Author Rachel Hawkins drew me into this story right away & I love that! Emily & Chess decide to rekindle their decades old childhood friendship with a summer trip to Italy. Emily's life is in a turbulent place & Chess has somehow turned herself into a famous self-help guru. They will decide if they still have anything in common .
Villa Aestas comes complete with food, local wines, amazing views and a swimming pool and even better Chess is paying the bill. Emily ends up delving into to infamous history of the villa. It was the site of a murder involving a group of friends including a rock & roll icon and two sisters in 1974.
Great book to take along on a spring break getaway or to cuddle up with on a cold weekend.

Thanks to NetGalley,Rachel Hawkins & St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review

Rachel Hawkins has a gift for creating a beautiful story that engages readers and keeps them on their toes! The Villa, her latest novel follows Emily, a fiction writer and her bff, a non-fiction mega star to Italy where they share a home for the summer. Emily is mid-divorce, filled with writer's block and disappointed about the way her life is going. Meanwhile, Chess seems to be basking in total success. Emily is captivated by the history of their Italian villa, which is filled with mysterious secrets from several decades ago.
The Villa tells the story of the present day and 1974, when five talented artists (in instrument and written words) came to stay together for an extended holiday. When one is violently murdered, the Villa Aestas becomes the house that remembers. Emily’s own writing is fueled by the secrets she discovers and how her own life seems to be mirroring that of the women that previously stayed in the home.
To be fair, I’m not one that loves the idea of a gothic thriller, but The Villa was a spectacular success. I enjoyed the mysterious aspects, the cast of characters and the duel storylines. Author Rachel Hawkins' writing sucked me in from the very beginning. I will absolutely be recommending The Villa for fans across many genres and it’s a thriller that should not be missed in January 2023!

A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Villa is such a mesmerizing book. I really enjoyed both the story from the past and the new story. I thought it was well thought out, loved the way we got a little bit of both stories each chapter. And I thought all of the twists were so well placed! I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more from Rachel!

Lifelong besties Emily and Chess are spending the summer in Orvieto, Italy at the gorgeous Villa Aestas. Emily hopes the girls’ trip will give her a chance to reconnect with Chess and jumpstart her stalled writing career. The villa was the scene of a gruesome murder in 1974, and as Emily gets drawn into investigating what really happened, she’s inspired to write about it. But the more Emily discovers, the more it strains her relationship with Chess.

Hawkins uses some of my favorite tropes – dual timelines, multiple narrators, story-within-a-story – to craft this gothic suspense novel. We have Emily’s perspective in present day and Mari’s in the 1970s, plus excerpts from the main character in Mari’s novel, Lilith Rising. The writing is atmospheric and the three storylines are woven together seamlessly, with the past and present timelines cleverly paralleling each other. Although I found some of the plot points predictable, this slow burn suspense is spooky, tense, and engaging.

Fans of Hawkins know she is famous for using literary inspiration – for example, The Wife Upstairs is a modern retelling of Jane Eyre. In The Villa, the 1974 plot of is heavily inspired by the summer that Mary and Percy Shelly spent at Villa Diodati with Lord Byron and Mary’s stepsister Claire Clairmont. The way Hawkins’s fictional characters’ relationships and even their names are reflective of real-life events is ingenious.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me an advance copy of this book.

The only other book by this author I've read is Reckless Girls and I did not like that book. This book started out really strong with a premise that I found intriguing. I definitely enjoyed Mari's story over Emily's. I didn't fully believe the full story ended up being revealed between Emily and Chess. I loved the feminism tones of the second half, but the "Houses remember" opening really fell flat by the end.

The Villa follows childhood friends Emily and Chess as they embark on a trip to the high-end vacation spot Villa Aestas. As Emily begins to dig into the history of this villa, and its famous past occupants, truths about her life and her friendship with Chess start coming to light.
When I saw the blurb mentioned this was inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the famous summer Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, I was very intrigued by this one. The novel is short and easy to fly through. I found myself enjoying the past timeline more than the current, as the current timeline did take a little bit of time to grow on me. I found Emily and Chess to be likably unlikeable and the story of their somewhat jealous and contentious relationship very interesting to follow. The mystery of what happened and is happening in both timelines kept me interested from start to finish and I really enjoyed the way it was written and how both POV's were balanced. I can't wait to see what else Rachel Hawkins comes out with in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Rachel Hawkins for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars, rounding up. This is a short, captivating thriller set in Orvieto, Italy. Our main characters are Emily and Chess, childhood best friends who have grown into successful authors of very different genres. Emily is having trouble writing after a lengthy illness and separation from her cheating husband, so she and Chess head to a beautiful Italian villa to spend the summer writing and catching up with one another. The thing is, there was a murder in the villa some 40 years before, and houses, after all, remember.

