Excellent book, loved following both story lines as they were told. Adore Rachel Hawkins books. They never disappoint!

The Villa is a slow-burn thriller/drama about a crime from the past that intertwines with the present.

“Houses remember.” That line definitely pulled me and I was intrigued how the past events that took place in this Italian Villa were intertwined with the present.

Childhood friends Chess and Emily reconnect to go on a trip to Villa Aestas. Both writers, Emily struggling to write her next book and going through a divorce stumbles upon the book “Lilith Rising” and immediately making connections to the villa from the story. She soon begins to dig into the villa’s past to unravel secrets that inspire a new book based of of real life events that took place in the past.

Overall, I really enjoyed the idea of a murder villa and Emily’s search to find the truth but I found myself wanting more and the twists just weren’t enough for me. I felt like the story of the past and present that was connected to the villa wasn’t suspenseful enough and fell a little flat for me.

It was still a fast paced read and I found myself wanting to read on to see what unfolded but I was just expecting something more surprising and eerie.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press who provided me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a page turner! Keep me reading way past bedtime. Loved the dual storylines and the format. Highly recommended!

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins, is a quick thriller that won't disappoint fans. I really enjoyed the two stories; set 40 years apart in the same setting; the Italian Villa. Both stories were equally engaging for me and they interacted quite well.

Two friends spend the summer at a beautiful Italian villa that just so happens to have been the scene for one of the biggest murders in rock & roll history. The story jumps from present day and the summer of 1973. Another riveting story from Rachel Hawkins. Couldn’t put it down!

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

I had high hopes for this book. I wasn't a fan of Hawkins work in The Wife Upstairs. However, I'm always willing to give an author another try.

I'm beginning to feel like Hawkins just isn't the author for me. The Villa was a misfire unfortunately. I was really hoping for a page turner. But instead I was bored. I wasn't invested in the characters and found myself skimming the book to get to the end. Oh well. Onto the next read!

I was so excited to read another Rachel Hawkins book, however this one let me down a bit. I felt like there was a lot going on at one time, that just didn’t flow quite right. I was expecting a little bit more. The first half of the book seemed a little slow and not necessarily a thriller. I did enjoy the second half and found it a little more edgier like the previous Hawkins books I have read and loved.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc copy of this book!

I had a hard time getting into this book. Found myself struggling to stay engaged. However once I got going it did get a little bit better. Overall good!

I wanted to like this book. And it wasn’t horrible. But it was so predictable and cliche that it made it hard to finish. This idea, theme, plot has been done a million times with just slight tweaks each time to make it the author’s own and I have a hard time with books like that. I know it might be difficult to come up with something completely new, but this much predictability is what gives this the low rating for me.

If there is one thing about Rachel Hawkins books’ is that I will want to finish it in one sitting. The Villa was so much fun! 2 writer best friends with huge parallels to the murder that occurred in the villa they’re staying?? What a way to connect the two. I never knew if I wanted to change POV because of how much I enjoyed finding out how the murder happened but also what was developing with Emily and Chess.

I was able to guess what and who would happen but that didn’t take away from the enjoyment. I felt a connection to Emily the way she did with Mari and I think it’s what quickly had me invested. I loved the horror elements even if it was the talk about another story that helped the present. The relationships between all our characters felt so believable.

This was a fun read on a flight and I know others won’t want to put down until they know what will happen.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for a review!

This might be more of a 3.5, but I'm rounding up because the pros outweigh the cons for me.

This book is a twisty, turny good time. I've read another book by Rachel Hawkins (Reckless Girls), and I can say she has certainly improved between the two.

I think what satisfied me the most about this book were all the layers to it. We have the current story, the one of Emily & Chess, two best friends off on a luxurious vacation to an Italian Villa where they plan to each work on their respective novels. There are occasional tensions, but that is just the cycle of their friendship, and the ebb and flow is natural - or at least that is what Emily thinks.

Meanwhile, we are presented with another story from the 70s, that of Mari Larchmont. She too stayed at the villa, and while she was there a murder occurred. Her story charts the conflicts, the layered emotions of love, hurt, and betrayal. Emily learns of this murder, and it intrigues her.

Mari also wrote a novel during her stay, and this is yet another tale. <i> Lilith Rising </i> is the title of her famous horror tale, and excerpts from this novel are peppered in, adding a gothic flavor to the text. Of course a copy of this book is at the villa, and Emily becomes enchanted by it.

Chess meanwhile, has become fascinated by the other Larchmont sister, Lara, a musician who created breath-taking music when she too was in the villa. It is her story that lingers in the background, often overlooked by Emily. Emily, who seems to miss so very much.

