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Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'
If We Were Villains. Wenn aus Freunden Feinde werden by M.L. Rio
49 reviews
arbramirez's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, and Murder
scottsland_yard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
SPOILER AHEAD!!
The ending really upset me and I don't think in the way the author intended. While it was very poetic and intense, creating a huge tension that just ramped up and up toward the last page, I feel like the ending didn't justify the means. While ostensibly a story about murder and passion and rage, it was also obviously a story about love and self discovery. I think having the main character be bi-sexual and technically in a relationship with both Meredith and James (in a way) was really smart story telling to showcase the difficulty he feels in trying to figure out who he is, not only as an actor, but as a lover. What I didn't appreciate (and it's not really Rio's fault so much as it's a tired and hurtful trope shares by many authors) is that the majority of stories that feature a gay couple require that they go through torturous and heart-wrenching levels of trauma in order to move the story along. As a gay man, reading the tension between Oliver and James over and over with little to now pay off didn't feel exciting, it felt like torture. I was being led along like a horse with a carrot, the promise of the possibility of Oliver and James professing their feelings for each other or ending up together, only to constantly be whipped with sex scenes with Meredith and violence with Richard. In the end, when you think Oliver might finally get yo be happy with James, we're slapped in the face with the blunt honesty of Phillipa letting us know that James killed himself after not being able to bare the weight of the guilt of killing Richard (in self defense, btw) and his lover taking the blame for it. So Oliver once again ends up with Meredith and I was left furious. And the last page does little to bandage those wounds.
I was left feeling empty, tense beyond belief, and with a heavy pit in my stomach. While the story was very good and the book was extremely well written, I am sick of this trope. I'm sick of gay characters being used as the martyrs in stories or being included only to drive the trauma train. (OH, also include the only canonically gay character overdosing and almost dying too)
I yearn for stories of gay couples/characters that include all the tense will-they-won't-they that straight romances have, but for once, I'd like them to actually end up together. I've learned this is not the book for that.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
lexnicole's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
star_oats's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
kazli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
reemoony's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
atlaslan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
foxo_cube's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Right, so, first, I will say that I do think Rio is a talented writer: she has a huge vocabulary and knows how to use it. Her love of Shakespeare shines through - something I don't have in common with her, but which I can't help but appreciate. Inexplicably, she has a real knack for writing convincing, yet incredibly elegant, sexual tension, which I know is terribly specific, but what can I say? I rarely come across sexual tension in books that I find draws me in like that. The framed narrative is done really well, and the Acts and Scenes as chapter divisions is a cute touch. These reasons are why I give the book the stars I have given it.
Unfortunately, a talent for sentence construction does not always come with a talent for storytelling. The characters are flat and while I think what she's going for is a cool concept, it just didn't do it for me. I love a good descent into madness and blurring of the lines between reality and imagination, but I feel it necessitates a greater depth of character to work than what we're given.
This is my main issue with the book: we have seven main characters, and maaaybe seven personality traits between them.
We have Richard, who is aggressive. Meredith is sexy. Alexander is gay (vaguely implied to be bi at one point) and smokes weed. Nobody gives a shit about Filippa. James... exists. Wren also exists, but barely. And Oliver is into James, and also sort of Meredith, but only really because she is, as we have established, very sexy. All of them quote Shakespeare at any time, any place, even those that are grossly inappropriate moments to quote one's favourite media. Thing is, these characters just aren't very likeable. I know what it's like to have interests that are niche and which I absolutely breathe, and I've always hovered on the lower end of any social hierarchy, yet even I felt an overwhelming urge to bully these people. It took half the book for me to remember who was who aside from Meredith and Richard because they have the strongest personalities (and because I have a Caterpie on Pokemon Go called Meredith and my grandad's called Richard).
That the characters are so flat ruined the plot because nobody really has any motivation behind their actions. Oliver's into Meredith because she's sexy. Richard starts committing random acts of violence and it's implied it's because he's mad about a casting decision and everyone aside from Meredith is surprisingly unbothered
A nitpicky thing that shouldn't bother me, but absolutely did, was that this is an arts school that's incredibly prestigious and well-known for the high quality of its alumni and the shows put on by the students are really popular. That's all good, whatever. But this group of fourth-years - these people who have survived the culling of students that happens every academic year - because they can't stop harming each other or kissing each other or whatever when they're meant to be performing a play. And yeah, I know it's meant to be because they're so into their roles or whatever, but the lack of professionalism should have been trained out of them at that point, surely? I mean, you'd think the reputation of the university would at least be marred for some time after the second scandalous loss of control on the actors' part during a performance in half an academic year, but it's never mentioned. I'm not enough of a romantic for this, am I?
