A great atmospheric thriller told from alternating time lines. Rachel Hawkins delivers two equally compelling storylines, each with intriguing characters and their own unique level of eeriness. Readers are easily transported to the Villa, both past and present, to lay witness to the darkness that can lurk in paradise. Fantastic read.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheVilla which was read and reviewed voluntarily.

I really enjoyed The Villa. Truly was shocked by the turn of events and really can’t be sure if I know the truth! Love when a book really makes you think.

I really liked this book but the ending felt disappointing. It didn't feel sinister enough to keep with the rest of the book's feeling. Still good, just felt a little rushed and unfinished. Loved the idea of it though!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I loved The Wife Upstairs so when I got approved for this ARC, I was so excited. But I DNF at 20%. I just couldn’t get into it for some reason. Hopefully I’ll like her next one better.

Thanks for the ARC @netgalley! This was quite the gothic thriller. This is my first book by Rachel Hawkins - now I have to dive into her backlist, as I really enjoyed this one.

Cozy muster author Emily is going through a messy, vicious divorce while struggling to write the latest installment in her series. Her childhood best friend Chess (a spiritual self-help celebrity) invites Emily to spend the summer in Italy with her. The Villa they are staying at has quite the sordid history: in 1974, musician Pierce Sheldon was brutally murdered. The two woman who were staying with him that summer (Lara & Mari) wrote one of the most famous albums of all time while the other wrote a horror novel that became a classic. Both Emily and Chess are inspired by the house’s dark past and soon are at odds with each other.

This novel is told in Emily’s modern perspective and Mari’s summer at the villa in the 70s. This structure works well to keep the reader invested and on their toes. This was such an atmospheric thriller! I want to visit Orvieto Italy now, as Hawkins paints such a vivid picture. The only reason this isn’t a 5⭐️ thriller for me is because I guessed a few of the twists early on, but I was still enthralled. Grab this one when it comes out 01/03/23!

✨Trigger Warnings: Suicide, Drug Use, Child Death

A refreshingly-twisted tale of interwoven sisterhood, romance, and deceit. The Villa had me from the first chapter and is brilliantly written. I highly recommend!

I’ve read everything from Rachel Hawkins so far and enjoyed them all and The Villa was no different.

I went in expecting a large part the story itself to be focused on the villa and Orvieto, and the setting taking up a large part of the story, but it really was Em and Mari and the dual timeline of both characters that it focuses on.

It took a bit to get moving along, and was definitely a slow burn, but it really took off midway through and I found it hard to put down.

I enjoyed the dual timelines of 1974 and present day, and Em’s and Mari’s perspectives- even if I found myself frustrated at times with the characters choices. Don’t even get me started on Lara and especially Chess. With friends like Chess, who needs enemies?

All in all, a very enjoyable read. Thanks to the Rachel Hawkins, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

ARC REVIEW
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

A trippy dual timeline thriller that will pull you in quickly.

📝 Emily is down on her luck. Her soon to be ex-husband is coming after her for everything and she’s in a writing slump. When best friend Chess invites her to summer in a villa in Italy, she can’t pass it up. While there she gets inspiration from a true life murder story in the same villa in the 70’s.

I am a fan of Hawkins (both her thrillers and witchy romances published under Erin Sterling). This one did not disappoint. Here is what I liked.

📝 The story. I got pulled into both storylines quickly. The mystery was interesting and honestly, I feel like this story could be revisited. There were a few twists and turns that were great!

📝 The characters. Both sets of characters gave me reader’s anxiety. Their relationships were so twisted that I found myself so eager to read just to see what would happen with them next. Mari was well drawn out and I really felt for Emily.

📝 The format. There were parts of a novel, song lyrics, articles, and interviews incorporated into the chapters. This added a realness to the story.

All in all, this was a great thriller with some mind bending twists!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC book in exchange for an honest review.

