Spoiler Free Review:

“Houses Remember.”

Hawkins, takes on inspiration from Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein in The Villa. I was so excited to read this one; told through a dual povs and timelines.

We get two stories merging the past and the present. One from Emily in present and one from Mari in 1974. I typically love stories told through this type of narrative but, this fell flat for me.

There were some plot holes and I wish the novel had taken a few different routes. The characters were a bit dull, the chapters long, and the book didn’t engage me enough.

Still, I wanted to know where the story was going to take me…

A big thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress for sending me this arc in exchange for my honest review.

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This had a good build up and interesting back story but ultimately I was disappointed in the execution and saw the end coming a mile away. I enjoyed the modern story and found the backstory dragging a bit and I found myself putting it down and not wanting to pick it back up. None of the characters felt fully likable to me, and I couldn’t root for anyone especially. Just not my cup of tea. 2.5-3 stars

I really enjoyed this one - I thought it was definitely slower paced but had a spooky element to it. Well done!

The Villa
By Rachel Hawkins

I fell in love with the concept of this story right away: "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 present timeline characters, two lifetime girlfriends, are both successful writers. Chess is single and wildly famous on social media as a 'live your best life' style self-help guru and author. Emily is struggling with her marriage to Matt, and with the writing of the current episode in her popular series of novels. So best friend Chess whisks distracted Emily away to the Italian villa that is famous in 1970's music, literary, and rock and roll true crime history. Initially it is like old times, but then an awkward mistrust develops and invades the friendship. It is over Emily's busted secret that she is writing a different book: not another episode in her old series, but something fresh and her own; about the historic summer at this inspirational villa. Things get awkward when Chess suggests they write the book together and Emily turns her down. Many twists and turns arise - and connections start to develop to the historic timeline. And, about that fateful summer of 1974: What really happened? Will a pattern of 'betrayals and alliances with young women struggling just to be seen' emerge (and turn deadly) in both timelines? I warn you. Once you start reading, you will not be able to put this story down. Recommended for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for a fair review. Pub Date 03 Jan 2023

This book was fascinating and so well written. Rachel Hawkins is an absolute genius when it comes to writing thriller novels. The writing was beautiful and such a joy to read. The plot twists were perfect and took the book to a whole other level. Every single time I thought I knew what was happening, Rachel Hawkins makes me question everything I knew about the book. I absolutely loved that! I couldn't put this book down and I wish I could read it for the first time again. I absolutely recommend this one!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this free arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Villa By Rachel Hawkins
Although this does not release until Jan 2023, I feel compelled to get my thoughts out before they are no longer fresh in my brain. I loved this book! I think Hawkins is such an under-rated author. This book in particular gave me Lisa Jewel and Taylor Jenkins Reid Vibes (I know, weird combo right?) Pulled in from the start, the characters are very much alive early on. I feel like Hawkins knows how to give her characters these defining traits that really give you a sense of who they are. The story is told in alternating timelines that blend perfectly. Alternating timelines can get annoying, particularly when you're just getting into a good scene or big reveal, but she times them so well! It’s hard to sum up a story this big but here are some highlights:

Dual TImelines
70’s Sex, love and Rock and Roll vibes
Spooky Villa in Italy
Main characters who are writers
Bad-ass female leads

I think this book would have been a 5 star read for me, if not for how things panned out with Emily/Chess /Matt. I thought there would be more involved in the issue if her being sick and not just Matt being toxic. The big reveal feels like Chess was making it all up and Emily just bought her line of events so it was a little anti-climactic. That being said, I think this Hawkins best writing yet. I felt so immersed in this story.

An exciting return for one of the best contemporary thriller writers! This is a slower burn than Hawkins’ previous thrillers. Think Daisy Jones with characters reminiscent of Brene Brown. The ending was satisfying and the connections between the two eras of the story at the finale was haunting. A tale unique from the author’s other stories.

THREE STORIES IN ONE. I AM NOT SURE HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT. ITS A LITTLE CONFUSING AT FIRST. BUT THEN IN TRUE HAWKINS STYLE THE MORE YOU READ, THE MORE IT STARTS TO MAKE SENSE. THE CHARACTERS COME ALIVE AND THE STORY BEGINS TO UNFOLD. OLD FRIENDS COME BACK TOGETHER. STARTING TO PICK UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF. TRAGEDY AFTER TRAGEDY UNTIL THE VERY END. WHO IS TO BLAME ON THAT ONE NIGHT AND DID IT TRULY INSPIRE THE WORKS OF AUTHOR AND MUSICIAN. THEIR STORIES BLED INTO THE THEIR WORK AND ULTIMATELY MADE THEM FAMOUS. BUT WHAT WAS THE REAL TRUTH. IT WAS JUST AS TRAGIC. THE HOUSE REMEMBERS.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an ARC of The Villa in exchange for an honest review.

