Rating: 
Summary: Suspenseful, Witty and Fun!
Review: "The Villa" has been given a bad reputation by some of these reviewers, and I personally disagree. I thought it was smart, provocative, and fun. So please, don't turn down this book because of the negative reviews. Whatever its faults, I firmly believe that its strengths make up for them.
This is a lovely sweeping tale of three generations of passionate women and the men who love them. When "La Signora" (Tereza Giambelli) decides to merge the Giambelli winery with her husband Eli's MacMillan winery, the company is thrown into turmoil. Tereza's granddaughter, Sophia, head of public relations and advertising is no more pleased about the merge than Eli's grandson, Tyler MacMillan, who is in charge of the vines and the distilling process. "La Signora" decrees that Tyler and Sophia must work together, and that each must learn to do the other's job. Although neither is enamoured with the idea, they get down to work, only to find out that they have a powerful attraction to each other, which is hard to keep under control.
Sophia's mother, Pilar, has let herself be a doormat for Sophia's deadbeat father, Tony Avano, for years. After years of separation, Tony finally asks for a divorce so that he can remarry. But Avano does not enjoy his marriage for long, as he is found murdered in Sophia's apartment. Poison is found in bottles of Giambelli wine, which throws the company into upheaval. Someone is trying to destroy the Giambelli-MacMillan winery, and the race is on to find out who.
Amidst this murder and mayhem, Tyler and Sophia's relationship heats up, but Sophia isn't the only one with a new romance. The new COO of Giambelli-MacMillan, David Cutter, finds himself quite taken with Pilar. David begins to win Pilar's trust as he heals a lifetime of her emotional hurt and Pilar attempts to win over David's two teenagers. Their romance is touching and complex, while Sophia and Tyler's romance is exciting and fresh.
To sum up, this is a suspenseful, witty, and fun-filled book and I found it very enjoyable. Many reviewers felt that there were too many characters for any to be developed fully, but that is just not true. All of the characters are distinct and have their motivations and feelings well explained. The many characters involved added depth to the story and I thought this was a refreshing new angle for Nora Roberts to use. This book will entertain and satisfy you if you just enjoy it for what it is and stop looking for faults.
Rating: 
Summary: Appearances Can Be Deceiving
Review: Being a fan of Nora Roberts, I picked this book up within the first few weeks of availability; purchasing a hard cover book that was five times the cost of a paperback. Considering my other Nora favorites like Homeport, I thought it was a sound purchase-obviously at the end of the book I found out that it wasn't that great of a purchase after all.The Villa is a sweeping novel that takes place on two continents - Europe and North America. The book itself is organized into four parts and presented very nicely (exemplifying how much Nora's books are worth to her publishers). The description of the book on the book jacket would make any Nora fan want to read the book, but after diving into the book I've found that this book is worth about as much as a wine with the same year vintage. The book, it self, goes all over the place. There are over thirty characters, many with sections in the book that describe them, their motivations, et cetera, which is nice up to a point, but is egregious considering 75% of the characters in the book are just supporting characters and nothing more. Fifteen percent of the book is devoted to an introduction/documentary to the winemaking business, which gets annoying, taking focus off the book's meager plot, and screams FILLER. Nora also relies heavily on description, which gets obtrusive; I'd rather create the specifics of the particular scene in my mind then have her spoon food them to me. As for the Italian parts, they weren't nearly as successful as the ones in her 1998 novel Homeport. Nora also tries to show off her command of the Italian language in this book, but it's grating when you don't know what the characters are saying. The romances themselves (I say romances because, unlike the cover jacket or abstract of the novel may want you to think, this book involves both a twenty-year old's romance-Sophia and Ty, and a forty-year old's romance-Pilar and David) are trite. You can't tell me Sophia and Ty would ever get together!!! They are polar opposites. Sophia needs a more refined man than Ty and Ty needs someone who isn't as promiscuous as Sophia. (Don't even get me started on Sophia's age: twenty-six!!! Please, she's the head of both marketing and public relations!! Ha, she'd be lucky if she was out of college by then. And she's had so many affairs!!! So unrealistic. Sophia, logically, would have to be at least twenty-nine to do all she's done.) It seems very likely to me that in the real world, Sophia wouldn't even give Ty they time of day unless she was just toying with him. Oh, and Pilar & David, that's another story in itself. It's a bit too sappy. And the love scenes, please, I almost burst out laughing. Nora starts off The Villa on the right foot. She sets the mood, gives you an idea of the characters, et cetera. She sets the premise for the book within the first four chapters, which is nice. If you're in the middle of The Villa don't get your hopes up that there will be a centennial party at the end of the book or even that Ty and Sophia will resolve the bet they made in chapter 3. Nora leaves us hanging on both counts, which is very disappointing to me. As time & chapters go by, it seems to me that Nora tries to do too much in The Villa. She weaves two romances, an introduction to winemaking, corporate sabotage and the investigation that ensues into to one 416-page novel that could have easily been a 600-page epic. It's also apparent that Nora also rested on her laurels and reputation with this book; she makes uncharacteristic spelling errors in this book (like switching between La Coeur and Le Coeur through the book); recycles dialogue from other scenes in previous books; and, if it can't get any worse, goes as far as to finish what could have been a five chapter ending in just two chapters. Please, Nora!?! Was your jet landing in the Cayman's and you just had to get your book off to your publisher so you gave us a really stupid ending?? Clearly Nora wrote this book on vacation, and it shows!!! Some characters are enjoyable in this book (not David's hellion children, though), like the gracious, powerful La Signora; intriguing Sophia; the docile Pilar; and the man who keeps all three generations of Giambellis inline-Eli. Nora will keep giving you little teasers and weaving in conspiracy into the novel so you don't want to stop reading it, even if you take forever to finish it, but in the end all the teasers are just that-there's very little substance in The Villa. Wait for the paperback at the library; you won't miss anything major.
