Mini Review 💫
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins was so intriguing that I couldn’t stop swiping. It kept me on the edge of my seat! The dual timelines, the secrets, the suspense and the first line “ Houses Remember” ( if you read the book , you’ll know ) caught my attention immediately. I just loved the setting of this book. A villa in Italy with a dark past makes for a mysterious setting with believable characters. This was another thriller that I really enjoyed and it was brilliant! Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the digital copy.

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This book was good. It started off slow enough that I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue with it. I just didn’t feel connected to any of it. Halfway through though things ended up getting better and I think that the ending redeemed it all! So I would recommend this book, just give it a chance if the first half is slow. It ends up worth it!

Stunning story. Keeps you on your toes. I did not want the chaos to end. From the cover to the words between, you will be hooked. Definitely a great read.

The Villa follows two timelines: One, in the present, follows two friends, both authors, who go to an Italian Villa for a writing retreat of sorts. In the second, in the 1970s, a group of creatives gather at the Villa, where a famous murder takes place. I absolutely devoured this book. I'm not always excited about historical fiction, but the 1970s timeline was captivating for me, so don't let that stop you. This is the perfect book for anyone who loves Rachel Hawkins' twists and turns.

The Bad on Paper podcast hosts described this book as Daisy Jones meets Verity meets The White Lotus, and they're not wrong! The multi-level storytelling made it a page-turner, but the ending fell a bit flat for me -- a bit rushed and unexplored? Still, a solid thriller that's perfect weekend read when you're wishing you were in a "murder house" in Italy instead. ;) Thank you to #NetGalley for my copy!

Thank you to the publisher for my copy - all opinions are my own.

I kept seeing rave reviews for this one, and I was a little nervous my expectations were going to be too high going into it, but nope. This one is just SO DAMN GOOD.

I loved everything about this story - the messy female protagonist and the messy female friendship that is the center of the story; the moving timelines and POV from present to what took place before the murder at the villa in the 70's; the intertwining storylines and the almost supernatural-esq vibe to it. Literally it is all done so well, and combines so beautifully that I stayed glued to this one, and just had to finish it in one day, because I really, really needed to see how it all played out.

This is a must for those who like a good thriller with a good dose of character drama. It will not disapoint!

The Villa was absolutely fantastic. This book had suspense, mystery, twists and some freaking great characters (even the bad ones). Rachel Hawkins is a master at drawing out suspense but not making it overly done. Her writing is truly captivating and can transport a reader anywhere, at any time. While some points were a bit obvious majority of Hawkins story was original and twisted. I loved the concept of stories being written within stories. I would give this book a 4.5 stars out of 5! I am so grateful to have received this book as an ARC and will definitely be purchasing this book, now that it is out!!

This was a short quick read that had a lot in it. This book follows a past murder and what became of the survivors. The music and story that came from it. To present day of 2 best friends and writers spending the summer in the same house. Emily learning the past of the house and creating a story. This was a whorl wind of a story and I didn't know where it would go and how much the past mirrored the present and how one thing can tie you to something or someone for ever.

I really enjoyed this book and couldn't wait to see what happen and what was true and what was just a story.


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

Oh, this was another fantastic mystery from Rachel Hawkins! I don't think this is a retelling of anything like the last two, since those had that mentioned in the synopsis, and this one doesn't. It was such a great and compelling read!

This is another mystery where we're seeing more then one timeline. We have Emily and Chess in the present, at the Villa, and exploring what happened in the 70's. We're also in the 70's at that fateful summer, and the murder that occured. I loved following both timelines!

There are so many secrets, and so many reveals going on! Of course that was going to happen, this is a mystery, but they were so captivating, and I had to know what was going to happen next! I couldn't get enough!

That ending was fantastic! Just that little bit more of a twist of the knife that's already in your gut. It worked so well though, after everything that happened! I loved how things resolved in both timelines, it was fitting!

I loved reading this book, and I can't wait to read more by Rachel Hawkins!

Although I love Rachel Hawkins, this book wasn't my favorite. I was frustrated by Emily and Chess's relationships and the fact that they were wholly disingenuous. The characters in the other storyline were frustrating as well. Also, I have a personal relationship with the town of Orvieto and am a little bummed that this thriller is set there.

I’ve loved other books by this author, but this one was just okay. I felt like there were too many alternating stories and it was hard to keep the timelines straight. The overall storyline was intriguing, but the execution was underwhelming,

Emily and Chess were inseparable growing up, but in their early 30s, their relationship is no longer what it was. When Emily’s life begins to fall apart after her recent divorce, Chess invites her on a girls trip to a beautiful Italian Villa. The Villa itself has a dark history that Emily becomes fascinated with and inspired by during their visit.

I really enjoy Rachel Hawkins’ writing style. The way her settings play such an integral part to her stories and the way she slowly builds suspense makes her books so fun to read, and The Villa had so many of the aspects of her previous work that I loved. I particularly enjoyed the small flashbacks to the Villa’s past and how they were interwoven throughout Chess and Emily’s story. The mystery kept me intrigued from start to finish, and while there were a few plot twists I saw coming, the book still surprised me in many ways. I was so engaged, I read this one in one day!

