Incredible. Addicting. Unputdownable. (Is that a word?) all of these is what I would use to describe “The Villa” Out of the 3 books I’ve read from @ladyhawkins I must say this one is my favorite. I love a book with different timelines, and how it all comes together in the end. This is a must read when it is released in January.

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

This story started out with a bang for me. Images of the Villa Diodati come to mind and, much like with the The Wife Upstairs, Hawkins pays homage to a female writer who shaped the world of literature. I love that!

However, I was expecting something more dark and gothic similar in tone to Mary Shelley's masterpiece. I was also expecting more mystery and mayhem in the 1974 storyline. It was okay. Not quite the "drugs, sex and rock & roll" scenario I was expecting. Nor was the present day narrative the creepy, mysterious storyline I was expecting. For me, unfortunately, both stories felt anticlimactic and veered more into female empowerment territory than horror or thriller.

While I didn't think this one lived up to the excellence that was The Wife Upstairs, it was still a good read and something I'd recommend if you're a fan of Hawkins' other work.

Houses remember.

Disclaimer: I recieved a free copy of “The Villa” in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press!

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I love Rachel Hawkin’s brain, honestly. Her plots are so intriguing and I particularly enjoy them because they’re lighter thrillers that keep me on my toes but they’re not so heavy they make my blood pressure rise.

That being said, I do wish this was a *bit* more creepy. People in mysteries/thrillers/horrors being influenced negatively by their surroundings is one of my FAVORITE tropes and I would have loved to see Hawkins extend on it here.

But I digress.

“The Villa” follows a duel timeline: in the present we follow Emily and Chess, two authors with a strained friendship and in the past we follow Mari, another writer, and her step-sister musician Lara that are caught up with two drugged up, misfit rockstars.

As far as characters go, they were fine. I didn’t really feel attached or have any investment towards any of them. Like many readers I am bias towards the protag, and I did enjoy Mari and I felt for her and Emily. I think overall the characters fit in well with the story, but they lacked depth.

The setting is the star of the story: the beautiful Villa Aestas in Orvieto, Italy. In the summer of 1974 it’s the scene of a murder and the inspiration for a best selling novel and album. The descriptions are well done and I love the atmosphere.

In the summer of present day, Villa Aestas’ overwhelming, moody aura is still lingering and impacting those who enter it. What all will transpire when our struggling, modern day ladies take an extended vacation there?

I suppose you’ll have to pick up “The Villa” to find out. It is set to release January 3rd, 2023.

This was a fun, fast paced read, although I didn't feel like it was necessarily a thriller. It was a book with a bit of an identity crisis - was it a book about flawed women working through their problems, or a creepy mystery? That being said, I read it in one day while laid up with a sprained ankle so I highly recommend it as a way to pass the time. Definitely kept me intrigued!

“Houses remember” - a key mantra repeated in the story. I definitely recommend this book. The story had me hooked, and it was hard to put it down. I loved how the present story of the house’s occupants was interwoven with the story of the house’s past occupants.

I was all set to give this story five stars until the last chapter. In my opinion, the book would have been better without that final twist. I see why it was done, but it somehow feels like it left the reader with less closure. However, I still enjoyed this book tremendously and will say that, hands down, this is my favorite book by Rachel Hawkins. I am excited to read more of her work!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for letting me read this book!

I started this without any expectations and when it jumped to the storyline from the 70s I went "are we really making the story of Percy Shelley and Mary Shelley into a rock n roll murder mystery?" And then I read the synopsis. The story was great. At times I was a bit confused because it would jump between different "sources" to help the mystery unfold. Once I understood the pattern, it was much better. The parallels were a bit obvious between the two storylines but it was a fun read.

Chess is a horrible human being. I know I was not supposed to like her. I REALLY did not like her.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own..

This. Author! She knows how to weave an amazing story using two time lines and plenty of intriguing characters. Had to fly through it - one of those you have to know the story NOW! Love this author and her writing style.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins in exchange for an honest review!

This is the first book I have read by Rachel Hawkins and I really enjoyed it. I was hooked right away. Usually I don’t enjoy books with dual timelines but it was really well done in this book. The one thing I didn’t like was how easily the main character Emily forgave her best friend Chess for all her manipulations, but I can understand it. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.

3.5 stars. Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Rachel Hawkins for letting me read The Villa in return for an honest review. Warning: Spoilers. Let’s start with the cover. I love the cover. The color and the lemons are what first caught my eye and drew me in. Now the book was good but it felt like something was missing. It started off really good but felt like it felt short somewhere. The 2 stories- Emily’s and Mari’s were both interesting, but they needed to be linked together more. They felt like 2 different stories. I loved how Emily figured out that Mari’s book was set in the Villa with the discovery of the letter M in the window. I wanted more mysterious links like that between the two stories. I wanted more writing/explanation on how Emily and Chess handled the “bad guy” at the end. How did they do it? I want to know why Emily kept getting sick. She hinted at it, but that was it. Was she being poisoned? Seemed that way since she got sick after drinking one of Chess’s cocktails. I want to know where Mari’s “hidey-hole” is and why she hid the ending of her story there. I want to know why Emily forgave Chess and let her co-write her book after finding out what she did. I just wanted more. More mystery. More suspense.

DNF - I was excited about the premise of this plot but there was very little matter of substance to this story that would encourage the perusal of the entire book. By that, I mean that by the 40% mark, nothing has transpired to lead one to feel any sentiments of suspense or intrigue -- things are fairly clearly laid out & what we are then reading is the repetition of information that has already been made forthcoming. This includes the repeated scenes wherein Em talks about her ex-husband; Chess is 'being Chess'; the gratuitous sexual exploits of minors; the hint that 'someone' dies (although we know it's Pierce), etc.

