Rachel Hawkins knows how to write women. Each book develops the characters more and more into completely believable and relatable versions.

The actions of Lara and Mari at age 19 are particularly relatable. We're so full of hormones and idiocy at that age, it's a wonder any of us survive.

All of us have had a toxic friend, or have BEEN a toxic friend. I like that with Hawkins, you can't ever tell who the villains are. Maybe we are all villains in someone else's story.

This quirky domestic style mystery/thriller switches between two present day friends, and a group of artists in the 70s. Emily and Chess have decided to spend the summer at a villa in Italy - which is also the site of a murder that took place in the 70s. The way the stories are interwoven and how the narrative switches back and forth kept me intrigued and I couldn't wait to find out what happened next in both stories.

This is a unique book in that I didn't end up really loving any of the characters. I felt for all of them, I could see the ways in which they were flawed and they were trying -- but ultimately I didn't love them. Often when this happens I end up disliking the book -- but in this case I actually really liked the book despite these characters.

I studied abroad in Italy, not too far from where this book takes place, when I was 19 -- the same age as Mari and Lara are when they are at the villa -- which made me love it even more.

Overall, I always love being transported to Italy, and I loved the twists and turns in this one -- definitely an enjoyable read!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

I was drawn immediately into this book. I loved the dual timelines but then it just got a little two strange for me.

Lots of language and too much sex for my liking.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for letting me try it out!

I enjoyed The Wife Upstairs but enjoyed The Villa much more! Though it took me a few chapters to get into the story, I was hooked and finished most of it in a day.
The dual storylines were well done, and I was invested in both of them. There were the obvious parallels we were meant to notice, but were different enough to remain interesting. I actually wanted to hear the songs and read the books (well, not Chess') that the characters wrote. I enjoyed the snippets of media (newspaper articles, podcast transcripts) peppered throughout that give more context.
The "twists" were not very hard to predict, and a few seemed to wrap up a little too neatly. The present day characters were all pretty unlikable, however they were interesting and well written so I wanted to keep reading. I was rooting for the characters from the 1970s, so their tragedies made me feel in the ways the present day characters did not. It was a pretty good balance.

I really enjoyed the parallel stories and opposing view points. I felt that Hawkins did a good job painting the scene in the past and present, as well as providing character development in both timelines throughout the story. I definitely was not expecting either twist along the way and enjoyed how everything came together in the last pages.

Villa Aestas has the reputation as the murder house. In the 70s, a group of musicians and artists gathered to write some music together. Musician Noel was famous and was collaborating with up and comer Pierce. Pierce was with a writer named Mari and brought along her sister, Lara, who was hooking up with Noel. The girls were basically groupies, but after a murder occurs during their stay, the girls end up the most famous. Mari writes a best selling horror novel and Lara writes a top charting album. Fast forward to the present, writers and estranged BFFs Chess and Em stay at Villa Aestas as a reuniting writers retreat. As they dig into the history of the house and their friendship, big secrets come out.
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💭Thoughts💭
Usually in a book with duel timelines, you end up preferring one over the other. Not the case here. I loved the drama with Chess and Em and the horror of the lead up the murder with Lara and Mari. Author @ did such a nice job of wrapping the two stories together and there were so many cool parallels.
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⌛️Favorite Moment⌛️
The process of Mari’s writing and the excerpts from the book itself were some of my favorite parts. She was definitely misunderstood and learning about her life and how sad it actually was really opens your eyes to how she for herself into this strange situation.
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🎉 Theme Ideas 🎉
Watch a horror movie or read a scary thriller- Steven King is always a good choice! Or, listen to some moody 70s music. Think Stevie Nicks and Joni Mitchell.

This dual-timeline thriller has strong female protagonists, even if not many of them are very likable (or even relatable). I expected the house (The Villa) to be more of a character or at least a presence than it actually was. The plot twisted and I admit I did not expect the ending!

The Villa
By: Rachel Hawkins
Narrated By: Julia Whelan
Review Score: 3 1/2 Stars

Five Key Feels

-I love the dual timelines.

-The setting is absolutely beautiful, I could imagine myself there.

-It was interesting to learn more about each character, as none of them were really likeable.

-The tie in between the two timelines was really well done.

-I found some of the twists to be a bit predicable, but it was still well written within the story.

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The Villa was kindly provided as an ARC by Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press. Thank you for allowing me to read this wonderful book!

Release Date: 1/3/23

The Villa follows two different storylines. The first is a girl named Mari, who goes to the Villa with her step sister, boyfriend, and a musician they all know (and his dealer). The second follows Emily and her friend Chess, an “influencer” who writes Self Help books.

A horrible murder happens while Mari and her friends are there, and Emily wants to learn more about it.

There is ALOT of drama in this book. A lot of lies and infidelity. Some of it really added to the story, but some of it was, in my opinion, a little too much.