I think that perhaps, my favorite part of all was the nods and winks to the original tale of Frankenstein and its creation - the time Mary Shelley spent with famous creatives and wrote a story that haunts us to this very day.

Overall, it was really well done with only a few moments that took away from the overall experience for me. (In the end, it felt like there were one or two twists too many.)

I'd like to thank Netgalley for the ARC. In exchange, I present my honest review.

( 3 stars )

The characters were very hard to follow in the beginning, but Mari began to intrigue me and kept me somewhat interested. I was expecting a little more history or darkness about the Villa. This book was more of a drama than a thriller to me. I struggled to finish,

Many thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

| About |

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.

| Thoughts |

Gripping, slow burn, suspense filled gem.
Pieces infamous aspects from real life horror into a summer at The Villa. Couldn’t put this down. I devoured it entirely in one afternoon. The depth of the characters and the world woven so vividly, I could imagine myself watching this play out in front of me like a fly on the wall. friendship’s, sorrows and betrayals are twisted into this mystery; Four women, two time periods interweaving to tell this chilling tale. The end was a complete 360 from what I thought I knew!

This book is a masterpiece. The Villa intertwines the story of a 1974 murder at an Italian villa, the book one of the residents was writing during her stay there, the book her mother wrote before an untimely death, as well as the story of two best friends who stay at the Villa Aestas years later and their own book projects. I know, I know, that sounds super confusing and like it’s a lot to keep up with. But it’s not! Rachel Hawkins does a brilliant job of weaving all of these stories together into one seamless tale of friendship, family, love and betrayal. This was the first book I had the honor of reading by Hawkins, and now I can’t wait to read more. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC!

Thanks to NetGalley for this great read! I had no expectations when I started reading except for how much I enjoy stories from Rachel Hawkins! This one did not disappoint.

When two childhood best friends reunite for an epic adventure to an Italian villa to work on their upcoming books, they find more than they bargained for. Chess is the celebrity, famous for her motivational books, while Emily is known for her simple, cozy mysteries.

What was supposed to be a relaxing trip away to reconnect and spur the creative juices, turns into a mystery as the friends begin to unravel the murder of a 70s rock star in the very villa they are currently residing.

I loved the back and forth between the two decades, piecing together multiple mysteries, and I didn't predict the ending or twists that Hawkins dished up. Very enjoyable!

It pains me to give anything by Rachel Hawkins 2 stars but this books just wasn’t “it” for me. I loved the premise of the book but it just fell flat. It was very obvious where all of the build up was leading to and I had figured out all the “twists” halfway through the book so towards the end I was reading it just to get the book over with.

The characters were also super bland. Chess and Emily, Mari and Lara were all just super toxic “frenemies” that needed to grow up and walk away from one another in the first chapter. In all honesty, the book could have just been about Emily researching the story of the villa minus all the Chess drama, and this book would have been 10 times better.

I JUST finished The Villa by Rachel Hawkins. It alternates between present and past--in the present, Emily and Chess are old best friends. Both are authors, Emily writing fiction while Chess writes non-fiction and is basically a new guru for her readers. Coming off a bad break-up with her now-ex-husband, Emily is invited to join Chess in Italy for the summer, and she decides to go!

BUT.... the place they are staying has a history. Years ago, five people stayed there together, and it ended in one's murder. The present and past stories are told side-by-side and definitely have a bit of a creepy vibe. I LOVED the present interaction especially.

I was not expecting the ending, but dang, was it satisfying! I recommend!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for e-ARC of the book.

Two childhood friends, Emily and Chess, in attempt to reconnect, have some girl time together while on vacation in Italy. They stay in a gorgeous villa with a captivating history - involving a scandalous murder in 70s.
The book goes between two story lines - the present with Emily and Chess, and the 70’s, which involves the lead up to the murder. Almost each chapter made me question my feeling towards the characters and my mind was constantly trying to guess what will happen next. This story is one of those thrillers that you can’t put down until you find out how it ends.
And of course I adored the marvelous book cover, with its warm Italian Summer vibes - but as the cracks in the facade begin to reveal, there’s much more beneath the surface.

I really like Rachel Hawkins. She’s a great author and I will try any and every book by her. With that said-this book was just an ok for me. I personally found Emily’s character to be dull, Chess character was too over the top. The back story was great-until it wasn’t. It was the big build up that was a let down. If you are a Rachel Hawkins fan you will want to read it. If not I would skip.

I received a copy of this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Oh my goodness gracious. I haven’t stayed up past 1am to finish a book in quite a while. Chess and Emily… Lara and Mari … Pierce and everyone… I felt for all of these characters in different ways. Some things I figured out early on and some of the mystery hit me later but I devoured the entire story. Jaw dropped and hand to mouth several times. I don’t know.. I was super into “The Villa” in all the ways! Great book!