I was very excited for this book because I loved Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins, but The Villa kind of fell short for me. There were some parts that needed less details and some crucial parts that needed more details.

This novel was told in a then/now timeline, and I liked the present time frame way better than the past. I really liked seeing all the parallels between Em and Mari's characters, and I enjoyed the plot twist a lot. Overall, this book was not my favorite thriller/mystery, but I did like it.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

I was expecting a haunted house story. That’s not what this book is at all, but I was not disappointed.

This book follows two childhood BFFs, and both have become authors. One is going through a messy divorce, so the other offers to take her to this “Villa” in Italy for the summer.

This villa has a history…50ish years ago…a group of friends (one of which is an author who writes a bestselling novel while there) also stay at this villa and a violent murder occurs. Who did it and why?

We jump back and forth between storylines, friendships get tarnished, secrets spilled, new secrets formed.

I enjoyed the back and forth, the house remains the same but the events that occur are different. Great concept. Interesting twists.

And the cover is beautiful! This authors covers are very unique and inviting!

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!

While I enjoyed the author’s previous book, Reckless Girls, I felt like this one was a thousand times better. It was more intricately plotted, more intelligently written, and was much more creatively conceptualized. The writing style also seemed more mature.

I was completely drawn into the storyline, and equally invested in both timelines’ stories. The setting worked perfectly and there were so many details cleverly added that enriched the plot. I could picture the characters and house so vividly.

In short, the author took her works to a completely new level with The Villa. And I am an even bigger fan than I was before! Huge kudos to Rachel Hawkins for producing this brilliant book… I already know this is one I will be recommending to everyone.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my complimentary digital copy. All opinions are my own.

Wow. I went in to The Villa by Rachel Hawkins thinking it would be a typical mystery/thriller, with a whodunnit to be solved after careful sleuthing and dramatic reveals. What I was met with, instead, was a beautiful tale of a splendid Italian getaway, rich with history and scandal.
I loved how developed both the past and present stories were, and how seamlessly connected they seemed. Both Mari's and Emily's experience with the villa was rife with scandal; scandal that created a page-turning delight.

Most stories tend to be either character or plot-driven: The Villa was both. Your heart will fall in love with characters and be shattered by their decisions; and the events that construct their wild lives will leave you craving more.

After finishing this book, I sat with my thoughts, still absorbing what transpired. I genuinely seeing this book be one I enjoy re-reading in the future; perhaps picking up on details missed the first time.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for the ARC of The Villa.

Okay, now I want to go to Italy! I felt like I was transported there, switching between the two connecting stories and timelines, although I wish they had been better differentiated by chapters. I’m not usually a fan of slow burn mysteries but this one was well done and kept me turning the pages. Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

The Villa was a total vibe! Absolutely loved the 2 storylines from past and present and how they seamlessly come together throughout. I adored the setting where the Villa took place and the aspects of murder, friendships, family, and betrayal. This is probably my favorite book of Rachel Hawkins to date! Thanks for my early copy! I loved it!

First things first: I am a Mary Shelley stan. I cannot describe how much I love the original Goth girl: for her role in a literary family, for pioneering the modern science fiction genre, and for her radical lifestyle among the English Romantics. I read her biography with the relish that some people read tabloids. I'm especially fond of the mythos surrounding the origins of Frankenstein and the Shelleys' years in Italy. I heard that Rachel Hawkins wrote a mystery / thriller based on the Villa Diodati crew (Lord Byron, his doctor John Polidori, Percy and Mary Shelley, and Clara Clairmont), and I came running.

The Villa is composed of two narratives: the Villa Diodati-inspired plotline, set in the 1970s in which a group of artists and bohemians, hosted by the iconic rockstar Noel George Gordon, spend a heady, creative summer together, stewing in sexual tension and producing multiple genre-defining artistic endeavors: the Stevie Nicks-meets-Carole King album Aestas and the pioneering feminist horror novel Lilith Rising. However, this legendary summer is tied up in scandal, as their stay at the Villa ends in murder, but the surviving members of this party are circumspect about the events of that summer for the rest of their troubled lives. The murder is tied up in the lore of the art that came out of that summer, remaining an object of tabloid fascination and true crime speculation.

