Thank you MacMillan, Rachel Hawkins, and Netgalley for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I have been invited to listen to this lovely and I am so very glad I was. I have listened to both The Wife Upstairs and The Reckless Girls and now to this one. I have enjoyed each one tremendously. I really thought it couldn’t get any better than those two. Then I listened to the Villa. And she has done just that. The narration was awesome, The plot was awesome, The intrigue held through to the entire book. It took me two days to finish this book. I have enjoyed the book thoroughly. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 solids on this one!

Thank you MacMillan, Rachel Hawkins, and Netgalley for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I have listened to both The Wife Upstairs and The Reckless Girls and now to this one. I have enjoyed each one tremendously. I really thought it couldn’t get any better than those. Then I listened to the Villa. And she has done just that. The narration was awesome, The plot was awesome, The intrigue held through to the entire book. It took me two days to finish this book. I have enjoyed the book thoroughly. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 solids on this one!

Book Review: The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
Narrated by Julia Whelan, Kimberly M. Wetherell, Shiromi Arserio
Published by St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio, January 3, 2023

★★★★☆ (4.0 stars)
Positive!

"The Villa" (2022) is my second book by author Rachel Hawkins, following "The Wife Upstairs" (2021), her exquisite psychological thriller loosely based on Charlotte Brontë's beloved bildungsroman gothic romance "Jane Eyre" (1847), with Brontë's Jane, Rochester, Blanche and Bertha cast by Hawkins in a contemporary "Thornfield Estates" London setting.

(Rachel Hawkins is, of course, not to be confused with Paula Hawkins, writer of the 2015 bestseller "The Girl on The Train".)

(This review is both for the audiobook and eBook.)

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Audiobook narration: Tops!
Formidable cast of voice actors led by the mellow, soothing voice of Audie award-winning Julia Whelan, one of the most sought after female voices with credits to over 400 audiobooks, including her work on Gillian Flynn's thriller “Gone Girl” (2012), and Tara Westover's memoir "Educated" (2018).

Better as an audiobook.
The commendable performance of Whelan and colleagues vividly voice out visceral emotions and ethereal sentiments intrinsic to the essence of the novel which may not be as well-perceived in print by the reader.

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// "The Villa" (2022) by Rachel Hawkins //

Villa Aestas
Orvieto, Province of Terni,
Southwestern Umbria, Italy.
An hour's drive north of Rome.

In an upscale Italian villa, two tragedies decades apart are intertwined.

1974.
It is the height of the so-called "British Invasion". Think Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Who.

A British rock star, son of an Earl, invites a fellow rock musician to a villa in Italy for a respite. Perhaps to do a collaboration. They bring along their guitars, and their girlfriends. The latter so happen to be stepsisters. One, a budding writer; the other, a newbie guitarist.

The Muses become the Creators.
The parties' Italian sojourn unfortunately shudders to an abrupt end, with someone murdered. No new era of rock music is born. Instead, shortly after, the stepsisters both blossom. One, into a best-selling author; the other, an awarding-winning musician...

PRESENT DAY.
A successful top Instagram influencer, invites her long-lost friend to the same upscale villa in Umbria. Her friend is a published author struggling to complete her next contractual novel.

Theirs is a complex relationship, ebbing and waning with childhood year reminisces, distant affection, rivalry, and deep resentment. They find out presently that they have one common denominator:
A leeching ex-husband /paramour.

Through a manuscript hidden in one of the Villa's parlors, the "rock star" tragedy in 1974 come to light. With this new knowledge comes the potential for a historical fiction blockbuster.

The friends struggle to find the best path forward for their relationship - and to perhaps to develop a new one as professional collaborators.

But first, the women agree they'd need to surmount an obstacle.

They'd need to squash none other than the leech...

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// The House Remembers. //

I enjoyed reading this book, a well-constructed, dual-timeline psychological thriller with its share of dark humor, of moments that take your breath away, along with some which, at extended times, hover in a holding pattern.

Overall, fine literature packaged in a well-executed audiobook.

Review based on an advanced reading copy courtesy of St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress and @netgalley for my digital and audio copies of THE VILLA by @ladyhawkins ! This one publishes Jan 3,2023!

Rachel Hawkins thrillers are all middle of the road got me. They don’t wow me, but they are entertaining enough to have me keep reading! I think this one might be favourite out of all 3!

Thrillers are always hit or miss for me on audio. I listened to this one a couple weeks ago, and from what I remember, I enjoyed it! I liked how it had ties to Frankenstein, I LOVED the setting, and I remember really liking the ending!