Even more insignificant nitpick: this school has no costume degree. There's a costumers' department, but who are they? Do they outsource them? Their set design is in-house, made by students studying set design, but the costumers are like the wallpaper - a given. Unless they're meant to be the art students? Ugh, art (assuming it's fine art, because it's never specified) and costume design are different enough disciplines, let alone costume <i>making</i>. That's a whole additional skillset.
Okay, back to a piece of criticism I have that's actually relevant. So, Meredith's sexy, right? And she and Oliver start sleeping together
Honestly, the way women are written in general is a bit iffy. It's not like the men are especially fleshed out, but Oliver seems to see women as slightly strange, foreign creatures. It's one of those things where maybe that's how Rio thinks men see women, and she's trying to convey this as one of Oliver's flaws, but if so, it has so little bearing on the story in any way that it seems more like the author's bias than the character's. Women with eating disorders, confirmed or implied, are described oddly viciously.
I think the last thing that I'll mention is the inexplicable "gateway drug" story arc. Alexander smokes weed all the time and gives the other characters spliffs from time to time. I'm not exactly experienced when it comes to consuming intoxicating substances, particularly illegal ones, but even to me, the way it's spoken about is rather... quaint. Very "Teehee, Alexander's always a little stoned, but from time to time, even we partake in a little puff!". But then, out of nowhere, Alexander's on the cocaine! I mean, honestly, bunch of kids in a posh twat art school, I'm surprised they aren't all on the stuff. There's a little falling-out between Oliver and Alexander which just doesn't really go anywhere until Alexander gives him the spiked spliff, and then, later on again, overdoses on something. Was it deliberate? Was it an accident? We don't find out and nobody seems interested to know. It's just sort of put in there and then Alexander's like "No more illegal substances for me!" and that's the end of that. I suppose Alexander's drug storyline facilitates Oliver's equally narratively-unimportant rape, and, like Wren's mental breakdown (which also doesn't really go anywhere), shows that Alexander's not doing too well.
This certainly has been one of the most frustrating books I've read in a long time, which is a shame. The concept is great and it's so clearly a labour of love, but I found it predictable and dull and just couldn't bring myself to like it.
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide and Grief
tinyjude's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Pretentious, dramatic and passionate theatre kids who bring to life shakespearean plays both in ans offstage, are a tangled mess of emotions and riddles while also being quite flat characters. I liked the writing, it was fitting for the theme and atmosphere. I loved some passages and use of the plays throughout the story to obscure and bring light to the characters' feelings. I enjoyed the drama and the story. I had my doubts about dark academia books but this one made it for me and now I know I yearn for more books with theatre actors as protagonists being unhinged and frustrating. I also liked the references to some motifs in Shakespeare's plays (ghosts, lies, blood, guilt, madness). As a Shakespeare enthusiastic, especially his tragedies and villains, I am content.
The parts that mostly bother me are for example, what exactly did send Alexander spiraling into overdose? Was it the guilt in all cases? Did Richard haunt them so bad as a ghost like in Macbeth? Did Wren knew all along it was James? I needed to see them descend into madness more.
At some point I truly thought I was being lied by the internet and my own biased analysis, which always searches for some homoerotic subtext, because HELL the moments between Oliver and James were sparse. Those weren't even crumbs, I was holding the ship with a thread and both eyes closed, going by instinct. So yeah, the slow-burn was way too much, as it didn't deliver the relief you would expect after so many "heteronormative looking" scenes (idk how to describe it bc the book had me doubting my bisexual suspicions and then rooting for a poly relationship between Oliver Meredith and James). (What do you mean a botherly kiss that is not quite brotherly? but yeah, only one brief kiss, nothing else, no more scenes between them that hint at their feelings before or after halloween. I am not even asking for a love confession or any grand gesture, but more subtle scenes between them, more tension... idk i went insane, i am in pain but i also apprecite how complicated their relationship is, as they were best friends, brothers, partners in crime, lovers, enemies...). Or more about the internal turmoil they had going on realizing they are queer, which we barely got because they didn't want to think about it... I wanted to see how they come to terms with their sexuality, the guilt and love they felt (this specially)!!!
I probably forget many things I want to say but frankly I have been reading 3h non-stop and cried at the ending, so cut me some slack.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism