#NetGalley ARC
This one sucked me in and I didn’t want to stop reading. This is not usually my preferred style, but I really liked it!

A story that flashes between the 1970s and present day, The Villa delves into the dark events that occurred in an Italian villa in both time periods. Hawkins explores the depths and limits of friendship that are challenged by love, greed, and power. A multicast narration served this novel well, with different narrators for the past and present, and also for the "informational" bits that helped to tie the story together. The plot moved along well, but I was a little underwhelmed by the ending. If you enjoy this genre, its worth the read/listen. Overall rating is 3.5 stars/5. Thank you @netgalley and @macmillianaudio for an audio galley of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Villa is a fun, easy, compelling romp that will keep you entertained and then surprise you with startling twists. If you're looking for an enjoyable thriller that celebrates the importance of female friendships despite jealousy and competition, this one's for you.

The plot of the novel is a delightfully complicated envelope in an envelope, with the modern-day characters-- bff writer friends staying in an Italian villa for a summer -- looking back on stepsisters, a writer and songwriter, who stayed in the villa in the 1970s -- one of whom is writing a novel of her own about yet another character staying in that same villa. The best part is that this sounds confusing but is actually easy to follow because Rachel Hawkins knows how to juggle.

The narration of the audiobook is a whole production with three actors reading the different parts. (Perhaps this helped with keeping the different stories easily separated.) I am grateful to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an advance copy of the audiobook and to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of the ebook. (I preferred the audiobook for this one.) Enjoy!

This book was a very good book. I love the cast of characters in the way the story line kept me engaged from the beginning till the very end. I love the audio and cannot wait till I actually buy a physical copy of this book to add to my collection. Highly recommend this author cannot wait to read more of her books in the future.

2.5 stars

The Villa is a perfect example of why dual timelines are incredibly difficult to include successfully. The past timeline was far more interesting than the modern timeline. I wish the book has leaned into the themes of passion, love, and betrayal rather than focusing on the villa. It felt like the shared setting of the villa was only included to fit a publishing trend. There were very, very few instances where the setting was significant and any connections between the two timelines were flimsy and boring. As both timelines received equal attention in the book, neither had enough substance to make the story interesting.

I raised my rating by half a star for the twist at the very end. I think as a concept the twist was incredibly clever, however, it did not belong in this book. It didn't feel like it was woven into the story and instead cheapened the events that happened in the past timeline.

While normally Rachel Hawkins is a sure winner for me, this one was a 3\5. The villa setting lacked the creepiness factor I was hoping with a book that is promoted as gothic. I also struggled to relate to or find the characters very likeable. However, the narrator was excellent and the book finished stronger than it started. I would read a book by this author again, since I've enjoyed her past works, I am considering this one a fluke.

THE VILLA [Thank you @macmillanaudio for my copy!]: Believe the hype, this is my favorite Rachel Hawkins book yet. Set in both the 70’s and modern time at an Italian villa, I thought this was expertly plotted with interesting characters and a storyline that was mysterious but never felt like a true mystery or thriller (in a good way). I wished I’d had a physical copy so I could’ve gone back to some of the songs and book passages that were interspersed, but Julia Whelan does the audio so no regrets on listening to this one instead of reading.

I loved the dual timelines, the similarities between the two, and especially loved the female characters in the ‘70s timeline. I wasn’t as enamored by the modern-day women, but you can’t always love every character right?

The ‘70s characters include Mari, Lara, Pierce, Noel, and Johnny. Mari is a writer, and the others are musicians, spending the summer in an Italian villa together. One of them is murdered, and being relatively famous, it’s big news. The villa starts to be called the murder house after that, and some people in the nearby village believe it’s cursed.

In the current-day timeline we have Chess and Em. They have been best friends for most of their lives, and Em is in a very difficult place at the moment so agrees to go with Chess to spend the summer in Italy. Em is a murder mystery writer, but she’s way behind deadline. Plus, her husband cheated on her and then left her while she was going through a health crisis. To top it off, he’s trying to sue her for royalties on her past and future books. A reset sounds like just what she needs.

Chess is a self-help influencer, who rubs elbows with the likes of Oprah, and Em isn’t really sure she knows or trusts her bestie anymore. Does she really believe the BS she’s hocking at unsuspecting women?