In her second thriller, Reckless Girls, I remember that basically all the characters were very unlikable. There were a couple characters in this one that I didn’t like, but I think you are supposed to! I really like the relationship that the two FMC had!

Overall, I think if you have liked Hawkins thrillers books in the past, you will like this one. It didn’t wow me, but I didn’t not like it.

4.5 stars. I loved this book. I took a half star because the ending was a bit more complicated than it needed to be.

This story has a timeline in the past and in the present. 2 friends go to stay at a villa with a dark past. Secrets unfold, betrayals are revealed, friendships are tested.

The book is nothing new in way of a story. But it was so fun. And the ending, well….it made me tilt my head and go…okay. Highly recommend

I listened to the audio version of this book, and really enjoyed it along with the narrator. I was excited to read this as I loved The Wife Upstairs by the author. I also love that she adds a gothic take in her books.

When it comes to thrillers or suspense novels, I tend to prefer dual pov narratives. What made this book so interesting and engaging was the dual perspectives taking place in the same villa, separated only by the 40 years between Mari’s visit and Emily’s. In addition, the book contains news articles and podcasts that give you yet another perspective on what is occurring and help to fill in some of the missing details.

I really liked this book, and am adding Rachel Hawkins to my list of "must-read" authors!

I listened to the audio version of this book, and really enjoyed it along with the narrator. I was excited to read this as I loved The Wife Upstairs by the author. I also love that she adds a gothic take in her books.

When it comes to thrillers or suspense novels, I tend to prefer dual pov narratives. What made this book so interesting and engaging was the dual perspectives taking place in the same villa, separated only by the 40 years between Mari’s visit and Emily’s. In addition, the book contains news articles and podcasts that give you yet another perspective on what is occurring and help to fill in some of the missing details.

I really liked this book, and am adding Rachel Hawkins to my list of "must-read" authors!

I listened to the audio version of this book, and really enjoyed it along with the narrator. I was excited to read this as I loved The Wife Upstairs by the author. I also love that she adds a gothic take in her books.

When it comes to thrillers or suspense novels, I tend to prefer dual pov narratives. What made this book so interesting and engaging was the dual perspectives taking place in the same villa, separated only by the 40 years between Mari’s visit and Emily’s. In addition, the book contains news articles and podcasts that give you yet another perspective on what is occurring and help to fill in some of the missing details.

I really liked this book, and am adding Rachel Hawkins to my list of "must-read" authors!

Emily is adrift. A struggling writer, who's best known for her cozy, unsophisticated mysteries, is left reeling and attempting to reinvent herself after a messy divorce and an unexplainable illness. With her heart telling her to explore new endeavors, Emily is fortunate enough to be granted the chance of a lifetime. Her childhood best friend Chess (aka: Jessica, aka: Jess), an extremely successful self help guru offers Emily an all expenses paid stay at a notorious and beautiful villa in Italy. After arriving in the picturesque home, Emily discovers the dark backstory that has become a true crime voyeurs' dream.

The villa is haunted by betrayal, lust, and murder by creative geniuses from the past. Mari and Laura, step-sisters brought to the villa by a smarmy musician and a deluded philanderer, find themselves also inspired and charmed by the villa. But there are resentments simmering, getting ready to explode and devastate everyone in this enchanted place.

This story started out promising, but I found myself becoming annoyed with Emily's pathetic, woes-me narrative. It was entirely obvious that Chess (who is an insufferable character in herself) was the alpha in all things, resulting in a fairly toxic dynamic with Emily. There were so many instances where I thought to myself, "She needs to kick this chick to the curb, and do some serious personal growth work on herself." I didn't find the 1973 storyline particularly interesting and was not invested in the ending. It disappointed anyway.

Emily and Chess were best friends since meeting in grade school, but their lives went in different directions. Emily is a struggling writer and going through a divorce while Chess's writing career has made her an international phenomenon.. So when chess suggests a girl's trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to get away from her demanding soon-to-be ex. Their location, Villa Aestas was already the scene of one murder during the 1970's rock & roll era. This book has 2 stories lines running parallel, Emily finding the notes to the book which was written about the first murder but which explains what really happened. The second storyline is the relationship between Emily and Chess. I thought is was about a love triangle and did not see the end of the book coming. Loved the narrator and this book, I will definitely be purchasing this for our patrons and will recommend to book discussions.

The Villa kept me enthralled! I listened to the audio because Julia Whelan is one of my favorite narrators. The Villa is described as “gothic suspense”. I’m not really sure what that means. I think the author’s intent was to create suspense but i didn’t really feel it. We knew from the get go that there was a murder so maybe that’s what reduced the suspense for me. Nonetheless, it was a well-written story I couldn’t put down.

