If We Were Villains

Books | Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense

4.1

(5.4K)

M. L. Rio

“Much like Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, M. L. Rio’s sparkling debut is a richly layered story of love, friendship, and obsession...will keep you riveted through its final, electrifying moments.”—Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest"Nerdily (and winningly) in love with Shakespeare...Readable, smart.”—New York Times Book ReviewOn the day Oliver Marks is released from jail, the man who put him there is waiting at the door. Detective Colborne wants to know the truth, and after ten years, Oliver is finally ready to tell it.A decade ago: Oliver is one of seven young Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a place of keen ambition and fierce competition. In this secluded world of firelight and leather-bound books, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingénue, extras. But in their fourth and final year, good-natured rivalries turn ugly, and on opening night real violence invades the students’ world of make-believe. In the morning, the fourth-years find themselves facing their very own tragedy, and their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, each other, and themselves that they are innocent. If We Were Villains was named one of Bustle's Best Thriller Novels of the Year, and Mystery Scene says, "A well-written and gripping ode to the stage...A fascinating, unorthodox take on rivalry, friendship, and truth."

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Author

M. L. Rio

Pages

368

Publisher

Flatiron Books

Published Date

2017-04-11

ISBN

1250095301 9781250095305

Community ReviewsSee all

"4.5⭐ I usually don't love mystery/thriller books, but I really enjoyed this one! It took me a while to get into it, but once I was I couldn't put it down! The characters were complex and well developed and the plot was very interesting. This book definitely kept me on my toes!"

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Madison C

"This book had me absolutely hooked and reignited my love for Shakespeare from highschool! The setting is incredible, the imagery is incredible, the characters are so nuanced, when there's not a murder happening the vibes are immaculate. I couldn't recommend this enough."

kelsey

"A crime within a crime. I personally enjoyed that the first crime the reader encounters is not a crime of action, passion or strong motive, rather the crime of in action, indifference and group mentality. This led me to be more curious about each character and the events that led up to the crime. This book centers around theater kids going to school specifically for Shakespearian theater and they are exactly as annoying and obnoxious as you would imagine them to be. I loved it. Every time a character quoted Shakespeare I would roll my eyes, but of course they would think that their lives are like a play. However, the “let-me-tell-you-my-story-from-prison”point of view is over done, and in this case lessened the suspense and mystery. I think this book would have worked better if it was told in real time, not as a flashback. You don’t need to have any knowledge of Shakespeare to read and enjoy this book, but it certainly helped. There were parts that drug on and most of it was predictable. 3.5/5"

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Olivia Denning

"I really enjoyed the first half of this novel. The characters were frustrating in the most enjoyable way. They reminded me of people I know, for better or worse. The setting was great, and the Shakespeare quotes were fun. (I'm a theater kid: I've performed and read and enjoyed my fair share of the bard's work.) I loved that there was some bi representation. We were on track to a 5 star- easy. The second half, however, was VERY rough to get through. I kept having to come back to read in short bursts because it wasn't as easy to get sucked into. The ending was unfortunately quite predictable. Still a good read- but considering I feel like I was THE target audience for it- I think it fell short and could have been more. "

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Alexia Hollis

"I DONT SPEAK THESPIAN (that was beautiful holy hell.)"

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Lily :)

"Fantastic book. Fantastic characters. Fantastic story line. 5/5 ⭐️"

Brooklyn

"3.5/5 If you are into Shakespeare you would absolutely love this I didn't love or hate this read it's definitely written so incredibly well it had The same feel as the secret history this one was still an interesting dark academia book to read and also the cover ugh I love it its stunning the writing is a bit thick at times they talk like how Shakespeare writes if that makes sense so sometimes you have to kinda slow down and dissect what they’re actually saying but it never was to hard but if you think that I could get annoying I'd skip this read This book wasn't thrilling or suspenseful you mostly follow around this characters and see the kind of decision they make which is sort of the more interesting aspect the revel at the end was okay definitely saw it coming the ending plot twist was a little cool tho"

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Gizelle Villalta

"I love dark academia and thrillers, so I figured this would be a 5 star read for me but I really struggled to get into this one. I found the cast of characters to be very annoying and so pretentious with their quote drops in casual conversation (maybe that was the point) that I was often rolling my eyes. However, I thought their collective and individual unraveling was entertaining so I persevered until the end. I’m glad I did, but it’s not a book I can see myself rereading any time soon or broadly recommending. <br/>"

Lianna

"If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐ I listened to this on audio and I'm so thankful I did. I don't think my non-dramatic mind would've been able to do all the Shakespeare justice. I did enjoy the plot and how it played out and I found the ending sad but also transparent and I wasn't a fan of the last minute open ending. If I could give this a half rating it would be more in line with my feelings but 4 stars feel like slightly too much. "

Sarah

"It was a good story. It dragged somewhere in the middle, but once it picked back up I couldn’t put it down. The was about to figure out some of the ending the closer we got to the ending but I still didn’t expect it to end the way it did."

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Kenya Williams

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