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A review by martuchi
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
“[…]—but the girls were hardly recognizable. Night had fallen, and with it came short slinky dresses and dark mascara and satin lipstick, transforming them from mere girls to a coven of bewitching nocturnal creatures.”
Disgusting.
[spoilers ahead]
I wanted to start my review with this quote because from this point on, I began completely hating this novel (and author). The portrayal of women in this book—more than anyone, Meredith’s—is absolutely rubbish. As a reader you can identify whether is the character narrating or the author’s thoughts regarding how they see or describe different people. In this case, it’s the latter.
The internalized misogyny of M.L Rio is bigger than I have imagined; I thought we were in some point in history where these things didn’t happen anymore. I was proved wrong more than once while reading this novel. Meredith sexualices herself but not in a healthy and empowering way, and so does everyone else, of course. She’s called a whore multiple times, even Oliver does but she loves him anyway (????????
Plus, the “not like other girls” trope is repeated over and over again—I bet that’s how the author describes herself as well—. For example, Filippa (needless to say she was my second favorite character), Oliver’s sister, and even Meredith. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such badly written female characters (and I’ve read worse books than this one).
Moreover, the queer representation is so bad. Of course, the only gay character has sex with everybody, can’t maintain a romantic relationship (at the beginning), and is a drug addict. I was so mad because Alexander had so much potential to become a GREAT queer representative because of his background and how he raised above everything—but you can’t ask anything to an author who calls her most beautiful character a whore every two pages.
Not only that, but James and Oliver’s relationship could have been better developed. I was sure that they wouldn’t end up together, it’s understandable and makes sense too, but omg they had more potential and chemistry than Meredith and Oliver ever had (even Filippa and Oliver had more chemistry than them!!). It looked like she was more desperate to be loved by him, than actually love for him. That’s why I hated that they stayed together in the end.
James was my favorite character by far. Even though his suicide make a lot of sense for his character, I am still mad that he didn’t wait for Oliver in the end. They would have been happy together though destructive in their own love for one another. It is so unfair.
I even think I hate Shakespeare now. The quoted dialogues between the characters felt so unrealistic. I don’t think anyone speaks like that. I started skipping through the pages whenever they talked with quotes.
I’m sure the author wanted to show off who much she knew about Shakespeare. But it was incredibly dull.
Also, Oliver’s sister eating disorder was so random and unnecessary (???? Why it was added to the story is a mystery to me.
The ending of the novel was good, though predictable: I knew from the beginning who the killer was. But that’s the only thing I can say about it. James deserved so much better than this—so did Oliver, in a way.
Oh, and I never even liked Richard so I didn’t care about his death.
Disgusting.
[spoilers ahead]
I wanted to start my review with this quote because from this point on, I began completely hating this novel (and author). The portrayal of women in this book—more than anyone, Meredith’s—is absolutely rubbish. As a reader you can identify whether is the character narrating or the author’s thoughts regarding how they see or describe different people. In this case, it’s the latter.
The internalized misogyny of M.L Rio is bigger than I have imagined; I thought we were in some point in history where these things didn’t happen anymore. I was proved wrong more than once while reading this novel. Meredith sexualices herself but not in a healthy and empowering way, and so does everyone else, of course. She’s called a whore multiple times, even Oliver does but she loves him anyway (????????
Plus, the “not like other girls” trope is repeated over and over again—I bet that’s how the author describes herself as well—. For example, Filippa (needless to say she was my second favorite character), Oliver’s sister, and even Meredith. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such badly written female characters (and I’ve read worse books than this one).
Moreover, the queer representation is so bad. Of course, the only gay character has sex with everybody, can’t maintain a romantic relationship (at the beginning), and is a drug addict. I was so mad because Alexander had so much potential to become a GREAT queer representative because of his background and how he raised above everything—but you can’t ask anything to an author who calls her most beautiful character a whore every two pages.
Not only that, but James and Oliver’s relationship could have been better developed. I was sure that they wouldn’t end up together, it’s understandable and makes sense too, but omg they had more potential and chemistry than Meredith and Oliver ever had (even Filippa and Oliver had more chemistry than them!!). It looked like she was more desperate to be loved by him, than actually love for him. That’s why I hated that they stayed together in the end.
James was my favorite character by far. Even though his suicide make a lot of sense for his character, I am still mad that he didn’t wait for Oliver in the end. They would have been happy together though destructive in their own love for one another. It is so unfair.
I even think I hate Shakespeare now. The quoted dialogues between the characters felt so unrealistic. I don’t think anyone speaks like that. I started skipping through the pages whenever they talked with quotes.
I’m sure the author wanted to show off who much she knew about Shakespeare. But it was incredibly dull.
Also, Oliver’s sister eating disorder was so random and unnecessary (???? Why it was added to the story is a mystery to me.
The ending of the novel was good, though predictable: I knew from the beginning who the killer was. But that’s the only thing I can say about it. James deserved so much better than this—so did Oliver, in a way.
Oh, and I never even liked Richard so I didn’t care about his death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Eating disorder