I really enjoyed my first Rachel Hawkins book. The rest have been added to my TBR. I liked the the two timelines in which the story was told and how they merged at the end. Spending a month in a French Villa is the perfect place to write a book especially on true crime. Who wouldn't want to stay in a house that an infamous murder was committed. This book was right up my alley. Thank you NetGalley for my advanced copy!

Houses remember - a line repeated throughout the novel that seems to imply that history will repeat itself in someway.

The story jumps back and forth in time, from the 70s to the present. Two sets of friends living nearly similar lives. Emily and Chess, our main and present day characters, research the history of Villa Aesta, the brutal murder that occurred there, and the lives of Mari and Lara. Emily finds herself relating to Mari and seeing Chess in Lara.

The book kept me intrigued as bits and pieces of Mari’s story were introduced. I found myself questioning whether or not I was reading through Emily’s perspective or Mari’s. Now, this could’ve been my mom brain at work and all of the distractions that come with a full house, but there also wasn’t a large separation of the storylines. I wish Mari’s POV had been a separate chapter than Emily’s.

Overall, it was a great story and I definitely recommend this one!

I thought the Villa, while flawed, was fascinating. I'm a huge history nerd and have always been fascinated by the real-life events this story was inspired by.

The past/present storyline was a bit of an issue for me because I STRONGLY preferred the past storyline, though I've seen other readers say the complete opposite. I found Chess and Emily completely boring and unlikeable but was fascinated by Mari and Lara and their world.

I don't mind a slow burn but this was a VERY slow burn story in terms of plot. All the drama is at the very end of the book and I did feet cheated that the most interesting part of the ending happened off page.

I guess my biggest issue with this one was that it was such a smart book that could have had so much more to say. Was it really feminist? Was the ending satisfying? I'd love to discuss that in book club and hope that a lot of my blog readers and Goodreads friends will want to discuss this one.

Well worth a read if you are interested in the possibilities of a feminist thriller.

This book was another solid read from Hawkins. I felt that at times the mix of stories did not translate well into audiobook. I preferred the read copy of the book and found myself getting lost at times and having to go back without it. Solid.

I would jump at the chance to spend six weeks at a gorgeous Italian villa, that is tucked in next to the medieval village of Orvieto. The beauty and history just oozing out of every nook and cranny. Not all history is good, sometimes it is murder. Would you still stay at this villa? I enjoyed the dual timeline between present time and the summer of 1974. The parallels between Emily and Chess, and Mari and Lara. One willing to take a step back and the other always pushing to be in the spotlight. The history of the villa lured me in, and I could not wait to uncover what happened in 1974 and in Emily's marriage. My jaw hit the floor in both cases, the ending is fantastic.

Emily and Chess have been friends forever. They have pulled apart like any friendship does and this sounds like a perfect time to catch up and really enjoy each other. Emily has been struggling with her divorce, a sickness that cannot be diagnosed, and writer's block. If anything can get her out of this slump it would be this trip and Chess. As Emily dives into the background of the murder that took place during the summer of 1974, she is inspired to write again. Chess always the one to get her way, tries to get in on the deal. Trying to cowrite the story with her. As more information is exposed about the murder and Emily's life, I was shocked by what she is willing to forgive and turn a blind eye to.

I tore through this book at warp speed. I love any book set in Italy and The Villa made me want to jump on a plane and stay there forever. I loved the characters and all their similarities and differences. It makes you think about what you are willing to overlook and forgive in your friendships. Thank you to Rachel Hawkins and St. Martin Press for my gifted copy.

While I am normally a big Hawkins fan who cannot put her books down, The Villa was the first book that I found very ‘meh’. On one hand it did read quick, but honestly it was just so boring to me. I predicted exactly what was going to happen in the present day story, I didn’t feel even remotely connected to the characters of the past, and the “twist” just bored me to tears. It didn’t pack that punch or edge of your seat excitement I usually get when I read Hawkins’ books. ⁠
I do think this was a ‘me’ issue; others have enjoyed this much more. She did a good job of switching timelines and writing a beautiful setting I could imagine. But I just couldn’t get into it.
While she will continue to be an auto-read author for me, this particular one just didn’t do it for me, and I would recommend The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls over this one.

Thank you to Net galley and St. Martins press for giving me a copy of the Villa. This book was about two characters who travel to a villa in Italy to continue writing books. The place they stayed at was where a murder took place in the 70s. This book was a dual timeline thus not my favorite type of book. I had to push myself to keep reading.

This twisty tale takes us to a villa in Italy with two authors who are untrusting friends in he present timeline. At the same Villa 50 years ago there was a murder that happened and that story is the other timeline. The two become intertwined in a creepy murder mystery in which you can trust no one.

This was my first book by this author. I’d say for me, it was simply alright. It didn’t captivate me the way I wanted it to but I will say I liked her writing style. The story follows two best friends who start to unfold a murder mystery of the past connected to where they are vacationing.

I give it 3.25 starts out of 5.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to receive and review this advanced copy.

First off, how pretty is this cover? This was a highly anticipated read for me. I’ve enjoyed Hawkins’s previous novels, but this one is my least favorite of the three. I wasn’t into the plot about the Villa’s past, but I did love Emily and Chess’s story. The ending was interesting even though one of the twists was easy to see coming. If you are interested in the Manson murders and Fleetwood Mac, then you might enjoy this one.

My rating: 3.5/5 stars

A big thanks to Netgalley, St. Martins Press, and Macmillan Audio for my gifted eARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins.

Initially drawn to the book by the title and image. This was a hard read to begin with. It was very slow and took me a long time to get drawn in, the plot twist and ending made it worth the read. I enjoyed the back and forth between perspectives as well.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Rachel Hawkins for this ARC. I offer my review freely.

