Happy Pub Day to Rachel Hawkins and The Villa!

Childhood BBF's Emily and Chess have grown apart due to the demands of their adult life so when Chess suggests a summer in Italy Emily is excited to reconnect. Villa Aestas is now a high-end holiday home but in 1974 it was the setting of a storied murder. Emily begins to dig into the past and in turn finds inspiration to reignite her writing career and her personal life as well. In the process secrets come to life, betrayals emerge and there just might be another victim in the Villa before the summer ends.

This gave me dark Firefly Lane meets Daisy Jones & the Six vibes and I loved it! It was a quick easy read, Rachel always does a great job of drawing you in quickly and developing the characters in a way you feel almost instantly invested in them. I would describe this as "mystery/thriller light". I wasn't on the edge of my seat but I was intrigued. If you want to dip your toe into the genre or you like some intrigue without being scared this is a great one for you. I really enjoyed the writing format here, a great mix of past and present and some quotes, interviews, etc. woven in to keep things interesting.

The ending felt a little forced to me. I almost wish the build-up would have been more drawn out so it didn't wrap up so suddenly but that's a minor complaint. I loved it overall!

Thank you, Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve read The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins and The Villa definitely puts a new twist on her writing style. I enjoyed the two POV and dual timelines. Emily and Mari are two women visiting the same villa in Italy 50 years apart. This is a gothic story uniquely written with drugs, sex, and rock n roll vibes. The beginning of the book started a little off for me as if the author wasn’t sure how to set the initial foundation of the book but it quickly sped up and I couldn’t put it down.

This might be my favorite Rachel Hawkins book yet. Her writing can be hit or miss for me, but this one sucked me in and delivered a solid ending.

This story is told with two entwined narratives. Emily is an author whose marriage is in shambles and whose career is on the line as she tries to deliver her tenth book to her publishers. Her best friend Chess (also an author) suggests they spend the summer in Italy at the Villa Aestas to get their creativity flowing. After some research, Emily realizes this the same Villa that is infamous because someone was murdered there in 1974.

The second narrative flashes back to follow Mari who visited the Villa in 1974 with her stepsister, her lover, and other musician acquaintances who are planning to get an album written in the few weeks they're there.

This book has a pretty obvious storyline and some of the "twists" fell flat for me, but I didn't really mind that as I enjoyed the characters and got sucked into the storyline. I enjoyed it more going in expecting a fluffy, fast-paced drama and NOT a thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy!

About The Villa, author Rachel Hawkins says "there are a lot of stories happening all at once." She describes it as being about friendships and, more specifically, female friendships and toxic relationships. It is also about writing, art, sex and gender, and, or course, money.

The current-day story focuses on Emily, a published author of a cozy mystery series featuring an amateur sleuth named Petal Bloom who lives in a little town called Blossom Bay. Emily is nearly thirty-six years old, still living in Asheville -- the town in which she grew up -- and nothing in her life has been going well for quite some time. She was physically ill for more than a year while a definitive diagnosis and appropriate treatment plan evaded her physicians. Her seven-year marriage to Matt imploded and now she's having trouble focusing on drafting the next installment in the Petal series, "A Gruesome Garden," in part because Petal's love interest, Dex, was modeled on Matt. She needs to finish the book not just to fulfill her contractual obligation. She needs the money to pay her attorneys because her pending divorce has become toxically acrimonious. Matt is suing for a significant portion of her royalties and future earnings, based on Emily's assertion during an interview that the books would not exist without her husband.

Ironically, though, since separating from Matt, Emily's health has improved and she is feeling well enough to meet her childhood friend, Chess Chandler, who is in town for a book signing. The two women were childhood friends -- when Chess was known first as Jessica and, later, Jay -- but rarely see each other. Chess has become a wildly successful self-help guru, publishing books with titles like "You Got This!" Her career began when advice she doled out on a website launched by a friend went viral. Suddenly, Chess amassed hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers, snagged jobs with Salon and the Cut, and landed a book deal. "Things My Mama Never Taught Me" (Chess did not have a good relationship with her mother, Nanci) became an instant bestseller, with Chess telling woman how to get their lives on the "Powered Path" and chatting with Oprah about it. In her first-person narrative, Emily admits that "somewhere around the time she started calling herself 'Chess,' I realized I might actually hate my best friend." Part of the reason may be that Emily's life is decidedly "not on the Powered Path."

