The Villa is another intriguing story with a gorgeous cover from Rachel Hawkins. The Villa sucked me in quickly - I couldn’t wait to be absorbed by the atmosphere: a gothic suspense set in an Italian villa with a dark, sordid history. Emily and Chess have their own dark, sordid history but they still set out on a girls trip to Italy together. They’re staying at the infamous Villa Aestas, the place where famous rock legend Noel Gordon stayed during the summer of 1974 with up and coming musician Piece, Pierce’s girlfriend Mari, and her stepsister Lara. What comes out of their stay is Pierce’s brutal murder and some of the best art of all time. In present day Emily works hard to uncover the truth of what happened here in 1974 - but while she is pursuing that she has issues of her own to manage with Chess. Will they fall victim to the deadly legacy of Villa Aestas, or will they get out alive?

Overall, I loved the concept and the atmosphere of this novel - no one creates an environment quite like Rachel Hawkins. That being said, the revelations and ending missed for me - I felt like it was a bit obvious and I wanted more. I really enjoyed the characters and so I would recommend this read - I think many readers will enjoy it and be pleased with the choices the author made at the end.

The audio narration was wonderful though - extremely engaging and added a layer to the story that was extremely additive.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy - the Villa is out 1/3/23.

I really enjoyed this book! I liked the friendship dynamic between Chess and Emily. Chess was really hard to like. The author did a great job of making her a key part of this story all the while she was not a likeable character. I honestly didn’t really like Emily either. She made a lot of terrible decisions but that also worked for this story. I did guess the ending about halfway through but I still enjoyed how this story played out. Overall I would definitely recommend this book!

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is an entertaining read, a story within a story narrative that balances a contemporary and historical timeline, both taking place at the same Italian Villa. While the premise attracted me, I was a bit disappointed as I had expected the Villa itself to play a larger, more sinisterly role in the story, more of a character, but it truly just ended up being the setting and even at that, it didn’t convey the dark creepiness I expected. The story had potential to be a great atmospheric mystery thriller, but the story line was predictable, the twist was underwhelming and the ending felt rushed and fell a bit flat for me.

I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Julia Whelan, Kimberly Wetherell, Shiromi Arserio who did a fantastic job bringing these characters to life. I highly recommend this version. This was a fast read perfect for a rainy day.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins will be available on January 2, 2023. Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“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 …”

“Stories change depending on who’s telling them.”

“The Villa” is a novel about creating — the joy it brings and the toll it takes. It’s about friends, family, and fellow artists, and what happens when those bonds that can sustain you start to go sour.

Childhood best friends, Emily and Chess, vacation together at a villa in Orvieto, Italy, which happens to be the site of an infamous murder.

The novel has a dual timeline. The present timeline follows Emily and Chess’ working holiday at the Villa Aestas. Emily writes cosy mysteries but she’s struggling with writer’s block, health problems and a recent divorce. Chess is a self-help guru and has become extremely famous due to her books.

The second timeline is 1974 and takes place at the same villa, then called the Villa Rosoto. Five people holiday at the villa: Mari; her half-sister Laura; Mari’s boyfriend Pierce, world famous rockstar Noel, and Noel’s drug dealer. As this timeline unfolds we learn it ends in murder.

Emily begins to research the events which occurred at Villa Rosoto. With the help of hidden pages discovered within the house, she starts to unravel the murder mystery.

One of the men in the party is killed. After that summer Mari goes on to become a bestselling author with her feminist horror story, “Lilith Rising”, and Laura records a platinum album, “Aestas”, becoming a household name.

The novel’s eye-catching cover design and Umbrian setting initially drew me to “The Villa”. I particularly enjoyed the second timeline of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, which reminded me a little of Jane Green’s “Sister Stardust”. “The Villa” is well-paced, well-plotted and filled with dark intrigue. The narrators are perfectly suited for their roles.

Many thanks to @Netgalley, @macmillan.audio and @stmartinspress for the advanced listener’s copy.

The Villa read more like women's fiction rather than a thriller. I was rather uninterested in the first half of the book. The book rotated between two story lines, one set in the 70s and another with two friends visiting the villa currently.

I loved the story of Mari and the drama from the 70s. The book picked up a little towards the end but it just didn't give me the thrill I was looking for.

