My thanks to St. Martin's Press, Rachel Hawkins and Netgalley.
After reading and loving Ms. Hawkins last 2 books, I was eagerly anticipating this one. Her book Reckless Girls, was my favorite book of 2021!
This one though? It sadly missed the mark for me.
I still had a good time reading it.
So, I'm giving this just 3 stars, but be sure that I'm still on-board the Hawkins train! Even my favorite authors have a misfire occasionally.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great thriller and it kept me on the edge of my seat.

Thank you to NetGalley, publisher, and author for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Rachel Hawkins doesn’t disappoint! Just wish it was a little bit faster phased. Great read!

Unfortunately, this book left me feeling so disappointed! After reading the first couple of chapters I was super excited! There was just so much potential; so many different directions the story could have gone, but ultimately…. I was bored!

I loved the concept behind the dual POV’s taking place in the same location decades apart and the sneakily parallel storylines that connected them but things just moved way too slowly to keep me invested. Not enough twists or action here, and the conflict development / resolution was pretty predictable.

The characters were absolutely insufferable, EVERY SINGLE ONE, but dare I say that this was the only thing that kept me reading?? Everyone was so unbelievably mean to each other that I had to see how far they would go!!

Maybe there is some grand message about friendship here that I’m supposed to walk away with? Can’t be sure.

Rachel Hawkins is a fun writer. Have enjoyed all the books I’ve read before. A solid go to author.
The Villa was no different. Interesting plot and entertains.

I really enjoyed this book for the majority of it. I had heard it really wasn't a "thriller", more mystery/historical novel. I was okay with that, and actually really loved the way Rachel Hawkins structured the book. I loved the dual timelines and getting to piece the stories together and see how they fit together. What I didn't love was the ending itself. It felt really strange and unrealistic to me. The way Emily reacted to some things just didn't really make a lot of sense. And choices that Chess made really bothered me too. I know it's a mystery/thriller and I'm. not going to like all the characters in these types of books, but to me it felt like more than that. The end honestly disappointed me because I was really loving the book the whole entire time up to that point.

One villa in Italy with two different names. Two time periods. Two sets of women. Two murders. This is not your typical whodunnit. There are a lot of twists and turns and a lot of back and forth between the two different eras. And just when you figure out who the killer is, something happens that you change your mind. Again. Definitely an enjoyable book that keeps you guessing until the end.

An amazing and suspenseful page turner! Told in alternating storylines between the past and present.
Emily and Chess, who have been best friends for many years, go on vacation to Italy for the summer to spend time together, rekindle their friendship and unwind. Secrets start to unfold about the history of the Villa they are staying at, that will change everything.

3.5 rounded to 4. Thank you @stmartinspress @macmillianaudio and @netgalley for an #advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

"Not Better, Just easier. The Simplest words I've ever heard. And they cut me to the quick like only she can-- a silk glove on an iron hand."

🍋This was my first book by Rachel Hawkins, and while it wasn't my favorite thriller, I will definitely be reading more !!

This book is told in first person POV by Emily in a present day timeline, and Mary in 1974. While Mary and Emily were very different, they also had alot in common and I really enjoyed the similarities - they were both writers, both recovering from tragic events and trying to escape their realities in Italy.

I found myself enjoying the past timeline more than the present day one. i loved learning about the things Emily was finding out about, but from Marys perspective. Emily and Mary were my favorite characters... all the other characters were a little annoying, but they all had so much in common between the timelines. I also really loved the mixed media- podcasts, interviews, articles, etc. and the setting of Italy was just amazing !!! Overall, the story was good, but it felt a little unfinished to me. I will definitely be reading more of Rachel Hawkins books in the future !

Set at a villa in Italy, across a few timelines, The Villa is a slow-burn story highlighting some female relationships that stand the test of time and the true power of a secret. Rachel Hawkins is always good for a fun read, but I enjoyed the departure to something more gothic and dark for this one. The modern timeline was the tale of two best friends who feel disconnected and each needs some time away. They start to dig into the sordid history of the villa, which was the site of some murdery action in the 70s. From the ashes of the deaths came a very spooky horror novel and a bestselling album every feminist has in their music collection.

I liked the interlocking stories and the switch between timelines. For me, this book struggled with the same thing that every book with two timelines struggles with -- one timeline was more interesting than the other. I think this is probably an issue that is nearly impossible to avoid. All in all, this book was fun and interesting and I enjoyed it. Was it groundbreaking? Not really, but it was a fun read and I liked it. It would make a wonderful beach read.

This was the best book! I read it in one sitting! I would definitely recommend this book! It had such good twists and very well written!

I really like Hawkins’ stories but this one I’m not sure if I do or don’t. I didn’t really care for Chess, thought she was a person who used Emily at times and wasn’t very nice. I didn’t like Mari’s story too much although it did take place in the 7o’s where a lot of unusual free love took place. I didn’t find this haunting or mysterious. The ending to Emily’s story was rather unbelievable too. 3.5 stars

“Houses remember.”
This theme gets interwoven from the past to the present in The Villa by Rachel Hawkins. I so enjoyed the moody setting of Villa Aestas (previously Villa Rosato).in Orvieto, Italy. Why the change in name? Why, due to notorious murder of rockstar Pierce Sheldon in 1974. The how, why, and whodunnit of the murder is juxtaposed through alternate timelines, Mari in the past and Emily in the present day. I raced through this book, so eager to get to the bottom of Pierce’s murder and understand what was truly going on with present day guest Emily uncomfortable relationship with her self-help guru bestie Chess. I adored the atmosphere, the mystery, and the troubled characters, not to mention the ending that had me guessing as well as finally understanding how, “Houses Remember.”

Another fast-paced fantastic read from this author. The story moves quickly but still gives the reader a strong sense of development and fully fleshed-out characters. Fans of both Rachel Hawkins and the mystery/thriller genre in general will love this one.

3.5. I enjoyed this story a lot, however, I found the execution on it, to be a little weak. I thought many things could've been improved had the written been different. The story was very intriguing, however, the entire time I was reading it felt like there was something missing. I did enjoy the 70's rockstar of it all though. Despite my feelings on this book, I will definitely continue reading Rachel's books in the near future.

Thank you, netgalley for my copy of this book.

I have enjoyed other books by this author and also liked this one.

Dual timeline + rock n roll + a little mystery. This one was a quick and easy read that kept me wondering how it was going to end.

I read this one in two days and would recommend it!

The book had a little slow start for me and it got better around 25-27% in. After that I couldn’t stop reading. I loved the gothic/creepy atmosphere of the book, 2 totally different POV and timelines. I ended up liking this book a lot.

The Villa was nothing like I expected but everything that I needed. Rachel Hawkins delivered yet another one of my favorite reads. Looking forward to seeing what she publishes next.

Not a fan. I was on the fence about this one before I even started it, but I liked The Wife Upstairs so much that I decided to give it a try. I shouldn't have.
Told in two different storylines, this book is about writer Emily, who finds herself stalled in both her career and her personal life, and about Mari, a teenager who has attached herself to a struggling musician. Both of these women find themselves at a Villa in Italy in an attempt to turn their lives around. Mari arrives at the villa in the early seventies with her married lover and fragile stepsister, in order to spend the summer with a has-been musician who definitely lives the stereotypical rocker life-style of the time. Emily goes there with her best friend Chess, who has a successful lifestyle and self-help brand. What the reader and Emily know, that Mari doesn't, is that Mari's stay at the villa will result in a scandalous violent crime that will led to the successful, if strange, careers of both her and her sister. The book seems to unfold to the climax of what happened at the end of Mari's stay and Emily's discovery of exactly what events took place on that tragic evening.
It's a promising premise, but it wasn't well-executed. It seemed that a lot of time was devoted to the seventies story-line, but none of these characters were well-developed enough to inspire sympathy. They lacked depth and felt wooden, even when the author was trying to convey how emotional and dramatic they were. It felt trite, especially when they all devolved into the old tired "rockstar" tropes.. To me, it made them even more unlikable. The whole Frankenstein/Mary Shelley vibe felt inorganic, wooden and forced.
And then Emily's storyline in the present suffered. More emphasis should have been placed on this. But as a result Emily felt naive and frustratingly blind to her situation. I wanted to yell at her to trust no one. And she seemed to know she should trust no one. But her actions did not go along with that. At all.
The setting seemed strange, as well. With the subject matter, the reader might be expecting a dark, gloomy, creepy crumbling castle, or something along those lines. But a bright sunny villa during a hot Italian summer is where this story takes place. Perhaps the author was trying to juxtapose the setting with the actions and make it feel unexpected and jarring in an ironic and clever way. But it just came across as jarring--in a bad way,
But what really got me was the ending. I won't give away any spoilers, but Mari's last "letter" just made me feel like, "What was the point of all of this?!" And then the decisions that Emily makes at the very end are just plain ridiculous. I'm not sure if these actions are supposed to make her seem more like an "independent" strong women who was taking control of her life and her future, but they actually had the exact opposite result. Why would she go that?! I just got mad.
I would absolutely not recommend this book. When I finished I was just mad that I'd wasted time reading it.

I did enjoy this book. The historical parts not so much. I was actually bored during the past parts. The cover of the book is beautiful, the story predictable. I did love the authors other 2 books so I thought I would also love this one.