The Villa - Rachel Hawkins

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5 out of 5)

I felt connected to this book from the beginning. One of the main characters during the “present” sections is named Emily McRae. My first name and my best friend from colleges last name. Then, I read on and the historical section has a main character named Lara (the name of my best friend from high school - only hers is LaRa). Coincidence? I think not.

This books was such a quick easy read - more of a drama than any other genre. Sometimes I found the storyline to be challenging - it’s told from 3 different perspectives - one being that of letters, articles, song lyrics, etc - and sometimes it got a little confusing! But this book was an excellent book to start of 2023 with!

Out tomorrow January 3, 2023!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an eARC of The Villa in exchange for an honest review.

Emily and her lifelong friend, Chess, set out on a summer long vacation in Orvieto to write and relax. The Villa alternates between present day and the 1970’s during a time that a gruesome murder of a famous rockstar occurred in the same location. Emily is intrigued by the events that transpired in 1974, and soon similarities from the past start to become Emily’s present reality.

It is hard to sum up my thoughts on The Villa because I found it to be equally intriguing as it was flat. I would be entirely invested in the story one moment and a bit confused the next. The premise was there, but the various time jumps and choppy pacing made it hard to follow at times. Overall, it was entertaining, but don’t expect shocking twists or super eerie vibes. To me, this was more so a mystery or drama.

A captivating novel, suspense built so subtle that I was completely surprised by the climax.

In this book, we hear from two women. Mari Godwick, prolific horror novelist during the summer she wrote her infamous novel, Lillith Rising. We also get to know Emily, best-selling author of a cozy mystery series who has writers block, among other personal life tramas.

Both women write from a beautiful Italian villa. When Mari is a guest she comes with her boyfriend, Pierce, and her step-sister Lara. They're guests of rock star legend Noel Gordon and upon arrival they meet another guest, Johnnie who seems to be something between a friend and a drug dealer. She's on the cusp of writing something, words rattling around in her head, on the edge of inspiration but not quite able to focus. Lara is Lara, mooning after Pierce, and now Noel and pretending to be a musician.

Emily is there with her best friend, Chess Chandler. Emily's interest is piqued by the infamous murder that happened at the Villa. Such a tragic summer seems to have brought about the success of Mari and Lara, both having produced their greatest works the that same summer. Emily feels a pull toward not just Mari's horror novel, but the inspiration behind it.

In Lillith Rising, Mari writes: "houses remember." and so it seems does this villa. Because, Emily becomes a woman possessed, she has the inspiration and the words she has lacked for so long. She's not sure what she's coming up with, part memoir, part biography, part think-piece? But whatever it is, it's good.

As Emily continues to write, it seems the story around her also builds. You become untrusting of the people around her and wonder just what is going on at the Villa. The same can be said for Mari, as we hear from her, the reader is trying to figure out just what brought upon a murder and who could have done it.

I was really unprepared for some of the twists and turns that were revealed with this book and loved every minute of it. The writing was excellent -- engaging. Each character clearly had their own distinct voices and allowed you to fully immerse into each timeline as you read about it. I can forsee this book getting a lot of buzz.

I really enjoyed this book, which is basically two thrillers in one - one told in the past (1974) and one told in the present day. The audio was excellent, narrated by a favorite, Julia Whelan, as well as Kimberly M. Wetherall and Shiromi Arserio and I thought they all did a fantastic job. This is a quick and entertaining read, inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the birthplace of Frankenstein. I loved how the two timelines wove together, and how atmospheric and it was (the house is basically a character itself). This is my favorite book by this author so far!

Thank you to LibroFM for the ALC to review and to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC to review.

