Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

11 reviews

katlynnnxo's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Infidelity, and Terminal illness

hannah_and_her_stories's review

dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Grief, Alcohol, Death, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, and Child death

Minor: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Suicide, Pregnancy, Drug use, Abortion, Blood, Vomit, and Murder

mariavdl's review

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

 A bit cringey. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Child death

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Violence, Suicide, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Blood, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Infidelity

emmehooks's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Infidelity

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Child death, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Drug use, Alcohol, and Grief

Minor: Pregnancy, Abortion, Terminal illness, Suicide, Sexual content, Miscarriage, and Panic attacks/disorders

minimicropup's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Inquisitive, ghoulish, contemplative

We follow characters from two timepoints - the '70s and present day. Both timePOVs are set in a Villa on the outskirts of Orvieto, Italy. The present day characters (a cozy mystery author and wellness influencer) are working on their slightly estranged friendship and are enticed by the history of the villa. In the 1970s a platinum album was composed and a classic horror novel written at the villa.

Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐺🐕: 

• I liked the depth of character development and how the hint of campiness slowly escalated through a realistic slow burn mystery
• Bit of grown-up Goosebumps energy with discovering the history of the Villa and what went down by decoding hints in the author's horror novel
• The setting was immersive and kind of evolved into its own entity in the story
• If you're in this just for the sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll you may be disappointed. It's in the plot, but isn't the main focus. I liked how it was worked into the plot naturally and seemed realistic.

Cred Rating 👌: Realistic with just a touch of campy

Mood Reading Match Up: 

• Friendship and sibling dramas with bits of 'cattiness', jealousy, scheming, and competition + heartwarming and empathetic moments
• Slowly unraveling murder mysteries and blackmail 
• Elements of "good for her" revenge
• Summer vacation vibes, nostalgic 1970s vibes

Content Heads-Up: Good childfree-by-choice rep (female). Gaslighting and emotional abuse. Drug and alcohol use. Death of a baby.

Format: Scribd Digital and Audio

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Murder, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Death, and Infidelity

Minor: Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Sexual harassment

Sexual content is with consent. Adult/minor relationship is early 20s with 15-16 year olds running away from family together.

luverbyrd's review

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? No

2.0

I almost DNFd this. I should have, but I thought "maybe it will have an interesting twist at the end". It kind of did, I guessed one of the "twists" very early on.
I found the past story more interesting than the present. I despised the "friendship" Chess and Emily had from the start. I didn't really like any of the characters, past or present.
I enjoyed the inserts of fake news articles and podcasts to bring the history of the villa to the reader. It was a nice touch.
This book just wasn't what I expected and wasn't the right fit for my tastes.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Murder, and Sexism

Minor: Abortion

theonlybaillie's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Violence, Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide

Minor: Grief, Terminal illness, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Vomit

jpellwood's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicide, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Addiction, and Drug use

Minor: Terminal illness

nrogers_1030's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Grief, Toxic friendship, Blood, Vomit, Alcohol, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Drug use, Death, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Classism and Gore

Minor: Terminal illness, Cancer, and Sexual content

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.75

The Villa read like a modern gothic, with the atmosphere oppressive, foreboding, with a stunningly described setting that makes you feel like you’re right there with the characters. Rachel Hawkins deftly explores complex friendships, toxic relationships, and creative tension in a way that was so engaging I just didn’t want to put it down. The twists had me absolutely gasping and the dual pov with shifting timelines just added to the dread and drama of each storyline. 

Honestly, this book made me want to go back to Italy so badly! The setting is so well-depicted, it filled me with so much nostalgia for the Italian countryside. I actually studied abroad in a neighbouring province (Arezzo) to Orvieto and I can attest to the landscape and architecture is as described in this novel. And the photo I used is actually one I took a decade ago while on that trip, but on the island of Capri. 

Thank you so much @stmartinspress and @netgalley for a gifted copy of this gem. I loved Reckless Girls by the same author, so I was delighted when my arc application was accepted for this one—and it did not disappoint! 

*A note on the reading format: I did read this book half as an ebook and half on audio, and while both formats were good, I think I preferred it in ebook form, as I wasn’t a huge fan of Mari’s narrator. That being said, Julia Whelan is one of the narrators in this cast, so for those of you who are a fan of hers, you might want to pick up the audio version based on that alone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Chronic illness, Murder, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Blood, Drug use, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Terminal illness