Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Como se Fôssemos Vilões by M.L. Rio

72 reviews

scottsland_yard's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book was really good! The writing was very poetic and the inclusion of many Shakespeare quotes was accurate to the characters as well as a great way to really draw the reader into the world. A bit difficult to get the nuance of the Shakespeare quotes chosen if you aren't well-versed in shakespearean theater though. I'm sure there were references I missed. 

SPOILER AHEAD!! 



The ending really upset me and I don't think in the way the author intended. While it was very poetic and intense, creating a huge tension that just ramped up and up toward the last page, I feel like the ending didn't justify the means. While ostensibly a story about murder and passion and rage, it was also obviously a story about love and self discovery. I think having the main character be bi-sexual and technically in a relationship with both Meredith and James (in a way) was really smart story telling to showcase the difficulty he feels in trying to figure out who he is, not only as an actor, but as a lover. What I didn't appreciate (and it's not really Rio's fault so much as it's a tired and hurtful trope shares by many authors) is that the majority of stories that feature a gay couple require that they go through torturous and heart-wrenching levels of trauma in order to move the story along. As a gay man, reading the tension between Oliver and James over and over with little to now pay off didn't feel exciting, it felt like torture. I was being led along like a horse with a carrot, the promise of the possibility of Oliver and James professing their feelings for each other or ending up together, only to constantly be whipped with sex scenes with Meredith and violence with Richard. In the end, when you think Oliver might finally get yo be happy with James, we're slapped in the face with the blunt honesty of Phillipa letting us know that James killed himself after not being able to bare the weight of the guilt of killing Richard (in self defense, btw) and his lover taking the blame for it. So Oliver once again ends up with Meredith and I was left furious. And the last page does little to bandage those wounds. 

I was left feeling empty, tense beyond belief, and with a heavy pit in my stomach. While the story was very good and the book was extremely well written, I am sick of this trope. I'm sick of gay characters being used as the martyrs in stories or being included only to drive the trauma train. (OH, also include the only canonically gay character overdosing and almost dying too) 

I yearn for stories of gay couples/characters that include all the tense will-they-won't-they that straight romances have, but for once, I'd like them to actually end up together. I've learned this is not the book for that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, Death, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Hate crime, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Violence, Grief, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Drug use, Cursing, Bullying, Addiction, Medical content, Torture, Suicide, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Sexism, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism

bbygirl21's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I was really close to marking this book as a DNF because the Act I of this book was incredibly boring to me until the last two scenes/chapters of it. I hadn't wanted to pick up this book at all until about scene 11-12 of Act I. 

But I am so glad that I pushed through, because from Act II until the end had me hooked. I was feeling all the emotions with this book once things started to pick up more.

This was an incredible read over I got into it. I loved the characters, faults and all. Aside from Richard. I don't think I could ever like him, but I think that's kinda the point, your not meant to like him.

The epilogue of this book got me though. I was close to tears several times throughout this book, but the epilogue was what got me. It's such a bittersweet ending. I'd for sure recommend, but like I said the first act was incredibly boring and difficult to get through for me. But once you get through that the book is great.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Murder, Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Eating disorder, Medical content, Suicide, and Vomit

dearbhlanoonan's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, Violence, Grief, Death, Blood, Addiction, Infidelity, Eating disorder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Vomit, Suicide, and Homophobia

icedpinecones's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book is complex to rate as it has many high points and many lows. The good is seen in the story of James and Oliver, the prose being a mix of screenplay and standard book writing and the complexities of other characters such as Meredith. Where there's ups there's also downs, the main twist/motive for the villain is poorly executed and really makes the whole thing fall short. Characters such as Alexander and Wren are poorly explored, with things just stated then ignored. I enjoyed it for the most part, but the characters that fall more lackluster make the book fall short and lag behind.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Drug use, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Violence, Blood, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, and Vomit

lottieingham's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Mental illness, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Cursing, Suicide, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, and Infidelity

Minor: Vomit and Eating disorder

geerbeer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Heerlijk boek. Zou 5 sterren krijgen als het niet zóveel Shakespear was. Ik vind het heel vet gedaan, maar mijn Engels en kennis van Shakespear is niet goed genoeg om alles écht goed te begrijpen.

Ik houd wel echt van de meta dingetjes, dat de hoofdstukken geschreven zijn als aktes e.d. en ook hoe Shakespear-drama het allemaal is. Super goede en mooie world building en de karakters ook allemaal voldoende uniek om goed te kunnen volgen 😊

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Physical abuse, Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Murder, Death, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Blood, Cursing, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Infidelity, and Body horror

skillyillian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

this isn't my usual bag but i really enjoyed it. perfect dark academia, rainy autumn, murder at a fancy, secluded college book. i think i would have enjoyed it more if i knew literally anything beyond the very very basics of shakespeare, as the characters spend probably a quarter of their dialogue speaking exclusively in shakespeare quotes or references i didn't understand. that being said, it doesn't ruin the book by any means if you don't fully get every easter egg. the author had some kind of degree involving shakespeare iirc? and you can tell she is extremely knowledgeable about all of his works, it's incredibly well done.

the plot felt a little predictable at times? but i was reading for the spooky dark academia vibes and not the most complicated murder mystery plot in the whole world. i've heard people say they didn't really love the ending or how open it was, but i liked it and thought it was pretty clear what happened. 

i wish they had just admitted to being in love sooner. i hate that it took until richard said his garbage homophobic shit for oliver to be like "ah, yes, well. maybe we are in love" like please, be so fuckin for real right now. the lack of communication right there would have saved so much trouble.

anyway what a good spooky read. the vibes were immaculate, the mystery was fun, the characters felt like they had their own personalities and goals. the writing style was really unique, especially in that the dialogue between characters speaking back and forth didn't use dialogue tags but sometimes was just written like a script would be. my favorite line was probably "Me: [sneezes]" lmfao. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Addiction, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicide, Cursing, Violence, Drug use, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

mellowreading's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Give me dark, tragic, gay academia and I’ll give anything 5 stars. The ending. I don’t know how to feel 😭 also making Fillipa date the Professor was so random and unnecessary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Drug use, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia

sydneylmeyer7's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Drug use, Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Violence

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide, Death, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Vomit, Bullying, Outing, Blood, Eating disorder, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Biphobia