Em starts to obsess over what happened at the house in the ‘70s and tries to learn more. Is it as straightforward as reported, or is there more to the story?

The audiobook was really good too, being narrated by Julia Whelan, Kimberley M. Wetherell and Shiromi Arserio. The audio comes in at 7 hours and 57 minutes.

I was so excited to read this as it’s one of my most anticipated thrillers coming out in 2023. Thanks you so much @macmillan for sending an early copy.

The blurb at the back of the book is what really had me intrigued:

“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––The Villa welcomes you into its deadly legacy.”

What I will say is that the story felt very chaotic to me. There were dual timelines but I felt like I was never fully invested in either of them. I would have preferred only one of the time lines and then snippets in the past or present.

While I didn’t love this one, don’t let it stop you from picking this up, especially since it comes out today! I loved her previous book Reckless Girls, while a few of my friends really didn’t like it.

Dear The Villa,
You were such a fun ride. I was in the mood for a good thriller, without much horror and a few twists and turns and you gave me that! There were some unpredictable twists for sure, and I totally thought you were going to go one direction (hint, Ches is not as evil as I thought!) but you switched gears on me to surprise me in a new way. I loved the 1970's storyline tying into the current timeline, and I was a bit disappointed at your ending. I REALLY wasn't expecting that twist and it let me down just a little bit. All of that being said, I did binge-listen to you in a single day, so you certainly kept my interest!

Overall, I enjoyed The Villa. I found the past story of Villa Aestas more compelling than Emily and Chess's present-day story. Neither Emily nor Chess are very likable characters, and their toxic relationship is disturbing. Both storylines had great endings.

Present day, Emily is a mystery writer who is spending the summer at Villa Aestas in Orvieto, Italy with her best friend Chess, a successful self-help novelist. The Villa though has a dark history; in the 1970s, it was rented by Mari, her rockstar boyfriend and his friends only for their trip to end in the rockstar’s brutal murder. Forty years later Emily begins looking into the villa’s history only to uncover some shocking secrets.

Less thriller and more suspenseful mystery with a gothic twist, the story is told from multiple POV's, both current and in the 1970s, we learn about the villa and the atmospheric details of the home make it a character of its own.

I enjoyed both timelines but in present day, the relationship between Emily and Chess was more toxic than not and as we neared the end, I was frustrated and just wanted to shake some sense into Emily! Just like Reckless Girls, I felt like the ending put a damper a story I was enjoying.

I listened to this one on audio, while reading along with the book, and the audio was great! Both Julia Whelan and Kimberly M. Wetherell were excellent.

This slow burn thriller mystery, set in a gothic Italian villa with a mysterious true crime past was just what I needed to get me out of the reading slump that has plagued me over the last year. I enjoyed the dual timeline storytelling and the narration was excellent. This is the perfect beachy, vacation read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing a free audiobook copy, in return for an honest, unbiased review.

I'd like to thank the author and publisher for an ARC of this audiobook.
A murder mystery set in Italy had me so excited to read! Plus, Julia Whelan is one of the best narrators, so I was even more excited to see her name on this. (I was, however, very distracted by Kimberly M. Wetherell's faux British accent whenever it was her chapter.) Unfortunately, the fact that I did listen to it on audiobook may be one of the reasons I found it hard to get into. I was never hooked; just always trying to keep up. This book is full of characters, alternating timelines, and partner swaps. Add to that random newspaper clippings, a podcast, and TWO books within a book! It made it very hard to follow.
The twists and untwists, as they were, made it feel even more chaotic. The "houses remember" refrain wasn't as clear of a theme to this story as much as I thought it would be. Had I read it instead of listened to it, I can't help but wonder if I would've had a different opinion. I really wanted to like it more!

