Fast paced, told from multiple timelines that all come together at a villa in Italy. Emily and Chess have been friends for 20 years. Emily writes cozy mysteries and Chess writes self help and is an influencer. Emily is always comparing herself to Chess, to me their friendship seemed really toxic but that's probably the point. There is a story within a story with a murder occurring at the villa decades ago. Really well told and highly recommend if you're in the mood for a fast paced mystery/thriller.

Tag line: A dark story reminiscent of Daisy Jones & the Six, The Villa is sure to sweep you up into its pages.

Full review to come on FreshFiction.com.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this one!

THE VILLA review

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🍋I went into this book with mixed expectations. I’ve read both of Rachel’s other thrillers and loved one (The Wife Upstairs) and didn’t love the other (Reckless Girls). I walked away from this one with mixed feelings. The premise was very intriguing (a book within a book vibes), but I had a hard time getting invested in the story.

🍋Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
Chess and Emily have been childhood besties, even though their friendship has strained as adults. When Chess invites Emily to spend the summer at an Italian Villa, it’s an offer Emily can’t refuse. The Villa is now the picture of luxury, but it was the site of a gruesome murder in 1974. As the summer unfolds, Emily can’t help but dig into the past and finds that what happened at the Villa in 1974 might be more twisted than anyone knew.

🍋This story was told with dual timelines, flipping between the present and summer of 1974. Tbh, I never really cared about the flashbacks. I didn’t care about the past or the characters from back then and found myself rushing through the flashbacks to get to the present storyline. Dual POVs/timelines can be hit or miss for me, and this time it was a miss. However, I was still caught off guard by the ending and honestly have some questions about it. I still don’t fully trust some of these characters even though I’ve finished the book.

I definitely enjoyed this one more than Hawkins two other works that I've read - The Reckless Girls and The Wife Upstairs. However, I think a common theme for me is that these thrillers just don't feel "thrilling". I enjoyed the dual timeline and thought that was executed really well. I also liked the Fleetwood Mac vibes, but honestly that's a theme that's been done quite a bit lately so I would have liked to see something a little more original. Otherwise, I think this was just a very intriguing book.

Review to come to Bookstagram in January 2023.

Rachel Hawkins writes great twisty books where you aren't really sure who to root for. I devoured The Wife Upstairs, a modern version of Jane Eyre. Her follow up, Reckless girls was dark and suspenseful, an interesting contrast to the idyllic island setting.

I enjoyed her latest book, The Villa, there are two timelines set at the same Villa in Italy, though decades apart. One timeline is set in the 70s and follows 19 year-old step sisters Lara and Marie. They spend the summer their with musicians (one famous, one aspiring) and their drug dealer.

The second timeline is set in the present and follows childhood best friends, who are now in their 30s, Chess and Emily. Emily is down in the dumps dealing with a painful divorce, recovering from an mystery illness, and unable to gather the energy to write the 10th novel of her cozy mystery series. Chess, a wildly successful influencer and self-help writer, invites Emily for a summer at a villa she has rented in Italy.

Emily reluctantly agrees, even though it's a murder villa. Technically just one murder, many years ago when sisters Lara and Marie stayed there.

The dual timeline, podcast episode and novel experts sprinkled in was an interesting format. I do wish there was a bit more character development in both timelines. All in all, Rachel Hawkins is an author I will continue to follow. I do hope they make this into an HBO limited series as that would be pretty meta..

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Marten's press for this ARC for my honest review.

The Villa is my favorite Hawkins book so far. “Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle--the birthplace of Frankenstein--The Villa welcomes you into its deadly legacy.”

Emily, an author in a rut, and her best friend, Chess, social media star turned best selling author, go to Italy to get away and rekindle their friendship. They’re staying a villa famous for being rented in the 70s by musicians and an author that went on to write a best selling horror novel after one of the musicians was murdered there. Emily stumbles upon clues leading her to believe the murder was more sinister than a rockstar party gone wrong. As tensions rise in the house between Emily and Chess in present day, you can’t shake the ominous feeling that something is going to happen again in that house.

I didn’t realize this book was inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and Percy and Mary Shelley prior to reading it (yeah- I didn’t read the blurb and pretty much went in blindly when I was sent the widget from the publisher). I felt the vibes throughout though and kind of love the book more now that I know the inspiration behind it. I liked the two timelines leading up to the twists in both the past and present. Not what I expected but in a good way. I can’t say much without spoilers but this is a great escape of a book.

