Welcome to Litsy!

A dual timeline thriller.

2 writers, Emily and her best friend, chess rent a villa in Italy, the same villa that a musician was murdered in back 1974. Emily starts digging for clues as to what had really happened all those years while also finding herself not trusting chess.

Rachel Hawkins does a great job nailing the hippie scene with plenty of sex, drugs and rock n' roll of the 70's while throwing in small twists in present day

It took me a bit to get into this but once I was, I was hooked. There were definite twists I spotted ahead of time (wanting to scream at MC) but at least one I didn't (hello, ending ending). I kind of liked how this story really wasn't about what I thought it was going to be about.
(Labyrinth inspired Halloween costume)

Main Street Books operates mostly as a used book store, so I didn‘t find any of your suggestions from your #SundayFunday posts, but I did find these! I‘m looking forward to getting the nibling started on Artemis Fowl. #BookHaul

And I‘ve added a bunch of new books to my TBR!

This was fine. I was engaged throughout the audiobook, but when I finished, I was left not terribly thrilled. I wish it didn‘t have the epilogue-last scene, it made it far leas interesting. 3⭐️

📚📚📚📚 tandem audio + ebook - wow! Loved this! My first by the author. I was sold as “inspired by the tragic death of Percy Bysshe Shelley” but really it‘s not remotely close😕 Still good- concurrent timelines 1970‘s/2023, creatives, an Italian villa, sex drugs rock n‘ roll and murder mystery. Pleasant but clear twist at the end. Good read.

What a great start to poolside reading 😮‍💨🍋🍝

I enjoyed this quick, suspenseful read. The story developed at a good pace and the characters were intriguing. I actually thought the ending would be more sinister, but perhaps I‘ve just read too many suspense novels and I‘m prone to thinking the worst! Although somewhat predictable, I liked the ending and the various twists. Just when I thought I had it all worked out, turns out I didn‘t! 3.5⭐️
(May 13, 2024)

Went to my local bookstore, Underground Books in Carrollton, GA to pick a blind date with a book! Was actually pleasantly surprised by the date! I've read it once before but don't own the books, so I'm happy to add it to my collection!

Childhood best friends Emma and Chess are both writers and spend a summer together in a villa that was the site of a murder. Both women become interested in writing a book about the murder that occurred years ago at the villa. The house holds clues within it to what really happened that night and history begins repeating itself. Predictable but worth the read.

I enjoyed the present day timeline in this book but wasn‘t invested in the past timeline, so it prevented me from really getting into the story. I enjoyed it but there wasn‘t anything surprising in it. And I feel like it ended abruptly.

I‘m kind of dumbfounded on this book. It started out pretty good but just kind of sputtered at the end for me. The pivotal points were lackluster and details of the story just never filled. The ending was just kind of weird and left me kinda asking WTF just happened? I get it but I don‘t get it so moving on to another book…lol

I like the books by Hawkins I‘ve read so far. This one was well put together and despite being told in two different decades, it was easy to follow.

The end got me on this one!! My third Rachel Hawkins and I‘m definitely a fan.

I have some unanswered questions, I think some plot points may have fell through the cracks, but overall I really enjoyed the mysteries in both timelines

Brilliant.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fun thriller with two intertwining storylines across two timeliness (and two murders). In the 70s, we have a group of rock stars and artists in the villa, and in the present, we have two writers seeking inspiration in the villa. While I found the present storyline a little unsatisfying overall, the past storyline carried the book for me, with interesting characters, good suspense, and a great surprise ending!

#ReadAway2024 my 1st audiobook for #JoyousJanuary,
@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
Emily and Chess have been friends forever. When they spend several weeks in Orvieto Italy, Emily's writers block is unstuck unraveling the mystery of a famous murder that happened where they are staying. The audiobook was great as the reader had various inflections for each character. Definitely recommend!
#52bookclub24 @BarbaraBB
⬇️

This was a fun and twisty audiobook that made the work week go faster. It was on my summer reading list, but I just now got it from the library. Would have been fun to read on the beach, but it was also fine under a blanket. Note to self: don‘t be so tied to seasonal reading lists.

Yesssssss!

Managed a bingo for #ISpyBingo November

@Clwojck @thearomaofbooks

A twisty, slow-burn thriller. Great story telling once you get used to the multiple story line, multiple POV style. I love Mary‘s reclaiming of her story and her style of justice. Houses remember. Book #77 in 2023

5/5

I don't usually read thrillers, so when I picked this up for #booked2023 I didn't expect a five start read. The novel alternates between Emily staying at an Italian villa with her best friend, and Mary who stayed in the same Villa in the 70s when one of her group was murdered. It's a great book full of twists, that never left me too stressed out.

🎧 Audiobook: The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

📖 e-book: The Lover by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

📗 Non-fiction: The Best American Science and Nature Writing of 2023 by Carl Zimmer

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

“Somewhere around the time she started calling herself “Chess“, I realized I might actually hate my best friend.“

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

My favourite of Rachel Hawkins' books that I have read so far. The Villa does everything you want it to without demanding too much from you as a reader. There are multiple timelines, and a mystery from the past, a complicated and competitive friendship, characters writing books about mysteries in a book about a mystery, and a glam location. A fantastic, compelling, easy read.

I think I liked this one more for the connections to the summer Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein than anything else! A good start to spooky season 👻

Dual timelines. 1970‘s and Present Day. Italian Villa with a tragic history. British Rock & Roll. Writing music. Writing books. Best friends. Sisters. Twisted love. Murder. Gothic. Fast paced. A bit confused on ending. Audio. Difficult to turn back the pages. #sunshinenoir #booked2023 #blameitonlitsy

New audiobook. #blameitonlitsy

Well I binged the second half.. now I‘m confused but not confused.. this is why I like Rachel Hawkins she will leave your jaw dropped at the end of a story

Will I enjoy this one?? I have enjoyed every other book I have read by this author and I recently finished one so maybe it‘s too soon but oh well

The Villa was my favorite of this author‘s books so far! A story within a story within a story with lots of twists and misdirections I just couldn‘t get enough. My only “complaint” was the tendency for betrayed characters to place the blame fully on one person while wholly forgiving another (it happens a few times). I always hate that and find it too convenient for the narrative. But other than that it was an interesting story! 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

Book #73
4/5
Another good read by Hawkins, though I was a bit disappointed by the lack of actual horror as mentioned in the synopsis - maybe I'm just too desensitized by watching true crime documentaries and reading thrillers, but the murders in the "murder house" didn't really seem all that horrific or murder-y. Otherwise, still an anjoyable read.

This book! Two timelines. One Italian villa. Secrets. Lies. Murder. Tragedy.

1970‘s - Five musicians living the #SexDrugsAndRockandRoll lifestyle at a villa in Italy.

Present Day - Two best friends, both authors, take a girls‘ trip to Italy to work on their books. They stay in the same villa.

The two plot lines overlap and intertwine in fascinating ways. Who can be trusted? Who is lying? Great reading!

#TitlesAndTunes

My title for July‘s #SexDrugsAndRockNRoll theme is The Villa by Rachel Hawkins, and my tune is Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf. Let the wild rumpus start! 🎸
#TitlesAndTunes @BarbaraBB @Cinfhen

I struggled on how to rate this book. It takes place across two timelines, the present, and in 1970s. I enjoyed 1970s timeline it was more exciting with the sex, drugs, and rock & roll theme. The present timeline dragged along and repeats information. I loved the setting, a villa in Italy with a haunting history. I hated the characters, I enjoyed how the author unraveled the mystery that took place at the villa and the ending was totally worth it.

Interesting book with a story within a story. It is a layered, suspenseful and very enjoyable 🙂

The story was just ok to me. I found Emily and Chess to be rather annoying–I didn‘t really like either character–which took away from the story. The audiobook fell into the ok category as well. While I liked the emotions given to the characters through changes in the pace and inflection given to words, overall the narration was way too slow for my tastes and if I had been unable to increase the speed I feel that the book would have dragged for me.

This has such a great set up, but it just ended up a bit boring for me. I needed more ghosts, more gothic, maybe? I still enjoyed it, but there were times it was hard to get excited about

This #blameitonlitsy read ended up being a low pick. I couldn‘t stop listening and will probably read more by this author, and I have a fondness for stories about groups of artists and the work that comes from their messy interconnected process. But of the 3 big reveals, one I saw coming from the first pages, one was ‘please tell me they‘re not seriously headed there‘ and the last was just meh.

This is my favorite Hawkins novel. Emily is a cozy mystery writer who goes on a trip to Italy with her best friend Chess, a self-help guru. There at Villa Aestas, Emily finds the journal of Mari Godwick, who wrote Lilith Rising, a cult horror novel from the 70s. It's very gothic, Mary Shelley with some Fleetwood Mac thrown in.
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks #ReadySetRead #setinalodgehotelmotelorinn #Pantone2023 #Blazingyellow @Clwojick

Very good. I usually don't like dual timelines, but didn't mind them in this one

So good! This is only my second Hawkins book but will definitely read more!

#bookspinbingo
#booked2023 - sunshine noir

3½⭐Low Pick
I liked the present timeline over the past timeline…and other readers felt the opposite of me. My feelings were skewed by the narration, though…since I didn‘t really care for the narrator of the past storyline. Overall, this was mostly entertaining, although maybe be prepared for some drama and a wackadoodle ending.

Daisy Jones vibes and Death Becomes Her vibes. Dual timeline 1970s British rock scene and current day. Bffs and writers Em and Chess spend the summer in Italy at an infamous villa working on their projects and nursing an intense rivalry. As they dig into the 1970s murder, rivalry, and betrayals, history may repeat itself. It is easier as a book due to dual timelines and thrown in multimedia exerpts. IMO. Predictable but still very good. 5 🌟

Rachel Hawkins really said "I support Women's Rights AND Women's Wrongs" with this one, and God bless her for it. The final twist had me on the edge of my seat, and Emily's voice was hysterical! Easily her best thriller yet. #thriller #contemporaryfiction #historicalfiction

3-4-23: My 27th finished book of 2023! Best friends, Emily and Chess embark on a summer holiday in Italy at Villa Aestas in Orvieto. Back in 1974, the villa was the site of a murder during the time a famous rockstar and his friends Pierce, Mari, Lara and Johnnie were staying. Now, Emily, trying to write her next novel, starts to dig into that murder, finding the book written by Mari during that stay. Secrets come to light now and in 1974. ⬇️

4⭐️/5⭐️

⭐️⭐️ Exactly the type of domestic thriller that steers me away from the genre. The parallel story trope is fine, but make it surprising or even just slightly interesting. Idk. At least it didn‘t have “girl, woman, or wife” in the title. Moving on. #thankunext