Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

After seeing the following blurb, I know I HAD to read this new Rachel Hawkins novel!

“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.”

Old friends, Emily and Chess, decide to reconnect and go on a girl's trip to Italy. They stay in Villa Aestas, previously known as Villa Rosato, with a complicated history. As Emily digs into its past, she starts to believe something more sinister at play. Between rockstars, horror novels, and a brutal murder, will Emily discover what really happened in the summer of 1974?

This story had such a unique premise it immediately caught my attention. It definitely kept me interested throughout. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to all Rachel Hawkins lovers.

The Villa is two stories in one book. One is set in the present and one is the early 1970s. Both have young women dealing with unreliable men and friends. This is my favorite novel by Hawkins. It kept me guessing until the end and I enjoyed both story lines. It has mystery, unreliable narrators, and a gorgeous setting. Hawkins writing kept me engaged and it was hard to put the book down.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

Fame, romance, complicated relationships, and murder all occur in one house... told from two time lines the story revolves around a famous rockstar, two sisters, and the musician they both love.... and the murder of said musician... but after his death they both sky rocket to fame... and now in the present timeline two friends, both authors, spend a vacation at the villa in which the murder occurred... but soon they are in their own complicated web, The story follows Emily and Chess, now both in their 30s, they use to be best friends but separated due to life circumstances but Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy so both of them can work on their writing. They’ll be staying at Villa Aestas in Orveito, it is also known as Villa Rosato, a place that was rentsd by a famous rock star Noel Gordon in the summer of 1974 and in attempt to reignite his creative spark he invites up and coming musician Pierce Sheldon as well as pierce’s girlfriend Mari ( a writer) and Mari’s step sister ( a musician). This sets of a chain of events that lead to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time and Lara composing a platinum album... and ends in pierce’s brutal murder. As Emily digs around the villa she begins to find Mari’s writing about the events that occurred that summer. The more she digs in the more she becomes inspired herself yet she finds her own life reflecting those circumstances and the relationship between her and Chess are much more complexed than she thought. Think of Mari and Pierce and Mary Shelley and Percy Shelly, and their time at the villain as the time they spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva Castle, they have an open relationship but it’s complicated especially since Pierce is also sleeping with Lara, but the more time they all spend together the more trapped Mari feels and soon she’ll need to free herself. The story was anticlimactic and I found myself getting irritated with a lot of the characters and their actions. The whole murder mystery twist at the end was meh at best and honestly made the book even less likeable to me. I’m happy they got their happy endings but honestly, I just wanted the book to end.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This is a story about two friends vacationing together in a house in Italy that has a murderous backstory. I found the story honestly to be an interesting weaving of three different stories: Mari, Emma, and Chess. I found it slow at times because it was trying to weave them all together in a way that made senses, but honestly it did it well. I personally didn’t care for the twist at the end involving Emma, but I did enjoy the other twist. I found the explanation for Emma’s twist to be kind of lacking? Like I have a hard time understanding how the character that was built during the book would be involved in the twist. Overall though I think it was a surprisingly good read. This is not a thriller or suspense in my opinion but more of a mystery that focuses more on the main character than on the mystery.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC of The Villa!

I've loved Rachel Hawkins books previously, but I am pretty sure The Villa is my new favorite!
I couldn’t put this book down once I started reading. This is definitely a book I will recommend to fellow readers upon release. The characters were likeable, which made me invested in what would happen with them. I loved the twist at the end! I think that many people will enjoy this book.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I have pretty mixed feelings about this one.

On the one hand, The Villa was a fast-paced, compulsively readable novel. I read it in one sitting, and I enjoyed the overall premise of the book. On the other hand, I think the dual timeline was overly repetitive and neither time period was that interesting. I usually find thrillers to be entirely too long and the twists to be obnoxiously unbelievable. However, here, I felt like I wanted more, or needed more. Due to the dual timelines, you never really have enough time with the characters or the storyline of each time period, and yet somehow, there is too much happening. I never really cared about or found any of the characters interesting. Of the few twists, one was incredibly predictable, and the other was just sort of there.

I think if you enjoy thrillers, which I will be honest, are not my favorite genre, and if you like the author, I think you will enjoy this.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and the author for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are entirely my own.

A quick read with switching viewpoints, The Villa sucked me in but also often left me wanting more. I found the present day characters to be a bit insufferable with a frustrating friendship. However, the flashbacks were fun and spooky, with a twist ending I did not see coming. A good pick when you want an easy suspense to breeze through over a weekend.

For me, Rachel Hawkins does it again. I really liked her previous novel, “The Wife Upstairs”, so I had high hopes for this one, and I wasn’t expected her to exceed those, yet she surprised me and far exceeded those for me. Her previous novel, while it kept me on my toes, I was able to foresee a lot of what was coming. For “The Villa” - I appreciated the twists and turns that I wasn’t able to anticipate, and those are the thrillers for me that I really love the most. I love when an author can keep me on my toes, and keep me from guessing what’s going on.

I also really love her writing in this one - it drew me in from page 1, and kept me unable to put it down until the very end. The weaving back between past and present storylines was really compelling - and the inspiration from true events for this story also sparked my intrigue.

If you are a fan of Hawkins, a fan of thrillers, or looking for your first read for 2023, get this on your pre-order list for the upcoming holiday season!

The Villa will be available January 3, 2023!

Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for the advance review copy provided through NetGalley! I can’t wait to see and devour what Hawkins comes up with next!

When Emily is going through a difficult divorce, her best friend and self-help guru Chess offers to take her to Italy for a relaxing vacation. Staying in the beautiful Villa Aestas, the lifelong friends set off to enjoy the summer. The Villa has a dark history; in the 1970s, it was rented by a rockstar and his friends only for their trip to end in the rockstar’s brutal murder, his girlfriend writing the greatest horror movie of all time and her sister recording a platinum album. Emily, a writer herself, begins reading the novel and looking into the villa’s history only to uncover some shocking secrets. As she gets closer to the truth, her friendship with Chess grows increasingly volatile.

This was an interesting and exciting mystery! Told in dual timelines, we see Emily and Chess uncover the drama that unfolded during the 70s in the same villa they are staying at. There were a few twists that I did not see coming which I always appreciate in a book. I also thought it was fun how Emily was a writer herself - I always like reading about the lives of writers and how she worked. Without giving any spoilers, I really liked her character but Chess not so much. Thank you to Netgalley, Rachel Hawkins and St Martin’s Press for the ARC!

“The Villa” is out January 3, 2023!

This review will be shared to my Instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly 😊

This book was an ok read for me. I haven’t had the best luck with this author though I know others love her writing. I had a hard time connecting to the story and characters. Overall a 3 star read.

I forgot and didn’t even know how to tell which books I had access to, as I could not access netgalley for a few months. But I couldn’t forget I had one by Rachel Hawkins, as she’s one of my favorite authors! And this book did not disappoint! It actually may have been my very favorite of hers, so well written, tense, and so twisty it made a bit dizzy! Had me on the edge of my seat, reading, reading, reading, so I could finally figure out what rabbit she’d pull out of her hat and she got me with one of her tricks again! Highly, highly recommend!

Will buzz around and use my Amazon Vine Top Reviewer to ensure people get to hear how wonderful this book was!

This book had me hooked from the beginning. I liked the story, within the story, within the story, and the plot twists along the way. Big fan of the reference to Jensen Ackles, although I am way beyond “tenth grade me absolutely risking it all for [him]”. The story Mari wrote entitled “Lilith Rising” also brought back memories of Lilith from Supernatural. The ending sealed the deal of a 5 star read for me. It was a suspenseful escape! Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the digital ARC of “The Villa.”

This is such a good book! I have read several books by Rachel Hawkins. This book is very clever and well-written, as it is a story within a story. Highly recommended!

A gripping fast read that's set on 2 timelines on the villa in Italy. I was more invested in the current time, Emma's POV than Mari's. I wanted more atmosphere of a 70s rock-and-roll and did not get it.
The dynamic between Emma and Chess was interesting, but there was not enough of a build-up. It felt like reading a diary, without any "special effects". The plot idea with a book inside the book was fun, the quotes from songs, podcasts, and articles worked perfectly and made the story come to life. I just wanted more suspense, more guesswork leading to a big revelation.
Ending with Matt felt too short, it felt too easy, and again, no suspense. I loved the ending with Chess, that was perfect and leaves the cliffhanger, but at the same time reader understands what is going to happen.
This was a good story and an amazing idea, but the delivery was short for me.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a gifted early copy of the book.