I was fortunate to be sent an audio copy in addition to an e-galley so I was able to go back and forth between listening and reading on my kindle. The audio version had fantastic narrators, one of them being one of my favorites, Julia Whelan.

The Villa is available tomorrow 1.3.22!

Thanks @stmartinspress for sending this eARC and also @macmillan.audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Emily is not doing well, her husband left her and is now suing her for more than he is entitled to. Her career is stalling as she struggles to write her next book and an unknown illness keeps her in a constant state of worry. So when her best “frenemy” invites her for a summer at an Italian Villa to get away and focus on her writing, Emily can’t say no.
But Houses Remember, and this house remembers long buried and deadly secrets.
Secrets that Emily is determined to uncover.

This book kept me interested.
I love a dual timeline story and uncovering this mystery along with Em was really fun. The ending is so dark and twisted and perfectly full circle.

First read of 2023 and so happy about it. I absolutely loved the premise of this thriller! Two very parallel stories of women vacationing in a Villa for the summer in Italy- one in the 70’s and one present day. There’s so much to their stories to align, but at the same time so different. The present day guests are uncovering secrets of the past while attempting to work on their new books. The whole idea and how this book was written was wonderful!

A lot of reviews I’ve read on it so far have said it was a slow burn, and I wouldn’t personally have described it as such. It’s definitely not your typical thriller but I enjoyed that about it.

Bonus points: the setting totally felt like the villa portion of season 2 of White Lotus!

The Villa by Rachel Hawking is more than one mystery, it is two mysteries in one. I found the storyline between Chess and Emily to be the most interesting. The two girls have been best friends since they were young. Life in their thirties divided them because of their busy lives as writers. Now getting divorced and her writing stalled Emily gets an invite from Chess to join her in the Filla Aestas in Italy. What an opportunity for Emily (a mystery writer) to get her creativity going again. The house contains a long lost mystery.

In 1974, there was another mystery in the villa. Mari, Lara and Pierce are involved in creating along with lots of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Mari writes her greatest book ever. Pierce Sheldon however ends up getting brutally killed.

There is a lot of intense mystery in this book. I did not like all of the switch back and forth as much as I would have just liked one story.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for an opportunity to read and review this book.

Looking for a good book, this book is released January 3.

Having loved RECKLESS GIRLS (good beach read), I was excited to read THE VILLA! This story is told in two time periods. Present Day: Emily and Chess were childhood friends and are now well-known writers who are spending the summer in an Italian villa. Emily, our present-day narrator writes cozy mysteries and while going through a divorce to Matt, she has writer’s block while writing her latest book. Chess is a successful writer of self-help books. The second time period takes place in the 1970s and five “friends” are staying at the villa. Rock stars Noel Gordon and Pierce Sheldon along with his girlfriend Mari, a writer, her stepsister Lara, a song writer, and Johnny, the drug supplier. According to the blurb about the book, they represent the Manson murders and Fleetwood Mac. Sounds good!

This 288 page book felt like a 400 page book. It definitely is not a beach read. I found after reading about 30 percent of the book, I had to start again and take notes. I became confused between the characters and who belonged to what time periods. Around 45 percent of the book, I became invested in the story and found myself totally invested. The resolution came rather quickly and I was not impressed. I think there was work to do on the ending, I also think there is work to do on the Emily and Matt back story. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

I was so intrigued by this book before I started it and it didn’t disappoint. Emily and Chess were inseparable when they were younger but the pressures of adulting got in the way so they take a girl’s trip to Italy to reconnect. With a plan to stay in a beautiful villa, they soon find out that the villa is also a known murder house - being the setting for the murder of an up and coming musician, Pierce Sheldon back in 1974.
The more I read, the more I was hooked by the characters. It can seem a bit confusing at first because you’re bouncing between present day Em & Chess, the 1974 crew (Mari, Lara, Pierce, Noel, and Johnnie), parts of Lilith Rising (the book written by Mari), and Aestas (the album written by Lara). The present day timeline was always yanking me back in: Emily’s interest in the murders, Chess’s self-centered vibe, and Matt - Emily’s ex who is dragging her through a messy divorce; they kept me quickly turning the pages.
I was able to deduce where the story was going but I didn’t mind. The important part is the journey to get there. And we’re given some twists along the way from both present day and 1974.
Definitely a page turner and I had to sit on the ending for a minute to determine how I felt about everything that unraveled. The answer, I feel good. An great first read of the month!

