This story was full of twists and turns until the very last page! The characters backgrounds were built so well I felt like I knew them. The story is told from two different points of view, and on separate time lines, which kept things constantly interesting. The time lines aspect allowed many chapters to leave us on a cliff hanger! It was hard to put this book down!

A picturesque summer in the Italian countryside at a beautiful Villa with a haunted past? Yes please!

Rachel Hawkins has officially become on of my go to thriller authors! The Villa had everything I could have wanted and more. If you enjoyed Reckless Girls, you’ll like this one!

I’ve come to expect some wonderful female characters out of this author and I was so happy to see that in this one. Emily, Chess, Mari, and Lara are all women that haven’t been dealt the greatest of cards in their lives. They all have a sort of ‘awakening’ at the Villa and take matters into their own hands to craft a better future for themselves.

I thoroughly enjoyed the dual timelines, especially as they were broken up by snippets of emails, novel excerpts, and news articles. By the time I got half way through this one, I was dying to know what happened at the Villa in the 70s! My brain was going all over the place trying to guess what was going on and I absolutely loved the twist ending. I could easily go on and on about this book, but I don’t want to give any spoilers away. It was just so much fun to read!

The Villa is like Fleetwood Mac meets the Shelleys and Byron and the Year Without a Summer and I am HERE FOR IT. I didn't love the present day story as much as the one set in the past, but this was the perfect summer read and I can't wait to recommend it at my library.

I loved this book! It is my favorite read by Rachel Hawkins so far. The suspense was just right. I loved the strong female characters, and how the story unfolded in each of the two different timelines. It is well written and I couldn’t put it down. Highly enjoyable

This is a breezy dual timeline domestic thriller that I read in a day. I enjoyed the portrayal of female friendship and the idyllic, not-so-very-gothic setting of the Italian villa.

In the modern timeline, Emily, a moderately successful cozy mystery writer going through a bad divorce, is invited to the villa by her friend Chess, a bestselling self-help author. The villa was the scene of a murder in the 1970s when a rock star stayed there with an entourage, including two stepsisters - one of whom goes on to write a Tapestry-like hit album while the other writes a cult horror novel. (This section is based on Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein in Italy, but I didn’t catch onto that until I read the reviews.) Modern-day Emily switches from cozies to true crime as she discovers diary entries and other sources that are included throughout.

I thought the two timelines blended rather well. It was maybe a little cluttered with all the extraneous material, which included excerpts from the album and horror novel, but it all fit together. The earlier timeline has a bit of a head-scratching twist at the end that I felt was okay but unnecessary. However, I was quite disappointed in the resolution of the modern story - Emily deserved a better friend, IMO.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Emily & Chess, both best-selling authors and best friends since childhood, embark on a summer long getaway to an idyllic Italian Villa just outside the walled hill town of Orvieto. Emily, reeling from illness and pending divorce, sees this trip as a way to reconnect with Chess and catch up on writing her tenth cozy in her well loved series.

Villa Aestas has a dark & complicated history as the location of a 1970’s sensational murder involving rockstar Noel Gordon, step-sisters Lara & Mari, Pierce & Johnnie.

Emily is inspired by the Villa’s history and digs into the past of sex, drugs, rock & roll and what actually happened all those years ago and how it ends up relating to her life now.

I loved the dual timelines told through the help of song lyrics, newspaper clippings. I loved the moody, gothic setting with the promise of sinister vibes. This was a solid four stars for me and my favourite by Rachel Hawkins yet!

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press & Rachel Hawkins for the review copy. Book is slated to be released in January 2023.

This book tells a multi-dimensional story from the point of views of Emily and Mari with excerpts from a novel written by Mari. Emily is set in the present day and Mari in the 70s-90s with the main focus on the 70s. When I first started reading, I struggled to keep up with the multiple timelines. I would get Mari and the novel mixed up as well as a few of the characters. Once my brain was able to sort it all I appreciated the setup and how the different timelines started to connect.

In my last book review, I mentioned adoring every character. This book was the opposite. No one was likable. I didn’t mind that and felt it made for an interesting read. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Emily and Chess’ friendship, Emily’s divorce, and Mari’s dysfunctional life and relationship.

This was almost a 4 star read for me until the very end. I felt underwhelmed and that there was potential to make it much more twisted/creepy.

Overall a good slow-paced thriller that I think is worth giving a shot.

This book is written in two different timelines with very little dialogue. The plot wasn’t really interesting to me. This book was not for me, unfortunately but I have enjoyed her previous books.

Rachel Hawkins thrillers are some of my favorite books. This is by far my favorite book by her yet. An endless story of unexpected surprises, I couldn’t put the book down.

Emily is going through a rough time - her husband has left her and asked for a divorce, she’s experiencing a mysterious health crisis, and her career is in a bumpy patch due to lack of inspiration - when her lifelong best friend Chess invites her to spend the summer recharging in Italy. The Villa they’re staying in quickly pulls Em in with its history: a mysterious death, a successful album penned here, and a book written within the walls as well. Em has come for inspiration so she can meet her book deadline but realizes that Chess has grown into someone who kind of grates on her nerves. Will these two be able to crank out their books by their deadlines or will they get caught up in the mystique that is Villa Aestas?

This was a crazy story inside a crazy story inside another crazy story. It was slightly chaotic but I couldn’t put it down. I was pulled into the intrigue of the house, Em and Chess’ storyline, and Mari and Lara’a storyline. It had enough of a gothic vibe to make it interesting and delivered an infinitely satisfying mystery that kept you reading. I highly recommend!

