Why can’t Rachel Hawkins write an ending that doesn’t suck? I was really enjoying this popcorn thriller with its gothic novel vibes and dual timelines. But the ending of both timelines was so disappointing. It feels like a cop-out disguised as a twist. There were also a couple of things that didn’t seem to be fleshed out - maybe they were meant to be red herrings but they really felt unnecessary. I think this was a really cool idea but could have been executed so much better.

Quick and Dirty⁣
-dual timeline, dual POV⁣
-story within a story⁣
-70s rock vibes⁣
-author story ⁣
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Synopsis⁣
Emily’s life is a hot mess, a literal dumpster fire. The man she loved and married is holding her future hostage. She hasn’t had any motivation to write even though her next novel is overdue. Her health has improved, but she still has no idea what’s been wrong with her for the past several months. Chess, her best friend of over 30 years, might be a huge fake, but she’s all Emily has left. And she’s thrown Emily a lifeline in the form of a summer at an Italian Villa. Interestingly enough, it happens to be famous as the home to the infamous slaying of a 70s musician and the birth of two of the greatest works of contemporary art. Emily's hopeful she'll finally get inspired to finish her book. She'll find more than she's bargained for. ⁣
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Musings⁣
I was absolutely absorbed in this book! Dark and atmospheric, The Villa read much more like a gothic novel than a thriller/murder mystery. I rather enjoyed the story within the story aspects of the novel, and the frienemy storyline of Chess and Emily. While the twists were a bit predictable, the other elements of the story kept me intrigued and flipping pages! Overall, this is strong showing in the thriller space (at least for this thriller novice 😂). If you're a fan of 70s rock culture and female creator stories, then this will be a fun read!

THE VILLA
___
Well everyone, A NEW BOMBSHELL HAS ENTERED THE VILLA.

Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle––the birthplace of Frankenstein––The Villa welcomes you into its deadly legacy.

THE VILLA, is a dual time line and dual POV story told between Emily and Mari; Emily in present day and Mari in 1974. Mari spends her time at THE VILLA writing her novel when the murder of her musician boyfriend concludes the trip. Emily in present day is also writing her novel at THE VILLA and comes across something that may reveal whatever happened in 1974…might not be the truth. THE VILLA hooked me in immediately. I was thoroughly absorbed with the way Hawkins chose to write both plots into the lives of both main characters. The pace of this book made for an amazing ending when everything comes together, both present and past, to remind us that…

…houses remember.

Highly encourage you to go grab this today. This will definitely help kick start your new reading year! You can count on Hawkins to deliver a suspenseful story with beautiful book covers.

Liked but didn’t love! I thought the Italian setting should have been utilized more. Settings are so often used as a character and I felt like there was such an opportunity to do this here. Really enjoyed the realness if the characters!

"Houses, remember..." and so will I. This book was like a train wreck. You can't look away. I started off by reading this and got halfway. Then, I got my hands on the audiobook and finished the second half in one day. The audiobook made it so much easier to pallette. There's just so many stories going on and so many toxic relationships. I love the idea of this book and how the storylines come together. There's twists and turns, and I did lots of head scratching. If you pick this one up, listen to it!

I’ve been holding onto this ARC for a couple months, but I realized publication day was last week, so I figured I’d better get at it! I’m not a fan of haunted house/ghost stories, which is why I kept passing it by, but I don’t think I’d call this a ghost story. It’s really three stories in one…

In 1974, a fledgling writer named Mari, her upcoming musician boyfriend Pierce, and her stepsister Lara go to Villa Rosato in Orvieto, Italy. When they get there, they meet the famous musician, Noel Gordon, and his drug dealer, Johnnie. Throughout their summer, Mari writes a bestselling horror book, “Lilith Rising” loosely based on their time there. Lara also records a best-selling album, “Aestas”, after Pierce died at The Villa. His death, along with a lot of sexcapades, drugs and fights, made it a summer to remember.

Since the death of a man who was hanging out with a famous musician, Villa Rosato became an even more famous getaway for people like Emily, a once-successful but now struggling author, and her best friend, Chess, a successful self-help writer and online influencer. Emily is in the middle of a divorce with her cheating husband, Matt, so when Chess asks Emily to come with her to Italy for the summer, it wasn’t a tough decision to make. Soon, the two ladies are driving with the top down in Italy, free as birds.

Once at the villa, Emily keeps trying to write, but she’s stuck on her line of cozy mystery novels, and the new atmosphere isn’t giving her the inspiration she hoped it would. She instead decides to read “Lilith Rising”, and is pulled into not only the dark horror, but the events that took place in the ‘70s. That’s when she starts writing her own book about the villa, which starts to strain her friendship and brings a third story into this novel.

