I was very excited to read this book and was not disappointed. I read it in two days! I loved the dual stories in the book and how intertwined they are. The way Hawkins described the villa and surrounding areas made me feel like I was there. It was just such a well written story that kept me constantly engaged. I wanted to like Chess to the very end and I just couldn't do it. What a poor excuse for a friend! Overall, I would recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this thriller. I liked the glimpses of the past and how they seemed to mirror events in the present. I thought the inspirations for the book was really interesting. The chapters were long so it felt like it drug a bit. This book had such a strong start and I was immediately hooked. It started to lose me a bit. They 1974 POV was so much slower that current day so i caught myself skimming those sections

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

Emily and Chess, authors and childhood best friends who have somewhat drifted apart over the years, head to the infamous Villa Aestas, aka The Murder House, to spend some time together and work on their respective upcoming books. During the stay, Emily dives deep into the history of the house and ends up discovering notes by Mari, one of the inhabitants of the house when the murder occurred in 1974. The story goes back and forth from the present to the past, unravelling the truth behind what really happened in 1974. In the meantime, Emily has her own uncertainties regarding her relationship with Chess. Recently divorced and recovering from illness, Emily begins to wonder if her run of bad luck is continuing when she has reason to think Chess is holding something back from her.

This book started off really strong for me! This kept going until about 75%, when I felt that it was falling flat. Hawkins' previous works were all 4-5 star reads for me, so I had high hopes for something mind-blowing. I thought the back and forth timeline was very intriguing and loved how the story was told. However, I did find the end slightly unsatisfying given the tension and build up, and I feel like there was potential for more here. I will certainly look forward to the next release by Hawkins.

3.5/5⭐

Find me on Instagram | dinner.and.a.book

The Villa follows main character Emily, an author who is trying to get back on her feet amidst an ugly divorce. Chess is her long-time best friend she’s been touch and go with — famous and seemingly perfect insta-guru. Chess sweeps Em away to Italy so they can both work on their newest books. The Villa that Chess chooses, however, has secrets. As Em dives into the tragedy of the house, strikingly similar betrayals between her life and Mari’s, the woman who was involved in the tragedy all those years ago, begin to come to light.

If you love any of the following, this book is for you:

🍋 We Were Never Here, by Andrea Bartz
🍋 Manson and The Family
🍋 Goodbye Earl

Guys, I wanted to love it. And I won’t lie and say I didn’t speed read through the second half, but it 100% let me down (it’s a quick read regardless).

It felt somewhat predictable, but I was okay with that because the premise was good and the dual timelines was interesting and characters had depth. But then it took a turn that left me feeling SUPER let down by the MC (girl, HUH??) and honestly didn’t really align with the plot in the satisfying way a thriller can, once all the pieces are on the table.

Overall, it’s a 🤷🏻‍♀️ (2.5/5) for me. It had such great potential!!

This was my first Rachel Hawkins novel and I enjoyed it very much! It reminded me of Daisy Jones and The Six’s ensemble cast of creatives but with a darker, suspenseful edge and faster pace.

This book is told from the point of view of best friends Chess and Emily who rent a house for the summer to regroup and get away from everything. It is told from two different points of view, which was confusing in the beginning. It goes back to an earlier time period of Mari, Laura, Noel, Johnny and Pierce who spent a summer there to create music, however it ended with death. The plot goes between Emily trying to get encouraged about writing again in the middle of her divorce, and discovering what happened in that same house they are staying in. I'm getting confused writing this review, so it kind of shows how the story line went for me.
Overall, I typically enjoy Rachel Hawkins' books. this one was 'just okay' for me. I would still recommend it to others. Thank you #netgally for the #arc

Thanks to NetGalley for advanced copy.

For my thoughts and opinions read my review on goodreads.

I love Rachel Hawkins. I have read several of her other books and all good! I loved the mystery and creepy side of this book. It was interesting the back story of Mari and the creepy story behind the Villa. Thanks NetGalley for this advanced copy of this book. I will definitely be recommending.