Still, Emily agrees to meet Chess for lunch, and they fall back into their old dynamic. And, as always, Chess has a plan. She wants Emily to accompany her to Italy to stay at the sumptuous Villa Aestas just outside Orvieto for six weeks, during which they will work on their respective upcoming books. Emily can't resist the pull of six weeks away from her house and the rut she is in. "Six weeks to try and get my career back on track and reignite my sense of purpose." Of course, since the setting is gorgeous, she can also post beautiful photos on Instagram and Facebook that Matt will see. Chess is feeling pressured by her publisher to come up with her next volume of pithy advice for the masses.

Hawkins employs a parallel narrative focused on Mari Godwick, the author of "Lilith Rising," which was a publishing phenomenon in 1976. Mari was barely out of her teens when she joined the ranks of mostly male writers with the story of a girl named Victoria Stuart who "brings about the destruction of those she loves with no regret, single-minded in her focus in the way teenage girls certainly are in real life, but had not been permitted to be in the realms of horror fiction." By the time the book was released, Mari, inspired by Mary Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein, was already famous -- or perhaps, more aptly, infamous -- because of a tragedy that occurred at Villa Rosato (the prior name of Villa Aestas) during the summer of 1974. Mari traveled there with Pierce Sheldon, her would-be rock star boyfriend, as well as her stepsister, Lara Larchmont, as guests of Noel Gordon, a legitimate Scottish rock star and one of Pierce's idols, modeled after Lord Byron. Also staying at Villa Rosato is Johnnie Dorchester, whose relationship with Noel is murky, at best. At only twenty-six years old, Noel is the senior member of the group. Pierce is twenty-three and Johnnie is twenty, but Mari and Lara are only nineteen years old. And Mari, in particular, the daughter of literary royalty, has already experienced life events normally reserved for adults.

By interspersing excerpts from various articles and podcasts, Hawkins reveals some of the events that took place in 1974. The technique is highly effective, enticing readers to forge on in order to learn how and why those events unfolded. Hawkins has gathered an eclectic and multi-layered group of characters at Villa Rosato. Noel is an established star who has too much money and time to spend between engagements, so he rents Villa Rosato to keep the party going all summer. Purportedly, he and Pierce are there to compose songs together -- the chance to work with Noel could bring Pierce the career breakthrough he has been seeking. But as the weeks go on, not much music gets made, and Mari is increasingly frustrated. Her life with Pierce is supposed to be about the two of them pursuing their art -- his music and her writing. But art cannot be the focus of one's life when money needs to be made in order to survive. Drugs, and sexual experimentation and dalliances cause jealousy, resentments, and distrust, as Johnnie's purpose there gradually becomes clearer, along with his feelings about the other guests. Hawkins says that creating the character of Pierce was the most challenging aspect of drafting The Villa because she had to make him "appealing enough that we understand why both Mari and Lara loved him while also showing just how destructive and oblivious he could be . . ." Indeed, Pierce is both endearingly confused about his life and choices, and despicably self-centered and callous.

The most intriguing aspect of the storyline is Mari's journey, as she navigates her relationships with her housemates and ponders her future, while taking inspiration for the novel that will become her masterpiece from the villa itself, along with snippets of prose that come to her. "Houses remember. She has no idea where she's going with that thought, but it had popped into her brain and she's written it down, sure it was the beginning of . . . something. Something big, some story just sitting coiled inside of her, ready to spring out fully formed." She wants to focus on her writing and tell the story that she can feel taking shape in her imagination. Lara lurks on the edges of the group, craving attention. She has a history with and feelings for Pierce, and Mari does not trust her. Indeed, she and the others find Lara's cloying attempts to be noticed and desire for validation annoying. But Lara and Mari have been inextricably intertwined for years, and their bond grows stronger during that revelatory and life-changing summer.