Emily and Chess have been best friends for years, but, as the girls get older life throws curveballs their way, and things start to get complicated. Emily became a famous fiction writer, who mysteriously got sick during the height of her career. Her sickness led to a slowdown in writing, her husband left her, and overall, her life is a mess.

Chess took another route- the self-care spiritual journey. Becoming a huge bestseller, she continues to get blonder and richer as her success climbs. When Chess suggests she and Emily take a writing retreat in a villa in Italy, Emily buys a plane ticket and takes off!

Luckily for Emily, the Villa is a writer's dream. Villa Aestas was once known as Villa Rosato and was used as the writing place for one of the most poignant women-written horror stories of all time. It was also the scene of a brutal murder. Moving away from her breezy fiction, Emily delves into the Villa's history and is amazed at what she finds.

The more she writes, the more strained her relationship becomes from Chess. What secrets will the Villa reveal in their relationship? Will there be another murder before summer's end?

While I'm usually not a fan. of the multiple plot lines and jumping from past to present, this one kept me intrigued. A quick-paced thriller, this one will keep you guessing until the very end!

The Villa tells the story of Emily, a successful author of a series of cozy mysteries who is stuck trying to complete No. 10. It doesn’t help that one of her main characters is based on her husband, whom she is divorcing. Emily’s best friend (frenemy?) invites her to The Villa, in Italy, for the summer. Intertwined with this story is one from about 40 years ago, involving a murder that happened at The Villa. I enjoyed both storylines.

This is a fast-moving, quick read. I was not crazy about some of the choices made by the MC in the current day timeline but the ending redeemed it for me and makes it a solid 4 star read.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read what will sure to be another popular book.

I think I love everything I have ever read written by Rachel Hawkins and The Villa was especially delightful! Not only did I not read the synopsis before starting (I'm hooked by a good cover), but I was pleasantly surprised by the two stories included and wish I could read Lilith Rising in real life?? (IYKYK). I loved the deeper aspects of this book (sisterhood, friendship, relationship trauma, with little murder?) and found myself not really knowing how it was going to end. This comes out tomorrow, and I think is the perfect book to transport you from January weather to warm Italy.

Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Press and Rachel Hawkins for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“Houses remember.”

Both the evocative first line of this book and one if the fictional books written within this story, “The Villa” offers tightly plotted suspense that explores the complexities of friendships between women.

Told in dual timelines, the book follows Emma and Chess in present-day: childhood friends who are both successful writers – albeit in very different ways – and who decide to spend the summer at a villa in Italy.

But it isn’t any villa – it’s one that inspired a best-selling book, a seminal album, and a high-profile murder back in the ‘70s. As Emma and Chess start digging into their respective projects and each other’s lives, they also become interested in the story of that summer in the ‘70s – when stepsisters Mari and Lara were muses for a rockstar and up-and-coming musician.

As the unsettling stories of Emma and Chess, and Mari ans Lara unfold, themes of toxic relationships emerge and we see the jealousy and competitiveness that can be inherent to intimate, long-term female friendships threatening to boil over.

The plotting here is taught, and as the tension built, I often found myself physically reacting. And though neither of the stories told in this book end in ways that are necessarily surprising, they are still immensely satisfying – and in ways that did take me by surprise.

3.75🌟
1🌶️

The Villa - Rachel Hawkins

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5 out of 5)

I felt connected to this book from the beginning. One of the main characters during the “present” sections is named Emily McRae. My first name and my best friend from colleges last name. Then, I read on and the historical section has a main character named Lara (the name of my best friend from high school - only hers is LaRa). Coincidence? I think not.

This books was such a quick easy read - more of a drama than any other genre. Sometimes I found the storyline to be challenging - it’s told from 3 different perspectives - one being that of letters, articles, song lyrics, etc - and sometimes it got a little confusing! But this book was an excellent book to start of 2023 with!

Out tomorrow January 3, 2023!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an eARC of The Villa in exchange for an honest review.

