I finished this book in a day. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen and just couldn’t put it down. At the beginning, I did get somewhat confused when it jumped between the different POV’s, and then excerpts from books, articles etc, but as the book went on they weren’t quite as jarring. Excellent read!

This book follows the path of two different friendships and a villa in Italy where tragedies take place. In the present we have Chess and Em, two writers and friends since grade school. Chess is a hugely successful Oprah live your best life mantra writer and Em is a moderately successful cozy mystery writer going through a bad divorce. In the past we have two stepsisters Mari and Lara. Mari is also a writer and Lara is a musician. Both sets of women harbor deep resentments and twisted perspectives of each other that leads both sets of women down a path of destruction. Hawkins skillfully intertwines both timelines and entangles them in a way that makes their lives mirror each other. All of the women achieve great success but the road they take to get there leaves deep scars. A highly engrossing read that throws another curveball at the end when you think you have learned everything.

The Villa is a modern gothic suspense surrounding two childhood best friends Chess and Emily - a famous lifestyle guru and a struggling cozy murder novelist. They go to Italy for the summer to write and reconnect. There they find that they are staying in the home a previous murder. Emily finds herself falling deeper and deeper into the mystery of the home and the previous occupants. Will there be another murder before the summer is over?

So this book started out fast for me. I was quickly swept into the story and the mystery not only of the previous murder but the mystery between Chess and Emily as well. I loved the connections between past and present and how both stories came together. I did feel like that ultimate mystery/story could have been a bit darker, but overall this was a quick, enjoyable thriller!

This book is compelling, and it's also a chore to read. Improbably, both were true for me. The main reason is that it's a lot to keep track of; there are several different timelines and narrators that are either fact or fictional, and it's not exactly immediately clear WHY so many perspectives and timelines are needed. It's also uneven; some events get long, detailed descriptions while some major events are glossed over in an embedded headline/news article in a way that feels arbitrary. It is an interesting storyline and premise (let's vacation in a murder house! What could go wrong!), but I was surprised to find that I struggled to stay engaged. This would be a great book to read if you imagine having a lot of uninterrupted time to focus and finish the book quickly.

Watch for this book to be published in January 2023...and perhaps save it for a snow day! (It would especially be fun to read about summer in Italy during a snow day!)

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martins Press (specifically Kejana Ayala, Marketing Assistant for reaching out to invite me to review!) for the eARC of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins in exchange for an honest review.

CW: murder, death, blood, infidelity, death of a child, miscarriage, divorce, illness, drug use, suicide

Em is at a cross-roads in her life. She is recently divorced, recently recovered from a chronic illness, and finds herself stuck in writers block and missing deadlines for the tenth book in her cozy mystery series. When her long-time best friend, Chess, the renowned self-help guru, suggests that they spend the summer living extravagantly in a villa in Italy, Em takes her up on the offer. After a quick Google search, Em discovers that their home away from home was once the sight of the grisly murder of a popular musician. Em soon finds herself in a passionate whirlwind of writing. This is not the book she ever expected to write, but sometimes stories just find you. Told in a dual timeline flashing between present day and the 1970s, this is an intriguing thriller centering the complexity of female relationships.

Wow. Rachel Hawkins has done it again! This is most definitely my favorite book of hers to date. I was immediately intrigued by the pitch that this is a retelling of Mary Shelley's life as she wrote Frankenstein (side note: I hardly knew anything about Mary Shelley before reading this book, but Wikipedia is a friend to the clueless; she is a fascinating human being). I loved the suspense of the "closed door" type setting and the tension created between the characters in both timelines. Hawkins is a master at dropping breadcrumbs throughout her narrative so that reveals are well paced. More than anything, I think this was a book exploring the dynamics of female friendship and posed such interesting questions as What does it mean to be sisters? What role does jealousy play in friendship? Where should loyalty lie when romantic partners fall short?

As always, I LOVE the cover of this book and it perfectly encapsulates the vibes of this book. Once again, as it is set in the summer, this will be the perfect read when it releases in January. This is the warm, escapist mystery-suspense novel that we all need to get us through those cold winter months.

This would be a great summer beach read (if you like your summer beach reads to have a little murder in them). Without giving too much away - I'm glad that some of the things I was worried about happening between Emily and Chess didn't happen, and I liked the ending overall. I did expect it to be more twisty than it was.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love Rachel Hawkins's books and this one was no different. This was an excellent read that I couldn't put down--it was haunting, interesting, and the characters were excellently drawn. A fantastic journey to Italy that hopefully none of us actually take.

Emily and Chess have been besties forever. But now Emily's life has fallen apart after her husband left her while she was mysteriously ill and she's suffering from a severe case of writer's block while Chess's career has catapulted her to fame--she reminded me of the author of the Girl, Wash Your Face books. Chess invites Emily to go to a Villa in Italy--a notorious house in the hills where a murder was once committed. Emily says yes, and off we go.

