Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

9 reviews

tierraskye's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Blood, Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Murder

Minor: Abortion

elzibub's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Child death, and Chronic illness

Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, Suicide, and Miscarriage

jkar7's review against another edition

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Suicide, Murder, Child death, Infidelity, Drug use, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Minor: Chronic illness, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Stalking

markedwithanm's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

meghanm404's review

emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, and Sexual content

Minor: Pregnancy, Drug use, Death of parent, Grief, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Infidelity

nickoliver's review

mysterious fast-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

3.5

This wasn't very original, most things were very easily predictable - though admittedly, the very last chapter did take me a bit by surprise, and it did add a bit of a dark, tragic twist. Also, it was very fast-paced, and once I really sat down to read, the pages flew quickly. I just wished the loose ends hadn't stayed so loose; I felt like there were certain plot points that alluded to things that never actually ended up happening.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Drug use, Infidelity, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Violence and Suicide

Minor: Cancer and Miscarriage

mroth's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

I like Rachel Hawkins a lot and this book was typically complex and creative. I didn’t feel like the payoff was as strong as I would’ve wanted—the post reveal plot line happened mostly off screen and felt undeveloped. Solid, but not her best

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Death of parent

reading_beyond_the_book_cover's review

dark mysterious sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

Rachel Hawkins’, The Villa is an unforgettable and unputdownable tale of women, their influence on each other, and the men in their lives. Written across two timelines, set in the same location with a dark history, both stories evoke speculation. A searing chain of events merges and unfolds, leading you to second guess people’s motives carefully clothed in the sweet and comforting guises of “care”, “love”, and “support.” It’s dark, unsettling, and exciting. And I adored it.

5/5, I recommend this book.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press , Rachel Hawkins, and NetGalley for an Advanced Review Copy in exchange for an honest review. My review/reaction is voluntary, all thoughts are mine and unbiased, and receiving the ARC does not influence my rating and/or recommendation.

Full Review: https://readingbeyondthebookcover.com/book-reaction-the-villa-by-rachel-hawkins/

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent and Miscarriage

caribbeangirlreading's review

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

3.5

ARC Review
PUB Date: January 3, 2023

First off, this book is NOT a thriller because a thriller is a book about the fear of a future crime. The Villa is gothic suspense novel with a bit of a mystery thrown in. I rated The Villa three stars because it did what I wanted it to do, entertain me. I gave it another half star because I love atmospheric Gothic suspense novels. However, this was just a fun summer read. If you want top notch Gothic suspense, go read Daphne du Maurier.

LOVED:
• The book (Lilith Rising) and the folk music album (Aestas) created by the two female characters from the 70s felt so real. I wish I could read and listen to them.
• The Verity vibes. (Although this is nowhere near the mind fuck that book was.)
• I was transported to a villa in Italy for the summer. What’s not to love about that?

COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:
• The structure of the book can be confusing. In the same chapter we can be reading about the events in 1974, the current story, and a quote from a podcast or magazine article referring to the 1974 events. I really hope this gets fixed before the physical copy is published.
• I enjoyed the modern timeline, but it was wrapped up a little too quickly and conveniently.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, and Infidelity

Minor: Miscarriage, Suicide, Cancer, and Death of parent