This is a story that gets you fully involved from the first page. Emily and Chess were best friends from the fourth grade. While Emily is struggling with health issues and a divorce, Chess thrives in her role as a successful author and influencer. Emily is the author of a cozy mystery series. Her latest book is overdue, her husband is demanding a substantial amount of her earnings in the settlement and she is experiencing writer’s block. Chess’ solution is getting away for six weeks to a villa in Orvieto, Italy. When Emily researches the villa she discovers that it was a murder house. In 1974 it was the scene of a murder attributed to sex, drugs and rock and roll.

Mari was a teenager when she ran away with her step-sister Lara and moved in with Pierce, a married musician. When Lara meets Noel, a rock star, he invites them for a summer at the villa. It is here that Mari will write a best selling horror novel and Lara will compose the music that will launch her career. It is also where events lead to Pierce’s murder and a sensational trial. Emily discovers a copy of Mari’s book at the villa and begins to see how some of the events are reflected in the story. She puts her latest cozy on hold and begins writing about the events of 1974, the connections to the novel and her own impressions of the villa. Chess had once suggested that they work together on a book, but this is Emily’s project and she begins to hide her work from Chess. Tensions begin to build between the two friends and lies are revealed, leading to another death.

Rachel Hawkins alternates Mari’s story of the events of 1974 with Emily and Chess’ current visit to the villa. Mari made one final visit to the villa before her death. What she reveals is one final twist that will change everything that you believed to be true. The Villa is a definite recommendation for fans of Ruth Ware. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for making this book available for my review.

The Villa is another hit for Rachel Hawkins, and possibly my favorite of her books to date. The Villa in Italy was the setting of a vicious murder in 1974 when a group of friends and lovers spent the summer at the house. Out of this, step sisters Lara and Mari create a legendary album and book respectively. Fast forward to present day and best friends Emily and Chess spend the summer at the same house. Secrets are revealed, history is repeating itself and Emily and Chess’s friendship is tested. A five star read that proves that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

This is my new favorite Rachel Hawkins book! I loved the alternating timelines. The story slowly unfolded and kept me guessing. I was surprised with the turn of events and thought the ended was perfect. Overall a great gothic style mystery that is also about friendship and more.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book!

3.5ish To start, I’m honestly not sure if I liked this or not.

We start with an empathetic main character who’s basically hit rock-bottom and is constantly comparing herself and being compared by others to her childhood best friend—a successful, self-help book author who seems to have it all.

From the beginning, it’s pretty clear that the friend is sketchy for several reasons, not the least of which being that she is manipulative and clearly puts less thought and effort into her relationship with the main character. “Chess” is the star of the show and Emily is a recurring guest star who floats around in the background but contributes little to the overall story—at least in Chess’s mind and apparently in Emily’s, too.

I was proud of Emily for about the first two-thirds of the book as she decided to upend some plans and do something that she enjoyed, but when she let her “friend” take over and even become subservient to her, I had to force myself to finish the story.

I especially hated how the book they write is meant to be about feminism and sisterhood while their relationship is toxic and only “empowers” one of them. I also didn’t appreciate that the OG author, Mari, ‘takes back her narrative’ in the end by basically tricking everyone with a fake version of the murder because she’s supposedly ‘taking back her power’ or some shit but in actuality takes the blame for something that wasn’t her fault and ultimately absolves arguably bad people of their crimes but shouldering the blame for mens bad deeds—not very down with the patriarchy of her.

This was echoed with the whole storyline about Matt coming between them and needing to be eliminated as a result—let’s be real. Chess did not need to sleep with him and then blow up Emily’s life to reveal what an asshat he was. She also didn’t need to play mind games with Emily and continue to treat her as inferior or less-than.

I could say more, but I want to move on from this book that was interesting, BUT SO INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING. Like, what was the chapter Emily didn’t share with Chess? What was the point of the fake ending to Mari’s story?

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

Houses remember.

The Villa is a book about books and writers (of words and music), friendship, betrayal, toxicity, and intrigue - and it worked for me. Split between two timelines, and occasionally sprinkled with podcasts and articles, The Villa has two voices - Emily, in present time, and Mari, from 1974.