Great story line. I liked reading about Chess and Emily and the dynamics of their friendship. However for me it was hard to connect with the some of the characters from the past.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to receive an arc in exchange for my honest review- all thoughts and opinions are my own!


Wow! Rachel has outdone herself this time. I read this in one sitting and while yes, some of the plot is predictable- it doesn’t make it boring or over used. The ending gave me “oh sh*t!” Vibes and I’m here for it!
Amazing work. Would recommend to all my thriller/suspense readers in my life for sure.

🤩🤩
This book follows Em and Chess. Two writers who decide to take a vacation to a villa in Italy. While they are there, they discover dark secrets about the past of the villa.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
This book was super good. I loved the characters and the plot was very intriguing. It was far from predictable and kept me on the edge of my seat. The writing was also pretty good!!
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I love that we saw perspectives of peoples lives during different times. We also follow a character named Mari. A famous author who spent time in the villa during the 70s.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I think this book is a really good thriller and definitely one of my favorites of the year. I’d recommend this to anyone who likes a thriller you could binge read in a day. It also gave off a lot of summery vibes that I adore.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in an exchange for an honest review.

*mild spoiler in 3rd paragraph *

Full disclosure: I really enjoyed The Wife Upstairs, and I was SO excited to get to read an ARC of her new title!

That being said, having quite literally just finished reading, I am of two minds with my opinion of The Villa…I was so into the story line of Mari and Lara. I loved their bond, and felt a kinship to their love/hate relationship. It takes an immense amount of strong emotion to feel either love or hate, so both are inevitably possible within deeply profound relationships. This was very palpable in how their relationship was written, and I really enjoyed their character arc. I would have loved the story focusing solely on them, honestly.

The second storyline featuring Emily and Chess, however? Not my favorite. I didn’t like either of them, if I’m being honest. Emily was a bit of a sad sack, woe is me type., which is super off-putting. And then there’s Chess… She gives serious Rachel Hollis vibes, and she is wholly unlikable with little-to-no redemptive qualities. And *spoiler* we’re to believe that she sleeps with her ‘best friends’ husband and then just expects her to get over it, chose her, and move on with their relationship? Seriously?!? AND THEN SHE DOES?!? What? I hate it.

All in all it was an enjoyable read, but I do wish there had been more Mari/less (or none) Emily. Thanks to NetGalley for providing the ARC!

I was really hoping for better, I loved TWU and enjoyed RG but for personal reasons I just couldn’t get into this book. If you’re a new mom, this one probably isn’t for you, it has some heavy subjects that were difficult for me to deal with, with PPD/PPA

The Villa follows Chess and Emily who have been best friends since childhood. Now in their 30s their bond is still strong. Emily has had a hard year so Chess invites her to stay with her in Italy for the summer. They stay at a villa which was famous for murders that happened there in the 70s. Emily decides to dig into the history of the murders and the people behind them. The closer Emily gets to the truth of the murders the more it causes tenison with Chess. And soon it looks like there might just be another murder to add to the list. 

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! Which honestly did not surprise me. I have read three Rachel Hawkins books and have rated them all 5 stars. I loved the setting of this book. I loved the plot of this book. I loved everything about this book. The plot twist I did not see coming. This was a very different kind of thriller which I really liked. This book was just so freaking good. I am so thankful I got an ARC of this and did not have to wait until January to read it. I already know this is going to be another Rachel Hawkins book that everyone will love. Thank you NetGalley. Rachel Hawkins, and St. Martins Press for an ARC of this.

I am a big fan of Rachel Hawkins and after Reckless Girls and the Wife Upstairs, my expectations were high for the Villa. While I did enjoy the book, it was a lot harder to read than her others. The story seems to jump between not just two, but three storylines and it gets a little confusing sometimes as to which one you are talking about. This is a story, inside a story, interwoven with a story. Sounds confusing right? It won't after you read the book.

It took me about halfway in to get hooked, but I obviously wanted to know what happened. Hawkins is a master at the bait and switch, and delivers as normal with the ending. A vague description, but how could I ever say more without giving away a plot point.