I did not find any of the characters to be particularly likable, and some of it felt a bit forced. No spoilers, but there is a particularly crazy moment between Chess and Emily, and the resolution seemed too quick for how I think most people would react.

There is also quite a bit of trauma in this book. Death, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and infant death. Obviously, thrillers are meant to be intense, but there were more triggers in this book than I was expecting.

Still, I did enjoy this book. The scenery was beautiful, and I loved the jumps between the timelines. As the story unfolded, I was on the edge of my seating, reading breathlessly to know how the story ended.

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Unputdownable is the best way I can describe this book. I devoured it in one day, The Villa is a phenomenal read. I didn’t want it to end.

Typical run-of-the-mill story. I felt like it was flat; both stories inside the book were. I was expecting some slam in ya face with the line, “House remembers”. It is such a sinister line with nothing to back it up. Fun read, just not memorable.

Another novel about creepy rich people, behaving badly, with limited consequences? Yes! And I'm here for it all! I devoured this book! It was a quick, fun, easy read. I really enjoyed Rachel Hawkins's two previous books, Reckless Girls and The Wife Upstairs, and so I was super excited to receive an advanced copy of The Villa in exchange for an honest review. This book has very similar vibes to her other novels, and the atmosphere, scenery, setting, characters, all pulled me in from the start. Most of the characters are very unlikable, but they had me intrigued. Who is good, who is bad, who is honest, who is unloyal, who is a cheater, who is a murderer??? I had no idea and I wanted to know!

The plot revolves around a brutal murder in an Italian Villa in the 1970s. We get to experience many different perspectives, as the story toggles between that fateful vacation in 1974 and present day best friends visiting the Villa on summer holiday. We also experience bits and pieces of the story through an old novel written by one of the original Villa guests and also some modern day twists such as podcasts and media reports. This keeps the book moving quickly and helps thicken the plot.

I wasn't ready for the ending...Ugh! Of course, Ms Hawkins shocked me with the ending of her last book too, so I was ready for a twist. I highly recommend this book for a fun, thrilling, entertaining weekend read. Thanks for the advanced copy!

I thought this book was dull and predictable. The middle dragged on, and I wasn’t really interested in any of the characters.

I have mixed feeling on The Villa. I absolutely hated Chess and so the timeline with Chess and Emily was not my favorite. I really liked Mari and Lara’s story from the 70’s spending the summer in the Italian Villa. I almost gave this 4 stars but the ending was so obvious that it ruined the mystery of the whole novel. It was a fun summer read and I will read more from this author, but this one was not my favorite from her.

Houses remember.

One beautiful villa in Italy, two stories, never a dull moment. The Villa is fast paced with a few twists that I did not see coming. The detailed description of Orvieto makes me want to jump on a plane to Italy.

Rachel Hawkins never disappoints. The Villa is a must read for fans of this genre.

Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Press and Rachel Hawkins for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks Netgalley, St Martin's and Rachel Hawkins.

This was such a slow burn read for me. Slow start then would actually get interesting then die back down. It was like riding the kiddy roller coaster at a state fair. I wanted more suspense between the two stories told. I had guessed what was gonna happen with Chess and Em. Mari's story, when getting the history of the Villa where Chess and Em are staying, was a bit more interesting than what was going on with Chess and Em.

There were so many ways this book could have gone when you're reading it, but how it ends it's still a bit satisfying.

I received this ARC from NetGalley, all thoughts are my own.

I was pretty excited to get another Rachel Hawkins book just in time for my vacation. This was a nice, fast-paced read, but nothing really stuck for me.

It may have just been the e-copy I received, but the jumps between perspectives and story mediums was really disorienting for me. This may be improved for the finished released or physical copy.

I loved the idea of the book and I thought it was done well
I didnt love how both stories unfolded I thought It was more sinister

I tried a few times to get into this, but I found it boring and the fact that the chapters were long didn't help. I kept picking it up though and once I got on a roll I could not stop. The characters were three-dimensional, and the present day story with Em and Chess and the past story with Mari and Lara were equally fantastic. The setting was obviously great. All of these things come together to make a solid book with lots of betrayal, deceit, passion and tragedy. I'm so happy I didn't give up on it. I really, really enjoyed it.

Struggling writer Emily hopes a summer trip with her lifelong best friend will be exactly what she needs to get her life back on track. Six weeks at a beautiful villa in the Italian countryside far from her messy divorce and recent health issues. She soon discovers the house has a tragic past, a murder committed in 1974 that took the life of one person while spurring the creative success of two others. Can Emily find her answers there, in that dark history?
This twisty, atmospheric dual timeline thriller does a wonderful job examining relationships and the act of creation. The characters are three dimensional, there were great twists and the setting was breathtaking in it's beauty, a stark contrast to the ugliness taking place there.

oh wow that is an intricate story that had me totally engrossed from the start. Switching between different viewpoints kept me intrigued as the plot gradually deepened and twisted.

i have tried reviewing in goodreads but it cannot be accessed yet.