I will admit that this is 100% my fault. I’ve previously read The Wife Upstairs and The Ex Hex by this author and am continually unimpressed. Hawkins’ writing style is very elementary, which does allow for an easy read. However, there is always so much going on with the plot and I never feel like it forms a cohesive narrative. The pacing was also off for me. The first 84% of the book is slow and then the climax and resolution is crammed into the last 16% of the book. This left me constantly putting down the book and not really reaching to pick it up again. Overall, it took me 17 days to read 288 pages, which is highly unusual for me.

For this novel specifically, I felt like there was too much going on with the plot. We have Emily’s perspective taking place in the present day. She’s a cozy mystery writer that’s struggling to find inspiration to write after essentially writing about her love life but is now going through a divorce. Her childhood best friend, Chess, who is a successful self-help author – think Rachel Hollis and Glennon Doyle (which is always an immediate turnoff for me) - takes her on a trip to Villa Aestas in Orvieto, Italy. There is then a timeline and point of view shift to Mari in 1974. She’s staying at the villa with a group of problematic musicians. A murder occurs. We also have random interviews and articles related to the murder sprinkled in at the end of some of the chapters and I’m not sure that they really added value to the story. I think we could have incorporated that into either Mari or Emily’s perspective for simplicity.

One of my biggest issues with this book is the focus on toxic relationships. Toxic romantic relationships, I can take it or leave it. Toxic female friendships, I truly hate reading about them, and I don’t think it should be used as a plot device. Women struggle so much with friendships because we are constantly pitted against one another. I think it would have been powerful if Emily and Chess were childhood best friends that grew up to actually like each other. They do come together at the end of the novel to make a truly horrific decision that is not rooted in logic or reason.

Spoilers ahead…

To continue the above thought, Emily finds papers written by Mari that Mari left in a hidden part of the house when she visited the villa again in 1993 before her death. In these papers, she details what she feels should have happened when Pierce was murdered, i.e., taking it into her own hands to kill him. In actuality, Johnnie murdered Pierce and was sent to prison for it. Personally, I’ll let Mari off the hook because everyone that was involved at the villa that summer is dead, and she doesn’t believe that these papers will actually hurt anyone.

Enter Emily.

Instead of letting go of her relationships with her best friend and her husband after finding out that they were having an affair, she allows Chess to manipulate the entire situation. Chess convinces her that her husband is trying to kill her (not be actually poisoning her but because he causes her stress) and that they should invite her husband to the villa under false pretenses, where he is then involved in a “tragic accident”. This is completely glossed over in the novel and they both completely get away with it due to the reputation of the villa.

Ultimately, Emily takes Mari’s fictional account of Pierce’s murder and uses it as justification for murdering her husband. To be clear, both men are terrible human beings and neither of them deserved to die because of how shitty they were. She then goes on to write a book with her best friend, who she still doesn’t actually like or trust, even by the end of the novel. This isn’t terribly shocking because of how truly horrible Chess ends up being but she could have walked away at any point.

Overall, this book would have been a three-star read for me, but I absolutely cannot get over the ending. This includes the choices that were made and how rushed everything felt. If you enjoyed this book, you should check out the author’s other works. I will likely be staying away.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the Advanced Reader’s Copy.

Two childhood friends- one a newly divorced cozy mystery writer, the other a Gwyneth Paltrow/Rachel Hollis/Brene Brown hybrid with an endless supply of linen leisure sets- take to an Italian villa for the summer, slowly unraveling the dark story of a group of famous musicians and writers who stayed in the villa decades before.

If you’re looking for something to read by the pool at your own Italian villa, this is a page-turner with a setting you won’t mind losing yourself in for a while. The text within the text references the importance of place (a house remembers) and Rachel Hawkins delivers, painting the picture of a house that’s equal parts luxurious and claustrophobic. It’s fast, it’s a little creepy, it’s a good time.

As for the story, which is essentially split between two timelines, I found myself disappointed by one and entertained by the other. The 1960s timeline follows a group of sexually, romantically, and professionally intertwined artists. We know from the beginning that their stay in the villa ends in murder, but get to watch their messed up group dynamics play out as our current day protagonist learns more about the crime. If you enjoyed Daisy Jones and the Six, you might like these badly behaved bohemians. I certainly found this the more interesting story, even though the family dynamics were… weird as hell, to put it mildly. The step-sisters are a lot more chill than they should be.

I could not get myself interested in the main/current day storyline. Making fun of self-help books and their authors is a favorite pastime for me, but even the opportunity to laugh at a Rachel Hollis joke didn’t make this part of the story enjoyable. There’s a bit of a twist in the end, but only enough of a twist to make me annoyed when it didn’t pay off or make sense (the explanation for the protagonist’s sickness felt especially under-thought).

Overall, this is a quick, fun, minimally suspenseful read that someone is sure to enjoy this summer- I just might not be that someone. The attempts at subverting the predictable endings in both stories just left the author’s message confused (friendships between women are… fake and/or violent?). But the hate-able men were very hate-able, and I appreciate that. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was a really good read, i like this author so i admit i was expecting a good read lol and i did like this one. Ngl really had me in the first half of JC's explanation lmfao would recommend.

