I have now read all of her thrillers, and enjoy the quick paced and skillfully chaotic endings! Gothic thrillers are one of my favorite sub-genres, and this one was great. It was the perfect summery “popcorn thriller,” especially if you love a good “book within a book,” enjoy books about authors, and if you love a touch of gothic. At just under 300 pages, this is a shorter read and perfect for reading by the pool or at the beach this summer! I know there have been some mixed reviews for this one, but I enjoyed it and would recommend!

I'm a bit late to the party with this review, having received the arc back in November and the book published in January. Lateness aside, I, unfortunately, was not the biggest fan of this book. Typically, I enjoy thrillers and love the anxiety that comes with the plot and setting, but this book did not have that same edge for me that I find with other thrillers. The double narrative slowed the book's pacing, and the past narrative with Mari and her rock star boyfriend was incredibly boring for the first half of the story.

While the novel did pick up right around the 60% mark, I still hadn't connected with many of the characters aside from Emily. This made many plot twists and moments where I was supposed to feel some anxiety for the characters to fall flat. Truly, by the last quarter of the book, I was just skimming to be done with it rather than enjoying the story, which was sad as the synopsis promised an amalgamation of Fleetwood Mac with Mary and Percy Shelley's summer vacation in which she wrote Frankenstein. While I see how those tags could've fit after finishing the book, I'm sad to say the former is a bit misleading as the relationship of the characters, whom I suppose were the Fleetwood Mac-inspired troop, was anything but a minuscule homage to male rockstars of the '70s.

*** While I received a free ARC of this from NetGalley, all thoughts and opinions given in this review are 100% honest. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC***

I enjoyed the complexity of this story and the dual storylines. I was very intrigued to find out what was going to happen both in the “past” and “present” stories. Definitely ended with a twist I didn’t see coming!

This was a dual timeline slow burn thriller that, although it was a slow burn, really kept me engaged throughout the entire story. It went back and forth between the 1970s and the present day, and followed writers Mari and Emily and their various friends/families. I was very engaged by both storylines, which is rare for me - normally I end up liking one more than the other, but with this story I liked both equally. Unfortunately I did see a lot of the present day twists coming, but a lot of the past twists surprised me. This book got 3.5 stars and I rounded up. I will definitely read more of Hawkins's books!

3.5 stars
This is my first book by Rachel Hawkins and I truly enjoyed it!

The Villa takes place over two time periods one set in the past in the 1970s and the second during current times. Both stories take place at the same villa in Italy.

I found both timelines, absolutely captivating, and intriguing. I felt that both cast of characters were very fleshed out, and I truly felt immersed in each story. I also felt like the villa itself was a character, and that was really interesting.

In both stories I felt that a pair of women were really the catalyst for all of the events. In the first story it was stepsisters Mari and Lara and the second story best friends Emily and Chess (although I think they’re more frenemies). Mari and Lara spend a summer at the Villa and it ends with a brutal murder. Emily and Chess spend a Summer at the Villa each writing their own novels as Emily learns more and more about the events that happened there in the past.

Both stories were so good! I think enjoyed Mari and Lara’s story a bit more because of the dynamics of the house that led to the murder there. The constant deception and fake friendship I felt from Chess and Emily led to me really disliking both characters and I honestly struggled with their story. Admittedly, Chess was the much more irritating one. However, I do think that was the point and I don’t think I was supposed to like them.

To be truthful I was a bit disappointed with the ending of both stories and I think that is what led me to 3 stars. There were a couple of twists I wasn’t sure about and then one ending I didn’t believe and the other ending I felt was abrupt with little closure. So I guess while I enjoyed the book and both stories, I wanted more from both endings.

I devoured this book! I loved the dual POV. In the first we follow Emily who is an author going through a divorce which has caused her to really hit a hiccup in her writing, so when her friend suggests that they go to stay in Italy in a villa where a murder happened in 1974. The other POV follows the time period of this murder and it follows Mari as she's writing a horror novel. Throughout this book Emily becomes more and more invested in this murder and it becomes her inspiration for her writing. This book was definitely an easy read and I was able to predict a few of the twists and turns, but overall it was fun even until the very end.

I'm giving this a 3.5 star rating but rounding up for several reasons I'll explain below...

"Houses remember..."

What an awesome opening line!! Talk about drawing your attention from the get-go! While it starts off with a boom, it drags a little slowly in the beginning but then picks back up steam and rolls around a twist or two I didn't see coming, and possibly a twist to throw the reader totally off course, not to be fully trusted. Intrigued yet?

I feel this book is more a mystery than a thriller, personally. This whole book was about a story within a story within a story, all hidden within each other yet in plain site. Mari hides parts and pieces of what actually happened at that Villa in her book, leaving Emily and readers to decode the meaning and figure out what the real story was. I feel the author did the same thing with Chess and Emily, only now we as readers have to figure out what the real story is with those final twists in the end. Who do you believe? Who do you trust? Who was writing just a book or trying to hide the real story in plain site? You'll have to read to figure it out for yourself.

My thanks to Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This one was a slow burn thriller, that failed to keep my attention for the majority of the story. However; I loved the time jumps! It was unique and allowed for many twists and turns!

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is told in dual timelines and at first, it was a bit confusing keeping everything straight. Eventually it all made sense though. I enjoyed The Villa for the most part though I found it somewhat predictable (not a dealbreaker!). There was a lot packed into this suspenseful novel.

Two best friends at an Italian villa, spending the summer reconnecting and writing. When Emily starts digging into the villa’s history as a “murder house,” she discovers there’s much more than expected to the home. Told in alternating voices from the summer of the murder to the present, this mystery really picked up for me a little before the halfway point. I had my thoughts and theories, and the ending still surprised me. Overall, this was a good read and I liked the way music and writing were woven throughout the story.

This was so twisty and turny! I read this in one sitting while at the beach….the perfect backdrop for a summer read (maybe not as good as a villa in Italy, but it will do!

Thank you to Netgalley for the early ARC of this book. This was a slow burn thriller that is set in a dual perspective and dual timeline. This is my second read from this author and she always creates such great thrillers. I cannot wait to read her next book!

5 Stars from me!! I could not put this down. I loved the dual timelines and the descriptions of the villa made me want to hop on a plane immediately. In true Rachel Hawkins fashion I had to feverishly turn pages to piece together the story.

This was a fantastic book, with musical history that had Daisy Jones vibes, mixed with historical murder mystery Helter Skelter vibes, and topped off with a love story, this book has it all! This book grabbed you from the very beginning and you never wanted to put it down. It’s a must read and would be a fantastic beach read for your vacations!

This was an amazing book, and definitely one that stood out to me from all the rest. It had some Daisy Jones vibes, mixed with Helter Skelter, mixed with…Oh, just trust me, it’s fantastic! I was sucked into this one from the beginning and couldn’t put it down. I read it in one sitting. This is my favorite by this author!

Once the story got going, I could not put this down. With interesting characters and a fascinating premise, this was a quick read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Villa tells the story of Emily and Chess, friends since childhood. They take a trip to a Villa in Italy which was once rented by a 70's rock star and the book flashes between Emily's perspective and the perspective of Mari, one of the girls who stayed in the 70s.

As always, I found the writing by Hawkins to be atmospheric and gripping. She has a talent for writing books that I don't want to put down! I did enjoy this book but didn't like it quite as much as others I've read by Hawkins as I didn't find Emily or Chess very likable. I probably would have liked it more with just the storyline of the 70s as I found those characters more compelling. I give this one 3.5 stars.

3.5 stars.

I found this one really interesting with the dual timelines and secrets unfolding. Much like with the wife upstairs, Hawkins gives us main characters to root for even if they’re not the best people deep down.

Emily is a stalled writer going through a divorce where he ex wants to receive payment for his “inspiration” of her beloved 9 cozy murder novels. Superstar self help guru and childhood bestfriend, Chess, invites Emily to go with her to Italy to write for the summer in a villa with a notorious past. Someone in the 70’s was brutally murdered there, making it a murder mystery lovers paradise. While there, the two friends bicker and reconnect while uncovering the mystery of the past linked to the famous death.

I felt like Emily & Chess’s relationship was toxic and in some ways, reminiscent of childhood friends who hold on only for the fact that they’ve been friends forever. Despite being in two very different phases of life, the two cling to each other when there’s not much love still left to keep their relationship afloat. Chess’s betrayal of Emily is justified and all is forgiven which I just cannot see being such a quick decision to make. I feel for Emily as she is forced into a lifelong partnership now unable to escape without repercussions.

