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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I hate the phrase “Tiktok made me buy it” but Tiktok made me buy this book. If We Were Villains was first published in 2017 but I didn’t start hearing about it until recently when there was a surge in popularity thanks to BookTok. Set in the 90s, it tells the story of seven 20-something friends who attend the fictional Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a prestigious and highly competitive American arts school, where they are studying as Shakespearean actors.
This book is heavily inspired by Shakespeare, to the way the book is told; instead of chapters, the story is divided into five acts, and each act divided into scenes, to the way they speak. So much of the dialogue, characterisation, and plot rely on Shakespearean language and formatting that Shakespeare feels like an unofficial narrator, pulling the characters’ strings and feeding them lines. As you read this book it becomes hard to discern between performance and reality with the characters, they seem to be caught between the characters they have played and the people they have become. But After being completely immersed into the world of Shakespeare for three years, it’s no wonder that their roles in the plays have seeped into the real world, creating an intertwined story of fact and fiction.
All of the characters are type-casted in roles that become a highlight of their personality: James; the hero, Oliver; his sidekick, Meredith; the femme fatale and Alexander; the villain. Oliver, the narrator in the novel lives up to his role, he highlights the strengths of his counterparts instead of showing off himself and that becomes visible off stage as well. We constantly see the others through Oliver’s eyes and somehow, he always succeeds in bringing out those hidden parts, the ones that don’t necessarily play into the archetypes they’re supposed to fit into.
This is very much so a dark academia/ gothic novel in the sense that the reader knows about the terrible event before it happens.While also using a nightmarish atmosphere so the reader doesn’t forget this is a tragedy, that even moments where the characters are happy amongst the dread, you know this book doesn’t end well. But that is the genius of a tragedy: you can almost believe, right up until the point of everything collapsing, that it might turn out alright.
I really did not know what I was expecting when I read this book. I was scared I would be turned off by all the Shakespeare references, but after the first few chapters I found myself really enjoying this book. If you despise Shakespeare I would not recommend this book, but if you enjoy Shakespeare, dark academia stories, and slow-burning, atmospheric mysteries this one is right up your alley.
This book is heavily inspired by Shakespeare, to the way the book is told; instead of chapters, the story is divided into five acts, and each act divided into scenes, to the way they speak. So much of the dialogue, characterisation, and plot rely on Shakespearean language and formatting that Shakespeare feels like an unofficial narrator, pulling the characters’ strings and feeding them lines. As you read this book it becomes hard to discern between performance and reality with the characters, they seem to be caught between the characters they have played and the people they have become. But After being completely immersed into the world of Shakespeare for three years, it’s no wonder that their roles in the plays have seeped into the real world, creating an intertwined story of fact and fiction.
All of the characters are type-casted in roles that become a highlight of their personality: James; the hero, Oliver; his sidekick, Meredith; the femme fatale and Alexander; the villain. Oliver, the narrator in the novel lives up to his role, he highlights the strengths of his counterparts instead of showing off himself and that becomes visible off stage as well. We constantly see the others through Oliver’s eyes and somehow, he always succeeds in bringing out those hidden parts, the ones that don’t necessarily play into the archetypes they’re supposed to fit into.
This is very much so a dark academia/ gothic novel in the sense that the reader knows about the terrible event before it happens.While also using a nightmarish atmosphere so the reader doesn’t forget this is a tragedy, that even moments where the characters are happy amongst the dread, you know this book doesn’t end well. But that is the genius of a tragedy: you can almost believe, right up until the point of everything collapsing, that it might turn out alright.
I really did not know what I was expecting when I read this book. I was scared I would be turned off by all the Shakespeare references, but after the first few chapters I found myself really enjoying this book. If you despise Shakespeare I would not recommend this book, but if you enjoy Shakespeare, dark academia stories, and slow-burning, atmospheric mysteries this one is right up your alley.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
now this is a love letter to shakespeare
what the fuck that was so good. what the FUCK? i will be talking about this constantly for a week idk. something about me and characters called james..
I am shook to my core. This book deserves ♾ stars. HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND. This is one of my top reads ever. Dark academia vibes—dead poet’s society but make it murder. IT IS TOO GOOD, YALL.