I really enjoyed reading this book. A classic slow burn but kept me wanting more. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

What can possibly go wrong when two BFF's Emily and Chess go on a wonderful writing adventure in Italy? Throw in a beautiful villa that was the scene of a murder over thirty years ago. What happens next can really put you on the edge while you are reading this thriller by Rachel Hawkins.
Emily an almost divorced writer is invited by her best friend Chess to a Italy where Emily can decompress from her life of sickness and divorce while both she and Chess can get their creative juices flowing and write their next books. That is until Emily stumbles upon what really happened in this beautiful villa when Mari, her true love Preston, Noel and aging rock star and her stepsister Lara spent a wonderful summer of trying to regroup and also do some writing mostly writing of songs.
What I liked about this book is that it showed the villa at two different stages of its life. A time when drugs, alcohol and free love were given to all. Then jump over 30 years and the villa is used as an escape for a broken heart, betrayal and possibly a time of good fortune. My favorite was the time of Mari, her friends and step sister. I . A pictured myself in a beautiful villa in a beautiful city, with the element of surprise . A surprise that Mari and her friends did not see. The time period with Emily and Chess I felt dragged. Wasn't happy with the way Em's character evolved. She sometimes just gave in and took her punches, while her friend Chess I found to be sneaky, and not a true friend.
The story picked up speed when we where told the truth behind what happened the night of the murder , how Mari then saw herself and what her relationship with Lara turned out to truly be. When Emily begins to dive into the life of Mari, the books she wrote the music that Lara wrote and the truth about what really happens made me want to finish this book and I am happy I did. I loved how Ms. Hawkins wrote the story with the years intertwining and see how the characters of both similar and different. Loved how it ended though I was slightly confused I would recommend it to mu reader friends.
Thank you Ms. Hawkins, Net Galley and St Martins Press for the ARC. Haven't been approved for a book in a long time, glad I was for this one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Houses remember…

Read if you like:
- Italian setting
- gothic suspense
- rock stars
- vacation thrillers
- cheater revenge 😈

This book is from 2 different character perspectives, happening years apart. Emily’s best friend decides to scoop her away on an Italian vacation to take her mind off her pending divorce. Before they go Emily researches and finds out it’s a “murder house”… but it’ll be totally fine! 🤪 In comes Mari’s point of view; she’s the girlfriend of famous rockstar Pierce Sheldon in 1974 in London. I love the format of different perspectives/time periods because I love slowly getting the pieces to put together the puzzle.
I love that 3 of the characters are authors!! I love reading about books 🤓
The very opening paragraphs gripped me immediately! The book did almost lose me in the middle though, when it became kind of boring and nothing was really happening.
This was more of a cozy mystery than a thriller. I kept waiting for the twists and turns to happen, but the book just wrapped up neatly and exactly as you expected it would. The end really fell flat for me.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and St.Martin’s Press for my ARC in exchange for an honest review 💕

The best Rachel Hawkins book I have read so far! The inspiration for this book - the Manson Murders, Fleetwood Mac, and the situation surrounding Mary Shelley at the time she created Frankenstein - really intrigued me.

"Houses remember."

The dual timelines and connection between the characters' life circumstances decades apart in the same house gave me the eerie feeling of this quote's meaning.

While some of the twists were predictable, I still had a gut sinking feeling when they landed.

I do think that leaving off the last chapter from Mari would have given this book a more edgy and eerie ending that would have left me feeling spooked... but this rounded out her character too.

Overall, I really loved this book.

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this!

If walls could talk...

A gorgeous villa in the Umbrian countryside has a dark history. A murder took place there in the 1970s which spawns an extremely successful album and novel created by two women who were there at the time of the murder. Decades later two successful authors stay at the villa for a writing retreat where secrets from the past and present collide in dangerous ways that is all too familiar for the villa.

This story explores the dark side of the feminine, inspired by the Lilith mythos. It's about taking back one's power through the stories one choose to tell. But what if that story is tainted and distorted? How liberating could that be? Vengeance and secrets can make a person do crazy things, almost as though they are living a fictional version of their life, separate but close enough that their memories and motivations blur into a summer haze where everything feels caught in a moment in time, like words on a page or lyrics in a song.

The Italian setting was the perfect atmosphere for this story and the use of articles, interviews, and podcasts was a clever and modern way of providing context while also providing a sense of realism. My criticism is that I didn't find the murderous aspects believable. I didn't feel the characters had enough motivation to go through with it. I also felt the modern storyline needed stronger links to the past for Emily and Chess because I didn't buy their obsession with the 1970s murder. I felt a little disconnected from these characters because their dark sides were not explored enough. Why was Mari so intent on finishing her book? Why was Emily obsessed with Mari? What was in it for Lara and Chess? I couldn't understand the characters motives and this weakened the suspense for me. If a house is going to be a character in a book, give it a nostalgic eerie vibe so that its ghosts from the past can possess the characters. I almost feel that this story didn't need a modern storyline because it wasn't as interesting or well developed as the 1970s plot.

The destructive power of creativity, the feminine rage, and the price of fame are explored in this mystery thriller that leaves many questions unanswered,

In 1974, Mari, her boyfriend Pierce, and her stepsister Lara, receive an invitation from the bona fide rock star Noel Gordon, to spend the summer at Villa Rosato, an Italian Villa. An invitation too good to pass up, the 4 creative “kids” and Noel’s drug dealer, Johnnie, settle in a for a relaxing summer getaway, in hopes of tapping into their creatives crafts, whether that be music or writing. But is all fair in love and war?

Present day Emily Sheridan receives a call from long time best friend, and now famous self-help author, Chess Chandler to embark on similar summer getaway to the same Italian Villa, now called Villa Aestas. Both writers, they too are hoping for a calm and relaxing 6 weeks at the villa to work on their writing. As beautiful and serene as the house is, it’s infamously known as a murder house. As the weeks go by, Emily is pulled to dig up the secrets of that July day in 1974 that led to the murder of Pierce Sheldon. She doesn’t have to go far to look, the house she’s in remembers what happened and clues are scattered throughout if she can find and solve them.

One of my favorite books is The Secret History, and this gave similar vibes, which was fun. The dual timelines worked well for me and I enjoyed the many parallels between the two stories that ultimately brought it full circle in the end. The mystery for me didn’t lie as much in who killed Pierce Sheldon as it did in present day Emily figuring out the clues to what happened back in 1974 and sourcing the “truth” vs. what had been published about the event. Overall, it was a fun read and my first by this author.

"Houses remember."

I was pulled into this book from the opening line. So much so, that I read it in one sitting.

Chess and Em have been best friends since childhood. Their lives took them in different directions but they always find their way back to one another.

Chess proposes that she and Em spend the summer in Italy; a chance to reconnect and focus on completing their respective books. Em, going through personal turmoil, accepts the invitation to stay at Villa Aestas...which happened to be the site of a violent crime in the 70's.

The book jumps from past to present, telling the story of two very different groups of friends who share many of the same secrets. The Villa brought them together, will history repeat itself?

Many thanks to Net Galley, St. Martin's Press, and the author for the ARC.

2.5 stars - this book felt rushed and not fully thought through. I was so excited by the premise of it! I even saved it to read during my vacation where I stayed in an Italian villa myself. But the setting in the book didn’t feel very Italian at all. There wasn’t enough character development. The twists weren’t anywhere near twisty enough to justify the build up to them. By the end, the most potentially interesting fact was the hiding place - which was never even fully revealed. I know this author can do better so I will look for her work again, but cannot in good faith recommend this particular book.

Rachel Hawkins does it again with another slow burn thriller.

I found the book to be a bit of a slow ramp up but extremely good once it got into it!

I was pretty far in before I started thinking Byron and Shelly - which was a nice unexpected surprise. Really nice twists and an ending that shocked me.

Holy slow burn suspense. "The Villa" follows two timelines with two completely different sets of characters-- one storyline set in the 70s revolving around a group of creatives staying in a shared villa. Think your classic sex, drugs, and rock and roll with an unexpected side of murder. The present storyline follows a set of best friend writers who escape to the same villa. While not the original plan, Emily is overcome with the urge to dive deeper into the villa's past & murder. Afterall, "houses remember."

