A summer in a villa in Italy? What could possibly go wrong? Emily and Jessica (Chess) have been best friends for most of their lives and when the opportunity comes to stay at this villa they plan to renew their friendship and use the time to get back on their creative paths. The villa, however, has a dark past that they get caught up in. The twists, turns and red herrings will keep the reader turning pages and guessing to the very end.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is an enjoyable slow burn with both mystery and intrigue. It is told in dual timeliness. The present timeline follows long time best friends Emily and Chess who take a trip to a Villa in Italy to help rekindle their friendship that adult life has put a strain on. The second timeline follows Mari, who's tile at the Villa led her to writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time.

Emily, a writer who is trying to get the thrill of writing back gets engrossed in Mari's story and time at the Villa. As she digs into the past, her present begins to take a turn for the worse. Will the past trauma of the Villa repeat itself?

This story is truly the epitome of a slow burn. I found myself really drawn to the past story of Mari just as mich as present Emily was. If you are looking for a fast paced novel then skip this. But if you want a well written novel that seamlessly weaves dual timeliness then pick this up.

Travel back and forth in time to learn about the murder mystery that occurred in a lovely little Italian Villa. This story had layer upon layer built upon it to try to solve what happened in 1974 while a group of teenagers spent the summer in the villa which ended in a bloody fight. Flash forward to the present when besties decide they should go to the same Italian villa and get some writing accomplished. The story behind the villa entices our MC, Emily to dig a little deeper into "what really happened" all the while dealing with her current life mess of her ex-husband and failing job. This story required a little of attention to keep track of characters and storylines but quickly escalated at the end with a shocking resolution. I would recommend for fans of mystery and travel.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

🔊Song Pairing: I’ll Still Have Me - Cyn

💭What I thought would happen:

Weeellll I loved The Wife Upstairs and was utterly disappointed by Reckless Girls so I went in wearily but hopeful…

📖What actually happens:

Emily is a successful cozy mystery novelist going through a nasty divorce while her best friend is Uber famous self-help author Chess (think Girl, Wash Your Face). Chess suggests Emily and her go on an Italian vacation.

The villa they are staying at is a murder house with a saucy rock and roll history. The book bops back and forth between the story of Mari and Lara in the 60s? Vacationing with rock stars, Lara wants Mari’s man as she takes everything and Mari just wants to write her damn book.

I could go on but if you’re curious just read it.

🗯Thoughts:

I liked the idea of the story…the execution though made me kind of extremely nauseated. There was so much that was unnecessary and then skimped on the revenge drama.

I love loved reading this as a buddy read with my favourite girlies and all basically concluding that it didn’t blow us away.

I will say that the main character is a sad level pathetic and her “bestie” is sooooo cringe and do not get me started on the step sister drama between Lara and Mari. The root of the arguments being due to dick and balls. Get that toxic female bashing away from me. 🙋🏼‍♀️

Friends Chess and Emily, both authors, decide to stay at Villa Aestos in Italy for the summer. Immediately Emily is drawn to the house’s history: there was a murder there in the 1970’s. As Emily’s creativity hurls her forward, Hawkins switches back and forth to the past, to the murder and the people involved.

The Villa is a book within a book. It is about female power, messy relationships, and the choices we make that keep us feeling stuck. It’s about the capacity of the creative process. Ultimately, it is about reclaiming the narrative of your own story.

The Villa is a slow-burn. It felt like it was more a story of friendship than a thriller. Still, excellent themes explored.

Thanks to Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this work.

I was beyond excited because this is of the best covers ever. I absolutely love the teal color and the lemons.

Emily is going through a divorce from husband, when her childhood best friend reaches out to her with an opportunity to go to Italy for the summer. Emily and Chess haven’t been close recently, but this is a chance to bond again. The Villa they are staying in is known as Villa Aestas, but back in the 70s it was Villa Rosato and it was where a famous book and a famous album were written here. There was also a brutal murder. Emily is a cozy mystery writer who is inspired by the history of the Villa and begins to research what happened. Chess in a motivational influencer (like Rachel Hollis) who is also a self help writer.

The story flips back and forth from the present time with Emily and Chess to the 70s with Mari and Lara, who are on a trip with a famous rock star and some of his entourage. This part of the book has a sex, drugs, and rock and roll vibe. I loved both parts of the dual timeline, but I especially loved Chess. She was over the top and just a great character.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It was a very easy book to read and I enjoyed the epistolary chapters as well. Thank you so much to @thebookclubcookbook and @stmartinspress for the advanced reader copy. The Villa is on sale January 3, 2023!

