One Italian Villa. 2 deaths. This is the premise for Rachel Hawkins’s “The Villa”. Emily and Chess, both writers, spend a summer in a villa in Italy with the idea of immersing themselves in writing. Emily’s career has halted as she navigates messy divorce proceedings, but she is on line to complete the next book in a niche murder mystery series, which in all honesty, she has no desire to write. Chess, on the other hand, is a bestselling author in the self-help genre. The Italian villa that Chess rents for the summers is supposed to provide solace and inspiration despite the house’s dark history, which Emily obsesses over. To be fair, the villa’s story is far more interesting than the drama between Emily and Chess for it has rockstars, love affairs, unplanned pregnancies, and a shocking death. The villa becomes the fodder for a horror novel and a critically acclaimed musical album. Emily discovers the history of the villa and runs with it, but she soon sees how history can repeat itself.

“The Villa” would appeal to anyone who likes suspense. I thought that historical storyline if the Villa was far more interesting than the self-absorbed lives of Emily and Chess. I also thought that the resolution was quite predictable. I was hoping for a real twist.

As an English teacher, I would recommend this novel to more mature students.

I would like to thank Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Absolutely loved this twist of a novel by one of my favorite authors! Weaving two stories over two different time periods but set in the same Italian villa, Rachel Hawkins takes her readers on quite a ride.

Best friends and authors, Emily and Chess, were inseparable as kids but have grown apart over the years until Emily’s life comes to a crashing halt when she finds out her husband has been cheating. Rushing in to save the day, Chess invites Emily along on a six month writing retreat at an Italian villa that has a history of its own.

I recently read The Villa by Rachel Hawkins. I've reviewed several of her books before, enjoying them. The story moves in dual timelines between the present and 1974 where five people are also renting the same villa for the summer. They are musicians and a writer. All hoping the setting will improve their creativity. Sadly in 1974 one of the five ends up murdered. The crime is solved and one of them goes to jail, but when in the present-day Emily does some research, it appears things may not have been as it seemed. As the book moves through everyone's time on their vacation, parts of their histories start to match up. Will Emily solve what really happened in 1974, will the cursed house tear Em and Chess apart or worse? Great read!

I LOVE Rachel Hawkins! She always creates such believable characters and intense story lines, and this was no exception. I could not put this book down at all.

My second Rachel Hawkins book and it was fast-paced and had a great twist. Despite jumping between different timelines, Hawkins weaves a elegant book that was not jarring or confusing. Well written! I cannot wait for her next release.

Thank you Rachel Hawkins, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review this arc honestly.

I very much enjoyed her last book The Wife Upstairs, but I must admit this one was very well done and well put together. It was easy to follow even though there were duel timelines and multiple characters. The story started off a little slow, primarily to set the scene and characters but then picked up by the second half. Would definitely recommend this to others!

Rachel Hawkins does a mystery so well, likeable and unlikeable characters abound in this book. Present day and historical timeline still leaving me with lingering questions, which story was real? What really happened at The Villa...only you can decide which story was true from Mari. Once you choose a side? You're stuck with it forever.

I find Rachel Hawkins to be so enthralling, because I know authors write different types of stories under pen names, but my first experience with Hawkins’ writing was with The Ex Hex books written under the name Erin Sterling. And while I wouldn’t say I adore those cozy witchy romances, I do look back on my experience reading them with a lot of fondness. I enjoyed them for what they were, but The Villa is SO DIFFERENT! I know people really adore Hawkins as the thriller writer she is, but this was my first time reading one of her books of that nature, and I did really like it.

I enjoyed the parallel storylines between present-day and 1974, plus this mixture of a fictional story based in a time that felt more Victorian. The dual plots meshed really well together and I was just dying to know the truth of what occurred. The book itself was well-written, smart, and totally engaging.

My biggest irks were the toxicity of the relationships throughout the book. From familial to romantic to platonic, there were no great, healthy relationships, and that just feels so over and done with in this day and age. I need to see more support and goodness to outweigh the toxicity in the plot line.

I also found that one major plot point was SO OBVIOUS, it was painful, and I hated that I was so right in that aspect.

I will say the wrap up of the book was unexpected, if not totally satisfying, so the book got some points back for the surprise factor.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins. I zipped through this one so fast I could not get enough of it! Solid pacing and story although I have a lot of beef with Chess in the current timeline and wanted better for Em. Overall a great read with fascinating characters.

This was such a fun summer read! Not sure I would put it in a thriller category.. but it's close.

Overall loved the juxtaposed storylines and how the author weaved the two together throughout the whole book. I'm a sucker for a twist and this one had a good one!!