Laura and Mari step sisters who love the same awful man have a similar love/hate relationship. While the 70’s were more open with relationships and monogamy, the sting of Laura with Pierce never leaves her mind. Mari, a young 19 year old with her married boyfriend Pierce, who lost their baby, feels herself shift at the Villa as she begins writing her best selling novel Lilith Rising. At the time, she doesn’t know that her life will forever change at the villa, she allows herself and Pierce to free fall into the moment of free love and self discovery. Laura, forever looking for comfort in men is rejected by Noel, a famous rock star who is at the villa with them and discovers her voice within her music. She goes on to produce a staple in music that is stepped in heartache, love, and loss. Together they undergo the hardships of becoming women while holding on to their girlhood affection for one another. Their world forever changes when Pierce ends up dead in the villa.

I enjoyed the pieces news pieces and podcast blurbs in the book and the fact that it all interconnected, but felt that the characters lacked a true depth. Their actions seemed off and Mari’s rewriting of the true story of Pierces death didn’t make much sense to me.

THE VILLA by Rachel Hawkins is maybe more mystery than thriller (although DANG did it have a twist at the ending!). Set in an Italian villa (obvs) and told in two timelines, the story revolves around the creation of art and complicated female friendships. In present day we have Emily and Chess, both authors and longtime friends, who escape to the villa for some much needed rest and relaxation – and hopefully some writing inspiration. In 1974 we have Mari, her musician boyfriend, stepsister, and rock and roll star Noel. Mari, like Emily, was hoping to write amongst other artists, but that’s not how things turned out (of course!). And present day Emily is hoping to solve a horrific murder – from 1974, naturally – and the mystery behind Mari’s success as a writer.

Lots of twists and turns in this one, and a dang spooky atmosphere. There’s so much angst within/between Emily and Chess (and then Mari and the others) that you can feel it. Keep your friends close and your frenemies closer, am I right? This book uses the artist/creation storyline to discuss jealousy, competition, and misogyny and is an oh-so-accurate illustration of toxic friendships! While not strictly a thriller, the overall sense of foreboding will keep you unsettled the whole time.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I’ll be completely honest and I kind of wanted to read this purely for the gorgeous cover. We all know the saying about books and their covers, I know.

The Villa bounces back & forth from a present day storyline and one in the seventies.

In the present, Emily writes cozy mysteries and is in a rut and Chess, her childhood best friend is now a very famous self-help guru. Chess invites Emily to stay with her at the titular villa in Italy for the summer where they can reconnect and write their own respective books.

Emily googles the villa and finds out that it was the scene of a famous murder back in the 70s.

Which takes us to Mari, her boyfriend Pierce, and her stepsister Lara. The three stay at the villa for the summer with an up-and-coming rockstar. It’s not a spoiler to say that Mari is not the one who dies.

We find out early on that Mari goes on to become famous for writing one very famous book about a haunted house.

In the present, Emily spends her time finding connections between Mari’s book and the villa that she is staying in, and in the 70s, the reader gets Mari’s story in real time.

So for the most part, I thought this book was fine. It’s not really my jam. But there is some decent stuff in there. I liked Mari’s story better than Emily’s. There seemed to be more that I enjoyed reading in her story. But the book is chock full of toxic relationships: male and female, platonic and romantic - that I just don't love

It does do a cool thing where the chapters are interspersed with “articles” about Mari and her book or “podcast” excerpts that talk about the murder and the problematic nature of Mari and her boyfriend’s relationship.

But I also find it very unrealistic that Emily is the first person to discover the connection between Mari's very famous book and this house. That the house was a murder house was figured out after a quick google. There is at least one podcast about this case. In this day and age of true crime lovers and arm chair detectives, I was expected to believe that Emily was the first to make that connection. I think even the maid said that true crime people have stayed at the house before.

Oh and yeah, this book is not a gothic suspense novel like its marketing is claiming it to be.

TW: child loss, sex trafficking, drug use

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER

But the thing that made me drop this book from a 3 star to a 2 star rating was the author’s manipulation of her audience at the end of the book. It made me so mad and I wanted to throw the book against the wall. I hate the concept of an unreliable narrator.