Although once again her choice of setting was ideal and I am JUST as eager to bask in the glow of the Italian sun as I am to get to Hawaii as soon as humanly possible, I think Fleetwood Mac might have said it best. That is, when it comes to me and the likelihood I'll be grabbing Hawkins' next book?

It touches on grown men going after minors and the competitive streak that can sometimes surface between friends. I loved how this wrapped up. The influence of the one on the other; the permission granted in a way for the present to happen the way it did because of the past. It's really difficult to talk about this without spoilers, so I will just say, I found this to be incredibly clever.Can I prove this is what happened? Nope. And I admit it goes against the feminist vibe of the story, in both timelines. But re-read that last scene between them again: “ If Matt was the problem, why don’t you want to write with Chess again?” It’s exactly what Chess had warned Emily earlier when she was trying to convince her that Matt’s existence in her life was making her physically ill. “Your body knew. It was warning you … you were on the wrong path. Your body was trying to tell you.” So the book ends with Emily trapped with Chess after murdering Matt, all the while knowing that something’s wrong. Because deep down, her body knows that Chess is not her friend, not even a frenemy, but the full-out villain of her life, and the novel.

Complementary Meet and Greet at the Villa upon arrival to explain all villa features enabling our guests to benefit from our knowledge of restaurants bars beaches boat trips. Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle––the birthplace of Frankenstein––The Villa welcomes you into its deadly legacy.…” (Publisher’s blurb) I thought this book was very nicely done and enjoyable. I look forward to reading more of Rachel Hawkins books in the future! I listened to the audiobook, and Julia Whelan does a fantastic job with voicing Emily, and the other two narrators for Mari and the novel are wonderful as well. I was able to keep the narrators straight because their accents are different and their voices are unique. I liked how the book was told from different perspectives including the viewers of the show, the producer and Laura.Once they arrive it appears Emily still isn't ready to put her fingers to the keyboard for book 10 in her Petal Bloom series. Emily is much more interested in the history of Villa Aestas and the murder of an up-and-coming musician that happened there in the '70's when the villa went by Villa Rosato or better yet, The Murder House. Though Mari and Lara were initially expected to be nothing more than Noel’s and Pierce’s muses and companions, they were the ones to create groundbreaking art that summer. In defying expectations, what did they prove, who did they prove it to, and should they have had to prove anything at all? Do women today still have to “prove” themselves in certain spaces?