The Villa
Rachel Hawkins
288 pages
St. Martins Pres
Published January 3, 2023
Amazon | Goodreads
I was such a fan of The Wife Upstairs and unfortunately the last two books of hers that I have read haven’t been that same homerun. As this one started I thought who wouldn’t want to go to a Villa in Italy with her best friend to get over the break up of your marriage?
I really loved the present day story. I was caught up in the dynamic of the friends and my suspicions of what was really happening. I was a little less interested in the story in the past that throughout the book only seemed to be tied to the Villa. And then you lost me when you threw in the podcast. It was just a little much for me without any sort of payout until the end. I really did like that last twist but it was just a little too late for me and I need a little more a little sooner.
There are only so many plots. If you think about all the love stories that come from Romeo and Juliet. Maybe I’ve read too many toxic friends stories lately. Or it is time to take a break and read a different genre. I’m not sad I read it but I am sad that I didn’t love it as much as The Wife Upstairs.
As I switched back and forth from the ebook and audiobook, I really did enjoy reading a little more. Julia Whelan is one of my favorite female narrators and she did not let me down, but I wasn’t drawn into the narration of the gothic part of the story.
I’d like to thank St. Martins Press, NetGalley, MacMillan audio and Libro.fm for my advanced reading and listening copies.
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