Stories change depending on who's telling them.
The Villa
by Rachel Hawkins
Genre: Mystery
About: The Villa Aestas is famous for many reasons. It was where classic gothic horror Lilith's Rising was written, as well as the legendary Aestas album, and the scene of a brutal murder of an up and coming rock star... All taking place one dramatic summer in the 70s. But in present day, it's where best friends Emily and Chess hope for some writing inspiration and to mend some of the growing tension built up over the years... It's another summer for greatness, or tragedy.
Thoughts
This review isn't going to do justice to the book. I finished this one literally the night before Lucas was born and so haven't been able to write a full review - which this book totally deserves because it was such a great read. The dual timelines worked so well, the book inside a book trope was done in an interesting way, especially towards the end, and I loved the obvious reference to Mary Shelley and her process of writing Frankenstein.
The mood of this book is cosy, tense, thriller-esque, gothic and just a good time honestly. The ending wasn't wholly successful to me because it felt like the characters could have gone in multiple directions, depending on what twist the author wanted to write rather than feeling organic. But I enjoyed it overall and will definitely want to read more from this author.
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