After dealing with a failed marriage and a stalled career, Emily says “yes” to her on-again-off-again bestie, Chess, when a summer in Orvieto, Italy, is suggested. The Villa Aestas is gorgeous and surrounded by the beauty of Umbria - and also happens to be the site of a 1974 murder. Mari, her sister, and her lover were three of the people staying there at the time of the murder.

Reading through the story, it’s hard to say if the villains in either timeline are as clear cut as it seems (except the man engaging in relationships with 15 and 16 year old girls in the 1970s, he is a terrible person.)

Anyway, I don’t want to give too much plot away. Highly recommend this one! I loved the slow burn and the twists and turns. Before I knew it, I was at 80% and didn’t want the book to end!

This book had some really good twists and I dig the dual timeline aspect but overall it just didn’t wow me like I expected it too.

The Villa held my attention throughout. I enjoyed the past mystery within the current day thriller aspect. I had my predictions on how each story would turn out, and was partially right on both. I'm not fully on board for the ending of either thread - can't say more without spoiling it. There was a sense of incompleteness for me at the end. Regarding formatting, I would have liked shorter chapters, preferably broken up when the narrative changes between the 1970's story and the present day story. There were headers to separate timelines, but some chapters seemed really long.

I liked the Villa much more than her last novel (Reckless Girls), but not quite as much as The Wife Upstairs. Overall, I enjoy this author's style and voice and will continue to read her work in the future. I would recommend The Villa.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press via Netgalley for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

I know this is a story I’m going to be thinking about for a long time. At no point was I blindsided by a twist, but the interpersonal relationships added a depth to the story that I wasn’t expecting and leaves so much to continue unraveling as I process everything that happened.

This was my first Rachel Hawkins book and I enjoyed it and it’s made me interested in picking up some of her other books.
It was a bit of a weird book to read, it reminded me a bit of a Daisy Jones and the Six meets Verity.
I’m not sure if it’s a pro or a con but the book is written from so many perspectives. You’ve got present day Emily and 1970s Mari. Then you get snippets from podcasts, emails, Mari’s book, Lara’s songs, biographies, etc.
It’s a lot of bouncing around from one medium to another, but it kept my interest throughout. I thought I had things figured out, but she threw in some final twists that caught me off guard.
I’d give it a 3.5/5 stars (rounded to 4).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the copy of this eARC.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for this advanced copy of The Villa. Emily and Chess, best friends since a young age, are both authors. Emily has been dealing with a divorce and health issues, when Chess suggests a summer vacation in Italy. Emily learns that the villa they are staying at has a history of its own. Told from dual time lines and dual points of view. While a quick read, this book was missing the wow factor. I feel that some of the big parts toward the end were brushed over. I also think that there was more to Chess as a “villain” than was let on. Overall I enjoyed this book.

3.5 stars rounded up

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This was a pretty good mystery/thriller that involves two best friends and their summer at a high-end holiday home in a small town in Italy. Emily is a successful author of a cozy mystery series going through a painful and expensive divorce. She has recently recovered from a mysterious illness and is going through a bad case of writer's block. Her best friend Chess is a successful self-help author and influencer.

In 1974 the home was rented by famous rock star Noel Gordon. He invited an up and coming rocker named Pierce Sheldon, Pierce's girlfriend Mari and Mari's stepsister Lara to stay with him. This puts into motion a series of events that culminates with Pierce's murder, Mari writing one of the world's greatest horror novels, and Lara composing a platinum album. As Emily starts to dig into the 1974 murder, she starts to think that there is something more to the story. This starts her creative juices flowing, resulting in her writing a story combining elements of the murder, her life and her imagination. But while Emily's spark of creativity is lit, it seems that Chess's is diminished. As the summer wears on, secrets and betrayals emerge.

