Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Teatr złoczyńców by M.L. Rio

199 reviews

thequiltyreader's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Compelling story and characters. I found the writing style a little verbose at times and must admit to skimming the Shakespeare quotes a few times which is the only reason it's been knocked down on review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Self harm, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Death, Murder, Eating disorder, Suicide, Sexual content, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Bullying, and Suicide attempt

dpsmom's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A group of thespian college students find themselves in impossible situations in this reflective novel told from the POV of the guilty party of a gruesome (or accidental?) crime. The writing was sophisticated, and interspersed with quoted Shakespeare lines from various plays. While that might bring some audiences out of the story, I personally felt it helped readers understand the intense fine arts program in which the characters are a part of. Being a former English teacher,  I also found the Shakespeare quotes to be a fun nostalgic reminder of the past. The characters were all well developed, believable and different. The story was interesting and made me shake my head in affirmation at some of the dumb choices they make as college students. Overall, it was a quick and entertaining read, a bit predictable in some places, but also with a couple plot twists along the way to change things up. Would recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Murder, Bullying, and Death

ellalillian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

going to be thinking about this book for a long time for sure. thoroughly enjoyed it. dark academia always makes me feel weird/unsettled afterward... which is probably the whole point.

based on the reviews, i was kind of scared going into this book, but honestly, while i'm glad i knew it was going to be dark going in, i didn't think it was that dark - at least until the end. the epilogue honestly messed me up more than anything. (don't get me wrong, the whole book was still dark, just not as bad as i was expecting).

the biggest "twists" were pretty predictable, but i honestly didn't think that made it any less enjoyable in the slightest. i saw another review saying that how they're revealed is perfect; the point of this book wasn't plot twists, but almost character twists & oliver learning who the other characters, along with himself, truly are.

i wish i knew more shakespeare because i think that's the only thing that could've made this book more enjoyable.

definitely thoroughly enjoyed this book - if you ever want to feel unsettled & if you like shakespeare, this book it definitely for you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Bullying, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, and Alcohol

Minor: Blood

lizzym126's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Bullying, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Suicide, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Death

Moderate: Vomit, Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

koneku's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Bullying, Murder, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, and Sexual content

Minor: Homophobia and Eating disorder

theresa_timber's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Homophobia, Violence, Drug use, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Mental illness, and Vomit

galena19's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book reminds me of the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Grief, Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder, Drug use, Body shaming, Bullying, and Blood

Minor: Vomit, Sexual content, and Homophobia

bleme's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Bullying, Addiction, Alcohol, and Infidelity

Minor: Suicide and Eating disorder

oliviacarbajal's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I don't even really know where to start. If we were villains immediately sucked me in, then bored me a bit, followed by an infuriating well-just-tell-me-who-done-it-already hissy fit, and finally shocked me right to my core.

This Shakespeare inspired, dark academia drama is separated into five acts to completely embody the Shakespearean themes Rio evokes throughout the novel. It is centered around 7 young Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory in their fourth and final year. The first two acts are solid and I loved how Rio kept the parallels to The Bard's tragedies at the center of her story. The scene where these 7 misfits act out Macbeth had me on the edge of my damn SEAT. I have to say each character began to be more like stereotypes than real people by the end of Act II, but it was effective nonetheless. I was also so locked into the drama and tension everywhere you turn, the stakes were high in every class and conversation. The bickering, the emotionally deep rehearsals, the fighting (physical and verbal), the atmosphere was cut throat and pulled taut. While the drama and building climax to the murder is what kept me going, Acts III and IV were a bit dry and sooooo dragged out. Act V thought?? We were back in business.

That ENDING. While I should've seen it coming as someone that took 3 Shakespeare classes in undergrad (and studied abroad in London and took 2 more), I was so ill-prepared for that final sentence. I read that final scene three times over and sat with my jaw to the floor the whole time. While I was unsure where this review would go after the dull Acts III and IV, Act V redeemed this entire story. I am now going to see if I can find some decent fanfic to help me recover. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Addiction, Bullying, Body horror, Drug use, and Blood

ashleyslibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’ve never greatly enjoyed reading Shakespeare, and I was worried that it would affect my overall perception of If We Were Villains. 

While I am grappling with mixed emotions on my overall opinion of the book, I know this book will stick around with me for quite a while. 

M.L Rio does a beautiful job of displaying the complex and raw emotions and relationships that can form in tight-knit friend circles in early adulthood. 

I both love and hate the ending at the same time - a form of artistry I’ve grown to appreciate more the older I’ve gotten. A solid 4 stars!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Suicide attempt, and Violence