Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - The Villa: A Captivating Thriller about Sisterhood and Betrayal, with a Jaw-Dropping Twist

The beginning of the book was as hot as the Italian summer it focuses on! I felt like the middle stalled a bit with half woven moments of suspense. Even in those slower moments I didn’t want to put this book down and appreciated subtleties/connections across adjacent chapters.

Mari’s last entry was the most suspenseful component as we learned about her lying about the entire plot that Mari felt connected to! I wish this was more fleshed instead of the Matt/sick/cheating storyline. Chess’ complexity as a villain yet friend was also interesting to read. Especially in reference to their book deal!

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katlynnnxo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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emmonsannae's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. Everything about it worked so well: the setting, the characters, the dual timeline, the sunny horror vibe. The ending was entirely unexpected, which I found delightful and which cast the rest of the book in a very different light.

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elisalasater's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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jnk7's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book really said "Oh you want toxic? Well strap on your hazmat suit!"
I don't think I really liked a single character in this book, but I loved to hate them. Emily and Mari were tolerable, but not sure why Emily didn't also

"let" Chess drown too.

.
A nice easy read, would be a great beach read! Maybe don't read it if you're planning a trip to a remote Italian town and staying in an old villa though.

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a_lyttle_book_blog's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

This was a pretty good dual timeline thriller. I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't a stand-out, in my opinion.

I wasn't super interested when it would go back to the earlier timeline. I liked the current timeline story and found myself not as engaged during the earlier timeline, which I think made it harder to get into overall. I felt that the end was a bit rushed, but the story was still good.

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frenchvanillapowdercreamer's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The best book I’ve read so far this year. Fantastic.

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