Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press Group for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 4.5/5 stars

The Villa is an excellent, twisty thriller that has a premise made for me. I have always found the story of the summer that Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron and came up with Frankenstein to be so interesting, but then Rachel Hawkins goes and combines that with Fleetwood Mac and the Manson Murders to make the perfect thriller premise. We have two timelines - one in 1974 that follows Mari during a summer that changes everything and one in present day following writer Emily as she goes on a trip with her best friend to an infamous villa. Mari and Emily’s stories become intertwined in the most thrilling ways.

This is by far my favorite of Rachel Hawkins’ adult thrillers. It was addictive and a change of pace from the thrillers I’ve read lately. I absolutely loved the ending and the pace was consistent throughout. I will say that this is a must on audio. The excellent narration added so much to the story.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
Okay!! I didn’t like Reckless Girls but I did enjoy this one and The Wife upstairs. I enjoyed the frienemies and the flash backs with the other storylines. This one a good one to look out for in the beginning of the new year!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Available January 3, 2023!

Houses Remember…

A brilliant opening line of the fictional novel of “Lilith Rising” that perfectly sets the tone of this book.

For some reason, I thought this wouldn’t really be my cup of tea, but it gave me everything I didn’t know I wanted.

I mean, when you have a blurb like “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.” how can you not be intrigued??

The Villa definitely delivers on this promise. We follow dual timelines in 1974 and the present day. Emily and her childhood bff Chess come to Villa Aestas as a writing retreat and a way for Emily to get her mind off of her stressful and messy divorce. Villa Aestas also happens to be the place of a murder in 1974, of which afterwards two of the renters became renowned artists (author and singer/songwriter).

We get to follow parallels of the two timelines and see the complexities and loyalties of friendship. I was so pleasantly surprised by this I actually went and bought Rachel Hawkins two other thrillers. Her writing is so addicting and fresh and I couldn’t get enough!

Read this if you like:
- Messy relationships
- Gothic horror
- 70’s rockstar vibes
- Houses with secrets
- True crime

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book for the purpose of this review. I've had The Villa in my TBR stack for about a month or so. I knew Hawkins is a talented writer and wanted to be prepared for her latest book. I was so pleased that it was an interesting story and thriller as well.

Hawkins takes us to The Villa and you become invested in the main characters and their friendship and their writings. I like books about authors so this was a nice twist for me personally. I'm starting to let my thriller lovers know all about this book!

Does Rachel Hawkins know how to mess with your head more than anyone? Yes. Yes she does.

This book less suspense than the wife upstairs, but it has similar vibes. I liked the alternating storylines & the sudden shifts in story were little unsettling, but in a good way- like you were always just a little behind.

There were a several storylines left unresolved- intentionally, I’m sure. Bur I would have liked a little more that what we got.

Overall this was very enjoyable and left me thinking about it long after I finished!

I would characterize this as a light horror, historical fiction novel and I loved it. With a dual timeline and the right level of suspense and foreboding, it was not TOO scary, but definitely enough to keep turning the pages. I preferred the current timeline to the 1970s, but appreciated the historical (fictional) context and media outtakes. Very artfully done. Recommend!

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins takes place at an Italian villa with a dark history resembling the Manson murders. Main characters Emily and Chess were inseparable as kids, but as they got older, they drifted apart as their adult lives took over. Their careers were the same, both authors, one a writer of a popular series of cozy mysteries, the other, a well known self-help guru. When Chess suggests Emily join her in a girls trip to Italy, they think this is the perfect chance to rekindle their friendship. The well known villa, has a dark history dating back to 1974, when famous rock star Noel Gordon stays there in an attempt to create a new album. Noel brings some musician friends along, including Pierce Sheldon and his girlfriend Mari, and Mari’s stepsister Lara. The trip is filled with sex, drugs and rock and roll, which also leads Mari to writing a famous horror story novel, Lara composes a platinum album, but one of the guests ends up dead. The dark history of the villa is too enthralling for Emily to pass up, as she starts to search for clues as to what really happened in 1974, the secrets of the past begin to intertwine with betrayals of the present. Is the villa just cursed with a deadly legacy no one can escape?

The story is told in alternating sequences of events by Mari and Emily, past and present. I preferred Mari’s story to Emily’s story for most of the novel. The beginning half of the book was rather dull and boring, but it picked up in the second half. I honestly didn’t like any of the characters, which is probably why it took me so long to get through this. I stuck with it, even though it was more of a slow burn than suspenseful. The last few chapters finally threw in some dark twists, but they weren’t exactly surprising. I thought the idea of the murder house was going to be more sinister, more satisfying, but it tuned out it was more of a feminist pow wow, involving a murder here and there.

I would like to thank Netgalley, St Martin’s Press and Rachel Hawkins for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. I don’t think this was one of Ms Hawkins best books, but I do still appreciate her other books. Generous 2.5 + stars.

Superb!
I was hooked from page one. This is my first book from this author, and it will not be my last. Phenomenal, I couldn't put it down.

Characters all perfectly intertwined from past to present, with the greatest of ease. Intriguing from beginning to shocking end.

One gorgeous Villa, two friends, tons of secrets, nothing will be the same.

Big Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Rachel Hawkins and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

What a wild ride this book was! The story switches between the past and present, with each setting having different characters and a different story, but the same setting of the Italian villa. At first the dual timelines was confusing and hard to keep the characters and stories straight, but this got better as the story progressed. There were definitely some suspenseful moments throughout, particularly in the present day sections. I liked the female MCs in both timelines, but thought the rest of the characters were pretty unlikable (which was kind of the point, so good job there). I didn’t see the twists toward the end coming, in either timeline, even though I thought I had one of them figured out. There were a few things that weren’t totally cleared up that I wish were, but I’d say this was a minor issue. This was my first Rachel Hawkins and I can’t wait to read more of her work!

