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Told in both the 1970s and the present, this thriller highlights the similarities and differences of fame and near-fame for women.

The present-day perspective is that of Emily, a moderately successful cozy author going through a nasty divorce. While she’s able to make a living entirely off her writing, her success pales in comparison to her sometimes best friend Chess. Chess has a positivity influencer brand that includes publishing power of positive thinking style books (think The Secret merged with Girl, Wash Your Face.) The 1970s perspective is that of Mari, the girlfriend of one of the musicians who stayed at the villa in the 1970s. Both she and her stepsister found fame after the murder. Mari in the form of a horror book. Her stepsister in the form of an insanely popular singer/songwriter album.

The book’s central premise is that the men in these women’s lives are holding them back from finding their own artistic expression, fame, and success. The question is, are the women’s reactions justified? Put another way, are the women using self-defense (of their art) to an appropriate level given the threat? Another secondary question is can two women ever really fully support each other’s art or is someone always getting the short end of the stick?

The book isn’t heavy-handed in exploring these questions. Indeed, I was primarily wrapped up in the two mysteries going on. The first being who committed the initial murder in the villa in the 1970s. The second being why has Emily been suffering from a mysterious medical condition and does Chess have ulterior motives to having invited her to the villa? That’s a lot of mystery for one quick thriller, and it works.

I was impressed at the amount of backstory and extra information the author had to consider in putting together the two timelines. We have snippets of Mari’s book, a horror best seller by a woman in the 1970s that rivaled The Shining (my review) in this imaginary version of the 1970s. There are excerpts from that book in this one that the author had to write in a completely different tone and manner than her own writing and in a way that would make sense for the 70s. There’s also snippets of Chess’s brand, basic characters and plot for Emily’s cozy series, an excerpt from a podcast episode about the murder, Mari’s writing about her summer at the villa, and lines from her stepsister’s songs from her most famous album. That’s a lot of different voices and moving parts to keep straight, and the author does a great job of that. I found myself wishing there was more found items in the book, like another podcast episode or something. That’s not a critique. I enjoyed it so much I wanted more.

There were two things that I didn’t love about the book. These are both spoilers, so consider yourself warned! First, Emily’s illness is repeatedly brushed off by doctors as in her head. This is very frustrating and relatable for anyone who’s dealt with a mystery illness. However, by the end of the book it’s revealed that the illness is indeed psychosomatic. Even talking to her husband on the phone makes Emily sick. So the stress of being with him has been making her ill. I found this to be a really disappointing depiction. Yes, chronic illness can improve when a stressor is removed. But that wasn’t the situation in this book. Emily was only sick because of being so stressed out about her marriage. Once that’s removed, she’s better. A disappointing perspective to see in the book. Second, Chess and Emily decide to kill Emily’s soon-to-be-ex-husband since he’s dragging Emily to court for partial rights to her cozy series and threatening to do that for anything else she writes, as well as is blackmailing Chess. That’s a fine twist that makes sense. The issue is, the book shows them inviting him to visit them in the villa and reveals that he drowned and that the local police ruled it an accidental drowning. But it doesn’t show us how Emily and Chess did it. Nor is it really believable that they would be cleared so quickly in the death given the nasty divorce proceedings Emily was current undergoing. She would obviously have been a serious suspect, not brushed off so easily as one. Unless they did something with the murder that made it impossible to suspect her at all. But, again, this isn’t shown in the book. It was a short book with very little time dedicated to this murder, and I think it would have benefited from that.

Overall, in spite of two plot points I either didn’t appreciate for chronic illness representation issues or felt didn’t make much plot sense, I still enjoyed the read. It was a unique merging of a period piece thriller and a modern thriller featuring an influencer and female friendship. Recommended to thriller readers looking for a book rich in female characters who also enjoy the arts and the 1970s.

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When Emily’s on-again off-again best friend (who also just so happens to be a power of positive thinking influencer) invites her to spend the summer at an Italian villa, she’s surprised to discover it’s the same villa famous for a murder in the 1970s. I thought it’d be nice to pair this thriller about two sets of female friends at two different points in time with the washcloths I crocheted for one of my friends. She has a goth style bathroom, so I thought black and grey would go nicely. I enjoyed how this book merged a period piece and a modern thriller. Fair warning that its use of chronic illness as a plot point is….not great. But I still enjoyed the read. Thank you to the publisher for providing a free copy to me via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
#bookalicious #avidreader #bookaesthetic #whatimreading #thrillerbooks #crochetwashcloth

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Overall, in spite of two plot points I either didn't appreciate for chronic illness representation issues or felt didn't make much plot sense, I still enjoyed the read. It was a unique merging of a period piece thriller and a modern thriller featuring an influencer and female friendship. Recommended to thriller readers looking for a book rich in female characters who also enjoy the arts and the 1970s.

Check out my full review.

*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

***4.5 ⭐️***

This gothic suspense is just what the doctor ordered this spooky season.... ok, that was a little dramatic but still a good read.

Emily and Chess are childhood friends (and sometimes enemies), both authors, and both successful in their careers; however, Emily is going through a nasty divorce, and Chess feels like it's her duty to cheer up her friend. Chess invites Emily to Villa Aestas to get some sun, relax from their lives, and maybe be inspired to write another book. This is exactly what Emily does - write a book about the murder that occurred in the same villa she and Chess are currently staying in and unearths a key piece of information as to what really happened that fateful night in 1974.

This book is told in dual timeline sequence, and the characters of Emily and Chess do bear a striking resemblance to Mari and Lara (the women from the past timeline) in terms of how they perceive each other's relationship together as well as other people in their orbit; Emily is steadfast, caring, and future oriented, while Chess is flighty, emotional, and spontaneous. By the end, it is quite obvious what parallels these four women share. I was a little uncertain as to how the "twist" occurred near the end, as there was no explanation and only Chess was quoted as being upset about it, and had there been a bit more detail there, I would have rated this book 5 stars.

This book has been touted as being inspired by "Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle." While I am not too familiar with the last inspiration, I can definitely see the influences of a well-known band of the time period and cult-ish shenanigans.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This one kept me on my toes!! I really enjoyed the gothic thread of this one and the intertwined mystery involved. Did not guess the ending!

Thank you NetGalley for granting me access to this title. This book was okay. I found myself getting confused with the different plots and timelines. The main character was a little annoying and I feel that the ending was unrealistic. Not to spoil anything but if my best friend did something horrible to me like that, I would not be forgiving her…..

Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy of this book.
DNFd at 20%. Just couldn’t get into it. It was definitely not my jam.

This is a very slow burn suspense. While I enjoyed the story, I wish we had a bit more of local Italian culture built into it. The story really could have happened anywhere, it was so insular.

Two old friends Emily and Chess head to Italy for an unforgettable summer together. In the meantime, the story flashes back to 1974 and the folks who stayed in the same Villa and tragic outcomes of their visit.

There's a bit of "how good of friends are Emily and Chess" and some parallels between their relationship and what happened in the Villa years ago.

Was a bit slow going for me.

This ended up just being okay for me. I love the cover and the overall premise of this story. However, I found myself bored during the flashback chapters and wish we got more fleshed out scenes of the friendship of the main characters. If we got more of that, I feel like the twist at the end would have hit harder. I will continue to pick up this author, but this one just isn't my favorite of hers. Though she is so good at writing compulsively readable stories.

What can I say about Rachel Hawkins. There's a reason why we all know her name and quite frankly this book is just continued evidence of her skills. I enjoyed this novel and DEVOURED it. I'm super happy I read it and any Rachel Hawkins completist will enjoy it as well.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick. Our library purchased and our patrons have been checking out and and enjoying the book. I see it is a popular book club choice as well we hope to have more oppurtinies to support authors like them

🛁 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 🛁
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
“She had forgotten, as we all do, that beautiful things can contain their own darkness.”
“Houses remember.”