I’m giving it 3.5⭐️ instead of 4 because I think the plot twist in the last chapter was unnecessary.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc

I really enjoyed this mysterious and twisted book! It's a story told in two timelines, present day with best friends Chess and Emily at a villa in Italy and in the past with sisters Mari and Laura at the same villa I enjoyed the parallels between Chess and Emily and the story of Mari and Laura. I loved all of the relationship drama both in present day and the past story as well. I thought the Chess and Emily twist was a little predictable, but the great thing about this story was that I was so invested I could not stop listening because I had to know how it would end. The ending was a total shocker. What a fun read!

This story was narrated by Julia Whelan, Kimberly M. Wetherell, and Shiromi Arserio and they did a great job bringing it to life.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this audiobook.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

There was a lot going on in this book, but the two storylines ending up coming together well in the end. I definitely suspected that Chess and Matt were having an affair (which they were) and I did think that they were poisoning Emily (which they weren't). I was shocked by the ending - they killed Matt! Although it never told exactly how and I would have liked to know. I was also surprised that Mari's diary turned out to be a lie and she didn't actually kill Pierce. And now Emily is stuck with her psycho friend Chess writing books and keeping secrets together forever lol. The multiple narrators were great!
Side notes:
I love that they are from Asheville, NC, (near) where I live!
I hate books that have a character commit suicide and blame it on other people (Pierce's wife).

Sometimes a book hits at exactly the right time and it’s just what you needed, and I think that was The Villa for me. It’s been a while since I’ve read a thriller, and this one had a really fun blend of intrigue, drama, and historical fiction. Set at an Italian Villa, the book is told through three interwoven threads: one in the present, where two author frenemies are writing for the summer; one in the past, where a group of young musical and literary artists experience a tragic event; and one, inside the novel of one of the people in the past timeline.

While I saw the twists and turns coming a mile (kilometer?) away, I enjoyed the journey and thought the different timelines were written in an engaging and entertaining way. It wasn’t as thrilling as many high-stakes-murder-mysteries often are, but I actually liked that we got more story in place of the intense “someone is going to die soon” suspense. While I didn’t necessarily agree with many (most) of the characters’ choices, they made sense in the scope of this world.

This is my favorite book from Hawkins so far, and I’d recommend it if you’re a fan of dramatic mystery/thrillers with historical fiction (especially when it comes to writers and musical artists) elements!

*Note: the edition I had was the audio, and I quite enjoyed that each timeline had its own narrator. Julia Whelan, Kimberly M. Wetherell, and Shiromi Arserio did a fabulous job on the narration!

Thanks again to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced listeners edition!

“Houses remember. It was a good line but where was it leading? What kind of story followed that? And did she even believe it, that houses had memories?”

My thanks to Macmillan Audio for an invitation to review via NetGalley the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Villa’ by Rachel Hawkins. It was narrated by Julia Whelan, Kimberly M. Wetherell, and Shiromi Arserio.

This Gothic mystery contains echoes of the life of Mary Shelly and the gathering at Villa Diodati on Lake Geneva during the summer of 1816 where Mary was inspired to write Frankenstein. It is told in two timelines.

In the present day Emily and Chess have been friends since childhood. Emily is a writer of a series of cosy mysteries, who is going through a difficult divorce. Chess has made her name writing highly successful self-help books. She suggests that they take a holiday in Italy and books a luxury holiday venue, the Villa Aestas in Orvieto.

Emily is fascinated to learn that in 1974, the villa was known as Villa Rosato and had been rented for the summer by notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. Seeking to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, along with Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari Godwick and her stepsister, Lara Larchmont. The summer ends in murder and the creation of one of the greatest horror novels of all time, ‘Lilith Rising’.

Emily becomes fascinated by the events of the fateful summer of 1974 and begins to dig deeper, intuiting that there may be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara, herself a singer-songwriter, left behind.

I enjoyed this clever tribute to the creation of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ along with the tip of the hat to Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac.

Hawkins moved between the two timelines quite seamlessly. I found it quite a slow burn that explores the complexity of friendships, as well as the role of the muse and how creativity can often clash with the demands of everyday life. I found Emily’s description on the construction of cosy mysteries quite amusing.

The novel’s chapters are quite long and often switched between the timelines mid-chapter.

The audiobook had multiple narrators including Julia Whelan, who has narrated over four hundred audiobooks. I have enjoyed her reading of quite a few titles. She was the narrator of the present day timeline.

