I cannot properly express the amount of love that I have for If We Were Villains! If you are a fan of Dark Academia and Shakespeare this will be your next favorite book, and it will pierce your heart in so many different ways. Shakespeare fans will feel a special kinship to the novel, but it will touch your soul even without a deep knowledge of Shakespeare’s work.
As a dancer, I grew up in theatre’s and even studied dance performance in College so I felt an immediate connection to the events and characters on the page. Drama and theatre “geeks” alike, will easily connect to the characters struggle with perfection and competition…and you will most likely feel yourself reliving moments of your own theatre past. It is a coming-of-age story following the lives of 7 elite Shakespeare actors trying to understand their own identities both on and off the stage.
And then of course…there is a murder. You can’t have a dark academia novel without a murder.
3 Favorite Quotes from If We Were Villains:
“Enter the players…there were seven of us then.”
“For someone who liked words as much as I did, it was amazing how often they failed me.”
“How tremendous the agony of unmade decisions.”
If We Were Villains is perfect for fans of:
The Secret History – This is the mother of all Dark Academia novels and it is important that every Dark Academia fan reads it! Similar to If We Were Villains, The Secret History follows the life of a group of elite college students, only this time they are studying Greek Mythology.
The Invisible Like of Addie LaRue – There is this beautiful deep sadness prevalent in both books that connects the novels to each other. Both books also portray characters with a love for the performing arts.
Vicious – Both novels focus on what it is that actually makes someone a villain. It’s stories like these that are made specifically for the anti-hero, grey character loving readers.
The Foxhole Court – This is a deeply character driven story, similar to If We Were Villains and perfect for fans of the “Found Family” Trope.
If We Were Villains Content Warning:
Suicide attempt, mention of eating disorders (personally I feel this was not addressed in the right way), and physical abuse and violence.
What NOT to look for in If We Were Villains:
Although I loved a lot about this book, I also know that it’s not perfect. Here are a few things I felt were lacking in the book. If you are looking for books with the following characteristics, then you might want to hold off on reading this one for now.
Considering this was written by a female author, the female power is considerably lacking. The few female characters in the book felt very one dimensional and felt almost like throw away characters.
If you are looking for an intense thriller and crazy mystery to solve, this might not be the right book for you. Although it does center around a murder, the mystery is not difficult to solve.
If you hate Shakespeare, this is not for you. Although I do not believe it is necessary to have a deep love or understanding of Shakespeare’s work, you do need to at least like it. There is a lot of direct passages from Shakespeare sprinkled throughout the book, and although I personally loved it, that might not be your cup of tea.
Having said all that, I still highly recommend If We Were Villains for fans of Dark Academia, Theatre, and coming of age stories. This was M. L Rio’s debut novel, and I can’t wait to see more from her!
Merch to go with the book:
