Scan barcode
ccoffeeapparently's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
I literally am in shock
I actually have no idea how to rate it.
I actually have no idea how to rate it.
kshipe91's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
mmdoordan's review against another edition
4.0
Emily needs an escape. Her best "frenemy" Chess offers her the perfect one to a beautiful Italian villa, that also just happens to have been the scene of a grisly murder in 1974. Bouncing between what happened in the 70s and present day, the Villa is a slow burn thriller/drama that touches on female friendship and relationships while always bracing yourself for the next twist.
****
Typically, I'm not one for bouncing around decades, but I loved both stories Hawkins told and felt they intertwined in a more believable way than other deus ex machina type of parallel plot lines.
I also love how complicated all of the relationships are. Each timeline has only a couple of people involved, so Hawkins can really dig into each one thoroughly for such a short book.
Your heart isn't racing throughout the whole book, as it takes some time to build up the setting and characters in each timeline. but that does not mean you aren't turning the pages rapidly. I raced through this is two days!
The big question: Did I like the final chapter?
As with other reviewers, I think there could have been another way to cast doubt on Emily and Chess' final decision. It is definitely not a cop out, and I like the implications that a story retold can have a lasting impact on the world in ways you may not see coming. And as Hawkins demonstrates throughout the novel, in a story, who can we ever really believe?
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest opinions.
****
Typically, I'm not one for bouncing around decades, but I loved both stories Hawkins told and felt they intertwined in a more believable way than other deus ex machina type of parallel plot lines.
I also love how complicated all of the relationships are. Each timeline has only a couple of people involved, so Hawkins can really dig into each one thoroughly for such a short book.
Your heart isn't racing throughout the whole book, as it takes some time to build up the setting and characters in each timeline. but that does not mean you aren't turning the pages rapidly. I raced through this is two days!
The big question: Did I like the final chapter?
As with other reviewers, I think there could have been another way to cast doubt on Emily and Chess' final decision. It is definitely not a cop out, and I like the implications that a story retold can have a lasting impact on the world in ways you may not see coming. And as Hawkins demonstrates throughout the novel, in a story, who can we ever really believe?
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest opinions.
kms0037's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
emilys_reading_endeavors's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
_marvelousgeek's review against another edition
5.0
*I received a copy through NetGalley, all opinions are strictly my own*
Damn, I seriously loved this book more than I thought I would.
So we have Emily, our main character who writes cozy mysteries. Her best friend is this influencer/help guru type who constantly changes her name to whatever fits her current brand. She's at the Chess era of her life, and I immediately despised her. She's passive aggressive, condescending and thinks she knows everything. Emily isn't perfect, but Chess is just something else. The thing is that they've been best friends for years so they eventually set off to a Villa in order to get the creative juices flowing.
Cue the chaos.
The Villa is told from dual timeline POVs: the one in the past belongs to Mari, the girlfriend of a rockstar with delusions of grandeur and commitment issues. The present belongs to Emily. I loved seeing the parallels between both of their lives and how they connected through Mari's novel, Lilith Rising. This book offers a story within a story, with bits from Lilith Rising, articles and podcasts but it doesn't derail from the actual story. My favorite chapters were honestly Mari's and it was mostly due to the fact that her character and her arc were an homage to Mary Shelley and the time spent in Geneva involving a certain competition.
I genuinely think this is a really good book and I'd gladly read it again. It's a thriller with a somewhat unhappy ending that I truly appreciated.
Damn, I seriously loved this book more than I thought I would.
So we have Emily, our main character who writes cozy mysteries. Her best friend is this influencer/help guru type who constantly changes her name to whatever fits her current brand. She's at the Chess era of her life, and I immediately despised her. She's passive aggressive, condescending and thinks she knows everything. Emily isn't perfect, but Chess is just something else. The thing is that they've been best friends for years so they eventually set off to a Villa in order to get the creative juices flowing.
Cue the chaos.
The Villa is told from dual timeline POVs: the one in the past belongs to Mari, the girlfriend of a rockstar with delusions of grandeur and commitment issues. The present belongs to Emily. I loved seeing the parallels between both of their lives and how they connected through Mari's novel, Lilith Rising. This book offers a story within a story, with bits from Lilith Rising, articles and podcasts but it doesn't derail from the actual story. My favorite chapters were honestly Mari's and it was mostly due to the fact that her character and her arc were an homage to Mary Shelley and the time spent in Geneva involving a certain competition.
I genuinely think this is a really good book and I'd gladly read it again. It's a thriller with a somewhat unhappy ending that I truly appreciated.
shmadsie's review against another edition
4.0
3.5. There were aspects of this that I really enjoyed and aspects of this that I really did not.
I love a story bolstered by snippets - newspaper clippings, true crime podcasts, emails, unfinished drafts, paragraphs from books, song lyrics, etc. All these different sources thrown in to tell a single story, it's something I enjoy so much. I liked the complicated love of Emily and Chess (and how annoyed Emily is that Jessica is now 'Chess') and the writing itself.
But I am really starting to despise alternating timelines and especially here when we have Mary's writing in the present about what happened back then and the anecdotal evidence we have in the form of the different media about that time. We didn't need it and it feels lame to go with something so hackneyed when it could've just as easily not. Also, I'm vacillating between loving the ending and hating it. On the one hand, I want something jazzy, something worthy of the mystique surrounding it, and on the other, it is a bunch of early twenty-somethings or younger doing a bunch of drugs and drinking and generally being reckless and something reckless happened and that's as interesting as it gets. Which is bold and I love it, but also boring and I hate it, haha. Either way, I understand it and that's probably what bumps this up to me using four-stars instead of three for my three-point-five rating.
I love a story bolstered by snippets - newspaper clippings, true crime podcasts, emails, unfinished drafts, paragraphs from books, song lyrics, etc. All these different sources thrown in to tell a single story, it's something I enjoy so much. I liked the complicated love of Emily and Chess (and how annoyed Emily is that Jessica is now 'Chess') and the writing itself.
But I am really starting to despise alternating timelines and especially here when we have Mary's writing in the present about what happened back then and the anecdotal evidence we have in the form of the different media about that time. We didn't need it and it feels lame to go with something so hackneyed when it could've just as easily not. Also, I'm vacillating between loving the ending and hating it. On the one hand, I want something jazzy, something worthy of the mystique surrounding it, and on the other, it is a bunch of early twenty-somethings or younger doing a bunch of drugs and drinking and generally being reckless and something reckless happened and that's as interesting as it gets. Which is bold and I love it, but also boring and I hate it, haha. Either way, I understand it and that's probably what bumps this up to me using four-stars instead of three for my three-point-five rating.
carmenwillis's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Hmmm interesting read. Not quite sure who would forgive their best friend for sleeping with their husband but hey shoutout to the main character for being so forgiving!