The Villa was a definite winner in my book! It is a fantastic read with a complex intermingling of 2 main characters trying to better their life, but who keep getting brought down by others around them. It's about friendship, deceit and love with some twists thrown in. I would recommend this book, it's a great story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an eARC of this book! I really enjoyed this. I thought that the way Mari and Emily’s stories intermingled was super interesting, and I loved reading each of them equally. I also thought it was interesting that Hawkins had the reader feel incredibly suspicious of Chess (a strange nickname) and then completely redeem her. The men who did objectively wrong things are the ones who get punished. Lastly, I’m confused by the ending — was it supposed to be jaw-dropping? I wouldn’t describe it as such, but definitely a satisfying take.

"Welcome to Villa Rosato, and the beginning of it all!"
Newly divorced and mysteriously ill, Emily agrees to go on a summer trip with self-help guru and her long-time friend, Chess. When Emily finds out this trip includes staying at an Italian murder villa, she is wary but intrigued. In 1974, 19-year-old Mari found herself on a summer trip as well. This trip would lead to the infamous murder and set off a chain of events leading to Mari's best-selling novel, Lilith Rising.

I've read 2 other books by Rachel Hawkins and enjoyed both of them (Reckless Girls and The Wife Upstairs). Hawkins has a way of grabbing your attention right from the beginning of the book. This is definitely a page turner and I was so into the plot for about 3/4 of the book. I absolutely loved the way that Hawkins combines news articles, song lyrics, and clips from Mari's book. This was a great way to keep me going even if I wanted to take a break. I also think it's very impressive that Hawkins was able to show both Emily and Mari's perspectives. This was such a cool way to tie the stories together. Toward the end of the book is where I felt like the plot became a little bit more confusing to me. I know that there is definitely a theme of feminism throughout the story, but I feel like the twists were somewhat hard to follow. I think my main feedback for the plot would be that it doesn't seem believable and there was a lot going on at the end. My questions for the plot are:
* Why would Emily be so loyal to Chess? I really thought there might be a twist where they fell in love, but that was not the case.
* How do 2 women decide murder is the answer? And what exactly was their book about?
* Is Emily plotting some revenge against Chess or something?
I was left with a lot of questions and it may be purposely written that way, but I feel like there's so much I am questioning. I like to think that Emily is going to get some revenge on Chess, but it did not seem that way to me.

The characters were written so well I found myself getting annoyed and irritated with some of them. I know that's when a character is written well. I wish I got to hear more about Emily and her past. Emily's name was not mentioned much and I realized this when Emily read Chess' manuscript and it was "Emma" and I was like "wait, what is the MC's name?" I also want to state that I hated Chess from the very beginning, which is quite possibly intended based on the opening line: "Somewhere around the time she started calling herself 'Chess,' I realized I might actually hate my best friend." Chess slept with Emily's husband, repeatedly lied and withheld information, gaslit Emily on several occasions, tried to steal her book idea, and then admitted she was being manipulative and knew what she was doing the entire time. I mean, I expected terrible things from her right away, but I cannot fathom how Emily went on to stay best friends with her. I was hoping for some revenge at the end, but it never came. I love how Mari was described and I found the switching back and forth to be so cool. However, I feel like I didn't fully connect with characters in a positive way. This could be on purpose as well, but it left me feeling more confused at the end.

I know that Lilith Rising was described as ambiguous and I'm assuming this book was supposed to somewhat mirror that. Hawkins' writing is so incredible and I love the way she writes, but I think the plot is what stopped me from giving this a higher rating. Overall, The Villa is a thriller that you won't be able to put down.

I found this book very easy to fall into. The characters, despite their similarities, are easily distinguishable thanks to the authors writing and the voice she’s given them. Some plots were easily guessed but still had a twist. The book is a nice mix of mystery, gothic, and easy reading. The plot shows some of the delicacies of female friendship. Overall I really enjoyed this book.