This is a really slow burn of a mystery/thriller told in dual timelines: the present (Emily and her friend Chess) and the 1970s (Mari and her rock star friends). The story focuses on an Italian villa which Emily and Chess rent for a time, a villa in which a gruesome murder occurred in the summer of 1974 while inhabited by Mari and her friends. After hearing the history of the villa, Emily becomes intrigued with Mari, who had gone on to write a bestselling novel, and Emily decides to see if within that novel are clues to the 1974 murder.

I definitely enjoyed the present timeline much better than the 1970s timeline, and I wish that this had not been so much of a really slow burn. However, the ending was a satisfying one, making for a generally enjoyable read.

There’s maybe one redeemable person in this book, who you don’t realize is redeemable until the final few pages. There’s lots of gaslighting, misogyny, backstabbing, cheating, and overall dysfunction. I enjoyed it 😂.
.
Emily and Chess have been best friends since childhood, but they have grown apart as adults. Chess is a famous self help guru, and Emily writes cozy murders. Emily is going through a nasty divorce and agrees to go on a girls trip to an Italian villa with Chess. As she learns more about the famous murders that took place at the villa, tensions begin to rise between her and Chess. Will everyone make it out alive this time?
.
This book was addicting and I could not stop listening. There are A LOT of toxic people in this one. I’m glad she at least left one mostly decent human because I have a hard time with books where everyone becomes the villain and there’s no one to clearly root for anymore.
.
Thank you to St. Martin’s press for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
.
.
The Villa - Rachel Hawkins
4/5⭐️

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for letting me read THE VILLA early. This book hits shelves January 3.

I ate this one up in less than 24 hours. I adored getting to know these characters and the time skipping chapters told from different perspectives. I've read THE WIFE UPSTAIRS and RECKLESS GIRLS and enjoyed my time with them but I think this one is my favorite I've read by RACHEL HAWKINS. The setting, the premise and the flow of the writing had me hooked start to finish. I highly recommend this book!! I think it'll make a huge splash once it's published.

This one was a DNF for me. I will not be posting a review of it but thank you for sending I think people would like this one it just wasn't for me. Thank you again for the copy.

Two friends visit an Italian Villa to work on their novels and rekindle their friendship. The Villa has a history of its own and a dark past full of secrets. But the house isn’t the only thing with secrets. This book has past and present timelines with a few twists. The Villa is sure to please if you’re looking for a thriller to read in the new year. Thanks Macmillan for the ARC, pub date is 1.3.2023!

This page-turner introduces us to Emily & Chess, childhood best friends who have had life get in the way and are excited to reconnect during a summer spent together in Italy. They are staying at Villa Aestas, a gorgeous rental but also the scene of a gruesome murder in 1974. Hawkins hops between Emily & Chess's stay and the stay of the 70's rockers, their muses, and their friend. Full of unexpected twists, this one will keep you guessing until the end!

4 stars

I've gone on a bit of a ride with Rachel Hawkins' book. Her first thriller based on Jane Eyre, The Wife Upstairs, had a lot of potential and ended up just being a "like" from me. Her follow-up, Reckless Girls, again had a lot of potential and ended up being poorly paced and immensely forgettable (in my opinion). For me, The Villa would be my make-or-break book for Hawkins. Once again, we had an awesome premise and a beautiful cover; however, if it ended up being another mediocre read for me, I would most likely steer clear of Hawkins in the future.

I'm happy to report that I ended up really, really enjoying The Villa! Inspired by Mary Shelley and the Manson murders, we get the perspective of author Emma begin to unravel the truth behind a famous murder at the villa she is visiting with her best frenemy along with the perspective of Mari, one of the five people at the summer party where the murder took place. The book started out fairly slow for me, but I eventually found myself being won over by the fragile relationships between the characters in both timelines. Sure, this book isn't the most revolutionary thing I've ever read and I did guess some of the twists in the present-day timeline; however, this book really had me thinking and I especially enjoyed how twisted the conclusion was.

All in all, I think this is Hawkins' best thriller to date and I am still interested in seeing what she does next in this genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

TLDR:

The Villa is a gothic suspense/thriller by Rachel Hawkins. You may have read her other popular books: The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls.

Notable elements:

- Italian Getaway
- Murder Mystery
- Books About Books

What I liked:

- Dual-Timeline — The entanglement between the mysteries of past and present is both compelling and gripping. The present narrative is a mirror held up to the past, where Emily can make a uniquely informed choice in her ending.
- Power and Betrayal — This book is a stunning exploration in power and betrayal, namely, how we have a choice in whom we give the power to betray us.
- Complex Relationships — The moral ambiguity of the characters encourages numerous, questionable decisions that threaten the integrity of once-believed impenetrable relationships.

Reminds me of:

- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Verity by Colleen Hoover

Content warnings:

- Murder, Blood, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Death of a Child, Assault

Final thoughts:

I really enjoyed The Villa by Rachel Hawkins! Filled with jaw-dropping surprises, the book kept throwing curveballs just when I thought I had it all figured out; there is nothing simple about this “Italian getaway” story.

The Villa was a thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. As it switches back and forth between a past event and present day, you wonder where are the ties between these two groups of people, asides from the obvious: The Villa. With an eerie feel that 'houses remember,' this story sweeps you into the Italian scenery with the feel of when is the next ball going to drop?

The tension Emily seems to have with everyone is a constant presence that she has to deal with. Between her navigation of a separation, writers block and conflicting feelings of her best friend, things just heighten to the point where you're waiting for the volcano to explode!

Thank you to @NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my advanced copy!

First, big thanks to Net Galley, Rachel Hawkins, and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of The Villa.

Have you ever read a book that allows you to temporarily live in an alternative time period or universe? There are some books that allow you to develop deep relationships with the characters; there are some books that allow you to live in a setting you'd never experience outside of the book. And then there are those rare books that allow you to experience both of those and live in a different world, and The Villa is one of those rare gems. It's got elements of horror, mystery, romance, and truly helps to define the power of female friendships.

What's most impressive about Hawkins' latest novel is her ability to layer her the creativity. It's not only a fictional story, but three of the female leads are writers, and we get to read some of their fiction. Two other are songwriters, so we get to experience original and creative lyrics and songs, as well. The story moves between different points-of-view and different time periods: present day and the mid 1970s. The novel is so well-written and intricately developed that readers are truly living in The Villa across multiple decades and experiencing life in Italy through multiple characters.

When beginning this novel, readers should be prepared to pay close attention to the characters and their attributes. The characters are similar, and some have similar names (i.e., Mari and her mother Marianne). The time periods are clearly labeled, even if the decade changes within a single chapter. Once readers are confident that they can keep the characters straight, buckle up -- this book is truly a wild ride.

What impressed me most about The Villa is that I ended up wanting to read the fiction-within-the-fiction. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sad that the horror novel Lilith Rising and the album Aestas aren't real! It takes a talented and skilled writer to leave readers bummed that the fake novel within the fiction isn't real.

This is not my first Rachel Hawkins book, but it is now my favorite Rachel Hawkins book. You can get your copy on #pubday: January 3, 2022. Trust me -- this is the perfect way to treat yourself after a busy holiday!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is my first Rachel Hawkins' book. I liked the dual timelines of the present day and 1970s. Ms. Hawkins did a great job weaving the 1970s murder to the present day. Throughout the book I had several theories going and none of them were right. She kept me guessing. I feel the Villa was a character itself. “Houses remember." Love how she wove this line into the story. If you are looking for an intriguing mystery/thriller, give this one a try.

Thank you for this advanced copy! I found this story captivating and I loved the dual timelines and the inclusion of newspaper articles and such to give insight into the 1974 murder that occurred at the Villa. I also enjoyed the morally grey characters and I liked how at the end, Mari takes control of her narrative. I didn’t see it coming that she didn’t actually commit the murder, but I could appreciate that plot twist and how Mari does in fact cut herself free in the end.

I also thought it was really engaging to watch Emily and Chess mirror Mari and Lara throughout the story, especially towards the end. It felt reminiscent of the saying “life imitates art, art imitates life”. I did notice what I thought were some typos but this was a great novel and a really unique premise for a thriller! I can’t wait to read more from this author!

The Villa was such an enjoyable story. It felt like the best parts of The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls rolled into one. The alternating timelines jumped back and forth an just the right spots giving us new information about exactly when we needed it and I loved the vibe of an beautifully but maybe a little creepy Italian Villa.

I appreciated that every character was alternately likeable and unlikeable. They all had moments to shine and moments when they were dark. The house felt claustrophobic at times which brought out the neuroses and eccentricities of the guests the longer they stayed together in what initially seemed like a paradise. I also enjoyed the way the art referenced in the book, songs and books written by the characters, being present on the page. It felt like an extra glimpse into the minds of the residents of the Villa.

I am really loving everything Hawkins writes! This was another fantastic story from her! It's a dual timeline murder mystery with plots in both timelines that absolutely sucked me in!

I loved the villa setting and how the two timelines played off each other. The twists were great and I thought it was a fun story!