Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕍𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕒
𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹 𝗛𝗮𝘄𝗸𝗶𝗻𝘀
Psychological Thriller
288 Pages

Sʜᴏᴿᴛ Sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs

The Villa is told by alternating between the past and the present. Both were at the same location, The Villa.

In the present, Emily is at The Villa with her best friend, Chess, who is a famous author. They are both there to work on their current books. Chess writes self-helpbooks, and Emily has a series that she needs to add to.

Emily isn’t feeling excited about her book and ends up digging up the past to write about what led to the murder of Pierce Sheldon at The Villa many years ago. Naturally, she becomes obsessed with figuring out the truth.

In the past portion of the story, Mari, Pierces’s girlfriend, tells the true story as it occurs. This allows the reader to see what happened as it happened through her eyes.

When Chess wants them to write the story together, Emily right out refuses. It is hers, and she doesn’t want to share it. What will she decide, and does she learn the entire story of days gone by at The Villa?

Mʸ Tᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀs

The Villa is a gripping story that weaves a tale of past and present together. I couldn’t put this book down. Buy it right now!

I was enthralled with The Villa, especially Mari’s story. There is a surprise after reading about the “truth.” This is what made the whole thing pop for me!

A perfect blend of the past and the present, they go together like chocolate and strawberries! What happened in the past affects the present. The ending was a real zinger.

The characters are multi-faceted. I felt like I got to know each one as the story went on. Some of them did some questionable things. Those things are what made the story what it is though.

I was thrilled to be approved for this book by NetGalley. Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher. I certainly enjoyed reading this and definitely recommend it.

I loved the setting of this story. I feel like I could vividly imagine it. I also loved the parallel story lines of past and present. The ending WOW!!! Loved every page!!

I got it in my head that I was not going to like this book. For whatever reason, I just knew that I was going to be bored while reading this one. I am so happy to say that I was SO wrong! Once I started, I couldn't put it down. I will say the beginning was a little dull but as soon as we got to Mari's story, I was hooked. I thought it was so unique and I loved how the stories intertwined with the phrase "houses remember" connecting everything together. I read several reviews complaining that the house itself wasn't spooky enough, but that actually didn't bother me at all. The people inside the house were spooky enough for me! I really really liked this book!!

Emily, an author of a popular mystery series and Jessica (a.k.a. Chess) who is an author of numerous self-help books and a social media star, decide to spend the summer at a villa in Italy where a famous murder took place. Emily, initially trying to cure her writer's block, finds a book called Lilith Rising which seems to provide clues to the murder that happened at the villa. Emily soon becomes obsessed with the story and she and Chess fall out when she wants to write about it. Good plot which flashes back in time giving insights to the situation leading up to the murder.

First of all, thank you St. Martin's Press, Rachel Hawkins, and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this thrilling read.

This was a quick read for me. I enjoyed the characters and enjoyed the historical murder from the summer of 1974. I could personally pinpoint early on the issue with Chess and Emily. I was more consumed by the 1974 murder mystery than I was about the present day issues with Chess and Emily. I didn't have much of a connection with the characters as their present day struggles kind of drug on for me. Dual timelines, which I always love. This was a good read, didn't blow me out of the water though. Rachel Hawkins always writes so well! Will always read a book from her.

Summary: Emily is a writer in her 30's who is going through a divorce from her husband, who she found out was having an affair with some unknown woman. Stuck in a writing/life rut she isn't sure where to go from here. Chess is a famous writer of "self help" books and is extremely busy these days. Emily and Chess are childhood BFF's and have let their busy lives come between their friendship. Chess has an idea to get Emily out of her slump and spend some time reconnecting with her best friend. She invited Emily to Villa Aestas in Orvieto Italy for the summer with her. The Villa has it's own history. A famous murder in 1974 occurred at this very same Villa. Emily stumbles into the Villa's history by uncovering bits and pieces of what happened that summer in 1974. Chess and Emily have their own complications rising as the summer goes on. The reader will learn about past secrets of this home and present secrets of two best friends.

Overall I really liked it. I didn’t love the end where they killed the ex husband. I would have preferred Emily solving the mystery of what really happened and ditching Chess.

While I did enjoy this read, I felt it was underwhelming. This book did keep my interest, but the gruesome murder that took place in the Villa was pretty tame if your typical reads are thrillers. The twist in the present read with Emily was pretty predictable. I would have liked to seen more with the whole Emily/Chess/ Matt situation. I was not a fan of the abrupt ending as I feel like that part of the story could have played out more. Emily freed herself from one situation just to end up in another situation.