The Villa is a mesmerizing book. It's two stories in one. First, it's the story of Mari, her boyfriend, Pierce who is a musician, her sister Lara who is also a musician, the man she loved, Noel, who is a rock star, and Noel's pusher, Johnnie. They decide to vacation in Italy at the Villa Rosato. Their story is convoluted. Johnnie has a thing for Mari. Noel gets together with Mari and Pierce. Lara has slept with Pierce and Pierce still has eyes for her. Lara is pregnant with Noel's baby which she loses, and Noel wants nothing to do with her, although he does agree to take care of her and the baby. Johnnie doesn't like Pierce. While at the Villa, Mari has written a book, Lilith's Rising. At the end of their stay, when she is putting the finishing touches on the book, she hears the loud voices downstairs of Pierce and Johnnie. She gets up and goes down to see what the problem is and finds Johnnie killing Pierce. All of this took place in the summer of 1974. After a Johnnie is convicted of murder, he kills himself in his cell. In 1980, Noel dies in a plane crash. Lara dies in her jacuzzi after an over dose. And Mari dies in 1993 of cancer. But not before she goes back to the Villa in her last days, and rewrites Pierce's end. She writes that she killed him.

The second story includes Emily who is an author of fiction, her best friend Chess, who is also an author of self-help books, and Emily's soon-to-be ex-,husband, Mark. The friends decide to go to Italy to the renamed Villa Orieto. It has had three names: Rosato, Aestas after Lara's album, and Orieto after the town. They know the story of the murder. Both women are working on their books. Emily's is a sequel. But Emily finds in the library Mari's book and reads it cover to cover more than once. She gets the idea to write a book about the murder. While searching the Villa, she finds Mari's pages about how she killed Pierce and set Johnnie up to take the fall.

One day, while Emily is out, Chess reads what Emily has written. She thinks it's really good and proposes that they write the book together. At first Emily wants no part of that. Then Chess starts her own version of the book, which Emily reads. She decides to collaborate with Chess.

In the meantime, Mark has been trying to get money out of Emily from her book sales. She's been avoiding his calls. In the Villa one day, Emily sees that Chess has an ankle bracelet with an M on it. She puts 2 and 2 together and realizes that Chess has slept with Mark. Chess tells her the whole story, how, while Emily was ill, she invited them to her beach house but Emily doesn't go due to her illness. Mark is upset because he wants to have a baby with Emily but she continues to take the pill. He and Chess have too much to drink and, after he tells her his sob story, the two of them sleep together. All along, Mark has kept in touch with Chess and he knows their at the Villa. So Chess invited him under the pretense that they'll tell Emily together about them. The women end up killing Mark.

Their book, The Villa, ends up at the top of the best sellers list. People continue to ask them when they're going to write another. Chess thinks they should but Emily doesn't want to.

The book ends in 1993 when Mari is back at the Villa writing the different ending to Pierce's life. I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and I felt like I was right there with them. It was a page turner. I would definitely recommend it for book club.

If readers think this book's beautiful cover looks like a G-rated romantic novel, they are wrong. Very wrong. Dead wrong, as dead as some of the characters. At the beginning of the novel, pay attention to dates because there are two separate tales going on, and they come together with a common setting - an Italian villa.

There are quite a few names in the 1970's part. Plus, the relationships are not simple or monogamous; everybody seems to be a party animal. Yet, some of the people who are cheating on their partner or significant other of the moment, seem to hope for some loyalty. As a result there are plenty of hurt feelings, anger and desires for revenge. The modern tale primarily involves two early 30's women- Chess and Emily- who have been best friends since school days. Interestingly, their best-friends relationship has also been strained by feelings of competition. At the moment, Chess seems to be the most successful. She's a well-known social media personality, frequent guest on Oprah's television shows, and published author who makes plenty of money with her self-help books and an app which comes with a hefty monthly fee in order to receive her mundane happy thoughts to help users achieve a perfect life, just like Chess seems to have. Emily is having a tougher time at the moment since she's in the process of getting a divorce from Matt. However, Em, too, has had success as an author with cozy mysteries.