Thanks to McMillan Audio and netgallery for the ARC of this book



The Villa

3.5 stars. I enjoyed the audio narration (Julia Whelan will always be my favorite!). This one was definitely a slow burn, and I did feel like it dragged at points. But.....the ending was satisfying. I loved the Italian setting and wish it had been explored just a bit more (I felt like ultimately it could have been set anywhere). I wasn't the biggest fan of the development of the friendship of Chess and Emily. It was a bit all over the place, and I wasn't really a fan of that element of the story. I liked the dual storylines, but was far more invested in the present day arc. This was an ok read overall, but i wasn't wowwed.

The Villa alternates between two timelines set at the same Italian villa in Orvieto - Villa Aestas. Our present-day story follows two friends, Emily and Chess, both working on their next novels, looking for a creative retreat and hoping to reconnect after their friendship has been strained in recent years. The second timeline is set In 1974, following Mari and a group of musicians spending the summer, which tragically ends with the murder of one member of the group. As Emily searches for inspiration, she starts to unravel the details of the murder that occurred in the same villa, many years ago.

Overall, this was an enjoyable story. The Villa reads as more of a mystery or family drama than a thriller. After starting off slow, the more "thrilling" aspects took a backseat to the drama between friends, and then was rushed towards the end. I do like the dual-timeline, and the process of Emily following clues and figuring out what happened, but there was something missing for me. I was disappointed that the Villa itself wasn't more of a character. There was a description of the property when they got there, but it just felt like an airbnb they were staying at, not some significant, historical, haunted place that has a treacherous past. Since the book was titled "The Villa" I was expecting more on that front.

I enjoyed the narration of this story, especially that there were separate narrators for the two timelines. I was a little confused at first when the audio first switched timelines since it wasn't exactly clear at the time, but having multiple narrators made it easy to follow as the story progressed. There were also quotes that were in there that confused me when they popped up to. Maybe I'm just a novice at listening to audiobooks, but there were a couple aspects that, in hindsight, I can picture in book format, but it didn't translate as well to audio.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC in exchange for my honest review!

The Villa is a family drama with undertones of a gothic, atmospheric thriller. I loved the beginning of this story. The characters were intriguing and the location was beautifully described. Who can resist a beautiful villa set in Italy especially when it has a mysterious past?

This story was told in dual timelines - one from 1974 featuring young musicians visiting an Italian Villa and one present day with best friends Emily and Chess reuniting at the same Villa.

The present day timeline was more compelling and had me wondering what was real and what wasn’t. I was invested in Emily’s character and was rooting for her.

Unfortunately, this book was a bit disappointing. The ending was rushed, and the twists as they often are in thrillers, required too much suspension of disbelief.

Thankfully this was a quick listen featuring one of my favourite narrators, Julia Whelan. As always, her narration was pitch perfect!

Thank you NetGalley for an ALC of The Villa. Although it wasn’t my favourite by Rachel Hawkins, I still appreciated the story.

Im unsure whether to give this 3 or 4 stars… the first half of the book was extremely slow and read like a slow burn woman’s romance novel that you would find is your moms nightstand…. the last 30 or so percent of the book was where the action was at, and for my sanity I needed to see how the rest of the story unfolded. The character and story development between Emily and Chess was pretty good however the ”true crime story” behind the house did not have enough mystery with the big reveal being a little unfulfilling. I think there could have been more between Matt and Chess to really add to Emily’s anger. The end felt rushed and too much of a forced happy ending.

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.

This was an overall enjoyable book. The story goes back and forth between modern times and the 1970s. Two lifelong friends decide to spend the summer at a Villa in Italy. The thing about this Villa is that back in the 1970s a murder took place there. The two friends are both writers and have a complicated relationship. I can't say I really liked either of these women but their story was interesting. The contemporary story was a bit easier to follow too.

I give it a solid 3 stars!

This was a chaotic drama, and i loved it.

"The Villa" is the place in Italy where Emily is going to say for a couple of weeks, with Chess, her best friend since they were kids. And that place is also where Mari stayed in 1974 and wrote her famous novel "Lilith Rising" that was accompanied with a still talked death of one of the people she was staying with.

From there we follow the two storyline, Emily trying to write a new book and coping with a messy divorce as well as having to deal with her bestfriend. She finds herself being very interested in the house's past and Mari's story.
The other storyline follows Mari as she deals with a loss, her love with Pierce, the relationships with his friends and her step sister, and we can also see how she starts writing her novel.

This was so messy, dramatic and incredible, but I loved every second of it. A very fast paced book, with two timeliness equally interesting that keep you invested till the last second of it. The audiobook was amazing, I wasn't expecting a full cast and it was impressive how each one of the narrators did such a good job and matched their characters perfectly. A book that's going to be in everyone's tbr for sure.