In the 70s, a group of artists (singers, songwriters, and a writer named Mari) are invited to the Villa by a famous rock star hpoing to be inspired. A group of three men, two women, and a LOT of ego, it was no surprise that there was a lot of drama. But no one expected a murder.

With two timelines--one with Chess and Emily and the other focused on Mari--you're transported to Italy and into all the messy relationships. Emily becomes fascinated with Mari's book, which was a horror bestseller, and starts to uncover more about what happened in the summer of 1974. And at the same time, Emily's relationship with Chess is both closer than ever and yet tenser than ever.

At first, this book seems kind of disconnected. But Hawkins does a wonderful job of weaving the narratives together and connecting the characters even if they're in different decades. The 1974 timeline is engaging and very reminiscint of the seemling recent hits like Daisy Jones and Songs in Ursa Major with the music and the interrelationship drama. Chess and Emily's relationship is familiar and frustrating and joyful all at the same time.

I did have some very minor issues (NHS was a thing in the UK in the 1970s and meant you didn't have to pay for a doctor) and I really couldn't stand Chess, but this book was fantastic. Both the timelines held good mysteries that kept you reading to learn more about who and what and why and omg! Loved this book.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book.

Wow! This was a five + star read.
This suspense has a dual timeline. Current, we have best friends Chess and Emily. In 1974, we have Mari and her step sister Lara.
What do these four women have in common? That would be Villa Aestas.
A gothic suspense with all the twists and turns you could hope for. This is by far my favorite Rachel Hawkins novel.
Be sure to add this one to your TBR pile. Pub date: 01/23/2023
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Wow, that was a ride! I read this in the span of a couple of hours without stopping (I had time and I was intrigued). Mari's story was by far my favorite portion of the whole novel. I really liked the use of different mediums (song lyrics, Mari's story, podcast narratives, forum posts, the current day narrative).

This, for me, was much better than Reckless Girls. Four stars rather than five because I felt like the ending was really abrupt. I even checked to make sure my digital copy wasn't missing a chapter. It was a pretty big twist, and I thought it was interesting that it was inspired by how Emily and Chess thought Mari's story ended, but it was pretty farfetched, and if you blink, you'll miss it. I really liked Emily as a character until the last chapter... THAT was her choice? I guess what Chess wrote in her self-help book was accurate.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have liked Rachel Hawkins' books in the past, but this one was slow and drug out in my opinion. When two friends take off to spend the summer in an italian villa, they discover it has a very dark past. Together, they set out to find themselves and their careers as they learn the truth of what really happened in that house all those years ago.

The Villa hooked me in from the very start!

This book follows two sets of best friends, each set in a villa in Orvieto, Italy. The first is present day, frenemies Emily and Chess spend 6 weeks to get away from the troubles at home to focus on writing their books (Emily who writes cozy mysteries and Chess who writes self-help). While in the villa, they discover the mysterious past of the house where a murder took place. The book flashes back to 1974 to follow two stepsisters, Mari and Lara whose works in the villa gain tremendous popularity.

Pacing: 3/5 - I loved the initial pacing of the book. It was more of a slow burn, but still grabbed me. The last ~25% seemed to go too fast for me. There were details that could easily be missed if not read carefully and I would have liked to see this slow down just a bit.

Characters: 5/5 - each character seemed well thought out and I enjoyed learning more about them. I especially liked the two sets of “frenemies”.

Plot: 4/5 - I couldn’t put this book down! I was fascinated by the fuel plots. However, by the end, the twists started to get a little more predictable.

Overall: 4/5 - I LOVED the first 75% of this book, it completely sucked me into this world. But like I’ve stated, the last part just seemed inconsistent with the mood/pace of the rest of the book.

Definitely look out for this book when it’s published in January 2023! This is a great summer read to warm you up. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC.

In true Rachel Hawkins style, she has once again managed to write a fabulous book. It’s full of secrets, a past and present timeline, and suspicious friends. This book was highly suspenseful and has me racing through the pages.
This book will be a huge hit once it’s published, no doubt about it! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I highly recommend others read this book. It’s a fun ride!

This story is about 2 best friends, Emma and Chess, who are both writers who get away to a villa, which is known as a murder house, with the hopes of spending time reconnecting and to spend time writing their books. Emma discovers a book in the library of the villa telling her all about the past and the reputation of the villa. This book goes back and forth seamlessly between the past and the present. Although this book was not a scary book as I expected, it did turn out to be more a book with spirits. If you like books with ghosts and spirits then this book would be for you. The beginning of the book was fast paced and really got my interest. As the book went on, I felt it drug on a little for me which is why I gave it 3 stars.

