Reviews with content warning for Addiction - If We Were Villains

First of all we have plays, mention of poetry and of course acting.
Personally, the touch of a play while reading was really cool. We get dialogue only, acts and more. The last play I read was really fun so seeing one now again makes me remember that I didn't read them in a while.
The acting was relatable as I am or rather was an actor myself. That's also the reason I wanted to read this book. Not 'cause of the Shakespeare and other historical stuff but the acting.

Some parts were actually crazy/interesting to read about as the book didn't really had the 'it was boring/too slow' problem.
Some examples:
Scene I Act IX was so crazy. Like it felt like real betrayal but also not. And what did James even imagine? What was that aaaah.
The II. Act was so sad. Especially scene II, I feel so bad for James.

I also think that Oliver has some character depth (Especially in the III. Act as we get to know his family)

The whole drama was the only reason I was still indulged into reading this. It kept me reading.

Since I didn't read the book for the historical stuff I got a bit irriated by the fact that Shakespeare got mentioned often. And with often I mean very often. I get it that's the theme/topic for Year 4 and our protagonists also play historical figures, but honestly it could have been mentioned a bit less and more story instead. It got too much that I, at some point, skipped the Shakespeare parts.
Also the book isn't very original if over 50% of it is just Shakespeare.

Never have I ever as an actor reinterpreted/recited my lines as first of all no one would understand, except me and secondly that's usually a thing poets do and not actors. The kids in this story did this and it made me feel weird. Just use your official lines and learn them properly.

The characters were so weird sometimes and before someone tells me: Some theatre kids are actually weird. Yes SOME and that's no excuse to include only weird characters.

We never got an explanation why Richard was so mad at some point. Never. Why was he? That apparently didn't happen the years before so that must have triggered something, but we never get any explanation. The other character also have no depth and they all fell flat (except Oliver, as mentioned above)

Meredith was such a useless character who was only depictured as a wh0re the whole time.

They did use for real, without jokes, as sexual orientation 'sexually amphibious'

The ending was so predictable. It was right the person you would feel suspicious at first. The ending is nothing shocking.

31. July 2024

Content Warnings

kale_af's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

miyothecat's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

boaabie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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

5.0

I haven’t had a book make me emotional in a long time, the ending ripped out my heart and gave me hope, stomped on the hope and breathed new life into it all at once.
The writing is beautiful, I can only hope to have a small amount of skill this author has to create such beautifully tragic scenes they have

Content Warnings

mainereading's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I loved this book so much and the writing was fantastic! I can't believe this was her debut novel. If you're a fan of The Secret History by Donna Tartt or even if you didn't like it but liked the idea of that book, you might really enjoy this book!

Content Warnings

hdkroon's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

hantopearl's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

megmei's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

God do I love a college setting dark-academia with a cast of characters where each person has an archetype. I just eat these up like crazy.

I see a lot of people dislike this book because they can’t stand the characters. I hate to say it, but as someone who has been friends with actors and theatre people… this is what they’re like. They never turn off, they are just constantly ‘in it’ and honestly props to the author for capturing that so well.

Rio writes with skill, weaving Shakespeare in and out of her tale to create an evocative and compelling atmosphere. To these characters, embroiled in a murder mystery as they are, there is NOTHING more important than Shakespeare. And honestly, if I lived like them, I’d get it. Everyone is alluring and beautiful, and made to be on stage, and the whole time they’re quoting these heavy lines of dialogue from Hamlet, Macbeth, Caesar. There’s constant emotional manipulation because everyone is forced to keep their emotions on the surface in order to act. They live like this for years in close proximity. Coupled with the unhealthy coping mechanisms, it is not shocking that everyone is whipped up into cult-like levels of heightened tension; everything must feel like life or death, even when it’s just Shakespeare to the rest of us.

While I felt that the Shakespearean elements were a strength, I am sure that for many readers, the frequent quotations and references might feel overwhelming and cringey. The dialogue can seem a bit much which I can sympathise with. While I feel like the characters were perfect for the narrative, it does feel that some of the characters were slightly less developed, or fell into their trope a little too much, which left them feeling a little under-utilised.

There is also the subject of the books rather subtle approach to the implied LGBTQ representation. I personally felt that that the author approached the delicate complexities of identity and attraction within this already dramatic story with a lot of subtlety. It’s not a dark academia if there isn’t something a little gay going on, but it’s not the focus of the story, and as such I appreciated the vagueness and ephemeral nature of this subplot. It didn’t need to be explicit for me, but it was enough that the elements we got really did add to the final story and weren’t just there for flavour. Some readers will feel that these themes should have been more at the forefront, so be aware that a gay romance subplot is not the focus of this story.

I found ‘If We Were Villains’ to be a captivating study on the darkest parts of ambition and it lingered with me long after I finished it. It will resonate with anyone who enjoys a dark, tense, tale with seduction, violence and betrayal with a beautiful and tragic tale of friendship at its core.

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