“Houses Remember”

Thank you Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. “The Villa” is set to publish 1/3/23.

As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend. Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato, and rented for the summer by notorious rockstar, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite is creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one to the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album— and ends up in Pierces murder. As Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to thing there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. As secretes from the past come to light equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge— and it begins to look like the Villa will claim another victim before the summer ends.

This is by far my favorite Rachel Hawkins book that I have read. I loved the multiple POVs and dual timeline. I was intrigued with unraveling both mysteries and after getting 40% of the way into the book I found myself not being able to put it down! My only complaint is that for a gothic suspense I wish it would have been a little creepier. I think that it was close and that the author could’ve leaned into that aspect a little more. Other than that, I highly recommend “The Villa” and rated it 4.5 ⭐️’s.

“Houses remember.”

The story follows two “best friends” staying at an Italian villa that was the location of a famous murder in the 1970s. This a dual timeline story that flips between the main character in the present trying to solve the mystery and diary entries from the past.

My favorite part of this were the flashback scenes. It gave me total Fleetwood Mac vibes (which the author said she was inspired by) and reminded me of a more sinister DAISY JONES. I couldn’t wait for more of the past to unravel and to find out what really happened at that creepy villa decades ago.

My biggest qualms were I felt that some plot points weren’t wrapped up well or explained well. Like maybe they were included just for shock factor. Honestly, I was still pretty engrossed in the story and couldn’t wait to listen to more.

I think the main reason why I rated this so high was due to the fact that I listened on audio. Julia Whelan narrates the present part and she does a fantastic job as always.

I am a big fan of Rachel Hawkins novels and this one falls in the middle of the road for me. It alternates between 1974, when 5 friends meet at a Villa in Italy owned by Noel, a famous musician. One wants to become a famous musician, his girlfriend Mari, Lara, who thinks the musician will fall in love with her, and a house guest Johnnie. There are a lot of drugs within the house. Mari is a writer, and she decides to write about what happens in the Villa. A murder occurs and Mari's book tells the story, but the ending is never clear.

Meanwhile, the book alternates to the present when two childhood friends travel to Italy and stay in the Villa to get away for the summer. Emily is a writer, recovering from an unknown illness and a divorce. Chess is her friend who is a famous self-help writer. At the villa, Emily is aware of a murder that took place in 1974, and she finds clues to learn about it through reading the book written by Mari. The ending is missing, and later found in different places in the Villa. Emily wants to write about the murder that took place and Chess wants to co-author it with her. Chess acts very strange, and Emily starts to get suspicious of Chess and her motives.

There is a lot more to the Emily and Chess scenario, but I don't want to give away any spoilers.
It gets a bit confusing between the ending of Mari's book, the truth of the murder that took place in 1974 and then what happens in the relationship between Emily and Chess.
It was a good mystery, but a bit confusing to me.

Chess and Emily have been best friends since they were little girls. Both in their 30s now, they have drifted apart over the years as Chess’ career took off as a self-help author, while Emily struggled with a divorce, a mysterious illness and being the author of a mediocre detective series. When Chess phones her up and asks her to come to Italy with her for a month, Emily jumps at the chance to escape her depressing life. Only thing is, Chess has booked a villa as their accommodations that is infamous for a murder that happened there years ago.

I have read all of Rachel Hawkins’ books so far and I knew eventually there had to be one I didn’t love. Unfortunately, it was The Villa. I did love the Chess/Emily dynamic as it was very complex. I also really liked the setting - Hawkins’ seems to be really good at picking unique locations. However, there was just too much going on here. She clearly pulled from several real life inspirations and it just felt cluttered, as though not enough time was given to anything to fully develop it. I also didn’t feel like there was enough tension. I think if she would have picked one major influence, it would have been better!

I am a big fan of Rachel Hawkins’s thrillers and was sooo excited to read this book! It is a gothic suspense set in an italian villa with a dark past. Need I say more? 😂

The story follows writer Em & self help influencer Chess, two best friends who take a trip together to reignite their friendship and work on their latest books. When they arrive at the villa, they learn of the villa’s past- a murder that took place in the 70’s among a cast of famous musicians and artists. As they progress into their stay, the women go down a rabbit hole to figure out what really happened in the villa that summer in 1974…

Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle (the birthplace of Frankenstein). So I recommend this if you enjoy any of the above or the book Daisy Jones and the Six.

