It's hard to give ratings sometimes.

A book that you don't want to put down means a good thing right?

....not necessarily.....

I struggled with the general premise of the book. While I love differing timelines, it is interesting when you hate one and enjoy the other. No seriously. One timeline (that influenced the entire story) had a borderline pedophilia relationship, a threesome, and no majorly likeable characters. The modern day timeline had more of a predictable story (although I really did enjoy the main character's voice, her plight, and her inner struggles with writing).

The Villa does check all of the boxes when it comes to suspense fiction. Fans of Ruth Ware, Megan Miranda, and Lucy Foley would enjoy this book. Individuals who like "books about books" would enjoy this book. If you want transported to an Italian villa, a villa with SECRETS, you will enjoy this book. I also did not fully guess the outcome of the "origin story"...So, Rachel Hawkins did what she set out to do.

I just could have done without the fluid morals and meh characters.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced review copy of this book (in return for an honest review

This is a repeat author for me this year as in January one of the first books I read was "Reckless Girls" by Rachel Hawkings. That book was a slow burn but, and my quote for that review was, "But then things go off the rails quickly and the ending is a explosion of WTF moments." It was entertaining so I was very happy to get to read this early copy of "The Villa" by the same author.

This one we have poor Emily, a successful cozy thriller writer who is recently separated and suffering from writers block. Her bestie from way back when Chess invites her to spend the summer at a Italian Villa and she jumps at the chance to repark her writing and just live a little outside of her ex who is pressuring her to keep writing (He is trying to get a portion of the royalties in the divorce. Loser alert!)

But this particular Villa, in the 70s was also rented for the summer by Rock Star Noel Gordon who invites his fellow Rockstar Pierce and his girlfriend Mari, sister of Mari: Lara. Noel is also looking to repark his music career by going to the Villa to write music. But during that time period Pierce was brutally murdered and Mari writes her debut book, a genre defying horror book.

And the sparks fly from here. Emily ignores her thriller commitment and instead starts a non-fiction book of what really happened in the 70s. And we have two timelines: The 70s and current timeline.

Positives: This book, like her earlier book, is very well written. Between the two timelines we almost have two different books. Both intertwine with each other until the end. The story is very engaging and sucks you in.

The Bad: If you are not into one of the timelines you will not be into the book at all. While there are plenty of thrillers written this way, this one has so much meat on it that you can't just gloss over one. You will lose interest. Plus, its a really slow burn and more so the first 25%. Like mentioned above, however, it's very engaging, but if you are not into it by page 80 or so just give up. Also, experienced thriller readers will predict one of the "twists" pretty easily.

Overall, I enjoyed it. I can't rate it 5 stars and I have to attribute that to the really slow burn and long chapters but understand that will be a positive for others. Go for it! This one has a publication date of January 3, 2023.

Advance Reader Copy Given Free for honest review.

I read the Villa all in one night - I was really engrossed in the story and the different threads of the past woven in with the present. I thoroughly enjoyed it overall, especially Mari’s story. Emily’s story was more difficult for me. So much of the action in her story was off page (especially the final action) so I was left wanting more information and insight into what happened. The climax fell a bit flat for me. As a reader, I was led not to trust certain characters throughout the book, so I kept waiting for one more final twist/betrayal, not believing that the resolution and mystery could be tied up so neatly, especially regarding Em’s mysterious illness. Perhaps that was the point, that what Em was telling us was an edited version of events, much like Mari’s ending(s) - that history is written by the victors.

I loved the frenemies aspect of our two main characters and the dual, almost parallel timelines was a nice touch. At times I did think that the 1974 story line felt like it dragged on or stalled out, but I was still so invested and had to know how it all came together.

While various sub-plots were predictable, I never once felt like that was a bad thing at all. I enjoyed problem solving and finding the clues to the mystery and putting all the pieces together. I really liked the macabre and dark ways Hawkins wove the two timelines together.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins follows two separate timelines: a villa in Italy during the 1970s and that same villa today. Mari, our protagonist from the 1970s, is an aspiring writer who gets swept up into a summer at the villa, filled with lavish rock star moments, with the sex, drugs, and tragedy that often comes with those tales. Emily, our protagonist during the present day, is spending a summer at the same villa with her longtime “best friend”, the self-help guru Chess. These two timelines are forever intertwined, telling similar stories that feed off of one another.