The audiobook was narrated by Julia Whelan which means it was phenomenally done!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the advance copies!

I don’t even know where to start here. This is a story within a story within a story. And there’s authors in different timelines writing more stories. It was so confusing I didn’t even understand what the story was. Shaking my head. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review.

I generously received a copy of this book through Netgalley. I’m typically a big fan of Rachel Hawkin’s work but found this one a bit lacking. I liked the overall plotline of the book but felt the crammed too many story lines in. The ending also felt super unrealistic. Overall not my favorite, but still a quick and fun read!

In The Villa, Rachel Hawkins has crafted a mesmerizing story on two levels.

The first story revolves around Maddie and Chess, two women who have been best friends since elementary school. I got the impression that although they are "life long friends" their relationship has always included a heavy dose of competition. Both have achieved a level of success as authors, although Chess is by far the more famous of the two. When they decide to hide themselves in a chateau in the Italian countryside for the summer to work on their current projects, we begin to see where their relationship is successful, and where the cracks in the relationship are. I found this story to be an interesting illustration of the relationship between two successful, driven, adult women. On the one hand they will do anything for each other, on the other hand they view each other as the competition, and sometimes maybe even the enemy. As such, the story works well with good writing and interesting characters. The drawback for me revolved around each woman's ability to ignore certain things pertaining to the background of their story, but which seemed obvious to me. I just couldn't see how they were each unable to draw the same conclusions that I did.

The second story that unfolds is the story of the murder of a rock star which took place in the same chateau in the 1970s. This story was the more appealing to me. It had a very gothic-y feel to me, which hooked me right away, yet it also had the vibe of a 70s tell all. The cast of characters in this part of the book had more interesting backgrounds and their relationships to one another were more complex and difficult to figure out. We learn early on about that a murder took place, and the twists and turns regarding that plot line really kept me hooked all the way to the end, which was not quite what I expected.

Although I felt more pulled into one part of the book than the other, I'm not sure the story would have worked as well without both parts, which made the shortfalls of the one part worth sticking with for me.

A big thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this novel through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I look forward to reading other books by this author.

3.5 stars

This book was in my top anticipated reads of 2023 and unfortunately it left me disappointed.

Throughout the book I just knew it was gonna be a five star read, but the ending left me annoyed and frustrated. I still enjoyed the book leading up to the reveal, but thats what ultimately knocked my rating down.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley and Author, Rachel Hawkins for this advanced reader's copy.

This is a psychological thriller novel layered with a suspenseful dual story and timeline. We are a story within a story told decades apart.

The two timelines intertwine and get more interesting when Emily begins to find secrets and clues inside the villa about the murder that took place there in the past. These discoveries lead up to an unexpected turn and a few surprise twists in the story.

The Book is largely told from Mari’s perspective in the past, and Emily’s perspective in the present. Both Mari and Emily are effective narrators in very different circumstances. In 1974, a time famous for sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll, Mari knows she’s in a bit over her head. She is staying with her stepsister and three grown men in a secluded Villa. Emily, on the other hand, knows she’s directionless. After coming to terms with her pending divorce, financial difficulties, and the pressure to finish her upcoming book. Both find inspiration at the Villa to escape their pasts and the shadow of the men in their lives. Emily begins to read about Mari and the Villa Rosato Horror. Emily suspects that this was more complicated than people were led to think…
Overall, was a dual narrator that was easy to follow, and suspenseful! It’s about friendship/sisterhood and it makes you think about the lengths you might go for that certain bond. This was another great one by Rachel Hawkins. I love The Wife Upstairs, Reckless Girls and now…The Villa.

In The Villa, a dual timeline creatively brings together the characters past and present, diving deep into the bonds between best friends. This novel creates doubts in loyalty and picks at whether we really know our true friends. It is a fast read simply because you need to know what happens!

Chess and Emily are best friends from elementary school chess always the dreamer starts her whole self help books and brand while Emily becomes a cozy mystery writer. Both have very successful careers, but Chess just has a different lifestyle set all over the world. Emily is slightly jealous as she sees her jet set all over while she’s at home sick and going through a divorce. Chess has the wonderful idea to reset at an Italian Villa with a known murder history as a girls trip. I love the intertwined stories of past and present! The story of lovers Mari and Pierce and the on and off again step sister drama of Lara. In the present villa tenants we have the on again off again drama of Chess and Emily friends since school. The story we know is about a murder in 1974 and the book slowly unwinds what happened that night in 1974. Chess and Emily are at the same villa in present day and learn some secrets about that night as well as secrets between the best friends. Great twists kind of apparent as the story unfolds, but the last past twist was not expected in the life of Mari! I would recommend this mystery to anyone who likes the back and forth timeline mystery.

If you are into murder mystery, hunting for clues and gathering evidence then this is one for you. With a trip to rebuild and reconnect a friendship that has grown apart one of them begins digging into the murder that may have been more than discovered at the time. I would say if you have read any Hawkins novels before then this one will not disappoint!