itsheyfay's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75


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vanella's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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theonlybaillie's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

The pacing was so off on this one for me. I was bored the entire book and then drawn in the last 50 or so pages.

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jpellwood's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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stephbakerbooks's review against another edition

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

3.5

A decent thriller made excellent on audio!

This one is split into two timelines—the past timeline (minus the murder) is inspired by Mary Shelley's life when she wrote Frankenstein and I love that for this story. I once again found the past more interesting than the present, with all the complicated relationships between the characters and a dramatic summer that we know ends in death. The present storyline was just okay, though it did get a lot more interesting once Emily actually arrived at the villa—and her and Chess's relationship became the focus. I liked that part, even though I'm not sure that I ended up liking either character lol.

I will say though, with this book being called The Villa, I expected the villa to actually play a more important role. A lot of times the location feels like its own character, but that did not happen here, which was a bit disappointing. The villa just happened to be the place where these things happened, rather than the *only* place where these things could happen.

The ending did not surprise me; I didn't guess it but once I read it, it just felt like the only ending. I do think it added to the story though, definitely mixed things up!

Thanks to Libro.fm, Macmillan Audio, and the author for my ALC.

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rbudd24's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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arthur_ant18's review against another edition

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dark 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

3.75


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emeraldelephant's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This just wasn’t it for me.  Not a fan of either storyline, was kinda bored and unsympathetic to both main characters.  

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hanlad's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

3.5


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sleeson's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Yay! Rachel Hawkins is back. Usually when I read a novel that has past and present timelines, I enjoy one timeline far more than the other. With this novel, I found myself happy with both. I felt this leaned more on the mystery side than her usual genre of thriller.
Both of the main characters, Mari and Emily, are equally brilliant. There is moderate sexual content. Moderate mention of recreational drugs. Side note: The transcript of the true crime podcast is hilariously accurate. Hawkins was spot on with the tone for podcast listeners. Millennials behind the microphone all day. 

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