Emily and her lifelong friend, Chess, set out on a summer long vacation in Orvieto to write and relax. The Villa alternates between present day and the 1970’s during a time that a gruesome murder of a famous rockstar occurred in the same location. Emily is intrigued by the events that transpired in 1974, and soon similarities from the past start to become Emily’s present reality.

It is hard to sum up my thoughts on The Villa because I found it to be equally intriguing as it was flat. I would be entirely invested in the story one moment and a bit confused the next. The premise was there, but the various time jumps and choppy pacing made it hard to follow at times. Overall, it was entertaining, but don’t expect shocking twists or super eerie vibes. To me, this was more so a mystery or drama.

A captivating novel, suspense built so subtle that I was completely surprised by the climax.

In this book, we hear from two women. Mari Godwick, prolific horror novelist during the summer she wrote her infamous novel, Lillith Rising. We also get to know Emily, best-selling author of a cozy mystery series who has writers block, among other personal life tramas.

Both women write from a beautiful Italian villa. When Mari is a guest she comes with her boyfriend, Pierce, and her step-sister Lara. They're guests of rock star legend Noel Gordon and upon arrival they meet another guest, Johnnie who seems to be something between a friend and a drug dealer. She's on the cusp of writing something, words rattling around in her head, on the edge of inspiration but not quite able to focus. Lara is Lara, mooning after Pierce, and now Noel and pretending to be a musician.

Emily is there with her best friend, Chess Chandler. Emily's interest is piqued by the infamous murder that happened at the Villa. Such a tragic summer seems to have brought about the success of Mari and Lara, both having produced their greatest works the that same summer. Emily feels a pull toward not just Mari's horror novel, but the inspiration behind it.

In Lillith Rising, Mari writes: "houses remember." and so it seems does this villa. Because, Emily becomes a woman possessed, she has the inspiration and the words she has lacked for so long. She's not sure what she's coming up with, part memoir, part biography, part think-piece? But whatever it is, it's good.

As Emily continues to write, it seems the story around her also builds. You become untrusting of the people around her and wonder just what is going on at the Villa. The same can be said for Mari, as we hear from her, the reader is trying to figure out just what brought upon a murder and who could have done it.

I was really unprepared for some of the twists and turns that were revealed with this book and loved every minute of it. The writing was excellent -- engaging. Each character clearly had their own distinct voices and allowed you to fully immerse into each timeline as you read about it. I can forsee this book getting a lot of buzz.

I really enjoyed this book, which is basically two thrillers in one - one told in the past (1974) and one told in the present day. The audio was excellent, narrated by a favorite, Julia Whelan, as well as Kimberly M. Wetherall and Shiromi Arserio and I thought they all did a fantastic job. This is a quick and entertaining read, inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the birthplace of Frankenstein. I loved how the two timelines wove together, and how atmospheric and it was (the house is basically a character itself). This is my favorite book by this author so far!

Thank you to LibroFM for the ALC to review and to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC to review.

This is a story that gets you fully involved from the first page. Emily and Chess were best friends from the fourth grade. While Emily is struggling with health issues and a divorce, Chess thrives in her role as a successful author and influencer. Emily is the author of a cozy mystery series. Her latest book is overdue, her husband is demanding a substantial amount of her earnings in the settlement and she is experiencing writer’s block. Chess’ solution is getting away for six weeks to a villa in Orvieto, Italy. When Emily researches the villa she discovers that it was a murder house. In 1974 it was the scene of a murder attributed to sex, drugs and rock and roll.

Mari was a teenager when she ran away with her step-sister Lara and moved in with Pierce, a married musician. When Lara meets Noel, a rock star, he invites them for a summer at the villa. It is here that Mari will write a best selling horror novel and Lara will compose the music that will launch her career. It is also where events lead to Pierce’s murder and a sensational trial. Emily discovers a copy of Mari’s book at the villa and begins to see how some of the events are reflected in the story. She puts her latest cozy on hold and begins writing about the events of 1974, the connections to the novel and her own impressions of the villa. Chess had once suggested that they work together on a book, but this is Emily’s project and she begins to hide her work from Chess. Tensions begin to build between the two friends and lies are revealed, leading to another death.

Rachel Hawkins alternates Mari’s story of the events of 1974 with Emily and Chess’ current visit to the villa. Mari made one final visit to the villa before her death. What she reveals is one final twist that will change everything that you believed to be true. The Villa is a definite recommendation for fans of Ruth Ware. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for making this book available for my review.