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boba_nbooks 's review for:
If We Were Villains
by M.L. Rio
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Spice Rating: 🌶️.5 / 5
Be prepared for this book to rip your heart straight out of your chest.
The characters: a tightly-knit group of seven theater major friends who are obsessed with Shakespeare and whose roles may come a little too close to real life for comfort.
The setting: a small, elite, and pretentious liberal arts college.
The conflict: a murder.
This group of seven friends is obsessed with Shakespeare and speaks in their own dialect of Shakespeare lines and their own words that can be difficult to decipher, especially for those who aren't in their group and inundated with theater day in and day out. Between these seven actors, there are romantic relationships, familial relationships, and relationships that are somewhere in between. 10 years ago, one of the seven actors is found dead, and the police suspect that one of the surviving six actors is the culprit. 10 years later, Oliver is getting out of prison after serving time for the crime he may or may not have committed. The detective who put him away is retiring and asks Oliver to tell the full story of the seven friends and what really went on behind the scenes of the death.
If We Were Villains is dark, twisty, pretentious, spicy, and--above all--dramatic. I love how the novel is separated into five acts like Shakespeare's plays. Everything was so tense, and the fight scenes, both physical and verbal, have high stakes and truly each person's downfall. The author slowly gives each of the seven friends a unique personality that somehow both entangles with and highly contrasts with the others' personalities.
Just know going into this book that the ending will probably leaving you sobbing. Don't say I didn't warn ya.
Be prepared for this book to rip your heart straight out of your chest.
The characters: a tightly-knit group of seven theater major friends who are obsessed with Shakespeare and whose roles may come a little too close to real life for comfort.
The setting: a small, elite, and pretentious liberal arts college.
The conflict: a murder.
This group of seven friends is obsessed with Shakespeare and speaks in their own dialect of Shakespeare lines and their own words that can be difficult to decipher, especially for those who aren't in their group and inundated with theater day in and day out. Between these seven actors, there are romantic relationships, familial relationships, and relationships that are somewhere in between. 10 years ago, one of the seven actors is found dead, and the police suspect that one of the surviving six actors is the culprit. 10 years later, Oliver is getting out of prison after serving time for the crime he may or may not have committed. The detective who put him away is retiring and asks Oliver to tell the full story of the seven friends and what really went on behind the scenes of the death.
If We Were Villains is dark, twisty, pretentious, spicy, and--above all--dramatic. I love how the novel is separated into five acts like Shakespeare's plays. Everything was so tense, and the fight scenes, both physical and verbal, have high stakes and truly each person's downfall. The author slowly gives each of the seven friends a unique personality that somehow both entangles with and highly contrasts with the others' personalities.
Just know going into this book that the ending will probably leaving you sobbing. Don't say I didn't warn ya.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide
Minor: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Vomit