Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - If We Were Villains

I wanted to like this book, I was so hopeful from the book description that it would be just my thing, but no. I hated it. It tried to be a Shakespearean Secret History and failed at both. None of the characters felt like real people, their motivations were ridiculous, and they were all selfish, narcissistic, self-obsessed assholes. Asshole characters are fine, I don’t have to like the characters to like the story, but the plot also just didn’t do anything for me. I think this is another book that could have been good, I liked the premise a lot and love an academic setting, but ultimately it just fell short for me.

Also, even though the author is a woman, the depiction of Meredith in particular felt extremely misogynistic to me. All the women characters felt underdeveloped compared to the men, and the women only really exist to bolster the male drama. They rarely interact with each other, and when they do they treat each other badly. They are just unfleshed out tropes. And maybe that’s the point somehow, they each fill a typical Shakespearean female archetype, but if so it was very badly done. Wouldn’t pass the bechdel test, that’s for sure.

Station Eleven did what this was trying to do with Shakespeare much, much better.

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augustrogue's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

I was so hyped for this book and truly wanted to love it - unfortunately, while it had a few fleeting moments of some very lovely prose, it ended up feeling like a bit of a pretentious mess. Multiple, long scenes that were basically play-by-plays of Shakespearean stage productions. Inexplicable switches into script-style dialogue that disrupts the flow terribly: (not from the book, just an example)

Meredith: "Where did Alexander go?"
Me: "I don’t know."
Wren: "I'm worried about him."

...and then switches back just as abruptly, like it forgot it wasn't a screenplay for a second. Scenes that end abruptly for poetic/dramatic effect and then don't adequately explain what happened next. And I wanted a lot *more* of a relationship dynamic that was only lightly explored in the last 10% or so of the book.

The thing is, I actually *like* Shakespeare, quite a bit. The course I took on his plays was one of my favorites in university, and I still have a Complete Works anthology on my bookshelf. But I don't know, this book just made me roll my eyes a lot. At least the author acknowledges that the characters talking to each other in rapid-fire Shakespeare quotes about mundane things like they're ye olde Gilmore Girls (my own analogy, not hers) *is* super pretentious, in her ending notes. This book is for someone, maybe, but for the most part, it's not for me.

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hellonada's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-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

3.0

not that mysterious i kinda figured it out 50% through the book maybe less

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weirdassfanta'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
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Ouch.

Ok, so I know people say this is a rip off the secret history, but I don’t care at this point. I’m also glad I read this before the secret history, so I can appreciate this book for what it is. I’ve been an emotional wreck every time I chose to pick up this book, and I fear I will be every time I think of it as well. I don’t think I can stand to hear criticism on this book and I wish I could rate it more than 5 stars. From the first page, I could tell it was going to be a book I devoured, and I ranted about it to my mom every time I put the book down. The tension between the characters had me in a choke hold, and I didn’t see the end coming.

James is alive and they lived happily ever after guys, they have to or else I will continue crying for days.

I am ready to show up at the author’s house and demand even just one more page after that cliffhanger? kind of?? This book is one of my favorites and I will cherish it deeply. If you want to read this, I suggest reading this before the secret history if you want to enjoy it for what it is by itself. It hurt but that’s how you seem to know it’s a good book. I suggest you read it if you’re looking for some mentally ill young adults in school trying to choose if they want to kill or kiss each other.

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