In the present day, Emily is inspired to write, as well. But she has no interest in continuing Petal Bloom's story. Rather, she learns about the villa's notorious history and begins researching what happened. Like Mari's, her search proves consequential in a variety of ways. Emily, like Mari, is a fully developed character and her emotional struggle is palpable. She is well aware that she has arrived at a crossroads in her life, and is determined to carve out a happier future for herself. She is also intent on keeping Chess from co-opting her impending success. Like the relationship of Mari and Lara, Emily's long friendship with Chess is complicated and riddled with old hurts, resentments, jealousy, and distrust. Secrets and betrayals are revealed. But they are bound together through history and shared experiences, and neither of them has the desire -- or strength -- to completely untangle their relationship. As Hawkins details the history of their friendship, she reveals that Emily has always been more naive and gullible than Chess, who has parlayed her natural wit and charisma into an empire. Emily knows the real Chess, rather than the one who inspires other women to buy her psychobabble-laden advice. But Emily is not guileless and as she delves further into the history of the villa and its former visitors, the inherent unreliability in her narrative becomes apparent. Is Emily a hapless victim of others' manipulations or does she have a dark nature, as well? Can her friendship with Chess withstand bombshell revelations and calculated machinations? Should it? The story's pace never stalls as Hawkins injects surprising twists at perfectly timed intervals.

The Villa seamlessly combines two evocative storylines set nearly five decades apart but with eerie parallels. Hawkins examines artistry and the mysterious genesis of inspiration, as well as the mercurial nature of friendships and the destructive power of toxic relationships. Hawkins relates that she was inspired to explore "the idea of how art and life intersect, how great art can get made in the middle of chaos and the way artists inspire and also possibly derail one another." And she does so in an absorbing, suspenseful and, ultimately, entertaining mystery.

I had high hopes for this one but it didn’t completely work out for me. I usually enjoy dual timelines but this time I found myself more intrigued by the present than the past and the endings of each were unsatisfying. With the exception of Emily, I found most of the characters unlikeable. The novel did make me want to book a trip to Italy ASAP though! 3.5/5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy!

Happy pub day to The Villa!! Any one else up for an Italian creative writing getaway?? How do I sign up??

Having finished it in less than 24 hours, this book is still marinating with me and my instinctual rating is a 3.5/4 stars. I do tend to love books about books and their authors. And I was definitely hooked and read this quickly but I’m not sure what’s what or who did what at the end of the day. Choose your own adventure (and villain) is not necessarily a negative, as it makes for a good discussion.

Huge thanks to the author Rachel Hawkins, the publisher St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Hawkins is an easy auto buy author for me. I love how she creates twisty relationship and keeps things interesting to the very end. I’ll be honest, I hateddddd Chess but I feel like everyone can relate to that sort of frenemy situation. Especially when it turns out they’re right and it stings like nothing else.

In general, I don’t love dual timelines, so that kept it from being a huge favorite, but this one was propulsive and the rolling reveals kept it from seeming too artificially slowed down. I loved the female relationships presented as both parallel and divergent across times with different motives driving progression. It’s always fun when sex, drugs, and rock and roll are thrown in the mix and this had all that!

Solid read and new story!

I know I’ve seen some mixed reviews for this one however, I really enjoyed it. I have read Hawkins’ The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls and loved this one the most. I really enjoyed the mixture of using the present mixed with the songs, diaries, and story of the past. While I did find some of it a little predictable, this one had me flipping the pages to see how it all turned out. Perfect bingeable beach or couch read!

This book!!!! What a way to kick of a new reading year. This was a stellar read!

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advanced readers copy. The Villa is out now for purchase.

Why did I love this book so much?

•strong creative independent women
•now and past timelines (I’m loving this more and more every time I read it)
•a murder mystery that isn’t what you think
•twists and turns that keep you guessing

Read it. You won’t regret it!

5🍋 (Normally I hold the lemons back for summer, but I couldn’t resist.)

•

The Villa was an interesting book. The author reimagined the Italian summer of Lord Byron and the Shelley’s where Mary Shelley got the idea for Frankenstein, one of the premier horror novels of all time.