Overall, this was definitely like one of those cozy mysteries that Emily writes, because it was slow and played things safe. It did start to pick up towards the end, and I did like the ending, but this probably isn’t one I’d read again. I’m late on the train, but giving this a 3.5 star rating.

(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Rachel Hawkins, and
NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

This was the first book from Rachel Hawkins that I’ve read (How, I have no idea), and I’ll definitely be reading more. But, I do want to preface this review by saying that generally speaking I do not gravitate towards thrillers, and when I do I prefer them to be less in your face, and more of a slow build which this definitely was. If you are a diehard thriller fan, looking for something in-your-face, with twists at ever turn of the page, then this may not be for you. But for someone dabbling in mystery/thriller this may be great option for you. The slower build of suspense allowed me to sit back and really dig in. That’s not to say it wasn’t a quick read, because it was! It just didn’t have a super fast, twisty plot.

I also loved that I finally found a dual storyline book that actually worked for me. They usually don’t, and I find myself preferring one storyline over the other, but that just wasn’t the case here. I found both storylines to be engrossing, and necessary to the plot. I did identify a few plot points that felt unresolved, or under-explained (especially with the current day storyline), but those holes weren’t distracting to me.

I liked that I was making guesses throughout the book, and while I came close, I never completely figured it out until the reveal towards the end. That’s always a hallmark of a good mystery/thriller in my opinion. .

Lastly, I loved the setting. But that’s just a personal preference, as I’ll read almost anything that’s set in Italy.

Overall, this was a fun, and quick read!

*Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital review copy in exchange for my honest review.

I had a hard time getting into this one honestly and I'm disappointed. I just didn't find the characters super compelling. BUT I think the writing and the plot were very interesting. So check this one out and see what you think!

Jessica (Chess) and Emily have been best friends for years. As adults, they have both become published authors and while maybe Chess is significantly more successful than Emily, well, they make it work. Sort of. When Chess suggests spending a summer in Italy together, Emily is surprised, to say the least. They haven’t been as close as they used to be and Emily has had a bit of a rough year - think cheating husband, recently divorced, mystery illness. But, Emily knows she has to get her cozy mystery written and when Chess reminds her how inspiring the Italian countryside might be, Emily relents.

I enjoyed the book. Hawkins did a great job telling the story of not only Emily and Chess, but also of Mari and Lara - two step-sisters who witnessed a murder in the same Italian villa back in the 70s. The two stories intersect in a unique way that kept me interested throughout the novel. The ending was especially well done.

Definitely recommend picking this up for a road trip or vaca read.

Thanks to Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

I thought this was a fun read. The setting was great and the flashback sections were particularly engrossing. I did have some questions about how things worked out in the modern section regarding Matthew, but was able to get over that with a little suspension of disbelief. I would recommend this book to others.

I still don’t know how I feel about this one. I even had to google what gothic fiction is 😂 but it was a quick (only 288 pages) and interesting read.

On one hand, I loved the plot of the book. It was a unique story that tied the past and present together in a really cool way. On the other hand, I disliked all the characters (especially the ones from the last timeline).

I enjoyed the present timeline with Emily and Chess trying to reconnect as BFFs, all while Emily digs into the history of the vacation house and the murder that happened there. The past timeline slowed the pace down for me as it plays out the events that lead up to the murder.

You also get snippets of Mari’s manuscript, Lara’s songs, and articles about the rockstars & murder. It didn’t add anything extra to the story for me, and it made the flow feel choppy as you transitioned from one POV to the other.

Overall, I do think I would still recommend this to because of the storyline.

This book was a roller coaster for me. Firstly, I really enjoyed the historical side of it. I loved the flashbacks through the decades, and how a good part of the book took place in the 70’s. I also enjoyed the parallels between the group in the 70’s and Chess and Emily’s relationship. I spent a good amount of the book assuming the wrong characters were against the main protagonist, I truly did not know how it would end.
Which brings me to THE ENDING…….. the book had a great ending. But then it didn’t end there. The good ending was a pseudo-ending. I was unhappy with the ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC.

Emily and Chess were childhood friends who are spending the summer in Italy at Villa Aestas. Emily is a mystery writer who has been suffering writer’s block, going through a divorce. Chess is a self-help therapist. They’re taking time in Italy to reconnect. Both have issues as far as jealousy and envy. Soon Emily finds out that Villa Aestas is the scene of a murder and begins to investigate what actually happened there. Emily uncovers secrets and the tension grows between her and Chess. Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

Thank you St Martins Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is pure redemption after the dumpster fire that is Reckless Girls (sorry, loved The Wife Upstairs, hated Reckless Girls).

The plot is entertaining and engaging with its murder and toxic relationships, and with its mystery and intrigue.