Thank you to NetGalley for this digital ARC.

I will be honest, I struggled with this one a bit at first. But hang in there - the read is worth it! Another win from Rachel Hawkins.

I’m just going to say I don’t get the raving reviews. It was so boring for most of it and nothing happens until the very end. Once things do pick up, everything happens so quickly and then the book ends. It’s kind of just glossed over and everyone moves on. I found that entirely unrealistic. None of the plot twists particularly shocked me and I was hoping to be blown away.

The past timeline was also extremely boring and a waste of time. Specifically with journal entries or song lyrics. I started skimming those once I realized they don’t bring anything to the story except for that history repeats itself and houses remember, etc.

🏡Book Review:
Title: The Villa
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/4 stars

I've always enjoyed Rachel Hawkins books, so I was excited to receive this #arcbook to review! It took me a while to finally read it because, ya know... the #tbrstack is absolutely ridiculous.

Girls' trip to Italy would be an instant "YES" for me! Childhood friends, Emily and Chess, embark on this adventure together after being distant from one another for a few years. Adulting-geesh! Villa Aestas aka Villa Rosato has a dark history, but hey, that just adds to the allure... right? These young ladies end up joining well-known rockstar, Noah Gordon, aspiring musician, Pierce Sheldon, and Pierce's girlfriend, Mari. As well as Mari's stepsister, Lara. So we're talking about a full house of potential suspects when things start to go awry. I did think that it started to get a bit confusing at times with so many characters involved. Regardless, I did enjoy it!

Published: January 3rd, 2023

Thank you, @netgalley and @stmartinspress, for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What an interesting novel. The Villa was moody, atmospheric, and explored different types of toxic love so well. Not only that, but the homage to a very important point in literary history was so cool!

The Villa is heavily (and I mean <i>heavily</i>) inspired by the Summer of 1816, which any English major worth their salt knows to be the summer Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. Mary Shelley is one of the most interesting, most talented authors in literature history, in my opinion. She wrote one of the most influential pieces of literature of all time when she was only 16, for goodness sake! As for the other two famous writers there, Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley were also talented writers but they were both philandering, narcissistic asses so they don't count. Anyway, reading this book reignited the love I had in college for Mary Shelley, her relationship to her husband and Frankenstein. Now I'm right back in the rabbit hole I was in when I was 20.

So because of the similarities to Mary Shelley's life, I'm so tempted to give this book five stars, but if I'm being honest with myself, this book wasn't THAT good. The Villa was fascinating and moody, but the past chapters trumped the present day chapters. I didn't care for the present day chapters with Emily at all; in fact, all I could think about during her chapters was getting back to the past chapters.

If I wasn't so interested in Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, would I have liked this book as much as I did? Probably not. The Villa isn't particularly memorable nor is it very original. I could name a handful of very similar books off the top of my head right now.

I can't deny that this was a fun, engrossing read, though. I liked it so much I read it in a few hours.

<i>Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. (Even if my review is months overdue, thank you all the same)

Mary's review Mar 21, 2023
it was amazing

I really enjoyed this book. I thought both timelines worked well and all of the characters were believable. I certainly was not expected the two twists in the story! I would recommend this to anyone!

This was a great read. Rachel Hawkins doesn’t disappoint. I always enjoy the mystery and suspense with her books.

I made it halfway through this thriller and could not keep reading it. I did not connect with it and felt that it dragged for me. I am a fan of Hawkins other thrillers but this one just was not for me. Thank you, publisher, for the early copy!

Loved it! Such a fabulous cast of characters and gripping all the way through. Would definitely recommend to a friend & especially book clubs.

While I did enjoy the dual timeline storyline, I was a bit let down about the premise of the story in general.

Two best friends go to Italy in hopes to reconnect and work on their next book since they are both authors. They find out a murder took place in the Villa they are staying in and the story goes from 1974 (the time of the murder) and present day.

While the premise was a good one, it fell quite flat for me and there were even times I didn’t really care to find out what happened.

I'm going to be honest -- I sat on this book for wayyyyyy too long because the premise sounded complex and confusing. Even going into the first couple of chapters I wasn't sure if this would be the book for me.

Spoiler alert: It was definitely up my alley!

The Villa centers on Emily and Chess, both authors and best friends from Asheville, NC. After reuniting, they agree to spend the summer in Italy in an infamous villa with a sordid history -- someone was murdered there in 1974. The book bounces between dual timelines set in the present and 1974, where five musicians and artists are also renting the same villa for the summer. While the murder was solved and someone paid the price for the crime, Emily finds herself inspired to do her own research... but it appears things weren't as it seemed.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!