The book takes place in two time periods, 1974 and the present. In the present we have Emily and Chess, two lifetime friends who have grown apart and decide to rent a villa in Italy for the summer. Emily is the writer of cozy mysteries, currently going through an antagonistic divorce and writer’s block. Chess is her best friend who has found fame and fortune as a Gwyneth Paltrow Goop Guru type. The VIlla they rent was the scene of a famous murder back in 1974.

In 1974 we have famous rock star Noel Gordon, (Lord Byron) Mari Godwick and Pierce Sheldon (Mary and Percy Shelley) and Lara Larchmont (Claire Clairmont Mary Shelley’s step-sister) as well as Noel’s drug dealer pal Johnny. Noel and Pierce are supposed to be making music together but spend their time drinking and drugging. Meanwhile Mari and Lara become the true artists of the group with Mari writing her modern horror story Lilith Rising, and unbenownst to everyone, Lara is writing her album Aestas which is destined to be a major platinum selling album. As happens when a bunch of young people get together and drugs and drinking are involved, arguments break out and before the summer is over, one is dead and another is convicted of murder.

Emily becomes obsessed with the murder and starts to investigate and write her own version of what happened. Chess who is tiring of the wellness genre wants to be involved. This causes tenson between the two and before the summer is over, friendships will be tested and betrayals will be revealed.

I have to say that I enjoyed the 1974 storyline more than Emily and Chess’ storyline. Their friendship was amazingly toxic and uncomfortable to read.

I did enjoy this book immensely though. I really loved the retelling of the Byron/Shelley summer in a modern setting with a murder thrown in.

Thanks to Netgalley, St.Martin’s Press and the author for the chance to read and review this book.

I was such a fan of The Wife Upstairs and unfortunately the last two books of hers that I have read haven't been that same homerun. As this one started I thought who wouldn’t want to go to a Villa in Italy with her best friend to get over the break up of your marriage?

I really loved the present day story. I was caught up in the dynamic of the friends and my suspicions of what was really happening. I was a little less interested in the story in the past that throughout the book only seemed to be tied to the Villa. And then you lost me when you threw in the podcast. It was just a little much for me without any sort of payout until the end. I really did like that last twist but it was just a little too late for me and I need a little more a little sooner.

There are only so many plots. If you think about all the love stories that come from Romeo and Juliet. Maybe I’ve read too many toxic friends stories lately. Or it is time to take a break and read a different genre. I’m not sad I read it but I am sad that I didn’t love it as much as The Wife Upstairs.

As I switched back and forth from the ebook and audiobook, I really did enjoy reading a little more. Julia Whelan is one of my favorite female narrators and she did not let me down, but I wasn’t drawn into the narration of the gothic part of the story.

I’d like to thank St. Martins Press, NetGalley, MacMillan audio and Libro.fm for my advanced reading and listening copies.

The Villa, by Rachel Hawkins

Short Take: I. Can’t. Even.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

Duckies, I am a little under the weather, so I’m going to just jump right into the review and not try to be too clever here. But you all know that I have loads of witty and clever and hilarious thoughts, right?

Way back in the ancient days of 1974, something terrible happened at Villa Rosato, a picturesque vacation home in Italy. A group of young bohemians had rented the house for the summer, and in a sordid mess of sex, drugs, and rock & roll, a young, up & coming musician was murdered. The rest of the group went on to varying states of fame, infamy, and forgottenness, as some go on to produce incredible works, and others complete their cliched downward spirals.

In the present, writer Emily is reeling from the quick decline of her health, marriage, and career when her best friend since childhood invites her to stay at the Villa (now renamed Aestas). Emily never could say no to Chess, so she heads to Italy for some sunshine, wine, and hopefully to break through her writer's block and finish her way-past-due latest book.

But the Villa is still holding onto some truths about what actually happened that night in 1974, and Chess has a few secrets (and an agenda) of her own.

Oh. My. GAWD, y’all!! This book is simply brilliant. First of all, it’s got the book within a book thing happening, which is a thing I adore. We get snippets of Lilith Rising, a legendary horror novel written by Mari Godwick, one of the 1974 group, as well as excerpts from other books written ABOUT Lilith Rising and the events of that summer.

There’s also Mari’s story, captivating and tragic, and her perspective on the horror at the Villa and its aftermath.

