Okay, honestly, I enjoyed this WAY more than I expected to. I don’t always love an alternating timeline, but this was done really, really well. The back and forth between today and Mari’s journal entries were so interesting and so well balanced. The twist was wonderful. I read this whole book in a day and was obsessed.

i thoroughly appreciate netgalley, st. martins press and rachel hawkins for granting me a copy of the villa for an honest review!
the villa had a really intriguing plot that intertwined two separate narratives involving murder and mystery. although i found some of the plot predictable, the ending had a really good plot twist I wasn’t expecting. the writing was great and there were points in the novel where i didn’t want to put it down. i would definitely recommend this book to other mystery and thriller lovers!

Synopsis:

Distant childhood friends Chess and Emily are reuniting on a summer long vacation at the beautiful Villa Aestas (formerly Villa Rosato) in Italy. While they are there Emily starts digging into the history of The Villa, their friendship is put to the test, and surprising revelations could mean history repeating itself. 

Rewind to 1974 - Mari and her boyfriend, upcoming musician Pierce, are invited to Villa Rosato by rockstar Noel Gordon to work on music for a new record. Mari's step-sister Lara is tagging along as always. Unbeknownst to them, their summer will end in a brutal murder.

Review:

Let me start by saying: if you are into domestic thrillers add The Villa to your TBR today. There are two storylines with two equally powerful climatic confrontations. The resolution will stay on your mind well after you're done reading. 

Alternating between two timelines and using excerpts from a podcast, news and magazine articles the story is fluid and easy to follow. The character development had me invested in Emily before she even arrived in Italy. 

The interpersonal relationships between the 1970's crew... wow. There is so much distrust and love simultaneously between Mari, Pierce, and Lara. I was eager to see how their conflicts resolved and what was the final straw that resulted in murder. 

As soon as I got to the middle of the book I knew I wasn't going to be able to put it down until I found out what happened. I was absolutely engrossed in how everything was going to play out.

I wish I could give this book so many stars!

Hooked from the very beginning. Something about the back and forth between decades and storylines had me fully invested.

While Emily and Chess’ story felt like your modern day bff adventure thriller, Mari’s side was utterly fascinating to me. Mari’s decade gave me Manson Family gothic esque vibes and I couldn’t get enough of it. I only wish there was more to it. I could have read about their group for many more chapters.

A littttttle predictable towards the end on the Emily/ Chess side, but I was completely blown away by Mari’s. Not sure if this is considered a spoiler, but the novel Lilith Rising was a huge part of the story (imo) and I would give anything to read a full length version of the book! Please make it happen.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for review!

In true Rachel Hawkins fashion - The Villa will keep you guessing until the very final page. Explore the parallel lives of characters separated by decades, diving into the competitive nature of friendships, sacrifices made for creative outlets and what aspects of a personality can be brought out by those around you surround yourself with.

The Villa takes part place in Orvieto, Italy with dual timelines; one taking place in the present and one taking place in 1974. In 1974 we follow Mari, an author, her sister Lara, a singer, and her boyfriend Pierce, a musician, as they take a sort of creative retreat with rockstar Noel Gordon. That summer leads to Mari writing a best-selling horror novel, Lara writing a world renowned album, and Pierce's murder. In present day we follow best friends Emily and Chess as they take a retreat of their own to individually work on their next books. Emily gets wrapped up in the decades old mystery and uncovers new information as her and Chess's relationship also starts to strain.

I really enjoyed reading this book! The thriller aspect ended up being pretty minimal, but the mystery surrounding the villa and the relationship between Emily and Chess was enough to keep me turning the pages. I appreciated reading about how a single event can inspire multiple different kinds of art and how the present mirrors the past. Hawkins also kept it interesting with the dual timelines and throwing in snippets of interviews and articles pertaining to the group of 1974 artitsts. The ending is an interesting thought experiment of how far someone might go for a friend and also how media like books and music might shape decisions we make.

This was my first Rachel Hawkins book and you can consider me a fan! Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of this book.

This was a 3 1/2 stars for me. I'm not sure if it was because it was an ARC but I found the flow of the text confusing in parts when it jumped from the actually story to other writings. I wasn't sure what was going on. The story itself was good, told in two time periods. I enjoyed the 70's tale of sex drugs and rock n roll the best. The modern day scenes were a bit over the top, but it was a fun entertaining read.

