Reviews tagging 'Classism'

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

22 reviews

manonh90's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

Great dark academia vibes, although slightly less interesting than The Secret History. The Shakespeare quotes were a bit much at times, and the ending was not as unpredictable as I would've liked. Still a good and exciting read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Alcohol

Moderate: Murder, Classism, Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, and Violence

Minor: Self harm, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Infidelity

tinyjude's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I am conflicted, to say the least. (Also this is a mess but it is 2 am, so my brain juice is at its limit)

Pretentious, dramatic and passionate theatre kids who bring to life shakespearean plays both in ans offstage, are a tangled mess of emotions and riddles while also being quite flat characters. I liked the writing, it was fitting for the theme and atmosphere. I loved some passages and use of the plays throughout the story to obscure and bring light to the characters' feelings. I enjoyed the drama and the story. I had my doubts about dark academia books but this one made it for me and now I know I yearn for more books with theatre actors as protagonists being unhinged and frustrating. I also liked the references to some motifs in Shakespeare's plays (ghosts, lies, blood, guilt, madness). As a Shakespeare enthusiastic, especially his tragedies and villains, I am content.

The parts that mostly bother me are for example, what exactly did send Alexander spiraling into overdose? Was it the guilt in all cases? Did Richard haunt them so bad as a ghost like in Macbeth? Did Wren knew all along it was James? I needed to see them descend into madness more.

At some point I truly thought I was being lied by the internet and my own biased analysis, which always searches for some homoerotic subtext, because HELL the moments between Oliver and James were sparse. Those weren't even crumbs, I was holding the ship with a thread and both eyes closed, going by instinct. So yeah, the slow-burn was way too much, as it didn't deliver the relief you would expect after so many "heteronormative looking" scenes (idk how to describe it bc the book had me doubting my bisexual suspicions and then rooting for a poly relationship between Oliver Meredith and James). (What do you mean a botherly kiss that is not quite brotherly? but yeah, only one brief kiss, nothing else, no more scenes between them that hint at their feelings before or after halloween. I am not even asking for a love confession or any grand gesture, but more subtle scenes between them, more tension... idk i went insane, i am in pain but i also apprecite how complicated their relationship is, as they were best friends, brothers, partners in crime, lovers, enemies...). Or more about the internal turmoil they had going on realizing they are queer, which we barely got because they didn't want to think about it... I wanted to see how they come to terms with their sexuality, the guilt and love they felt (this specially)!!!

I probably forget many things I want to say but frankly I have been reading 3h non-stop and cried at the ending, so cut me some slack.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Murder, Sexual violence, Classism, Misogyny, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Homophobia, and Physical abuse

mblanke's review against another edition

challenging 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Drug abuse, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Gore, Homophobia, and Classism

clarathromycin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Murder, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Sexual content, Eating disorder, and Classism

ladybergart's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Murder, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Classism

recycled_personalities's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I do recommend it. There’s one outdated term that used near the beginning of the book that stopped it from getting a higher score. But it’s a compelling mystery, with a side of tragic love.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Classism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Bullying, Drug abuse, Suicide, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Addiction, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

isleoflinds's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Biphobia, Blood, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Suicide

Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Addiction, Body shaming, Classism, and Infidelity

G slur, pretentious

ghostlyprince's review

dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Suicide, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, and Addiction

Minor: Classism and Homophobia

Near the end of the book when the truth behind a character's death is revealed, the murdered character uses the word Queer as a slur towards a character and their friend, main protag's sister is shown in about four chapters struggling with an eating disorder and it's discussed heavily within those chapters, A character is caught using cocaine and reveals they've been regularly using it and later the same character overdoses on pills (unknown whether it was on purpose or not), a character's boyfriend starts to physically abuse her and publicly slutshame her

li_reading's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

I would go as far as saying that M. L. Rio's If We Were Villains is a masterpiece. 

With characters you cannot help but love, while driving you to hair-pulling frustration, Rio weaves the line of morality wonderfully. As the characters are drawn into the world of Shakespeare, you are drawn into theirs. 

Just when you think you have it figured out, Rio pulls the rug out from under you, time and time again, ending with a finale that will leave you in a daze. 

The intricacies of language Rio uses tell the reader exactly what is going to happen, while still maintaining tension, is genius. Upon re-reading the book you will find yourself laughing out loud at how boldly she spelled it all out. 

If We Were Villains is a book you can sink your teeth into, and I intend to, many times over.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Body horror, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Drug use, Mental illness, Addiction, Suicide, and Physical abuse

Minor: Confinement, Animal death, Racism, Rape, and Eating disorder

maryy_r0se's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

“She could tempt anyone, but Fate didn’t seem like a good target.”

It’s been ten years since Oliver’s senior year at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, where he was one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare. Ten years since something in the group snapped and fractured beyond repair, and Oliver ended up incarcerated. Upon his release, the detective who worked his case is still looking for answers, and Oliver finds himself back where it all went wrong.

It feels a bit poetic that this book singlehandedly got me out of a reading slump that lasted almost 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. This book drew me in right from the beginning, and I couldn’t put it down. I tend to gravitate more to characters than to plot, and the characters in this book were fantastic. Filippa and Meredith were my personal favorites, but they were all so layered and brought something unique to the story. The author has a background in theatre and it is very clear, not just in her Shakespearean references but in her understanding of the ethical dilemmas often apparent in theatre instruction. As a massive theatre fan, I found that aspect of the book very compelling.

I often hear this book compared to The Secret History. I see why people say that, but I find the comparisons very surface level. I’ve seen a lot of people reluctant to read this for that reason, but as someone who loves both, I wouldn’t let your opinion of Secret History affect your decision to try this. There are some thematic crossovers, but the themes are tackled very differently, and If We Were Villains takes a far less cynical approach to dark academia. 

I really loved this book, and I will be eternally grateful that it rescued me from a decade of sporadic reading and unfinished books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death

Moderate: Classism, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Addiction, Alcohol, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Violence