Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

wow. this was very good, to say the least.

i’ve seen people say that this book is basically The Secret History and, while i see the similarities, it’s obviously quite different. i really liked the Shakepeare aspects of this book, and honestly i found the characters generally likable (unlike in The Secret History, where we’re kind of meant to dislike the characters). i find it hard to finish books quickly but this one took me only around a month, meaning i really enjoyed it.

i can’t believe this is the author’s debut novel. i’m definitely going to keep an eye out for any future work of theirs because WOW. that’s all i can really say, is just wow.

the ending really hurt me though. i kind of figured someone might’ve pinned it on Oliver, but seeing that he took the fall on purpose for James was both a very realistic action for his character and also a devastating one. i’m sincerely hoping that James is secretly still alive and that someday they would rekindle things, although i doubt it based on his overall emotional response to the situation. but boy that ending really hurt!

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zeitfensterr's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

DAS ENDE???? DAS FUCKING ENDE??? ich hasse offene enden, aber holy shit SJUhdshzhdhxhxhbsncucuffeahUdhshud??? Ich will einen Band 2 😔

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decayingreads_'s review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio

Would Recommend?: Yes

Slight Spoilers Ahead? (read with caution)

Was a pleasant read, i would probably reread in the future as-well. I loved the writer's writing, i love how detailed it is. Im giving this book 3.5 stars because i didn't feel much for the characters, most of them were slightly annoying and also stuck-up. I also will say i could not feel the chemistry between Oliver and Meredith. It felt very out of nowhere, i also will say that i wish there were more moments with James & Oliver so the ending would feel more emotional for me, but it seemed like it was so focused on Oliver & Meredith. I would've loved to see more scenes or flashbacks of James & Oliver's relationship. The ending slightly felt rushed but it was still a good fun thriller. It got boring in some parts i will say too. I will say it had some funny moments especially when Richard said "I want to play too." ☠️.

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jaimc's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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stratospheric's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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iane_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious 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

4.5

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lefthandlou's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.0

I wanted to like this book, I was so hopeful from the book description that it would be just my thing, but no. I hated it. It tried to be a Shakespearean Secret History and failed at both. None of the characters felt like real people, their motivations were ridiculous, and they were all selfish, narcissistic, self-obsessed assholes. Asshole characters are fine, I don’t have to like the characters to like the story, but the plot also just didn’t do anything for me. I think this is another book that could have been good, I liked the premise a lot and love an academic setting, but ultimately it just fell short for me.

Also, even though the author is a woman, the depiction of Meredith in particular felt extremely misogynistic to me. All the women characters felt underdeveloped compared to the men, and the women only really exist to bolster the male drama. They rarely interact with each other, and when they do they treat each other badly. They are just unfleshed out tropes. And maybe that’s the point somehow, they each fill a typical Shakespearean female archetype, but if so it was very badly done. Wouldn’t pass the bechdel test, that’s for sure.

Station Eleven did what this was trying to do with Shakespeare much, much better.

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