This book was very intriguing and kept me wanting more. I really enjoy dual timelines which was well done in this book. I liked how the two stories worked so well together. At first I was more interested in the story of Mari but as time went on I became invested in Emily’s timeline as well. I enjoyed the twists and turns during the last 1/3 of the book!

The Villa is dark, twisty and unpredictable. I developed theories early on and couldn’t wait to figure out if I was right. Rachel Hawkins did a fabulous job of making you think you were on the right track only to snatch that feeling away in the end. I don’t usually like an ending that’s left open to interpretation but this worked for me. Proving that there’s always two sides to every story, The Villa is a must read thriller.

Rachel Hawkins newest slow-burn thriller, The Villa, is a gripping mystery/ women ´s fiction tale. Childhood best friends, and now grown writers, Emily and Chess reconnect to spend a summer in an Italian villa to help break Emily´s writers ´ block and ignite new ideas. Told from bouncing past and present settings, we start to see how these ´friends´ developed their rivalry, and the history amongst their families pasts. I would not necessarily classify this as a thriller as most Hawkins books are. There was an obvious mysterious aspect of the characters, and how their personalities shape and drive their relationships - sometimes to the death.
I was excited to learn that the Villa was inspired by the true historical events of Percy and Mary Shelley´s (Frankenstein!) stay at the Lake Geneva castle.

While I definitely enjoyed Reckless Girls more than the Villa, this is a solid read that you will fly through. Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin´s Press and Rachel Hawkins for the eARC.

The Villa is Gothic Literature meets Daisy Jones and The Six…. and it's incredible.

Emily's life is a disaster; writer's block, a messy divorce, undiagnosed health problems, and financial disarray. Her long-time best friend and self-help author, Chess, seems to have her life almost *too* together. Chess rents an Italian villa for the summer and invites Emily to join her. While staying in the Villa, Emily uncovers the secrets of the house and the famous murder that took place there in the '70s.

In an alternate timeline, we read about Mari's defining summer as an artist when she wrote her acclaimed feminist horror novel, Lilith Rising (inspired by the real life of Frankenstein author Mary Shelley). Mari and Emily's lives become a little too similar as they spend their summer in the Villa, 50 years apart, writing their masterpiece works and discovering the dark secrets of the people closest to them.

The literary allusions in this book are insightful and delightful. I loved the 70's inspired retelling of Mary Shelley's real-life drama. Hawkins weaves magazine articles, book excerpts, a murder podcast, interviews, and song lyrics into the story. I can't wait to read more from this author!

Content warnings for toxic relationships, mild violence, substance use, and sex.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me this book for review. All opinions are my own.

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Whoa, you know what’s fun? When you have a book that is a mystery wrapped in another mystery. The Villa by Rachel Hawkins features lifetime besties who decide to spend a month’s vacation at an Italian villa where over 20 years ago there was a murder of a famous rock & roll singer…hence two storylines. Chess (Jessica) and Em (Emily), are authors & successful writers, so they agree to spend a “working” vacation together to finish their pending but overdue new novels. The story alternates between modern day and the 70s with the backstory of the rock-star murder featuring two different female characters. Lara, working on a music album, and Mari, writing a novel when the murder occurred. The four women in this story have some commonality, and their stories intersect to a very successful conclusion. Secrets, lies, and jealousy make for an entertaining read. The Villa was a well-written thriller with exciting lead characters. This book will be a huge hit for the author Rachel Hawkins. #murder #mystery #jealousy #celebrity #artists #marriage #infidelity #loss #love #MYSTERY #italy #TheVilla @netgalley #netgalley #beautifulcover @stmartinspress #arc
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I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book. Pub Date: Jan 3, 2023.

#bookaddict #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #reader #booklove #bookreader

This book proves that Ruth Ware has a knack at giving new tropes for thriller fans. This one has a little bit of everything, different timelines, drama, murder, sex drugs and rock and roll. Very atmospheric and a good read.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this eARC! I loved Reckless Girls so I was really excited when I got approved for this one.

With that said, I do not feel like this story was as dark as the synopsis frames it out to be (which, tbh, I was okay with me since my horror tolerance has gotten significantly less as I’ve gotten older.) I was expecting this to be similar to The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas, but it ended up more like We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz. Basically, do not expect this to be an intense, full-of-twists, type of thriller.

I did LOVE the setting, the personalities of each character, the dual timelines, and that ending! 🤯 How everything tied together in the end was something I never could have predicted.

And the biggest lesson to learn from this book: check to make sure a murder didn’t occur at any vacation home you are staying at. 🙃

What an interesting read! I love when a book captures me and I can't put it down and just want to get to the next page!

I was so excited to get an ARC copy of Rachel Hawkins "The Villa", thank you Net Galley for the opportunity.
This was my first Rachel Hawkins, but many of her books are on my TBR - and I will be moving them up after finishing The Villa.
Super engaging story, with Emily and Chess being relatable and empowering.
There is a slow burning sense of dread while you make your way through the story, you feel almost claustrophobic inside the villa.
I had a bit of trouble as an ADHD reader with the dual storylines, but I found keeping a small note pad nearby and making annotations really helped.

I’m a big fan of Rachel Hawkins, so I was excited to get an ARC of The Villa. An author goes on a trip to Italy with her best friend and stays in a house that holds many secrets from the past. She discovers journals from the 1970s that chronicle the events that happened in the Villa, and murder and mystery are rampant. It was an interesting plot, but overall I gave it 3/5 ⭐️‘S.