This is the type of book that you read when there's nothing else. Perhaps, you are passing the time at the mechanic's & so you aren't too bothered by the slow-moving storyline that continues to harp about there has been a murder in a house & low and beholds someone's horror book is based on this real event - of course, it is. Em is an author & yet appears totally out to lunch all the time regarding basic plot device knowledge.

I know that there is an audience for this book but I am not part of it, unfortunately. I found myself wondering when any of what was being explained would lead to scenes of substance. Ultimately, I did not feel the desire to pursue reading but I know the target audience will get their hands on this book, no doubt.

DNF, didn't hold my attention enough as her previous books. Wishing you all the best on publishing day!

While I could see how the story would captivate readers, something felt off for me about the character development and the plot. I felt bored reading this, but I stuck through in case it changed. It didn’t. Maybe gothic suspense isn’t for me. Everyone has genres that they don’t click with. While I didn’t enjoy the book, I’m still going to rate it five stars because I know that fans of this genre will more than likely love it.

Three stories intertwining, two different timeframes, and one dang good book. This book follows childhood friends Chess and Emily as they stay in an Italian villa for the summer. The villa was the scene of a murder in the 70's that rocked the news world...rock stars and the women who love them were spending their summer at the villa when the unthinkable happens. Mari and Lara are stepsisters who use the tragedy to propel their careers as an author and singer/songwriter. As Emily and Chess unravel what happened in the past, they also unravel some secrets of their own.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4919392522

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is my first book by her so I cannot compare it to her previous novels. This one is complex because it's two stories tied into one. One narrative is based on two friends who go on a trip to Italy and the other is about a group of friends staying in one house where a tragedy ends up happening. I loved the storyline based on the friends staying in the same house. I picked this book up because I heard Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins was amazing. This book was fine but I wished the plot would have been more interesting and was told at a faster pace.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital advance review copy!

4.5 stars. This is a fast, compelling read.
Chess and Emily were childhood best friends who have drifted now that they are adults, but they still have things in common. They are both writers, for example. Chess writes wildly successful self-help books, and Emily writes cozy mysteries, but, thanks to an illness and an ugly divorce, she’s way behind on her next installment. When Chess suggests a getaway to Italy, Emily thinks maybe a change of scenery will get her writing again.

It does, but not on the cozy mystery she has a contract for. Instead, the Villa they stay at is the place where a vicious murder took place almost 50 years earlier that involved a famous rock star, drugs, and who knows how much sex. She’s inspired to write something of a true crime nonfiction book.

The novel is told partly from the point of view of Mari in 1974, who wrote a wildly successful horror novel partly based on the Villa that she stayed at with her musician boyfriend, her stepsister, the rock star Noel, and the drug dealer Johnnie one summer when the murder took place.

Hawkins does a great job of creating conflict between Emily and Chess, describing the way you can love someone and be driven crazy by them at the same time. A similar conflict occurs between Mari and her stepsister Lara years earlier at the same Italian villa.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES JANUARY 3, 2023.

Wow, what a ride! Chess and Emmy have been friends forever and travel to Italy for a best friend getaway. They stay at Villa Aestas, which was the location of a famous murder decades before. As they spend time there, the stories unfold simultaneously and we learn more about the past and the present. I truly enjoyed the past storyline written along side the present day adventures. While there were so many times I did not enjoy the content from the characters (partying, drug use, infidelity, etc), I truly did enjoy seeing how everything came together. I adored Mari’s character from the past. This was such a unique story that I have not seen 100 times before.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is marketed as a thriller surrounding a mysterious Italian villa. This villa has spawned the creation of numerous dark and twisted art pieces and has seen it's fair share of tragedy. While the premise sounded fantastic, the book did not live up to the hype. It read as more of a drama than a thriller. There were some twists and turns but it all felt predictable. I was hoping for more mystery and darkness.

The Villa is a slow building mystery with a dual timeline. At Villa in a small Italian village in 1974 a murder of a rising musician occurs is the house cursed? In present day two best friends who have drifted apart reconnect at the Villa for a summer of writing and reconnecting. Em is going through a painful divorce and has writers block for a series of books she authors. Chess is a best selling motivational author. What will be found during their summer in the cursed villa?
The Villa is a delightful read that focuses on friendship as well as mystery. Interesting plot twists I did not see coming.

A solid read but I liked her debut much better. I don’t know if it was the characters or the timeline shift or something else but I struggled through this book and didn’t love it.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital advance review copy in exchange for my honest review!

Rachel Hawkins is back with another classic-lit inspired slow burn. This time, she takes us to an Italian villa where writers and BFFs Chess and Emily have holed up for the summer, hoping to get the wheels turning on their respective works in progress. Emily soon dives into the villa’s dark past and learns it was the inspiration for a classic horror novel and the site of a brutal murder.

Told in alternating viewpoints in the past and present, this slow burn took a while to get moving. There was definitely groundwork that needed to be laid in the first half, but I was really wanting a bit more of a driving force.

Have you ever read a book where you like the characters (or if you don’t like them, you at least find them interesting) but you don’t like the plot? This was maybe one of those. There were a lot of things I liked about the plot, but I also felt like there were a lot of avenues and possibilities that were left unexplored.

Ultimately, this one was a middle of the road read. Hawkins’ THE WIFE UPSTAIRS remains my favorite of hers thus far.