Told from two points of view, each in it's own timeline, The Villa is a beautiful book. Although it felt like not much was happening, I still couldn't put this down. I was drawn to this story and its characters. I loved the love/hate relationships between the women in both timelines. I feel like they were really well fleshed out. I personally found the ending a bit puzzling, slightly unsatisfactory, but I still consider this a good read.

This was a slow burn, gothic thriller that turned out to be a quick, entertaining read. With dual timelines the stories of Mari (set in the 70s) and Emily (set in present day) are unraveled as past murders get revealed and Emily figures out where her future is going. I had no idea that this was based off of Fleetwood Mac and the Mason murders, so you can bet I'll be doing some research after this one. The Villa is not short on some scandalous sex, drugs and rock n roll, as well as an interesting plot. This was my first by Hawkins and I will be sure to reach her backlist. Coming out January 3, thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the early eArc.

I spent the first half of this book sort of just waiting for anything to happen, for anything to be revealed, etc. and it doesn't really happen until ~60% of the way through and even then it's lukewarm. The final twists are better for sure, although I can't believe this book has probably the most despicable character and she's in it all the way till the end. The final 1/4 is really fun but it's a slug to get there and then you just feel a little icky at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins.

This was a 4⭐️ book for me. I enjoyed the two timelines and it kept me guessing as to how the two would tie together. The gist of this book is that in 70s, Mari, her boyfriend Pierce, and her stepsister Lara join musician Noel Gordon and his friend Johnnie at a villa in Orvieto Italy. In current day, Emily and her long time best friend Chess visit the same villa. As you jump back and forth between the two timelines, you learn more about Mari and Emily along with the tragedy that they experience and their fame. Ultimately, their stories overlap.

This book kept me turning the pages, though at times I did question how the two stories would connect. Overall, if you like a bit of mystery/thriller this would be a good choice for you!

I really loved the current POV but did not like the past POV at all and it really took away from the story for me. I understood why it was included and it all tied together at the end but those parts really dragged for me. This one just didn't really do it for me like I was hoping it would. I liked the dynamic between the two friends but found the rest of the storylines to be a bit tired and boring.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy and exchange for an honest review.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

I was really excited to read Rachel Hawkins’ newest novel because I really enjoyed Reckless Girls, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It mostly felt like two separate stories where I think Hawkins was trying to intertwine Mari and Emily. From the beginning you can tell that Emily’s friend “Chess” honestly just sucks. The ending also felt a bit rushed to me, and the Matt situation felt like it wrapped up too fast and that part should have been written into the book instead of happening off page.

Overall, wasn’t a bad book. Would probably recommend it.

I really enjoyed Reckless Girls so I was really excited to read The Villa. I loved that it's a book within a book within a book. I also loved the morally grey characters and dual timeline. It's a solid little gothic thriller!

⭐️Rating: 4/5
✍🏼Author: Rachel Hawkins
📖Genre: Women's Fiction, True Crime, Suspense, Mystery

💭Summary:
This story centers around a 1974 rockstar Noel Gordon who rents a villa in Orvieto, Italy. He invites a few people with the hopes of re-inspiring his love for music, and writing and collaborating with an up-and-coming musician, Pierce, his girlfriend Mari, and her stepsister Lara. Mari gains inspiration from everything Villa Rosato has to offer and ends up writing one of the bestselling horror books, her stepsister Lara finds her voice/talent and becomes a successful artist. Although a lot of good came out of their stay, there's also a haunting story of the reality that unfolded.

The story flips to 2023 when authors Chess and Emily book the villa - now "Villa Aestas" to find inspiration and rekindle their estranged friendship. Emily becomes fascinated with the history of the Villa and ends up writing about the reality of what happened in 1974- she also finds a lot of parallels with Mari. Come to find, both friends end up resurfacing their own haunting truth throughout their visit leaving them to question if the history of the Villa will repeat their own reality.

💭My thoughts:
This was the first book I've read by Rachel Hawkins, and I was captivated by the embedded narrative, dual timeline, and mixture of true crime/murder mystery. I also loved the references to landmarks within Orvieto, Italy! This was a page-turner that kept me on my toes, wanting more. If reading, I encourage you to pay attention to the details, because everything evolves so fast, and each detail matters. Overall I really enjoyed it!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the digital copy of the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I really liked The Villa.
There are a lot of mixed reviews, but I think I went into this with low, beach read-y expectations having read some of the authors other “thriller” books and knowing they aren’t as dark and gothic as the descriptions makes them sound.
So with the expectation that this book would be fun and light while being about dark things, I enjoyed the book.
I felt bad for Emma, despite having all the ingredients for a successful life, she felt backed into a corner as her husband left her, she got sick, and her money ran out as her writers block (and knowing her husband was getting a cut of the profits) were making it hard to move on.
I didn’t like her friend Chess, but I understood that sometimes if you meet people and they stay in your lives, sometimes you can have super crappy people as friends. But when I thought one thing was happening, I realized I was wrong about it.
I also liked the POV of Mari and her experiences in the Villa. It was a bit Daisy Jones and the Six and Frankenstein with a group of musicians experiencing drama and Mari getting struck with the inspiration to write what would later become such an iconic horror novel. In many similar ways, Mari was stuck just like Em because her boyfriend Pierce was married to a wife he never did anything for, he slept around, and even slept with Mari’s sister. And her sister kept coming along, being super obvious in her quest for attention and blaming Mari when her own boyfriend started to take an interest in Mari and Pierce. Lots of relationship drama and potential hurt mixed with drugs and inspiration.
Overall, The Villa was interesting and fun and I would recommend it. Don’t take it too seriously or expect the next Rebecca. It’s not anywhere near that dark.