The Villa ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

Most common cover (30 platforms)
Cover Wars

Ukrainian
Bulgarian

Romanian
You could probably guess I like the lady in the blue dress and hat in the Ukrainian version.

G👀dreads

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.

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Historical Fiction*, Italy
*Google says the Historical Fiction part is the 1970s Rock History. All characters are fictional.

The How/Why: Influenced ~ IG from a reel of "Summer Trillers". Coming out of Romance, Historical Fiction or Mystery/Thriller are my typical go to. GR only has it 3.62 but when I saw Julia Whelan was on of the narrators, I hopped to it! Plus Italy! Plus available on Hoopla. WooooWhooooo! 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (more like 3.5 but the current timeline and the great narration deserved more). 

🎉 Overall Storytelling?
Current timeline🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 
1974 timeline 🎉🎉
so average of 🎉🎉🎉🎊

🎣 Did it grab and keep my attention? 
Current timeline 🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣 
1974 timeline 🎣for 1974
so average of🎣🎣🎣

🗣️Would I recommend it to anyone? Maybe 🤷 I completely enjoyed the current timeline.

🕮 Would I want a sequel? Maybe 🤷 If it was just Emily and Chess researching and writing about resorts/landmarks where crimes were committed. 

📚 Would I want to read more books by this author?  Maybe 🤷 

💣💥 📢 Content Warnings? MŪrdɇr, Vi0lɇncɇ, Psƴch0ℒ0gicɐl AbŲsɇ, SȖbstɐncɇ AbŲsɇ

🌶 Spice? No

🌪 Plot Twist? Yes

👟 Pace? Current Timeline = Good; 1974 Snail's pace. 

💻 Tidbits ~ On the struggle bus with my rating. The scale weighs out to 3.5 but I bumped it up to 4 Stars because the current timeline and the great narration deserved more. Had it been current timeline only, it would have probably been a Five Star from me.
I completely enjoyed the current timeline. The 1974 timeline, not so much. I grew up in the '70s so I was surprised it didn't capture my "good ole days" vibe. 

Pro - Current Timeline - Five Stars. Fast pace. It hooked me in right away. I enjoyed the banter between Emily and Chess. Their friendship, sometimes fragile and other times strong, felt realistic as memories of childhood friendships sometimes shatter as we become adults. Sometimes those shattered fragments can be woven back together.

Con - 1974 Timeline - Two Stars (and TBH I probably wouldn't have finished it if it was a stand alone). Snail's pace. The 70's at the Villa drug along (pun intended) until beyond the 50% point where the tie-in became relevant. I did not enjoy any of the rockstar/groupie characters. 

Forever friends Emily and Chess are both successful authors. Emily with cozy fictional mysteries, currently struggling in both her personal and professional life. Chess is a bestselling self-help guru with a popular website and social media following. Their relationship is not as strong as it once was. 
Chess invites Emily to a six week vacation at a Villa in Italy. The very same Villa where a famous rock star met his tragic end of life. While there, secrets of the Villa and secrets between the two former besties are discovered. 

It's not you, it's me. The Storm. I found the final end Credits and Track 20 confusing. All of a sudden it’s like stepping into another book. I was thinking "what the heck am I listening to" as it went on for over 30 minutes. Well that's because we DID step into another book! "Please keep listening to hear an excerpt from The Storm by Rachel Hawkins..." Perfectly clear, however in my head I thought it was part of the podcast element moving forward with Emily and Chess's future, possibly writing a book together. In reality it WAS an excerpt for Rachel Hawkins book The Storm! Oy!  
Just throwing this embarrassing moment here so if you haven't read/listened to it yet, the perfectly clear lead in will be even more perfectly clear...

🎧 Narrator: Julia Whelan (current timeline), Shiromi Arserio (1974 timeline), Kimberly M Wetherell (media excerpts). All great! 

🎧7.57 hours 🕮 276 pages

*If these walls could talk*
I created with Gemini AI


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