But there’s also the push-and-pull of the Chess/Emily relationship, the love-hate of longtime friends who might be rivals too, the petty jealousies that can build over decades into that nasty last bitter swallow at the bottom of every glass of lovely friendship wine.

Ms. Hawkins has an incredible way of showing all the fine nuances of relationships between women, the way even the deepest love and loyalty can be tested by everything else - what happens to single friends when one gets married? To hardworking friends when one becomes wildly successful while the other still struggles?

To writer friends, when one stumbles on a career-altering story?

Duckies, I devoured this book in barely a day. I can’t say anything other than just read it. And then maybe re-read it, because that final, devastating chapter will make you want to look at the whole thing again through an entirely different lens.

The Nerd’s Rating: FIVE HAPPY NEURONS (and a pasta dish I can’t pronounce).

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins starts with childhood friends and writers Emily and Chess going to Italy for the summer to work on their latest books. They stay at an villa that inspired a bestselling horror novel and chart-topping album from two sisters who witnessed a brutal murder while staying in that villa in the 1970’s.

Emily is interested by the history of the villa, and as she uncovers more about what happened that infamous summer, she is inspired to write a book outside of what she is known for. The book jumps from Emily’s POV to Mari writing her novel in 1974, with articles, interviews, song lyrics, and more giving insight to what happened in 1974.

The book has a very slow pace, but kept me interested to know what we would learn next. I wouldn’t classify it as a thriller, but more as a contemporary with a hint of mystery. I enjoyed the book and rated it 3.5, rounding up to 4 stars.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy to review. The Villa is out now.

Thank you so much to #Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.

While its not my favorite from Rachel Hawkins, I still loved it! This has just enough creepiness and mystery to it. It was a fast read.
I love that it took place in Italy and the history surrounding the villa, wow I loved the spooky factor to it!

I didn't know what to expect from this one since I had seen mixed reviews, but sadly, it wasn't for me.

I thought there was too much going on in this book. We had past and present timelines as well as news articles, song lyrics, and excerpts from novels mixed in. I had to go back a few times to figure out what was going on. I also didn't care much about any of the characters, so that prevented me from getting too invested in this story.

I did like the setting of the Italian villa. I've also read other books by this author and enjoyed them, so I will definitely be reading her books again.

"She hadn't thought that perhaps houses hold on to the bad with the good, just as people do."

In The Villa, we jump back and forth between the present day and 1974. While the time periods and characters are different, the house where most of the shizzle goes down in both stories is the same - a luxury rental in Orvieto that was known as Villa Rosato back in the day but that peeps refer to as Villa Aestas now. In the present day storyline, we follow 30-something Emily - the quasi-successful writer of a cozy mystery series who just wants to get away from it all after her douche-nozzle ex husband abandons her and subsequently wants in on Emily's cozy mystery royalty paychecks. Emily is the guest of Chess, Emily's bestie and a famous self-help guru who had the brilliant idea that the two of them could go there to write their latest works and chillax in beautiful Italy for the summer.

Rewind to 1974, and we follow Mari, a 19-year-old writer who will eventually pen the famous horror novel Lilith Rising that she writes while spending time at Villa Rosato. In addition to Mari, we've got Mari's sister Lara (who writes the famous album Aestas while at the Villa - hence the future name change), Mari's boyfriend Pierce, famous rock-n'-roller Noel, and "the entertainment" Johnnie. Between the sex, drugs, and rock-n'-rolling happening at Villa Rosato that summer, jealousies emerge, tensions rise, and someone ends up dead (murdered?). Questions around what really happened that summer have never been answered... and it intrigues Emily enough that she starts investigating during her stay. But what will she be able to find out? And why does Chess seem to be acting a bit squirrelly? Will the secrets of the past somehow connect to the secrets of the present?

Usually when I read a book that jumps back and forth between two different timelines, I find myself more drawn to one of them over the other - skimming through the timeline I like less to be able to savor the one I like more. This was not the case with The Villa, as I found both storylines to be enjoyable reads. In Emily's timeline I wanted to know what shady things Chess was surely up to and what the connection was between the events of 1974 and the present. In Mari's, I wanted to know who was murdered and why.