I am not certain which characters Kimberly M. Wetherell and Shiromi Arserio voiced, though I felt the narration overall was excellent. Given the movement in chapter between timelines it was helpful to have the change of reader indicating the change.

I did miss having access to the text edition to refer to or for any extra material such as Author’s Notes, though this didn’t disrupt my appreciation of the story. Given that I own a number of Hawkins’ titles, I expect that I will buy its digital edition in due course.

I also feel that ‘The Villa’ will prove a popular choice with reading groups given its clever literary mystery and multiple themes. There is plenty of scope for discussion.

This dual timeline book is an interesting representation of two different worlds that really keeps the reader thinking. In 1974, there is a group of 5 people that have each been through significant change and have come together in a strange way. These are each writers in their own sense which is a very interesting plot point. However, I struggled a little in the beginning with the writing of these 5 characters. They are hate to hate characters that are hard to find any common ground with. Now in present day there are 2 best friends that go on vacation together. Both friends are writers and each are silently completing with each other. Again, these characters are hard to like, but the storyline is much easier to follow and is very enjoyable. This book is full of strained relationships, murder mysteries, and a little bit of strange happenings. Overall, this is a very good and quick read, as long as you don’t mind being irritated by the characters. I would recommend and give it 4 stars.

Review - The Villa
By - Rachel Hawkins
4.5 stars

Books about authors are the best & this one was indeed! A captivating suspense novel with dual timelines & perspectives. The current timeline… best friends Em & Chess, authors on an Italian getaway in villa that has a historical past. While at the villa to focus on their writing… they both become obsessed with the murder that took place at this very location. The dual storyline is step sisters Mari & Lara at the same villa in the 70s telling their side of the tragic story. Add to that a messy divorce, sex, drugs & rock & roll & you have a great read!
Well written with a diverse cast of characters that all have their own secrets. A steady build up as the author reveals just a bit more with each chapter slowly revealing the whole twisted picture. How does past affect the future? Can Em & Chess maintain their friendship as secrets come to light?
If you enjoy suspense novels this book is a must read! Rachel Hawkins is quickly becoming one of my must read authors!
I opted for the audio version and was not disappointed! Julia Whelan is fantastic as always! Thank you so much to #NetGalley, St. Martins Press & Macmillan Audio for the ARC. This is my honest review.

This audiobook was SO good. I was captivated by it the entire time and looked forward to getting back in my car so I could listen to more. So many twists and turns. Loved it

This author has quickly become a must read for me. I loved the Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls and The Villa is another fantastic book. I liked the dual timelines with Mari in the 1970s and then current day Emily and Chess. This is an interesting book about friendship and deceit and underlying mystery. I liked the Italy setting too. The narrators are fantastic too! 4.5 stars

THE VILLA
Rachel Hawkins

I enjoy my time reading Rachel Hawkins thrillers. Her writing is thoughtful and quick, and she keeps a great pace to her stories. I just finished her latest book, THE VILLA (which comes out in January), and I liked it a lot.

Let’s talk about it!

THE VILLA stars Emily and Chess. They are childhood best friends. Both writers now, although in different genres, and at different levels of success in their careers and personal relationships.

It’s been harder for Emily. Fresh from separation from her husband and during divorce she is struggling to write her next book and hold onto what is hers. Chess, during success, and with what seems like endless material to pull from, is single and seems to be happy that way.

They meet one day for lunch which spurs an idea in Chess to spend a month in a private Villa in Italy. They can both relax, write, drink wine, and spend some much-needed time together. Emily agrees, and once they arrive the novel unfolds.

There were a few things that I liked about the book and a couple of things I didn’t. Overall, I enjoyed this one and finished it in one sitting. I imagined myself writing at a Villa in Italy and investigating a long-ago mystery.

I liked the writing and author aspects of the book and the idea of a getaway writing trip to Italy. I appreciated the layered interpersonal drama between Emily and Chess and the windy nature of how things progress between the two characters.

There were two POVs in the book and they were unequal to me. I wanted to live in one more than the other. There is a big difference in tone between the two. However, gratefully, you never stay in one POV for long enough to get bothered by it or to get bored. The book quickly moves between POV’s.

This would make an excellent book for someone new to the thriller genre as it was a little predictable. If knowing where a book is going spoils the fun for you, then know going in that the path is well-lit in this one. I appreciated it nonetheless, and it solidifies Hawkins as one of my favorites right now in this niche.

This one comes out on January 3, 2023!

Thanks so much to Netgalley, St. Martins Press, Macmillan Audio, and Libro. Fm for providing advanced copies in exchange for a review!

The Villa...⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️