If We Were Villains

Love this books once I pick it up I can't put it down. Time just Flys when I'm reading this book. So glad my book club decided on this one. Love it.

If We Were Villains is like a wild Shakespearean rollercoaster set in a theatre school – drama, passion, and a touch of confusion. The story dives into the deep end of human experience, complete with loneliness, creativity, chaos, discipline, focus, insecurity, confidence, jealousy, love, hatred, joy, and devastation.The characters? Well, they're a bunch of thespians who can't quite decide if they're living their own lives or just rehearsing for the next big tragedy. Personal passions and on-stage roles? Blurrier than my vision before I put my glasses on in the morning. And let's not forget the Shakespearean verse sprinkled throughout – it's like they're trying to out-fancy Shakespeare himself.The story unfolds with a five-act structure as if Shakespeare himself penned the outline. Flashbacks from one character's perspective pop up in each act's prologue to anchor us to where the characters are 10 years later. It's like a Shakespearean soap opera but with more iambic pentameter.On and off stage, a lot of the dialogue is full of Shakespearean verses, but my Shakespeare knowledge peaked in high school. My primary references are She's The Man and 10 Things I Hate About You – which, while helpful, is not exactly the pinnacle of literary expertise.Despite my struggle to keep up with the Shakespearean banter, the ending was everything I could've wanted from this dark academia story – surprising, colorful, and leaving me grinning. I want to give the book a standing ovation, but the four-star rating reminds me to brush up on the Bard. Still, If We Were Villains is a wild ride into the messy world of human passion and the blurry line between reality and performance.

Friends and I found the best book for Shakespeare lovers and fictional dramatics!

The book came in very good condition and also a day early. It is one of my favorite books to read as well. :)

**SPOILERS AHEAD**I wanted to like this novel, but I thought it had a lot of problems — e.g., the author tells rather than shows, key characters are unbelievable and/or underdeveloped, and several situations seem extremely unlikely.For me, another problem is that the crime committed by Oliver and his friends early in the story seems far worse than any that are later revealed to have been committed by a single individual, yet the novel suggests the opposite and glosses over what they did. In that sense, I’d say the book’s moral sensibilities are more “Scandal” than “The West Wing.” That made it hard to take seriously.Also, the last few paragraphs of the novel IMO were eye-rollingly gimmicky. They reminded me of a made-for-Lifetime movie, or one where a studio wants to make sure we know there’s a sequel coming.The are some things in the novel that I like — e.g., there were some structural choices that I thought worked well, and I was curious to see where Oliver would go on his journey of self-discovery. The book is definitely readable, and that’s the reason for my three-star rating. But ultimately this novel's problems irritated me.Perhaps the biggest issue is that it’s very derivative of “The Secret History,“ yet it fails to evoke any of the horror or dread that Donna Tartt seemed to create so effortlessly.I love Emily St. John Mandel, but I think this is the last time I will follow one of her recommendations.

4.75/5 starsI am honestly struggling to put my thoughts and feelings into words....but this was incredible.As both a theatre and book nerd, this book was right up my alley and I loved it. I can't claim to be a Shakespeare aficionado, but man was it wonderful to be submersed in so many references and to see the story not only through the eyes of the characters, but also through the lens of his writings. It was captivating, unique, enthralling....it had me gripped from the beginning.The writing was absolutely beautiful, blending perfectly the poetry of Shakespeare with the intelligence and ego of those that dedicate their lives to studying and understanding him. Actors are their own breed and, by necessity, have a certain level of insanity and self-centered nature that allows them to be wholly themselves but also any number of others in a moment's notice. ML Rio captures the beauty, depression, and mania of a brilliant actor perfectly.I really can't speak much to the story without spoilers, but I cannot speak the writing's praises highly enough. Even the twists I guessed were thrilling to read because of how gorgeously they were crafted. This is definitely a book I will recommend endlessly and return to often.

We have a small group of Shakespearean actors competing with one another at a small and exclusive liberal arts college. Emotions are running high with professional and personal/romantic jealousy. Throw in massive amounts of alcohol laced with some other drugs and you set the scene for a terrible accident, followed by a horrifying decision, which leaves all of the characters spinning. How did we get here and who is to blame?If you are a Shakespeare fan this is a really cool mystery. If you aren’t then you may think some parts of this are not for you. I love Shakespeare, and thought that the use of his plays in this book made those emotions so much more intense. I really like this book, even though I did find certain parts annoying and frustrating.I usually find mysteries boring but I really got into this one. All of the emotions felt really palpable to me. I did guess some of the big plot points, but that didn’t change my enjoyment of it. Honestly there was satisfaction that I was right, and I wasn’t sure until the end and even then, things turned out a bit differently than I thought. Also, I cried. Twice.The audio is excellent.

Venía maltratado, incluso la espina ya está estaba doblada y una parte de la portada se veía como gastada (a eso no le tomé foto porque al ser negro no se nota mucho en la cámara).

Veio com boa qualidade e sem nenhum defeito visível, estou totalmente satisfeita.

I could not put this book down for a second! While it is a bit slow at the beginning, it completely draws you in. Would rate this book a 9.5-10

Auch wenn man zu Beginn noch nicht weiß in welche Richtung die Geschichte verlaufen soll, ist man direkt gefesselt an die Handlung und die Charaktere. Es lies sich gut lesen. Seit langem mal wieder ein Buch, dass ich problemlos und gerne in wenigen Sitzungen lesen konnte. Ohne zu Spoilern, freut man sich, dass man seine Interpretationen bestätigt bekommt und dennoch die Handlung nicht von Anfang an anhand von Klischees/tropes durchschauen kann.Ein Must-read für Theater-Freunde und Fans von dark academia.

Ottimo