I received an arc (advanced reader copy) of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins and was completely blown away. I found myself reading in stolen moments, unable to put down this story of murder and mysteries, of houses and history.

This story takes place in two timelines telling two women’s stories as they vacation in the same Italian villa many years apart. Their tales are similar and completely different as both women grapple with the anchors in their life that trap them and bring them down.

Another triumph from Hawkins! I love how she draws me in and keeps me invested!

I am still new to the mystery/thriller genre and I really enjoyed this one! I was first attracted to the cover of this book. I was also lucky to listen to the audiobook of this book which helped me to enjoy the experience even more.

I was excited when I received this from NetGalley and had high hopes seeing how much I thoroughly enjoyed Reckless Girls by this author. Unfortunately this one sadly missed the mark for me. It was not a bad book but maybe just not one for me.

I was super super excited for this book and sadly it was a bit disappointed :( I found the timelines hard to follow at first, there’s 3 stories happening all at once and in the first half of the book I was finding it a bit confusing.
I will say by the second half though I was really into it and able to follow the stories more easily. The main character was interesting and I was invested in the ending!

I’d say it’s an easy read and if you want to keep up to date on Rachel’s latest work then grab it, but not necessarily a top of the TBR list for me!

Wow - this is my first Rachel Hawkins but I have a feeling that it won't be my last! I loved how this was structured - dual POVs where a diary entry was intertwined with the MC. But there were also articles and podcasts sprinkled throughout that helped feed into the story.

Surprisingly, a major theme of this book is about friendship. While there are relationship woes, the loyalty between friends or "sisters" is absolute. This was a shockingly quick read!

4.25/5 stars

Super grateful to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy of The Villa in exchange for an honest review!

The Villa is a slow burn mystery that follows two stories: one set in the present day, following two friends who take a much-needed vacation to a villa in Italy, and one set in 1974, when a historic murder occurred in the same place. One highlight for me was that the author made both timelines equally engaging and suspenseful, which is sometimes lacking in dual timelines. While we know from the start about the 1974 murder, there are also strange things occurring in the main character's life that eerily mirror the past. I found myself rooting for the two female main characters, Emily and Mari, but hated every single other character introduced (which, to be fair, I think was the point).

The only disappointments were in the reveals and finale (pseudo-spoiler alert?), where the red herrings dropped throughout the book just ended up being the resolution. The entire reveal with Chess fell flat for me, and I kept waiting for a second twist or last minute reveal to uncover something that would leave my jaw on the floor. I'd have loved a bit of a cleaner and more surprising ending, but I still think it was enjoyable to read and will definitely recommend. I found this book to be really well-written and overall it is a pretty strong book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for offering me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

4/10

Rachel Hawkins is a New York Times best selling author. This book, The Villa, won’t perpetuate that.

The book starts off good enough in what I thought would be a fun story of two BFFs, Em and Chess, on a trip to Italy to stay in a beautiful villa in Orvieto. Both ‘Em and Chess are authors, Em is a slightly struggling murder mystery writer where Chess is a super-famous self help guru.

There had been a murder in the villa in the 1970s so it presents a nice backdrop for unlocking the fear in everybody’s life.

But, alas, the way this book is written leaves a lot to be desired.

It goes back and forth between two stories. One is the current day trip of Em and Chess, their lives and their exploration of the 1970 murder. The other story is the 1970s group - a rockstar and the friends - and their dynamics that led to the murder and all that followed.

It’s actually a bit more confusing than that but there’s no need for me to dive deeper because the bottom line is that none of the stories are interesting.

I struggled through this book. The only reason I finished is because it was so short.

For a murder mystery, there is no tension, there’s no suspense. There are 8 main key characters in this book (3 present day, 5 in the 1970s story line), which is a lot. The book leaves you not caring about any of them. None of the character development leads to compassion or empathy. It’s like there are four or five ideas for a book crammed together in here and none of them work.

Hard pass.

#netgalley #thevilla

I enjoyed the idea of this story, but it was a bit slow for me throughout. I found the back in time parts to be a bit confusing. Overall it was an average read for me.

Struggling writer and recently divorced, Emily, is invited by her childhood best friend, Chess, to go away for six weeks to an Italian villa. Although Emily and Chess aren’t as close as they once were, Emily needs the break to get away from her divorce struggles and to try to reignite her writing. However this villa has a dark past. Emily immerses herself in learning more about the music royalty who once stayed there and left after a tragic incident. Could the villa’s sordid past be what Emily needs to spark her writing or will the tragic past become the present? I enjoyed how quickly the book had me immersed in the story. I loved the women being authors and the connection that brought them. However, I didn’t walk away liking any character by the end and especially the male characters were just too flawed and cringy. Overall a good mystery/suspense just not my favorite. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy for an honest review.

I really loved this book. The mood, the vibes, and the setting were just so on point. The juxtaposition of a summery, Italian villa with its notorious dark past mixed with characters who hold the same mystery-- beautiful women who hold storms inside.

This story felt like something Taylor Swift would write about in her songs a la Folklore and Evermore. But it also alludes to the notoriety of bands staying in a haunted home to write their hit album.

I was hooked by how this novel alternates between the past and current mysteries. Rachel Hawkins crafts a narrative where you are intrigued yet suspicious of everyone. I blew through this novel.

Rachel Hawkins books are always the best thrillers. They are creepy but thought provoking. A gothic novel set in Italy. You can try to guess how the ending will go but The villa has so many twists you are left surprised. Fans of Rachel Hawkins will love this!