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...⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is my favorite from Rachel Hawkins yet. It's a little bit "Daisy Jones," a dash of true crime, and a pinch of self help. Two timelines for the same villa in Italy -- 1974 and present day. Two vacations with two creative women in each. Out of their stay in this infamous villa will come the best works of their lives, but at what cost? The first line: "Houses remember" is a beginning filled with foreshadowing and sucked me right in. Heartily recommend this new title coming out in January of 2023.

A big thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was absolutely fantastic. It was her best yet. It’s dark gothic feel and reminiscent of a modern era Mary Shelley. With dual story lines past and present you meet characters that you’re not sure you can trust. And the ending left me gobsmacked. I had to backtrack and listen twice, I couldn’t believe what I’d heard. The audio was brilliant with fantastic character narration. 5 stars , it’s a story that will stick with you

My thanks to the invitation I received from Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for this arc to review. This is the 3rd book from this author for me.

I DID enjoy this audio and appreciate the Inspiration from Fleetwood Mac and other rock stories but it was a bit confusing to follow with the multiple POVs and overlapping of the stories. I had many unanswered questions. The story of Emily and Chess in the Villa, and the rock star murder,and Mari s book would have been great as stand alone stories. Do recommend though.

Very interesting story with lots of twists and turns. I loved the voices on the narration and the character development!!