1974 Villa Rosato, A summer of love, sex, rock n' roll. Mari and her sister Lara vacation in Orvieto Italy where Mari hopes to finfish writing her novel and her boyfriend Pierce write his music. A sun filled summer for this group of friends that ends with a horrific murder. Present day Writers Emily and Chess find themselves back at the Villa now known as Villa Aestas in search of more info on the murder of '74. Emily finds written manuscripts hidden by Mari and uncovers the truth about the night of the Murder. This was such a great read! entertaining, light, twisty and creepy undertone. some heartfelt moments shared through Mari and her life as well as Emily whom also shares her experience with loss of love and a broken heart. I didn't feel this was much of a gothic horror as read in the description but it was creepy enough to keep me hooked. 4stars!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I just can not get into this book. Maybe it's not for me but there is just too much going on and not enough to grab my attention to continue reading. I wanted to give up at 20% but made it to 50% and did not finish. I was excited about this book because I loved The Wife Upstairs by Hawkins. The description of this book grabbed my attention because I love travel and a good mystery. I am also divorced like the protagonist who was recently separated from her husband. I found that I just did not care about the rock stars who had stayed in the villa. Did not finish. Not for me.

Houses remember.

Estranged childhood best friends Emily and Chess decide to spend the summer in Italy on a girl's trip working on their new books. The Villa Aestes, now a beautiful vacation spot, was the site of a famous, and gruesome, murder in 1974 that eventually lead to the publication of one of the greatest horror novels of all time.

As their summer continues and tensions rise between Chess and Emily, Emily digs into the past of the Villa, and begins to suspect there is more to the story of what happened in 1974.

It takes a lot for a thriller to impress me, and while this is more of a slow-burn suspense novel, this one really worked for me.
I love dual timeline stories, and the way that Hawkins wove the two stories together was impressive and really added to the suspense. As soon as you thought you knew what was happening in one story, it would switch to the other.
At first, I found Chess and Emily's dynamic to be annoying, but as the book went on, I found myself just as invested in their story as I was in Mari's story. The book had just enough twists to keep me on the edge of my seat, without being so much that I couldn't figure out any of what was happening.

Overall, and excellent slow-burn suspense novel with an interesting dual-timeline story.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Villa.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I will start off with how I appreciate Hawkins making females the focus of her novels, whether that be as the hero or villain. In The Villa we get to know a handful of female character and honestly, I didn’t care for Emily and Chess. That storyline bored me and was predictable and I wanted less. The only good part of that storyline was when they murdered Matt. Chess was annoying the entire time and as Emily even says at the end, she’s not free. She’s stuck there with Chess forever. Also the nickname Chess just really bothers me for some reason. Was her character based off Rachel Hollis? I’m pretty sure she was and since Rachel Hollis is awful, probably led me to hate Chess even more. Now Mari and Lara?! I needed more. I loved how Hawkins wrote how they succeeded and became artists while the men were just in the background. I loved that their art lent to the little scavenger hunt for Emily to find the papers. I enjoyed the part where Noel tells Mari to sever ties so she can thrive as he sees so much potential in her and knows that others are holding her back from it. The only part I semi didn’t like is when she tells the ‘truth’ at the end. I liked the version where she actually killed Pierce herself and not Jhonnie. But Hawkins writes ‘It feels right, then, to break this story up into fragments. Read the first, and it’s sad, but there are moments of light, of joy, even if the reader senses the clouds rolling in. Read the second, and now, the story twists. Heroine is villain, villain is victim, and that colors everything that comes before in a new light. And yet that first bit still stands on its own, another kind of story, another universe of might-have-beens. That’s good, Mari thinks. That’s how stories should work.’ So I get why you write the two versions but I prefer the one where Mari is the villain, yet the hero of her own story. I also enjoyed the way Hawkins wrote the sisterhood aspect of the relationships between Mari and Lara and Emily and Chess. Although I HATE the whole sleeping with your bff’s/sibling’s man. We don’t need it. It doesn’t add to anything when writing these female characters. Overall a fast paced read, I read it all in an afternoon. Thank you again to NetGalley for the ARC of The Villa!!

Houses remember.

This is the kind of concept that deserves a whole novel, and Rachel Hawkins certainly did it justice. I don’t typically read (or watch) anything in the suspense genre, and honestly, I was kinda nervous about this one. But the slow-burn was perfect. The characters were deliciously flawed. The setting was gorgeous. The plot twists were so satisfying. As a whole, I didn’t love it, but I really liked it.

