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A review by allygator
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
5.0
as a theatre major and huge fan of the secret history, this is quite literally the perfect book for me. i'm obsessed with the whole idea of this shakespeare conservatory and the toxic environment it creates and how one little shake up is quite literally deadly. i'm obsessed with oliver's unreliable narration and ambiguous queerness (he's 100% in love with james, right? i can't be alone in this thought. ). i'm obsessed with the twists and the fact that i couldn't guess them. i'm obsessed with the fact that every character is kind of a terrible person and they all enable each other to be even worse. i'm OBSESSED with the ending. (james is alive?? and oliver is gonna find him and they're gonna be in love and happy and terrible together )
quite frankly i couldn't care less if this is a rip-off of the secret history (i don't think it is, but it certainly is a popular opinion) because i would read a million rip-offs of the secret history because something about that story and that way of telling it has me hooked. thank you donna tartt for your contributions to dark academia and thank you m.l. rio for your contributions as well. where tsh is for liguists and historians, if we were villains is for actors who want to live out their secret deepest dreams to achieve a dream role by literally killing for it.
anyways i'm gonna go think about this book for a few hours while i get ready for rehearsal :)
quite frankly i couldn't care less if this is a rip-off of the secret history (i don't think it is, but it certainly is a popular opinion) because i would read a million rip-offs of the secret history because something about that story and that way of telling it has me hooked. thank you donna tartt for your contributions to dark academia and thank you m.l. rio for your contributions as well. where tsh is for liguists and historians, if we were villains is for actors who want to live out their secret deepest dreams to achieve a dream role by literally killing for it.
anyways i'm gonna go think about this book for a few hours while i get ready for rehearsal :)