This was a better-than-I-thought book that was tight, well written with intriguing storyline. The wroting was spot on. I will look for more from her.

"Houses Remember."

What a great line in the gothic suspense novel The Villa by thriller author Rachel Hawkins. I think it really should be the title of this intriguing story with different timelines that all converge at the Italian villa that has more secrets than any government agency.

In present time Emily and her bestie from childhood Chess take a summer vacation to Italy renting The Villa known as The Murder House due to the violent murder of a famous bad boy musician back in 1974. When Emily finds the hidden diary of Mari who was there in 1974 it inspires her to write the truth about the murder instead of continuing her cozy mystery series that has her suffering writer's block. Emily also reads Mari's famous horror book which begins with those eerie words, "Houses remember." Emily realizes the book is based on the truth of the 1974 murder.

Emily's distress over her ex husband's greed and infidelity has led to severe physical illness and self centered Chess is maybe not the best friend she needs in her life. The same applies for Mari whose step sister Lara has her own agenda when she goes with her to the villa in 1974.

Narrators Julia Whelan, Kimberly M. Wetherell, Shiromi Arserio make this audiobook feel like a Masterpiece Theater play.

I enjoyed the similarities to Emily and Mari who find success outside of their men's notoriety and the tightrope balance often experienced with friendship. I wish the end had a scene of a particular revenge murder rather than telling us it happened and I was a bit confused by the twist at the end. I didn't understand the character's motive for the lie but I appreciated the thrill of the reveal. The Villa kept me listening and reading but I wouldn't want to visit this Murder House.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I am a Rachel Hawkins fan, especially of her YA series, and this (not YA) one did not let me down! The storyline is great and I love how the dual stories played out. Gothic setting and writers...count me in! I highly recommend for Hawkins' fans and fans of psych fiction and gothic suspense.

I devoured this book! I loved that dual timelines and the stories within the story. Emily and Chess and best friends that have drifted apart a bit. Emily is going through a divorce and has just started to get better after a mysterious illness that baffled doctors. So, when Chess invites Emily to Italy for a last minute writing retreat she jumps at the chance to get away. The villa they have chosen for this retreat has a sordid history of rock stars, drugs and murder. Emily quickly becomes obsessed with the murder that took place there in the 1970's and the 2 girls who became famous for the art they produced while at the villa. Past and present are woven together as more and more details are revealed and questions about what really happened all those years ago come to light. The ending of this novel does not disappoint!

🎸 When I heard this book was inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and Mary Shelley’s time spent with Lord Byron at his castle, I knew I had to read it.

🎶 This is a dual timeline book. I can’t say I loved either timeline independently, but together they provided a solid story.

🎸 I disagree that this is a “gothic suspense” novel. Gothic doesn’t just mean castles and ghosts. True gothic is much deeper than that. This is a paranormal historical crime mystery IMO.

🎶 I’m not a fan of the sex/drugs/rock & roll trope because the stories are typically filled with despicable & selfish characters. I rarely engage with these types of characters or feel anything about them one way or the other, which makes my enjoyment of the book diminish greatly. I didn’t like Daisy Jones and The Six for the same reason.

🎸 Presumably “Lilith Rising” is the reference to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I wish Lilith Rising was a real book because I’m kinda interested in reading that one!

🎶 I did like how everything came together in the end. While some events were quite convenient, I still appreciated how the historical murder was solved, how the present relationships were altered, and the ending was satisfying.

🎸 Overall, this book was reasonably entertaining. I don’t think I’ll find it particularly memorable - I already had to return to my notes to recall some of what happened, and I just finished the book a little while ago! That’s not a good sign. I felt similarly about one of the author’s other books – Reckless Girls. It was ok, but not particularly memorable. I clearly recognized the connection to Fleetwood Mac and Mary Shelley, so if that combination interests you, give this a shot.

Thank you @NetGalley and @StMartinsPress for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

An entertaining and quick read! Very character driven which I don’t always love, but I liked here because the characters felt so well defined and interesting. The atmosphere and storytelling were amazing. I felt like I was in Italy right along with everyone!

Although I found this very enjoyable, I don’t think it was a typical thriller. More of an unfolding of the story of a murder! Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley access this ebook.

Thank you @stmartinspress for this @netgalley ARC!
Publish date: January 3, 2023

🇮🇹 The Villa
Author: Rachel Hawkins @ladyhawkins
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Swipe for @goodreads synopsis! ➡️

I loved the dual POV between present day, Emily, and Mari in 1974. I enjoyed Mari’s story more than Emily’s, but only because it had more mystery to it! Chess and Emily’s friendship seems rocky and there’s a lot of secrets that the Villa ends up keeping. This is the perfect little cozy mystery with a side of friendship and relationship drama; but in a good way. I love this cover, I was instantly drawn to it on NetGalley. This book is a 180 from the last Rachel Hawkins read I read, The Ex Hex, but I loved the darkness of this in comparison!