This book was solidly good but not great. I didn't find either of the main characters to be particularly compelling, but I didn't find them to be off-putting either. I suppose I was rooting for both of them, but not enthusiastically so. I was engaged the whole time I read this book, but I wouldn't classify it as un-put-downable. And while I dug the twist at the very end of Mari's story, I found the almost-ending to Emily's story to be over the top and implausible. But! I'd still recommend this book to friends who dig murder mysteries.

The Villa is about two friends who go on vacation to a villa in Italy and get sucked into the story of what happened there 50 years ago that resulted in murder, and two very successful works of art. The story weaves the past and the present to slowly reveal what happened and its impact on present day.

This is the second Rachel Hawkins suspense book I’ve read, the other one being Reckless Girls. I found this book to be less atmospheric than Reckless Girls. I had some issues with that book, but it really did the sense of suspense and impending doom right. In this one, I didn’t get that much suspense, darkness or creepiness, and definitely not gothic suspense. It read more like a mystery to me, I don’t think this is a bad thing, but I think it helps to set your expectations from the get-go. I think it helped me that I went into the story without knowing anything about it, I didn’t read the blurb at all, I just knew it took place in a villa in Italy.

As far as the mystery, I thought it was very good. It keeps you guessing, and even the things you think you know, are not how they seem. You start suspecting each character, even the MCs, and keep trying to figure it all out.

I especially liked the mystery within a mystery aspect of things. There is the present story of two friends at a “murder villa”, there is the past, which covers what happened at the villa almost 50 years ago, then there are various books within the books. This dual timeline is done incredibly well. What I really appreciated was how the analysis of these mysteries by the characters within the story made you think about if any of it is actually a foreshadowing for the main mystery.

I really like how Rachel Hawkins always serves people their just desserts and highlights women empowerment. At the end you feel vindicated, like justice has prevailed somehow. I think those who didn’t like Reckless Girls because of how it ended will appreciate this one a lot more. I quite liked the resolution to the story, and how there were a lot of gray areas, and twists, of course.

I also appreciate that her characters are flawed, even the ones you root for are not always nice people. I loved the symmetry between the beginning and ending of the book and how the tables turned, though saying anything more would be spoilery.

It takes a bit at the beginning of the book for things to really get going, but I think reading this as an audiobook really helped with that as well.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

Compelling, ominous, and unpredictable!

The Villa transports you into the life of cosy mystery writer Emily Sheridan who, after recently battling illness and a nasty divorce, heads to an Italian villa at the invitation of her childhood best friend and successful self-help author Chess Chandler, where the past will collide with the present, long-buried secrets will be unearthed, and the infamous murder that occurred on the property in 1974 and was the inspiration for the classic, celebrated horror novel, Lilith Rising may finally be solved.

The writing is taut and tight. The characters are self-indulgent, secretive, and vulnerable. And the plot using flashbacks and a back-and-forth, past/present style, intertwines and unravels effortlessly into a machiavellian tale full of manipulation, deception, lies, drama, jealousy, secrets, revelations, mayhem, and murder.

Overall, The Villa is a twisty, intense, sinister tale by Hawkins that does an excellent job of delving into the complex dynamics that exist between friends and highlights just how toxic, parasitic, and dangerous some of those relationships can turn out to be.

Gothic suspense in an Italian villa. Emily and Chess were inseparable as children and then Chess suggests the two of them take a trip to Italy. The villa has a complicated history and Emily and Chess are trying to find out the truth.

The Villa wasn't something I saw opening up my 2023, but we're here now, and I have to talk about it. This story is another case of a literary recap duping the masses. Even though it hits the points of what the synopsis dished out, reading the story was an entirely different feel.

The Villa is about a recently separated divorcee woman looking to reignite her writing career with her best friend in Italy. While trying to get her groove back, she stumbles on a classic horror story that she realizes took place in the house they're staying at. Within finding this remarkable discovery, she also uncovers secrets from her best friend that may make or break their 30-year friendship.

I wasn't in love with the book. It was a long slow burn. I almost DNFed it, but a tiny thread dealing with the present POV made me stick around. It started getting better 70% in.