Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

I am going to start with this, I love Rachel Hawkins. Several of her books have been five stars. I give The Villa these two stars with a heavy heart. I had such high hopes for this one, and it just fell flat for me. The entire story felt rushed which made it difficult for me to connect or appreciate the story line. I still remain optimistic and hopeful for her future works.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I love Rachel Hawkins so when I was granted access I couldnt wait to see what was in store. The very opening line "Houses remember" already haunted me and pulled me into the story. Two best friends spend a summer in a villa in Italy where a murder occurred decades before. Will they make it out untainted is the question that follows you as you read along. Readers are going to love the twists in this one.

This was my first Rachel Hawkins book and it was pretty good!
I enjoyed the multiple POVs and timelines but I found the chapters to be a too long. It is sometimes difficult for me to stay invested in a book unless I am really drawn into the story line, so the long chapters were a slight hindrance since I was not completely fascinated. My interest varied from chapter to chapter, and I thought that little was happening in certain chapters. But, I did like the setting and will mention that I preferred reading from Emily's point of view and seeing how she investigated the circumstances behind what happened.

My overall impression of the story was positive. It's likely that I'll read her other books, about which l've heard wonderful things. This one appeared to have mixed reviews - you either liked it or it seemed to fall short of the mark.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

*3.5 stars rounded up

Emily and Chess were best friends as kids but as their adult lives take them in different directions, their friendship isn't as strong. Until one day they meet for lunch and Chess invites Emily to join her at a villa in Italy, so they can both work on their writing. Back in 1974 this villa had a murder among friends who were in the world of rock music. Noel invites his friend Pierce to the villa to write songs. With a group of friends working on their music, one of them, Mari, is writing a murder mystery. As tensions build, Pierce is murdered. For Emily and Chess, their tensions are building as well and some buried secrets between them come out. The two stories have some similarities and some buried secrets. I read & listened to this book in a day! My thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Goodreads for an early copy of the e-book, audio, and paperback. A beautiful cover to set the mood at a lovely Italian villa....that holds secrets only the house remembers.

I was a bit skeptical going into this read. Rachel Hawkins’s previous books have not been my favorite, but this one is by far my favorite from her. I really enjoyed this.
Two best friends decide to spend the summer at an Italian Villa with a sinister past. Emily wants to escape her life where she’s stalled on writing her next book and is going through a tough divorce. Her best friend Chess, who is a famous self help guru, wants to finish her current book while also helping Emily regain control of her life. Emily dives into learning more about the past of the Villa while also wondering about Chess’s true intentions of bringing her to the Villa.
I really enjoyed the story within a story. I enjoyed the build up of Mari’s story because I genuinely didn’t know how it would end. Each little reveal felt like a fun surprise and I kept wondering where it would lead.
There was only one part of the book that didn’t really make sense to me and felt like a bit of a stretch. I hoped for something more sinister, but the reveal was lackluster.
I would definitely recommend this book for fans of slow burn thrillers.

Wow. This book was easily in my top ten for the year! The Villa basically has two plot lines: in present day focusing on cozy mystery writer Emily Sheridan and her self-help famous best friend Chess Chandler, and in the seventies focusing on a writer, a couple of aspiring musicians, and a rockstar. The setting of the novel is a character in and of itself, with both timelines taking place in the same Italian villa years apart. This story was fantastic and the author handled the switching of timelines seamlessly. I loved the characters, especially those from the seventies timeline. I wish there was more character development within the present day characters, but it’s a very small criticism. I will definitely be recommending this book to everyone I know!

I was quite taken with this book. It’s about love thwarted, lies, friendship, creativity, and betrayal.
Suspended between current day and mostly 1974, readers get acquainted with Mari, Pierce, Lara, Noel, Johnnie, Chess, and Emily.
I liked the present narrative the best, although I guessed some of the major plot points early on.
Hawkins depicts the environment of the 1970s and paints a reliable picture Of the inhabitants of the Villa.
The only person I cared for was Emily, but I found her to be extremely gullible and way too trusting, especially after she discovered a major revelation before Chess confessed.
There is a lot to ponder in this book.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins was such a smart, claustrophobic, suspenseful ball of fun and a really enjoyable read. We are following two different timelines here and tension is built expertly by Rachel Hawkins leaving you wanting more of each storyline at the end of every chapter. This made the pacing of the book, in my opinion, excellent and results in a dynamic and quick read. The friendships and relationships in this book are so layered and add so much depth to the characters in a fairly short book. I didn't see the twists coming and that is always nice when reading a thriller that has you suspecting everyone and questioning everything.

Emily and Chess have been friends for decades and like many friendships, they see each other less and less. When Chess offers to pay for Emily to follow her to Italy for the summer to get out of a writing slump, Emily rediscovers what it's like spending time with her best friend. While in Italy, they discover more about the crime that happened in the villa in the 1970s.

I love a good dual timeline story! Typically I find one that is more interesting than the other, but I actually liked Emily and Chess' story as well as Mari and those who experience the murder first hand. I also really enjoyed the small interviews that were tucked in along with some of Mari's book, Lilith Rising. I would definitely recommend this to some of my students who enjoy true crime and mystery/thriller fiction.

I loved this mash up of Daisy Jones and the Six and a thriller! I loved both storylines! The sex, drugs, rock and roll, and murder and the two writers on vacation. I loved, loved Emily - the fact that she was a cozy mystery writer turned into a true-crime junkie by the Villa and its history. I loved it all! The ending was probably a bit rushed, but I honestly enjoyed this read so much I couldn't give it anything less than 5 stars! I absolutely devoured it!

“Houses Remember.”

And I will, too. This was an excellent book, and I love the way the author mixed the dual time lines. Loved loved loved. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Really enjoyed this latest novel (coming out in a few days - January 3, 2023!) by Rachel Hawkins.

The novel centers around the Villa Aestas, and Ms. Hawkins uses dual narratives to tell the story. In the present, Emily is struggling trying to write her latest novel while going through a divorce from her husband. She agrees to go to Italy with her best friend Chess and stay at the Villa where a notorious murder happened in the 1970s. The second narrative is that of Mari, and that infamous summer of 1974.

As the pages turn, the two narratives weave back and forth and the Villa almost becomes its own character. I liked the gothic vibe and the way the two timelines worked together, I just didn’t want to stop reading. Ms. Hawkins throws twists in throughout, and just when you think you’ve got things figured out, another one comes right along.

Pick this one up - it’s a fun book to kick off the new year!

It took me a while to really get into this book but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. The characters and story line were so detailed that you felt like you were there watching it unfold. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars because I had a hard time following at some points in the book.

A slow burn thriller focused on the power women have and why they choose to wield it or not. Once things started coming together about 2/3 of the way in I was gripped, but honestly the climax was such a let down.

Also Chess is the worst character.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

It took me a little bit to get into The Villa, I wasn't loving the story or characters. It's very much a slow burn and more of drama than thriller. I was pulled in near the ending but I was really hoping for more.

I had the audio version as well as the ebook and I greatly preferred and recommend the audio.

This description alone: "Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle" HELLO.

Rachel Hawkins is officially an auto-read author for me after this book. I enjoyed The Wife Upstairs but skipped reading Reckless Girls for some reason -- I need to remedy that situation asap -- and love her witchy romance books written under her pseudonym, Erin Sterling.

This is a slow burn, which I am usually not a fan of at all, but the building tension and back-and-forth timeline work beautifully here. I loved everything about this book.

Highly recommend!

Not what I was expecting although I'm not sure what I was expecting.

I think Chess was a vile friend. I don't particularly love the book. Which is hard for me to say. It reads fine it just lacked something for me.

I do like the twist for Mari at the end. I prefer that storyline.

I just finished this so I'm honestly still just trying to wrap my head around it all. In true Rachel Hawkins style, The Villa had so many different angles that I'm sure I could read it again and pick up on something new.

Emily and Chess take off on a summer trip to a villa in Italy so that both of them can work on their writing. Emily is separated from her husband, Matt, and Chess has secrets. While there, Emily starts looking into the history of the villa, which has secrets of its own. Will the darkness that is Villa Aestas take over this strained friendship?

I really enjoyed this novel, as I do all of Rachel Hawkins novels. Every once in a while some subplot confused me for a minute, but it was easy to catch back onto. There were twists and turns I never expected, but it all works out when you think of the journey it took to get there. I would recommend this to other fans of Rachel Hawkins. *Releasing January 3, 2023

Rachel Hawkins has became one of my go to authors. The Villa is a slow burn, mystery, murder, touch of true crime read.

It started out slow for me, but still kept my interest. When I hit the 1/2 way mark, I didn't want to put it down. (I did fall asleep reading, but that's just because I am getting over being sick, one reason it took a few days to read, I probably would have finished it in a day otherwise.) The villa was described wonderfully. The characters kept me engaged in the book. It does go between two time lines. I feel you need to know that because some people don't like reading books like that. We float between Emily and her best friend Chess and the summer of 1974 when a murder happened at the Villa the stay in in Italy.

I don't know how Hawkins did it, but she basically wrote two suspense stories in one book. When you read it, you will understand what I mean. If you like murder mysteries, true crime or a little suspense, I think you will enjoy this book. Just remember, everyone reads a different book with the same title, just because one person loves it, doesn't mean you will. But, I think this is going to be a great one for you to read.

It publishes January 3, 2023!

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Rachel Hawkins for the Kindle Version of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

🙂 Happy Reading 📚🙂

#netgalley
#stmartinspress
#rachelhawkins

Sex, drugs, rock and roll and murder…

The Villa is a slow burn. I wouldn’t call it a thriller but more of a women’s fiction/drama. Told through POV’s from 1974 and the present day.

In 1974 stepsisters and their musician boyfriends rent a villa in Italy for the summer to get away and find inspiration. The summer ends with a murder.

Present day: Friends Emily and Chess, both writers rent the same villa for the summer. They try to reconnect their friendship and work on their books. Emily becomes interested in the murder that happened in 1974.

I honestly struggled with this one. I felt like nothing was happening in both timelines until the very end. There was no suspense and the ending was just ok. I l did enjoy the setting and there was one twist that I didn’t see coming which was perfect. If you enjoy slow burns and dual time lines you might enjoy it, but this one wasn't for me.

Thank you to the publisher for my #gifted copy.