Unfortunately this one missed the mark for me. There was 1) present day, 2) past timeline, 3) a novel, 4) a podcast … it was all just too much to follow. I also felt like there was a lot of details that didn’t bring anything to the story (Mari’s parents relationship, for one.)

I found the two present day main characters Chess and Emily to be unbearable. Toxic female friendships aren’t fun to read about. They were both petty, manipulative and cruel to one another and had few redeeming qualities.

I did like the 70s timeline and could’ve read an entire book of those events without the present day narrative!

Not my favorite book of Rachel Hawkins. I found the book to be slow and dragged out even thought it had a good plot and the capability of really drawing you in. When we finally did get to the twists at the end I found them to be a bit predictable. Still overall a good read, i just really struggle with books that are drawn out with no excitement until the end.

Thanks netgalley and st. Martins press for this ARC!

I really enjoyed this one! Told in dual timelines, this story will keep you guessing until the very last page. Just when I thought I had figured it out, the author pulled the carpet out from under me again!

The setting was perfect. A villa in Italy with a sinister past. It had all the feels, all the creepy vibes. I loved the characters from the 1974 POV, but I wasn’t a fan of one of the characters from the present day. I still feel like something is off – but maybe that was the point?

I don’t want to give a single spoiler, so I ‘m going to leave this review very vague. It’s definitely one I think readers will enjoy more going in blind to!

**Many thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC of The Villa**

Ultimately, this was a bit disappointing. I think there's a bit too much trying to happen and it doesn't feel put together enough for me. The relationship between Chess and Emily was far too toxic for my enjoyment with little to no retribution for either character in the end. I was rooting for the twist and then a reverse twist comes in and mucked it all up.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Just like The Wife Upstairs, this book by Rachel Hawkins is addicting and hard to put down. The story is told in two different decades involving artists of their time on holiday. The books quickly captures your interest as you watch the story build to the main event: the murder at the Villa in 1974. The twists will make you uncomfortable as you want to scream at the characters to run. If you’re into culty, twisty stories with creepy vibes, pick up the book immediately.

I will follow Rachel Hawkins anywhere and The Villa was no exception! I loved the way this novel weaved together multiple stories and mysteries. It’s one of those novels that you have to stay up all night reading in order to get to the bottom of the mystery. Perfect for a long winter night! I absolutely loved this book!

This book took me on a roller coaster. I found the beginning intriguing but hard to follow due to the three separate narratives but once I had my bearings - I couldn’t stop reading. It was fun throughout the book to notice the parallels between the multiple narratives. Just when everything clicks and you think you have the twist figured out, Rachel Hawkins throws a curveball. This book gained a four star from me.

‘The Villa’ followed Rachel’s formula for thrillers to a tea. There were a lot of characters and nobody was trust worthy. I liked that the book took place in NC and Italy, but I wish it was a bit more descriptive about both. The strong female POV kept me interested. This was a quick read not too scary, if you’re new to thriller books. I really didn’t like the predictable ending. The twist was fitting and a nice touch, but didn’t take me by surprise.

You know those books where you get to trust that the characters are telling the truth and you can trust in story they are telling? Yeah… this book isn’t that. The Villa was a story about a story about a book.. if that makes sense? This book was crazy in a good way and though at times the characters were a bit much, I couldn’t help but be captured into this book as I wondered just how it would end and just how much crazier it could get.

This story alternated between two timelines, 1974 and the present. I found the present story more interesting and easier to follow about two childhood friends now in their ‘30’s, Emily and Chess, and their friendship and girls trip to Italy to stay at a villa. The villa had a reputation as a murder house due to events that took place in 1974. This was a quick read that I found interesting. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The Villa

🍋Review - ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5🍋

📘The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
🗓️Pub Date: 1/03/22 (out now!)

This story takes place over two timelines in a Villa in Italy. Emily is an author of cozy mysteries but seems to be in a writing slump since her husband, Matt, filed for divorce. Her best friend, Chess, is also a well known author and has been Emily’s best friend since they were kids.

When Chess invites Emily on a trip to Italy to stay in a famous villa, Emily agrees to go. Hoping to get some writing done on her next book in her Petal Bloom series, Emily ends up focusing on the villa she is staying in. Villa Aestas (or The Murder House) is the location of a murder of an up and coming musician that happened in 70’s. After doing some research and uncovering some letters, Emily believes she has an idea for a new book.

This story takes place over two timelines. It follows Emily and Chess during their stay in the villa but it also follows Mari, girlfriend to the man that ends up murdered in the 70’s. During Mari’s timeline, we see what happens during the summer a group of artists stayed together. Spending their time getting high, having sex, creating music, and everything leading up to the night of Pierce’s murder.

While the story really pulled me in, it fell a little flat for me. I didn’t find any of the characters very likeable. Chess really irritated me for about 95% of the book, while Emily just seemed very naive. Mari and her sister also had a very strange relationship.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and I was really invested in both timelines. The end is where it really fell short for me. I felt like there was a decent build up and then abruptly ended.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

she does it again! rachel hawkins has quickly become an auto-buy author for me and let me tell you why: she knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat! i knew something was up throughout most of the book, and thought i had guessed the twist right away (ok i kinda did) but then just like that, she throws another one in. her books never end the way you expect them to, and the villa is no different. the italian setting was *chef’s kiss* because there’s nothing that makes me more uneasy than something going wrong in a foreign country. if you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller that will throw you for a loop, look no further!