It was a novel within a novel within a novel, brilliantly put together. But it was the frame story that I struggled with. The Emily-Chess dynamic was interesting at best, but mostly just a lot of drama. Without the other parts of the story, I wouldn’t have stayed hooked. But altogether, it works undeniably well.

It’s the final entry from Mari that endears me to this story the most. Otherwise, it would have left me unsatisfied. The study of the human condition trapped within this novel had to have that final piece—had to drive us to consider ourselves. And that…I love.

It drives me to question, as I have many times, why we tell stories. And how we attach pieces of our souls to them as we release them, whether that be to others or to obscurity.

I’m not sure that I’ll be reading more books like this in terms of genre, but I’ll long remember the way this story has made me think. What a gift.

The Villa is a slow burn thriller for sure. It took me awhile to get into it. I was half way through before I really connected and drawn to the story. I really enjoyed the Chess and Em story as a stand alone story of BFFs trying to reconnect. That part of the story reminder me of a Lifetime movie. The second story of Mari, Lara and the guys intertwined was good but sometimes confusing to follow. It took way to long to get to the twisty thriller bits of their story. I needed the Villa to be creepier and more twisted.



I received an early copy from @NetGalley to read for an honest review.

3.5 Stars
I received an advanced digital copy of The Villa thanks to NetGalley, excited to get my hands on Rachel Hawkins’ next thriller! Rachel creates complex characters thrown into questionable situations, and in The Villa she gives us a complicated best friends storyline with a lot of twists. There were many threads to the plot, and while most of them made sense in the end, some felt very forced. I really enjoyed the core plot, as it was quite unique but overall the book needed some refinement to avoid falling into cliche tropes and taking too many twists too far. Luckily, the story was interesting and suspenseful and kept my attention throughout. I think Rachel Hawkins fans will enjoy this as I did overall, and still be planning a trip to the Italian countryside, even after everything that happened there!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I love Paula Hawkins and this book did not disappoint. Emily and her friend Jessica, now Chess, an influencer and self-help guru, decide to vacation in Italy after Emily’s husband Matt leaves her. It turns out that The Villa in Italy is the scene of a murder from 1974. Mari and her sister Lara were there with Noel Gordon, a rock god, Pierce, Mari’s married boyfriend and Noel’s dealer/hanger on, Johnnie. Mari becomes famous for a novel that she wrote in the house and Lara for an album that she wrote there. Emily and Chess have their own issues. It’s a novel within a novel, which a lot of authors are doing now. Hawkins does a good job of it. Friendship triumphs over all.

I did enjoy the plot of this book but I was disappointed in the lack of true thrill. I felt that the pacing was off and I was hoping for more twists and suspense.I also didn’t find the past timeline added much to the story and found it hard to get through those parts. The concept of this book definitely intrigued me but it didn’t end up delivering the way I was hoping.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to review this eARC.

Absolutely intriguing. I read it in one night. The characters are well fleshed out and the story moves seamlessly from one time period to another. A masterpiece.

" HOUSES REMEMBER " Thus book had me on edge I thought I had it figured out with Mari & Pierce I was wrong. I thought I had it right between Emily & Chess again I was wrong! I love when I'm wrong in book, this was truly suspenseful and thrilling with 3 yes I said 3 TWISTS this book was as easily 5 stars for me!! I've loved Rachel
Hawkins work since I've read reckless girls! She does not disappoint!!! Thank you to netgalley for sending me this tit!e!! Check out The Villa January 3 2023!!

Emily is an author of a cozy mystery series however her creative juices seem to have all but dried up. Maybe it's the messy divorce to her jerk of a soon-to-be-ex-husband and his demand for a cut of the money for any and all future books that has her stalling. Why should he get a cut of the money on books she wrote AFTER they divorced?

Then she receives a call from her best friend since childhood, Chess. Chess is a motivation guru who's self help books have sold millions worldwide and she makes an offer that Emily can't refuse. Spend the summer with her in Villa Aestas in Orieto, Italy. Here they can hunker down together drinking fine wine, eating delectable dishes, soaking up the Italian sunshine and hopefully writing up a storm. That's the plan anyways.

Once they arrive it appears Emily still isn't ready to put her fingers to the keyboard for book 10 in her Petal Bloom series. Emily is much more interested in the history of Villa Aestas and the murder of an up-and-coming musician that happened there in the '70's when the villa went by Villa Rosato or better yet, The Murder House.

We have the current storyline following Emily and Chess and we alternate that with Mari, girlfriend to the murdered Pierce, and what happened at the villa in the '70's when five twenty-somethings, creatives and artists, high on drugs, alcohol, and sex spend far too much time together under the guise of friendship.

