The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is a gothic mystery that pushes the boundaries of how far friends and family will go to remove the things in their life they feel are standing in the way of their success and happiness. Although I would not consider this book a thriller, the historical mystery pulls you in as we dig to find the truth about the murder in Villa Aestas.

I enjoyed the dual timelines in this story as it bounced between Emily in current day and Mari in the 70's. The multiple POVs in the 70's timeline were difficult to keep up with from time to time. The book was fast paced which I always appreciate, but somehow it left me feeling like I still had questions as some issues were not properly discussed or resolved.

The narration for this book was enjoyable. Multiple voice actors with different accents were used for the dual timelines which helped differentiate between the two. This was my first Rachel Hawkins book and although I liked it, I didn't love it.

I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to read this book early as it is one of my most anticipated books of 2023, and I love Hawkins' writing. This one was definitely a slow burn. I did anticipate some of the big reveals but this still has some good twists. I will say that I definitely enjoyed one of the timelines much more than the other. I enjoyed it though! ⭐⭐⭐

Emily has lost her husband, her health, and she might lose her career if she can’t end her writers block. When she is invited to spend the summer in Italy with her best friend she thinks it might be just what she needs. The Villa Aestes is beautiful but it has a dark history. It was the scene of a murder in the 1970’s. Emily starts digging into the history of the Villa and learns that it is hiding a dark secret that wasn’t revealed during the investigation.

The Villa is a dual timeline split between the present and the 1970’s. The story also includes parts of a podcast and news updates which added a fun element to the story.I loved the Italian setting and all the 70s vibes in this novel. I also enjoyed the cast of narrators, including the amazing Julia Whelan. While I never got board with this story, some of the twists were a little underwhelming and the ending felt a bit rushed.

This novel is perfect for fans of Ruth Ware or Lucy Foley and will be available in January!

The Villa is the third book I've read by Rachel Hawkins, and was realistically just as good as the first two. The narrators for The Villa are stellar and definitely keep you engaged as a listener; the story is also just as good if not a bit predictable. Not exactly an edge of your seat thriller, but, good enough that I didn't want to stop listening to it.

Overall I think I enjoyed it but I’m not sure who I would recommend it to. I’ve found I really enjoy listening to thrillers so I was excited for this, but the beginning was a bit hard to get into. It is my own fault for not knowing it was two consecutive narratives, but there was still such a cast of characters introduced without backgrounds within the first 10-15% that it was a bit much to wrap my head around. That being said, I was pretty engrossed in the story. Both stories actually, I loved how they both grew as their own stories while showing some parallels. My biggest critique would be the way that the ending plot twists unfolded. There were so many details that I felt easily could and should have made an impact on the ending that didn’t, which would have been okay except I feel like the ending wasn’t as strong on its own. I can understand how it was supposed to be shocking, but I feel that the story was so full to have the ending fall short. Without spoilers, my biggest question remains about a location detail that doesn’t add to the mystique of the ending, so I’m more just confused why mention it to not let the reader know.

"Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps Pierce’s murder wasn’t just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but that something more sinister might have occurred––and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind."

Hawkins has crafted a story that balances between the present and the past. There are intricate clues that the reader and present characters are able to follow to determine the past. I loved reading the story of the past because there was so much depth and even character growth despite their lifestyle. I loved the multi layer aspect to the story but the present day characters really ruin the big picture. Present day Emily and Chess are both insufferable MC's and it caused the whole book to be a rather average read. They just felt too messy and not enough ground for the big actions that happen in this book.

I think this book works great for people who tend to like thrillers, but I don't think it is a great start for someone who has never read thrillers. I think this particular book may turn them off from the genre. However, I do have some great comparisons for people who did enjoy the book and think there are many people who would love this one.

I did not enjoy the audio narration for this book because it felt like I was constantly turning up the voluming, turning it down, or just flat out could not hear/understand some of the characters.
Thank you NetGaley for an earc of this book, all opinions are my own.

The Villa was an interesting book told from multiple perspectives. It switches between a modern story and a story from the 70s. There were also a few fun interludes like a snippit from a fictional podcast episode. The book had lots of themes and interesting character relationships.

I did feel like this dragged in some parts and then glossed over other important sections! Overall it was a good book it just left me wanting a bit more from it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy of this book. The audiobook read by a cast of characters was excellent!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of “The Villa” in exchange for an honest review. I liked the premise of this, but I don’t know that it was the book for me. There was so much going on with the past, present, and podcasts/articles, etc. I found myself just feeling a little sad for the protagonist at the end of the novel and didn’t feel fulfilled by the ending. The first 50% of the book was really quite slow. Julia Whelan on the audiobook was a win though.