Wow! I really liked this and read through it quickly as it was so hard to put down. Loved the complex dynamics between all the characters and their relationships, and loved the mix of past and present. This gave me some Daisy Jones & the Six vibes at parts, but was still so very original, which I loved. Would highly recommend this! Thanks, NetGalley for allowing me to review this e-ARC!!

This was a quick read for me. I could have devoured it in one sitting at just under 300 pages.
A slow-burn, mystery - I loved the dual timelines and how the two storylines intertwined with one another.
I had high hopes for this one because it sounded so good and let me tell you - the hype is real and completely correct. This was everything I expected it to be.
"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."
This could not be a more true statement. The minute I had read that I knew I had to read it. You can clearly see the inspiration of these throughout the story and made it almost even more exciting to read.
Do not go into this expecting a thriller in the traditional sense though. Every "thrilling" aspect is basically laid out from the get go and you get what you thought with very few twists.
With multiple timelines, mixed media narratives and characters who are relatable, this is an enjoyable read and I highly recommend picking this one up!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC eBook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

Was really hooping to love this but I didn't. Way too many twist and turns especially in the end. You have to know when to stop. Could have been a great book.

Good book! This book was a decent read! It had light suspense, intrigue, action, drama, and a few crazy twists! The storyline was interesting and flowed nicely! I will recommend reading this book, it wasn't one of my all time favorite but still worth reading! Thank you netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This book may be one of my favorite reads of 2022. Hawkins crafts a perfect book that made me cry, laugh, scream, and gasp. The ways in which she manages to update and transform Mary Shelley’s story is incredible, comparable to the likes of Taylor Jenkins Reid with Noel and Pierce (or Percy and Byron) as 70s rock stars. The Villa is perfect not only for fans of thrillers and Gothic tales but I imagine classic literature enthusiasts would also find something to enjoy in this novel as well - I know I did. And while The Villa will most likely be one of my favorites for 2022, it will also be one of my favorite for a long time.

Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Just a little slow and unbelievable at some points. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Villa is another twisty suspenseful novel by Rachel Hawkins and as with her previous books, I was sucked in right away and was swept away by the story the whole way through. The Villa follows two timelines that occur in the same house in Italy. One story line takes place in present day, when two best friends, Chess and Emily, head to the Villa for a summer of writing and bonding. The other story line takes place in the 70s when Mari and her step-sister Lara, and 3 men head there for a summer where they planned on making music and having a blast. Both storylines have their own mysteries and tragedies. However, the second storyline is very much wrapped up in the original one, as one of the women tries to uncover what truly happened in the house all those years ago. This was a very creative, original novel. I love Hawkin's writing style and she creates characters you can truly see in your mind's eye and care about.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

A great story of a house that was part of two writer's lives in a tragic, but rewarding, way. A house that remembers it all.

I loved the way this was written, having Mari's story of the past unfold alongside Emily's story of the present. Emily picking up on the clues and finding motivation in her discoveries really pushed this story along. It added to both writer's inspiration at the villa. There were several times I stopped to Google if this was based on a true story. The twisted ending that revealed what we think we knew versus what we now know made for a strong ending that really wrapped up both stories.

I found myself enjoying the story of the past more than the story of the character's of the present, possibly because Chess was made to be so unlikable and selfish while Lara was made to be more sympathetic. Overall, really great read.

I love Rachel Hawkins and was very excited to read her latest thriller, The Villa. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me.

The story goes back and forth in time between a current trip to Italy with best friends Emily and Chess and a trip in 1974 with Noel Gordon and several friends. I found it to be very slow in the beginning and difficult to keep track of which story I was reading about. Interspersed throughout the story were excerpts from interviews over the years, podcasts, and the original thriller story Lilith Rising that was written by Mari, one of the attendees in 1974, which also added to the storyline confusion.

I didn't particularly like any of the characters except for perhaps Mari and found the story line to be predictable with not enough "thrill" for me. All in all, not one of my favorites from Rachel Hawkins.

**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!**

I enjoyed this book and, for much of it, would have given it a five star rating.

The start is a bit difficult but by staying with it, you’re able to catch on quickly so by chapter 4 you can flip between the decades and who’s who easily.

A good knowledge of the romantics is quite useful, and I don’t know how really one would actually understand it easily otherwise.

The background for Mari, though it is fine as far as it goes, does not deal with the enormity of Wollstonecraft’s influence on the women's movement nor give any context as to the shift the romantics were involved with on a larger scale- pushing the edges of political, social and gender experimentation. European world was erupting with revolution, a precursor to the sixties, so Hawkins has it right there, but doesn’t quite talk about that much here. She just sets it in rock and roll. Sort of. And focuses on haunted houses.

The idea that the time of the romantics as an alternate time to the sixties is a valid and often thought of topic. That we are seeing a resurgence of the impulse today toward equality, egalitarianism and freedom in the contemporary novel of Chess and Emily is stretching it a bit. We probably aren’t there yet. And I do not really see it reflected in their story, either.

But I think this is a novel not weighted down with ideas, but simply trying to tell a spooky story.
I have to hand it to Hawkins for trying such a difficult structure, rather than doing just a contemporary read on an older book, like her previous one. It works.
It’s great until, unfortunately, we get to the climax.

I would have loved to see more on Mari’s group’s involvement in a revolutionary/ utopian undertaking, rather than it all seeming so random and lost.
The melding of plot in the denouement leaves something to be desired.

I may revisit this review later, as I find it an admirable attempt to put a historical event into a contemporary landscape.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my third Rachel Hawkins read (fourth if we’re counting Erin Sterling) and it might just be my favorite! I absolutely adore her writing style and this story was just what I was in the mood for. There’s a lot going on with the plot, but it worked for me and everything ties together really well.

I think Hawkins really shines in writing this book. I loved reading about her inspiration for The Villa: “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.”

This wasn’t exactly what I’d classify as a thriller, but there’s a decent mystery here and I couldn’t put it down. I loved the mixed media narrative (those podcast girls were hilarious!) and alternating timelines, especially the sections set in the summer of 1974. The characters are not good people, but I’ve come to expect that from Hawkins at this point. The Villa explores complex friendships, toxic relationships, and betrayal. While there are definitely some gothic themes, this isn’t an overly dark read and I devoured it in a day.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book; all opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to be an early reader.

Any Gothic fan already knows that “houses remember.” So, when Rachel Hawkins uses that line to open her latest novel, The Villa, expectations are immediately raised. The dual-narrative moves from present to past and back again, each time jump revealing more intricacies of the relationships in both eras.

In the present, childhood best friends, Emily and Chess, both successful writers, decide to rent a villa in Orvieto, Italy to relax, recharge, and reconnect. Em, a mystery series writer in a slump, is intrigued by the idea of living in the infamous Italian murder house. Chess writes aspirational, live-your-best-life non-fiction. Her name is her brand and she has a bazillion followers hanging on every word of advice, but an imperfect person can only write perfection platitudes for so long before the well runs dry.

Almost fifty years earlier, another group of young, creative artists spent the summer seeking inspiration in the same villa. It ended in one horrific murder and two legendary artistic achievements. Teen-aged Mari and her married lover, struggling musician Pierce. Noel Gordon, dissipated and disillusioned long before age 30 and the most famous rock star on the planet. Poet Lara, Mari’s stepsister, desperate for Noel’s attention. Johnnie, who loves Mari and despises the selfish Pierce. The phrase “sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll” might have been invented to characterize that summer and these young creatives who are as damaged as they are gifted.

As Em settles into life at the villa, she finds subtle signs of Mari’s presence and is mysteriously led to discover some explosive unpublished writing about that infamous summer. Meanwhile, Chess finds hidden meaning in Lara’s lyrics. Secrets about the disturbing nature of friendship, love, and betrayal are revealed in both timelines.

In this modern Gothic, Hawkins poses the question, what does it mean to create? What happens to the blood, sweat, and tears expended during creation? Do they reside within the final product or do they remain perpetually embedded in the atmosphere of the creative space, undiminished, waiting. Long after the artist is dead and buried, the art survives, and houses remember.

Thank you St. Martin's Press ​and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.
I loved the setting and the dual timelines. There was a bit of ambiguity woven into the story but (mostly) everything was resolved in the end. I think this will do very well when it's released next year. My favorite Rachel Hawkins book to date.