A vacation villa in present day Italy where two lifelong friends spend six weeks, jumping back in time to the villa in the 1970s where a rock star and some tagalongs spent a summer. It is a murder house, and houses remember!! What a story this was! It was a story within a story which sometimes can get confusing or slow, but this was entertaining and satisfyingly foreboding. I love Rachel Hawkins' writing style--total respect goes to her word choice and use of active voice. 4.5 stars.

3.5 stars rounded up. “The Villa” is a suspenseful, tension-filled read spanning two timelines, 1970s and present day. I was compelled to read this before vacationing at an Umbrian villa myself, just to really set the tone.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel, though I felt that more could have been made of the setting, both the house and the Italian countryside in general. I felt similarly about Hawkins’ Southern Gothic “The Wife Upstairs” - such potential to use the creepy, atmospheric setting as more of a storytelling device.
Hawkins’ characters are compelling; however, I found myself gravitating toward the 70s plot-line’s cast, as the protagonist in the present day kept making frustratingly avoidable mistakes. I also found Chess to be wholly unlikeable (though she is decidedly supposed to be).
While most of the book was a slow burn, building suspense and creepy vibes, I felt like the end was a bit rushed and multiple plot twists at the end felt unnecessarily confusing. Generally though I enjoyed this read and would say it’d be best read with a chilled glass of Orvieto in hand, while Carole King plays softly on vinyl in the background. (Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy!)

This is my 2nd book from Rachel Hawkins and wow! This is such a great thriller. It's a gothic style suspense (I just finished reading The Cloisters and it's in the same style!) set in an Italian villa. I loved the setting!

This was my first Rachel Hawkins book and it was great! Love the storyline. I haven't read anything like it so far. I love the parallels between the 70's storyline and the modern storyline. Mari went through so much in her life, I kept forgetting how young she was. I was disappointed about how sick Emily was and it was chalked up to her body "knowing" about her marriage and the whole Chess and Matt thing wasn't as dramatic as I wanted it to but overall the storylines were great. I can't wait to read more of Hawkins books! 3 1/2 Stars!

It's taken 3 books under the name Rachel Hawkins for me to finally like a book by this author under this genre. I was disappointed with The Wife Upstairs, but it did get me to finally read and love Jany Eyre. I felt like Reckless Girls was boring and predictable, but, you know, someone famous had picked The Wife Upstairs as a book club pick and she was all the rage. I can admit I went in to this one with very low expectations. Now, I'm not saying it's the best ever, or that I loved it. I simply liked it.

Emily and Chess are best friends but as adults haven't stayed as close. Emily is recovering from some mysterious illness, getting a divorce, and having major writer's block on her tenth book in a cozy mystery series. Chess, who got mega famous (think Rachel Hollis, from Girl, Wash Your Face) on self-help and female empowerment, suggests that Emily spend the summer with her in Italy. Emily agrees, even though she finds out the Villa they will be staying in is a "murder house". A group of people, one famous before the visit, and 2 who became famous, after, along with 2 others all stayed there back in the 70s, when one of them killed the other. The one who gets Emily's attention is Mary, who wrote a book that lead the way in "feminist horror". She finds a copy of the book at the house and reads it and then listens to some podcasts about it and has a new idea for a book, more in the true crime genre.

I think of the timelines, I liked Mary's the best. I would say some of the twists are hinted at early on, and other's are not hard to predict, but for all that, of the 3 books under Rachel Hawkins, I like this one the best. I do feel the need to say, there is one choice Emily makes in regards to Chess that I will never understand.

It follows multiple point of views all revolved around the villa. With it being winter in Ohio with freshly fallen snow, it was nice to get lost in this Italian villa and the stories of those that stayed there. It did not have any big twists but it was still fun to read.

Just like this author's previous book, Reckless Girls, this book was published at the perfect time for me - I could **feel** the Italian sunshine while reading this, keeping me warm even when it was 30 degrees and raining outside.

Chess and Emily are childhood besties, and they both grow up to become authors - although one is more celebrated than the other. Chess becomes a self-help guru, landing a spot on Oprah's talk show. Emily, on the other hand, is going through a divorce while trying to force herself to write the latest novel in her cozy mystery series, which has a small but devoted following. When Chess offers up a free trip to an Italian villa for a summer of writing, Emily can't say yes quick enough.

Only, the villa is actually a ~murder villa~ 👀 In 1974, Mari and her step-sister, Laura, follow Mari's musician boyfriend, Pierce, to the same Italian villa at the invitation of famous rock star Noel to spend the summer. Things happen, someone dies, and someone gets sent to jail. The events of the 1974 murder become intertwined with Chess and Emily's trip in the present-day 👀

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this and read it SO fast. I loved the idea of this - the dual timelines, the murder house - and I thought this was really well-paced (which is saying something considering slow burns are very hit or miss for me). I thought the plot could've been way more twisty and I was able to guess a ton of the "twists" pretty early on. Even so, I was able to enjoy the ride for what it is - a slow burn, suspenseful, fun escape - and appreciate the author's writing (I loveee Rachel Hawkins writing). Plus, there were a few final twists you get at the very end of the book, which I did NOT see coming and had a bit of a Verity vibe? TLDR: this book would make for a perfect beach/poolside read!