The Villa is told from dual timelines between Emily and Chess in the present and Mari and her stepsister, Laura in the past. I found Mari and Laura's POV slightly more interesting. I was more eager to uncover the horrific murder mystery that unfolded in 1974.

The pacing of this story felt very fast and made for a quick read. I alternated between reading a digital copy and listening to the audiobook. The narrators did a great job bringing the characters to life, making it easy to distinguish between them.

I did not expect any of the twists that occurred during the story.

A few things I struggled with:

- I’m not sure I would have categorized this as a thriller; it read more like a mystery.
- Emily and Chess’s friendship.
- The ambiguous ending; it fell a bit short for me.

The Villa, Rachel Hawkins
Pub Date: January 3, 2023

Rachel Hawkins is starting 2023 out strong!

While I’m likely in the minority, I found Reckless Girls a tad Bravo-for-kids. I wanted more. And that is exactly what Hawkins dished out in my fave book of hers - hands down.

The Villa was a twisty unputtdownable interwoven mystery. There is a lot going for Hawkins’ The Villa: multiple timelines with casts of characters that connect in an abstract manner that works; a villa with a lineage of misery and sad happenings - cursed or the perfect backdrop?; and duelling perspectives that make you hate one character and then later find yourself thinking - ok, maybe they are kinda flawsome in a terrible messy but almost understandable way.

Break out the Limoncello and enjoy this psychological minefield!

I’ve previously read The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins, so I immediately said yes when offered the opportunity to read her latest novel, The Villa. I really enjoy Rachel Hawkins’ style and story concepts, but sadly, I’ve enjoyed each novel less.

The Villa tells the story of a vacation rental in Italy where different groups stayed during different times, but both experiencing trauma and betrayal, ultimately leading to death. In the 70s, a group of aspiring rock-and-rollers stayed at the villa to soak up the sun and reinvigorate their creative juices to write new songs, but the ties between them all were complicated and convoluted, resulting in a violent murder.

Decades later, best friends Chess and Emily stay at the villa for the summer. Both writers, they are also hoping that the beautiful landscape can break through their writers’ block to provide inspiration for their next books. As Emily begins to get sucked into the history of the house, she also starts to unravel what happened in her own life and failed marriage.

Written like a book within a book, the premise of both stories was great and extremely compelling, but the way they were woven together felt disjointed and chaotic. Perhaps some of this can be attributed to reading the advanced copy via Kindle, but the book lacked transition from one story to the next as it constantly alternated back and forth. Then there were lines from a random podcast thrown in that, while could’ve been a cool addition, just threw me off and emphasized how chaotic the novel was.

Without giving away any spoilers, the ending had a sort-of choose-your-own-adventure element where several scenarios were given, and the truth depended on the individual’s involvement and perspective. This was an interesting and different way to end a book, but just not enough to make me love it.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press & Rachel Hawkins for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Overall I liked this book! I loved the setting and the idea of a cursed house in the Italian countryside and I also liked the dual timelines and multiple POV’s. I think this is my favorite Rachel Hawkins book so far but with that said I did find the twist predictable and without spoilers I did have a real issue with one of the twists and how our MC handled it. The relationship Emily had with her “best friend” (and the relationship Mary had with her step sister in the dual timeline) was so extremely toxic and I really don’t understand why Emily stayed friends with Chess!

Of the two stories, the one set in the 70s was my favorite and I personally would’ve preferred the entire book to be about that story!

This was a solid 3⭐️ for me. Recommend if you’re new to thrillers or are wanting a quick/easy thriller to binge in one sitting!

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins was a good read! I really liked this book and enjoyed the dueling time frames and storylines. I liked the protagonist and I think everyone has a friend like her toxic bestie; which is relatable.... Not exactly what I was expecting, but really enjoyed it a lot. This book has Netflix mini series written all over it!

After greatly enjoying The Wife Upstairs, I was looking forward to The Villa. The plot synopsis sounded intriguing and I like the style in which Hawkins writes. Unfortunately, while I liked the book, it missed the mark for me in quite a few ways.

The character development in this book wasn't strong enough. Since there are two stories being told, there are two sets of characters that the reader needs to connect with. I felt like the story set in the past had more character development than the one set in the present. Mari was the character that I feel the reader gets to know the best. On the other hand, Emily, the main character in the present, is almost forgettable. The reader knows she is an author of cozy books, that her marriage has failed, and that she has suffered from a mysterious illness. Other than a section when Emily and Chess get into an argument, the reader learns very little of who Emily really is. During that spat, the reader is really only getting a sense of who Chess thinks Emily is. Therefore, it was really hard to be drawn into the scenario set in the present.

For the most part, the majority of the characters are unlikable as well. (Is that because they are not developed enough?) It was really hard to get invested in either story because there wasn't really anyone to root for or relate to.

While I liked the plot premise, I felt the execution was lacking. I think trying to tie together Emily's personal issues, the ongoing conflict between Emily and Chess, the story of the murders in the 70s, Lilith Rising, and Lara's album into one big story was just too much. I was half way though the book and found myself asking what should I be focusing on: the murder that happens in the 70s, Emily's mysterious illness; Chess's odd behaviors, or what?

Finally, I thought the ending was not plausible. No spoilers but I felt things were very unlikely to work out the way they did.

With all of that said, I do enjoy how Hawkins writes. I liked the format of this book and I enjoyed how the story went from past to present and tried to pull both stories together into a cohesive plot. While I didn't love this book, I would still recommend that readers give Hawkins books a try!

This is my third Rachel Hawkins, and I have yet to be disappointed by any of her books. The Villa might be my favorite! Parts of it felt a little bit like a murdery Daisy Jones and the Six. If you were a fan of her other work, Reckless Girls and The Wife Upstairs, then I think you will enjoy this one as well. 
Her books are all very fast-paced and binge-able. While it wasn't super thrilling, The Villa was suspenseful and I was really interested in seeing what happened. I love books that involve famous people and celebrity life, so this was a fun one to get into. 
Four stars and I will for sure read all of her future work.

3.5/5 stars

This book is gothic suspense and follows a dual timeline.

In the present best friends Emily and Chess are spending the summer in Italy at a villa where a murder took place. In the past Mari, Pierce, Noel and Lara spend a summer at that same villa in the 70s.

This book has very long chapters. And to me it did not get really interesting until the end.

What I liked. The Italian setting and the villa. The friendship. The writing. Both Emily and Chess are writers. That was my favorite part of the story.

I definitely preferred the present storyline. There were times when I enjoyed finding things from the past that connected to the present. But to me there was way too much about the past. And it made this book super slow at times.

The 1970s part was inspired by Mary Shelley spending the summer at Lake Geneva with Lord Byron. But I did not know anything about that and I just wasn't really invested in the 1970s timeline.

As mentioned the book did get really interesting towards the end. Everything to do with Emily and Chess was super fascinating. I enjoyed their friendship and found this aspect of the story to be really good. Overall it was an interesting read.

I really enjoyed The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls so of course I had to add this. With blurbs about The Villa being a gothic suspense thriller (set at an Italian villa across two time periods) with sinister acts and long-buried secrets.. and that it is inspired by Percy & Mary Shelley’s infamous visit with Lord Byron at a castle, the Manson murders and Fleetwood Mac. Yes please!

Author Emily Sheridan is behind writing her latest book in a cozy mystery series. She’s suffering from writers block due to ill health and (unfortunately) her series love interest is inspired by her soon to be ex-husband. Their divorce process has been h*** to say the least. Her childhood best friend Chess suggests they spend R+R at an Italian villa together to reconnect. Chess is an author too but they’ve drifted apart after Chess’s big success in writing self-help books. While there, Emily gets caught up investigating the mystery of an infamous 1974 murder that happened in that same villa. She also knows one of the girls (Mari) went on to write a bestselling horror novel, and the other girl (Lana) wrote/performed/released the greatest solo album of that era. How did they become so successful after living through something so gruesome?

Traveling back to the 1974.. we have 19 year old Mari’s POV. Noel Gordon, a notorious rock star, invites Mari’s step-sister Lana to his Italian vacation villa, also taking along Mari and Mari’s musician boyfriend Pierce Sheldon (they’re also introduced to a surprise guest on arrival). Jumping at the opportunity to go, Mari imagines it as an artist retreat where they’ll all be creating together. Unfortunately.. it doesn’t turn out to be that.

Don’t let the sunny vacation destination fool you. This turned into quite the chilling story giving me all the spine tingling sensations that something foreboding from the past was going to present itself.. again.. only now to Emily and Chess. There’s a lot playing out between the two friends with their loving and devoted, yet thorny, complicated relationship.. giving you an uneasy feeling. You know something bad is hanging there on the perimeter.. what it is and when it will happen kept me on the edge of my seat. I was completely engrossed in finding out. There’s much more to this story playing out in both timelines concerning misogyny, tangled web relationships, jealousy, and competition, all intermixed with media throughout the book. And what a shocker of an ending! This is one heck of an entertaining story within a story. Fascinating for sure!!! 4.5 stars — Pub. 1/3/23

Much thanks to the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins.

Set in an Italian villa with a dark history, The Villa is a suspenseful and dark novel. It has you questioning friendship, who you trust, and who you might willingly betray. The book centers on Emily and Chess, friends since childhood. Their friendship has always been strained, with levels of distrust even from when they were young. And as the reader, you also question their friendship and intentions throughout the entire book, which adds to the building tension and paranoia.

The book intertwines Emily's time at the villa in present day, and Mari's time there in 1974. Mari, her step sister, her boyfriend Pierce, and rock star Noel spend a summer at the villa. Their stay was consumed with alcohol, drugs, music, lies, fights, and eventually murder. And their horrific story lives on in the horror novel Mari writes and the platinum album step sister Lara creates. The novel and album contain clues and hints to what happened that summer, and Emily pieces those clues together while uncovering even more secrets about her own life and time at the villa.

This book was dark, tense, and had you questioning motives and intentions throughout the entire book. It is a dual pov between present day Emily and 1974 Mari. My main complaint was that there were times where the book read too slowly. It has the thriller elements, but lacked some of the suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat moments I craved. I would get a little bored with one character and their pov, but luckily then it would switch to the other pov, which did help move the story along. And of course, things picked up nicely near the end of the book.

This was my first Rachel Hawkins read and I would not hesitate to give another one of her books a try!

This story follows two different timelines. In present day we are with self-help guru Chess and cozy mystery author Emily, lifelong best friends, who decide to take a girls trip to Villa Aestas in Italy where in the 70s a rock star was bludgeoned to death.

In the 70s we follow Mari and her step sister Lara who visit the Villa, then Villa Rosato, with the famous Noel and Mari’s boyfriend and rocker wannabe Pierce. What is meant to be an inspiring summer holiday turns into a drug fueled stay where tensions are high and boundaries are crossed.

I enjoyed the vibe, the story held my attention, and I liked bits of Mari’s horror novel being thrown in there. But, I did feel the book was lacking. Some of the plot felt under developed and I was left with so many questions. I would have liked to see this book be another hundred pages and take the time to better lay out the plot, and I would have enjoyed more of Mari’s Lilith Rising.

While The Villa was full of toxic relationships, mystery, and had decent pacing, it didn’t feel very thrillery and none of the twists were very surprising.

⭐️⭐️💫


⭐️⭐️💫

Let me state at the outset that I will probably be in the minority with this review. When I first read the description, I thought it sounded like me personal brand of catnip. A dual timeline, secrets from the past affecting the present, a Gothic house with a history and struggling writers. Unfortunately it turned out to be a domestic thriller, and that is NOT a genre I enjoy. Psychological thrillers? All day every day. Domestic thrillers? Not so much.

WHAT WORKED FOR ME

Of the two timelines, I much preferred the one from the past. This was merely because we are able to see at least some the inner workings of Mari’s mind and the foundations of Lilith Rising. It’s in the past timeline that the Gothic overtones are most present. This was a fast paced book, and there were some phrases and paragraphs that I thought were beautifully well done.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME

Pretty much everything else. This was a very sordid book. Infidelity features PROMINENTLY for most of the characters. People are seemingly sleeping with everyone except the person they should be. Mari and Pierce have a toxic relationship as do both Emily and Matt and Emily and Chess. What starts for both timelines as a holiday to find themselves and rediscover love for their art, rapidly declines into a convoluted and predictable domestic drama. Not one of these character is likable.

It’s clear that the reader is meant to have a sympathy for both Emily and Mari, but I don’t. We’re clearly supposed to root for them, but they are weak and passive characters with no agency, and very little self-respect. They are held up as good women ruined by me, and I’m sorry, I don’t buy it.

There are choices made in this novel that left me actively angry. I have grown increasingly tired of the “all men in a novel must be forcible” narrative and it is here in spades. Not one decent male character. And the ending was not only unbelievable, but atrocious. I can’t condone any of the decisions made. By anyone.

CONCLUSION

I am not the intended audience for this book. I dislike domestic thrillers intensely, because cheating always plays such a huge role. You could spot most major twists coming a mile away, and the “shocking twist” in the very last chapter ruins any good there may have been in the story. The characters are awful, both to themselves and to each other. Sordid, messy, and petty are the best words I have to use for it. Overall it just didn’t work for me, but many others will love it.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins for a free copy in exchange for a free and host review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of The VIlla by Rachel Hawkins. I absolutely flew through this book. So much action and so much mystery to take in, I just couldn't put it down. Hawkins keeps you on your toes with this one. Three different stories are intwined in this one and the way all the pieces are woven together is masterful. I love all the parrallelisms of the storlylines and how Hawkins reveals the pieces a little at a time; that is the part that really keep you wondering if you know what is going to happen next (I was usually wrong)! Chess and Em are stuck together forever so that they can keep each others secrets.