Synopsis: A story within a story within a story, the Villa tells the stories of Villa Rosato. First, of Chess and Emily, two friends who visit a villa in Italy historic for a famous murder committed there years before. Second, the stories of Mari, Lara, Pierce, Noel, and Johnnie, the players in that fateful night years before. And third, Lilith Rising - the novel Mari wrote while staying there the summer everything went dark.

I don’t know what I expected going into this book, but I certainly wasn’t expecting the absolute FEAT it was. Wow, I am blown away.

I have read all of Rachel Hawkins thrillers - I loved The Wife Upstairs, was meh on Reckless Girls, but The Villa was a breed all its own. So smartly written, so beautifully composed and structured. The stories within stories lent themselves so well to the present-day plot line so beautifully that the story unfolded in a way that you couldn’t put it down.

The thing I loved the most about this book is that it didn’t really have a happy ending. Our protagonist, Emily, doesn’t necessarily end up with everything she wanted. But her story mirrors that of Mari’s in the past that makes you truly understand the phrase “history repeats itself.”

If you like historical thrillers, psychological thrillers, contemporary fiction, and unreliable narrators - you simply MUST close out your summer reading with this fantastic book. Bravo, Rachel Hawkins!📚✨🛁

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins in exchange for my honest review.

Emily and Chess are BFFs who decide to spend a summer together in Orvieto, Italy at the Villa Aestas. Sounds like a dream, except the Villa has a dark past, and it may come back to haunt them...

This was a slow burn, and yet I found myself unable to stop reading. Emily and Chess's dynamic seemed obvious, but then it kept surprising me in its complexity. I also thought I KNEW where the ending was headed, but I was seriously surprised. I still don't know what to think and how to feel. I don't love mysteries with an ambiguous ending, but I did like this one. I think ultimately I enjoyed it a lot, but for all the build-up I wanted more of a splash ending. It felt a little anticlimactic for both storylines. However, I enjoyed this a lot and highly recommend, especially if you enjoy books *partially* set in the 70s and atmospheric settings that aren't super creepy. Nothing goes bump in the night here!

In my pregnancy I shifted my reading time to baby research and was not able to review what was on my shelf. I apologize as I know the number of copies you can give out is limited and would never have intentionally ignored this copy under normal circumstances. I am rating this as 5 stars as it is not the author or publishers fault I was not able to meet this timeline, and hope that you will give me another chance in the future to review as I am back into my regular reading schedule this year after adapting to the newborn life!

I'm always a fan of a duel timeline and this was not exception. This book was a bit slow to start but picked up quickly. An excellent psychological thriller, but nothing to crazy or intense. I loved how cleverly the timelines were woven together, which made it a very fun and quick read.

This book was an entertaining thriller and read like a gothic romance. I enjoyed the dual point of view format and felt it advanced the plot well. I loved the time period (70s) and found myself very invested in the characters. The ending seemed a bit rushed but did not disappoint. I will for sure be picking up more books from this author.

Love a dual timeline and slow burn! Rachel Hawkins is a master of her craft and every book of hers is a joy to read.

While I’ve loved her other works this one didn’t hit as hard for me. However with my relaxed personality and reading ratings it’s still an easy four star read. As long as I enjoy I’ll pass along the good mentions for any book

Great, quick thriller for the warmer months. Nothing ground breaking about this concept but highly enjoyable.

Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, and Murder - If these topics interest you, you'll enjoy this book!

This book by Rachel Hawkins was a miss for me. The dueling timelines did not hold my interest and I did not like the main characters Emily and Chess. There were a few points during the story that I thought things might pick up, but it just wasn't so. While it wasn't for me, there are plenty of higher rated reviews and people seem to love it - you might too!

Thank you to the author, publishers, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Holy smokes! I've had this one for a while and am totally kicking myself for waiting to read it. It's good. Like real good. It's dark and suspenseful and gives off those Gothic romance vibes that I adore. I loved every word. The dual stories, taking place in 1974 and today, fed off each other. And the twist at the end? GENIUS! I loved this!

While this wasn’t the worst book that I’ve ever read, I think I’d have to say it’s my least loved Rachel Hawkins Novel. However, I will keep reading her!!