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A review by salty_mermaid
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
<i><b>Something wicked this way comes…</b></i>
SAVAGE
This the story of 7 devoted theatre students and what happens when the world of Shakespeare gets too real - with devastating consequences.
This so appealed to my thespian soul…This tale tore out my heart and put it through the meat grinder. My eyes were glued to the page and I felt as crazed as Lady Macbeth herself getting through this. I cannot believe Rio doesn’t have any other books. This debut brilliantly wove together the world of theatre into a university setting.
Drama, murder mystery, romance, dark academia, and comedy all in one! How fitting since they solely perform Shakespeare.
By exposing vulnerabilities early on, Rio crafted intricately complex 3D characters. Each one was multi-faceted and layered.
I loved the comparisons between the liberal arts students: language, philosophy, dance, music.
Also I loved how Rio occasionally interspersed script dialogue format between the characters just like in real scripts:
<i>Me: “How has she been looking at me?”
James: “Like she’s a shark and you’re an oblivious fur seal.”
Me: “Why is that the word everyone’s using to describe me lately?”
James: “Who else called you a fur seal?”
Me: “Not that. Never mind.”</i>
I think it definitely helps if you know a little bit about Shakespeare's plays and characters because you can get a better idea of who the actors are by who they are casted as. I was familiar with Midsummer Night's Dream but had to brush up on Macbeth and get acquainted with Julius Caesar.
<i><b>How could we explain that standing on a stage and speaking someone else’s words as if they are your own is less an act of bravery than a desperate lunge at mutual understanding? An attempt to forge that tenuous link between speaker and listener and communicate something, anything, of substance.</b></i>
I connected with the actors’ plight. There is a lot of foreshadowing, which added to the excitement. I'll admit I am not one to easily guess a whodunnit and sometimes when it’s obvious to others, I still don’t get it…but maybe I'm getting better...I was able to predict the murderer early on but definitely had my doubts throughout. I’d say it is not easily obvious except for one foreshadowing line that caught my attention. Ah, the mystery. In the end, the Tragic Hero and Villian are not who you thought they’d be.
There are many triggers: death, gore, suicide, domestic violence.
Absolutely loved this. I will be re-reading this when my heart finally heals for sure.
<i><b>Actors are by nature volatile—alchemic creatures composed of incendiary elements, emotion and ego and envy. Heat them up, stir them together, and sometimes you get gold. Sometimes disaster.</b></i>
SAVAGE
This the story of 7 devoted theatre students and what happens when the world of Shakespeare gets too real - with devastating consequences.
This so appealed to my thespian soul…This tale tore out my heart and put it through the meat grinder. My eyes were glued to the page and I felt as crazed as Lady Macbeth herself getting through this. I cannot believe Rio doesn’t have any other books. This debut brilliantly wove together the world of theatre into a university setting.
Drama, murder mystery, romance, dark academia, and comedy all in one! How fitting since they solely perform Shakespeare.
By exposing vulnerabilities early on, Rio crafted intricately complex 3D characters. Each one was multi-faceted and layered.
I loved the comparisons between the liberal arts students: language, philosophy, dance, music.
Also I loved how Rio occasionally interspersed script dialogue format between the characters just like in real scripts:
<i>Me: “How has she been looking at me?”
James: “Like she’s a shark and you’re an oblivious fur seal.”
Me: “Why is that the word everyone’s using to describe me lately?”
James: “Who else called you a fur seal?”
Me: “Not that. Never mind.”</i>
I think it definitely helps if you know a little bit about Shakespeare's plays and characters because you can get a better idea of who the actors are by who they are casted as. I was familiar with Midsummer Night's Dream but had to brush up on Macbeth and get acquainted with Julius Caesar.
<i><b>How could we explain that standing on a stage and speaking someone else’s words as if they are your own is less an act of bravery than a desperate lunge at mutual understanding? An attempt to forge that tenuous link between speaker and listener and communicate something, anything, of substance.</b></i>
I connected with the actors’ plight. There is a lot of foreshadowing, which added to the excitement. I'll admit I am not one to easily guess a whodunnit and sometimes when it’s obvious to others, I still don’t get it…but maybe I'm getting better...I was able to predict the murderer early on but definitely had my doubts throughout. I’d say it is not easily obvious except for one foreshadowing line that caught my attention. Ah, the mystery. In the end, the Tragic Hero and Villian are not who you thought they’d be.
There are many triggers: death, gore, suicide, domestic violence.
Absolutely loved this. I will be re-reading this when my heart finally heals for sure.
<i><b>Actors are by nature volatile—alchemic creatures composed of incendiary elements, emotion and ego and envy. Heat them up, stir them together, and sometimes you get gold. Sometimes disaster.</b></i>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Suicide