My loves:
• “Houses remember”
• Creepy vibes
• Unexpectedly spicy with fluid relationships
• Up until the last chapter, I was leaning towards a 3 star rating. But that plot twist…wow. It made me giddy. I didn’t see it coming.
• Muses becoming artists

My dislikes:
• the additional excerpts - there are two stories going on which I like BUT then there are these added excerpts from podcasts, etc. I don’t know if it is because I read a digital galley but it feels choppy and unnecessary.

I definitely recommend this horror story to horror/thriller readers. Go into it blind and have fun. You won’t be disappointed.

The Villa is a story within a story within a story… dual timelines with an extra fictional storyline playing out.

Emily and Chess were childhood best friends, but a few decades later, how well do they still know each other? Each are successful authors– Emily writes a popular cozy mystery series and Chess is a Glennon Doyle-ish guru. Emily is stuck in a rut–writing, working through a messy divorce, and recovering from a mystery illness. Chess invites her to spend the summer together at an Italian villa with a notorious past.

In 1974, another group of friends spent the summer there, but one ended up dead, another in prison. Despite the tragedy, two step sisters went on to giant creative success after finding inspiration at the villa.

The Villa sparks something inside of Emily– but instead of cozy mysteries, she’s obsessed with writing about the house.

We go back and forth, filling in the blanks from that fateful summer in 1974, while present-day secrets start coming to light between Emily and Chess. It’s addictive, intriguing, immersive, with an ending that, while bizarre, is super satisfying.

One thing I really enjoy about Rachel’s thrillers is the underlying theme of (I guess you would say) girl power? It seems like there’s always a lot to unpack about the nuances of female friendships. Always hits the spot! This was a great way to start the reading year. Thanks to SMP and NetGalley for a review copy!

I know 2023 has only just begun, but this is already one of my favorite books this year!

Chess and Emily plan a trip to Italy to rebuild their once inseparable friendship. But the villa they stay in, Villa Aestas, has a dark past. In the summer of 1974, up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon, is murdered at what was once known as Villa Rosato. Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history and discovers the sinister truth behind Pierce’s brutal murder. Stepsisters, Mari and Lara, left behind clues that hadn’t been uncovered until now, but these new revelations cause tension between Chess and Emily. The walls of the villa are filled with deadly secrets and it looks like it may claim another victim.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The way the past intertwined with the present was so intriguing and I couldn’t put my kindle down until I knew every last detail of this troubled tale. Highly recommend for anyone who loves a suspenseful mystery/thriller!

*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of this book to review.*

I've heard mixed reviews about The Villa, but regardless, I was very excited to receive this e-ARC after loving Reckless Girls! I didn't like this one as much as Reckless Girls, but it was an interesting story. It definitely makes you feel like you're in warm sunny Italy! It's interesting to me how there are kind of 2 separate stories, but they're woven together really nicely. I would have liked some more details about some things, but a good read overall.

I absolutely loved this book and enjoyed both timelines. I liked how the timelines touched because of the house, but each time had its own story.

I thought the use of small snippets of a true crime podcast and blog were perfectly place to move the 1970s story along.

And all the morally gray characters are great!

I enjoyed most that while there were twists in both stories they were jarring like a jerky roller coaster, but subtle and ongoing in both storylines until literally the last page of the book!!

Estranged-ish childhood besties Chess and Emily decide to travel to an infamous (but gorgeous) Italian Villa for a getaway, hoping to spark creativity in the books they're working on. The Villa has a complicated and bloody past & mixing with the unresolved conflicts in the friendship between Chess & Emily, it creates a twisty and eerie Gothic thriller.

I have typically enjoyed books from this author- The Villa wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped but I didn't dislike it. I never liked any of the characters- I found they were quite mundane and self-absorbed, and all their relationships wanted to make me puke. The dual POV and timeline was intriguing, however I felt at times it was hard to keep track of who was who and where I was and when. The twists definitely did surprise me but at the end I still felt like something was missing or unresolved IMO.

I downloaded the discussion guide for The Villa and was liked the inspiration that sparked the writing of this novel.

This latest novel from Hawkins is a very taut, suspenseful novel. The reader may think they know what is going on but everything is just slightly out of sight.

The story of two friends, Emily and Chess, who spend a vacation at an Italian villa that was the site of a famous murder. Emily is an author of cozy mysteries while Chess writes self help books. The novel has both their experiences while also going back in time to the summer of the murder.

It is a very atmospheric novel and the storyline about the earlier murder is somewhat reminiscent of the Mary Shelley story about the summer she wrote Frankenstein. There is a good level of tension even when you think you know what is going on. Almost predictable but it does not matter. Very well done.