I am a fan of Rachel Hawkins writing and I do enjoy the stories she tells. When I read that this was a gothic tale, that was enough for me, I wanted to read it. I do enjoy the trope of a person revisiting someone's letters, items, etc left behind for clue on what happened to a cold case years before. I enjoyed this one too, however I will say that it was very predictable. There were a few times I was also a little confused with the back and forth. Overall, it was a solid read and I think there will be some definite fans of this one.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. We are following multiple timelines and stories in this book that all take place in the same Italian Villa. The first timeline is the present day and we are following two best friends who are both writers and decide to take a holiday to Italy. The villa they end up staying at was the setting for a brutal murder durning a stay with some rockstars from the 1970's. From this disaster we get a famous book and a very famous record Album. Woven in between the timelines we also get snippets of the both the book and the album. Overall I enjoyed this one, I always know what I am going to get with a Rachel Hawkins book and that is an enjoyable read. I think I would have maybe liked it a little more if the entire book was set in the 1970's versus the two timelines but it was still a fun read. Thank you St.Martin's Press for my gifted copy for review!

The Villa was a great read: a story within a story. The two different storylines were so interesting going between the 70s and present day. I very much liked the characters Lara, Mari, Pierce & Johnnie and then Chess and Emily. At some point I thought Chess was totally horrible but once the truth was revealed I was ok with her. The ending was a little confusing with Mari’s story. What really happened? I like that I still kind of wondered which ending was the real one.
I was sad for Emily that she was stuck with Chess in the end but hopefully she makes it work for her.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the chance to read this book. It was excellent.

I have enjoyed all of Hawkins’ books so far so it was a joy to read another novel with so many twists and turns. I enjoyed the two timelines and the way that they enter twined throughout the novel. I felt that the “sickness” part was a bizarre red herring, but other than that I thought it was a fast, entertaining read.

A quick and satisfying thriller that skips between time periods. I really disliked the mess that was Hawkin's ode to Jayne Eyre book (The Wife Upstairs) but I'm glad I gave her another chance.

Thank you St. Martin's Press & Netgalley for a copy of this book.

I think this took me so long to finish because I didn't really like any of the characters.

It's hard to review a book where you really don't like any of the characters. Here we have a dual timeline story set at the same villa in Italy. Our modern day story involves Emily, her "best" friend (who I detested) Chess, and her ex-husband, Matt. The historical story, set in the 1970's involves Mari, her musician boyfriend, Pearce, her step sister Lara, a drug dealer named Johnnie, and a rock star that is just past his peak and looking for a come-back, Noel Gordon.
The story is written from Emily and Mari's point of view. Emily is a cozy mystery writer, who had a bought of illness and is now suffering through a contentious divorce. Chess is Emily's childhood best friend, who grew up poor in a duplex, but who is now quite rich due to her "self-help" books and a strong social media presence. Matt is Emily's husband, who is divorcing her, cheated on her, and is now trying to claim half the royalties of her cozy mystery series. Emily who is struggling with writer's block accepts an invitation from Chess to spend a summer at an exclusive Italian villa that was once the scene to a murder. The flashbacks, written from Mari's point of view, pertain to that time period. You find out quickly that Mari's lover, Pierce, is the murder victim, and through her chapters we find out how the sex, drugs, and rock and roll crowd got to the awful moment.
The uncanny thing is, both Mari and her step sister used this horrible time to become successful in their own right - Mari with a blockbuster horror novel, and Lara with a platinum selling album. (I kept thinking of Carol King's tapestry). The last chapter seemed off, and did not add anything to the story for me.

I really enjoyed this one. I like the way it switched between the past and present and the way both time periods ended up connecting in the end. It was fast-paced and suspense filled. I think fans of Sally Hepworth's previous books will also enjoy this one.

Chess and Em were best friends who drifted apart and have now reconnected for a vacation at an Italian Villa. This same villa was the site of a death in the 70’s which spurred a famous novel about the events. We get the two stories in dual timelines.

You can definitely see the inspirations that lead the author to write the books, but she made it her own. She did a good job of creating a gothic thriller that keeps your interest the whole time.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!

“How is it that someone can bring out the very best and the very worst of you all at once?”

This was a solid 3 star read for me. The plot is told in two time periods, one in set in modern day, the other set in the 1970s. Modern day we have two “best friends” Chess and Em staying in a villa that was the site of a rock n roll murder in the 70s. In the past we have the origin story for two major works of art, sex, drugs, and Rock ‘n Roll, and said murder. I usually love this type of format, but I hated the relationship between Chess and Em in the modern day POV, and found myself just hoping for more of the juicy, past POV.