Release: 1/3

Emily’s life feels like her life is falling apart her best friend Chess invites her to a villa in Italy where they both can work on their writing. When Emily learns that a murder took place in this same villa she becomes invested in the long forgot mystery that surrounds the murder. The book goes between present day with Emily’s and the back story of Mari and the time she spent at the villa, resulting in the death of her husband.

Overall this story is a very quick read and I enjoyed the dual timelines. It was an interesting ending as well.

Creepy thriller set in an Italian villa that checked all my boxes! This book is set in present day, but has an alternate storyline in the 1970s and following both Emily in present day and Marie in 1974. It is a slow burn, but has all the creepy gothic vibes that kept me reading!

Emily is a cozy mystery writer, going through a difficult divorce, and struggling to finish her final book. After lunch with her best friend, Chess, she finds herself at an Italian villa in Umbria. While she is there, she finds herself digging deeper into the tragic murder that occurred at this villa in the 1970s.

The alternate storyline tells the story of Marie, a young lover of Pierce, an upcoming musician who finds herself in this very villa in 1974. While there, tensions build between everyone.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a slow start for me. But once I got into it, about the halfway mark, I couldn't put it down. The storytelling behind this was very clever. I loved the story within a story aspect. And I also love reading books about writing. With the title being what it was, I was expecting the villa to play more of a role itself. Not a big deal though. The reason for three starts instead of four is because I wish the author had ended it differently. One of the girls basically planned on stealing the other's story, and in the end, they co-wrote it? I'm sorry, I was livid with the character and I wish she was hung out to dry. And the ending for Mari? I guess it was supposed to be a twist or shock or something, but I was left thinking, this is it? When I finish a book and don't feel satisfied, it ruins the experience for me. It wasn't terrible by any means, but I wish the ending was different.

Emily and Chess were best friends as kids. Now they decide to get away from if all together to Italy. The Villa they stay in has a violent past though. Can their friendship survive their stay?

I loved Rachel Hawkins last book so much, but this one didn’t do it for me. I found all the characters whiny and annoying. The age of the girls and the adult men they were canoodling with made me uncomfortable, even thought it was acknowledged. I did enjoy the present day story with the friendship and jealousy, but the part storyline wasn’t as interesting to me. I did like the ending; it was certainly unexpected.

“Villa Aestas is a peaceful, pretty place that doesn’t deserve to be tainted by one bad night fifty years ago.”

The Villa comes out 1/3/23.

Now: Emily finds herself without a husband, her health is declining, she can’t write her next novel, and she hasn’t seen her best friend, Chess, in years. When Chess invites Emily along to spend the summer in Italy with her, she thinks “what’s there to lose?” In the villa of the infamous rock n roll murder of the 70s, Emily finds herself exploring the works of Lilith Rising and Aestas. When she finds clues that alludes to what happened in the summer of ‘74, she can’t help but keep digging. But is what she finds worth it?

Then: Mari, a 19 year old runaway, who lives with her boyfriend (who’s married) and her step sister, Lara. When Lara gets invited to spend the summer in Italy with a rock star, both girls imagine it can’t be worse than the current state. And they were right. Lara goes on to write the famous album Aestas and Mari is inspired to write Lilith Rising during their time. But was it worth it? When one of their group of 5 ends up dead - can the girls live with themselves?

Alternating between Emily and Mari, The Villa was a captivating yet slow burn thriller that had me guessing until the very last page. None of the characters are particularly likable and they all have their “it’s a no from me” moments, but that’s what made me like it as I wasn’t rooting for one particular character.

This is definitely a must read in my opinion.

Thank you to Net Galley for giving me the chance to read this advanced digital copy!

“The ways in which adversity can spur women to creation? How toxic men hold women back from reaching their full artistic potential?”

I enjoyed this dark mystery rich with female empowerment. The parallels between Mari in the past and Emily in the present kept me turning page after page to see how it would all come together. Even on their own, their stories were incredible and could have stood on their own. Both women journeyed from their personal heartbreak to success, putting the men in their life in their place on the way 💁🏻‍♀️

Hawkins is easily the new Agatha Christie! Her stories drag you along in the best way, then smack you in the face in the last chapter or two. Pre-order your copy of The Villa now and love it when it releases on January 3rd!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin Press, and Rachel Hawkins for an ARC of this book.