It took me a good, long minute to get into this one, but then bam, I flew through it to the end. Each storyline flip-flopped between which was my favorite. Emily's was more exciting at first and Mari's in the end. Both left me feeling a bit "ugh" though. Like some people just don't deserve forgiving, especially so quickly. I have a love-hate relationship with the ending of this book. I loved the wrap up for Mari, but Emily and Chess, meh not so much. Overall, I this was a solid read and I will 100% be reading "The Wife Upstairs" sometime soon.

Pub Date: 1/3/23

I’ve read books by this author before and they’re always so complex and interesting. I look forward to reading another because this was everything I wanted and more.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Rachel Hawkins, and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this book!

A tragic murder took place at a villa in Orvieto, Italy in 1974. No one knows the true story of what happened. That is, until Chess Chandler decides to take her best friend Emily to that same Villa so they can get some writing done. Emily is a true crime enthusiast, and she’s very interested in the case from the beginning. Will Emily unravel the truth of what happened at Villa Aestas?

This book had me hooked from the start. I absolutely loved the premise, and I found it to be pretty fast-paced. My only real complaint for this book is that I had a hard time distinguishing between some parts. Rather than having the article/book/song name at the end of the quote, it would’ve been helpful to either put it at the top or put the quote on a completely separate page. Other than that, I really enjoyed this title and look forward to reading more Rachel Hawkins in the future!

I love Rachel Hawkins but I was not a fan of this book. I almost DNF but my friend told me it was good. I kept going. It definitely got better the last quarter of the book. I did like the ending and it did it justice. I’d recommend if you’ve read this author though. Just not for me.

This novel was interesting but I really hated some of the characters. I think that may have been the point but it’s a struggle to care about a murder when the victim is given almost 0 redeeming qualities. Also I’m all for women supporting women but there is a specific point in the story where I completely lost my suspension of disbelief because of the immediate forgiveness of said woman. While we’ll written and engaging, I guessed most of the reveals well before the actual reveal with one exception. I definitely wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading but it’s definitely not what I hoped it would be.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for my digital ARC.

Another amazing cannot put down read by the superbly talented Ms. Hawkins! I normally do not like multiple narrators nor dual timelines but for the Villa it worked and I loved it. As I read a ton of thriller and suspense novels I thought I had this book all figured out, but I didn't and that twist! While the both the protagonists Mari and Emily were not women I necessarily admired I did understand them and why they were who they were and what motivated their decisions. Run, don't walk and grab the Villa as fast as you can. Thank you so much to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced copy of the Villa. The Villa has become one of my favorite reads this year and I hope everyone has an opportunity to read the Villa by the wonderful Ms. Hawkins .

Thanks to NetGalley and saint martins press for this advance reader copy in exchange for a review. All options here are my own.
This is a book of friendship, adventure, secrets and betrayal. It’s classic Rachel Hawkins and won’t disappoint her readers!
Things I liked: I love dual timeline. Best friends Chess and Emily head out on an adventure to The Villa in Italy where you know something is going to happen. Houses remember, right? Mari and Lara have been there long ago and was inspiration for their hugely popular respective works. How much of their story is in their music/book?
The book is fast enough pace and is easy to follow, so you can read it easily in a sitting or two. The characters are well developed that you can imagine them easily and not confuse them. I spent much of the book waiting for the twist and the book held me to the end.
Things I didn’t care for, and stop reading if you don’t want to know. I found this to be the most predictable of Hawkins book, and it was not as thrilling of a thriller that I would classify as a thriller. There are twists, and I especially liked the wrap up in the last chapter, but I would consider this a book to give my patrons who want a light fast read over a trippy creepy thriller. But that’s Hawkins.
Over all, I enjoyed the book a lot. I would put it on the staff picks shelf, but Hawkins has others I would pull out as a favorite.
3.25 stars.

I was intrigued by the concept of this book - two Americans get to stay in a gorgeous Italian villa that just happens to also be a murder house? And by a novelist I've loved in the past? Sign me up!

However, I found the book's dual timelines a little convoluted, possibly because of the way they ran together in my ARC copy. It was also hard to place the story of Mari and Lara in the 70's because the vibe was totally gothic and old fashioned. If it wasn't for the drug use, I would have placed it much further back in time. It also didn't seem like the characterization was well developed for the men in the house (Pierce, Noel and Johnnie).

I did like the modern story - two women who were childhood friends take off on a whim to the villa in hopes of finding inspiration for their respective novels. There was so much that didn't make sense though. It takes forever for us to find out what was making Emily sick, and it's such a letdown when we do. Then, even though she knows she shouldn't, Emily winds up sharing her story with Chess. And then the ending gets even more confusing when we are left to our own devices to figure out what happened to Emily's husband. And then we flip back to Mari's story where we find an alternative ending to her famous book, Lilith Rising.

There were parts of this book that were realistic. The way that Hawkins included snippets from Mari's novel and from Lara's anthem Aestas had me running to my favorite search engine to see if these were actual books and songs! Well played, Ms. Hawkins!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance reader's copy.

WOW. Just wow. I am actually blown away by this one. If I could give it more than five stars I totally would - seriously, all the effing stars for this one. When I say I devoured this book, I mean I read this like I was starving for it.

This is a story about loss, betrayal, family, friendship, and twisted, toxic love. There is tension and a sense of foreboding throughout. It’s all set against the backdrop of an immaculate Italian villa, its picturesque atmosphere the perfect contrast to the horrors that take place.

There is so much to unpack in this story, so many layers within the plot. This meta-experience is a bit of a trippy mind-fuck at times. It’s stunningly detailed and the tone is so authentic that at times I found myself asking whether it was real or not. And that’s how I know I'm truly invested in a story, when it makes me start to question reality.

The story takes place in two different time periods, as well as excerpts from a book that one of the characters wrote. It’s like a story within a story within a story and so on, and it all culminates into an explosive finale that you truly will never see coming.

I enjoyed the simultaneous plots unfolding and seeing the parallels between the two. Kudos to the author for keeping it all together, as I can only imagine the amount of work that must have gone into plotting all of the layers. And the way that they slowly unpeel to reveal the core of things is perfection, absolute perfection.

We get an in-depth look at the characters feelings and motivations. The relationships are complex and dimensional, and the dynamics of friendships are tested. It's a unique look at how trials can be overcome and differences can be accepted in one another as a way to bring people closer together. There’s a tenuous open relationship between two characters that only adds to the drama and the strange dynamics between two sisters.

We also get a unique peek behind the curtain of the life of a professional author and what the publishing industry can be like. I really enjoyed that it showed the “dark side” and that it is not always as glamorous as it may seem from the outside. The lifestyle and career of a writer isn’t always as picturesque as we sometimes perceive it to be. I like to see the open frankness that shows the gritty bits of reality.

I can’t say enough good things about this story. It’s a book you will want to read again and again, and you’ll find something new you didn’t see the first time through. It’s rare for me to be obsessed with a story, and even rarer for a book to captivate me so much that I would read it again. This one will definitely have a special place on my shelves (#preordered).

I was only recently introduced to this author when I read The Wife Upstairs last month, and I surprised myself with how much I actually liked it. (I am typically a fantasy reader but decided to branch out of my comfort zone and try new genres.) So I’m now currently reading Reckless Girls too. But The Villa is probably my favorite book by this author yet. I am officially part of the Rachel Hawkins fan club and will read anything she writes. I can’t wait for everyone to read this masterpiece and enjoy it as much as I did.

I really loved Reckless Girls from Rachel Hawkins so was super psyched to read this book. Hawkins is gifted in setting a scene where dread fills the environment as you wait for events to turn. Hawkins builds the relationship between Emily and Chess so that we side with Emily and quite possibly detest Chess - this leads to an ending that genuinely surprised me in role reversal. However, one issue I do have with Hawkins is that she is happy to conveniently dismiss facts and past points in pursuit of a shocking twist - such is the case with Emily's illness, which very clearly seemed to point towards poisoning by either her ex or by Chess. To have it be simply stress induced is eye roll inducing, as is Chess' affair with the ex to "prove" he was bad for Emily. I also wish the final chapter revealing the twist of Mari's final chapters could have been deleted. The book stands better without it, although it does pull a fun comparison to the storyline of Emily and Chess and the act they decide to commit in the finale. Overall, an enjoyable read.