*thank you to the publisher for my advanced eARC in exchange for an honest review*

Another stunning thriller by Rachel Hawkins! I thoroughly enjoyed this suspense thriller set in a gorgeous villa in Italy. It has a few kinks - pacing, muddled plotlines and some ambitious plot points that didn't quite hit the mark - but for what it is, I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author Rachel Hawkins for advance copy for honest review.

My review is a day late but this book does not run short! Rachel Hawkins is a go to author for me. She write some crazy brained ideas that all come together in the end. She just draws you in. Well written.

The Villa is about an escape, and chance of a lifetime trip to beautiful Italy. She goes with her childhood friend Jess, now Chess, to a fancy villa with historic value as it was used by a former rockstar. As we learn, there was a murder that happened decades earlier in the summer of '74. Emily and Chess now start uncovering secrets from the past and before, but there is more than meets the eye. As all the clues come to light, they have to find out what happened that summer before it happens again. Highly recommend!

Emily and Chess are childhood friends who have lead different lives. Chess has become a worldly famous self-help writer and influencer. Emily is going through a difficult divorce. She writes cozy mysteries, not what she started out wanting to write. She also moved back home with her parents after being sick and leaving her husband. When Chess offers a summer in Italy (I mean, who would say no to that!) at a private villa. Emily says yes without really thinking twice about it. The villa is the site of an infamous murder in the 70s involving musicians, drugs, women. Emily finds herself immediately drawn to the story and her writer's block disappears as she looks further into the murder.

We are also reading Mari's story about that time in the villa. The wildness of youth and the 70s with sex and rock and roll. She was so young, just 16 when she first gets involved with Pierce Sheldon. She is dealing with her relationship with her stepsister Lara too. Mari wrote a horror novel titled Lillith Rising and became famous after the murder in the villa, while Lara has a big selling album titled Aestas after.

As the stories entwine together, there are so many revelations about the time before the murder and about Emily and Chess's relationship. The ending is the icing on the cake, didn't see that twist.

A great thriller to start off the new year of reading for me. I love how Ms. Hawkins kept changing the way I viewed all the characters throughout the story.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy for review.

This was such a wonderful book! As expected from Rachel Hawkins this book took me on twists and turns the entire time!

Emily and Chess (Jessica) are best friends but they've drifted apart over time. They've been through so much together, but now, in their 30s, Chess is a very successful, and very famous self-help author. Emily's marriage is crumbling, and she's struggling to finish her ninth cozy mystery, which are moderate sellers, at best. Chess invites Emily to spend the summer with her in Italy at The Villa, a house where a gruesome murder took place in the 1970s.

Lara and Mari were step-sisters who stayed at The Villa with a famous rock star. Lara ended up being a famous singer-songwriter, and Mari wrote one of the greatest horror novels of all time. What really happened is a mystery, and Emily feels herself drawn to this story. She's determined to figure out what really happened and spends her time looking for clues in Mari's horror novel.

While Emily and Chess try to reconnect during the summer, the stress and tension their relationship has gone through prove too much at times. When things come to a head, secrets are revealed and tempers flare. At times the modern story eerily mimics the past of what happened in the house.

The structure took a little getting used to (a story within a story within a book) but once the many voices in this novel were established it was easy to get completely submerged into what was happening in the past and the present. This is a clever domestic psychological thriller that left me marveling at the character arcs, and the way the ending played out. psychological thriller

THE VILLA By Rachel Hawkins

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e-arc!

MY RATING:
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I liked it

SUMMARY:
Emily and Chess are childhood best friends, even though they've both gone their own ways professionally. Emily's life pretty much falls apart, so Chess suggests the two women go to Italy for the summer and rent a villa to write. The villa that Chess and Emily rent is the same villa that rockstar Noel Gordon rented in the 70's, where a famous murder happened. Emily is intrigued by the story of the murder, and soon becomes engrossed in what happened in the villa years ago.

MY THOUGHTS:
I don't like Chess. Sorry not sorry. She had Rachel Hollis vibes and wasn't really a good friend to Emily and I'm not here for it. There were two plot lines- the 70's and present time, but they felt a little disconnected. It was more suspenseful than thriller, and the ending was pretty predictable. This was my third Rachel Hawkins book and probably I'd probably rate it at the bottom out of the three.

Happy Pub Day to The Villa by @ladyhawkins!! This was a really fun read.

What I liked:
•fast read
•two engaging timelines-I preferred the past timeline, it was very juicy but I was still eager to see what Em and Chess were up to.
•the inside look at what time and success can do to a friendship.

If you’re looking for a gothic-y women’s fiction, this is a great option!

The book switches around between last and present and points of view so much that it was a little hard and annoying to keep track of. Majority of the time I enjoyed the parts of the past and hearing from Mary until Emily starts writing The Villa and finding the clues left behind there. Then I felt more inclined to find out what was going on with her.

I think the lack of sense as to why these two stories were connected made it hard in the beginning to draw me in. But like I said once Emily begins writing I was more invested but it took a while for that to happen which is why this wasn’t a favorite of mine but had such potential to be. The setting and back story and plot was great there was just a lack of building blocks to get there and an ease of transition between the past and present. Also my friend had said she didn’t like any of the characters and I have to say I agreed. There wasn’t any draw to any of these characters.