The Villa

Having dual timelines, interviews, and newspaper articles I thought this would be so great. I can't help feeling that this was trying to be a Taylor Jenkins Reid book. Neither the flashbacks or present day chapter were done particularly well. I hated the characters and the way Emily just shrugged off everything Chess had done like that?!?!? Stupid. nothing about this book shocked me. It did pick up the last 1/4, but I had debated putting it down several times. I wanted this to be so much better!

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!

Another in the all-too-common dual timeline stories being published these days. In the present, we have Emily, the author of a series of cozy mysteries, in a writing slump partially brought on by a mysterious illness and exacerbated by a contentious divorce with a greedy soon-to-be ex and her bestie Chess, a social media influencer and author/speaker of self-help non-fiction books that have propelled her to the top tier of authors. Chess proposes Emily join her for the summer in Italy at a luxurious Villa in Orvieto and Emily accepts.

While exploring the house (which is much less creepy than you'd expect in a book marketed as a gothic thriller), Emily discovers clues about the second timeline – 1974- and the summer when Mari, her step-sister Lara and her married lover/musician Pierce spent time at the same villa at the invitation of famous rock-and-roller Noel and his hanger-on drug dealer Johnnie. By the end of their stay, someone is killed and someone is jailed but the two women have let loose their creative juices: Mari has penned an infamous horror feminist novel and Lara has written an album of sad songs to stand alongside Carole King's Tapestry.

I must admit that many of the actions of the two women in present day seemed implausible and downright selfish. I couldn't imagine how this friendship had lasted, much less been such an important relationship for each of them. Emily was somewhat more relatable but even so, I found myself frustrated with her lack of agency and willingness to put up with so much from both her husband and her best friend. And as for the group of rock-and-rollers, this whole story-within-a-story brought home how subservient women often are to the men in their lives, stifling their own creativity and needs for the sake of love.

This narrative was all right but didn't move me in any strong way. It may appeal to Hawkins' fans but for me, it struck me as pedestrian.

My thanks for Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with the ARC of this novel.

When given the chance to read The Villa early, I was ALL about it. I've read Reckless Girls by this author and absolutely loved it so couldn't wait to dive into this one. Overall though...I was a tad disappointed.

I love this author's writing so this was a quick and easy read. However, I had a hard time with the present timeline and the utterly toxic friendship of Em & Chess. I couldn't stand either of them, but maybe the author meant for it to be that way?