in this one - it drew me in from page 1, and kept me unable to put it down until the very end. The weaving back between past and present storylines was really compelling - and the inspiration from true events for this story also sparked my intrigue.

If you are a fan of Hawkins, a fan of thrillers, or looking for your first read for 2023, get this on your pre-order list for the upcoming holiday season!

The Villa will be available January 3, 2023!

Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for the advance review copy provided through NetGalley! I can’t wait to see and devour what Hawkins comes up with next!

When Emily is going through a difficult divorce, her best friend and self-help guru Chess offers to take her to Italy for a relaxing vacation. Staying in the beautiful Villa Aestas, the lifelong friends set off to enjoy the summer. The Villa has a dark history; in the 1970s, it was rented by a rockstar and his friends only for their trip to end in the rockstar’s brutal murder, his girlfriend writing the greatest horror movie of all time and her sister recording a platinum album. Emily, a writer herself, begins reading the novel and looking into the villa’s history only to uncover some shocking secrets. As she gets closer to the truth, her friendship with Chess grows increasingly volatile.

This was an interesting and exciting mystery! Told in dual timelines, we see Emily and Chess uncover the drama that unfolded during the 70s in the same villa they are staying at. There were a few twists that I did not see coming which I always appreciate in a book. I also thought it was fun how Emily was a writer herself - I always like reading about the lives of writers and how she worked. Without giving any spoilers, I really liked her character but Chess not so much. Thank you to Netgalley, Rachel Hawkins and St Martin’s Press for the ARC!

“The Villa” is out January 3, 2023!

This review will be shared to my Instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly 😊

This book was an ok read for me. I haven’t had the best luck with this author though I know others love her writing. I had a hard time connecting to the story and characters. Overall a 3 star read.

I forgot and didn’t even know how to tell which books I had access to, as I could not access netgalley for a few months. But I couldn’t forget I had one by Rachel Hawkins, as she’s one of my favorite authors! And this book did not disappoint! It actually may have been my very favorite of hers, so well written, tense, and so twisty it made a bit dizzy! Had me on the edge of my seat, reading, reading, reading, so I could finally figure out what rabbit she’d pull out of her hat and she got me with one of her tricks again! Highly, highly recommend!

Will buzz around and use my Amazon Vine Top Reviewer to ensure people get to hear how wonderful this book was!

This book had me hooked from the beginning. I liked the story, within the story, within the story, and the plot twists along the way. Big fan of the reference to Jensen Ackles, although I am way beyond “tenth grade me absolutely risking it all for [him]”. The story Mari wrote entitled “Lilith Rising” also brought back memories of Lilith from Supernatural. The ending sealed the deal of a 5 star read for me. It was a suspenseful escape! Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the digital ARC of “The Villa.”

This is such a good book! I have read several books by Rachel Hawkins. This book is very clever and well-written, as it is a story within a story. Highly recommended!

A gripping fast read that's set on 2 timelines on the villa in Italy. I was more invested in the current time, Emma's POV than Mari's. I wanted more atmosphere of a 70s rock-and-roll and did not get it.
The dynamic between Emma and Chess was interesting, but there was not enough of a build-up. It felt like reading a diary, without any "special effects". The plot idea with a book inside the book was fun, the quotes from songs, podcasts, and articles worked perfectly and made the story come to life. I just wanted more suspense, more guesswork leading to a big revelation.
Ending with Matt felt too short, it felt too easy, and again, no suspense. I loved the ending with Chess, that was perfect and leaves the cliffhanger, but at the same time reader understands what is going to happen.
This was a good story and an amazing idea, but the delivery was short for me.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a gifted early copy of the book.

I really enjoyed this book! There are two different timelines in the book - one in 1974 that follows Mari, a writer who travels to the villa with her boyfriend, stepsister, a musician and his dealer. The other timeline involves two childhood best friends (both writers, although different genres) - Emily and Chess.

I was fascinated by Mari as a character and the look back in time. Their group had such twisted dynamics and showed the ugly side of the “sex, drugs and rock & roll” lifestyle. I loved and empathized with Emily a lot and couldn’t understand why she kept Chess around. Chess frustrated me a lot, she seemed like such a selfish and self absorbed person - which made the book even better!

I loved seeing the two stories intertwine and it got me thinking of the steep price of success.

4.5/5 stars ⭐️

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
Ah, what can I say about this one??? I finished it yesterday and still feel unsettled by that ending!

Emily and Chess have been best friend since grade school. Many years have transpired at this point and Chess is now a famous author and household name, as well as Emily for her penning cozy mysteries, but Emily's life has taken a turn for the worse while Chess continues to catapult to fame. Chess invites Emily to Italy for the summer with her to give her a change of scenery and reconnect. Hoping to tap into her dried up writer's well, she accepts.

The house they stay in is a Murder house and is famous for the killing of up and coming musician, Pierce, in the 70s. Interestingly enough, two of the people staying in the house at the time of the killing created art out of their time there and became famous, as well. Emily becomes obsessed with Mari and the book she wrote after her time there, Lilith Rising, and believes it holds secrets as to what truly happened that summer.

The story is written in dual timelines and they seem completely unrelated until they come together towards the end... which is the part that left me a bit baffled. I won't give anything away, but I would love to chat with someone else who has read this! Message me! :)

The Villa
By: Rachel Hawkins

Number 39
4/5 ⭐️

“How is it that someone can bring out the very best and the very worst of you all at once?”

I got this book as an ARC from @netgalley and really enjoyed it! My last @rachelhawkins book I read (Reckless Girls) wasn’t one of my favorites but I did love The Ex Hex (by @erinsterling AKA Rachel Hawkins’ alias) so I was excited to give another one of her books a go!

I loved how the historical component of the novel seemed so real. When reading the parts of Mari’s story, I kept googling things to see if any of it actually happened. Hawkins’ writing had me fact checking, it was that believable! The background of a Villa in Italy had me mentally visualizing every scene, longing to be under the Italian sun.

I kept finding myself feeling sorry for Mari and her awkward relationship with both her boyfriend and her half-sister. That same awkward love/hate relationship (and love triangle for that matter) was paralleled into present day Emily’s life.

It was so interesting how Emily dove deeper to discover more secrets from Mari’s book. Even though it was a fictional tale, Emily was able to uncover more reality as to what went on during that murderous summer. That was, until Chess started to stake claim to Emily’s ideas.

Right off the bat I knew that Chess was the worst. Who gets the nickname Chess from Jessica? She ended up being a stereotypical frenemy (think Blair & Serena for my fellow GG friends!). SPOILER ALERT - She sleeps with Emily’s husband and tries to make it seem in Emily’s best interest? How manipulative!

In the end, both Emily and Mari got their version of a happy ending. Mari told her story even though it was a different version of the truth. Emily also had the world experiencing a different version of her truth as well. For a picturesque and thriller of a read, check out The Villa when it comes out January 3, 2023!

Em and Chess reminded me so much of Mari and Lara. The quote "houses remember" stuck with me throughout the whole book and it definitely proved itself true in The Villa.

This book was very entertaining. Vacationers turned to murderers! Even though part of the story was past tense, it all felt relatable.

I really enjoyed both of Rachel Hawkins previous two books, The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls. I was thrilled to receive an advanced readers copy of The Villa. I honestly would not classify this book as a thriller. I thought it was more literary fiction. To be honest, although it definitely kept my attention, I found most of the book to be somewhat predictable. I really enjoyed reading about the relationship between Emily and Chess. I enjoyed not knowing whether I could trust Chess. Initially, I wasn’t super invested in the Mari, Lara, Pierce, Noel, and Johnnie story. However, the ending of the book blew my mind. I’m honestly not sure I completely understand the ending. Questions were left unanswered. That’s the type of book I really enjoy. It bothers me when everything is neatly tied up at the end.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins was a slow burn for me. I’m a pretty quick reader when I’m fully invested in a story but I had a difficult time immersing into this one. There wasn’t a Big Bang twist like I expected going into this. It was more of a drama with some murder dropped in type feel. I also felt a bit disappointed by the lack of eerie that this Villa was suppose to give off. However, I DO feel this story was unique in it’s own way. I love the concept of the women realizing their talents, even if it came at a cost.

I liked this book more than I liked Reckless Girls, so I would round up to 3.5 stars. I really do feel this book was different than others I have read but I can’t put my finger on how it could have been better. Maybe these weren’t the vibes the author was going for, but a bit more of a creepy, mysterious atmosphere involving the Villa would have elevated this book for me.

Pros: The cover of this book and the title caught my attention—a book set at an Italian villa (with a bit of murder mixed in) sounded like lots of fun! I’ve also enjoyed some of the author’s other books.

Cons: This book was fine. It did not stand out as anything new or exciting. Like so many other books in this genre, it’s told in two timelines and the main character is a writer.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book.

I could not put this book down! I was very intrigued by both stories and kept guessing — and most of my guesses were very wrong. I highly Recommend this book!

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
#sixtysecondbookof2022 #arc

This quickly became my favorite book from Hawkins. I haven’t read her romances, just her recent thrillers, and those are an auto read for me now.

Houses remember.

This is quite literally several stories in one. We get the story of two best friends visiting Italy, a group of artists also on a trip, and a young girl who falls in love with a priest. That last story is referenced as a famous horror novel and I would love to read it, if it actually existed, but we only get small passages from it.

The main story is the two best friends. One of them is the absolute worst and I disliked her immediately, but the story is pretty engaging, especially since it’s cut with chapters of the artist group of 1974, which is a not subtle homage to the Mary Shelley trip to Italy with her husband Percy and Lord Byron, you know, the trip that gave us what eventually became Frankenstein? I’ve become sort of obsessed with Shelley so I’m up for anything that references her.

It’s all very cut and dried until you realize that it’s not, and I really loved it. The story was propulsive and I could not stop reading. Except for the first two chapters, I read it in one sitting. I do wish for a tiny bit more detail about how a decision the best friends make at the end was enacted but I loved the subtle digs the book made about true crime podcasters. I listen to those podcasts and I thought it was quite funny.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advance copy. (Pub date 1/3/23)

#thevilla #bookswithinbooks #housesremember

Houses remember.
How much of Mari’s Lilith Rising was based in fact? No one will ever know. Or will they?
Readers can draw their own parrallels to compare the past residents of the Villa to Chess and Em.
What’s holding them back from success?

The book was alright. I like the author and have read previous books written by her. This one was kind of anticlimactic. The husband being killed and being tied forever to chess seemed cliche and predictable. The book was slow moving for me and took me awhile to read because I got bored. I did finish it and would rate it 2/5

Thank you so much for the ARC net galley. I wanted to like this book so badly considering the author, but it just fell flat for me. I was annoyed by the MC, and all the twists made me roll my eyes.