"Houses remember." This line follows both timelines that this novel unfolds, claiming that the history of a house will never be lost on its occupants in the future. Hawkins utilizes this line well, storing memories and the ghosts of the past within the walls of the villa and the town that it occupies.

For a thriller, I found most of this novel a little less than thrilling, and I felt much more interested in Mari’s storyline than Emily’s. As a lover of literature, following Mari as she writes a classic horror novel was enthralling, and I found myself waiting for her POV again as I was reading Emily’s. The suspense didn’t really pick up for me until about 80% through the novel, and I was able to guess most of the twists and turns.

Overall, if you’re looking for an easy mystery to pick up during the summer season, this could be a great pick for you. In terms of thrill level, it is reminiscent of Colleen Hoover’s Verity.

A massive thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advance reader copy.

Rachel Hawkins does it again! A sweeping thriller in the beautiful Italian countryside that spans the ages. Two friends reconnect in a beautiful setting that was the site of a gruesome murder. But as Emily seeks more information about the villa, she feels that Chess is not exactly who she was or who Emily thinks she is. A cat and mouse game with interesting results. The Villa does not disappoint.

Overall, I found this to be a fantastic and unique read that combined a cool mystery with deep character development. I’d definitely recommend for those who like mysteries and psychological thrillers and are looking for something a little different.

This book was an easy, quick read with an interesting concept and setting! I really liked how both stories from different time periods were being told at the same time and I enjoyed reading about Emily discover more about Mari’s story.
I was excited for the concept of both stories in this book but I was disappointed in how they played out. I was left wanting more from both stories and more suspense. It felt like a lot happened in the last 5-10% of the book that I would have loved to read more details about and had more time spent on. I enjoyed part of the use of newspaper/ magazine articles to tell the story but I think this ended up leading to me not being attached or invested in the story because so many details that could have been suspenseful or emotional were revealed through a quick article quote and not through the story. I wanted more from this book, however it was an easy, quick read and I enjoyed the concept and enjoyed the imagery descriptions of the villa! Thank you Net Galley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins felt a little more like fiction rather than thriller. Emily and her best friend, Chess, are spending the summer in a villa on the Italian coast. Both friends are writers, but Chess' career has taken off far higher than Emily's. Emily is also dealing with the fallout from a rapid and nasty divorce, all while having writers block. But when Emily arrives at the Villa, the suddenly has the inspiration to write about the house's eerie past, including a high profile murder. As Emily researches the murder and wanders the house, she begins to put together the real story of what happened that summer.

The plot of this book was incredibly interesting. I thought the dual stories were woven together well, and came together by the end of the book. The setting and writing style made the reader feel as though they were also at the Villa, which was fun to imagine. However, I didn't feel like Emily and Chess' story line was particularly thrilling. I kept thinking something else was going to happen, but it never really did. It also wasn't impossible to see the twist about the murder. I think the strong writing is what draws you into this book, but the plot left me feeling like I wanted more.

3.75 stars

While I love a book set in Italy (especially in a haunted villa), I'm stuck oscillating between 3.5 and 4 stars for this one. Was it a quick read, and I didn't want to put it down? Yes. Were the plot and its twists fairly predictable? Also yes.

I LOVED the connections to Mari's novel, which really pulled in the gothic vibes that the synopsis calls out. The snippets of the novel and Lara's album reminded me a bit of TJR, so if you enjoy her writing, those parts of this book will appeal to you. I did think the characters were a bit annoying but I could understand and appreciate why they were written the way they were.

Overall, this book was entertaining and had a nice serving of escapism. Thank you to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Loved the dual stories happening in this book! Mari’s story especially was a page turner and more believable. Chess and Emily’s plot line was slower and then there’s a crazy twist that seemed a bit random and rushed. The ending of Mari’s story really put this book at a solid 4 stars. Overall this was a fast paced, thrilling read!

have some mixed feelings about this book— on one hand, I really enjoyed the plot, as well as the many layers smoothly interwoven. However, I found the characters a little lacking: The females are annoying and the males are complete pigs (although I assume the author was purposeful with the latter…it seems she really wants you to hate them). They also ALL fell a little flat to me, and a lot of their actions and dialogue didn’t seem believable or ring quite true for me. I also expected the Villa itself to play more of a role, influencing the actions of the characters, etc, almost becoming a character itself like in other haunted house books. But it’s really just the place where things happen; the Villa itself wasn’t crucial to the story. I did like the inserts of media coverage like magazine articles, podcasts, etc. They breadcrumb the reader with just a little more information with each one. I wouldn’t call this story a thriller; it’s not scary and it won’t have you on the edge of your seat, but it’s a good story that will keep you interested.

