Told in alternating storylines from the past and present. The story follows two best friends, Emily and Chess taking a summer long vacation in a rental house in Italy known for a gruesome past. Emily is trying to sort out her life while writing her next book, when she discovers secrets about the rental house and her own life.

I’ll admit, I was a bit hesitant to read this book given previous experience with one of Rachel Hawkins books I’ve read. I am floating between 3-4 stars for this book only because I liked the story, but some of the characters were boring and there were times where it was a little too slow burning for me. It didn’t get really interesting for me until almost 65-75% way through.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC.

Was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of The Villa - Rachel Hawkins is one of my favorite thriller/mystery authors and I could not wait to dive into her newest book. While I wouldn't categorize this as a thriller, it was a fantastic suspense novel that I'll give 4.5/5!

The book focuses on two best friends (who are incredibly different and at very different places in their lives) who decide to spend a summer at a picturesque villa in Italy. The villa is also the location of a well publicized murder in the 1970s, so the story alternates between the two current best friends (Emily and Chess) and the 1970s murder that happened at the villa via Mari. The 1970s murder had a good amount of sex, drugs rock and roll/Fleetwood Mac sized drama, keeping you on your toes. The story is really intriguing, and the past and present timelines weave together so perfectly. The ending was just perfect, and it ended up capturing so many insights about relationships, friendship, fame, and secrets. Rachel Hawkins doesn't miss the mark for me- this one absolutely lived up to the hype!

Thank you St Martin's Press for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the ARC of the Villa!

I give this one a solid 4 stars. Fans of the author will enjoy this latest thriller. What I enjoyed: I enjoyed the dual timeline and of course, the setting of Italy. Like others, I found the characters to be a bit under developed, but I did enjoy the character of Mari. The Villa was a little light on the “thriller” component and I could have used a bit more atmosphere and creepiness. But overall, I really enjoyed it and read it in one sitting!

This book wasn’t jaw dropping or mind blowing but it was entertaining. I’ve read reckless girls and the wife upstairs and this one fell right in the middle of those. Better than reckless girls by far but not as good as the wife upstairs. The twists in this were okay but semi predictable. I loved the story within the story and thought that was done well. The characters were well written and overall the writing kept me interested and wanting to keep going. Definitely a book worth picking up and reading!

I was given an Arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have read Rachel Hawkins before and wasn’t the biggest fan but this book changed by mind!

I can honestly say I didn’t see the twists coming in the end and was pleasantly surprised.

This book follows two best friends as they vacation in Italy for the summer in a murder house. And it switches back and forth to the past where two sisters and some musicians vacationed in the same house.

I love how they switched back and forth from Mari’s point of view in the past to Em’s point of view in the present.

I did think the chapters were too long and that was probably the only negative I could see.

4/5 stars and will be buying a physical copy for my shelf!

I liked this book. It reminded me of my best friend and I, we have been to Italy and have known each other forever, but that's where it stops-lol.
I'm a fan of her writing, it was an easy read. I'd recommend this to lots of people.

This book in 3 words. Twisty. Unreliable. Juicy.

Emily heads to The Villa, a beautiful home in Italy (also the setting of a murder in the 70s), with her best friend Chess. Chess is an extremely successful self-help author while Emily is writes cozy mysteries, going through a messy divorce, and trying to stay afloat.

The story is all encompassing and an easy read. A creepy plot, atmospheric setting, complex female friendships, and dual timeline that hits the right notes. I view this one more as a mystery with some dramatics… not necessarily a thriller, but still enjoyable.

Throughout the book, we get pages from a story, snippets from interviews, and pieces of podcasts. I love a story with mixed medium details that WORK and push the plot.

I’ll say it - I’m into anything and everything “murder house”. I think thrillers/horror/mystery with a house, personified at times, is such a win. Also, adore books about a book, while someone is writing a book. LOL

I couldn’t STAND some of these characters. BUT they were terrible by design and were consistent.

I could definitely pick up on some Manson/Helter Skelter vibes. Rumor has it this also was derived from when Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein… LOVE THAT.

This was an enjoyable read and I recommend.

I absolutely adored this book! The flashbacks to the Villa from years ago had me on the edge of my seat. It is a wonderful story about love and women's success. I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did and was so sad when it ended!

Very good! Hawkins does a great job setting the scene in Greece. Everyone has a secret and you spend the book figuring them out along with who died and why. Told from multiple points of view, this plot was so quick! I was flipping the page so fast trying to figure out what was happening. Highly recommend this for an easy yet thrilling read. It reminded me of the Guest List Lucy Foley!

Thank you to netgalley and st. Martin’s press for giving me an advanced copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I quite enjoyed this book. I loved going back and forth between the history of the villa and present day. This was another hit by Rachel Hawkins. Look for it in early 2023.

An excellent read that I would recommend to my friends. I couldn’t put it down. Five stars for this Rachel Hawkins. I will be looking for more of her books.

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for this arc of The Villa, these are my honest opinions.

This was a slow starting book. I wouldn't call it boring, but it was just very slow to start. Around the 30% mark it started to get more interesting and the story started to pick up. However, I never got really excited by this book or story line. The story was well written, just didn't really hit the mark.

