WOW! The Villa is a delightfully delicious story that I devoured in one sitting!! Told in two different timelines, it all just came together perfectly. I loved the characters, loved the setting, loved the writing, loved the plot! It seems Rachel Hawkins can do no wrong!

I received this ARC from NetGalley. This was quite a unique mystery/thriller! I loved the nonlinear timelines and the history of the villa. This story tests relationships and finding out who you can really trust. Although I liked the concept of this story, I was hoping for more of a spooky mystery. I still enjoy Rachel Hawkins’ writing a look forward to more of her work.

Thank you netgalley for approving my wish

“The Villa” was anticlimactic at best.

This book read more like contemporary fiction than it did a thriller and I felt duped.

The first half of the book was promising and was building up some AMAZING twists but they all fell short.

This book could be amazing, the twists could have been jaw dropping but the last end of the book was tied up too fast and the explanation was blah.

Emily is a "cozy" mystery writer who has had a tough few months of being sick and dealing with a divorce.

Emily runs into Chess, her best friend since they were kids. Chess is a famous writer that had made a career in self-help motivation books.

After running into each other Chess asks Emily if she would like to go to Italy with her for the summer and stay at a villa. Emily agreed to go and was hoping that a change in scenery would help to get her out of the writing slump she is in.

The villa they stay in has a history. Back in the 1970s a famous singer died in the Villa. Emily is determined to find out what happened, so determined that she starts to write a story about what happened in the villa.

The story goes back and forth from the present, and back to the 1970s to tell the story of Mari and the famous singer.

I was a little concerned about the friendship between Emily and Chess at first. I thought Chess may have tried using Emily for her own benefit. I was happy to have been wrong. It was great seeing their bond get stronger instead.

This book was really well done with some twists that will catch you by surprise.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love the idea of the Italian villa, the picturesque countryside, the two friends trying to reignite their burnt out friendship. Em and Chess were best friends forever while growing up but both of their lives have gone in different directions. When Chess wants to reconnect at the Villa Aestas and spend a summer together Em decides to give it a chance. Once they arrive Em can’t help but start digging into the murder house mystery that involves the villa and a murder from many years ago. The dual timeline storylines were interesting but somewhat confusing to me, I wasn’t always sure who fit where and which story I was reading until I got used to all the characters. I did like the end and thought it wrapped things up nicely.

This is my favorite Rachel Hawkins book yet!!
Firstly, it has a dual timeline and who doesn't love a dual timeline?
The present day timeline is focused around an author who is struggling to write her next mystery novel when she reconnects with a friend, Cheese. Chess takes her to a villa in Italy for the summer so both of them can focus on their writings.
The other timeline is based in the 1970s around a group of rock and rollers staying at the villa and all of their relationship drama. I promise it's nothing like Daisy Jones & The Six.
The book was well written and has lots of twists, turns and suspense!

thank you, netgalley, for an advanced copy of the villa.

This story is about Em and Chess, who goes to italy to a villa. In 1974, there was an incident at the villa, and someone died. You get a dual timeline of what happened now and then at the villa to see what led up to death.

This book was good, but I found myself at times bored, especially during the 1974 timeline. I felt like although it was nice to find out what happened during 1974, it felt almost unnecessary as I was more interested in the now timeline.

Two childhood best friends head to a villa in Italy to reconnect. A villa with a dark history. As the two attempt to repair their friendship, one finds herself sucked into the history of the house as she tries to solve the murder.

Rachel Hawkins does it again with a twisting, suspenseful thriller against the gorgeous backdrop of Italy. Told in alternating storylines that combine the pst and present, you won’t be able to put this book down.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for a fair review.

Wow, I wasn’t expecting this story! Loved the back and forth story between Chess and Em visiting the Villa and their rival author best friend dynamic, and the story they were discovering of what happened at the Villa. Or at least what was written. I really enjoyed it!

You know what they say: What happens at the Villa stays at the Villa.

Vacationing at a Villa in Orvieto, Italy sounds like a dream come true. One night in 1974, something sinister happened at Villa Aesta, and Pierce Sheldon was murdered. Now, over 40 years later, the Villa, now known as Villa Rosato, is available for rent. Best friends and writers, Chess and Emily decide to go for it, hoping to rebuild their friendship, write, and be inspired. Little do they know..

A slow/burn mystery that left much to be desired, I admit to skimming a good portion of the book when I got towards the end. I didn’t care much for either storyline and chalk this up to my not being the right reader for this novel.

A buddy read with Kaceey.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc and Macmillan audio and Libro.fm for the alc

This is my third book from Rachel Hawkins and I have enjoyed them all. I have to say Hawkins’ book covers are always gorgeous and definitely an attention getter. I really enjoyed The Villa. I enjoyed the different POVs and alternate timelines. Looking forward to more from this author.

There was so much potential for this slow burn thriller. I feel so conflicted with this one - while I really enjoyed the plot of the past timeline, the present one was rather boring until almost the end of the novel. I wished for more from the setting - in both the timelines. It seemed like it could have become a character on its own but was left alone.

While the twists made sense in the context of the story, they weren't surprising.

