If We Were Villains
Ratings383
Average rating3.9
The good: This book does a lot of really interesting things. I loved the sections where the characters are acting out a role and you get this mashup of emotions from the characters and the role they're playing. It was my favourite part of this whole book and something that will definitely stick with me. The use of Shakespeare throughout was so much fun and handled in a way that made it feel accessible and unpretentious as a reader.
The not-as-good: The plot fell a bit short for me, largely because I was expecting more of a traditional whodunnit mystery, and this isn't really that. It spends a lot of time on the central characters as you watch guilt erode them all in different ways, which is handled well for the most part but wasn't what I thought I was signing up for. I also had a hard time buying into the love triangle that serves as a central motivation for the main character's actions... it felt more like a narrative device than something that was really character driven and I couldn't get past that feeling. Overall, I really enjoyed the style, the themes, and the way the characters were drawn but wasn't super compelled by core mystery.
I am trying to put my thoughts together in regards to this book and all I can think of is that, like the characters, the grief is far too much to bear. I had an enjoyable time with this novel. Easily in the top 5 of what I've read all year but it is an emotional journey I was not ready for.
It took me at least a few days to pick it back up to read part 5 and finish and half was that so much was happening at once and that I just did not want to leave the world given to me. M. L. Rio wrote a transcendent novel and I look forward to the next book she releases in the future.
Oh I loved the ending! Thank you, M. L. Rio, for not leaving me hanging with only a tragic ending. I needed that. What a brilliant Act V.
I wanted more queer than there was throughout ALL of it. I honestly thought they were gonna hit me with the plausible deniability of any Shakespeare play right up until the kiss on stage. Thank fucking god they didn't.
Filippa is MVP, hands down. The only sane of the bunch of them, and deeply relatable. Had this been The Secret History, Filippa would have been the main character lmao.
Very reminiscent of the Dead Poets Society: it's all fun and games in the beginning and then BOOM ✨depression✨
This was so beautifully written. I actually really loved the ending, as tragic as it was. It's just so very Shakespearean. I do like how it's left, open to interpretation. It makes much more sense that he did indeed kill himself, but I like to pretend it was a happy ending. I normally don't like endings that don't truly wrap things up, but in this case it felt fitting.
My only critique is that the mystery element wasn't so mysterious. That may be more because I read a ton of thrillers, so a twist has to be HUGE for me to not see it coming, but this book was more about the journey than the destination.
-May Swifite Book Club Book
Look, i'm sure there's some grand deeper meaning when it comes to the plays they perform and reference but i'm just really not into Shakespeare so that fell flat for me. And i know the characters are actors but they are SO dramatic for no reason and pretentious. Also Oliver is just a simp and no real person would've done what he did in the end. This book really just dragged on and it felt like they kept building up to nothing.
After reading and enjoying Donna Tartt's The Secret History, I went looking for another book with a similar setting and plot. This book was recommended by several Booktubers, so I decided to give a go. This book ranks as one of my favorites of the year. I absolutely love it. The characters, plot, setting, conflicts, themes - it's all top notch. It's dark academia at its best.
In this book, the main character Oliver is just being released after serving ten years of a prison sentence for murder. He was convicted of murdering a fellow acting student, but the cop from the case has doubts about his guilt. Upon his release, he returns to the school where the murder occurred and tells the true story of what happened there ten years before.
There are so many things that are done well in this book. I'll start with the setting. The story takes place at a prestigious art college where aspiring actors study and perform Shakespearean plays. Shakespeare becomes a constant player in their lives, so much so that they quote him in their daily conversations. I love this aspect of the novel because I am a huge Shakespeare fan. The seven fourth year students also live together and spend all their time together, which contributes to the complex relationships and the conflicts that develop.
Rio's characters are expertly developed in this book. While they appear to fit the mold of Shakespeare's characters (hero, villain, seductress, sidekick, etc.), they are much more complex than they seem. The relationship between Oliver and James is especially well-written. Each character has just enough mystery surrounding him/her to make it plausible that any one of them could be a murderer. It makes for a very interesting dynamic.
The plot structure is probably the best aspect of this novel. The story is structured like a Shakespearean tragedy with five acts. Each act has a prologue that is set in the present day after Oliver's release from prison. The act then flashes back to the events of ten years prior, the acting students' senior year. Anyone who knows about the structure of a Shakespearean tragedy (plot elements in each act) will enjoy how well Rio mimics that structure.
This book is intelligent and original. It captured my interest immediately and never let go. M.L. Rio deserves a standing ovation for this one!
Not sure what to make of this. I can see how influenced this book was by the secret history but it failed to deliver what i liked about this genre.
anne carson once said:
“why are you full of rage? because you are full of grief.”
and i think of james when i read that quote
Me gustó mucho la forma que tuvo la autora de contar la historia por actos como si fuera una obra de teatro y las pequeñas escenas de la actualidad al principio de cada uno.
El formato de los diálogos que mezcla diálogos normales con diálogos de teatro me resultó innovador y ayuda a enterarte quién es quién mientras actúan que hablando de eso, me sentía como un espectador más viéndolos a ellos en el escenario
Amé a cada uno de los personajes (a ti no, Richard), con todo lo malo y con todo lo bueno. Por muy actores que sean siguen siendo personas con sus propios problemas y sentimientos y creo que la autora ha sabido reflejar esa faceta humana en sus personajes. Mis favoritos han acabado siendo Filippa y Oliver. Seguido de Colborne. De este último me habría gustado que hubiera tenido un poco más de desarrollo o que nos hubiera contado un poco más. Aunque decían que Filippa es imperturbable, es una persona que se preocupa y quiere mucho a los suyos y es capaz de cualquier cosa y Oliver... Qué decir.
Se confirmaron mis sospechas iniciales de quién fue el culpable pero a lo largo de los actos me lo he replanteado varias veces y no esperaba que acabase de ese modo.
A lo largo del libro he tenido la sensación de estar leyendo una obra de teatro.
4.5!
What a banger. I was putting this off for the longest time waiting for the fall aka dark academia season and it did not disappoint. Though with how sunny and green The Netherlands is rn, maybe a bit too early. Would read it in November time if I could.
BUT THAT ASIDE!!!
I was so invested in the book its crazy. It's one of the books that had no plot but vibes. Or rather, predictable plot, but vibes. As a high school theatre kid, I loved the Shakespeare setting and just reading a book about theatrical acting, while still keeping the with the campus/student setting!!
4.2 ! Really enjoyed this story and the audio. I'm not too into Shakespeare so I couldn't relate much in that regard but overall I enjoyed the theme. Very nice addition to a spooky read in October ^-^
downgraded to one star coz this book was a big bore and i ended up hating it more
Oliver and his six friends are in their last year of school at Dellecher Classical Conservatory. All seven are actors in training who do nothing but Shakespearean plays. If We Were Villains is told ten years later, as Oliver is released from prison, and with Oliver recounting to the officer who investigated his crime the truth of what happened ten years earlier.
I listened to this book on tape during thirteen hours of driving. It felt interminably long, with huge passages of unnecessary detail, characters who were tedious and obnoxious, and incessant lines of Shakespeare.
This book felt very familiar as it has almost the same vibe as The Secret History and the setting of the ‘play' felt vaguely similar to Hogwarts. While I greatly enjoyed the premise, the setting, tolerable characters, and the dramatic structure, I can't say the same about the plot. The build-up was palpable leading to a fairly conclusive ending, but it wasn't quite comparable to what my expectations for it had been. The ending felt somewhat rushed to me as I felt the need for some closure, although it does end with a questionable silver lining. I still loved it, the vibes, the writing... it was intriguingly immersive, compelling me to walk in the shoes of the protagonist, experiencing the tale as I read on.
really, really entertaining read!!! I had fun reading this and the little Shakespeare snippets were so lovely.
4.25 stars
“You can't quantify humanity. You can't measure it—not the way you mean to. People are passionate and flawed and fallible. They make mistakes. Their memories fade. Their eyes deceive them.”
A book that kept getting better and better, If We We're Villains is beautifully written! My star rating choice went from 3.75 to 4 as I continued reading, and the ending was gripping enough to raise that to 4.25.
In the beginning, I honestly didn't love this book. The cha