The second plot line takes place in the present, in which two writers and best friend spend the summer together at that very same villa . Em, our protagonist, is coming off a hard year: she's in the midst of a messy divorce, recovering from a period of illness that defies diagnosis, and struggling to complete her manuscript. Cass, her best friend and wildly successful self-help guru, invites her to spend the summer in Italy at the infamous Villa Aestas to refresh both her stalled novel and her general sense of self. Em finds herself drawn to the author of Lilith Rising, Mari Godwick, as she pieces together the relationship between the novel and the villa where it was written. Em finally finds the inspiration she needs, working feverishly on a new book, as she works through her fraught relationship with her best friend and the dissolution of her marriage. As we follow Em on her discovery, we piece together the many questions surrounding the events of that fateful summer.

I knew I would love this book, if only because the 1970s plotline is an especially rich and delightful English Romantics fanfiction (I mean this in the absolute best way). The author's attention to detail in weaving the historical inspiration into the mystery / murder plot feels like a series of rich Easter eggs for Villa Diodati fans. I was especially surprised by how the two plotlines ultimately connected in the end, and the masterfully constructed layers of secrets, playing into the novel's theme of reconstructing and manipulating the truth. I will be buying a copy for my Mary Shelley curation, and I will be excited to reread this book to better appreciate how the pieces fit together.

This book was pretty fast-paced and I often found myself wanting to read more. My favorite thing about this read was the Italy setting. 😍 The descriptions were beautiful and really made me want to take a trip. 🇮🇹 I do wish the two timelines (1974 vs now) would’ve been split into different chapters. Not only would that have made the chapters shorter (I love short chapters), but it also would have made a more concrete distinction between the two storylines. All I can say is that I wish Lilith Rising (book) and Aestas (album) were real so that I could read/listen to them! I’m still not sure how I felt about the ending but I think I mostly liked it and this was overall a really good read!!

A very special thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Rachel Hawkins for this ebook ARC that will be published in January 2023!

Another winner for Hawkins. I enjoyed the alternating timelines and the characters. Well done and intriguing read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60784641

"She had forgotten, as we all do, that beautiful things can contain their own darkness.”

The Villa is Rachel Hawkins' newest novel, set mostly in a small, medieval town in Italy. More aptly, the story takes place in the gorgeous Villa Aestas, alternating
between two timelines, past (1974) and present (2023). The two main characters, Mari (1974) and Emily (2023), lived in two different times, yet lived remarkably similar
life circumstances. Full of betrayal, intrigue, and mystery, this Hawkins novel is sure to keep some fans on the edges of their seats.

I couldn't put this one down, but I will allow that is more due to the easy flow of the writing and my despise of the characters and not due to the strength of the plot. I found the plot to be interesting but predictable and saw the ending coming for each character from a mile away. The book overall wasn't a read that will leave many readers shocked or thinking about the ending after they've finished, but it was enjoyable for its medium-pace and interestingly despicable characters.

I loved to hate all the characters that the author seems to have wanted us to hate—Chess, Matt, Pierce. I didn't feel much for Mari, Emily, or Lana, unfortunately. They almost seemed to be side-characters in their own stories. I wish we could have seen more character development from them. I believe the author tried to develop them a certain way (no spoilers), but the attempt fell a little flat for me.

Overall, I recommend this novel to fans of engaging, easy-to-read, soft thrillers.

Thank you to St. Martin's Publishing Group for an ARC. This review was written honestly in exchange for an advanced read. #NetGalley #TheVilla

The Villa is about Emily and Chess who are best friends since childhood and take a trip to Italy. Emily believes the trip will help her escape from a writer's block while going through a divorce. The story goes between the present and the 1970's in which a famous murder happens at the same Villa they are staying at. We get a chance to find out what happened along with Emily while secrets start to come undone.

I really liked the writing style of this book and loved the idea of the story. However, I only give this book 3.5 stars due to the fact that I found the plot twists to be too obvious. I was able to guess most of the twists before they happened. I also also found myself getting lost with the storyline at times.

Overall I thought that this book was well written and it did keep me interested for most of the book. I definitely recommend giving this book a try and see if you enjoy it more than I did.

Thanks to NetGalley and Saint Martins Press for giving me the chance to read this book before it is released in 2023!

