Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of The Villa! I was very excited to get to preview this one, after having enjoyed Rachel Hawkins previous two thrillers.
The Villa alternates between two time periods: current day, where childhood friends and writers Emily and Chess are summering together at a villa in Italy, and 1974 where step-sisters Mari and Lara are spending the summer at the same villa with their musician love interests. I really enjoyed this book until the end, when I was not thrilled about the path/resolution Chess and Emily’s friendship took (without giving away any spoilers!). But overall, I did very much enjoy the mystery of The Villa, and would recommend to a friend!

“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.…” (Publisher’s blurb)

Two timelines:

Emily is a cozy mystery writer, having penned nine “Petal Bloom” mysteries but she has been in a slump, since her husband Matt, filed for divorce and asked for half of the royalties from the series.

Her best friend, Chess, is also a successful writer, and an internet sensation, with a wildly successful self-help book titled “Things My Mama Never Taught Me”.

So when Chess invites Emily to join her for an all expenses paid Summer in Umbria, Italy, at the Villa Aestas, offering not only a chance to rejuvenate by the pool with Ice Cold Limoncello and Chilled Orvieto white wine- but also a place, to again become inspired to write, she sets aside her concerns that it is a MURDER HOUSE, and books the first flight out.

Does one murder a murder house make?

After all, it was just a night of sex, drugs and rock and roll gone wrong, for a an aspiring rock star-after a heated argument got out of hand.

But, more importantly, it was also a house which inspired both “Lilith Rising” a famous feminist horror novel, written by Mari Godwick, a British girl barely older than the legal drinking age and the album, “Aestas” an album often called a sadder “Tapestry”-from Lara Larchmont, a singer songwriter who just happened to be Mari’s step sister.

Both girls were muses in the house, known as Villa Rosato, back in 1974, and present during the MURDER.
1974 and their story is the second timeline.

“HOUSES REMEMBER” -the opening words of “Lilith Rising”.

“Is it a romantic sentiment or a sinister one?
Do houses hold on to the bad, as well as the good, just as people do? “

Both writers, Mari and Emily will ponder that, but Emily hopes the house’s memories will all be good.

When Emily finds a dusty, old copy of “Lilith Rising” among the bookshelves, she will be compelled to seek out what actually happened on that fateful night.

Is “Lilith Rising” hiding the secrets only two sisters know?

Or is the truth hidden in the lyrics of Lara’s songs?

“Stories change depending on who’s telling them…..”

How will digging in the PAST affect what happens in the PRESENT?

I loved the premise of this one, and stylistically it is much more like “The Wife Upstairs” than it is “Reckless Girls”.

I enjoy stories about writers, as much as I enjoy stories about books, so I much preferred the chapters set in the current timeline to those of 1974. Reading about Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll is not as interesting to me, but of course it was crucial to the plot in this case.

Did I like the ending?!

I DID!! And, I am not sure what that says about me!

AVAILABLE January 3, 2023!

Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley! It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

I had a difficult time sticking with the book for the first half. It was slow and read more like a womens fiction than a thriller. I am glad I stuck with it because the second half of the book takes off. There are a few interesting twists. I really liked the ending.

I loved the setting of the book. I wish it played more of a role in the story. I expected a lot of dark creepiness.  Instead it was just a place where the story takes place. I felt the characters were all self absorbed and very unlikable. I had a difficult time sympathizing with any of them.

I decided to give this 3 stars. Overall it was an interesting and fast paced read. But I was expecting something more surprising and sinister.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for gifting me this ARC.

Unfortunately this is a DNF for me at 35%. I tried to keep going but it’s extremely dull for a thriller. It goes back and fourth between two time-lines about a murder house and I just didn’t care.


Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This treat of a novel will captivate the reader with its perfect blend of mystery, murder, and doomed love story. Immediately immersive and captivating from the first page to the last word.

