A freaking fantastic thriller that made me wish I could write as well as Rachel Hawkins. It's been about a month since reading this and I still find myself thinking about the story.

ARC Review: The Villa by Rachel Hawkins (publication date January 3, 2023)
4.5 stars
“Houses Remember”- the opening words of this unforgettable thriller will reign true in multiple points throughout the story. The beautiful Italian Villa is the heart of three storylines, all seemingly different but so much more alike than meet the eye- one past, one present, and one fiction. Childhood best friends, Emily and Chess, both authors, escape to Villa Aestas for the summer to reconnect and write. Emily thinks she is there to finally get over her writer’s block and finish the 10th book in her cozy murder mystery series, but instead finds inspiration within the very walls of the villa. She stumbles on the hidden and never before seen journal of Mari Godwick, a famous horror novelist, who stayed in this very house almost fifty years prior, her summer ending in one horrifying event that will deem this villa a murder house from then on. Emily quickly finds connections and similarities in Mari’s experiences that tragic summer and Mari’s seemingly fictional novel, Lilith’s Rising.
The Villa gives the reader drama, mystery, “who-dun-it”, and even true crime vibes. Rachel Hawkins seamlessly bounces back and forth from past to present, the connections unraveling and deepening the mystery. I found myself immediately intrigued by the novel, unable to put it down even late into the night. I finished it in only two sittings, desperate to find out the truth. The ending twist(s) did not disappoint and left me feeling rather in awe of Hawkin’s ability to turn the tables and still somehow everything makes sense.
The Villa will be available on January 3, 2023.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you St. Martins press for the ARC of this book. I have rated this book a solid 3. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. I enjoyed the storyline between Chess and Emily and found myself flying through those bits. However, the parts with Mari, Lara, and Pierce (and others) were a bit convoluted at times and kind of boring. It just didn't flow enough for me. I definitely wouldn't rate this as a thriller. I enjoyed the setting but wish the story had focused more on Chess and Emily, their friendship, the betrayal between the two of them and them discovering the mystery at the villa.

A story about friendship, loyalty, love, betrayal and murder. The Villa is a suspense story written with duel timelines happening in the same Italian villa. I loved the characters and how they are intertwined in both time periods.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC for an honest review. #Netgalley #Thevilla #Rachelhawkins

I liked the Emily/Chess parts better than the Mari/Lara parts. I can appreciate what Hawkins was doing by including both narratives in the book. I felt the ending was kind of rushed.

I really had high hopes for this. And I was pretty hooked by the story.

However, I think it lacks more of the mysterious/twisty aspects that I love in this genre. There wasn’t enough of an impact. It feels more like women’s fiction than a true thriller. Which is fine, but not what I was expecting.

Overall, still enjoyable.

Cozy mystery author Emily’s life is in turmoil. The next book in her series is long overdue, she’s in the midst of a divorce, and she’s recovering from a mysterious debilitating illness. Her childhood BFF, Chess, an Oprah-endorsed self-help book author, invites Emily on an extended vacation at an Italian villa—the perfect opportunity to finish book ten in the Petal Bloom mystery series. Emily’s obsession with the infamous murder that happened in the 1970’s at the villa leads her to take drastic measures to address the betrayals in her own life.

The book moves back and forth between Emily’s story and that of Mari, a writer, whose visit to the villa resulted in the death of her partner. The parallels between the women are many. Chess also shares some similarities with Mari’s step-sister Lara, who vacationed at the villa with Mari. All four women were creatively inspired by their time at the villa.

THE VILLA is a Russian nesting doll in that it involves so many interlaced works of women’s writing including Emily’s cozy mystery series, Emily’s new book inspired by her stay at the villa, Chess’s SWIPE RIGHT ON LIFE, Mari’s LILITH RISING, the lyrics of Lara’s debut album, and more.

I like how the ambiguity in Mari’s LILITH RISING foreshadows the ambiguity of the overreaching story which nicely allows the reader to fill in the blanks. Hawkins does a great job portraying Emily and Chess’s complicated friendship and how each other’s success in the writing world affects their relationship. The various accounts of the famous murder show the power of perspective. The villa itself acts as a creative catalyst which allows the occupants the opportunity to rewrite their own stories. In a world where so many people live seemingly perfect lives on social media, THE VILLA shows the shadow that is often overlooked.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

The Villa was better than I expected seeing some other reviews. I really enjoyed the dual timeline, I always find those interesting, and there was lots of drama, I did think some parts were predictable, but I still really enjoyed the book overall. It was a nice read to break up all the romance novels I’d been into this summer.

BOOK RATING: ⭐⭐⭐ .5

First off, this book is NOT a thriller because a thriller is a book about the fear of a future crime. The Villa is gothic suspense novel with a bit of a mystery thrown in. I rated The Villa three stars because it did what I wanted it to do, entertain me. I gave it another half star because I love atmospheric Gothic suspense novels.

LOVED:
• The book (Lilith Rising) and the folk music album (Aestas) created by the two female characters from the 70s felt so real. I wish I could read and listen to them.
• The Verity vibes. (Although this is nowhere near the mind f*** that book was.)
• I was transported to a villa in Italy for the summer. What’s not to love about that?

COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:
• The structure of the book can be confusing. In the same chapter we can be reading about the events in 1974, the current story, and a quote from a podcast or magazine article referring to the 1974 events. I really hope this gets fixed before the physical copy is published.
• I enjoyed the modern timeline, but it was wrapped up a little too quickly and conveniently.