I really enjoyed this book! There are two different timelines in the book - one in 1974 that follows Mari, a writer who travels to the villa with her boyfriend, stepsister, a musician and his dealer. The other timeline involves two childhood best friends (both writers, although different genres) - Emily and Chess.

I was fascinated by Mari as a character and the look back in time. Their group had such twisted dynamics and showed the ugly side of the “sex, drugs and rock & roll” lifestyle. I loved and empathized with Emily a lot and couldn’t understand why she kept Chess around. Chess frustrated me a lot, she seemed like such a selfish and self absorbed person - which made the book even better!

I loved seeing the two stories intertwine and it got me thinking of the steep price of success.

4.5/5 stars ⭐️

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
Ah, what can I say about this one??? I finished it yesterday and still feel unsettled by that ending!

Emily and Chess have been best friend since grade school. Many years have transpired at this point and Chess is now a famous author and household name, as well as Emily for her penning cozy mysteries, but Emily's life has taken a turn for the worse while Chess continues to catapult to fame. Chess invites Emily to Italy for the summer with her to give her a change of scenery and reconnect. Hoping to tap into her dried up writer's well, she accepts.

The house they stay in is a Murder house and is famous for the killing of up and coming musician, Pierce, in the 70s. Interestingly enough, two of the people staying in the house at the time of the killing created art out of their time there and became famous, as well. Emily becomes obsessed with Mari and the book she wrote after her time there, Lilith Rising, and believes it holds secrets as to what truly happened that summer.

The story is written in dual timelines and they seem completely unrelated until they come together towards the end... which is the part that left me a bit baffled. I won't give anything away, but I would love to chat with someone else who has read this! Message me! :)

The Villa
By: Rachel Hawkins

Number 39
4/5 ⭐️

“How is it that someone can bring out the very best and the very worst of you all at once?”

I got this book as an ARC from @netgalley and really enjoyed it! My last @rachelhawkins book I read (Reckless Girls) wasn’t one of my favorites but I did love The Ex Hex (by @erinsterling AKA Rachel Hawkins’ alias) so I was excited to give another one of her books a go!

I loved how the historical component of the novel seemed so real. When reading the parts of Mari’s story, I kept googling things to see if any of it actually happened. Hawkins’ writing had me fact checking, it was that believable! The background of a Villa in Italy had me mentally visualizing every scene, longing to be under the Italian sun.

I kept finding myself feeling sorry for Mari and her awkward relationship with both her boyfriend and her half-sister. That same awkward love/hate relationship (and love triangle for that matter) was paralleled into present day Emily’s life.

It was so interesting how Emily dove deeper to discover more secrets from Mari’s book. Even though it was a fictional tale, Emily was able to uncover more reality as to what went on during that murderous summer. That was, until Chess started to stake claim to Emily’s ideas.

Right off the bat I knew that Chess was the worst. Who gets the nickname Chess from Jessica? She ended up being a stereotypical frenemy (think Blair & Serena for my fellow GG friends!). SPOILER ALERT - She sleeps with Emily’s husband and tries to make it seem in Emily’s best interest? How manipulative!

In the end, both Emily and Mari got their version of a happy ending. Mari told her story even though it was a different version of the truth. Emily also had the world experiencing a different version of her truth as well. For a picturesque and thriller of a read, check out The Villa when it comes out January 3, 2023!

Em and Chess reminded me so much of Mari and Lara. The quote "houses remember" stuck with me throughout the whole book and it definitely proved itself true in The Villa.

This book was very entertaining. Vacationers turned to murderers! Even though part of the story was past tense, it all felt relatable.

I really enjoyed both of Rachel Hawkins previous two books, The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls. I was thrilled to receive an advanced readers copy of The Villa. I honestly would not classify this book as a thriller. I thought it was more literary fiction. To be honest, although it definitely kept my attention, I found most of the book to be somewhat predictable. I really enjoyed reading about the relationship between Emily and Chess. I enjoyed not knowing whether I could trust Chess. Initially, I wasn’t super invested in the Mari, Lara, Pierce, Noel, and Johnnie story. However, the ending of the book blew my mind. I’m honestly not sure I completely understand the ending. Questions were left unanswered. That’s the type of book I really enjoy. It bothers me when everything is neatly tied up at the end.