I was really excited for this book because I enjoyed the author’s other books. Unfortunately this book seemed to be her weakest. I felt like Emily was a really weak character and Chess was highly unlikable. I found the story to not be realistic or even believable. There were holes in the story and areas I think the author could have explored in more depth.

The second storyline set in the villa in the 1970’s added confusion. Sometimes it was hard to determine if this was what actually happened or of it was what had been written about that time. I feel like that storyline could also have been tightened up a bit. I appreciate the connection between the two storylines but the execution was not well done.

While this book really didn’t do anything for me, I will still read this author in the future and hope that her next book will be a winner.

I received an advance reader copy free from NetGalley. Publication date Jan 3, 2023. I am leaving my honest review voluntarily. Thank you for the book!

(3.5/5) Decent, bingeable read. Quite a slow burn thriller where the bulk of the action happens towards the end, with twist after twist in quick succession. While the twists were predictable, and the Chess character was almost too insufferable to handle, the writing was excellently executed and I enjoyed reading each part equally. Now I desperately wish I could read the fictional book and listen to the album that was mentioned.

This book started off very strong! With dual timelines and POVs, It was interesting to see how both stories came together. The dynamic between characters was very intriguing! The plot has so much to offer, but with that being said it wasn't a huge page turner for me. There was just something missing that I couldn't bring myself to love.

The Villa definitely sets off that creepy vibe, and has you wanting the truth just as much as Emily! Though somethings were predictable, that didn't stop me from being interested.

All in all is your looking for a creepy, plot driven, mystery I would recommend it.

Thank you so much Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Rachel Hawkins for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

What a page turner! I really enjoyed this book. It was creepy and suspenseful but just enough to make it a lot of fun to read.

I wanted to love this because I have loved all of Rachel Hawkins previous books and will continue to read them but this one fell flat to me. It didn’t have much substance.

I really liked the dual timelines that this story followed. You get to follow a current day drama between two “best friends” or as I’d probably classify as more friends to enemies or frenemies…is if you will, who are both writers. As well as following the mystery of a story that happen in the 70’s.

There were definitely some slow burn to this story and parts that I thought at first were unnecessary but it really comes together in the end and the final twist really caught me by surprise. I loved the ending and overall give this a solid 3.5 to 4 stars.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
The story was just okay for me. I expected more mystery and thrill and found it to be more on the drama side. None of the characters here were likable and that was okay for me. Some parts were a bit boring but it became interesting towards the end. I’m not sure which timeline I liked more. Mari or Emily?!
Thank you sooo much for the free copy!! 🥰

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advanced reading copy of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins.

This novel takes place in dual timeline. Present day Emily and Chess are childhood friends. Now in adulthood they decide to take a trip together to Italy that will forever change them.

In the 1970’s sisters Mari and Lara find themselves at a Villa in Italy where they right their wrongs.

This is easily my favourite Rachel Hawkins of all of the adult thrillers she has written thus far.

This is my second book by Hawkins and I am a fan of her writing.
The Villa is told in 2 timelines. In 1974 Mari, her boyfriend Pierce, and step-sister Lara are invited to spend the summer at an Italian villa rented by Noel, a famous musician, along with his hanger-on drug dealer, Johnnie. Mari and Lara are creatively inspired at the villa and both develop career masterpieces during their stay. Unfortunately, tensions and love triangles escalate to the point that one of the vacationers is murdered and another takes the fall. The second timeline is in the present. Emily, a recent divorcee with writer's block decides to join her frenemy Chess at the now famous murder villa to get inspiration for their new novels. After Emily finds some of Mari's writing hidden in the house, she believes that Mari's masterpiece novel, "Lillith Rising" took place in the villa and sets about digging into the villa's history.
To be honest, I didn't really like any of the characters in this book. I didn't sympathize with their situations and found they were actually toxic to each other. I kept reading due to Hawkins's writing and that's a feat in itself!
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book.