TW: adult/minor relationship, blood, cancer, death of a child, death of a parent, drugs and alcohol, miscarriage, murder, infidelity, toxic friendship, sexual content, suicide

This was a fun, creepy book! It's told in two time periods-1974 and current day. Both follow guests at a villa in Italy. In 1974, a young group of musicians and artists stay at the villa, and one of them is murdered. In the present day setting, two writers are spending the summer in the villa. One is struggling in her personal life and finds herself fascinated with the tragedy. She finds herself researching the people and trying to figure out what really happened. There's quite a twist towards the end for both time periods. Fun read!

It started off really good I was interested but then at some point before half way it just wasn’t doing it for me im not to sure what it was. It was over all a good book but it wasn’t my usual four to five star I give it three I enjoyed the reckless girls more and I loved the wife up stairs! I struggled to fully connected into this book it was more of a fiction domestic drama than a thriller which is my favorite genre. There were a few intriguing but not at all surprising twists. I may not have loved it as much as previous reads but I would still recommend it!

Engrossing story that is easy to follow despite traveling across several time periods. Characters are well developed and complicated - you can neither completely love or hate them. The ending is a bit disappointing, but makes sense in the context of the story.

Really enjoyed The Villa. It’s a unique story, which I appreciated, jumping back and forth in time between an old murder and a present day author staying in the house where the murder happened. It’s a story of friendship and betrayal, of fiction and truth, and of the houses that know all the secrets. I didn’t love the ending, although I can appreciate it. It was an interesting ending, it just left me feeling sad and a bit confused.

I have to say that I enjoy any book that includes a murder house and dual timelines! When two former BFFs decide to take a trip to Italy to write, Emily finds out the house has had a murder in it. This was a great dual timeline that weaved in and out of each other seamlessly telling the story of two girls, Emily and Mari. The story is immersive and told a great story. I felt the ending could have been a bit more detailed but the book was a good read!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

Let me start off by saying I typically don’t like multiple point of view books but I really enjoyed this one. It’s a thriller/crime novel about a murder that happens in the 1970’s that correlates to what is happening is the present time.

Em and Chess best friends and are both writers but are living different life styles. Em is divorcing her douch bag husband and is tight on money. Chess is living it up without a worry in the world. They decide to go on vacation together in a villa in Italy, which happens to be the place that a famous murder took place. Back in the 70’s Mari, her boyfriend, and stepsister take a vacation to this same villa to stay with a famous rock star and his “friend”, where the murder takes place. Mari is also an inspiring writer, who gets all the motivation and inspiration to write her most famous book while staying at the villa.

There are a lot of twists in this book that honestly just makes you want to know more. Just when you think you have it figured out, the book is like nope just kidding and takes you down a whole different ending. I couldn’t put this book down and it’ll honestly be a reread once it releases and I buy an actual copy.

I think this book really teaches you about morals and about doing what you have to do to survive a toxic environment. It’s a super good read and I recommend it to anyone who likes thriller books and plots twists.

⭐️⭐️⭐️- {THE VILLA - Rachel Hawkins}

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Emily is finally starting to feel like herself after spending the last two years plagued by a mysterious illness, her husband leaving her, and hitting a writers block on the last book of her series. To add insult to injury her childhood best friend Jessica (now Chess) has turned into a self help sensation and is sitting pretty at the top of the bestsellers list. In an attempt to pull Em out of her slump, Chess plans a spontaneous trip to the breath taking Villa Aestas in Italy where they can focus on their writing and get some much needed R&R under the Tuscan sun. When Em finds out that a gruesome murder took place in the very same villa she abandons her series for an entirely different type of book. She delves into the past, unearthing clues and piecing together the story of a group of bohemian artists and their own summer at the villa decades before them. Drug fueled escapades and twisted relationships amongst family and lovers ultimately lead to the death of one artist but the rise of the others. Will history repeat itself?

💭 I was really let down by this one because I loved Reckless Girls. No shocking plot twists, the whole thing felt predictable and the ending felt rushed. Just overall anti-climatic. If you cant even describe the murder that we have waited the whole book for then what am I here for!!! 😡 The majority of the characters were so self centered and did such horrible things to the people they supposedly loved I thought the author could have done a better job evening the score and giving a little more justice to the good guys. The way its written is fine I just think the story deserved more development.

This was a good thriller! A little slow to start but than it got good! Lots of drama! I definitely recommend

I really enjoy Rachel Hawkins books, and The Villa delivered! This was a thriller/drama set in Italy with two best friends visiting a famous villa. While the first half started slow, I could not put it down after the halfway point! I didn't love that the book switched timelines frequently, but overall it was a good read.

3.5 stars rounded up


Thank you to St. Martin's Press, the author and NetGalley for providing a copy to review!

This is my first novel that I’ve read by this author and I was extremely underwhelmed. The novel was very predictable - I wouldn’t even consider it a mystery, it’s more of a drama. The story switches between present time and the past in the 70s. Neither story line kept me engaged or intrigued. Maybe if you don’t like thrillers or mysteries and just want a story about friendship and sisterhood, then give it a try. But if you like actual mysteries/thrillers then this one will most likely disappoint you. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This was definitely the best thriller I have read all year. I loved the concurrent storylines between two time periods. I loved that there was so much ambiguity and unreliable narration. It was definitely fun to decode what was real and what was not. And, there were some lovable characters I was rooting for throughout.