The Villa by Rachel Hawkins has some good twists for a slow burn mystery thriller.

One of my favorite things about Rachel Hawkins’ books is how you can like and dislike the characters at the same time. The Villa is no different. The characters are loving and selfish, dishonest and truthful, wild and safe. It’s wondering which part of them is going to surface in the moments that matter that kept me turning the pages.

I also really enjoyed the dual timelines with the Villa being the central location. Whether it was Em’s time in the Villa or Mari’s, I was hooked on what was going to happen.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book.

Houses remember.
Best friends Emily and Chess were inseparable as kids, but by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. Both have become well known authors, but write very different types of books. When Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy for the summer, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend.
Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home, but in 1974 it was known as Villa Rosato, and was rented for the summer by notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. Up and coming musician, Pierce Sheldon is invited to the villa as well, with his girlfriend Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. That summer sets in motion a chain of events that leads Mari to writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album, and ends in Pierce's brutal murder.
As 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.
Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to light, equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge—and it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends.

I think that Hawkins had some great ideas here and if put together in a different way, it would've been a very intriguing gothic suspense. However, the first half (or maybe even more than half) dragged on and on so much, it took me forever to get through. Then, the ending and "twists" were so rushed and motivations were not as explored as they could have been. I think the focus on this part would have been much more interesting than both the present day and past characters meandering around the villa and town. I did not feel the "suspense" at all. I wish I could give a more positive review, but I'll definitely still check out this author in the future because I do think she had some very creative ideas.

This is my third book by Rachel Hawkins and the first one I didn't enjoy. I couldn't get into the story at all. I figured out what was going to happen fairly early on which is always disappointing. I was so bored I struggled to focus on what was happening. The progression was too slow and the characters were just blah to me. It just wasn't for me at all.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 I loved this one! It’s not a Thriller, it’s a slow burn mystery. It’s told in two timelines, set in a Villa in Italy, In the 70s there was a group of people there and present day, two friends are in the Villa and they are discovering what happened to that group of people from the 70s.

such a good read!!! The story was captivating and I honestly finished it in one day because I could not put it down. The author is now going on my must buy list forever because I need more books like this in my life!

The Villa
by Rachel Hawkins
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve looking forward for Rachel Hawkins’ books every year since I read “The Wife Upstairs”. There are two stories going on here. One in the past and one in the present. And both happen in the same house: Villa Aestas in Italy which is a high-end holiday home now but back in 1974 when it was known as Villa Rosato, bad things happened.

1974. Villa Rosato in a small town in Italy, notorious rock star, Noel Gordon rents a house for summer and invites the musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. Lots of things happen in that summer, but what marked it was Pierce’s death, Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time and Lara composing a platinum album.

Then book tells the story of Emily and Chess. They used to be best friends as kids but now that they’re adults other things have gotten in the way. Emily got married and writes cozy mysteries and Chess is famous and a self-help guru. Chess invites Emily to spend 6 weeks at the Villa, to get inspired and run away from the world for a bit. But as Emily learns more about the history of the house, she starts digging some secrets and betrayals between her and Chess.

This was a great book! Page turning and gripping. My favorite character was Mari. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins was truly a page-turner! I read it in one sitting. I am a sucker for dual-timelines and the anticipation of when they finally merge. On one hand you have the 1970s storyline with the musicians, love triangles, and murder. Then the present day storyline features a female writer going through a messy divorce off to stay with her best friend in a seemingly exquisite villa in Italy. It just happens to be the same villa that a murder took place in the 1970s. I truly love the gothic aspects in Hawkins’ writing. This is my third book I have read by her and definitely won’t be my last!

This is the second book that I've read by Rachel Hawkins. I loved her book 'Reckless Girls', but I didn't enjoy 'The Villa'. I found this book to be very confusing and all over the place. I almost DNF this book, but I wanted to get to the ending. I was hoping that it would get better, but it didn't for me.

I was confused by the constant time shifts and character shifts. By the end, I don't know what actually happened in the story. There were a lot of twists and turns and misdirects, and I feel confused about this book.

I loved the premise of it, but the execution wasn't there for me. I was really hoping for a dark mystery book, but this isn't what I found in 'The Villa'.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book.