I flew through this book, as I expected to. I would by no means describe it as "gothic" though, so look elsewhere if that's what you're looking for. There are bits from Emily's perspective as well as Mari's, one of the girls at the villa in the 1970s for the murder. I did not find the shifts in perspective confusing, as they are distinctly marked and it's obvious what is happening when. The main twist was not what I expected at all, so in that sense it was successful. Did it blow my mind? No. Was it original? Yes, I think so. Some of the smaller twists were easy to predict, though.

Overall, this was a great fast-paced read that held my interest and felt unique. Thank you to Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

“Houses remember”
The history of the villa still reflects and resonates in the beautiful villa. Old friends meet up again to take a girls’ trip to the villa, Villa Aestas in Orvieto.
One of the girls, Emily, is a writer suffering from writer’s block. She discovers a hidden page from a book Lillith Rising and believes the story really happened in this villa. She begins to dig into the history of the Villa, and secrets are revealed. Emily and Chess begin to clash and this strangely mirrors the past.

The book is inspired by the real life events of a summer weekend when Lord Byron, Percy and Mary Shelly spent time together. It was also inspired by Fleetwood Mac and the Manson family murders.

I really enjoyed this dramatic thriller. I loved the comparison of past and present.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Houses remember.”

Emily is struggling with writer’s block. She’s going through a messy divorce and getting over a health issue. Plus her agent is hounding her for the next installment of her cozy mystery series. Her lifelong friend, and best-selling self-help guru, Emily invites her to spend a month at an infamous Italian Villa where a murder took place in 1974.

Flashback to summer 1974 when rockstar Noel Gordon invites Lara, her stepsister Mari, and Mari’s boyfriend Pierce to spend the summer at the same villa. Lara is anticipating getting closer to Noel. Mari is hoping that the trip will be a breakthrough in Pierce’s fledgling musical career by spending the summer collaborating with Noel. However, their summer of sex, drugs & rock ‘n roll will end in a murder.

This book has several of my favorite tropes…dual timelines, books about writers, 1970’s historical fiction, book within a book, sisters, morally gray characters, and secrets. Rachel Hawkin’s writing is lovely and atmospheric. You can picture this amazing villa, and small town of Orvieto. I was able to guess one of the twists, but the last chapter…😱. I highly recommend this if you love atmospheric thrillers. Thank you to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for an advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Rachel Hawkins for the advanced copy of The Villa in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Early reviews for this book are definitely all over the map, which weirdly made me even more excited to read it?

I found that even though some of the chapters got pretty lengthy, I had a hard time putting this one down. I love a book with dual timelines and multiple narrators. The present day timeline was ultra-predictable, but the earlier timeline definitely had some events I did not see coming.

Lastly, there was one big part of the book that 1. I borderline hated, and 2. I am sick to death of reading about... alas it is a big thriller trope so I don't expect it to go anywhere soon.

I was team unpopular opinion with Reckless Girls but I feel Hawkins redeemed herself with The Villa. It's on bookshelves January 3!

Emily and Chess have been best friends since they were kids. Now in their 30’s, Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy to reconnect. Villa Aestas is famously known for a being a murder house back in the 70s. Famous rock star, Noel, rented it and invited some friends (Pierce, Mari and Lara) to stay with him. As Emily finds out more about the houses history, she thinks it’s more than just sex, drugs and rock n roll that caused the brutal killings. Secrets are revealed about the past and present and Emily is determined to find the truth.

Such a good mystery by Rachel Hawkins. The story is told through Mari and Emily’s POV, jumping from past to present. I found myself wanting to read Mari’s storyline more than Emily’s, but it all is put together really well. There are some good unveilings and I was intrigued to find out what all was happening.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️STARS

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Em is having a rough go at life. She has been mysteriously I’ll the past months and her husband has filed for divorce and is going after her book royalties. She reluctantly meets up with her life long best friend Chess. Chess is currently at the top of her game and is on the best sellers list. Chess invites her to spend the summer with her at a villa in Italy to work on their respective books. The villa has a haunting past and it’s mystery sweeps Em in and changes her life forever.
Full of twists and turns this book will keep you hooked. It goes from the Perspective of Em and a Mari a character from the Villas past.

This was a good read and I enjoyed it.

