Reviews with content warning for Blood - Tragedia en villa Rosato

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Tragedia en villa Rosato by Rachel Hawkins

32 reviews

nickoliver's review against another edition

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.

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nrogers_1030's review against another edition

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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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danajoy's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.75

Probably would've been 5 star if I didnt have to put it down in the middle of the climax.

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foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

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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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syellico's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.0

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savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-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? No

4.0

Out now! [Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!]

Rating: 4/5 stars

Emily and Chess have been best friends since childhood, but their relationship has become a bit strained. When Chess suggests a summer in an Italian villa—a villa that was the site of an infamous murder in the 1970s, moreover—secrets begin to unravel across two timelines.

I am absolutely obsessed with the story of the creation of Frankenstein—for anyone who doesn’t know, Lord Byron, Percy and Mary Shelley, Mary’s stepsister Claire, and John Polidori all stayed together in Switzerland for a summer, where Mary would ultimately write Frankenstein as the result of the party determining to each write a ghost story—so when I heard that Rachel Hawkins was writing a novel featuring a 1970s retelling of that very real summer (albeit with some added murder), it instantly became one of my most-anticipated reads of 2023.

Fortunately, I really enjoyed most of the book. I’ve seen some mixed reviews, and I understand any criticism that calls this book slow-moving, but I found it to be genuinely brilliant in terms of form, writing style, and the use of perspective and tone. The plot was interesting and I enjoyed the dual timeline, and the use of multiple forms of media (news clippings, etc) combined with the 1970s musician sections gave me vibes reminiscent of Daisy Jones & The Six.

All of that said, I ultimately took a star off the end because I just wasn’t sold on the ending. I thought I’d figured out where it was headed, but then things took a turn I didn’t expect, and the book ended in what was, to me, a pretty unsatisfying place. Still, if you’re a fan of historical/literary inspired novels and up for a somewhat slower burn, I would absolutely recommend The Villa.

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: retellings-but-make-them-history; meditations on friendship; slow-burn Gothic suspense

CW: Child death; drug/alcohol abuse; murder/blood; suicide (off-page).

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snoozayreads25's review against another edition

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I thought the book started off pretty slow, but about halfway through it picked up and I had a hard time putting it down! A few good twists, overall I enjoyed it!

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