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abditoryalive's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Eating disorder
gracebhuff13's review against another edition
3.0
For the life of me I do not understand the hype around this book
evamalou's review against another edition
3.0
If I hadn't read 'the Secret History', I might have liked this book better. Honestly, it just felt like a rip off, switch the Greek tragedies with Shakespeare's tradegies and you've got this book. Only difference, The Secret History is worth 5 stars. The story was gripping at the beginning. Richard's physical and emotional abuse gave the story a lot of suspension. I kept asking myself, when will someone give this jerk what he deserves! But... Richard's actual death and this book felt the same to me. A strong built up, but eventually an enormous anti-climax. I didn't really care for who killed him, because I wasn't even fully aware he was actually killed until the last 100 pages (maybe my own fault for not catching on earlier), I mean, there were some hints of people hiding things about what happened that night, but everything that happened after Richard's death just felt like a drag. I would have liked to see more of their guilt and the way it ate them up, but they just kinda went on with their lives (and their Shakespeare plays which surprised me because, a (theater) student just died??). The ending (with James 'letter') did suprise me in a good way, it was one final plot twist. On the other hand, it felt a bit unnecessary, there were only like 5 pages left to read. Overall, 2,5 (biased) stars (because I just cannot not compare If We Were Villains with The Secret History).
sakasaka12's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
oliver, the most successful bisexual of the century. i want to be him so badly.
this book felt like a love letter to shakespeare. i haven't read much of his plays but i know this book flowed like one of his tragedies. i need to kiss the authors hand because they have DONE their research and DELIVERED.
the way the characters of the book recited shakespeare in their own way not only gave life to their characters but also to the characters they were acting for. every single character felt real. the buildup towards the murder, after the murder, our main characters's dilemma, olivers realisation, fall of the other characters and again the buildup towards the climax and the final downfall- SERVED ON A GOLD PLATE. it was delicious.
james and oliver- call me delusional but i know they are having their happy ending rn. meredith- i love you honey your so sexy aha. wren- sweet sweet child i hope you're happy. alexander and filippa- you were my favourites and if anything would've happened to you, i would've flipped the world. richard- fuck you.
ah i want to forget this book and read it again for the first time :(
this book felt like a love letter to shakespeare. i haven't read much of his plays but i know this book flowed like one of his tragedies. i need to kiss the authors hand because they have DONE their research and DELIVERED.
the way the characters of the book recited shakespeare in their own way not only gave life to their characters but also to the characters they were acting for. every single character felt real. the buildup towards the murder, after the murder, our main characters's dilemma, olivers realisation, fall of the other characters and again the buildup towards the climax and the final downfall- SERVED ON A GOLD PLATE. it was delicious.
james and oliver- call me delusional but i know they are having their happy ending rn. meredith- i love you honey your so sexy aha. wren- sweet sweet child i hope you're happy. alexander and filippa- you were my favourites and if anything would've happened to you, i would've flipped the world. richard- fuck you.
ah i want to forget this book and read it again for the first time :(
jhscng's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
river_cooke's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Have a lot of feelings about this book that I thought would clear up after sleeping on it but I’m actually more uncertain now.
Part of this is inherent to how the book’s written, which is very much a love-it-or-hate-it question of your ability to buy into a story which is so centrally based in Shakespeare and people who obsess with him that a good third of the dialogue is cleverly contextualised quotes in varying lengths, and which structurally mirrors those tragedies self-consciously. Ultimately, I bought into it and had a great time as a result.
It isn’t realistic in the way I gather some people expected, for sure; there are definitely choices that leap into the fantastical despite the setting being mundane (at least nominally; this school for Shakespearean performers is described with such enchantment that you could be fooled into thinking the place itself is exerting a force over the characters wills. The insane nature of the place, how far it strains the boundaries of students, is exciting, tantalising, alluring, the sort of forbidden exclusive fruit that I think makes the obsessiveness of different characters work within the context.) However, the ordinary world is distinctly separate, and often contrasted; the main character sometimes talks about his family in Ohio with disdain, they don’t understand this world he has become enmeshed in. Indeed, it’s this kind of cloistering that makes the events that transpire feel more credible.
The characters are interesting enough and worked well for the story that was equal parts loss of innocence and tragedy of fatal flaws, particularly within the context of their actions often manifesting in their performance (both of the plays and, as we are often reminded, their natural tendency to perform falsely in everyday life, which I felt adds hugely to the intrigue).
The Shakespeare runs deep. Not only does it repurpose quotes, or use them for double-purpose to both portray reenactments and build the characterisation of the actors, but the structure of the story, the specific nature of the tragedy that ensues, borrows heavily. I’m not inclined to describe it as aping, though, mostly due to there being many more deeply considered parallels that show that the author (who does have a postdoc in WS) went far beyond using quotes, and actually dissected them and exploited their new context in interesting ways (Loved how they did the Lear part, which is the play I’m most familiar with and hence it’s probably the section I liked the most.)
It’s worth noting I have not read the secret histories, which I’m told this is very similar to, and that if you have read you may see some plot beats coming in advance. For what it’s worth (and perhaps this is more towards the point that I am not that perceptive) though I did see the Event at the midpoint coming, I did not guess at the twist, or the revelations that came at the end of the book, and found both to be very compelling. YMMV.
The atmosphere is very well done, in both halves. The first is an intimate, indulgent look into a sort of magical place where you can indulge in enjoying your little passion with people who care about it as much and as sincerely as you do, far from anyone who ever talked down on it. It’s akin to a dreamlike haze, where you are removed from the world and can be with people to indulge in a mutual obsession. It sets things up well, while leaving the lingering sense that things aren’t far from the edge, that this place is a pressure cooker and that the nature of this place can and does drive people to obsession and insanity.
Then the second half… no spoilers but Christ I don’t think my heart has recovered since I put the book down, it was incredibly gripping with the secrets stacking up amongst all the characters, and the increased scrutiny and surveillance and stakes, it’s definitely the most stressed I’ve been reading in a good minute. The contrast with the first half really makes the degree to which everyone falls apart, how the dream was shattered by the sudden interruption of horror and tragedy, strike so hard.
I must also stress that this book was a joy to digest in terms of just reading the prose. Some of my recent reads have been tougher, requiring a few repeat attempts at a page to put together what the author meant to say happened, but this went down like creamy milk. It just flew along.
I can see why it’s not for everyone but I really enjoyed it, and no amount of people talking about comparisons beats that central fact. Just buy into the sometimes overbearing conceit and you’ll have a good time I feel.
Part of this is inherent to how the book’s written, which is very much a love-it-or-hate-it question of your ability to buy into a story which is so centrally based in Shakespeare and people who obsess with him that a good third of the dialogue is cleverly contextualised quotes in varying lengths, and which structurally mirrors those tragedies self-consciously. Ultimately, I bought into it and had a great time as a result.
It isn’t realistic in the way I gather some people expected, for sure; there are definitely choices that leap into the fantastical despite the setting being mundane (at least nominally; this school for Shakespearean performers is described with such enchantment that you could be fooled into thinking the place itself is exerting a force over the characters wills. The insane nature of the place, how far it strains the boundaries of students, is exciting, tantalising, alluring, the sort of forbidden exclusive fruit that I think makes the obsessiveness of different characters work within the context.) However, the ordinary world is distinctly separate, and often contrasted; the main character sometimes talks about his family in Ohio with disdain, they don’t understand this world he has become enmeshed in. Indeed, it’s this kind of cloistering that makes the events that transpire feel more credible.
The characters are interesting enough and worked well for the story that was equal parts loss of innocence and tragedy of fatal flaws, particularly within the context of their actions often manifesting in their performance (both of the plays and, as we are often reminded, their natural tendency to perform falsely in everyday life, which I felt adds hugely to the intrigue).
The Shakespeare runs deep. Not only does it repurpose quotes, or use them for double-purpose to both portray reenactments and build the characterisation of the actors, but the structure of the story, the specific nature of the tragedy that ensues, borrows heavily. I’m not inclined to describe it as aping, though, mostly due to there being many more deeply considered parallels that show that the author (who does have a postdoc in WS) went far beyond using quotes, and actually dissected them and exploited their new context in interesting ways (Loved how they did the Lear part, which is the play I’m most familiar with and hence it’s probably the section I liked the most.)
It’s worth noting I have not read the secret histories, which I’m told this is very similar to, and that if you have read you may see some plot beats coming in advance. For what it’s worth (and perhaps this is more towards the point that I am not that perceptive) though I did see the Event at the midpoint coming, I did not guess at the twist, or the revelations that came at the end of the book, and found both to be very compelling. YMMV.
The atmosphere is very well done, in both halves. The first is an intimate, indulgent look into a sort of magical place where you can indulge in enjoying your little passion with people who care about it as much and as sincerely as you do, far from anyone who ever talked down on it. It’s akin to a dreamlike haze, where you are removed from the world and can be with people to indulge in a mutual obsession. It sets things up well, while leaving the lingering sense that things aren’t far from the edge, that this place is a pressure cooker and that the nature of this place can and does drive people to obsession and insanity.
Then the second half… no spoilers but Christ I don’t think my heart has recovered since I put the book down, it was incredibly gripping with the secrets stacking up amongst all the characters, and the increased scrutiny and surveillance and stakes, it’s definitely the most stressed I’ve been reading in a good minute. The contrast with the first half really makes the degree to which everyone falls apart, how the dream was shattered by the sudden interruption of horror and tragedy, strike so hard.
I must also stress that this book was a joy to digest in terms of just reading the prose. Some of my recent reads have been tougher, requiring a few repeat attempts at a page to put together what the author meant to say happened, but this went down like creamy milk. It just flew along.
I can see why it’s not for everyone but I really enjoyed it, and no amount of people talking about comparisons beats that central fact. Just buy into the sometimes overbearing conceit and you’ll have a good time I feel.
tamlovestea's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
mi__ela's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
4.5
I have to admit, I enjoyed this a bit more than The Secret History. Maybe because the chapters were shorter and there was a sense of mystery until the end, or maybe because JAMES AND OLIVER WERE MAKING ME RIP MY HAIR OUT OF MY HEAD.... either way, I actually loved this book.
I can't deny that there are some similarities between The Secret History and If We Were Villains, but at the same time, "there no such thing as an original idea"
What I saw different in this book than in The Secret History is the way the character's emotions and feelings do not exist in a vacuum. Here, M.L. Rio explores their environment and how their teachers and the institution in itself made way for the tragedy to unfold. Unlike in The Secret History where the students' obsessions are more of a result of being secluded from the rest of the college and living closely together.
This is a story of emotions, obsessions, and passions and A LOT of jealousy running wild in an environment that encourages such feelings.
The critique that the characters speaking in "Shakespearean" is not believable, have never met a drama student. The Shakespearean talk is more of an inside joke for this cohort, as a means of coping with the toxic and harsh world of theatre.
(If only they hadn't been so fucking oblivious .... literally everyone saw right through them 😭)
I can't deny that there are some similarities between The Secret History and If We Were Villains, but at the same time, "there no such thing as an original idea"
What I saw different in this book than in The Secret History is the way the character's emotions and feelings do not exist in a vacuum. Here, M.L. Rio explores their environment and how their teachers and the institution in itself made way for the tragedy to unfold. Unlike in The Secret History where the students' obsessions are more of a result of being secluded from the rest of the college and living closely together.
This is a story of emotions, obsessions, and passions and A LOT of jealousy running wild in an environment that encourages such feelings.
The critique that the characters speaking in "Shakespearean" is not believable, have never met a drama student. The Shakespearean talk is more of an inside joke for this cohort, as a means of coping with the toxic and harsh world of theatre.
(If only they hadn't been so fucking oblivious .... literally everyone saw right through them 😭)
iramdham's review against another edition
5.0
Damn, did the author did a good job of putting be back on a reading slump. This took me a while to finish, and I'm pretty sure it's going to take me twice as long to get over it.