If We Were Villains-M. L. Rio Review (spoiler free)

T oday, I am presenting another example of dark academia, (after Babel and The Secret History) that I also found out through bookstagram, even though it was originally published in 2017. I read the whole 600 pages of the novel in a few days, as it was so captivating and immersive I could not put it down before finishing it. The premise is similar to Tartt’s ‘The Secret History’, in sense of setting and the dynamic between the group of the protagonists with the narrator being sort of an outcast, I must say that the novel in this review accomplishes this much better and I enjoyed it a lot more for various reasons. For me, this was one of the best takes on dark academia I have read in a while.

‘If We Were Villains’ is set in an elite conservatory where the main group of protagonists whose friendship and their inevitable downfall is the seven drama majors who have focused on Shakespeare so much that they even talk to each other in Shakespeare lines. The novel actually opens with one of the group members finishing his ten year sentence in prison for a murder he may or may not have committed. In fact, this is his confessional as he retells the story to a curious detective, so in a way this is a backwards narrative as he guides us through the events that landed him in the jail cell.

Quickly into the novel, just as the readers are getting used to the internal dynamic of this group and the setting they are in, murder happens that changes their lives forever. Although the actual murder is not too surprising, I did not mind the reveal as the novel after that focuses on the consequences of this event on the psyche of the group. The big reveal towards the end of the novel also did not surprise me, but it felt earned and well built where I still had an emotional reaction to it. Without spoiling too much, I will say without shame I did ugly cry at the thought of the pain it would have caused.

I did have some problems discerning between the characters at the start of my reading, but Rio made them all unique enough that I got over that quite soon into reading it. I tried to avoid comparing it to ‘The Secret History’, and enjoy this novel in its own right, but I will say that these characters are so much more human and actually likeable. From their interactions, emotions and the way they talk about each other I can fully understand how they would be so close. It felt real, making the consequences of the main plot that much more understandable and devastating. The stakes were set high and once the axe came swinging down, they were realised quite successfully. The protagonist group and all the other side characters for that matter worked amazingly well for this specific story that M.L Rio has written, but I must say that if I had met any of them in real life, I would find them incredibly pretentious and would not want to be anywhere near them. I will reiterate that these are people who sometimes speak in Shakespeare verses.

Because there were seven of them and all played a vital part in this story, at times, their personality traits were told to us, rather than shown. For example, in one of the classes they attend, the professor makes each of them confess what their biggest strengths and weaknesses are under the explanation that this would help them be better actors and actresses. This does work in the story as it does seem like an exercise they would do, while also telling the readers who these people are. Additionally, the story is told by Oliver and the characterization of his friends and foes as well as the events occurring are definitely somewhat skewed. Everytime I read a first person narration, especially a narrative in which the person is directly included, I consider them an unreliable narrator and tread with caution. As the character and the narrator, Oliver is extremely well done and I really enjoyed him. He does engage in emotional and sexual relationships with others, but unlike Richard from ‘The Secret History’, he is not creepy about the way he talks about his female classmates, which was a pleasant change. I am aware I spent a lot of time talking about the characters, but for me the fact they are well built really carried it through. While the mystery element is intriguing enough, this read more like a character study which I thoroughly enjoyed. 

I am a huge fan of Shakespeare, so the idea that this novel follows the structure of one of his tragedies added an element of enjoyment to my reading experience. The obvious and the not so obvious references are spread throughout. I am sure that if I read this book again, I will find even more of them than the ones I have found on my first reading. It was genuinely a thrilling experience, finding all of them and trying to figure out how they relate to the story. None of the plays that they perform is by accident as they are used either to depict the characters’ mental state or foreshadow something important. 

It is really hard to write about a novel with the murder in center of it without spoiling anybody’s reading experience. I really do recommend going into this knowing as much as I revealed in this review. While the mystery is not exactly the main point of the story, it is still built well enough that you will want to know something more about it. I will also say that ‘If We Were Villains’ also openly talks about important topics, such as bullying, slut shaming, consequences of violence, substance and alcohol abuse, eating disorders etc. As I said, I did read this book in a few days because I could not drop it, but it is not an easy book to read in terms of content. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and it is one of the rare ones this year I rated 5/5 for all the reasons I stated in my review. I think that this was M.L. Rio’s debut novel and I did not find that she has written anything after it. Once she does, I will definitely be there waiting for a chance to read it.

Did you read this novel? What did you think about it? Let me know!

source: twitter.com