Mari was probably the most interesting to following but I found my attention waining when it switched between timelines.

Overall, this was a middle of the road read for me. I do intend to read more from this author as I could see loving something else from her in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this novel.

Sex, drugs, and rock and roll!
When Emily and Chess reconnect on the trip of a lifetime they stay at a villa where a murder took place. Emily, a writer, discovers an old novel and starts to see clues from the murder right before her. As she becomes more involved in this novel she starts to imagine other things are going on in her life.
Flashing back to the early 70's when the slow burn of this thriller took place. Two sisters and their lovers on a summer song writing adventure that goes south leads to big changes in their lives.
I personally would have liked a little more of the present story.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins press and libro.fm for my ARC

This one wasn’t my favorite. I felt pretty uninterested in most of it but was interested enough to read (sometimes skim) through to the end. I enjoy Hawkins’ writing style and enjoyed the dual timelines but didn’t feel connected or invested for past or present

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

I have a tendency to get lost when a story contains two stores within it, but this author made it easy to navigate both narratives, though they are vastly different. I like how there is a small tie between present and past and it was captivating figuring out how they interconnect with one another. Having this story told with a past, though they are truly not related, does provide the reader with a bigger picture and a fuller picture of the present.

This author has a way of sucking you in because her writing is so captivating and she evokes a wide range of emotions. There are times in this book that I was genuinely frustrated, annoyed, and angered at the characters surrounding the story yet I could not get enough. You want Emily to succeed, but at the same time she doesn’t make it easy to be on her side.

This book definitely takes you on a wild ride, questions your morals, and leaves you with feelings of unease. There’s a lot of gray area to this story and a lot of questions you will end up with at the end. Readers will either enjoy this book for what it is or it will leave you feeling irritated, but either way you will be engaged until the very end. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press for this ARC and Libro.fm for the ALC

I loved the dual perspectives/timelines - one gave me Daisy Jones vibes, the other reminded me of Firefly Lane - and the story itself was intriguing. My only complaint is the very end of the book: I could have done without the last few pages. But I don’t know, I might be in the minority there. And regardless, I think this is my new favorite by Rachel Hawkins.

Emily and Chess have been childhood friends and use to spend all their time together. As they have grown older and apart their lives still are similar as both are authors. Chess has found mega success with self help books, Emily has found limited success writing cozy mysteries. Trying to reconnect Chess books a villa in Italy where they can both work on their new books and bond. This villa has a dark past thought that threatens to derail their lives.

In 1974 rock legend Noel Gordon, looking to reignite his fame arrives at Villa Rosato with upcoming rock star Pierce, his girlfriend Mari and her stepsister Lara. There is lots of sex, drugs and rock n roll and as things get out of hand a murder leads to Mari writing a famous horror novel and Lara writing a multiplatinum album. What really happened in this villa?

This book had me thinking I knew what was going on and then not, then again I thought I knew what was going to unfold and then again, I had no idea. A fabulous ending that left my mouth agape and me thinking about if for days after. I loved the 2 timelines told from years in the same villa and I looked forward to both perspectives. An added bonus was the excerpts from Mari’s famous horror novel, Lilith Rising. This is my 3rd book by Rachel Hawkins and I have loved every one of them, and their covers.

WOW! This was so good! I listened to this in a span of two days. I really loved the multiple timelines, the multiple perspectives, and the setting of the villa.

Grabbed me from page one and never let me go.

Emmy and Chess have been best friends since fourth grade. Over the years they have slowly drifted apart. Chess is a massively successful self-help guru and Emmy is a semi-successful author of a cozy mystery series who is going through a financially devastating divorce from her cheating husband. That’s when Chess suggests a summer in Italy at a villa where a struggling rock star, Pierce Sheldon, was murdered back in 1974. It was a murder that spawned a famous horror novel written by Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and sky-rocketed the career of Mari’s sister, Lara.

When they arrive, Emmy finds Mari’s journaled pages, written the summer the murder happened, and begins a book of her own. But as Emmy writes what she is sure is the manuscript that will relaunch her struggling career, the cracks in her friendship with Chess begin to show through and Emmy is forced to look at her life and her choices through a different lens, one that begins to parallel Mari’s from so many years ago.

I’ve enjoyed many of Rachel Hawkins previous books and this was no exception. The characters were well developed, the plot strong, and the tension palpable.

This book had me hooked - quickly entranced by the plot and the women. These women are all badass- well maybe with the exception of one.
Emily needs a vacation- her pending divorce draining all of her - confidence, her bank account. Her bestie Chess - a self help bestseller books a trip for them both. Villa Aestas.
My favorite narrator- Mari, daughter of a talented woman who died in childbirth. Her stepsister. Her partner. His friend - plus his dealer. Complex. Women in superficial roles, yet about to hit their creative peak.
Mari to pen a book about "women, power, betrayal. Survival."
Based on Mary Shelley's own excursion to Lord Byron's estate - towing a despicable partner; befriending Byron's friend, a dr rather than dealer. And her stepsister. Always her stepsister. On the brink of Frankenstein.
Massive swoon.