Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - If We Were Villains

This was a beautifully written book, with intense, emotional scenes, plot twists, crime and friendship as we follow the main characters retelling of his shocking theater college experience

Content Warnings

leonietis'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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

If I wanted to read Shakespeare, I would read Shakespeare.

In the very beginning, the characters had to share their insecurities. Merediths insecurity was that she didn't want to only be seen as sexy. But the poor girl can never be mentioned without her "alluring" nature being brought up. In fact, a few pages later it's said that all the characters have called her a whore in some shape before.

Don't even get me started on the "party animal, substance abuser, makes straight men question their sexuality" gay stereotype. The only purpose of Alexanders character is to provide drugs to others and be a poor attempt at comic relief.

The entire story felt very queerbait-y. As soon as Oliver starts thinking about his feelings towards James, he immediately looks for Meredith to have sex with.

This author didn't bother to write a good book, so don't be bothered to read it.

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shadereads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.5

Content Warnings

readinabyss's review against another edition

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mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

edit

upgrading the rating to 4 stars after sitting with the book for 1 day

I don't think the mystery is the central or main point of this book, it is the tragedy of it all, best described by this quote

“But that is how a tragedy like ours or King Lear breaks your heart—by making you believe that the ending might still be happy, until the very last minute.”

I liked this book, it has the same beats as the secret history while being a very different book.
I think this is for people who know Shakespeare very well, to understand references and quotes and the way the story flows with the different plays as they are enacted by the characters and how the line between their own personalities and that of the characters they play, blur. As for me I know some of the plays, so when they were referenced, I was able to get more from the story than the other times when I did not know a play well or did not remember the quotes.

Content Warnings

masonwe's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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juliapeculiar's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

This was interesting enough to keep me reading, but I still had major problems with the book, some of which are just personal taste others actual things that could've been better.

Personally I just don't vibe with dark academia that much, which I kind of knew going into this book. The constant talking of Shakespeare annoyed me and didn't resonate with me at all ESPECIALLY the detailed descriptions of the characters on stage.

Also I felt like the characters were extremely one-dimensional, a big problem I had with Meredith. Why do we have to read lines and lines about her sex-appeal and how no one can resist her, this is literally all there is to her. The author chose to write her like that and fail to see any reason for it.

Also

the ending with where Oliver "loves" James seems so out of place and a little like queerbaiting but maybe I just fail to see the bigger picture. I felt like it was an unnecessary add on.

What the book did well is having just enough tension from the start to make you want to find out what happend - so I was quite entertained, but sadly the book just didn't stand out to me.

Content Warnings

vidotson's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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