I enjoyed this book. The first 1/3 of the story set up the rest of the book and flowed pretty well. Just as I started to get creeped out and thought the book would get spooky, however, the author pulled back and the story became a typical mystery/thriller. The middle stalled a bit, especially the sections about Emily's marriage. The last 1/3 of the book was unevenly paced and became predictable when dealing with Emily and Chess' relationship.

I enjoyed Mari's story the most, especially the dynamics of the 1974 characters, although even this became repetitive after awhile. I appreciated the twists at the end of the book, which helped raise the book another 1/2 star.

This is a quick and easy mystery read that I recommend you pick up. I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, & Rachel Hawkins for giving me this ARC for an honest review.

Emily and Chess are both best friends and authors. Emily writes cozy mysteries. Chess is a best selling self help author. Emily has been going through health issues and a divorce. Chess tosses the idea out that what Emily needs is a summer away from everything and an adventure to Italy where they can both focus on writing their next books. Emily discovers the villa they are staying at has a history of its own— involving sex, drugs, rock n roll… and murder. Told from dual time lines and dual point of views, a story of betrayal unfolds.

This started out very, very slow for me. I felt like it took 50-60% of the book for things to actually start happening, and things really didn’t peak my interest until the last 70%. I feel like some big parts towards the end were brushed over and left out. I think a little more could have been added without spoiling. I also think there was way more to Chess as ‘a villain’ than what was led on. I feel like there could be another story out there from Chess’ POV that could shed more light. However, I would imagine that’s not in the plans.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. I was interested to see how it was going to play out and that kept me reading even if it was a slow burn for me. A solid 3 stars… had it been a little more riveting… I could have done 4 stars, but the slowness was too much for me. I would read more by Rachel Hawkins, as this was my first book by her, but I did love her writing under Erin Sterling!

This book releases on January 3rd, 2023.

I was a big fan of the wife upstairs and reckless girls but COULD NOT get into this one. I might be the problem because I’m a bit burnt out but this just was not it for me. I feel like I was a bit confused and found myself caring more about the present timeline than the past. I think it took a long time for the two timelines to connect which was a bummer. I’ll still for sure read her next thriller though

**4.5-stars**

A fantastic, paranoia-filled romp in Italy following two sets of women over two timelines. I really enjoyed watching the dual-dramas of The Villa unfold.

Villa Rosato, 1974: Step-sisters, Mari and Lara, are on an artist's holiday along with Mari's boyfriend, Pierce. The trio are staying at the lavish holiday home at the invitation of rock star, Noel Gordon. Mari is a writer and both Lara and Pierce are musicians. There's a lot of creating going on at the home, but also a lot of other things. It's sex, drugs and rock-n-roll, baby!

It's during her stay at the villa that Mari pens one of the greatest horror novels of all time, her magnum opus, Lilith Rising, with the opening words, 'houses remember'. This creative retreat ends with Pierce's brutal murder. Will the house remember?

In the present, Villa Rosato is now known as Villa Aestas, a luxurious holiday retreat, in spite of the fact that it's a murder house. For best friends, writers, Emily and Chess, it's the perfect spot for them to go and reconnect. Emily, the author of a Cozy Mystery series is in a bit of a rut after the recent separation from her husband. It hasn't been easy and with him going after her money, she's financially strapped and emotionally at wits end.

Chess is a very successful self-help author, who rents the villa in the hopes that her best friend, Emily, will join her there for the summer. Emily is concerned, you know about the murder house part, but it does sound like a nice escape. Chess always seems to be able to make her feel better, so maybe it will good.

Once at the villa, Emily is taken with the house and its history; more specifically the events of 1974. She begins researching and believes that the truth may be more sinister than what is currently believed. She also feels like the truth may lie within Mari's writings. It becomes a bit of a project for Emily. She's fascinated by the topic and begins writing about it.

The murderous events at the villa have already been of interest to True Crime aficionados and podcasters for years, but how many of them have actually had the opportunity to go live in the house. Emily could have insight nobody else has ever been privy too before. It's exciting to her and definitely reinvigorates her creative juices.

