If We Were Villains: A Novel

If We Were Villains is dark, atmospheric, and absolutely captivating. The story draws you into an elite world of Shakespearean theater where friendship, obsession, and ambition blur into something dangerous. I loved the tension between the characters and how the mystery slowly unravels—every chapter adds another layer. The writing is lush and lyrical, and the ending stayed with me long after I finished. A must-read for anyone who loves Dark Academia and character-driven stories.

I'm not sure how to write this. The story grabbed me and kept my interest but at the same time, it went on and on never getting anywhere much. But I'm glad I kept reading. In the end, we find the answers we were looking for. But at the very end, I wanted more! This really wasn't the kind of book I read but I enjoyed it. Anyone who loves Shakespeare and tragedies would love it. It has all the emotions known to man. The characters were all so close yet all had their lives changed in an instant because of each other.

This story works on many levels and is no ordinary tale. Even when parts of the plot line were predictable, the writing still transported you elsewhere. The characters are engrossing and that carries more weight for me than the plot and even the mystery which isn't as important in the end as you may think. I loved all the Shakespeare. It brought me back to college which was a great time in my life. Lastly, it is so good for the brain to read Shakespeare quotes and verse and live in such a lofty state among these people in Acadamia. This book is an unusual treat in today's world.

I will preface this with saying there are likely to be a few (probably more) grammatical errors in this review. I apologize in advance. This debut novel by M.L. Rio is not bad overall, but it isn't what I would consider great or compelling. By now it has been compared to that stunning novel "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt too many times, and while the comparison is fair on the points of pretentious students dedicated to a literary subject to the point of obsession who also commit murderous crimes, this book falls flat in many ways where "The Secret History" shines. "If We Were Villains" often felt murky at times. The murder still seems a bit excessive, and that plot point was not well developed. I understand that the person murdered became a violent hassle to deal with, but the reasoning behind why he became a violent hassle did not seem believable, making the whole novel feel lacking of a significant motive. Nor did it seem like the group was ever one "big family" with him included. It was a lot more telling than showing when it came to the characters' involvement with each other. This, to me, is where I simply could not get into the grove of the book. It is readable, for the most part (I will get to my love and contentions with the use of Shakespeare later), but even with its readability, the feelings of annoyance would settle in, and I began reading just to finish it. As someone who believes the best part of of any literary work is the journey, not the end, I was not happy that this book started to feel like a chore. The chore aspect of the novel was not that it is a challenging read, because I wouldn't classify it as such, but that the characters and the story began to be a bore given that the end is a bit predictable and the characters are extremely unlikable. The use of Shakespeare, that began to feel dominating, throughout the book could be exhausting for some. I actually enjoyed it, mostly, seeing that Shakespeare wrote about seemingly every aspect of humanity and his words are always poignant. The quotes were always fitting, but my enjoyment was more admiration for The Bard than the actual plot device. I must say that Rio is clearly versed in Shakespeare, and that is an exceptional thing in and of itself, but the constant use of Shakespeare did begin to feel gimmicky after a while. It is a very esoteric group of literati who go around quoting Shakespeare in everyday conversation, and while the idea of humans that pretentious does delight me, having to read interjections of Shakespeare in what felt like every other paragraph got to be a little grating. "Brevity is the soul of wit." Overall, the book does a fine job of story-telling, though it is not always enjoyable or interesting. I give it three stars because it isn't so awful that I have to throw it across the room, and Rio can write (much better than this reviewer), and I give a point for it being Shakespearean. I would recommend it to people who just have to read something similar to "The Secret History", but I do think there will be a level of disappointment with the recommendation. Naturally, I am going to suggest just picking up "The Secret History" over "If We Were Villains" if someone is looking for an academic mystery (rather mystery set in an academic setting) filled with pretentious but erudite students. I think all of us who have read both books can, without any hesitancy, say that Tartt does a much better job of developing the characters, plot, and atmosphere. But I honestly don't think it is far to compare Rio's writing with Tartt's, even if the basis of both debut novels are similar. "If We Were Villains" is a book that had enough hype surrounding it to read it, but it is not worth a re-read.

What a breath of fresh air! Lately I haven't been able to start reading a book without first doing a heap of research; reading reviews on multiple sites, checking the author's previous works, etc. I took a chance on this book, I was neither familiar with the author nor had I ever heard of the book before. To top it off it's not even the type of book that I would typically seek out to read. Having said that I am more than happy with my choice and I hope that more people decide to venture out and try this intriguingly odd gem. I will say that at first glance this book probably only appeals to a particular type of person. Seven students immersed in a performing art college, they live and breathe the plays of Shakespeare in hopes of surviving til graduation and truly making it as thespians. Having attended a performing arts school myself (although not for acting), I was initially drawn to this concept which to me is like a trip down memory lane, but I can say that, like many I'm sure, I initially hesitated at the idea that I would have to again try my hand at comprehending Shakespeare. And truthfully by the end of the story, while I can't say that I understand Shakespeare better, I can say that Rio breathed new life into the centuries old plays, and that the addition of the Shakespearian quotes throughout the novel (at least those that I understood), added greatly to the expression of the characters feelings. It was through these quotes that I could truly feel that the heartache and passions of all seven students. I was also nervous about Rio's decision to follow the lives of seven characters. That is a lot of main characters to follow and I find that a lot of times when authors decide to split the book amongst so many people, characters are either half developed or some are pushed to the side in an effort to develop a few. Somehow Rio manages to succeed in her first novel where others have failed. Richard, Meredith, Alexander, Oliver, James, Filippa, and Wren are all unique in both personalities and personas. At first I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep them apart, but shortly into the book I could clearly delineate them from one another. Impressive as it is that Rio manages to give us seven uniquely complete characters, the true feat is in their interactions with each other. As much as one is reading to figure out the who's and what's of the murder, I was even more interested in learning how the interactions between the seven lead to the deadly consequences. How their ever changing relationships slowly crumbled and who was left to pick up the resulting pieces. Each character was so intimately bound to the others, Richard to Meredith, James to Oliver, and it dissolves from there. Their relationships were fascinating and nerve wracking. I felt intimately acquainted with every struggle and feeling, with the building and fracturing of their lives and livelihood. I wanted to yell out at Oliver to stop, I wanted to give James a hug. I wanted someone to help Alexander. I wanted Meredith to be understood and Filippa to be acknowledged. I wanted so much for everyone and then I wanted even more. I never thought it would be possible to write action into a passive story. Rio's performances are written as strong and intense as some of the grittiest fight scenes. She builds tension like the best of them. I've never been so nervous as to the ending of a play in my entire life. And each one had me sitting on the edge of my seat for more than one reason. I think it's a testament to her writing ability that scenes, which can be stripped down to their bare bones as recitations of Shakespearean prose, can be so exciting. I am so happy that I decided to give this book a go. I hope that anyone who is looking to try out something different will give it a try. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on Rio for any future novels.

daha once okumustum, arkadasıma hediye olarak aldım. cok sevdigim bir kitaptır, shakespeare ile ilgileniyorsanız oneririm.

The printing is AWFUL. I bought this book because I wanted the cover in the product photo, but I got another one.

This book has me in an absolute chokehold. I LOVE it. I really hope M. L. Rio writes something else soon because I need more of their beautiful storytelling.

Received book not in the best condition. There were some stains and foxing on pages, can tell the book is old. What a disappointment :(

The book came with slight damage at the bottom corners, other than that it's fine. But really Amazon, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE have more consideration into packing books. Atleast some bubble wraps? These things are just as fragile as fine china! 😤 So please pack them with more care, thank you 🙏