Rachel Hawkins had me hooked on her style of writing ever since I read "The Wife Upstairs". In, "The Villa", you are reading two different story lines that are occurring at different places in time, both based at "The Villa". I really was able to picture the villa in my head and it gave off a mix of spooky and beautiful. I had to finish this book in one sitting because I NEEDED to know the ending. I HAD to know how these two stories intertwined. Not only did I gasp at the ending, I double gasped at the real ending at the end. I did not see that coming! A true keep-you-guessing thriller. 5/5 stars from me. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy. Best book of the year for sure.

Dual timelines? Yes please! Dual narrators? Also yes. Set it in Italy? Perfect.

I really enjoyed this book. The present day time line about two friends off to Italy immediately had my attention. I went back and forth so many times about who could be trusted.
The timeline in the past gave me Daisy Jones vibes and I just had to know!! I thought this book was stressful and clever and exciting. I tore though it because I had to find out!

Damn, I seriously loved this book more than I thought I would.

So we have Emily, our main character who writes cozy mysteries. Her best friend is this influencer/help guru type who constantly changes her name to whatever fits her current brand. She's at the Chess era of her life, and I immediately despised her. She's passive aggressive, condescending and thinks she knows everything. Emily isn't perfect, but Chess is just something else. The thing is that they've been best friends for years so they eventually set off to a Villa in order to get the creative juices flowing.

Cue the chaos.

The Villa is told from dual timeline POVs: the one in the past belongs to Mari, the girlfriend of a rockstar with delusions of grandeur and commitment issues. The present belongs to Emily. I loved seeing the parallels between both of their lives and how they connected through Mari's novel, Lilith Rising. This book offers a story within a story, with bits from Lilith Rising, articles and podcasts but it doesn't derail from the actual story. My favorite chapters were honestly Mari's and it was mostly due to the fact that her character and her arc were an homage to Mary Shelley and the time spent in Geneva involving a certain competition.

I genuinely think this is a really good book and I'd gladly read it again. It's a thriller with a somewhat unhappy ending that I truly appreciated.

4.5 rounded up

This is by far the best Rachel Hawkins book so far. The story feels a lot tighter and more accessible than her previous two novels.
Both Mari and Em's stories kept me turning pages as I tried to guess the whys and hows of the murder in the 70's and what exactly is going on with Em's friendship with Chess. Without spoiling anything I have to say I really enjoyed the endings in terms of the final reveal of Mari's story and how things turned out for Emily.

Wow. This was so good!

“The Villa” is presented in dual timelines - Mari in the 70’s and Emily in the present along with news articles, podcasts, interviews and excerpts from books and songs. If that sounds confusing or annoying, it would have been in the hands of a lessor writer. Here, Hawkins weaves everything together seamlessly, never revealing too much at once to keep you guessing.

There are an incredible number of parallels between the two storylines, both exploring the connection between love and hate and the messiness that ensues when the two combine. Many times, I thought I knew what was going to happen and then was wrong, which made me delightfully uneasy.

I also loved that the Villa itself plays a starring role in the book. It’s gothic and creepy and made me wonder if houses really do remember.

Thanks to St Martin’s Press, Netgalley and especially Rachel Hawkins for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

First off, this cover is absolutely gorgeous. I want a dress with this print on it, ASAP! I'm obsessed. But onto the book review...

When childhood friends and successful authors Em and Chess vacation in the Italian countryside for the summer, they stumble across the more hidden history of their quaint villa.


While I will admit that <u>Villa</u> was more predictable and a little less of a wild ride than <u>Reckless Girls</u>it was still so much more enjoyable than the mess that was <u>The Wife Upstairs</u>, so I am rounding up from 3.5 to 4 stars. The premise was a little over the top and the Mari chapters were so stereotypically quintessential 70s (from drugs, to sex, to underage relationships, to cheating and more) that I may have rolled my eyes a few times, but the story was an extremely fun and fast paced read. With elements of the toxic relationships/friendships of <u>Reckless Girls</u> and a twist similar to that of <spoiler><u>Verity</u> (I'm putting that under a spoiler tag since I know everyone and their Mom has read that book and therefore will understand what I'm alluding to...)</spoiler> this was an entertaining thriller and well worth the read.

One of the things I like most about Rachel Hawkins is that no matter what she writes, her writing style is always consistent and intriguing. The Villa was a solid read. I enjoyed the past and present intertwined and I like the contrast between the two main characters.
However, this didn't really read like a mystery or a thriller to me. The ending felt rushed and without any payout, the way I would've loved. It would've been great to see the story and the house driving Em to darkness, and having that decision at the end work.
That said, I will still continue to read Rachel's books, as she has a very appealing storytelling style and I look forward to what she comes out with next!