This is the story of Emily and Chess who used to be best of friends and had a falling out years ago. Chess is now a very famous self-help writer and she's rich. Emily is a struggling author going through an ugly divorce and has no money. Chess invites her to spend six weeks together in a Villa in Italy. This exact Villa was the home to a brutal murder in 1974.

The chapters alternate between the story now and the one in 1974. I felt like the contemporary one was more interesting until the very end. There are some twists along the way but I loved the very last twist the most. It was an ok story but not the best of Hawkins in my opinion.

Julia Whalen's narration made the book considerably more enjoyable.

with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio arc of this book, all opinions expressed here are my own.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is a suspense filled read that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. It is told on a dual timeline following author best friends Emily and Chess in present day as well as author Mari and her musician sister Lara in 1974. The story revolves around an Italian Villa, a murder and what really happened on that fateful day.

With Julia Whelan as one of the main narrators for this audiobook you can’t really go wrong. I think fans of Daisy Jones & The Six or Verity would enjoy this book.

A solid four star read. The Villa by Rachel Hawkins releases on the 3rd of January 2023.

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. I loved Julia Whalen as a narrator and that was my favorite part of this.

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

Four stars for this engaging thriller that features a dual timeline, each with its own intrigue and drama. In the current era, we meet Emily, author of a moderately successful cozy mystery series. She's under the gun to complete the next book in the series when writers' block strikes, thanks to the emotional distraction of her impending divorce. Under heavy strain, it's no surprise when Emily says yes to the seemingly perfect escape: a summer staying with her longtime best friend Chess (a wildly successful author herself) at a villa in Italy.

Emily quickly realizes this villa is the site of a gruesome murder in the 70s, and so we switch to our second narrative, the story of Mari, who stayed at the villa in the 1970s along with her rock star boyfriend, step sister, and a host of other free-living characters. The flashbacks to this era gradually unfold the truth behind one of the group's early demise at the hands of another. Meanwhile, in the current era, Emily begins to question who she can trust in her life, and how she can ever be free of her husband, who wants half of the royalties for both her current and future books.

I found it easy to sink into these characters, though as a bunch, they aren't very likable. The ending isn't entirely surprising, but there were enough possibilities about the direction it could go in that I never felt like I was reading something pre-determined from its first pages. Because I'm heading to Italy next year, I was hoping for a more deeply atmospheric experience, especially with a book named for its location. Still, it was an enjoyable and quick read , my favorite by this author so far.

The Villa is such a refreshing storyline for a suspense novel - I honestly haven’t read anything exactly like it before, and that’s high praise in a genre that often feels oversaturated.

The book follows two storylines. The first is modern day Emily and her childhood best friend Chess spontaneously decide to spend the summer at a villa in Italy. Chess and Em have a complex relationship; they’re both writers, but Chess has become an icon of self help and is now making the big bucks…while Em writes a cozy mystery series that does fine, but doesn’t exactly bring in a ton of money. Additionally, Em is going through a nasty divorce where her ex is trying to take a large portion of the earnings from her series. So…it has her feeling uninspired, to say the least.

The second storyline takes place in the the 1970s, following 19-year-old Mari and her stepsister Laura as they spend a summer in Italy with Mari’s musician lover and another famous rockstar. Their role is simple: be muses to these great men of rock n roll. But when a tragic murder happens at the villa, everything changes. Out of that tragedy, Laura and Mari both produce two pieces of art - a novel and an album - that become high acclaimed.

Both storylines are fully fleshed out and captured my attention; either one could have been it’s own individual novel, but Hawkins manages to give the right amount of attention to each. The book seems to be inspired in part by Mary Shelley, which I loved! I also loved the idea of flipping the feminine muse idea on its head.

Additionally, the female friendships throughout the book are incredibly complicated, evolving relationships. I loved seeing the intricacies of both main friendships, and while certain decisions were shocking to me, Hawkins made them believable through her storytelling and character development.

This is definitely not a thriller, so don’t go in expecting that. I absolutely loved this one & can’t wait to purchase a physical copy!

I found this to be interesting from the very beginning. It kept me intrigued and it was entertaining. Was i able to predict some of the twist before it happened, yes! But sometimes a book can be a 5 star without it being ground breaking. I did gasp and cover my mouth several times. It was def giving daisy jones and the six mixed with the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo but better.

This was a little hard to follow at first. Maybe if I read the book version, I could have kept up with the changing viewpoints. I could do without the podcast girls that randomly showed up in the middle of the book.