This was my first Rachel Hawkins book and what first drew me in where its setting (Orvieto, Italy) and it being a mystery/thriller. It began interestingly enough and found it be a good popcorn thriller, but began to feel confused as the chapters went on. I don't think the order of the different narratives built much suspense, and (what felt like) the constant addition of characters was very confusing. Also the end was rather predictable and unsatisfying.

The cover art is flawless and Rachel Hawkins is a wonderful author whose work I have enjoyed before. The alternating timelines keeps the pace moving with a slight lag in the middle. The setting is beautiful and the character development is there, but the content wasn't a favorite. If a reader is into the 70s with a rock and roll vibe, this could be the perfect escapist read.

I enjoyed this book! The going back in time did confuse me a little bit. It was absolutely filled with paranoia. I did like the plot twist in the end.

Two timelines that intersect. A villa, secrets…this was a gripping story.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC! The Villa is a perfect vacation read, playing with dual timelines, friendship, betrayal, and plenty of suspense. When two friends decide to getaway for a weekend to both work on their writing projects, an Italian villa seems like the perfect spot for inspiration - especially because it famously housed a group of artists in the 1970s. For the artists, it brought forth rock&roll, timeless song lyrics, a best-selling book...and a brutal murder. When the main character in the present-day starts digging into the house's history, she finds things that make her question this solved case and her own friendship.

I loved the concept of this book and felt like it was well paced. It would be a perfect vacation read because of the setting, interest of the dual timelines, and themes of trust, relationships, and creativity. I loved the gothic suspense vibes and how this was clearly inspired by things like Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the summer that birthed Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It was a fun tribute to art, mystery, and the twin magic-horror that comes forward in a group of friends.

Something about the ending of this one felt unfinished to me. I wanted more resolution to Emily and Chess's friendship and conflicts, and more detail on what happened with Emily's ex. While I appreciated all of the little twists along the way that kept me from ever fully guessing what was coming up, I wanted a stronger tie at the end. I finished this book feeling like I was missing something.

That being said, this is a fun ride and one I recommend! Throw it in your suitcase for your next summer vacation read.

I was unsure if I would like this after how I felt about Reckless Girls. It was nice to be proven wrong. I absolutely loved this book. I really loved the twists and turns this story took. The ending was just *chef's kiss*.

I really enjoyed this one although, to be quite frank, I am not sure why, as there was no thrill or suspense in this one whatsoever. If anything, the portions allotted to the past events at the Villa Aestas had an impending sense of doom and hopelessness, but the present storyline was about as non-suspense/thriller-esque as you could get. That being said, my favorite part of the #book was the eerie, creepiness in the quotes from Lilith Rising and the Aestas album lyrics.

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Personally, I found Chess to be extremely problematic as a manipulating and selfish friend and person, and was infuriated by Emily’s acquiescence towards her.

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In present day, Emily Sheridan is the author of a #cozymystery #bookseries whose life is in shambles: her husband has left her and is attempting to drain her already dwindling finances in a nasty divorce, she is way behind on the deadline for her next book, and she has only recently recovering from a grueling, long term illness that was never diagnosed and almost destroyed her.

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Chess Chandler has been her bestfriend for years, though they have recently somewhat lost touch. The opposite of Emily, Chess is a successful author in the #selfhelp guru market, and seems to lead a picture perfect life.

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Chess convinces Emily to join her for a summer in Italy at the infamous Villa Aeastas in the Italian countryside, which is where the past storyline comes into play.

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Decades before, two stepsisters, who eventually became a famous #horror novelist and a Stevie Nicks-esque musician, also stayed at the villa, woth a crew of sex, drugs, and rock and roll musicians and their posse. Their time there ending in a gruesome murder, and eventually made the place the stuff of legends.

this is the second rachel hawkins book i've loved that other people keep rating low & i'm convinced i have the opposite taste in books as the majority of people, lmao.

in my review of her other book, RECKLESS GIRLS, i said: "I just can't get enough of girls with secrets & toxic friendships & murder - SO GOOD!" and the same can be applied to THE VILLA, with a bit more of a daisy jones & the six vibe.

i loved the "before" time in the villa from mari's story in an ALMOST FAMOUS kind of way, & think this would make a really fun movie to watch. totally got all the influences & comparisons and GOBBLED 'EM UP.

I loved the dual timelines, the similarities between the two, and especially loved the female characters in the ‘70s timeline. I wasn’t as enamored by the modern-day women, but you can’t always love every character right?

The ‘70s characters include Mari, Lara, Pierce, Noel, and Johnny. Mari is a writer, and the others are musicians, spending the summer in an Italian villa together. One of them is murdered, and being relatively famous, it’s big news. The villa starts to be called the murder house after that, and some people in the nearby village believe it’s cursed.

In the current-day timeline we have Chess and Em. They have been best friends for most of their lives, and Em is in a very difficult place at the moment so agrees to go with Chess to spend the summer in Italy. Em is a murder mystery writer, but she’s way behind deadline. Plus, her husband cheated on her and then left her while she was going through a health crisis. To top it off, he’s trying to sue her for royalties on her past and future books. A reset sounds like just what she needs.

Chess is a self-help influencer, who rubs elbows with the likes of Oprah, and Em isn’t really sure she knows or trusts her bestie anymore. Does she really believe the BS she’s hocking at unsuspecting women?

Em starts to obsess over what happened at the house in the ‘70s and tries to learn more. Is it as straightforward as reported, or is there more to the story?

This book had me staying up late to finish it!! Lots of twists and turns! The descriptions of the villa literally had me wanting to book a trip! 5 stars for me.

The Villa..where mystery and a past intertwine to make a really enjoyable read.

Emily and Chess as kids and growing up were besties and they still are just not close. Both are writers now when Chess texts out of the blue for a lunch date. Afterwards, Chess invites Emily to an Italian Villa for some much needed relaxation and maybe some writing inspiration. Emily has been struggling while going through a divorce and this Villa has a really interesting past. A past that could inspire her. Will the tragic history be revealed?

As always, Rachel is a fabulous writer. She knows how to steer a story and how to truly draw you in. I absolutely loved this one. It had a Daisy Jones vibe with murder mixed in. The details were easily my favorite, enticing me and helping me see how the story played out. Really excellent, four stars!!

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is a psychological thriller.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher St. Martin’s Press and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
In 1974, the Italian Villa was called Villa Rosato.  Mari Godwick, her step-sister Lara Larchmont, and her boyfriend Pierce Sheldon, spent time there at the request of notorious rock star Noel Gordon.  An associate of Noel's, Johnnie Dorchester also joins them.  Mari ended up penning a best-selling horror novel called Lilith Rising, Lara ended up composing the best-selling album Aestas, and Pierce ended up dead.

Many years later, the Italian Villa is now called Villa Aestas, and self-help author Chess Chandler has invited her long-time friend Emily to spend time with her there for the summer.  Emily has hit a rough patch.  She got really ill, and her husband left her, as it wasn't what he signed up for.  As a popular author of cozy mysteries, she has been struggling to write. It doesn't help that her ex will get a portion of all future sales of her books, and he's already nearly drained her finances.  So, when her childhood friend asks her to get away, she doesn't think twice.  This might be just what she needs to get back on track. 

Emily and Chess have always had a complicated relationship, but when Emily starts looking into the history of the Villa, things become tense, and it isn't just old discoveries that surface.


My Opinions:
The story is told in two time frames, and from both Mari's and Emily's perspectives, and it was interspersed with podcasts and parts of Mari's book. I liked the story-within-a-story aspect.

This worked really well.  I actually preferred the 1974 time-line.  I found the characters in that time-line, somewhat predictable, and very "real".  I'm not saying that they were all nice, but their actions felt right, although Mari was quite weak (until she wasn't).

Unfortunately, the relationship between Emily and Chess was very predictable....and it annoyed me from start to finish.  Although I liked her,  I found Emily to be very weak -- always forgiving Chess, and occasionally considering doing the same for her sleaze of a husband.  Chess was very high and mighty, and put on airs.  I didn't like her from word go.

I found it interesting how you could easily draw comparisons between the characters in both time frames.  The author did that very well.

The book looked at friendships and family, but it also looked at choices. Choices and decisions you make, and how to live with them.  The plot was good, and although I anticipated a few of the twists, I didn't see them all.

Overall, it was quite good, and I won't be afraid to read anything else by this author.  I am not sure about the cover?

Ultimately this isn't a stand out read for me but at the same time I don't regret reading it and would recommend for a quick vacation thriller. It isn't overly creepy or twisty, and along those lines slightly predictable, but I felt like the writing was wonderful and thus it kept my attention regardless. Solid 3-stars.

Emily and Chess have been best friends since childhood but as they grew older they had drifted apart. So, when Chess unexpectedly invites Emily to join her on a summer trip to Italy she barely hesitates. Chess has leased a villa in Orvieto and Emily is looking forward to spending time with her old friend, while leaving behind the stress of an impending divorce and the overdue deadline on her latest book.
Although now the Villa Aestas is a luxurious summer rental, in 1974 it was the scene of a murder, complicated by sex, drugs, and a rock-and-celebrity. Emily becomes interested in the notorious history of the villa and the events that took place there. So much so that she abandons the cozy mystery she is under contract to complete and begins a new book influenced by the villa.

The Villa moves back and forth between the events and people in 1974 and present day, including the evolving relationship between Chess and Emily. Intermixed with these two stories is the fictional book that was written in the mid-seventies and influenced by the murder. The Villa is basically a book within a story that influences another book and another time frame.

This is an interesting book and there were portions that were quite good. I enjoyed Ms Hawkins’ writing style and the plot was very well-conceived and creative. However, I was expecting something a little more suspenseful, with a gothic vibe of some sort. Instead, it was more of a story about relationships and the freedom to pursue a goal. The twists that occurred weren’t that surprising and the way it ended was a disappointment.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

I’m a big fan of Rachel Hawkins and I really loved this book. I loved who it has two separate but connecting stories and I really liked all the 70s flashbacks.

3.5/5 stars

Emily and Chess have been best friends since they were kids, however, lately with the stress of their adult lives they have grown apart. Chess suggests they both take a girls trip to a Villa in Orvieto, Italy. Emily still reeling from her divorce process, decides this is exactly what she needs to distract herself. Once they arrive Emily discovers that in this very Villa in 1974, legendary rockstar Noel Gordon stayed with guests working on music until a brutal murder occurred. All those who survived went on to live successful lives: Noel only rose higher in stardom, Mari wrote one of the greatest horror novels of all time and her step-sister Lara created a bestselling album that rocketed her into stardom. But as Emily dives deeper and deeper into what happened all those years ago she notices strange similarities in Mari’s book to the Villa around her and begins to question what really happened in 1974 while also facing her own suspicions.

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I loved the idea of this story and how it had a dual timeline with Emily’s story in the present and then Mari’s story in the past with her journal entries and then also inserted along are podcast, articles and excerpts from Mari’s book. There is A LOT going on in this book but I was able to keep up and as the story progressed it had me continuously flipping the pages and was hard to put down. I would not identify this as a thriller, it read more as a mystery for me. The characters in this one seemed very similar to those in the author’s previous book “Reckless Girls” they really crawl under your skin and leave you just loving to hate them. I will say for me, I was really disappointed by the ending, I felt like there was so much build up to what really happened that night and what was going on between Chess and Emily and then it all fell flat and was rushed. More so the conflict between Chess and Emily had me very confused, more specifically the reasoning/explanation to the point where I kept asking myself, how in the HECK are these two “best friends”?! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This title is now available for purchase!

This was my favorite Rachel Hawkins book to date! I loved the setting, I loved the changing of time from past to present and I loved the story of the Villa. This one was really good to me. It had everything I love and was a compelling read. While it didn't have me gasping out loud the story was intriguing and kept me wanting to get to the end!

This was a quick and fun read!

I was surprised how much I liked this. I enjyoed thed dual timelines and thought it moved seamlessly throughout the story. It was a fantastic look at friendships, betrayal, and the power of telling a story.

This book was a light mystery - just what I've come to expect and enjoy about Rachel Hawkins books. I enjoyed that it went between two time periods as well as the multiple plot twists at the end.

This was not your typical, twisty thriller. It was more a slow-burning story going back and forth in time. The setting is a villa near Orvieto. I’ve been in Orvieto myself, so it was easy to see what the characters saw. I liked how I felt while reading the story. Emily was a curious author who wanted to move on after a breakup, and she starts to explore what happened in the villa in 1974. We also go back in time to 1974, and I really wanted to know what would happen. Overall a great read!