Rating:
Summary: A great source for escapist reading
Review: Nora Roberts is weaves wonderful tales and while The Villa may not be her best, I wouldn't say it was her worst either. While there were a couple of instances where something surprised me, overall after reading multiple novels by her, that she seemed to have fallen into a bit of a rut with her characters. When I read Tyler, I could easily see some of her others heros, such as the lead from Carolina Moon, in the lines. While that's not necessarily a bad thing for me as I liked both characters, I would love to see some of the earlier variety she displayed. I don't mean to say that Tyler is a carbon copy of the earlier character, but they seemed to have quite a bit in common. Roberts is capable of wonderful stories, and while I firmly believe this book bears a place on the shelf of any Roberts fan, it has room for improvement. Nevertheless, it serves the purpose of most romance novels, great escapist reading :)
Rating: 
Summary: What's happened to Nora?
Review: I purchased The Villa before Midnight Bayou. I loaned it to my buddy in the book review club. She gave it back and said it wasn't up to snuff for a Nora Roberts book. I didn't pick it up to read until after I'd finished Midnight Bayou. I was not as disappointed with "The Villa", but something has happened to this author. Maybe she needs to take a break and concentrate on the story a little more. When she first started writing, I would have classed Nora as one of the greatest in writing romance. But of late, her stories are lacking in plot and character. Neither really reachs out to grab you. I doubt there's anyone that can write a love scene like Nora, that I've read anyway. But she's just not thrilling me any more. She used to have a certain style and she's lost that edge. Maybe back then she was a lot more dedicated than she is now. Who knows. I just know she's capable of better work than the last two novels I've read. It's like she throws a lot of words out on the page and they mean nothing. In The Villa, there was way too much detail about making wine. Who cares? If I wanted a lesson in wine making, I'd go to the library and check out a book on wine making. There wasn't a really neat love affair in this book either. The characters were not people you could connect with. Frankly, this book read almost like a Danielle Steel novel. And who needs that?
Rating:
Summary: The first of two disappointments from Nora Roberts
Review: This was the first Nora Roberts book that I felt cheated by. The characters were not as absorbing and sympathetic as in previous books. I didn't really find any of them to be likable. But the ending and solution to the murder mystery was incredibly disappointing. The murderer was behaving out of character and was going to get away with it. Usually everyone in a Nora Roberts book gets their just desserts, but this dessert was definitly unpalatable. Her newest book, Midnight Bayou, was much better, but again she cheated on the ending. Perhaps she is trying to write too quickly. I've always bought her books as soon as they are released, but now I'm going to have to borrow them from the library and read them before I decide to add them to my very full shelf of her earlier books.
Rating: 
Summary: So good you can taste it!
Review: How does she do it...the research that goes into a Nora Robert's book is overwhelming. she is an expert at everything from sculpture to sailing to the wine business. Here is a wonderful time in California and Italy, Venice no less. Great characters, great story and that Roberts way with words in her special face-to-face adventures. I dare you to put this one down. And I reccomend you end this in Venice and head directly for the Bayou.
Rating:
Summary: Everything you could possibly want in a book
Review: This book had everything, good plot, good subplots, good romance, good friendships, and good family relationships. It also had a good background, winemaking. It was definitely a book that was difficult to put down! Thanks, Ms. Roberts for yet another great read!
Rating:
Summary: Classic Roberts
Review: The Villa is written along the lines of Robert's suspence romances, similar to Carnal Innocence and The Reef. I was particularly intruiged with the plot line of wine making, and would have to say the Ms. Roberts did an excellent job researching the topic, as it provided a wonderful base and backdrop for the book. The story is concerned with the melding of families, and how they must stand together in the face of disaster. Old and young, new and ancient bonds are renewed. This is a great introduction to Roberts if you're unfamiliar with her, and long-time fans are sure to love it as well.
Rating:
Summary: It's Nora Roberts--so of course it's good
Review: You can't go wrong if you pick a Nora Roberts novel. The woman is just so talented, she seems able to make a compelling read out of just about anything. Better yet, every Nora Roberts book is different--you never feel like you're reading the same thing over and over again. Three generations of strong women have built the Giambelli Winery into one of the most powerful in the world. Now, this heritage is threatened by forces determined to destroy everything they have worked for--forces that strike from the competition, from within the company, and even from within the family. Sophia, the youngest woman, is now forced to leave her zone of comfort (in marketing and P.R.) to learn production from Tyler MacMillan, a man who thinks of all suits as worthless. Romantic sparks fly in this forced togetherness. Roberts' descriptions of wine and the wine-making process were interesting in themselves, and also worked as subtle symbols of the developing relationship between Tyler and Sophia, as well as the everpresent dangers to the family and this relationship. Very interesting. Because Sophia and Tyler are unaware of the forces set to destroy them through much of the book, their activities lack the focus that would really let us get into them. Sophia's goal of preserving the status quo is inherently more difficult to get behind than would ha more active goal. For this reason, THE VILLA is somewhat less compelling than other Roberts novels. Still, any book by Nora Roberts is worth reading. You won't regret reading this one.
Rating:
Summary: good wine-good story
Review: I had this book on tape and truly enjoyed the energy and love that of the characters. The story was involved enough that I had to listen to the first tape again to really understand the ending. Nora Roberts has turned out so many books that I have stopped reading hers as they have been much the same story. This took a new turn and the reading or listener got to know the wine business though the eyes of several couples that made the story. It is always more fun to have the romance spread around to both young and older couples. I will look forward to a sequel.
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