This was a 3.5-3.75 stars for me, so I rounded up to 4. The story follows two best friends trying to reconnect on an Italian vacation and get caught up in the history of the house they rented and their own 20-year history as friends.
Secrets, lies, relationships both past and present. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and seeing them evolve throughout the story. There were parts that we predictable, yes, but I love the way she wove the ending. This is probably one of my favorites of this author. Quick read, would definitely recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely loved this book! I love when books hop back and forth between past and present. Keeps you engaged from start to finish. Definitely recommend this book and all of her others. Quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Amazing read! This book is unique in its genre flipping back and forth from the seventies to the present, the atmosphere that it creates, and the gripping storyline. Highly recommend this book.

To start, I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy of The Villa.

The Villa has a dual point of view (POV) in two different timelines. The first is Emily’s POV in the present, and the second Is Mari’s in 1974.

Emily’s story starts with her meeting with her best friend Jessica, who now goes by “Chess”. Chess is a big-time non-fiction author, whereas Emily is struggling with her cozy mystery series, all while going through a nasty divorce, struggling to make ends meet. After their get-together, Chess suggests the two of them take a vacation to Italy, and she books a six-week stay at the Villa Aestas.

Mari’s story starts in London in 1974, with her boyfriend Pierce, her stepsister Lara, the infamous rockstar Noel Gordon and his tag along Johnnie. Noel invites Pierce, Mari and Lara to stay with him at the Villa Aestas, with the hopes of Noel and Pierce creating music together but instead tension and unfortunate events lead to the death of Noel.

During Emily’s stay, she tries to write the tenth book in her Petal Bloom series, but becomes intrigued by Lilith Rising, the novel written by Mari in 1976. Completely scrapping her tenth book, she begins a new book in a completely different genre. She starts writing a non-fiction, mystery, autobiography, all about Mari and the groups in Villa Aestas, and about her stay as well.

My Thoughts:
Both points of view are so magnetic. The suspense had me wanting to keep turning the page, it was so hard to put this book down. If it wasn’t the drama taking place in the Villa Aestas in 1974, it was the drama taking place in present-day Villa Aestas.

I really loved the women empowerment in this book. Women are not a force he be reckoned with! I thoroughly enjoyed Emily’s POV the most. Between the drama during her vacation and the drama with her divorce, it kept things spicy and kept me guessing at whether or not a certain character can be trusted. In the end, I enjoyed where both Emily’s and Mari’s stories went, and I was satisfied with the “big reveal” about the truth in both timelines.

“Houses remember.”

3.25 stars

The Villa is a slow-burn thriller/drama about a crime from the past that intertwines with the present.

Former BFFs Emily and Chess, both writers, spend the summer in an Italian villa to spark their creativity. The villa happens to be the same one in which a famous murder in the 1970s occurred, involving a rock star that captivated the world. While the two former friends work on their new books, a deep-seated rivalry emerges. At the same time, their investigation into the infamous murder leads to some startling consequences.

Told through the eyes of Mari and Emily, the narrative alternates between the past in the 1970s and the present. Emily’s storyline both bored and annoyed me. In the beginning, I found Mari’s storyline more compelling, but my interest in Emily shifted towards the end.

The characters aren’t particularly likable, but I was sympathetic towards Mari.

According to the publisher, parts of The Villa are inspired by the events of when Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. This is apparent in the structure of The Villa, which embodies a story within a story. I liked the setting in Orvieto, but I expected the villa to play a larger role in the story. The villa didn’t convey the darkness and creepiness I was anticipating. Really, it is more of a place where things happen vs. a space that contributes to the events.

I struggled to connect in the beginning of the book, as I found the first 40% dull. It’s low on tension and suspsense, and reads more like a women’s fiction/domestic drama than a thriller. I had to push myself to continue reading, but eventually, the book became unputdownable, and I was glad I kept at it! There are also some intriguing but not very surprising twists. I wish the final chapter had been removed--it would have resulted in a darker and edgier ending.

Overall, this was a middle-of-the-road read for me.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed The Villa!

Set in Italy with concurrent timelines- we learn about the events of summer 1974 when two stepsisters, Mari and Lara, along with Lara’s partner Pierce rockstar Noel and dealer Johnnie stay at Villa Rosato to give us a twisty story including complex characters and relationships, passion, art and what happens when everything comes to a boiling point.

In current day, Emily and best friend Chess give us a peak into their dysfunctional relationship. Emily is dealing with recovering from a mystery illness while going through divorce. She is broke from missing deadlines for her novel and thinks Italy is the perfect place to reset and get some work done. Chess is also working on writing - her self help book but has been keeping a secret from Emily.

I found this novel was enjoyable from the very beginning. While it is a bit of a slow burn, I found the writing about the characters and relationships with each other that set the tone for the book very well-done refreshing. While I did guess Chess’ secret quote early on the book definitely did not end in a way I saw coming and I am pretty good at spotting twists from a mile away so I loved that!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this ARC to provide an honest review.

This book was SO GOOD!!! I was hooked from the beginning! I loved that it was told from dual storylines and past and present. This book kept me on my toes and I couldn’t put it down! Five ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martins Press for this arc!

At first, I was a little confused reading the time jumps and different sets of characters. however, I ended up really enjoying the way the two separate setting mirrored and interacted with each other.. I thought the plot resolved really well and in a way that was neither cliche nor pedantic.

The relationship between the characters was very honest and real. The story represented the best, worst, and even the mundane parts of lifelong friendships in equal measure. That balanced treatment made the characters feel relatable, which only drove home the conclusions even more.

Overall, this was a very entertaining and thought provoking read, even it did take a few chapters to get fully absorbed. Definitely a worthwhile beach read or something to take on a long trip.

Having enjoyed Reckless Girls I was really looking forward to this new mystery. It's well written with alternating timelines and characters, a story within a story. It was well tied together but, my least favorite writing style, a purely personal preference. The 1970's are juxtaposed with the present day. The seventies with drugs, rock'n'roll, drinking, etc. Current day has social media and more drinking.
The setting in the Umbria region of Italy made my mouth water. The Villa Aestas has a sordid past,  it and the nearby village was described wonderfully. The setting was by far the best part of the story, with some of The Villa's previous visitors leaving enduring secrets behind.
Longtime best friends, Emily and Jessica (Chess) are both at unsettled stages in their lives when they decide to take a trip to The Villa. Chess is a self-help lifestyle guru, Emily writes a cozy mystery series. Having been betrayed by her husband, they have divorced. The trip to The Villa Aestas is intended for Em and Chess to reconnect and be inspired.
In the seventies Mari was at The Villa and wrote a ground breaking horror fiction book called Lilith Rising. This book tied the two stories in different decades together.
The group gathered at The Villa in the seventies included Noel, a famous rock star, Mari, her lover Pierce, and Lara her stepsister, and Johnnie. He's Noel's lackey/lover/dealer. The group is an eclectic mix of artistic type authors, musicians, lovers and strangers. Not everyone survives what should have been young love and happy memories. The mystery of who the actual killer is shrouded in hidden meanings. There were some surprising twists.
The story reminded me why I never had female best friends until my thirties. Women can be so jealous of each other, hateful, spiteful, lie and betray your trust. The story illustrated these traits well. Women's friendship is a fragile intangible concept.
Although the various characters were very well described, none were particularly likable, no one to feel hopeful for or to remember. The story is dark, depressing and bleak.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance digital copy of "The Villa" by Rachel Hawkins, and to St. Martin’s Press. These are my honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily.

Chess and Emily head to a villa for the summer for a girl’s trip to Italy, Emily is in need of a break from drama with her almost ex-husband and a quiet place to write. This particular villa comes with a history of murder. The longer the two are there, tension and secrets arise and a few plot twists surface.

I chose this book based on the author and the cover. I had heard good things about this author and I fell in love with that cover! The story is told with two different storylines occurring throughout the book. I’m not usually a big fan of that. One of the storylines tells the story of characters who stayed at the villa in the past and which ends in a death. I always prefer that if there are two stories happening or if one influences the other, that the first be told prior to the other. For example, I think the story of Mari, Lara, and Pierce should’ve taken place at the beginning of the book, followed by Chess and Emily’s. To be honest, I skipped over the old storyline.

I found the friendship between Emily and Chess fascinating. They were most certainly interesting in their own way, although I’m not really sure how they had stayed friends that long. Towards the end, I think Emily should definitely have cut Chess off.

I found some of the plot twists surprising and there was only one element that I thought was predictable. The author definitely found a way to end the story in a way that will surprise readers.