The Villa is a story told in two timelines. In 1974, 19-year-old Mari is invited to spend the summer at an Italian villa with her lover Pierce, her stepsister Lara, a famous musician named Noel, and his drug connection Johnnie. On July 29, 1974, what would later be known around the world as the “Villa Rosato Horror” takes place, leaving one of them dead. But from that sadness grew two stunning pieces of art: Lara’s 20-million-copy selling debut album Aestas (think Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors), and Mari’s feminist horror novel masterpiece, Lilith Rising. Meanwhile, in the present, Emily is a 30-something novelist struggling with her latest entry in her cozy mystery series and going through an ugly divorce. Her childhood best friend Chess is a more successful self-help author, who persuades Emily to join her for a summer getaway where they can both focus on their writing. When Chess books their stay at the very same Villa Mari and Lara had stayed at all those years ago, Emily begins to read aboutt—Mari and the Villa Rosato Horror, which maybe was not as straightforward of a crime as people think.

The Villa is largely told from Mari’s perspective in the past, and Emily’s perspective in the present. There are occasional other sections of text (quotations from other books, transcripts from podcasts about the 1970s characters) which provided more information and background and I found their inclusion added to the story. Mari and Emily both essentially function as narrators in their own timeline's story as they somehow weave together. Yet there is also a 3rd layer to the story that slowly reveals itself.

The Villa is a layered, suspenseful story, in both timelines. In the past, the mystery is straightforward: the who and the why of the murdered and murderer. In the present, the mysteries are more subtle: the tension in Emily’s relationships with Chess and with her soon-to-be ex-husband Matt. Both stories work individually, and also somehow weave themselves together at the end. The end also presents a surprising turn but you'll have to read this one to find out.

After enjoying The Wife Upstairs and not loving Reckless Girls that much, The Villa captured my true crime loving heart and this was an easy 4 star rating for me!

Great book. I enjoyed the author’s last book, Reckless Girls, and this one was even better. I liked the back and forth between present time and the original people that stayed in the villa years earlier. Wasn’t a big fan of the ending but she tied it all together nicely. Thank you NetGalley and St. martin’s Press for this book.

Did someone say girls’ trip to Italy? That was the hook for me. THE VILLA follows two timelines, one in the present year 2023 and the other in 1974. Emily, a mystery writer and Chess, a self-help guru and bestselling author, are childhood friends. I loved the narrative between the two women and the backstory describing their past friendship. When Chess invites Emily to the notorious Italian villa in Umbria that she's rented for six weeks, Emily jumps at the offer, hoping that a change of scenery will break the writer's block she’s suffered for months. She is also eager to put an ocean between herself and a vicious soon-to-be ex.
Within the enchanting villa, Emily discovers hidden pages from the book LILLITH RISING. Believing that the story actually took place in this house, she starts digging into the Villa’s history. As the Villa’s dark secrets come to light and present events begin to follow the pattern of the past, Emily and strong-willed Chess clash.
This story has been described as a slow burn. Be patient. Once the ball starts rolling, several unexpected events will keep the reader flipping the pages. Rachel Hawkins has done a remarkable job of blending some infamous works: Fleetwood Mac music, the Manson murders, and the famed summer that literary greats Mary Shelley, Lord Byron, and Percy Shelley spent together vacationing in a castle in Geneva. And their spirits just may live there still. “Houses remember.”

When Emily's childhood friend Chess offers her a summer at her rental in Italy, Emily looks at her failed marriage and her stalled writing career and can't come up with a reason to say no. When she learns that the Villa is the sight of an infamous murder, Emily is even more intrigued.

Told on alternating timelines-- both present day and the days leading up to the murder-- this story grabs your attention from the start and hold it until the very surprising end!

🍋 The Villa 🍋
By Rachel Hawkins

💗 Thank you @netgalley, @stmartinspress, and @ladyhawkins for the Advanced Readers Copy! 💗

🗓 Publishing date: January 3, 2023 🗓

🍋 DESCRIPTION 🍋

From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins comes a deliciously wicked gothic suspense, set at an Italian villa with a dark history, for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

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.

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.

🍋REVIEW by @seattle.katie.reads 🍋

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The story was woven through two different timelines to build the perfect amount of suspense. I literally sat on the edge of my seat reading the entire book. Fantastic read & PERFECT for a cozy evening in front of the fireplace with snacks & records playing in the background.

