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A review by g33stroya
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
im in between 3.5 - 4 stars.
this was good! definitely not perfect but really really good. but there were many things that annoyed me while reading this. a few examples:
1. the lack of explanation for richard’s motives when bullying his friends - and richard’s whole character in general. we barely had time to get to know to richard as his character wasn’t developed at all before he suddenly started being an a*shole to his friends for no apparent reason. this made it almost impossible to empathize with his actions or connect with his character at all. it’s clear that m. l. rio wanted richard to portray the role of the classic tragic villain - sadly that’s basically all there was to him, thus he felt very empty and shallow.
2. and this brings me to my second point. i found it difficult to connect with any character in this book at all. they all felt quite shallow - as if the author didn’t try to explore them more in depth. the only relationship that felt somewhat real and palpable to me was james’ and oliver’s dynamic, mainly towards the end of the book.
3. thirdly! whatever meredith and oliver had going on ??? i really didn’t understand the purpose of it… it felt very random and unnecessary. i don’t get why the author didn’t choose to focus on oliver and james’ relationship instead. i feel like there could’ve been a lot of potential. we could have been given a more thorough and intricate explanation towards oliver’s (borderline) obsession with james :P i think that would have been way more interesting and would make more sense?!?!
cuz, for example, we would get a striking quote from oliver about james, “Everyone in the room was watching James—how could they not?—but I was the only one who really knew him, every inch.” but 3 pages before that oliver was daydreaming about meredith while f*cking her ?!??? like talk about inconsistency pls make it make sense
4. it was like super predictable - i literally predicted every single major plot point / plot twist …. that didn’t stop it from being enjoyable and fun to read though!
anyways despite my whining i do still think this book in no way deserves anything under 3.5 stars !!! it is a great read - i loved the writing and the way every single play was written, it kept you on the edge of your seat constantly plus i annotated the h*ll out of it….
this was good! definitely not perfect but really really good. but there were many things that annoyed me while reading this. a few examples:
1. the lack of explanation for richard’s motives when bullying his friends - and richard’s whole character in general. we barely had time to get to know to richard as his character wasn’t developed at all before he suddenly started being an a*shole to his friends for no apparent reason. this made it almost impossible to empathize with his actions or connect with his character at all. it’s clear that m. l. rio wanted richard to portray the role of the classic tragic villain - sadly that’s basically all there was to him, thus he felt very empty and shallow.
2. and this brings me to my second point. i found it difficult to connect with any character in this book at all. they all felt quite shallow - as if the author didn’t try to explore them more in depth. the only relationship that felt somewhat real and palpable to me was james’ and oliver’s dynamic, mainly towards the end of the book.
3. thirdly! whatever meredith and oliver had going on ??? i really didn’t understand the purpose of it… it felt very random and unnecessary. i don’t get why the author didn’t choose to focus on oliver and james’ relationship instead. i feel like there could’ve been a lot of potential. we could have been given a more thorough and intricate explanation towards oliver’s (borderline) obsession with james :P i think that would have been way more interesting and would make more sense?!?!
cuz, for example, we would get a striking quote from oliver about james, “Everyone in the room was watching James—how could they not?—but I was the only one who really knew him, every inch.” but 3 pages before that oliver was daydreaming about meredith while f*cking her ?!??? like talk about inconsistency pls make it make sense
4. it was like super predictable - i literally predicted every single major plot point / plot twist …. that didn’t stop it from being enjoyable and fun to read though!
anyways despite my whining i do still think this book in no way deserves anything under 3.5 stars !!! it is a great read - i loved the writing and the way every single play was written, it kept you on the edge of your seat constantly plus i annotated the h*ll out of it….