A review by sarasreading
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

challenging 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? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

When I first started this and they were all speaking to each other in prose I eye rolled so hard I wasn't sure if I was going to make it through the book lol, but oh man did I get me in the end. Thankfully they didn't speak like that the whole time. 

I didn't want to put this down. I had a whole Shakespeare phase when I was younger (if you knew me then you can definitely confirm) and even did a Shakespeare class in college. So it really ended up sucking me in. If you are familiar with the tragedies, it helps, and that would also help with peeling back the layers and similes of narrative structure, themes, archetypes etc. It feels like a book you could really sink your teeth into and deeply examine, if you wanted to.

I had theories and was totally right, which was satisfying, although the things I ended up being right about were pretty sad. It is, after all, a tragedy. But one I would definitely reread. 
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