I was really excited to read this book since I enjoyed her previous mystery, The Wife Upstairs. Unfortunately, this book just did not work for me. The story was way too complicated, and it was difficult to keep the story jumps straight. The pacing of the book picked up at around 60%, but not enough to change my overall feelings about the book. And the ending was, to be blunt, lame. Honestly, if I hadn't been reading the book for this review, I would not have finished it. Very disappointing.

An overly complicated story that is hard to get into. It picked up about 60-70% in but even then it was a slow build. I loved “The Wife Upstairs” so I was excited to try another book by Ruth Hawkins but this one just didn’t land as well for me.

A crazy summer at an Italian villa full of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll leads to a murder. Years later, two friends/writers stay at the same villa. The story jumps between the original story, articles and books about it, excerpts from the book by the author of that group, stories about the writers visiting later, and excerpts from one of their books, which is about the first group. It’s a lot to try to keep straight.

To add to the confusion, characters would often ask a question, then the story would go off on a tangent that ended up having nothing to do with the question, and then finally someone would answer. At least three times, a response would come and I’d have to go back 2-3 pages because I couldn’t remember what prompted it.

The overall story is good but I wouldn’t classify it as suspense since it didn’t have the build up and charged emotions you expect from a suspense novel. If you like tangled webs and don’t mind a slow build, you may like this book.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in return for my honest review.

I was such a fan of The Wife Upstairs and this did not disappoint! I loved the slow burn of this mystery/thriller and the beautiful and creepy setting in Italy! I was hooked with the dual storyline of both the mystery of the house as well as the relationship between the former best friends. Highly recommend for those who love a slower paced mystery.

I loved the idea of a murder house and the secrets coming to light. It started out strong and instantly hooked me in. I enjoyed how it went back and forth from past to present day. The ending was strange but still so enjoyable to me!

Overall, I found this book to be rather mediocre. The book is split into two story lines. One is from the perspective of Emily and her friend, who are taking a vacation to a Villa. The other perspective is from the people involved in murder that happened at the Villa in the 1970s.

While I do think that some people are going to really love this book, it just wasn’t for me. I found the second timeline to be rather boring. There were too many characters to follow and I didn’t feel like many of them had much depth. Because of that, I wasn’t really interested in what happened to them.

With that being said, I did enjoy Emily and Chess’ relationship. They seemed like polar opposites, but somehow were best of friends.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed the twists and turns brought on by the story. I wasn’t expecting them. Enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Oh my goodness! I requested this book because the cover to me is absolutely beautiful and I will probably buy the hard copy because of that reason but this story is absolutely amazing!


Emily, fresh from a divorce and also an author is suffering from a writer’s slump after being sick for so long. Her best friend (or lack there of) asks her to spend the summer in Italy with her, she’s also an author and wants them to spend the summer writing. Emily uncovers the story of the Villa they are staying at and the adventure we are taken on is absolutely breath taking. The ending had me picking my jaw up off the floor.

What an ending! I liked how smoothly it transitioned from different medias, time periods, and the ever-present spookiness. Well done, Rachel. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, I totally didn’t. Definitely scratched the itch I had to solve a mystery.

Thanks, of course, to St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (less)

Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've been a Rachel Hawkins fan since reading 'Reckless Girls' earlier this year and 'The Villa' did not disappoint. I love the format of setting up 2 stories that you're reading at the same time but happened at different times and by the end you have to put together how they tie together and I LOVED the extra twist tossed in at the end of this one. 9 out of 10 times I see the twist coming but this one came out of nowhere but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The first 10% takes the longest because after that you can't stop reading. I would be reading the 1970's setting and it would switch to modern day and I would be sad to leave the older story but then when it was time to switch back I didn't want to leave the modern day story! I'm not sure that there is a huge morality story that this book sets out to teach you but the modern friendship is going to feel a little TOO real to anyone who has had a best friend/frienemy at any point in their life. I don't know that the ending was exactly what I was hoping for (well ok I know it's not what I was hoping for) but I'm also not like wildly sad about it. It stayed on theme for the book even if it was something that I wanted to be slightly different.


If you want a thriller that is very hard to put down but also has really strong 'good for her' vibes- look no further!

I loved this twisty, atmospheric, page-turner of a thriller! The dual storylines were so perfect--played off of each other and kept the tension high and the pace up. The contrast of the 70's artsy vibe and the pressure modern writers face was pitch perfect and made me think. I enjoyed every minute and was sad when it was over! If you like thrillers with a dark side and a little heft, I recommend this one!