3.25🌟 we are following two sets of visitors to an italian villa, one in seventies and one in present day. the storyline from the seventies was reminiscent of a Daisy Jones-type story, as we followed three up-and-coming musicians and a novelist on a deadly summer vacation. the present storyline follows Emily and Chess, "best friends" that go for an italian summer to reconnect and work on their own novels. Emily decides to dive further into the lore of the house and discovers that there may be more to the story than is publicly known.

this book was just fine for me. i didn't feel super connected to any of the characters and the twists were unsurprising. I also don't know if this functions as a "suspense" or "thriller" as billed; it comes off more as a domestic drama. i did enjoy the dual timelines, because it added a lot of necessary texture to the story and to the villa's history. the exploration of complex and borderline toxic relationships was also interesting, since oftentimes thriller-type novels neglect deeper relationship development. this overall was not a super memorable read, but i still found myself wanting to keep reading as we got deeper into the story.

thank you netgalley, libro.fm & st. martin's press for the eARC!

Thank you @libro.fm @netgalley for a copy of The Villa. I enjoyed the setting of a beautiful Italian villa that Chess and Emily spend the time to both write their books. I enjoyed the story within the story aspect and how it complicated Chess and Emily's relationship.

I enjoyed the 3 POV of Chess and Emily and Mari in the past. All 3 of the narrators did a great job. I wasn't a fan of the ending of the story but overall I enjoyed seeing how Chess and Emily's relationship played out.

Thank you NetGallery and Ms. Hawkins for giving my the opportunity to review "The Villa." This is the second book that I have read by Hawkins and she never fails to give her readers an exciting book. At first, I believed that I knew what was going to happen, but boy was I wrong. Hawkins fills this book with twists and turns. Two story lines entwine as one and Hawkins keeps the reader guessing. Highly recommended.

I want to thank Net Galley and St. Matin's press for the opportunity to read this book. The blurb for the book referenced several cultural/pop cultural milestones of the 70's- Fleetwood Mac, The Charles Manson Murders, as well as a much older reference- the summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle––the birthplace of Frankenstein. While I do not recall the Percy/Mary/Lord Byron summer with much (or really any ) clarity, one of the timelines is set in 1974, a time I do remember well! I was 20, and quite frankly I have noticed a disturbing trend of books set in the 60-70's with real and fictionalized rock stars being presented as historical fiction.To me, well it was the summer before I got married:) Anyway, enough of me and on to the book. I will go along with some resemblance to Fleetwood Mac, but not so much to Manson. I did see some flashes to Brian Jones , of the Rolling Stones, and musically to Carole King's Tapestry( a work that is referenced several times).
The book is set in 2 timelines. Book timelines are focused on a Villa just outside of Orvieto , Italy. I have been to Orvieto and was delighted to see this lovely town well represented. The first timeline is set in 1974.Mari, her boyfriend Pierce Sheldon and Mari's stepsister Lara are joined by Rock Star Noel Gordon, Lara's boyfriend. They are also joined by Johnnie, Noel's friend . Pierce is a musician who is excited at the prospect of making music with Noel. Lara is also making music that summer, and as we are told early on, will make an album that will be wildly successful. Mari is an aspiring writer , and as we are also told at the outset, she writes a gothic horror book while in Orvieto that will be extremely successful. We are also told that there was a murder that summer, and some people in the area consider the Villa to be cursed.
The second timeline is present day. Emily and Chess were best friends in grade school. While their friendship has waxed and waned at times, Chess reaches out to Emily to spend the summer in Orvieto. Chess is a writer of self help , self empowerment books. She is extremely successful and wealthy. Now she wants to help Emily. Emily is also a writer . She has written a successful series of "cozy " mysteries. While she is not wealthy, she is well respected and popular. However, Emily is going through a bad time. She and her husband are divorcing, there are money problems and she has been sick, with an illness that no doctor has been able to diagnose. She is also suffering from writers block.She hopes that a summer away will help her.
While in Italy, Emily becomes fascinated with the story of the murder in the villa, and the people involved. She begins to think of writing about this story, rather than her mysteries. Chess is also working on a book, but seems more interested in Emily's work. And Emily's ex husband keeps calling and trying to find out more about Emily's progress in writing.
The 1974 timeline is told through Mari's eyes, as she becomes more independent and more aware of what she wants from life. She begins to see her life unfolding in a new direction, and spends more time writing the book that will become the horror best seller she publishes a few years later.
The present day timeline is seen through Emily's viewpoint. She has been hurt badly by someone she loved and is reaching out to an old friend to try to find her way.
This is a very well written book. The 2 time lines work well together. In addition to the 2 narratives, there are snippets of "articles and podcasts" relating to the characters in both timelines.It is intriguing and thought provoking. The characters are well written. I really enjoyed this book.