Some review sites have referred to this novel as gothic. That adjective does not seem to fit in my opinion. It would be like calling Taylor Jenkins Reid's book- Daisy Jones and the Six- a gothic thriller. In fact, parts of The Villa reminded me of Daisy Jones with invented media coverage from real publication such as Rolling Stone and People Magazine incorporated to move the plot along. The intimate scenes are more of an innuendo, so for readers who don't like a plot to be bogged down in detailed bodily descriptions during indiscreet behavior, do not worry; it is not in THE VILLA. While it is doubtful that readers will be caught off guard by some of the plot twists, the pace should still hold one's interest!

However, no character's story is quite as it seems to be, and there aren't any angels in this book. A few of the serious problems a reader might see coming, yet the book is still interesting. This was actually my introduction to Rachel Hawkins. Now I want to go back and read her other two books which are all over book review sites: Reckless Girls and The Wife Upstairs.

✨The Villa✨
▪️Read August 2022▪️
By Rachel Hawkins

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC!

Publishing date: January 3, 2023

From Amazon: “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.”

This book had some interesting twists. I loved how it bounced between the two time frames and built the story and suspense as you continued to read. I enjoyed the beautiful Italy setting described too! I was curious how the two stories/time frames would intertwine and really liked the ending.

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I have to say that Rachel Hawkins has completely done it again! I truly thought I knew the ending of this one.. and I was incredibly naive because if her past books have taught me anything it's that she is a master of twisty tales!

This book kept me incredibly engaged and I just needed to know more! I loved getting to see Mari and her encounter at Villa Rosado compared with Emily's experience at Villa Aestas decades later. "Stories change depending on who's telling them".. beware of who's story you choose to believe..

All around, a 5 star read and a perfect summer thriller.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Villa was my first book by Rachel Hawkins and it did not disappoint. When there are two timelines in a book I usually find myself more invested in one over the other, but that wasn’t the case here. Both timelines were equally interesting and had intriguing characters. I really liked the bookish elements throughout and pop culture dash of podcasts and articles. I flew through this and I am looking forward to checking out more of the author’s work.

Thank you #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review! The Villa was a book I could not put down- filled with love, friendship, betrayal and murder. In the story we follow two sets of characters that are in two different time lines. I could not put down this book I needed to know what was coming next!

"Houses remember". And so begins The Villa, a slow burn gothic thriller. And who doesn't love a good gothic thriller. I sure do. This gripping novel had many a twist and turn. The story is told over two timelines and events of the past and the present mirror each other. This was a well structured and executed novel. See synopsis from Amazon:

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.

I wanted to read this because I'm a fan of the author's other two books and went into this almost blindly. Didn't really know that plot, just knew that I liked the author. It was cool because I was experiencing the book as it was happening with very little expectations. I thoroughly enjoyed this reading experience. It has many surprises and a sinister ending for one of the story lines that I did not see coming. I will say no more. Definitely worth your time. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. The Villa will be published on January 3, 2023.

“Houses remember.”

Two childhood best friends go to Italy for the summer of a lifetime! Sitting by the pool in a gorgeous villa, drinking wine, writing their new novels? What could be better? As Emily begins to explore Villa Aestas, she also begins to uncover the dark truth of what happened there in the 1970s. The narrative alternates between Emily (present day) and Mari (1970s), and each of their stories intertwine to create this bombshell of a murder mystery. This book was full of twists and turns, and kept me guessing until the very last page!

The only thing that bothered me was the formatting. Sometimes I couldn’t figure out who was telling the story, and news articles and podcast excerpts would randomly be put in the middle of a section. But that could just be the ARC, and all the kinks will be worked out before the actual publishing date!

Overall, this was a 4 star read for me, and I can’t wait to read more by Rachel Hawkins!

Grrreat book! Really, this was a wonderful book by an author I’ve come to depend on. Thank you NetGalley and Rachel Hawkins for the ARC and the opportunity to share my thoughts.

What could be better than a book within a book? In fact, two books within a book! Doubly good!

