If We Were Villains - Review

Book Review:
Title: If We Were Villains
Author: M.L. Rio
Publisher: Titan Books

“But that is how a tragedy like ours or King Lear breaks your heart—by making you believe that the ending might still be happy, until the very last minute.”

Oliver Marks has just served ten years for the murder of one of his closest friends – a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he’s released, he’s greeted by the detective who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened ten years ago.

As a young actor studying Shakespeare at an elite arts conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same roles onstage and off – villain, hero, tyrant, temptress – though Oliver felt doomed to always be a secondary character in someone else’s story. But when the teachers change up the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into life.

When tragedy strikes, one of the seven friends is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.

I’m a firm believer in right book, wrong time.

I first picked up If We Were Villains earlier in the year, and honestly, I struggled. It took me about 3 days to barely hit 10%, and I thought to myself ‘this isn’t going to work’ and subsequently, set aside the book.

Almost 4 months later, I picked it up again on a whim. And I became obsessed. Never mind 10% in 3 days, I read the entire thing in less than 3 days, and pretty much in 3 sittings.

Whilst being a crime/mystery novel when taken at face value, the characters in this story make it so much more. I personally don't gravitate to crime/mystery novels much, but after reading countless reviews where the characterisation was so heavily praised and adored, and knowing this book is Dark Academia, I knew I had to give this a shot.

And the characters lived up to the expectations and were what made me fall in love. We follow a tight-knit group of 7 friends who all have a shared love of Shakespeare (they literally quote plays in casual conversations), and despite having differing personalities, have a solid bond tethering them together, making them more family than just peers and friends.

However, due to these differing personalities, when their usual routine is slightly altered, everything is thrown off kilter and their bond gets put to the test.

I did have certain favourites in the group, with Oliver being my number 1 (although that is most likely due to us following his POV solely) but ultimately, I just loved seeing their dynamic together. They're all messy and flawed, but with how real and raw their emotions and interactions were, I couldn't help but love them.

I enjoyed their dynamic and seeing them interact so much that I didn't find myself constantly itching to get to the end for the big murderer reveal or guessing at who it could be. I mean, I did have suspicions in mind, but I was so consumed by the story and characters, I was just enjoying the ride and taking everything as it came, not focusing on what 'may' happen.

And that's something I don't feel much when reading a book. I'm usually waiting for that peak right before the end, where everything is up in flames and the story has to somehow wrap in less than 50 pages. But with If We Were Villains, I felt exhilarated throughout and the book in its entirety felt like one huge peak.

Other than loving the characters, what also helped me stay so engrossed was how short and snappy the chapters were, and how it was split with Acts and Scenes. Most of the book was set in the past, but with each new act we get a little glimpse into the present, with Oliver just having finished serving his sentence. Every chapter or ‘scene’ ended in such a punchy way that you have no other option but to continue reading on. I was hooked.

As someone who hasn’t read much Shakespeare (I’ve read and watched Romeo and Juliet, but that’s it) I was a bit wary going in as I didn’t want the references to fly over my head. I decided to read summaries of King Lear, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar first and thankfully I was able to somewhat keep up with all the comments. However, not being a huge Shakespeare fan didn’t dim my experience at all, so I would encourage others not to let that deter them from picking up this book.

Overall, I just have so much love for If We Were Villains. M.L. Rio has built a novel with a mystery base, but wove in so many elements in such a wonderful and alluring way – expect explorations of relationships - platonic and romantic - loyalty, obsession, and morality. Perfect for any Shakespeare or mystery fan, but also for individuals, like myself, who love character-focused stories and the found family trope.

5 Stars
Goodreads