SPOILERS:

Some spoilers that I've had on my mind since reading the book:
How are we sure Matt wasn't really poisoning Emily? Chess had the opportunity to poison her with the drink right before she called Matt. It was stated that Matt was upset when he found Emily's birth control pills that had recently been filled when they were "trying" for kids. Clearly he had a reason to. I already knew something was up between Matt and Chess when he commented on Emily's social media to have fun with her "bestie". You can not tell me that Matt and Chess only slept together one time! Chess was jealous of Emily having everything so you know she enjoyed doing this behind her back. I wanted more of what happened after Matt arrived in Italy at the Villa. How did he react when he knew the tables had been turned on him? How were they able to pull off the murder? Chess knew she had Emily in her pocket when Emily mentioned Matt wanted money off her Petal books. What better way to get rid of Matt to get Emily to write this book her. In the end Chess got exactly what she wants and she has a hold on Emily. Best Friend or Frienemy?

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

The Villa is about a woman, Emily, and her life as it intertwines with her childhood best friend, Chess. Both women are writers but while Emily has a popular 'soft" mystery series, Chess has become a worldwide self-help book guru. The story starts when Emily is at her lowest. Her husband left her while she was battling a mystery illness and her next installment in her book series is way past due. She meets up with her superstar friend, Chess, for lunch and the next day, Chess asks her to go away for the summer to a Villa in Italy. Emily agrees to go and both women plan to use the vacation as a writer's retreat. This is where things get a little juicy. The Villa they rent is famous for a murder that occurred there many years ago and for the famous book and music album that were released after the summer of the murder from two ladies who stayed there during the infamous summer. Emily becomes fixated on the book written during the time of the murders- Lilith Rising. She follows clues in the book that lead her to long hid mystery pages left by the author of the book. She begins to plot a new book, one about the murders and the mystery surrounding the Villa several decades before. At the same time, she is beginning to distrust her friend, Chess, after it's revealed that Chess may be trying to steal Emily's new book idea. There are more twists and turns as the story leads to a grand scheme at the end. Although I didn't particularly like the characters in the book or find myself drawn towards any one of them, the story was interesting enough that I read the book quickly.

The Villa 🍋
4.5 ✨

Pair this with a glass of Italian wine and get ready to book your next trip 🇮🇹

This book gave alllllll the wanderlust vibes for an Italian summer ✨ if you’re traveling to Italy I’d highly recommend brining this along!

This was such a fun story and after reading Reckless Girls earlier this year I think it’s safe to say I’m a huge fan of Rachel Hawkins!

👍🏼 likes:
- the setting
- Multiple stories happening simultaneously, love the juxtaposition of one being present day and one being in the 60s-70s
- RH has an amazing ability to make her stories feel so real, relatable
- I’m not a horror fan and this was a great sample taste of like “horror” vibes without making the book scary. I loved that, but if you’re going in looking for horror this is not it.
👎🏼 dislikes:
- the ending felt abrupt to me. I actually went back and forth and re-read a chapter because I thought I missed something!! 😂 so that was a little disappointing/disorienting

But overall, highly recommended!
Read if you like:

➡️ Italian setting
➡️ books about books
➡️ haunted house vibes
➡️ unlikeable characters
➡️ duel timelines

I was SO hooked by this book in the beginning. I liked this book a lot until probably the last 25%. There is mention of a 'gruesome murder scene' taking place in the Villa in the 70s but the mention of said murder was extremely tame. Chess is a very unlikable character and the way the MC describes/speaks of her the entire time I was expecting a different type of ending for their characters. I was really invested and then the end end kind of seemed like it wrapped up too quickly and I was left feeling disappointed, especially because I was glued to the story the entire time. I would recommend though for thriller and mystery fans because so much of it is so good,

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I have read other books by Rachel Hawkins, so when comparing this book to those I was disappointed. I found this book to be a lot slower than the rest of her books. I found the story line great, however it took until the last 100 pages to feel really invested in this story. I did like how she wrote from two different perspectives, as it kept the story moving when parts felt slow. Overall, great story, just moved very slowly.

🍋Book Review🍋
*
Summary: As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend.

Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato, and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album––and ends in Pierce’s brutal murder.

As Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps Pierce’s murder wasn’t just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but that something more sinister might have occurred––and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind.

Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to light, equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge––and it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends.
*
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*
My thoughts: I enjoyed this book I thought it was a lot of fun. Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the advanced copy this will be out in January but I love her writing so much I read it way early 😂 overall a fun read about a band loosely based on Fleetwood Mac how could I not love it ? I did find that I enjoyed the past tense section a little more than the present but they both were good! Overall a fun mystery!
*
#thevilla #rachelhawkins #bookreview #bookrecommendation #booklover #bookaddict #bookaesthetic #bookish #booknerd #booklover #bookobsessed #bookworm #bookwormsunite #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #readersofinsta #readersgonnaread

The Villa was a great escape about old toxic friendships, investigating the past of an Italian "Murder" house, and redemption in many ways.
Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this novel.

Thank you to Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of a digital advanced reviewer copy in exchange for an honest review!

DNF at 60 percent.

I originally put this book down at 30 percent with no intention of going futher. After going through the GoodReads reviews and seeing a 4 star average, I decided to keep going and give it a full chance. I finally quit when I got to 60 percent and that was pushing it. If the chapters weren't so long, I probably would have stopped sooner. I did not feel there was any thriller aspect of this book, other than the villa being a murder scene in the 70s that the protagonist is traveling to. The novel goes between present timeline and 1970s. I had zero interest in reading the 1970s timeline because it did not have any character development or driving plot line. I found myself skimming through the book when it hit the 70s timeline.

This is the first Rachel Hawkins book I have read and from the other reviews I have seen about this book, this is one of her better novels. I am no longer in a rush to read her other books.

Rachel Hawkins does it again!

This woman has perfected the art of storytelling so that the story starts slowly, with a subtle burn that sneaks up on you until suddenly you find yourself sucked in, unable to put the book down until it wraps with the wildest twists and turns. Every book of hers, I find myself re-reading pages because there is no way that such things actually occurred.

The multiple viewpoints throughout the story are a great way to keep your attention hooked until the very end. This is a must read when it comes out in 2023.

Thank you St. Martins, NetGalley & Rachel Hawkins for allowing me to read this fantastic book!

The Villa
⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍋I went into this book pretty blind, and I always feel like that’s what I prefer to do when it comes to a suspense. This book kept my interest, and I was eager to find out what was going to happen. I really enjoyed the writing, the storytelling, the characters, and the dual timeline. I did however feel the uncovering of the story/ “the twist” felt average to me. This book did have an interesting way to empower women as well.

🍋Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
.

I was easily caught up in the murders at The Villa. Eagerly read for more details, both past and present. The players and atmospheric Italian setting added even more suspense. All contributed to the mysteries.

I will say overall this was a good book.
However it was a bit predictable and I wish the twist at the ended was elaborated more rather then just an seen through an excerpt. Also I think the story could have really gone in deep between the complexities of the two friends since we left still feeling a lot of resentment on Emily's behalf.

I loved the entanglement of the two stories and I thought they fit their timelines culture in a refreshing view point. I just wish we got to see a bit more.

I wish I could give this more stars. This story pulled me in and I couldn’t put it down! Two parallel stories, actually, one in the past and one in the present which mirrored each other. The common factor - the Villa. I’m a sucker for stories about fake famous people and the mystery surrounding the past events was intriguing. I did guess a couple of the twists but there were still plenty of surprises, even within the twists I guessed at, to keep me interested. One of my favorite reads this year, honestly! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy.

The premise if this book is great. The setting is perfect.. However I couldn’t connect with Emily or Chess, it was a little better with Mari., but Lara was an issue too. I think part of the issue is my heat friend and i have been “sisters” since 1st grade, that is 35 years of ups and downs, periods of distance and periods if inseparability. So while i can relate to helping her hide a murder, i cant relate to the way the two sets of women treated each other. I wasn’t able to disconnect myself from my reality because it was too jarring of a change for me personally. I suspect others may not have the same issue. I also found some of timeline and article switches a bit jarring, by the end it was easier but the first third of the book it was difficult for me to switch perspectives. However, the ending was great, I like that Hawkins took the typical thriller twist ending and turned it upside down. Overall this was good solid read, and i suspect that for other readers the character disconnect will not be an issue, therefore pushing their star rating higher.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*