I received an ARC of The Villa in audiobook format. I liked the present day narrator, but the narrator for Mari seemed old and it sounded dated/decades older than the 1970s.
This one was just okay for me. It was easy to follow and interesting enough to keep me listening, but most of the plot points were predictable and I didn't care much for any of the characters. The sex drugs rock n roll setting also isn't my fave so that made that POV harder to stay engaged for. This would be an easy vacation read or something easy to listen to on a road trip. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Emily is recovering from an unknown disease and a failed marriage, when her best friend invites her to Italy for the summer. Emily is practically broke, heartbroken, and in desperate need to finish her next book. She thinks with space and a change of scenery she can hunker down and get her life back on track. Enter her self help guru friend, who invites her on this Italian adventure at a famous murder house. While trying to get into yet another cozy mystery Emily starts exploring the house and finds a copy of the book by the author that was part of original murder in this house and eventually wrote a best selling horror gothic based on her time in the house. This is Emily's story, Mary's story and the story behind the gothic novel. Exploring the house and its secrets also brings up secrets between Emily and Chess. Emily is inspired and is creating the best work of her life. Will the secrets between these lifelong friends, keep them close or break them apart? What is the mystery that this house has over its occupants? Will Emily succumb to this house or will she learn all the secrets?

Eek!! This was a good one - quite twisty! I thought I knew what was up quite a few times…. But then something else happened! Emily (gentle horror writer) and Chess (self-help guru/author) have been “besties” forever, and they go an Italian villa to write and catch up. Emily’s (soon-to-be ex) husband is trying to get money from her work. The villa itself was the setting of a gruesome murder of a young musician 30 years ago, and there is information about what really happened during that summer… This was very fun, kept my attention, and I loved the themes of writing, women winning, and some back-stabbing, too! Thanks @netgalley for the opportunity to review this one!

I must confess – I enjoyed reading The Villa so much that when I saw Julia Whelan was narrating the book, I had to dive back in. She didn’t disappoint.

I love Rachel Hawkins! The Villa is so good! The relationship between Emily and Chess kept me on my toes. I found the connections interesting between the past and the present. Especially, the current day relationship with Emily and Chess and the similarities to Mari and Lara in the past.

All in all, I don’t want to spoil this page turner. I highly recommend you run, don’t walk.

There were so many reasons for me to love this audiobook. First, it has two of my very favorite audiobook features: multiple narrators and a narrator with an English, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh accent. The book is somewhat multimedia. Besides the usual first- and third- person narratives, it features excerpts of other books, scholarly articles, musical pieces, and even a podcast. The audiobook format leant itself perfectly to each of these. I have actually heard part of Aestis!

Next is the story. Whether you are reading with your eyes or ears, Rachel Hawkins has delivered another female-positive tale full of atmosphere and suspense. I haven't read Reckless Girls yet, but The Wife Upstairs blew me away. The women at the heart of The Villa, Emily, Chess, Mari, and Lara, are all well-developed characters that you can imagine yourself knowing from real life. Just when you are ready to dismiss one as too one-dimensional, even a caricature, Rachel Hawkins will introduce another detail that keeps you reading.

This is where The Villa in any form excels. How do you want to enjoy it? Do you want juicy gothic suspense, something to savor curled up on a dark night? Or, could you be looking for something intellectual for your next book club? The Villa will meet your needs from one end of the spectrum to the other. For example, let's discuss the role of the muse, and what happens when the muse becomes creator. How might have Noel & Pierce's musical collaboration been inadvertently/unconsciously derailed when Mari and Lara began to create? In Scarecrow Has a Gun, one of Michael Paul Kozlowsky main characters is of the belief that "Men grow when women suffer." (p. 249) How does The Villa support this thesis? What about its inverse; do women grow when men suffer? All four of the main female characters tell different types of stories through different formats. Some are considered fiction, some non-. Based on your reading of The Villa, at what point do you think fiction conveys truth better than non-fiction can? The Villa is just a wonderful book, and there are so many ways for so many people to enjoy it. I highly recommend it, especially in its audiobook form.

I would like to thank Macmillan Audio for allowing me to experience this NetGalley audiobook.

A little too predictable overall. The 70's are great. The present not so much. Too many teased things that went nowhere. Some that happened off page, dull. I’m all for red-herrings or eerie tones, but this just came across lackluster. The characters in present day frustrated me and made me mad. Honestly, that’s probably just a personal preference so don’t take too much from it. But I didn't like the full reveal at the conclusion and I’ll fully stand by that one. Made it less interesting! Great elements here and there but not a lot of feeling for it in the end.

The audiobook was good though! The narrators were perfect and conveyed the story well. If you’re a listener, and interested, then I recommend the audiobook.

* I received a free audio copy from the publisher