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A review by novaturient_bibliophile
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
5.0
This is a book that hit every mark—premise, execution, characters, relationships, language…every aspect of it blew me away. It was suspenseful, emotionally engaging, and tense from beginning to end. The commentary on typecasting and expectations, passion, and trauma was all very enlightening in an eerie sort of way. Overall, this was a book that I thoroughly loved every part of and is definitely something that I will be making my entire personality.
The ending devastated me (I made a playlist, laid down, and cried). The ambiguity of it all…I choose to believe that James is alive, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am heartbroken.
The entirety of this book had very encapsulating, dark academia vibes. The constant quoting of Shakespeare majorly contributed to this for sure, as it was like the characters had their own little sub-culture and way of communicating (which they did, in many ways).
This reminds me of Dead Poets Society and Vicious by V.E. Schwab (two of my favorites, so it’s no surprise that this book is as well).
The ending devastated me (I made a playlist, laid down, and cried). The ambiguity of it all…I choose to believe that James is alive, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am heartbroken.
The entirety of this book had very encapsulating, dark academia vibes. The constant quoting of Shakespeare majorly contributed to this for sure, as it was like the characters had their own little sub-culture and way of communicating (which they did, in many ways).
This reminds me of Dead Poets Society and Vicious by V.E. Schwab (two of my favorites, so it’s no surprise that this book is as well).