Rachel Hawkins

A Novel

The Villa

From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins comes a deliciously wicked gothic suspense, set at an Italian villa with a dark history, for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

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 a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his 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 of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album––and ends in Pierce’s brutal murder.

As 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.

Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets 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.

I read this in one sitting. I could not put this down. I am still reeling from the ending. I have so many thoughts about inevitability, and how we have more control than we might think. And yet no control at all.

Monserrat Navarro 

ok here is the thing I was told this book was not that great. but that is a freaking lie. this book is amazing feminist  horror on crack. 

this book will make you think of a chaacter one way and then will show you how wrong you were in 3 pages. i read this book in less than 24 hours because i COULD not put it down

but this is the perfect thing about this book is that its a thriller  but also  women fiction. the author hits on motherhood, womanhood, how one feels when they step out of childhood into adulthood. how some people are sunshine and the pull those people have 

Hannah Alexander 

ok here is the thing I was told this book was not that great. but that is a freaking lie. this book is amazing feminist  horror on crack. 

this book will make you think of a chaacter one way and then will show you how wrong you were in 3 pages. i read this book in less than 24 hours because i COULD not put it down

but this is the perfect thing about this book is that its a thriller  but also  women fiction. the author hits on motherhood, womanhood, how one feels when they step out of childhood into adulthood. how some people are sunshine and the pull those people have 

PLS READ this book 



Houses remember!! Damn, I had very low expectations for this, and I LOVED it. The Italian villa. The two timelines. The twisty nature of the truth. Exquisite!

Amelia Hruby

paola !

author did percy shelley SOOOO dirty on this for no reason, but apart from that enjoyable !!

Keely Calagos

Probably more like 3.5/5... because it's not quite a four, but I like this one more than Reckless Girls

Lauren

4.5 Stars

This was my first Rachel Hawkins book and it definitely won't be my last. I devoured this book, it was so good! At first, I wasn't a huge fan of both timelines, I was enjoying Mari's chapters a lot more. But as I got more into the book I started liking Emily's chapters and I become fully immersed in both timelines. I was hooked by Mari's story and I really wanted to know what happened in 1974. The more I read from Emily's timeline, the more I wanted to know what was happening with her and Chess, and what she was finding out about Mari. It did take me over a month to finish this, but that's definitely not the book's fault. I really enjoy Rachel Hawkins writing, it was easy to follow and was written very well. This isn't 5 stars because I was a little let down by the ending. I just wanted something more in Emily's last chapter, more detailed about what happened. Other than that, I really enjoyed this and I will definitely read from Rachel Hawkins again. 

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Victoria 

I found it a bit difficult to follow the different characters at first, with Mari and Lara and who was who and what their relation was, but after a couple chapters I got into the swing of things and enjoyed most of it. 

SPOILER * The ending felt a bit dragged out. I liked the meeting about Noel but the stuff with Chess and Emily at the end just seemed a bit unnecessary.

that last twist has me absolutely in shock lol. Everything else was pretty obvious to me. 2 stars before the end but a 5 star ending !

Kate W

i kinda loved it!! but the ending? maybe i didn't get it as much, but, i mean, i do get the whole point that she's stuck with chess, but like, couldn't mari have actually murdered pierce? i don't know just something about the ending didn't sit right with me. but overall this book entranced me and i needed to know what came next and the writing was enjoyable for me so overall a fun book! but the ending just kind of, you know, didn't completely bring it all together

Mae Erceg

Super exciting read, I didn't want to put it down. There are different reading formats that helped you fly through the book needing to know everyone's opinions on what was happening. Plus, there are multiple timelines that were, imo, done very well and weren't confusing. I wasn't super happy with the ending (I would've hurt a different someone, no matter what) but it ended on a good note. Would recommend, 7/10.

Kelci

I think I love everything I have ever read written by Rachel Hawkins and The Villa was especially delightful! Not only did I not read the synopsis before starting (I'm hooked by a good cover), but I was pleasantly surprised by the two stories included and wish I could read Lilith Rising in real life?? (IYKYK). I loved the deeper aspects of this book (sisterhood, friendship, relationship trauma, with little murder?) and found myself not really knowing how it was going to end. This comes out tomorrow, and I think is the perfect book to transport you from January weather to warm Italy.

Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Press and Rachel Hawkins for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Kind of a let down. Everything that happened was like “yeah ok that makes sense” none of it shocked me. ALSO why did the main character not once stand up for herself? Why did she learn zero lessons throughout the book

Kerry Kalinoski

I flew through this in a day! Emily is a writer of cozy mysteries who has had a hard year filled with I’ll-health and a broken marriage. Her friend Chess, a self-help guru, invites her to go to Italy for the summer. There Emily is drawn into the tragic history of the villa where they’re staying, and the tragedy that happened fifty years ago.

Based loosely on the story of Mary Shelley who were together during the summer that resulted in Frankenstein being written, this story has great twists, especially the final one. Very entertaining.

Cheri McElroy

I flew through this in a day! Emily is a writer of cozy mysteries who has had a hard year filled with I’ll-health and a broken marriage. Her friend Chess, a self-help guru, invites her to go to Italy for the summer. There Emily is drawn into the tragic history of the villa where they’re staying, and the tragedy that happened fifty years ago.

Based loosely on the story of Mary Shelley who were together during the summer that resulted in Frankenstein being written, this story has great twists, especially the final one. Very entertaining.

Not as thrilling as I’d want a thriller to be but had quite a few solid twists— some I saw coming and most I did not, that I was able to finish this book. I liked this much better than the authors last book ( Reckless Girls) but still was bored here and there but it was my curiosity that really kept me going.

Told from a dual time line point of view with some mixed media spread throughout, The Villa is about all things Drugs, Rock n Roll and of course sex. But it’s also about friendship, relationships, jealousy and secrets. It might be for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six or people who find thrillers to be too scary but would love to dive into the genre seeing that I didn’t find this to be thrilling! Overall, a decent read but not anything to gush about!

Courtney Passio

“ Houses remember. “

Not as thrilling as I’d want a thriller to be but had quite a few solid twists— some I saw coming and most I did not, that I was able to finish this book. I liked this much better than the authors last book ( Reckless Girls) but still was bored here and there but it was my curiosity that really kept me going.

Told from a dual time line point of view with some mixed media spread throughout, The Villa is about all things Drugs, Rock n Roll and of course sex. But it’s also about friendship, relationships, jealousy and secrets. It might be for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six or people who find thrillers to be too scary but would love to dive into the genre seeing that I didn’t find this to be thrilling! Overall, a decent read but not anything to gush about!

Read if you like:

Gothic thrillers

Italian country sides

Betrayal

Secrets

Bonding

Rock n roll scene

Authors doing author things

The Villa A Novel

Reviews