I was so excited to get my hands on this book because I’ve actually been to and loved Orvieto, Italy. The cover drew me in and my past experience with this author’s writing led me to believe I’d enjoy this one, too.

While the focus on professional jealousy and friendship between Chess Chandler and Emily Sheridan kept me engaged initially, my disappointment at Villa Aestas not being given a starring role, my dislike of the secondary plot and the language used, overwhelmed my interest.

Perhaps if I’d known more about the allusions to Frankenstein, I might have been more engaged. Unfortunately, (1) I don’t know anything about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (2) I don’t engage well with stories within stories and (3) I take a hard pass on stories with sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll! With the opening line “Houses remember,” I was hoping the Villa wasn’t just a location but more a character in the story. It had the potential to be a great mystery or a gothic tale; unfortunately, it was more a story about friendship, wrapped up with feminism and presented with a huge bow to cover the lacklustre ending.

Please keep in mind that this is merely my disappointment at the book not being what I expected, not the quality of the author’s writing. There are many gushing reviews and I’m definitely an outlier. It was a good reminder for me to keep my expectations in check. Regardless, it won’t keep me from trying Hawkins’ next book!

I was gifted this copy by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This author is growing on me, she writes nice and easy thrillers. Nothing too shocking, nothing too scandalous. Just easy binge-able thrillers.

The Villa has more of that same readability: I got hooked onto the present day story pretty quickly. The book within a book aspect had this one switching back-and-forth from present time to past time, giving whole chapters of a book written at the Villa in the 1970s. Sometimes when authors do that, I favor one timeline over the other. That ended up being the case with this one, the present day chapters were much more entertaining to me. I definitely appreciate how the things that happened in the past affected what was happening in the present, but I didn’t really enjoy reading the past chapters.

However, I really did like the final twists at the end and love the women supporting women aspect! The Goodreads blurb for this one says it’s based on the band Fleetwood Mac and the Manson killings, so I’m going to have to do some research into that because I don’t know much about it.

I received a free copy from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc!!!

I am freaking out! This was incredible!!!! If you haven't read a Rachel Hawkins book yet then this is the one! This is the one to read because it absolutely hooked me and had me on edge from start to finish. Not only that but the story itself was so creative and unique, just mind blown 🤯 Soooo good!

There is Emily, the main character. Author of a series of cozy mysteries but going through a harrowing divorce (her ex-husband is horrible). She goes to Italy and Villa Aestas to spend the summer there with her best friend, Chess. But is Chess really a friend?

And, the mystery of this Villa is intense. Emily starts digging up all these secrets about a real tragedy that happened in the 70's. I got to see another story unfold and how it affects Emily and Chess.

But what is the real ending? There is so much manipulation and greed from all the characters, past and present, that the true outcome becomes fuzzy.

This is the best thriller I've read in a long time and I highly recommend it!

Out January 3, 2023!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

4 solid stars from me. I've only read The Wife Upstairs and The Ex Hex by this author. I enjoyed both but this book was a notch above.

I loved the Gothic 70s vibe of Mari's charcater and what she and her stepsister, Lara, lives were like from such a young age.

The present characters Em and Jess were fun as well although I kept going back and forth on what was going to happen between them. I liked the ending leaving the readers with a mysterious wondering of what really happened on July 29, 1974 and then again on July 29, 2023.

Emily and Chess were best friends growing up. Now in their 30's the find things not as easy as they once were. A bit of jealousy and envy, combined with them both in the publishing industry creates a vibe not meant for harmony! They agree to go on a writing holiday together in Italy with the hopes to smooth the wrinkles in their relationship and take in the sights. They find the villa they are staying in has a history of its own - the summer of 1974 when sex, drugs, rock & roll and murder all happened in this same spot. The story kept me interested for sure to find out how things all ended. No disappointment there!

I absolutely loved this book, it may be my favorite of Rachel Hawkins yet! I thought the premise was clever, the uncovering of the real story of the "murder house" Italian villa and the exploration of the experiences of present day writers Emily and Chess with the two women who spent the summer of 1974 in the same villa. This book is part psychological thriller, part feminist manifesto, part exploration of the arts and what it takes to create, and what the cost of that art can be. It was smart, quick, and interesting. As always, the voice of Julia Whelan is warm honey to my ears.

3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4 for this review

This book is “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,” and I could see some of this inspo reflected in the story.

The Villa is a thriller that incorporates two timelines and builds a mystery surrounding complex friendships. It has a story within a story, which I thought was fun.

It begins when two childhood friends, both authors, reconnect to go on a writing retreat to Italy. They stay at a beautiful Villa with a dark past that can’t stay buried, and eventually secrets between the women come to light.

I always love how current and witty Rachel Hawkins writing is, and the tension between the friend groups was interesting to read.

However, the end felt anticlimactic and there seemed to be plot hole issues, as if the ending was rushed to wrap it all up and it finished a bit flat for me. That won’t stop me from picking up her future reads, though. Fans of authors like Ruth Ware and Sally Hepworth will enjoy this one.

If you like stories about frenemies and slowly unraveling mysteries, then give it a read.

While I enjoyed Rachel Hawkins’ previous books, I feel with The Villa she’s finally reached the potential her previous books hinted at. The Villa was a fantastic gothic-suspense novel that grabbed my attention from the first line and left me thinking about it after the final page.

I love books about authors and the Villa has several. In the present timeline, Emily and her best friend Chess retreat to Villa Aestas for a change of scenery and to write their next books. Emily becomes fascinated by the brutal murder that occurred at the villa in 1974 and the work of gothic horror that seemed to be inspired by those events. The story toggles nicely between Emily’s story in the present and 1974 where Mari tells the story of the summer she spends at the villa with a rock star, musician, and her ill fated rock star wannabe boyfriend. Both Emily and Mari’s time at the villa unlocks something in them professionally and personally as they set out to reclaim their own narratives.

The Villa is Hawkins’ best work to date and fans of her previous work or gothic suspense should not miss this one!

As someone who is both equally obsessed with Rock ‘n Roll biographies/lifestyles (real and dramatized) and Lord Byron’s crazy parties that led (in part) to Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein, I thought, this is it…this book was made for me.

I was entranced from the get go. The characters are compelling and just unlikeable enough to keep you on your toes but not to the point you don’t care what happens to them. (Minus a certain scumbag ex-husband.) The mix between the story set in the 70s folds nicely into the current narrative without feeling out of place or confusing, which some others sometimes have trouble doing when intertwining multiple storylines/timelines.

Sometimes I was more emotionally invested in what was going on in the past simply because one major component was missing from the current story for me and that was a spooky factor that I thought would be more involved with the Villa. I wasn’t necessarily looking for ghosts or a ghost story, but at least more of an ominous feeling as the “truth” of the past was unfolding.

Overall, though, this was a fantastic read in my opinion. I, personally, wouldn’t trust Chess as far as I could throw her but hey, we all have unconventional, mildly toxic friendships.

Another one bites the dust...

What a let down.

What is going on with my book choices this month?

I had such high hopes for The Villa because I just love her writing and every other book I've read by this author. However, I really just didn't enjoy this one. I honestly don't think I enjoyed anything about it. No that's a lie, I really enjoyed the POV of Mari but my god I hated Chess and Emily. What a toxic friendship, and the ending really just put a cherry on top for this friendship. Toxic, toxic, toxic. If anything, the ending just made me even more mad. One part was ok and I was like yup kinda full circle but it was OK but the rest of it just made me want to yell.

What a story! This is a book that envelops you in the experience. I think it is best to go in not knowing much more than the book blurb. What I will say is that the dual storylines didn’t immediately connect and seemed a bit disjointed at first. But have patience, dear reader.

For the record, I am a huge fan of this author. I enjoy her writing style and I love her creativity. This book is in a higher stratosphere of creativity. Not only are there two timelines woven together but there are excerpts from novels and songs written by characters in the book as well as other created podcasts, interviews, and media. These are all threaded throughout to reveal more of the story because all of the characters in both timelines are deliciously messy and complicated, if not downright suspicious. None come across as reliable and toxic relationships abound.

I am also a fan of 1970’s rock ‘n roll scene fiction. This was executed splendidly. And the setting in the Italian villa was so excellent that I felt I was there. The contemporary timeline also felt natural and worked well.

Here’s the thing, the characters are messy and the situations are messy. The ending is probably going to leave you thinking. It is closure but it is not as neat and tidy as perhaps would be comforting, and that is why I love it.

My one disappointment was that I was expecting more of a gothic suspense vibe based on the publisher’s description. I didn’t find this book completely delivered that for me, although the ‘houses remember’ line is chilling and perfection.

I recommend this book to all my fellow readers who are interested in taking a darkly delicious visit to an Italian villa known as the murder house. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Honestly, this was forgettable and a bit predictable once we finally built to what the plot actually was. My least favorite of Hawkins to date.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.25

•Childhood friends
•Writers
•Italian villa/murder house
•Dual pov/timelines
•Murder Mystery

Thoughts:
This was my first Rachel Hawkins book, and it didn’t disappoint. I was invested and intrigued right from the beginning. I loved getting two different stories within this book from Mari and Emily’s POV. I loved the murder mystery aspect, trying to figure out what happened in the villa back in the 70s. I also, found both storylines to be so heartbreaking. I didn’t expect either of those plot twists at the end either. My only complaint is I could’ve done without the last chapter (the double plot twist).

Thank you to NetGalley for the eArc of this book. I read Hawkins' first novel The Wife Upstairs and LOVED it. Bu then I HATED Reckless Girls. So I was a little worried to dive into The Villa.
This book follows two authors who are frienemies, and they decide to spend the summer at an Italian Villa as a writing getaway. They soon realize that the Villa they booked has a heartbreaking past involving a murder in the 70s. SO you have the current timeline and the 70s timeline when the murder took place. I personally disliked the 70s timeline because it didn't hold my attention and it was just a bunch of twenty-somethings writing music and doing drugs and having orgies. As for the current timeline, the toxic gen z friendship was so cringy. I enjoyed the discussion on writing and the atmosphere of the quaint Italian town, and the old haunted house horror book vibes.
Overall I am giving this book 3 stars. I felt like the building of the plot took way too long and then the resolution was quick and the main character was completely gullible and controlled by the friend.

The Villa is a dual time line thriller, present day and 1974. In the present day, Emily and her Best Frenemy Forever, Chess, are both writers and head to an Italian Villa to write.
In 1974, a rock musician and his entourage are at the same villa.
I only connected with the modern story line which I found moderately interesting until the last 25% or so, and then I was pretty bored by both story lines.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy.

I had the pleasure of hearing this author speak about her books and her writing process, I wish she had been my English teacher in high school! Her animated speech made me love her even more! The parallel storylines and murder house drew me in and kept me engaged. Bravo

If you're looking for a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, Rachel Hawkins' The Villa is the perfect read. The narrative jumps back and forth in time, switching perspectives between the current day and 1974. Cozy mystery author Emily is in the midst of a contentious divorce. Emily's best friend Chess, a well-known expert on personal development, has asked her to spend the summer in a villa in Italy. Even though Emily and her childhood best friend aren't as close as they once were, they're on a trip together in the hopes that she'll be inspired to finish her newest novel.

The Villa's history as the site of a murder in the 1970s might serve as a source of inspiration. Today's timeline finds Emily settling into life at the villa. We follow Mari, a woman from 1974, as she and a group of musicians hang out at the villa. As Mari gets to know the other guests, we learn about their lives and their secrets.

Houses remember...

Hawkins does an excellent job of building suspense throughout the novel. I found myself constantly flipping pages to find out what would happen next. The characters are well-developed and likable, which makes it easy to root for them during suspenseful scenes. The ending was satisfying and left me eager to read more from this talented author.

Rachel Hawkins, please please please release Lilith Rising. I beg you!

P.S. I listened to this book on audio and it is narrated in part by Julia Whelan - it's simply stunning.


𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐭-𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧'𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞-𝐀𝐑𝐂.
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐨.𝐟𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.

That ending was gold. Rachel Hawkins is the master of plot twists and this book is no exception. Writing fueled full of emotion and drama. I couldn’t stop reading it. Captivating and raw. Loved every page.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

I don't know but I've been a little disappointed in Hawkins lately. But this one didn't wow me, it was good but not great. Maybe I should lower my expectations. It was a good slow burn thriller but it wasn't anything I'd rave about.

3.5/5 I loved the gorgeous setting and the toxic friendship between Chess and Emily, but overall this fell a bit flat for me. There was too much going on with stories nested within stories and each one didn’t feel fully formed. The ending was satisfying but felt a bit short and rushed. Overall, if you’re looking for a quick read with a fabulous setting, this one’s for you. But if you’re looking for something to really sink your teeth into that will leave you stunned, keep looking.