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alejaja's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Murder
eleasofia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
regarding the plot, i liked that you can figure out what's going on from the clues that are dropped, but you're not 100% sure until the truth is revealed, so it is exciting, but you can also feel clever about having it figured out in the end. it offered the right amount of surprise and suspense for me personally. i thought it was very well-paced and i loved the structure, the book being devided into acts.
also, having a narrator that sees and describes themselves as very "plain" and then slowly finding out how much there is to them is always exciting. i liked oliver as the narrator/ the way the book is written because he is very descriptive and detailed, a great mix between facts, feelings, thoughts, descriptions, and dialogue. i liked how the other characters and their relationships were portrayed and described from his perspective. the story is very tightly connected to how the relationships and characters themselves develop and everything felt very natural. besides oliver, i really liked meredith and james.
i enjoyed the writing a lot. it was easy to read and very clear. i'm not a big Shakespeare lover, but with my basic knowledge i definitely understood enough to enjoy the dialogue and the scenes where they were acting. i'm sure i missed out on a ton of clever symbolism and hints and clues and whatever. i will most definitely re-read this book one day, and i might brush up on my Shakespeare knowledge before that. i think it might make it even more enjoyable.
i was hooked from the first page, and by the end of the book i was crying my eyes out. what more could i wish for? i will definitely be thinking of this for some time.
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, and Vomit
Minor: Eating disorder, Suicide, and Grief
emilywemily6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Minor: Body horror, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Blood
meeklovestoread's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Wow! Just wow! You know ever since I started reading again two years ago. I've seen this book many times and it's never tickled my fancy until probably towards the end of last year to the beginning of this year. However, although, it was on my radar I never had the inclination to pick it up till recently. And I'm so glad and annoyed that I took so long to pick this up because I felt like I read it at a great time because I waited until I was in the mood for it. But I'm annoyed because I ended up really enjoying this book and I could've enjoyed it sooner if I had read it sooner, but I genuinely believe that I read this at the right time, and at the end of the day, I read it and that's all that matter.
Not gonna lie, the first 70 pages weren't too intriguing to me. I find the overwhelming amount of characters overwhelming (you get used to it after a bit). When I was around the 40-page mark I was like "okay, where are we going with this?" I feel the inclination of dnfing creeping through, but I decided to let this book cook cuz I was only 40-something pages in at that point and I'm sooooo glad I did because this book did in fact deliver.
I think those first 70 pages served as an intro into the dynamics of the characters, the story, the setting/environment, and the Shakespearean culture of it all. And then after that a certain a event happened and I was HOOKED after that. I really liked the writing. I enjoyed reading about the characters and the dynamics that each of them has with the main character, Oliver.
Now I have read a book similar to this called, "In My Dreams, I Hold a Knife" by Ashley Winstead. I really enjoyed that book and gave it the same rating as I gave this one, however, although both books tackle the same underlying plot the way they're executed is completely different.
One thing about "In My Dreams, I Hold a Knife" is that it is more drama-centered and the characters, including the main character, are more unlikeable. However, it leans into the mystery aspect way more and like I stated previously much more drama-focused and dives more into the characters' personal lives than "If We Were Villains" did. And because of that, I really enjoyed it because it was just so entertaining. (so, I feel like if you didn't like this book, you might that one, but take note of all the things I listed above)
However, one thing "If We Were Villains" has over "In My Dreams, I Hold a Knife" is that it is more emotional. In my opinion, the characters, including the main character, are more likable in this book than the other one. And the way it's written (not saying that "In My Dreams, I Hold a Knife" is written badly; I love Ashley's writing) is more nuanced and ornate that it provides a lot more thought-provoking and diverse emotions from the characters that it makes you feel more for them and the story. I think the inclusion of Shakespearean dialogue both adds and takes away from the story. I've only read two of his famous plays and that was a bit ago so some lines were familiar, but for the most part, I didn't really understand much if I'm being honest (proof that you don't need to know Shakespeare to read this, however, I think the added knowledge might help for a better reading experience), so at times it was a little annoying reading stanzas of dialogue that I didn't understand, however, some of the texts that I was able to interpret I felt did add to the story and it just set the atmosphere for real well for me. So although the Shakespearean dialogue could be annoying, I wouldn't take it out.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. I totally get why someone wouldn't like this and would think it was boring though. I feel like you really have to like the characters and their dynamics to enjoy this one. It's not common that I like books that are character driven so I didn't go into it expecting to love it and really feel for the story and the characters, but that's what ended up happening and I'm just so happy that this book ended up being worth the hype for me. I really like how the author writes and hopefully will read more from them in the future.
Note: Totally recommend the audiobook for this. At first, I found myself hoping that there was both a male and female narrator however after a while I realized that the male narrator does a great job of differentiating the voices and making you aware of who's who.
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Body horror, Cursing, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
mochi252's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content
noahhh_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
laguerrelewis'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Transphobia
piper_'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Grief and Murder
Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction and Vomit
reading_bunny's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Writing: 5/5
Characters: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
Favourite quote:
"You can justify anything of you do it poetically enough"
- Oliver Marks
Review/my thoughts:
This book took me a long time to read, partially because I went through and looked up every quote they mentioned, but also because the book was dense, the writing wasnt too hard to read through it was just a dense book.
I really enjoyed the story, and I thought it was paced nicely, only revealing informationto the reader as the characters learn about them which lends to the bizzying and disorienting feeling of the narrative.
The characters were all stellar, and Oliver's unreliability as a narrator was at times a little frustrating because I would have loved to learn a little more about the others but Oliver is fairly dismissive of a few if them for whatever his reasons.
The relationship between
Overall, this is not a book that I would re-read but it is one that I would recommend to someone who is very into Shakespeare and/or cannparse it well enough to understand the meaning of the prose, as well as those who are into the Dark academia aesthetic since this book is not only a corner stone of the genre/aesthetic but also because this is a lot like the secret history in its core expects
In the end, an enjoyable experience and I'm glad I gave this book a chance and the time it deserved
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Eating disorder, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
erin_x'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide