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A review by blueanika
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
4.0
This was such an amazing experience. If you are going into for a puzzling mystery you might be disappointed as it is pretty easy to figure out who the “murderer” is. However, the cast of characters is what really carries the story. Every character is very interesting and larger than life. The intricate relationships they have with one another is so complex and exciting to read about. It’s all very melodramatic, but I’m a good way. After all this is a about about theatre kids. Despite the book being very heavily influenced by theatre field, it still accessible to most people.
I heavily enjoyed the atmosphere the book has as well as a lot of the tropes incorporated. The “dark academy” aesthetic, the found family, and mutual pinning are everything I love. I was definitely hooked since the first page and stayed up so late at night to finish it.
My only issue with this novel was that you have to be pretty familiar with Shakespeare to understand to get a deeper sense of what is going on and so much of the book hinges on you knowing Shakespeare. Personally, I have read few of Shakespeare’s plays (only Hamlet and Julius Caesar but, I’m familiar with Romeo and Juliet). The four main plays that were included in this book were Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and King Lear. Other plays are brief mentioned throughout the book. While I was able to follow along with the Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet parts, the other two plays were foreign to me and wasn’t really able to understand what was going on the scenes. While this is more of a personal issue, it did take away from my personal experience.
I heavily enjoyed the atmosphere the book has as well as a lot of the tropes incorporated. The “dark academy” aesthetic, the found family, and mutual pinning are everything I love. I was definitely hooked since the first page and stayed up so late at night to finish it.
My only issue with this novel was that you have to be pretty familiar with Shakespeare to understand to get a deeper sense of what is going on and so much of the book hinges on you knowing Shakespeare. Personally, I have read few of Shakespeare’s plays (only Hamlet and Julius Caesar but, I’m familiar with Romeo and Juliet). The four main plays that were included in this book were Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and King Lear. Other plays are brief mentioned throughout the book. While I was able to follow along with the Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet parts, the other two plays were foreign to me and wasn’t really able to understand what was going on the scenes. While this is more of a personal issue, it did take away from my personal experience.