It's an interesting read, but a distant third to RG and TWU.

A highly recommended summer read - and one I wanted to stick with for hours (alas, work...).

There are two parallel stories happening in different decades at the same Italian villa. In the present day, two childhood best friends rent a beautiful villa. They're there to reconnect with each other and to reinvigorate their writing careers. The villa is famous due to a murder than occurred there in the 70s. Two of the witnesses, stepsisters, created groundbreaking works of art.

Themes of love and hate, passion and rejection, tenderness and jealousy are explored as we jump between timelines. And finally, we find out what really happened at the villa all those years ago.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is a wonderful mystery read!

Emily and Chess have been beat friends for years, they are both writers although one writes mystery, thrillers and the other writes self help.

Emily has recently gone through a divorce and Chess has hit a slump in her writing so she decides to rent a villa in Italy that has its own murder mystery tied to it.

This book journeys between current time and the era when Mari and her sister and friends were there. Emily wants to relax and write her current book and then she finds a journal from the Time Mari and her friends were there and she learns even more detail about the murder that happened at the house.

The lessons learned by both sets of people, contemporary and the earlier time seem to line up in some pretty big coincidences but you don’t really see what’s happening until it smacks you in the face.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it!!

Emily has had a rough few months: divorce, writers block, and unexplained illness. So when her oldest friend Chess (formerly known as Jessica) who is now a well known self-help guru, says they need to go on vacation to Villa Aestas in Italy together, Emily doesn’t really see any reason to say no. Hoping a change of scenery will stop her writers block, she becomes engulfed in the idea that a murder that occurred in the villa in the 1970s hasn’t been portrayed truthfully. Will she reveal the secrets of the Villa? Or will the Villa reveal the secrets about her and Chess?

"The House Remembers". The house in question is a beautiful villa in Orvieto, Italy. A dramatic backdrop for what could have been a moody, suspenseful thriller/mystery. Instead I found the story more of a psychological study of 4 women separated in time by decades.
The story follows two time lines 1974-where we meet sisters Lara and Mari. Sex drugs, rock & roll and love drive this plot line. Mari and Lara are in love with the same man...much drama ensues and a murder is added to the mix.
Moving forward to the present day we find two women authors who are also "best" friends. Traumatic events
find the 2 at the Villa for a six week vacation; Once again, a man is the catalyst to this plot line and these long time friends find themselves at questioning their friendship and their future. . All I can say is that "with friends like this who needs enemies".
There are plenty of twists and turns but I was disappointed that given the wonderful setting. the story had little atmosphere, suspense or mood..

After reading the last two novels by Rachel Hawkins, I thought I knew what to expect from The Villa. That is, a spunky female narrator, lots of bad language, and doing whatever it takes to survive. The Villa, however, took me completely by surprise.

One location, two storylines, decades apart. Amidst a contentious divorce, Emily travels to Italy with her longtime best friend to write the (long overdue) next installment of her mystery series. Her attention while there, however, continues to drift to a different topic: the infamous events of summer 1974 involving a murder at the same villa in which she is currently vacationing. Back then, Mari was staying in Italy with her musician boyfriend, her stepsister, a rock star, and a drug dealer. Great works of music and fiction came out of that summer, but little is known about what actually took place there.

I loved the dual storyline format, especially when it included song lyrics, articles, and book excerpts. I typically don’t love fictional rock star storylines as I find them unoriginal, but Hawkins writes in a manner that is neither cheesy nor stereotypical. Her focus on the relationships and inner thoughts of her female protagonists swept me up and stressed me out, worrying about what’s going to happen to them. And Hawkins included plenty of surprises along the way.

I have to mention a major trigger warning for me. One of the main characters is grieving the death of her infant, with many references and flashes back to the illness that ultimately led to him passing away. As a parent, there were portions of the book that were difficult to read and times I chose to take a break from reading, but I am glad I stuck it out because it didn’t really detract from the overall story.