I read an arc of this already and loved it so much that I wanted to experience the audio version. The audio version was just as good. Good narration, same solid story. Definitely Rachel Hawkins’ best yet.

I was so excited to give Rachel Hawkins a try and I’m sad to say that book was so slow and lackluster. I felt that there was no thrill and it was so drawn out. I was expecting some twists and turns but it was a SLOW-burning mystery with a predictable ending. I did enjoy the atmospheric setting and the dual timeline.

I listened to this as an audiobook and I loved the full cast of narrators! Julia Whelan, Kimberly M Wetherell, and Shiromi Arserio did a great job and added flavor to the slow-burner.

If you are into slow-burner reads, then this book might be right for you!

***** Many thanks to St Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, Rachel Hawkins, and NetGalley for the #gifted copy as it was provided to me in turn for my honest opinion.

Rating this 2.5 stars but rounding up to 3 stars on Goodreads.

DNF @ 57%

I enjoyed many of Hawkins books in the past however this one just wasn't for me; I wasn't able to stay engaged with the book, I kept finding my mind wandering and there were just a few too many POV's to be able to be interested or invested in any of them. Everytime I started to find myself intrigued or started to get into a POV it would switch and I just didn't care about the story by the time we got back to them. I also just didn't enjoy any of the characters all that much, they weren't blurring into each other per say but none of them were enjoyable enough to have a favourite character or even bother to remember their names once I dnf.

Not the worst book I've read but I simply cannot be fussed to finish it.

The Villa is a classic Rachel Hawkins novel. Many twists and turns and well written unlikable characters along the way. I did find this book a little more confusing than her others, it wasn’t a book that you could listen to, or read, while focusing on anything else, it definitely required complete attention. I had to look at other reviews to understand what was going on at points, but I did read some very interesting theories that I wish Hawkins could have included in the book. Based on the theories I’ve read, I already want to reread this book because it definitely opened to many interpretations.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Hawkins does not get enough credit for being THE nonmagical/contemporary modern gothic queen. Gothics are back en vogue, and there are many great ones, but Hawkins is my favorite for grounded modern stories.

The premise of The Villa didn't catch me from the description. I requested an arc of this because of the author. The simple version is that this is a duel timeline story.

Timeline one focuses on Emily and Chess, lifelong friends who are both authors. They travel to an Italian villa for a summer getaway and start investigating the murder that occurred there.

Timeline two follows Mari and her sister Laura teenage girls swept away by adult rockstars for a summer in Italy, resulting in a murder. This timeline is very Fleetwood Mac meets Daisy Jones meets murder.

On its surface, it feels like a lackluster premise, but Rachel Hawkins has this way of writing that feels so deeply salacious. It draws your in and makes you hungry for more. When I am sitting in a parked car to finish a chapter of a book, I know it's excellent.

Emily's storyline is the one that drew me in the most. Her and Chess's characters are very unlike typical thriller heroines, who are often haggard married women who are more or less victims of circumstance. Emily is a spiteful, angry protagonist who echoes some brutal truths about jealousy. It's easy to relate to the darker parts of her- her character flaws are rarely explored by fiction through the lens of a protagonist. In many other stories, a character like her would be a flat-out villain.

Chess is also fascinating. She's a southern belle self-help guru-type (think Girl Wash Your Face) She is bubbly, warm, inviting, sweet.....and completely manipulative. The weaponization of her femininity and charm is delicious.

There's an interesting, fun darkness to this A-Plot, particularly for anyone who has ever felt they were being overshadowed or lied to by a best friend. Some of the twists and turns are very strange and unexpected. The anxiety this A-Plot gave me was incredible.

The B-Plot with Mari was slightly less interesting to me, but still fun. I never had any affection for "sex drugs and rock and roll' premises, but if you liked Daisy Jones, you will probably like this. I still enjoyed this storyline, but I don't have anything gushing to say about it other than that it does a great job deconstructing what this lifestyle does to young girls who are manipulated by gross, abusive men.

