This was an interesting one. At first, I had a hard time getting into it as I wasn't sure how I felt about the main character. Additionally, I had a difficult time with the time period switches because they didn't seem very smooth. However once I got a further into the book - I was hooked!

I found the storyline unique and loved how the author tied together the plot between the two storylines. I read a lot of thriller/suspense books and I'm usually able to see the twists/turns ahead. In this book, I thought I knew what was happening but was pleasantly surprised at the end with a final twist.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and recommend it! I'd probably give this a 3.5/5

There are two timelines that we learn about in The Villa. The first timeline takes place in 1974 and follows a girl named Mari who goes to the Villa with her boyfriend Pierce, her sister Lara, a rock-star named Noel and his drug-dealer Johnny. The purpose of the trip is for Noel and Pierce to collaborate and create music together. However, something goes wrong and the trip ends in a brutal murder and someone going to jail. The current timeline follows two writers and childhood bestfriends: Emily and Chess taking a trip to the Villa to hopefully provide inspiration for their writing in order to get out of their writing slump. However, Emily starts to question everything she thinks she knows about her life. Is it the house’s eerie energy or is something actually going on?

My thoughts:
This book was definitely suspenseful and I couldn’t read fast enough because I HAD to know what happened! Unfortunately the big reveals at the end weren’t satisfying enough for me. I was kind of like… oh, that’s it? Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book but was hoping for something more mind-blowing at the end. I will say, I originally rated it 3 stars because I was so confused by the ending until I went back on my NetGalley shelf and discovered that the epub that I downloaded on my ereader didn’t include the second half of chapter 14, once I read that, everything made sense! This obviously won’t be a problem once the book is published but just thought I’d mention it here incase anyone else is experiencing the same thing. Thankyou again St Martin’s Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review!! Publication is January 3rd, 2023

A new gothic suspense novel from the author of the Wife Upstairs! This one is a take on the creation of the novel Frankenstein - Mari is the daughter of two famous authors and ran away with budding musician, Pierce Sheldon in the early 1970s. They end up one summer at an Italian villa with Mari's stepsister, Lara, and famous musician Noel Gordon. Unfortunately, Pierce ends up dead at the end of summer, while Mari ends up writing a famous novel, Lilith Rising. In present day, Emily is struggling with writing the next book in her cozy mystery series when her best friend, self-help guru Chess, invites her to a summer at the same villa where this tragedy occurs.

Was this novel super suspenseful? No. Do I care? NO! Because this book was soooo good. It had gothic vibes for sure but I found myself not even caring about the mystery because I was just enjoying it so much. Did I think I had predicted the twist? Yes, but I only got it half right. Plus there was an even bigger twist at the very end!

This is one of those books I will be sad I can't read again for the first time. The parallels to the life of Mary Shelley are great and I love the way they were interpreted into more modern day. This is definitely one to read!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my advanced copy! Definitely will be buying this one when it comes out!

Ahhh Rachel Hawkins did it again. I love everything by her and this one did not disappoint! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Could not put this one down!

Had my head spinning in many directions, but overall enjoyable. This is my first book by Hawkins, so perhaps I was just slow to acclimate to her writing style.

We have the main story of long time friends, Emily and Chess. Both successful authors whose friendship have had a bit of a start stop due to their own personal struggles and Oprah level fame. They decide to spend the summer together in an Italian villa to restart their friendship and inspire their writing. The villa chosen is widely known as The Murder House where a gruesome murder involving rock stars occurred in the 70’s. That’s when the subjects of said murder enter the story via diary-like entries by young author Mari recounting the events leading up to the murder. We also have excepts of her book, current magazine articles, music lyrics by her stepsister, and even a podcast splashed in. Not to say this didn’t work as a book, it just felt busy. I was not a fan of the ending, but will not say why to prevent spoilers, just that I found the fate of one of the rockstars excessively cruel and under developed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had really high hopes for this book, but unfortunately I felt that it fell a little flat compared to her others. There was a little too much twist for my liking, and I felt like I kept spinning in circles trying to keep up -- I am aware that reading this on a kindle could've had very different formatting than a book version. The plot was intriguing, but I just felt like it missed the mark here.

3.5 stars. It was good, but not great.

Thank you to Netgalley & Rachel Hawkins for sending me an Advance Readers Copy of The Villa in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story of friendship, a murder, and rock & roll. A dual narrative, going between the past and present - the story of Aestas Villa is known by all.

When best friend and self help guru Chess books an Italian Getaway, Emily McCrae, cozy novelist is invited along. Emily researches and finds out that the Villa was the scene of a murder. Chess and Em find themselves connecting to this house and finding a higher meaning - co-writing a book.

This one wasn't my favorite. It's definitely a slow burn mystery/thriller with a touch of fictional memoir. I think I needed more twists and turns, but it wasn't the worst I've read either. In true Rachel Hawkins fashion, I couldn't guess what was going on. I would recommend, however, to those I know who love this genre.

I received this book from NetGalley.

This is a 3.5 star book for me. I loved where the story was going, but I feel like the conclusion to both timelines sort of fell flat in the end for me. I found the present day one fairly predictable, and the past one exciting until you find out what happened in the end. I truly did enjoy the read throughout most of the book though! It had beautiful imagery of the villa in Italy. Learning about the history and the characters of Mari and Lara was fun. I desperately want to read Lilith Rising and listen to Aestas now, even though they do not exist haha.