4 Italian Villa stars

Imagine if your best friend invites you to a luxe Italian villa to get you out of your writing slump. Emily jumps at the chance when her uber-successful friend Chess invites her.

Emily has penned several successful cozy mysteries but ever since her divorce, she can’t bring herself to finish the latest book. Her publisher is putting on pressure, so off to Italy she goes!

They are staying at Villa Aestas and it has a dark history. In the mid-1970s it was the scene of a grisly murder. It was a high-profile case as a rock star had rented it for the summer and several other guests were there at the time. One of the guests goes on to write a bestselling book and another becomes a famous songwriter.

This book is well done, with alternating chapters featuring both storylines. We get snippets of what happened in 1974 and Emily digs into the history of the house and the murder. She’s a bit distracted from finishing her book!

Do houses remember what happened inside them? If only they could talk. There were some eerie elements in this one and the conclusion was so well done! There were surprises on both sides, and I closed this one with a very satisfied smile! And I still want to visit Italy!

I always enjoy reading Rachel Hawkins’ books. I’ve read many of her books and I found “The Villa” suspenseful and engaging.

Longtime friends Chess and Emily have lost their connection in adulthood, so when Chess invites Emily on a girls trip to Italy, the scene is set for the impending drama and suspense.

The villa they are staying at, Villa Aestas, has a complex history of fame and murder. The story unfolds through the present day happenings of Chess and Emily as well as the tragic past events of step-sisters Mari and Laura.

The challenge with the book for me is that although the story held my interest- there really wasn’t any character I felt much empathy for. The four main women characters are hard to like and I didn’t have anyone to root for. As the story unfolds to its climatic ending, the awfulness of the women increases.

For lovers of murder, mystery, and suspense- “The Villa” will reveal itself in a slow burn that will keep you turning the pages. I’d like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advance reader copy- all the opinions stated here are my own.

Call me a ballerina because this book had me on pointe.

For over a year, I have been seeing Rachel Hawkins all over social media. Her previous works such as, The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls, have been highly praised and well reviewed . I had yet to read either book (I have been on a book ban) on account of my TBR list being well into the hundreds. So, when I saw her latest book pop up on NetGalley, I couldn’t request it fast enough. To my surprise and absolute delight, I was chosen to receive an eARC.

The Villa was a true four star read for me. It showcased that Hawkins’ writing lives up to the hype. She wrote a mind bending book that kept me on my toes. I truly felt that I have not sat with this book long enough to articulate my thoughts, but here we go.

I loved the parallels Hawkins drew between Mari and Lara with Emily and Chess. While the “sisters” stays were separated by decades, Hawkins managed to beautifully and brilliantly weave their stories together. It is only with their combined accounts that the reader is able to get a cohesive look at what took place at Villa Aestas.

I must admit that I was left questioning who and what was real. This is a book that like Lilith Rising, needs to be read over an over, as to make sure nothing goes unnoticed. However, I have come to the conclusion that the reader is hearing the story by unreliable narrators. Thus, getting to the bottom of things may never be plausible.

I would categorize Rachel Hawkins’ The Villa as a book out of my comfort zone. While I do enjoy suspense and thrillers, I tend to gravitate towards romance. This was the perfect book to read during the month of October as it offered a dark, spooky vibe (Gothic writing style). It has reignited my love for the genre!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really loved the past and present storylines, different but both equally intriguing. The ending was my favorite part

I love anything by Rachel Hawkins she has become and autobuy author for me and this book is no exception! Can’t wait to read more from her

I really enjoy Rachel Hawkins’ books. This is no exception. It is done in a really thought provoking format, but is still Hawkins’ captivating writing style. This is a book you go back and forth on the characters and find out at the end you were supposed to. I love the mystery within a mystery and both sets of stories. High recommend.