The Villa is a delicious story or two stories of friends; Chess and Em in one and Mari and Lara in the other. Chess and Em are current day, both writers the decide to spend a summer at The Villa in Orvieto Italy. Mari and Lara are stepsisters who in 1974, spend the summer at The Villa. Both stories and characters are intense, artists in some way, and both seek some sort of vengeance. This book is so good, you'll not be able to close until the end, there is rage, there is love and there is the end!. Thank you #NetGalley#StMartinsPress#TheVilla.

This is not just another mystery/thriller. Told between dual timelines Rachel Hawkins explores the blessings and the pitfalls of relationships, whether they be friends, lovers, or siblings. Throw in the astounding beauty of Italy, the grit of 70s rock and roll, a horror novel, and a few twists and turns and you have a gripping mystery that kept me reading non-stop to find out WHO DID IT? Do not worry as you will have all of your questions answered. And then some.

Thank you for the ARC, Rachel Hawkins and Netgalley! I will definitely be recommending this book come January 2023!

This is my first book by Rachel Hawkins and I absolutely fell in love with her style of writing. I loved the 2 different povs one from 1974 and the other in current time. The way both povs seemed to intertwine together but still tell two different stories. It had me dissecting both stories trying to guess what was going to happen next. Highly do recommend.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s press, and Rachel Hawkins for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

*Thank you to St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for the ARC*

Wow, my recommendation is don’t try and finish The Villa at 2 am because you absolutely will get sucked in and it will simultaneously give you the creeps!

The premise of the book centers on several characters but the main setting is Villa Aestas formerly Villa Rosato, where a murder took place back in the 70s. Here stepsisters Mari and Lara are supposed to be muses for their male counterparts to write an album, instead they each strike success as writers in their own sense, but not before a life is claimed to the adage of drugs, sex, and rock & roll.

A parallel story is also told in the present when best friends Emily and Chess are visiting said “murder mansion” to write their prospective books. Little did they know how the Villa and its dark past would have its grip on their own lives.

Truthfully it’s hard to break The Villa down succinctly since there’s so many characters involved. There’s lots of overlapping stories and themes, from past to present, real and written, lyrics, articles, and even podcasts. It gives a Daisy Jones/VH1 THS vibe with the different cuts of media interspersed throughout. It can get a little confusing at times but there’s enough overlap for everything to fall right back into place.

Although there’s lots of foreshadowing due to the parallel timeline, overall The Villa was a quick read, and engaging enough to keep me on my toes. 4.5/5 stars because the build up was greater than the end, which shows how well Hawkins can build that eerie, foreboding feeling. The Villa publishes in January ‘23 and I have no doubt it’ll be a hit and can totally see it made into a tv series! 🍿

Spoilerish CW: drug use, infant death, chronic illness, fade to black MMF scene

Wow. I was not expecting to get sucked in so fast but I stayed up all night reading this in one sitting. Highly recommend if you're a fan of Ruth Ware or Tana French. Two friends take a summer holiday to an Italian villa with a tragic past and the events that unfold begin to mirror their lives and the house's sordid past. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Once you start reading a Hawkins novel, you can't stop and her latest is no exception. It's a gothic tale of suspense, intrigue, and the struggle between love and friendship. There's a two storyline plot, one occurring in 1974 juxtaposed with the story in the present.
The only minor criticism I harbor is that the ending might have been too predictable and not as spine-chilling as I expected. Fun and daunting read!

This book was a quick read! I loved how they twisted the mystery of the murder in the house into the general plot about the two friends vacationing to Italy. I do wish the mystery of the house was detailed further to provide a more eerie feel. I did not see the murder of Matt happening - I was sure the murder the summary hinted at would have been Chess!

I read this book in just a few sittings. It's dishy and binge-worthy, the kind of soapy whodunnit that goes perfectly with sunshine and the sparkle of water. I loved the dual timeline and the fast pace. Hawkins doesn't drag the story out, but executes the plot with skill and efficiency. The ending felt a bit unfinished to me, but the ride is well worth it!

Thrilling plot twists at every chapter! This had an ending I never saw coming!

Rachel Hawkins created such a layered narrative it has you second guessing fact and fiction. Well written and masterfully presented, this is a book that will give you chills and thrills.

Perfect for lovers of Daisy Jones and the Six and fans of Ruth Ware.