Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

543 reviews

charliewarliee's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book- This book is honestly one of the best pieces of literature I have consumed in my life. I adored this book, the tension it built so magnificently, the descriptions, the plays. I love how it builds everything up, but everything still goes so fast and smoothly. The layout of ‘Acts’ and ‘Scenes’ made my theatre loving heart cry out! This book needs so much more attention than it already has.

also i’m sorry but James and Oliver’s relationship was SO HEARTWARMING AND CUTE AHHHHHH!

the twist at the end actually made my jaw drop to the floor.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Addiction, Alcohol, Grief, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Gore, Suicide, Drug use, Murder, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Violence, and Self harm

Moderate: Homophobia and Sexual harassment

iordanmoore's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

Loved this book! Similar to The Secret History but I found this book to be more enjoyable to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Bullying, Violence, Suicide, Murder, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Addiction, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder

crabinspace's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Violence, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Murder, and Suicide

Minor: Eating disorder

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

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

maiaiaia's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Minor: Eating disorder and Suicide

abbypeekreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Grief, Eating disorder, Drug use, 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

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