The Villa is really about what happens when a woman is wronged. When TWO women are wronged together. It touches on the hurt women inflict on each other and how men gaslight and abuse women to the breaking point, and how that affects female friendship. The Villa's brand of feminism is closest to Gone Girl- the assertion that women too, can become monsters capable of great darkness. It centers on rage first. If that's the kind of story that does it for you, and you enjoy women's wrongs, don't miss this one!

Houses remember.

What a great, great line. Unfortunately, because of this line, I was expecting something that I didn't get. I was expecting the house to be a central character, to be a bit haunted. While the story alternates between the past and present (with some rather interesting parallels), the house really isn't all that important. That being said, I did enjoy this book overall, and in fact, it may be my favorite by Hawkins. The real focus of the story is the relationships between the characters, both hidden and seen. I loved getting tidbits of the book Mari was writing- I love books within books. Honestly, I want to read Lilith Rising- sounds fascinating!

I was fortunate enough to receive a digital copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review, and I thought the narrator did a stellar job with the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for the opportunity.

Set in an Italy, "The Villa" follows the story of two long time friends, both writers, intertwined with the story of a long ago murder that occurred in the same villa. Emily is working through writer's block, the end of her marriage and trying to re-start her life. Chess is, as far as I can tell, just a jerk. I know that she's Emily's best friend since childhood, but I never really warmed to her. She was self-serving (and I think I a liar and a fake( and every time Emily almost was ready to leave her behind, Chess found ways to manipulate her way back in.
And I was absolutely there for it. As much as I hated it, it worked. Chess was convincing and believable (and awful!) I think Emily should have cut her loose along with her jerk of an ex-husband (maybe not in the same way... but still...)
The way the original murder was woven into the story (and no spoiler, but the ENDING...oops!) loved it!

Overall, really enjoyed this audiobook. While there was a little predictability in some parts, there were quite a few twists and turns that surprised me.

3.5 stars. I just finished the audiobook version of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins. Overall, a pretty good mystery/thriller. There were some places in the audiobook where it jumped scenes abruptly and had to rewind to make sure that I didn't miss anything and also had to decipher who was "talking" in that particular scene when the scenes changed. The narrators were all great.

Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this audiobook. #TheVilla #NetGalley

3.5 stars

I have mixed feelings on this one! I enjoyed reading it but I couldn’t have cared less about the backstory POV in the 70s. There were too many characters that we didn’t get to know enough, flowery music & writing drama that I didn’t care about, and too much romantic drama that was annoying. If that hadn’t been in the book and the mystery was pure research by Emily, I would have liked it a LOT better.

I did like the ending but in a sort of toxic best friend way. It reminded me a bit of a favorite movie but is referencing that movie a spoiler because of what happens? Probably. Anyway, loved that part!

I always enjoy the writing style but I just didn’t care about the flashbacks, like at all. I had a hard time paying attention to them until later and meh, it wasn’t worth it. Cut all those and make it more wild between the two friends and I would have been all for it. There were some dark holes to dive down that we didn’t and that could have been awesome.

The titular villa itself also could have been this cool, creepy, gothic character in itself and it just wasn't.... anything. It was barely described except for a few locations which ended up being important to the plot and there wasn't much of anything that really gave you good *vibes* to really pull you into the story.

Ultimately, I feel like this was pulled in too many different directions. The setting didn't get a good description going, the main characters were slightly under-developed, the backstory wasn't deep enough for me to care, there were random bits of song and podcast but they were exactly that: random. It was a little of this, a little of that. Cut all the "extra" stuff and focus on the core of the story and it could have been really awesome. It just left me underwhelmed in that sense.

I really enjoyed this story in regards to the atmosphere of The Villa and a vacation. I feel like this could be a great read for those summer beach days. Sneaky, entertaining, catty, with an intriguing plot .The story started off a bit slow but reading it as a mix of audio/physical felt like it went by much quicker. It was entertaining and I liked the mix of timelines, podcasts clips, and stories. I did find this predictable and the ending was not my favorite due to the open lines. Will there be another book or are we left with a meh ending? Loved the murder house idea. Great character introductions (although, none were likeable for me and that’s okay!) Overall would recommend but did not love how both the stories were wrapped up.

I was disappointed with this book. The main appeal of a thriller is the drive to keep turning pages, but I just lost interest in the plot. Maybe others will enjoy it more.

Wow! This book might have been the fastest audiobook I have ever listened to. I did not want to stop for even a second. The best review that I can give is that my stomach was in knots throughout the entire story. The dread I was feeling with what happened in the past with what might be happening during the present had me glued to my seat!