Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

247 reviews

edhyndman's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

delaneyfields's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

komiification's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Definitely a good introduction to anyone interested in getting into literary fiction, particularly of the dark academia nature. A more fast-paced take on the same premise in The Secret History, yet distinctly stands apart from that story and takes on an artstyle of its own. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder and Vomit

Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, and Sexual content

sam_rm94's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder

meaghanslibrary's review against another edition

reflective 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

The ending is kind of WTF. I recommend listening to this because it’s written like a play. 

The writing really created this universe of the school and I felt like I was there. I think I would have an even greater appreciation if I studied this in school and drew all the parallels to Shakespeare.

I’m still confused why they killed Richard, I’m not really understanding the motivation.

This was definitely an intriguing and fairly quick listen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

elliebasta's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse

Minor: Suicide

alittlegreenbean's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

3.5

a bit too similar to a secret history, unfortunately. most of the characters felt almost cookie cutter in similarity. however i did enjoy the new topic of theatre and shakespeare, it was very dramatic and fun with lots of foreshadowing which is exactly what i love in dark academia books. the second half of the book felt more unique and the ending was heartbreaking!!

the gasp i gasped when we found out james was alive😭 desperate to know if oliver decided to abandon meredith yet again or go find his first lover ugh i was rooting for james x oliver the entire book

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Addiction, Eating disorder, and Suicide

errie's review against another edition

mysterious tense

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

daniellereadslikealot_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.0

This was definitely the dark academia book I needed in my Tortured Poets Department Era. I loved how it was set up like a play with scenes instead of chapters and how the dialogue was like lines in a script. It was so easy to get swept up in this world of Shakespeare and friendship dynamics filled  with neuroses and competition. Oliver was a really compelling character who sees himself as a lesser talented actor among his friends who he views as more family. I felt like the pacing was pretty perfect. It was a medium burn, not moving too fast, but fast enough to keep you tense and curious to see what will become of these characters. I highly recommend this one for fans of a dark academia setting, Shakespeare, complicated friendship dynamics and tense storytelling. 

CW: violence, death, domestic abuse, drug use, drug overdose, suicide

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

lou702's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Its a very frustrating piece of art. The character do things that can almsot always be questioned. The death was unnessecary and unlogical but also slightly deserved. The character had no developement and had no good relationship with each other at many points. And to top it all of, it even has a cliffhanger, which makes it even more frustrating but also wanting for more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Gore, and Blood

Minor: Domestic abuse and Panic attacks/disorders