Here is not a book review but I STILL WANT TO KNOW.

Ok but… WHERE are the second set of Mari’s papers were hidden?

The Villa is dual storyline about a house in Italy, Villa Rosato, that has been home to sinister events. In 1974 a famous rockstar rents the Villa and brings with him a small entourage to spend the Summer with him. Meanwhile, present day two friends in their 30s head off to Italy to reconnect. Things take a turn in both instances and, well… you will have to read to find out!

I’m not always a fan of dual storylines because I am usually invested in one more than the other, but I found myself equally loving what was going on in both timelines!

If you love atmospheric, twisty and mysterious reads, this one is for you!

Many thanks to Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin’s Press, and Goodreads for a digital copy of this book. I read and reviewed this voluntarily and opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own. This book is available for purchase on January 23rd, 2023!

"The Villa" is a fun, original, twisted thriller, full of heartbreak, intrigue, and trust built and broken. The alternating timelines and perspectives combine to tell a story with no victors and plenty of wreckage. Well-written and fast paced, it is easy to get pulled into the world of this book and difficult to leave before the end.

Houses Remember. Wow! Past and present intertwine in this creepy mystery. It was a great read!

Emily and Chess were BFFs as teens but they drifted apart when they reached adulthood. Emily went on to marry Matt, but is now going through a messy divorce after he cheated on her.
Both girls are professional writers-Emily writing fiction and Chess is a self-help guru. When Chess offers Emily a trip to Italy to stay in a villa for the summer, she hopes it will be a chance to reconnect and to get her writing back on track.
It turns out the villa was the scene of a murder in the 70s, with a famous singer present. Step-sisters, Mari & Lara, end up producing a famous book and album after that fatal trip.
Emily starts looking into the events of that dreadful summer and begins writing again. As she gets closer to the truth, the past and present collide. Will the villa claim another victim? 

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Don’t you just love when you have a very thoughtful review written up… only to have it freeze without saving? The Villa review. Take 2!

“Houses remember.” This sentence bookends the story of an Italian Villa that is the centerpiece for this book. 2 lifelong girlfriends reconnect on a summer holiday at Villa Aestas, formerly known for a grisly murder that took place there in the 70’s.

What is to come is a retelling of the past in journals, magazine articles and newspaper clippings, and the future where one character digs more into the story of what actually happened.

I truly thought there would be some more suspense to either story and in the end both timelines fell a bit flat. Honestly what I wanted m more of was the Lilith Rising horror novel, written by one of the main characters from the “past” timeline.

A twisty, multi-layered and timelines thriller, I normally don’t enjoy a slow burn paced take but loved this book!

With themes of choices, friendship, deceit and romance, it’s hard to know who to trust which only makes this read so compelling. Loved it!

This was a winner for me! I flew through it, and never pumped the breaks. I was dying to know how it turned out, and was satisfied with the end (even if I would have liked a different resolution 😉 ) definitely worth adding to your TBR!

The Villa is the newest mystery/thriller by Rachel Hawkins. This book follows two different timelines. The present day timeline follows Emily, a down on her luck cozy mystery author who is recovering from a sickness and going through a divorce. With no inspiration to continue her mystery series, Emily decides to take up her friend’s offer to stay six weeks in a beautiful, Italian villa. Emily’s friend, Chess, is everything that Emily wishes she was. A famous self help author, Chess is Emily’s childhood best friend and even though they aren’t close anymore, Emily thinks this vacation will really help her reset.
The second timeline follows a rockstar and his friends in 1974 while they are staying at the same villa. After a hazy summer of sex and drugs and rock n roll, one member of the group is brutally murdered. Present day Emily learns about the murder and starts investigating it. Using a horror book written by one of the women who was present in the villa during the murder, Emily begins to uncover some secrets about the past.

What do you rate a book that was both a super quick, engaging read but also very underwhelming? I feel like this is a consistent issue I have with Rachel Hawkin’s thrillers. While they are very fast paced books, I feel like I’m never particularly satisfied with them when I am done. I guessed a lot of the direction this book was going in and I just wanted something more from it.

I did really enjoy how Hawkin’s was able to make a sunny Italian villa feel like a creepy, gothic building. There is also some discussion on female friendship that I thought was very poignant. I just wish the book would have leaned more into either of those aspects

What could be a more perfect set up for a thriller than being in Italy with your best friend in at a villa that is not only gorgeous, but also the location of a famous rockstar murder in the 70s? While at the Villa Emily, a writer finds herself reading a book called Lilith Rising and becomes intrigued with Mari, the author who was staying at the villa in 1974 when her boyfriend was murdered. Emily starts to research and discovers new details about what may have really happened that night. As she starts to incorporate this into a new novel she is writing to begins to feel some animosity from her best friend Chess as complications and secrets emerge. While the dual storylines kept me intrigued I enjoyed Mari’s story in the past a lot more than the present. The rockstar lifestyles were fun to read about and the character development was a lot better. I expected more from the Emily and Chess story, which felt underwhelming and predictable. I was disappointed in the ending. Overall I felt the book had a lot of potential, but it was just an ok read. 3.5 stars.

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

Ahhh I love Rachel’s writing style. All her books are instant read for me. If you love thrillers, you won’t be disappointed. There are different POV and different times but it’s so well executed that you won’t feel lost in the story. It’s a fast paced thriller that you won’t be able to put it down. Also, I love the cover of this book so there’s 100% chance I’ll buy the hard copy when it comes out.