There really was no mystery to it. I did like the changing between present and past. I enjoyed Mari's story more than Emily and Chess'. Mari's ending was the biggest twist the book had, and it was that the truth was the truth all along. I did not like how Chess and Emily's story unfolded and ended. I'm not sure if it was meant to show female empowerment, and strength of friendship - but it didn't. It just was a toxic friendship based on jealousy and Emily gets forever tied to Chess.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A tale of friendships and a couple of murders.

I enjoyed this a lot - I skipped eating dinner (that I cooked!) with my family to finish reading. I was waiting for the big reveal, with all the answers, though, and I think I'm still waiting. You're seriously telling me X and Y weren't doing something to Z? Or is it that maybe they were and we just have to move on not knowing?

This is a dual-timeline story and while the ending of one felt unfinished, I think the other is going to drive some people crazy. I'm more "but why?" about it, but I can't wait to hear rants.

Overall, this is one of my favorite Rachel Hawkins. I liked it much better than last year's The Reckless Girls. I wish everyone had already read it, so I could discuss!

Current day author Em and best friend and self help guru, Chess, are heading to Italy for the summer to stay at Villa Aestas and work on their books. Em is recovering from a health crisis and a separation from her husband while Chess is living her best life. They are excited about staying in the villa where so much tragedy has happened.

In 1974, Mari and her sister, Lara ,spend the summer at Villa Aestas, known then as Villa Rosato with the rock and roll friend, Noel, the drug dealer, Johnnie, and the tip of Mari and Lara’s love triangle, Pierce. It’s a summer full of drugs, sex, and Rick and roll that ends in the the brutal murder of Pierce.

This book had so much potential in the beginning and there were some small twist in it, but it wasn’t my favorite. Chess is a very unlikable character and her friendship with Emily can only be described as toxic. Their story line wrapped up to neatly in the end for me. The relationship between Mari and Pierce wasn’t the best and most of the twist and turns come in this storyline. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my early copy.

I guess it’s official. I’m a big Rachel Hawkins fan. This is the third book of hers that I’ve given five stars. She’s an amazing writer. The story appears to tell itself. I loved how everything evolved. I had some tension in the middle wondering is Chess good or bad. I can totally understand complicated relationships and these are very complicated! There was one typo I saw, that I’m sure will be corrected. It was when Noel referred to “sill waters”. I think he meant “still waters,” but I could be wrong! Thanks Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Thank you to Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin’s Press, and Net Galley for this eARC in exchange for my review.

This rating is hard for me because as a suspense/psychological thriller, which is the genre that it is listed as, it does not work. Just because a book has a murder aspect to it does not make it a thriller. We find out very early who was murdered and who the convicted murder is, and other then that there is not much suspense building until about 80 percent of the way into the book. The suspense though is not even about the murder that had took place, its actually about the unfolding drama between Emily, her husband and Chess.

However with that said, if this book was listed as general fiction then I would be giving it a much higher star rating. A 4 out of 5 stars. I highly enjoyed the story, both the past and the present timelines. I loved the friendship and the tension between Emily and Chess. I wanted to keep reading just to see how their friendship and all of the drama in Emily's life would unfold. I also highly enjoyed the Mari timeline and all of the characters in the past timeline. There were several moments where I wanted to shake almost all of the characters for their horrible decision making, especially Emily. I thought all of the characters were well written, and each had a distinct personality that made it easy to either love them or hate their character.

With all of that said, the book was extremely predictable. There was not really a major twist that had me on the edge of my seat. The ending felt rushed and also a bit like the author was conflicted on how she really wanted the story to end. Almost like she wanted it to really have a happy ending instead of ending it on a more suspenseful twist.

I think if you are a fan of Rachel Hawkins other works, and are looking more for a drama then a suspense novel then you wont leave disappointed after reading this book. But if you are looking for a twisty suspense novel then this one is not for you.

This. Book. I was initially drawn to it because of how beautiful the cover is, but the story blew me away (the intrigue, the resilience, everything that is revealed at the end… you have to read this one for yourself). I’m calling it now, The Villa is going to be picked by so many book clubs when it’s published. This was incredible!!

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is a murder mystery/ love triangle based on then and now, but separate people… Mari Lara and Pierce (then), Emily and Chess (now). Emily and Chess were childhood friends growing up but as the years went on and Chess became this big star author their friendship slowly dwindled until Chess asks Emily to go to a villa in Orvieto Italy for some girl time…. While researching about the Villa Emily realizes that a rock star was murdered there, but doesn’t stop her from wanting to go but also helps her writers block.

I’m giving The Villa a 3.5 stars as I found it slow in the beginning didn’t really pick up for me until closer to the end. It was intriguing at points which is why I kept going with it because I really wanted to know who did what.. if you like murder mystery I do believe you’ll like this book… I did like the dual povs of the then and now to compare the differences/similarities!

Thank you @Netgalley for this arc

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins. I have had this author on my radar since The Hex Hall series (and I ate that up). This mystery/ thriller follows dual timelines,, which I also love. This book didn't disappoint! I loved every word!