I picked this book up several times and never could get into it. However, I was in a mood one day and I am SO glad!

I could not stop reading the latest from Rachel Hawkins! Two stories are weaved together beautifully - told between two different time periods (and two different narrators!)

Love how the story weaved together!

I really enjoyed The Villa. I kept my attention from the get go. Enough twists to keep me guessing. And I loved how everything was wrapped up in the end.

murder, daisy jones and the six vibes, a quaint italian villa, strong female characters, and a multi generational mystery? SIGN ME UP! THIS BOOK WAS FABULOUS!

I like reading books about writers and the writing process. I would have liked to see the author capture the array of writing processes amongst the various writer characters, rather than having them all under this feverish inspiration at the house.

I vastly preferred the Mari/Lara story to Em/Chess. I did have trouble keeping some of the story elements clear - whose parents were whose, who lost a baby etc.

How did they address Matt's death in their book? I feel like I need to know more of that story to buy into their rampant success.

Could, like, one of those babies have lived? Just one?

This story follows two main characters, Emily and Mari in separate timelines, but with an intersection between the two. I loved going back to the 1970’s with Mari and feel that the author did a great job of creating the sex, drugs & rock ‘n’ roll atmosphere. Hers was a much more compelling story than Emily’s.

I finished this rather quickly as I was very engaged and wanted to uncover the secrets and lies in both past and present. It was a bit too easy to guess what was going on in Emily’s story, which again made Mari’s part so much more interesting.

The characters were well developed and invoked feelings of love, hate, remorse and empathy. It was however unbelievable that Emily & Chess would be friends. They didn’t appear to like each other very much and were dishonest with each other from the beginning.

While I appreciated the recreation of events in the climax of the story, I just couldn’t wrap my head around Emily doing this, with everything she knew about Chess, especially when she was always questioning her motives. That just didn’t jive for me!

But the author redeemed herself somewhat by leaving a few things in question which makes me think that not all on the surface is as it appears.

Overall, an enjoyable thriller that I would recommend.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

You’ll like this book if you like…
- Unlikeable characters
- Dual POV
- Dual timeline
- Atmospheric reads
- Slower pacing that is still intriguing
- Mysterious stories

“Houses remember.”
That line truly sets the tone for this book!!

After reading a few books by Rachel Hawkins, I’m come to appreciate how wonderfully she writes her settings. They’re so atmospheric - you feel like you’re sitting in the same place as the characters. The Villa felt very mysterious and spooky. I found this book so intriguing. It did bother me a little at first that when there was a timeline jump there wasn’t a new chapter, but I got used to it! I came to like it because I think reading both views in one chapter helped me make connections more quickly/naturally. I liked the parallels the author drew between the present-day and past characters. I won’t say much more, but I thought the twists were great and thought-provoking!!

I’d recommend this one - it’s my favorite Rachel Hawkins book that I’ve read so far (I’ve read The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls). Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC!

I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to read this book early as it is one of my most anticipated books of 2023, and I love Hawkins' writing. This one was definitely a slow burn. I did anticipate some of the big reveals but this still has some good twists. I will say that I definitely enjoyed one of the timelines much more than the other. I enjoyed it though! ⭐⭐⭐

3.75. An Italian escape that makes you question everything.

Synopsis: Two story lines take place in the same villa in Italy. As both stories unravel you learn more and more about the players in the murder of a 70’s musician.

Pros: The intertwining story lines kept me guessing and interested in the lives of the characters. As soon as I thought I had it figured out, more information entered the scene.

Cons: I wish there would have been more time with these characters. This book almost read like a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel but didn’t quite have the well rounded characters as Reid creates.

This was an enjoyable read that is sure to be a hit with Rachel Hawkins fans. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC !

#bookreview #netgalley #eARC #bookstagtam #bookstagrammer #fiction #thevilla #rachelhawkins

My first book by Rachel Hawkins was The Wife Upstairs. I loved it, which is why I sought out this one upon hearing about it.
This is a murder mystery, within a thriller. I liked that there was something to "figure out", while navigating the present time narrative.
There were two twists in the story. The first underwhelmed me, the second was a little better. I think this was a good read, as it kept me captivated the whole way through and I really enjoy the author's writing. But nothing stuck out in a big way, which is why this sits at 3 stars.
Am I glad I read it? Yes. It was fun. I'd recommend giving it your time.

The setting, history and feel of this book was, for me, the most interesting and enjoyable part. We have a dual timeline going on in this book and I had a minor preference for the past timeline and characters but to be honest, I felt like I needed more time with each set of characters in order to be truly invested in their storylines. I loved the slow burn pacing in Hawkins’ previous book, The Wife Upstairs, but in this case, while the pacing is similar it somehow felt too slow. This might be because, as I mentioned, I didn’t feel fully invested in the characters but I also didn’t feel like any of the twists had much bang. As a result, I have to admit this didn’t have the “thriller feel” to it, maybe more a gothic woman’s fiction but with murder haha.

All in all, interesting setting and concept but this one was a miss for me. I do still plan on checking out this authors other books since I truly did enjoy The Wife Upstairs.

Content warnings: death, drugs and alcohol use.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and Libro.fm for the ARC/ALC for review. All opinions are my own.

Wow! This kept me hooked right from the very beginning. Rachel did it again!!! I didn’t not guess the thriller this time so she got me. I would highly recommended to my bookish friends. I am going to tell everyone in my book group to read it. Happy to get an advanced copy. I will buy it win it comes out so I can reread it. I don’t usually reread books either

"Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps Pierce’s murder wasn’t just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but that something more sinister might have occurred––and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind."

Hawkins has crafted a story that balances between the present and the past. There are intricate clues that the reader and present characters are able to follow to determine the past. I loved reading the story of the past because there was so much depth and even character growth despite their lifestyle. I loved the multi layer aspect to the story but the present day characters really ruin the big picture. Present day Emily and Chess are both insufferable MC's and it caused the whole book to be a rather average read. They just felt too messy and not enough ground for the big actions that happen in this book.

I think this book works great for people who tend to like thrillers, but I don't think it is a great start for someone who has never read thrillers. I think this particular book may turn them off from the genre. However, I do have some great comparisons for people who did enjoy the book and think there are many people who would love this one.

Thank you NetGaley for an earc of this book, all opinions are my own.

I'll read anything by Rachel Hawkins, and while this one was not my absolute favorite of hers (that's way too hard to decide), I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it is a fantastic addition to her stable of thrillers. I was actually kept guessing the entire time, and was convinced that it would end differently than it did, which is just not easy to do these days with the thriller market so saturated. So anytime a new and original plot comes up, I am incredibly impressed. I will absolutely recommend this to anyone who loves a great book with strong, clear characters.

I haven't read any other books by this author, and this was the perfect one to start with! It sucked me in and I read late into the night. The story follows two different timelines with different points of view, the first follows Mari and her life with musician Pierce Sheldon while they are vacationing in Italy at The Villa, and the second is Emily while she is vacationing at the same Villa with her best friend Chess. Both POVs were perfect and utterly fascinating, and I couldn't wait to get back to each one. This book took me on a twisty, suspenseful, and unexpected ride, and I loved every minute of it!...

Emily has come from a divorce, and she's currently working... or not working on her next book in her Petal Bloom cozy mysteries series. When her best friend Chess blows back into her life and invites her to an Italian Villa. This is the perfect place for her to relax, recharge and work on her book, which is woefully behind schedule.

When Emily does a little research she finds the Villa is the place of a famous murder, and when she arrives she finds a book that piques her interest in the crime even more. As Emily digs into the crime, secrets are revealed from the past, and within her own relationships, and nothing is what it seems... I can't wait to read more by this author!

I believe this was my first time reading a book by Rachel Hawkins. The Villa is the story about 2 friends, or are they really rivals or enemies? Emily and Chess, both writers, head to Italy to spend a summer in a villa to work on their perspective books. Chess writes self-help motivational books while Emily writes cozy mysteries. Emily is in the beginning of divorce proceedings. The villa where they stay was once the scene of a brutal murder back in the 70’s involving a rock-n-roll icon. Once there Emily discovers some truths about said murder and she starts to write a book about it. This was an interesting storyline which was actually a dual timeline with 2 different sets of characters. It held my attention and I was surprised with the little twist that comes out in the end. I thought the murder went one way when really it went another. The author put a lot of thought into this plot and I really enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to others. I would classify this books genre to be a mystery. I’d like to thank NetGalley for the arc to read and review. I’m giving this a 4 star rating and I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.