3.5 stars. This book was just ok for me... The first half was very slow, and I didn't think there was enough plot action to keep my attention. I kept going because I love Rachel Hawkins, but I left the book feeling underwhelmed. I had predicted where the story was going, which didn't leave much room to be surprised or shocked. I am definitely disappointed that Rachel Hawkins hasn't delivered something as stellar as The Wife Upstairs since its publication, though I am open to continuing to give her a try...

This may be Rachel Hawkins best title yet!! I loved the multiple story lines developing around the villa itself, with a link to the past tying itself to the future. There were a few alternative formats that crept in, like a podcast and some emails and that is always fun in a book. The story kept me engaged from the first page all the way through to the end!! I wasn’t ready for it to end!!

Whether writing romcoms under a pen name or bingeable thrillers Rachel Hawkins always delivers! I've read everything she's written and have been a fan of them all! Fans of the author won't want to miss this brand new stunning thriller!

My favorite thing about Rachel Hawkins’ books is the setting. It feels like a mini vacation. Now, it’s also my immense privilege that I’ve been to Italy so I could picture the villa and walking around the town and remember how wonderful it was to be there.

I’m getting ahead of myself. The Villa is a dual timeline thriller that follows present day author, Emily, who visits Villa Aestas in Orvieto, Italy, with her best friend, Chess. (Chess Chandler is inspired by Rachel Hollis in that girlboss advice writer energy.) Emily is in the middle of a divorce and has just recovered from a long and unknown illness, and is working on her very late cozy mystery. Our second timeline also follows an author - Mari - who stayed at the same villa in the 70s and wrote one of the greatest horror novels of all time.

I love a good, juicy, rock and roll 70s mess like Mari was living in. I also love a story within a story - getting glimpses of the horror novel that Mari wrote and seeing the connections between the timelines.

You know what I don’t love? Thrillers. I mean, I tend to like them when I do read them but…I don’t read a lot of them. I think I would have liked this book more if there was no murder. Or less murder. Or maybe more murder? I don’t have the nuance of a dedicated thriller reader to put my finger on what it was, but I loved the first 75% of this book and did not love the last 25%.

Overall, I liked it and I really enjoyed the narrators. Thank you @librofm and @stmartinspress for the review copy.

Houses remember. This was such a gripping first line, both for The Villa and the book within the book, Lilith Rising. I really enjoyed the two different storylines in this book; two pairs of chosen sisters finding themselves while on vacation in Italy. Chess and Emily in the present, Lara and Mari in 1974. We know that Lara and Mari's time at the Villa ends in tragedy but will Chess and Emily's stay end similarly?

I really enjoyed the writing in the novel, how we jump in time from Emily's point of view in the present to Mari's point of view in 1974. There was enough suspense that kept me guessing (what are Chess's motives? Did Johnnie really kill Pierce?) but the draw for me was the story of the women. Both Mari and Emily are working to come out of the shadow of the men in their lives. Their love of writing is what helps them find their escape but is it also what leads to their self-imposed doom?

The twists at the end of both stories were great, adding such an interesting dynamic to the story I want to go back and reread the book knowing what I know now.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. This should be a must read for 2023!

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!
The Villa is a thriller by one of my favorite authors, Rachel Hawkins.
The books intertwines the stories of two different women: Emily, an American author with some writers block due to challenges in her life, and Mari, the girlfriend of a rock artist who has her own story to tell. Both women stay at the same Italian villa, decades apart. This villa is the source of murder, mystery, and inspiration for both women.
I found the dual timelines pretty easy to follow along for most of the book, and I love her writing style so found the plot intriguing. I will say there was twist after twist at the end, and I did have to go back and reread a page here and there to make sure I was keeping up with each twist. Overall this was a great thriller, and I would recommend it!

I really enjoyed this book! 10/10 will buy a hard copy of it to add to my collection. After reading Reckless Girls, I was hooked and thankful for an early entry to read on here. It has an Italian setting that really captivates you!