Reviews tagging 'Blood'

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

445 reviews

oakairi's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, Death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Bullying, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Suicide, Sexism, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Misogyny, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Sexual content, Blood, and Vomit

dom_brlw's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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? Yes

3.75

This is a hard book to read. The amount of content warnings alone is a sign of it. It can be so dark at times and the characters are so twisted. This book shouldn’t be read when you are in a bad state of mind, it might make it worse. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Death, Grief, Murder, Blood, Mental illness, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, and Vomit

courtneykfong's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, Alcohol, Addiction, Death, Drug use, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing

Minor: Eating disorder

rainydayswithbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

Omg...A masterpiece! The story unfolds in an incredibly special way, poetically and emotionally. An all-round successful work that is special in so many ways. The writing style is unique and ingenious, as it incorporates Shakespeare's quotes and yet tells a completely new story. The quotes, plays and characters from Shakespeare are always closely intertwined with the main characters and the actual story. The division of the book into the 5 acts and scenes give the impression of a script, which is reinforced by the partially inserted stage directions. At the beginning, you get the atmosphere of seven motivated students who are passionate about their art. I would have loved to have been part of the group of friends myself, watching one of the improvised plays or reading books by the fireplace with the group in the castle library... Dark academia vibes at their finest! But then everything changes and becomes more and more dark, sinister and mysterious. You no longer really trust anyone and can't predict the ending. I find it amazing how the author allows the characters to merge more and more with the characters they play on stage. As a reader, you realise how much you can lose yourself in art, but also the dangers this harbours. You quickly lose sight of reality. I liked Oliver's words that as an actor you feel all emotions twice - your own from real life and the fictional feelings of the characters. The two merge together, making it much more intense. You can also see this in the group's friendship: every relationship is always characterised by a charged intensity. Hate, love, mistrust, betrayal, solidarity, hero, victim- always close together, constantly changing. Filippa was the most consistent member of the group, although we can assume that this is more of a mask than an actual strong character. Oliver once said to her that she was the pillar of the friendgroup and had to stay strong and not doubt. If she had given up, everything might have fallen apart sooner or turned out very differently. Ironically, this is one of the best proofs of her extraordinary acting ability, although she is always the one who is least expected to play the big roles. A literary tragedy by a contemporary author who we will hopefully be reading a lot more of in the future!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Blood, Drug use, and Alcohol

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, and Sexism

lizziaha's review against another edition

4.5

Reading this book traps you in a spiral, coiling tighter and tighter until its inevitable end. The tension builds and builds and builds and builds and snaps in the most gloriously messy Shakespearean way. I actually wish I knew more about Shakespeare after reading this book. I feel like I missed references. Not just in the direct quotes, but in the roles the characters play, in the narrative structure, in relationships, in the ending. I suspect this book, as good as it is as a first read, will fare better for me as a reread. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Physical abuse, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Bullying, Eating disorder, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Suicide

Minor: Vomit and Homophobia

adyn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This book is like if the breakfast club was made up of a bunch of pretentious (but loveable) Shakespearean theater nerds and also it was a murder mystery. 

Vibes were exquisite, made me want to read shakespeare, loved the characters, plot made sense without being predictable. The pacing was also great, I think this would be a good book to get out of a reading slump. Only reason it’s not 5 stars is bc I’m stingy with 5 stars and it didn’t have a deep personal impact on me lol

The ending

was a bit confusing, but it’s kind of impressive if a book can make me do research on Shakespearean plays after I finish it, right?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Blood, Alcohol, Murder, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Eating disorder, and Physical abuse

Minor: Transphobia

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

alicelalicon'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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Violence

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