This was a bit of a slow burner for me but still highly enjoyable. I found both the present and past storylines intriguing in there own way. I liked both Emily and Mari - two young woman that while they appear to be weak in some respects are actually much stronger than anyone could have predicted. The ending is where this one really shined for me though, I loved it. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my complimentary copy.

I was really hoping this was going to be a page turning thriller. I was left wanting. I found absolutely every reason to set this one down in favor of other books, so much so that it’s taken me almost three months to finish it.

The idea of history repeating itself drew me in. Two childhood friends spending six weeks in Italy in this gorgeous villa where a murder occurred sounded delightful. Delightful might not be the right word when referring to a murder, but it sounded intriguing.

I found myself skimming and hoping for the next glimpse into the opposite timeline because I found the majority of it dull.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received an Advanced Reader copy from Netgalley for my honest review. Rachel Hawkins did a fabulous job writing this novel about a Villa and all that the House remembers. There are two parallel story lines from different decades. The story from 1974 mentions famous musicians. I pictured Lara’s album as successful as Carole King’s Tapestry album. The sex, drugs, and rock and roll of the residents of Villa Rosato become the story of Lilith Rising and Aestas. Meanwhile Em and Chess have their own secrets, which are revealed like the layers of an onion. Another story, The Villa, rises out of their time spent at Villa Aestas. What price is paid to find happiness? This novel will have you drawn into the lives of all who stay at THE VILLA. Outstanding writing! Definitely a five star! This book will be a bestseller in 2023!

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins gave me major travel fever (as did Reckless Girls). I am now jonesing for a trip to an Italian Villa. The book follows dual timelines of Mari and Lara who are stepsisters following a bad boy rockstar boyfriends and Emily & Chess are BFF's but haven't been as close in the last several years.

The book primarily takes place for both timelines at Villa Aestas where a muder takes place. Set in the 70's Mari and Lara head to the villa with uber-famous rockstar Noel and up and coming rock star, Pierce. There is also Noel's drug dealer Johnny that comes along with them. Present day, Emily and Chess are both authors and are wanting to escape to Italy for some quality time and writing. Emily writes cozy mystery books and Chess writes self help.

While staying at the Villa, Emily becomes facinated with the muder that took place in the 70s and where Mari wrote her bestselling book "Lilith Rising". Lara also wrote music and produced a great album named "Aestas". Do the book and music provide clues to what happened that fateful day decades before or is it all in Emily's head?

Overall I really enjoyed the book, but found the characters pretty unlikeable and I found myself getting Mari and Lara confused the entire book and who was with who. I also wish the book had been formatted differently with each chapter being past or present. I found the chapters a little long and muddy to get through. While I did prefer Reckless Girls and The Wife Upstairs more, I still liked the 70s vibe of Mari and Lara and the Villa.

I was wrong about this book.
Toward the end, I thought I had the story figured out. I was pretty disappointed.
But then the twists that came weren't at all what I expected.
This book is a really good time. It's rare that I enjoy both timelines in a dual-timeline book equally, but here I did. And I really appreciated how the storylines wove together -- and how they didn't.

I've read a few of Hawkins' books, and this was my favorite thus far.

My students like books that involved houses with murders, horror stories and this book contains all that plus lots of topics for discussion. What is friendship, when is it good and when is it harmful, what about relationships with our partners and our sisters. How does competition spurs us on and when is it destructive? What does it mean to be a victim or a villain. How do women get viewed and how to own their own lives. Lots of likely discussion would follow.

I ended up liking this book a lot. It had a strong engaging start and while parts of it were slow, it had a satisfying ending. Friendships and love, competition between friends and sisters, what part of relationships are worth keeping despite the parts that are toxic. There are two books within this book, a horror story, then the story of the author of that book, her husband and her sister and the tragedy that happened at the villa and then the contemporary story of two friends and the book one of them was writing about the villa. At times, it got a bit confusing about whose mother was x, who child was y . Overall a good read, different from the author's previous works 4.5

This one started a little slow for me and I actually put it down for a bit, but then I picked it back up and was glad. Ilove this author so had to give it a fair shot.

The way the story ties with the present and past was well written. It ended beautifully and I don't think there could have been more added. Overall 4 stars. Can't wait for her next book.

Alternating between present and past timelines, Rachel Hawkins has done it again. In the present timeline, Emily and Chess are old best friends. Both are authors, Emily writing fiction while Chess writes non-fiction. Coming off a bad break-up with her now-ex-husband, Emily is invited to join Chess in Italy for the summer. Staying at a proper murder villa, the location of an infamous murder in the 70s, the two writers reconnect and are reminded of why their friendship has lasted for decades. Truly unputdownable, highly recommend!


Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this eARC.