Loved the concept of ‘houses remember’ and the way that Rachel Hawkins was able to intertwine the story of Emily and Mari, decades apart. A story of dynamic relationships and the difficulty that often comes along with them. I really enjoyed the book, but felt that it was rushed through at different points which made the story line a little confusing. Overall, I would recommend!

The Villa is an imaginative thriller that switches timelines with parallel stories involving murder, female friendship and betrayal all set in a beautiful Italian Villa with a dark history.
Emily and Chess, friends since childhood are escaping to the countryside for a girl’s trip to relax and reconnect. Both become caught up in past events that occurred there and tension builds as secrets are revealed.
I enjoyed this book especially the relationships between the past and present. The author did an excellent job tying it all together with the Fleetwood Mac and Mary Shelley influence.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for giving me an advance copy.

Emily is going through a nasty divorce. She’s finally on the other side of a undiagnosed illness and her career as a mystery author is stagnating. Her deadlines are breathing down her neck as much as her greedy soon-to-be ex. She is desperate for a change. Her childhood best friend, Chess, is also an author. Emily is moderately successful but Chess is a mega self-help guru. Chess has built a brand of style into the self-help genre that is not just successful but wildly lucrative. Chess invites Emily on an all-expenses-paid dream vacation to Italy. The house Chess has rented has a sordid past. It was the sight of a gruesome murder in the 1970’s. Emily starts to uncover the untold story of the murder. Quickly old rivalries between the two women surface and things get tense.

I liked the book. Rachel Hawkins knows how to tell a story! It’s fast-paced and creepy but not actually scary. The competition between the women is painful and begs the question of why they have stayed friends for so many years when they can’t stand each other. Definitely not my idea of a BFF. The proverbial twist at the end was a little hard for me to swallow. It felt forced but it will keep you guessing.

Think Taylor Jenkins Reid meets Lucy Foley.. what more could you want?

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins takes us through two best friends journey to an infamous Italian Villa. Their story is intertwined with an account of what happened in the 70s to make this Villa so infamous and a glimpse at the sensational novel written by a young girl during her stay there.

This book took me on a roller coaster. I found the beginning intriguing but hard to follow due to the three separate narratives but once I had my bearings - I couldn’t stop reading. It was so fun throughout the book to notice the parallels between the multiple narratives. Just when everything clicks and you think you have the twist figured out, Rachel Hawkins throws a curveball that left me speechless. This book gained a full star from me just in the last couple chapters.

I truly believe anyone who didn’t like this book just wasn’t paying close enough attention. Such excellent, imaginative writing.

I would highly recommend this book!

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

The Villa is a dual timeline thriller. Emily is a soon to be divorced barely successful author going through some personal crisis, and her best friend Chess, a super famous author and influencer, invites her for a summer at a villa in Italy. It turns out the villa was the site of a drug-fueled murder in the seventies involving some famous rock stars, and Emily's story is contrasted with the diary of one of the people who stayed in the house. The story seemed kind of basic at first and then got more interesting toward the end. There were some interesting themes between the two timelines. I won't give anything away, but it all wraps up pretty neatly.

Rachel Hawkins has redeemed herself with The Villa! I didn’t care for Reckless Girls, but hot damn she came in strong with this one.

The Villa tells the story of Emily and her best friend, Chess. The two women are spending the summer at an infamous Italian villa...both to work on their respective writing careers and to repair their strained friendship. The Villa was the scene of a murder in the 1970s and has secrets of its own to uncover.

I enjoyed this book very much. At some points, I felt like the plot was predictable, but not in a bad way. The ending was shocking, though. I thought the use of the alternating timelines was smart and really fleshed out the story.

All opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

I enjoyed this new novel from Rachel Hawkins. It’s more of a slow burn, “light” thriller that deals with the dynamics among friends. I enjoyed the dual time line and it was nice to see the parallels happening throughout. Twists along the way, especially at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This book is not a thriller and should not be marketed as such. I’m disappointed in myself that I keep reading Rachel Hawkins books thinking that they will be twisty and mysterious. The story was honestly just so straightforward and nothing much happened, so whenever we got to the end and found out various “twists” they just felt off the mark to me. I didn’t enjoy this one and don’t think I’d recommend it. There are much better thrillers on the market.