Emily, the author of cozy mysteries, happens to be stuck in a rut. Writer’s block and a vague illness brought on by her cheating ex-husband. Her lifelong friend Jessica, now calling herself Chess, (pretty hokey, huh?) a self-help guru and author of self-improvement books. Chess convinces Emily to join her at a villa in Italy for the summer. The hope is it will break Em’s writing slump. It does! It also opens the other two books - one featuring Mari and one she authored. Mari also stayed at the villa over the course of a 1974 summer.

This book is a web of deceit and betrayal in both the time periods. Just when I thought I had it figured out, it took a sharp left turn and left me scratching my head. I love it when a book so completely surprises me. That’s the icing on the cake! I hope you will have a slice.

The book kept my attention the whole time as I was desperate to find out what happened and it paid off. BUT the very end was unnecessary… the last huge reveal fell flat for me and didn’t really work in my opinion.

2.5 to 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emily and Chess travel to Italy for the summer, with hopes of rekindling their friendship and working on their new books. They are staying at Villa Aestas, once known as Villa Rosato, a home with a history: an up-and-coming musician was murdered there when a group of artists stayed in the 70s. Emily becomes obsessed with the villa’s history, and begins uncovering secrets from the past… and the present. But at what cost?

I enjoy other books by this author (Reckless Girls and The Wife Upstairs) but overall this one was just okay for me. The Villa is a slow-burn, too slow at times. The reveals are kind of anti-climactic, although I did like one of the final twists at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

I read through this book so fast I went back to check if it was a full-length book! It's truly a story that keeps you glued to the page. The two interwoven storylines built and grew together in such an intricate and interesting way. I didn't find it as suspenseful as I expected it to be - it read to me more like a story of the relationship between the two writers and as so I was a bit caught off guard by the big turn in the book and wished I got to see more of that plot develop, but I still really enjoyed the story leading up until that point.

Rachel Hawkins has been kind of hit or miss for me. I enjoyed The Wife Upstairs but Reckless Girls was definitely not for me - so I had high hopes for The Villa tilting the scales more toward enjoyment. I’ve gathered Hawkins is the queen of a slow burn but it’s slightly painful when her past two books have taken me until about 70% in to have any idea where the story is actually going. I didn’t love the “sex, drugs and rock n’ roll but make it sinister” kind of Manson murder vibes going on in the past timeline but I definitely didn’t expect how things would play out in that very last, twisty chapter. I did however, enjoy the parallels between the two timelines and how Hawkins weaved the past and present together. Overall - I craved a little more dark from the Villa’s history and am still lukewarm with how I feel about how the present day characters ended their story. Definitely a quick read though, at under 300 pages, if you’re in the mood for mild suspense.

I received this ARC courtesy of NetGalley.

Rachel Hawkins did an amazing job again on a gripping thriller. I loved the layers of this book going back and forth in time and characters and the end left you wondering what was true and what was not.

I love an author who can intertwine two stories Specifically, during very different time periods. I could not put this book down. It kept me guessing until the very very end and I loved every second of it. Rachel Hawkins is genius at creating page turners. The characters were so different but so similar. Love love loved it

Emily’s life has fallen apart: her husband cheated on her and left, she’s been mysteriously sick for months and still doesn’t know what with, and she’s got nothing for her next book, despite a dwindling chequing account and constant nudges from her agent. Then her friend Chess has an idea: they should go to Italy for the summer. Chess is a famous self-help influencer, with multiple books and a million-dollar brand. They haven’t spent much time together in recent years, but why not? Emily decides to go for it.

The Villa Aestas, their summer retreat, has a spooky story: it was the site of a murder in the 1970s, after a groups of artists stayed there. Pierce Sheldon, a guitarist, was murdered by Johnnie, a pal of the star Noel Gordon, who invited them all. Writer Mari Godwick wrote her first famous novel there that summer, and Lara Larchmont, her stepsister, wrote her famous album Aestas, which ended up lending its name to the Villa. Emily becomes obsessed with their story, and starts to see a way back to writing.

The Villa is told in alternating sections between Mari’s summer at the villa and Emily and Chess’s. Clips from books, emails, podcasts and other pieces round out the story. Mari’s summer honestly sounded a bit like the summer Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein - but I did have a good time with this one. It had a number of little twists, and didn’t quite follow the path expected.