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A review by wordsofclover
The Villa by Jess Ryder
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
My name is Aoife and I'm going on my hen party next week so naturally I decided to pick up a book about a bride called Aoife who gets killed on her hen party. It's three years later and Aoife's friends/hens Dani, Tiff, Celine and Beth have returned to the location of the hen party/murder to celebrate Aoife's life but also in Dani's case retrace their steps from that faithful weekend and try to figure out what happened to end up in Aoife's death.
I think this was fun but from the start there was always a very prickly atmosphere between the girls. While Aoife is friends with Dani from college, Tiff and Beth from childhood and Celine from work, none of them really know each other and in Tiff's case downright dislikes Dani due to jealousy. This was also definitely the worst hen party I've ever heard about and not because the bride ended up dead, haha. Having only 5 people at a hen party is really odd - it's more a girl holiday than a party and they weren't close enough for that and at different points, all the hens are extremely selfish in their behaviour and I feel like they broke the cardinal rules of girlhood so many times (you never, ever leave your friends alone in a club!!).
It's obvious from the start as well that while they all love Aoife (or mostly Tiff and Dani), she can be a hard person to be friends with at times due to some party-hard behaviour and her attitude towards men. Though all of that was explained a bit throughout the novel as we see how stifled Aoife has been by her controlling relationship with Nathan (who was a slime) and how the hen party is her chance to realise she doesn't want to stay with him after all.
There were moments I couldn't believe the women's attitudes towards each other (mostly Tiff, Beth and Celine Vs Aoife and Dani) and I just know my friends would a. never leave two of us in a club on our own if there were some dodgy people about - it's either everyone goes home or no-one goes home - and also if I 'went off' with a man and the man came back without me, there would be hell raised. The fact that all of the girls dismissed Dani's behaviour when she came back in such a state and visibly injured shocked me.
I actually think there were some revelations - particularly about Nathan - that could have been left to later on in the book. The author did like to throw in some red herrings as Nathan, Matt and John all fly around in suspicions, but some elements of Nathan's true personality could have been leaked a bit better through the book rather than the very start us knowing he's had a hand in the entire (shit) hen party.
I don't think there was anything that really surprised me about some of the turn of the events and revelations at the end. Maybe the whodunnit even felt a bit tame after everything. I think I enjoyed this book more because of the particular time I'm reading it when I'm excited about my own hen party - though hopefully it doesn't end up in murder (just murder on the dancefloor lololol).
I think this was fun but from the start there was always a very prickly atmosphere between the girls. While Aoife is friends with Dani from college, Tiff and Beth from childhood and Celine from work, none of them really know each other and in Tiff's case downright dislikes Dani due to jealousy. This was also definitely the worst hen party I've ever heard about and not because the bride ended up dead, haha. Having only 5 people at a hen party is really odd - it's more a girl holiday than a party and they weren't close enough for that and at different points, all the hens are extremely selfish in their behaviour and I feel like they broke the cardinal rules of girlhood so many times (you never, ever leave your friends alone in a club!!).
It's obvious from the start as well that while they all love Aoife (or mostly Tiff and Dani), she can be a hard person to be friends with at times due to some party-hard behaviour and her attitude towards men. Though all of that was explained a bit throughout the novel as we see how stifled Aoife has been by her controlling relationship with Nathan (who was a slime) and how the hen party is her chance to realise she doesn't want to stay with him after all.
There were moments I couldn't believe the women's attitudes towards each other (mostly Tiff, Beth and Celine Vs Aoife and Dani) and I just know my friends would a. never leave two of us in a club on our own if there were some dodgy people about - it's either everyone goes home or no-one goes home - and also if I 'went off' with a man and the man came back without me, there would be hell raised. The fact that all of the girls dismissed Dani's behaviour when she came back in such a state and visibly injured shocked me.
I actually think there were some revelations - particularly about Nathan - that could have been left to later on in the book. The author did like to throw in some red herrings as Nathan, Matt and John all fly around in suspicions, but some elements of Nathan's true personality could have been leaked a bit better through the book rather than the very start us knowing he's had a hand in the entire (shit) hen party.
I don't think there was anything that really surprised me about some of the turn of the events and revelations at the end. Maybe the whodunnit even felt a bit tame after everything. I think I enjoyed this book more because of the particular time I'm reading it when I'm excited about my own hen party - though hopefully it doesn't end up in murder (just murder on the dancefloor lololol).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Death
Minor: Sexual assault