The Villa is an extraordinary work that is artfully written and full of interesting and somewhat tragic characters. I have not read Rachel Hawkins before, but I will be immediately searching for her other works after finishing The Villa. The writing is absolutely beautiful, and the world that the author builds at the villa, both in the past and the present, is vivid. I honestly felt like I was there, both with Mari and with Em. The ending is also poetically beautiful (I don't want to go into details, so that I can avoid spoilers). While, for me, The Villa is not a traditional thriller, I still could not put it down. While I loved the ending, I was also sad because I didn't want to leave these characters and the villa. Honestly, I see this as one of the best books of 2023. I will likely re-read it. It's an easy 5 stars and will be one of my most highly recommended books!

Brief summary - there are two stories told throughout The Villa, In the present, Em and Chess, lifelong best friends who have grown apart, decide to vacation at this specific villa for the summer. In the past, Mari accompanies her boyfriend, her stepsister, and their rock 'n' roll idol there for some artistic time. In both scenarios, there are a ton of secrets to be revealed, betrayals to be committed, and relationships to be tested. At least one of these stories results in a death.

The Villa is Daisy Jones Meets the Six crossed with Sometimes I Lie. There's layers of stories built upon one another and I enjoyed exploring those as the author revealed them. I was not totally happy with the ending but I can't share why without giving anything away. This kept me reading and pushing til the end- I was up from 1-3am because I needed to know who did it. And it's not who you think! Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for letting me read this ecopy in exchange for a free and unbiased review!

This book was a pretty quick read but I felt immersed into the characters stories. The book is told from two perspectives of women visiting a villa in Italy. The house has an interesting past and that compels one of the characters, Emily, to learn more about what happened years ago in the house. Emily is going through a rough time in her life and goes with a friend to the villa to work on their books (both are writers). The story really took me for a lot of twists and I’m still processing everything that happened.

This was a suspenseful and captivating book! Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for a early review copy to enjoy and give a review.
The book has a dual story line with the setting in common. In current times Emily and Chess are renewing their friendship (and working on their own writing careers) at a villa in Italy. In the 1970s, Mari and her step sister Lara are at the same villa with their rock star love interests. A murder takes place in the 70s story and through Mari's part we slowly learn the truth of what happened. At the same time the modern day Emily is also trying to figure out what happened and plans to write her own book about it.
I really enjoyed the story line from the 1970s. The characters were complex and the story was intriguing as it evolved. The modern story also certainly held my interest but the characters were not likeable or relatable and their ending felt a bit contrived.
The story was well written and it was easy to follow both parts concurrently.
The setting (Villa Rosato) was intriguing and seemed to be a character in the drama itself. I like books where the setting takes on this aspect.
I think readers who enjoy domestic suspense will really enjoy this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reading Copy of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

I will say that I am beginning to really enjoy the suspense genre lately! It's not my usual genre of choice, but it is growing on me!

I will say this is my first ready by Rachel Hawkins. Below are some things I liked about the 'The Villa'.

- Different timelines: I really enjoyed the switching back and forth from 1974 to today's story.
- I enjoyed the characters including all those from the '74 timeline (even the characters I 'disliked' were well developed and I did find myself intrigued to read more about them).
- I loved how the two stories connected and it was almost like a mystery inside a mystery.
- I really enjoyed the ending, and how it all came together- but still left you wondering what would happen to Emily & Chess.
- I enjoyed the final plot change at the end of the story as well. I did NOT see that coming (I don't want to give away too much with spoilers).

The Villa has a publishing date of January 3rd, 2023. I highly suggest this read- especially if your just getting into the suspense genre and want a fun / mystery read.

There was a lot I enjoyed about this: reading about a writer's life, the Italian setting, the strong women. But I found myself dissatisfied by both of the plots (Mari's and Emily's) and wanting more. Everything with Pierce and Matt wrapped up too neatly, but then the ending was a bit confusing. It felt like the whole "murder house" thing should have been more, well, murder-y. A solid "fine."