#seattlekatiereads #booklove #thriller #readmorebooks #readingjournal
#books #booksbooksbooks #bookreview
#thevilla #rachelhawkins #italy #italysetting #newyorktimesbestsellingauthor #arc #advancedreaderscopy #netgalley #thankyou #digitalcopy #bookstagram #bookstagrammer

Emmy’s life wasn’t going great. With an impending divorce and her ex threatening to extract royalties from her popular book series, she was more than happy to jump at a summer in Italy with her childhood best friend at a private villa. Dubbed the murder house; a tragic night in the 1970’s left one person with a famous book, another with an infamous album, and yet another dead. As Em begins finding out more about that fateful night, she begins writing their story in fury, falling deeper down the rabbit hole as she goes. Even to the anger of her friend Chess who is already a famous author when she refuses to let her co-author her new book.
This story twists A LOT. Jumping between Em’s story in present and Mari in the 70’s. On top of these stories there’s all Em’s research towards that night; so there’s podcasts, newspaper and magazine articles, book excerpts. The book became overwhelming at moments and hopefully the transitions play out in the physical book better than my phone. The story itself is solid with one final twist at the end.

** spoiler alert ** I just finished my first Rachel Hawkins book. I couldn't put this book down and I liked how there were many twists (even though I anticipated some of them coming). The one thing that I didn't like was how Chess managed to convince Emily that her and Matt getting together was a blessing to Emily, but I didn't mind that too much as I like unlikeable plot lines. Overall, this book was the perfect length to keep my attention on it and was a super easy read!

**To be released in January 2023**

A heart pounding thriller from a big name in the genre right now. I couldn't put this down, and found myself GASPING at the twists and turns. Look out for THE VILLA... and check your surroundings when you enter.

I was excited to read this book as I have loved her last two novels. However, this book was hard for me to get into. It was very slow at the beginning but I pushed through and enjoyed it. I loved the back story of the villa but the relationship between the two girls drove me crazy. So manipulative! Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC of this book.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for providing me with a eARC of this book to read and review.

I found this book gripping and hard to put down. I would classify it as a combination of suspense and mystery with several strong female characters.

There are two main narrators, Emily in the present and Mari in the past. Emily,a writer at a low point in her life is invited to a beautiful Italian villa by her former BFF/frenemy Chess (also a writer). When the get there, they discover that the villa was the site of a famous murder in the 70’s. In the 70’s Mari, the reclusive author of femme horror novel “Lilith Rising” stays at the villa with several musicians, including her boyfriend Pierce. By the end of the stay, Pierce ends up murdered and a man named Johnny gets charged with the crime. There is a lot of mystery surrounding the murder, is it a case of sex drugs and rock and roll gone bad, or something more.

As Emily becomes fascinated with the murder, and unravelling with the mystery the tension between her and Chess escalates.

I really enjoyed this book, and binge read it in 2 days. I’m my opinion it was better than the authors previous novels. Most novels by this author I would rate 3/5, but this one was a solid 4/5 for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an ARC of The Villa in exchange for an honest review.

The Villa is a story told in two timelines. In 1974, 19-year-old Mari is invited to spend the summer at an Italian villa with her lover Pierce, her stepsister Lara, a famous musician named Noel, and his drug connection Johnnie. On July 29, 1974, what would later be known around the world as the “Villa Rosato Horror” takes place, leaving one of them dead. But from that sadness grew two stunning pieces of art: Lara’s 20-million-copy selling debut album Aestas (think Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors), and Mari’s feminist horror novel masterpiece, Lilith Rising. Meanwhile, in the present, Emily is a 30-something novelist struggling with her latest entry in her cozy mystery series and going through an ugly divorce. Her childhood best friend Chess is a more successful self-help author, who persuades Emily to join her for a summer getaway where they can both focus on their writing. When Chess books their stay at the very same Villa Mari and Lara had stayed at all those years ago, Emily begins to read about—and then write about—Mari and the Villa Rosato Horror, which she suspects was more complicated than people think….

The Villa is largely told from Mari’s perspective in the past, and Emily’s perspective in the present. There are occasional other sections of text (quotations from other books, transcripts from podcasts about the 1970s characters) which I found less compelling. Both Mari and Emily are effective narrators in very different circumstances. Mari knows she’s in a bit over her head, staying with her step-sister and three grown men in a secluded Villa in a time famous for sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. Emily, on the other hand, knows she’s adrift. Both of them (and Lara too) find inspiration at the Villa to escape their backstories and the shadow of the men in their lives—dangerous men, not everyone survives the “Villa Rosato Horror,” after all—and create their art.

The Villa is a layered, suspenseful story, in both timelines. In the past, the mystery is straightforward: the who and the why of the murdered and murderer. In the present, the mysteries are more subtle: the tension in Emily’s relationships with Chess and with her soon-to-be ex-husband Matt. Both stories work individually, and each adds a bit of depth to the other. An absorbing, successful novel. Recommended.

The book started off kinda of slow for me and there was a lot of bouncing around. But the ending was soooo good! The ending was great! Some twists you can see coming but some you can’t! So far I’ve really enjoyed all the books I’ve read by this author. Emily and her best friend Chess spend 6 weeks in a beautiful villa in Italy. Emily is supposed to be writing the 10th book in her cozy mystery series and Chess is writing another one of her self help books. But the best friends have secrets and so does the house. Will they be uncovered?