The Villa is a slow-burn gothic suspense novel featuring dual timelines, multifaceted characters (two of whom are writers!), and a beautiful old Italian villa; if that's not a recipe for success, I don't know what is! The plot is compelling without being too complicated, and the way that Hawkins creates echoes between the dual timelines (past and present) is just so satisfying. I also felt like I was living vicariously through Emily while reading this - it's basically the dream to stay in a gorgeous historic building and be able to sleuth around to find clues to a remarkable story from decades ago. And there's always something beautiful about a novel that is a love letter to writing. This one is a winner for me!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing a digital copy of The Villa in exchange for an honest review. The Villa will be released January 3, 2023!

What an amazing book! Complex , strong female characters and relationships between them! I love the way Hawkins draws a line between 2 different time periods and seamlessly moves through them. Ches and Emily are crazy and have such a weird relationship, but I loved it. I loved the parallel time lines and the way events at the house draw people together and parallel each other. Hawkins is a very talented writer- the book was perfectly paced, I loved the dialogue, and the writing style is my favorite. The ending will leave you shocked and content. An amazing book!

The Villa: A Novel by Rachel Hawkins is the third book I have read by this author. Like with her other books, I found this one engrossing. She really does have a way about her that just allows her to tell a story, that while not overwhelming in facts, events, or people, is still compelling and hooks the reader right in from the start. The Villa: A Novel is another standout hit for the author.

It is filled with personal intrigue, conflict, complicated relationships, and atmospheric locations with their own history and backstory. In short, The Villa has everything it needs to make it engaging. I really like the fact that there are two stories in one and both manage to keep you on your toes from beginning to end.

A delicious gothic tale in an Italian villa, by one of my fav authors?! Yes, please!!
I can’t tell you how excited I was to sit and devour this book this spooky month! This book is fast paced and had me so invested in the life long relationship of chess and Emily, and all the secrets that came with it!! I’m rounding up to 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for allowing me a chance to read and review this book early! The first thing that drew me in was the beautiful cover.. I hate to say it, but I’m often one that judges a book by its cover and this one is just beautiful. I also want to state, I am not typically a fan of multiple timelines and stories in a book so I was hesitant at first, but something about the way the author presented each story, timeline and characters in this book, has now made me a fan. I did expect there to be more of a thrilling, creepy vibe to the house since “Houses Remember”, so I was a little disappointed in that aspect, but overall I enjoyed this book. It did take me a few chapters to really get into it, but once we made it to Italy and Emily started writing her book, I was instantly sucked in. I loved how Emily and Mari slightly mirrored each other. Someone described this as a slow burn thriller and that is a perfect way to put it! It had the perfect build up - many times had me at the edge of my seat, unable to put it down because I was anxious to see how things ended, this story was thrilling, exciting, and heartbreaking and for those reasons, I rate this book 4/5 stars. I can’t wait to see what Rachel Hawkins comes up with next!

“The Villa” written by Rachel Hawkins felt more to me like an adult drama than a thriller. It was enjoyable and set in a gorgeous setting, but the story fell short for me. Thank you so much to NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!

4.5⭐️

This was my first Rachel Hawkins novel and this did not disappoint at all! I was hooked from the beginning to the very end and it reminded me of so many great books I’ve read like Home Before Dark and Verity. This definitely got me out of my reading slump and kicked off the spooky season thriller reads for me.

What I really liked in this novel was the creativity. Since I’ve never read books by Hawkins before, I don’t know if she was testing out a new theme with this novel or if this is how she usually writes but I enjoyed it either way. Em and Chess’s relationship and the past of The Villa gave me something to look forward to. Even though the chapters were long, I was too invested in the story to care.

Chess and Em have a complicated relationship. Chess was manipulative and made me angry whenever I heard her justifications. We all know people like Chess and it made me sad for Em to be stuck in that relationship.

The ending was spectacular. I’m a sucker for confusing, mind-numbing endings for thrillers. I love the “what’s the real story?” Kind of endings because it makes you think for a long time. What really happened in the Villa? Something we won’t know even though the answer is right in front of us. Not a lot of books I’ve read contain that type of endings nor is it well executed but in this situation it was perfect.

I’m not giving this a 5⭐️ because one specific part of the book kind of didn’t make much sense. I felt like it could’ve been explained well but there was too much going on that Hawkins skimmed over the topic. I’m still looking forward to reading more of her books!

4.5 stars out of 5. This is my favorite Rachel Hawkins book by far!! I loved the journey she took us on with these characters. They felt complex and I never really knew where the story was headed. I really enjoyed the twist ending too. Just when you feel like you have it all figured out, Hawkins ended it with an ending that makes you think. The ending gave me Verity by Colleen Hoover which is intended as a huge compliment. Very very good book!!