I really enjoyed The Villa. It hooked me from the start and kept me turning page after page. The jumping back and forth of the timeline was a bit confusing in the first part of the book, but once I got into the flow, became much easier. Rachel Hawkins has become one of my favorite authors. Definitely recommend!
Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this one 😭
I felt like it lacked the twists and turns of a suspense novel. I wasn’t able to really connect with any characters. I did love the fact that this story took place in Italy! The way the authors described the villa totally transported me there!

I have loved all these author's books but I think this is her best so far! Gothic suspense combined with twists that you won't see coming, I couldn't put this down until the very end. And then wanted to read it again to see if I could notice any clues I had missed! What a great thrilling ride all set in an Italian villa! I highly recommend this book!

You know the old saying, never judge a book by its cover, well, in this case it is definitely true. When I saw this book by Rachel Hawkins, I almost didn't read it, but I love Rachel Hawkins, so I gave it a chance and I am sure glad I did! The two main characters are great and their friendship is realistic. The book is almost like two books within one going from present time, to the past, and almost another book within. That means home confusing but it totally works out! And the end was excellent, thank you to netgalley and the polisher for this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read The Villa by Rachel Hawkins. I LOVED it!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Rachel Hawkins for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I personally think this book was a little slow to start, it took awhile to grab my attention. Once I got into it, the storyline kept my attention and had me trying to figure out what was coming next. I loved the dual, connecting storylines of Emily and Chess in the present and Mari’s story in the past. I also loved the idea of the murder house, I just wish it had more twists and “adrenaline rush” to it. I felt like something was missing from the story. There was nothing that grabbed my attention and refused to let go. The ending to me felt rushed and a tad predictable, with the exception of the ending to Mari’s story.

Overall, this book kept me interested enough to make me question what was next and want to finish. A solid three star book I would recommend to friends!

Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for an ARC of The Villa.

This was a very quick read for me. I found it very intriguing from the get go and was definitely sucked into the storyline. It jumped around from present day to past, which at times was slightly hard to follow.

I landed with a solid 3 stars for a few reasons... I felt like the ending was lacking some oomph. I envisioned something grander and more captivating, and quite honestly felt slightly let down. I also got hints of Verity from the ending, and I didn't *love* Verity.

All in all this was a good read, and interesting. I enjoyed the characters, although even by the ending I didn't trust Chess one bit.

I absolutely loved this domestic thriller by Hawkins. Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Chess and Emily were the best of friends….until they aren’t. Emily doesn’t fully trust Chess, but Chess invites her/convinces her to go to an amazing villa in Italy for the whole summer. Since Emily is divorcing this seems like a good idea.

But this villa has a past…and a memory. The storyline splits into a dual storyline between present day and the 1970s when another group stayed at the villa. These people were sex, drugs, and rock and roll….and one of them died.

Chess becomes enamored with the original tragedy in the house and starts researching. Then things between her and Chess become even more strained. Will history repeat itself?

The Villa is tells the history of Villa Aestas bringing the past and present together. It's full of twists and secrets that will leave you wondering what the real truth is behind the mystery of The Villa Aestas. The relationships between the characters kept me wanting to know more about each of them and the ending left me questioning what really happened at the Villa..

For some reason this book felt like the perfect beach read to me, so if your idea of relaxing is curling up in the sun, reading about murder, this is the thriller for you. (It’s possible that I just categorize every book I read in July as a “beach read”)

The mystery of a musican murdered in an enchanting Italian villa told through journal entries discovered decades later by two “best friends” who seem almost likely to add to the villa’s violent history. I was initially interested in this book for the historical fiction/“true crime” element, but what truly drew me in was the toxic friendship between Chess and Emily - they claim to love each other, but they’re so competitive that I couldn’t help but wonder how far either one of them would go to stay on top.

I honestly thought I had it all figured out, but I was completely thrown for a loop. In fact it took me two days to actually sit down and write this review because I just couldn’t stop thinking about the ending for long enough to write a complete sentence. I loved it!

4.5 rounded up. Devoured this in less than 24 hours. Loved the dual timelines and book within a book. Without spoilers there was 1 subplot I thought seemed implausible and like it was thrown in at the last minute, which is why it's 4.5 not 5. Was ARC from netgalley.

The Villa Review!!

Rachel Hawkins is starting to become a favorite author of mine. I absolutely loved Reckless Girls and Hex Ex (both 5 stars) and The Wife Upstairs was a fanatic domestic thriller as well. The Villa was a solid 4 star read and perfect for the summertime! This book just breathes summer and sunshine and citrus and it makes me really want to visit Italy. I did feel like this one lacked the suspense that her other books had and I was just left wanting more at the end. I enjoyed the different pov and times, it made it a quick read. This one was a dark read and I really want sure where it was going!

Synopsis: Emily has been going through a lot. Her health, marriage, and writing have all gone down the drain. So when her best childhood friend asks to spend the summer with her in Italy, Emily immediately agrees. It turns out that the Villa they are staying at though, is also a murder house.