In the beginning of the story, we're introduced to a semi-popular author of a series of "cozy" murder books named Emily. Truth be told, Emily is struggling both professionally and personally. She's fighting against her ex husband who is trying to take credit for all of her writing, past, present, and future. Her health was spiraling downward until recently and she's afraid one misstep will send her into a relapse of health issues no doctor could find a cause for. Professionally, she feels stuck. She has a series of books that are doing well, but she's not inspired by it. Emily is meeting with her childhood/lifelong best friend, Jessica, or better know to her followers as "Chess". Chess is super popular now in the empowerment, self-help realm and really making a name for herself. But Emily has always felt that Chess is flighty and however nice their lunch feels, she knows that she will be alone to face her issues once again. However, Chess surprises her best friend by inviting her on a vacation away to Villa Aestas and Emily thinks this is a golden opportunity to restart their friendship and escape the monotony her life had become.

Villa Aestas is a modern day air BNB with a murderous past. The story flips between the past and modern day, and also integrates some of the modern day research Emily does once she gets intrigued by all the stories she finds at the house from the soon to be famous people present at the murder.. Theres Pierce, the deceased, Johnnie, the accused murderer, Mari, a soon to be legendary horror thriller, her step sister, Lara, who would be world renown for her music, and the semi washed up rock star of the time, Noel. Originally, the murder was written off as a summer of sex, love and rock and roll gone wrong, but the more time Emily spends in Orvieto, she realizes theres more to the story than anyone knew.

The stories weave a tale of lies, deception, both in the past and the present and has the reader at the end wondering what's the truth and what was fiction. Is the legacy of the villa all to blame or did the evil lie in the inhabitants? I wish there was some additional closure to some of the storylines but overall, I found the book highly entertaining and I enjoyed my stay at the Villa. Highly recommend!

I both enjoyed this book and don't really know why I liked it? It's not really a thriller, though I guess it was mysterious. At the end I was still left with questions - like what DID make Emily sick? Did she or didn't she, what was real and what was a story? Art imitating life imitating art.

(Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

My very last book finished in August… and I think this was my first ever Rachel Hawkins book. What a story! There was a whole other novel within this novel which I always find impressive!

I had practically visceral reactions to some of these characters…. The book kept me guessing, that’s for sure.

But that ending. No, it was just all wrong… for me! I truly would’ve preferred to see it go in a different direction in the end. And I can’t really say more than that without spoilers!

I will still try some of her other books. I do have Reckless Girls on my shelf already!

Rachel Hawkins writes really compelling mysteries. This is the second one I’ve read of hers, and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. This is the story of a villa in Italy, where an aspiring musician died in 1974. Today it’s hosting two friends who are authors - one writes cozy mysteries, the other writes self-help books. The timeline flips between now and then - both stories are compelling on their own, and together they are magic.

Rachel Hawkins knocks it out of the park with this thrilling story! I couldn't put it down! There are so many lies and twists that this story keeps you on edge. I also loved the dual timelines. Great read! Thank you so much for my advanced copy!

Another great book from Rachel Hawkins who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! I was so thrilled ro get this ARC because I usually devour her books in a day and this one did not disappoint. Told in dual timelines but the same setting, this book flips between Mari who stayed at the beautiful Italian villa in 1974 in the heyday of drugs, sex and rock n roll with 4 friends and Em in the present day who takes a vacation to the same villa with her best friend, Chess. Tragedy befalls Mari in 1974 and while Em is staying there she finds herself compelled to research the murder. While digging through the house searching for clues and inspiration to write a story, Em starts to wonder if everything happened as the news reported.

With a lush setting, fast moving chapters and intrigue, this book was a quick but thought provoking read. Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.

Ms. Hawkins does it again! Fantastic twisty thriller at such a good pace, yet still suspenseful. I loved the dual point of views and the dual timelines, and although I assumed a few twists, it was such an enjoyable read!

The Villa tells the story of Emily and Chess, best friends who have had their share of distance and problems in the past, coming together to spend the summer in an Italian villa. There is no shortness of drama and secrets in this villa and between the girls friendship, which makes for a page turning read. Bravo, 4⭐️!

A big thank you to NetGalley, St Martins Press, and Rachel Hawkins for sending me an advanced readers copy in exchange of my honest review.

This was objectively great, just not my cup of tea! It was a little complicated to follow at times but it was a good, quick read.

This book weaves its story with three perspectives. 1974 Italy where five people share complicated love and life that ends in tragedy … modern day best friends spending the summer in the same Italian villa where their relationship is put to the test … and the horror book written by a young woman who lived through the 1974 tragedy. This book kept me hooked, but I did have to get used to the switching of stories and characters. For a short blip there were even two podcasters thrown in …
This is definitely a heavy, somber read, clear your palate from rom-coms, but did leave me with some questions.

I started off LOVING this book, thinking it was going to be my favorite thriller of the year, but then something happened that took a turn that leaned towards something else… I am now flipping back and forth between 3.5 and 4 stars.

The Villa has the past story of Mari (1974), which I loved! In this story we learn of the first visit to the villa in Italy with her boyfriend Pierce, and her sister Lara. Lara was not one of my favorite characters in this story. In fact, I think we were supposed to feel sorry for her, but I didn’t. I didn’t have any feelings for Mari’s boyfriend Pierce either. Noel was a rock star who invited everyone to stay at the villa back in 1974, and I think he was the only one who had any sense in his head (even if he was a bit arrogant).

We now come to present day, and two “best friends” Emily and Chess go to the villa for a six week vacation. I despised the character of Chess so much, I think that’s when the feelings for this book started to go down. This is also when the book took a turn to being about how girls should stick together no matter how bad they screw each other over. Sorry- but I don’t play like that! If you are an evil, conniving, manipulator, then stay away from me!

We then go to the ending of the book that seemed to leave some open ends and gave you something to think about. I may not have loved this book as much as The Wife Upstairs by Hawkins, but I still highly recommend reading it as the writing is so strong and Mari’s story is impeccable!