These two new releases are both mystery/thrillers in their own sense of the way and while both have an amazing premise, they both are missing something to really make them hits for me. Let me know your thoughts on these two new releases.
Goodreads says, "When Ann Stilwell arrives in New York City, she expects to spend her summer working as a curatorial associate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Instead, she finds herself assigned to The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its medieval art collection and its group of enigmatic researchers studying the history of divination. Desperate to escape her painful past, Ann is happy to indulge the researchers’ more outlandish theories about the history of fortune telling. But what begins as academic curiosity quickly turns into obsession when Ann discovers a hidden 15th-century deck of tarot cards that might hold the key to predicting the future. When the dangerous game of power, seduction, and ambition at The Cloisters turns deadly, Ann becomes locked in a race for answers as the line between the arcane and the modern blurs. A haunting and magical blend of genres, The Cloisters is a gripping debut that will keep you on the edge of your seat."
Ann Stilwell just graduated college and has an internship in New York City, which is much different than her hometown of Walla Walla. She thought she was interning at the prestigious Met, but instead is assigned to a much smaller museum, The Cloisters. Patrick, the curator, is very interested in the Renaissance, with a strange focus on the occult. Rachel, also a recent college graduate, is working there as well assisting Patrick with his strange exhibition on Renaissance occult, divination, and tarot. While there, Ann meets Leo, the gardener, and while he is extremely charismatic and interesting, he has some strange hobbies. One night Patrick, Rachel, and Ann perform a tarot reading which changes everything. Cue major creepiness, tragedy, and a haunting mood. While I felt The Cloisters by Katy Hayes was an atmospheric read, ultimately, it was missing something to take it from a good read to a great one.
My favorite aspect of The Cloisters was the haunting setting. In fact, the novel was a bit darker than I thought it would be, like in a sinister sense. Also, Rachel is a very complex character and is hiding some things. She is more than just a wealthy college graduate. Leo, who appears to be a simple gardener, is actually growing hallucinogenics and selling them! So, obviously, there is more than meets the eye here for Ann. I really liked the incorporation of tarot and like I said, the setting was fantastic. The ending was also surprising! However, this is the author's debut novel and quite frankly, it felt like it. The writing felt a little heavy at times and some of the ideas weren't fully executed in my opinion. So, all in all, it was an entertaining read, especially if you like dark academia novels, but overall, quite average.
Pub. Date: January 3, 2023
Goodreads says, "As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend. Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato, and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album––and ends in Pierce’s brutal murder. As Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps Pierce’s murder wasn’t just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but that something more sinister might have occurred––and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind. Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to light, equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge––and it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends."
Emily and Chess have been best friends since they were children and now as adults even though they don't talk daily, they are still close. Emily writes cozy mysteries and Chess is a full-blown self-help guru who has even been featured by Oprah. Chess decides she needs a good vacation away from it all and invites Emily to come along as well. She has rented an Italian villa for six weeks, so how could Emily possibly say no? Emily is going through a divorce and experiencing a writing slump, so perhaps this is the change she desperately needs. After some research, Emily finds out that this house is notorious for a murder back in the 70s. Despite her hesitation, she still goes on vacation. While there, she finds a book, Lilith Rising, and it was written by one of the people who stayed in the house during the infamous murder. Now Emily is feeling inspired to write again, but Chess has been acting so weird. Does Chess really have Emily's best interests in mind? Hawkins also switches the narrative to the 1970s and to Mari, the house guest/resident author. She is there with her boyfriend and up and coming musician, Pierce, as well as her step-sister, a famous musician, Noel, and a groupie. This particular part of the novel is a re-imagining of Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Byron's ghost story contest where Frankenstein was born. While The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is a brilliant concept and I was most definitely entertained, something was missing from the story to take it to the next level.
The gothic vibe of The Villa was well done by Hawkins. I was here for it as well as the Italian setting. I mean who wouldn't want to stay at a private villa for six weeks in Italy? It sounded luxurious minus the creep factor. To add to the creep factor, Chess and Emily's relationship is very complex and as they spend more time there, readers will realize that their friendship isn't healthy. The narrative then switches back to the past, which was interesting in that it highlights a lot of the tension within the household before the night of the murder. Like I said, the premise in The Villa is brilliant, but the execution of all of these ideas felt too heavy. Despite it's flaws, it was still a fun read and a nice way to spend an afternoon caught up in this low-key thriller.
Have you read The Cloisters or The Villa? Are they on your TBR list? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
The Villa is on my TBR. I enjoyed her first book, although I'm now a bit behind on her books.
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun thriller with a great setting. I look forward to your thoughts on it! Thanks for visiting, Angela!
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