When Chess begins sniffing around the same story, Emily gets a little miffed. This is her thing. Doesn't Chess have enough already? Why can't she leave this alone? The seclusion of the home and foreboding nature of the house itself seems to be having an effect on the women. They're snapping at each other, running hot and cold, are they just going stir-crazy, or is there something more eroding their relationship? More importantly, will they be able to make it out of the murder house alive?

I was greatly anticipating The Villa and had so much fun listening to the audiobook. The narration was fantastic and absolutely channeled the slow-intensity of the story. I loved the initial set-up. Getting to know the cast of characters, both past and present, kept me fully engaged and present. I was very quickly invested.

One of my favorite aspects was watching Emily's character looking into the events of 1974; how those events intrigued her and gave her new focus. Emily was at a place where she really needed somewhere to focus her energy outside of her failing relationship and bad financial circumstances. The villa helped with that.

The relationship between Emily and Chess was complicated, as many friendships are, but I found it to be 100% believable. Friendships can get messy and this one definitely had its moments.

The 1974-timeline was giving me heavy Daisy Jones & the Six energy and I wasn't mad about it. It was interesting, with great characters and well-structured reveals. Personally, I could have gone a bit darker in that time period, but I understand the choices made by the author. It didn't need to get super dark to be effective and it kept it more evenly-balanced between the two time periods.

I also sort of wish there were more detailed excerpts from Lilith Rising included. I'm so intrigued by Mari's book. I wish it actually existed in real life so I could read it. That should giving you an inkling of how interesting it was, the whole concept of the ultimate Feminist Horror novel. This feeling also reminded me of Daisy Jones because I would have sold my soul for a copy of their nonexistent album.

I loved how this wrapped up. The influence of the one on the other; the permission granted in a way for the present to happen the way it did because of the past. It's really difficult to talk about this without spoilers, so I will just say, I found this to be incredibly clever. The final twist left me with that evil grin I love so much. It was just so well done.

Rachel Hawkins is crushing this gothic-infused mystery genre. I'm loving it. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. <i>The Villa</i> was a ton of fun and a great way to start off a new reading year!!

"The Villa," by Rachel Hawkins, mashes up relationship woes, female rivalry, writer's block, mystery illness and a glancing nod to "Frankenstein," all set to a soundtrack of music for the heartbroken. It's kind of a mess. It's also sure to be popular.

Best friends Emily and Chess (as she has renamed herself) both became writers, but they had grown apart until Chess, author of mega-selling advice books, invited Emily, writer of garden-themed cozy mysteries, to vacation at a villa in swanky Orvieto, Italy.

The villa, as Chess knew but Emily didn't, was the scene of an infamous 1970s murder spawned by sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. "Houses," we're told, "remember." Soon, Emily becomes haunted by the old case, which is revealed in a parallel story, and sets out to make it her next book. Meanwhile, Chess behaves more and more as if she's keeping secrets, with potentially dangerous results.

Hawkins, author of "Reckless Girls" and "The Wife Upstairs," specializes in tales that pit women against each other and twists that can seem too contrived. "The Villa" is her most ambitious work, but the back-and-forth format robbed it of the focus that could have made it her best.

Fantastic! Another hit by author Rachel Hawkins!

MC Emily is reeling from a failed marriage, unknown illness and slow moving writing career. Enter her former childhood BF, Chess, who has a multi million dollar non-fiction writing career as a self help guru. Over the past few years, they start to lose touch, until they decide to travel to Italy together. Told between multiple timelines (1974 and present), the story twists and turns around the sordid past (murder) at Villa Aestas. Past timeline features characters Mari, Pierce, Noel, Lara and Johnnie. Emily becomes engrossed in the history of the Villa and the crime that took place there, only to realize that past and present may collide and change her life forever!

4-star read for me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinion?