Mystery

If We Were Villains

If We Were Villains

  • Downloads：8768
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-18 12:53:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：M.L. Rio
  • ISBN：1785656473
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Oliver Marks has just served ten years for a murder he may or may not have committed。 On the day of his release， he is greeted by the detective who put him in prison。 Detective Colborne is retiring， and he wants to know what really happened a decade before。

As a young actor at an elite conservatory， Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same characters onstage and off – villain， hero， temptress – though he was always a supporting role。 But when the teachers change the casting， a good-natured rivalry turns ugly， and the plays spill dangerously over into real 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。。。

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Reviews

Book Rix ，

The story is powerful; I like how it was presented。 Good job writer！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top

Sian Clark ，

Overall a very fun and immersive read。 Plot wise it was gripping and easy to get stuck into， although at first I found the characters hard to distinguish from one another。 I did not feel strongly （either positively or negatively） about any of the characters and I found every one of their relationships with one another unconvincing。 This weakened the book for me。 The big reveal I found pretty underwhelming and the ending was anticlimactic。 Also my knowledge and interest in Shakespeare is fairly m Overall a very fun and immersive read。 Plot wise it was gripping and easy to get stuck into， although at first I found the characters hard to distinguish from one another。 I did not feel strongly （either positively or negatively） about any of the characters and I found every one of their relationships with one another unconvincing。 This weakened the book for me。 The big reveal I found pretty underwhelming and the ending was anticlimactic。 Also my knowledge and interest in Shakespeare is fairly minimal and I underestimated how heavily he was referenced within the book。 Perhaps more prior knowledge on my part may have made the acting scenes and constant quotes more enticing for me。 But despite all this， I still had so much fun reading this book and I would recommend it （naturally to fans of The Secret History there's no denying they're similar。） 。。。more

Jewel ，

wow

lara ，

i LOVED the plot， the characters， and the writing！！ it was so interesting and i’m so attached to the characters。 also， the ending was mindblowing

Lj ，

Absolutely extraordinary， I am numb all over。 This story will sit cozily in a spot on my brain， never leaving， always there to haunt me for the rest of my existence。 Not mad about that at all。 And Christ， I don’t know how to feel about that ending。

clare hash ，

J’ai le cul entre deux chaises。 J’ai aimé l’histoire en elle même， découvrir les relations complexes entre les différents personnages MAIS tout l’aspect Shakespeare， toutes les citations de ses œuvres m’ont ennuyées au plus haut point。 Toutes mes tentatives de dark academia se solvent par des échecs （ou demi échecs） je vais devoir me rendre à l’évidence que c’est peut être pas fait pour moi。

Ginat ，

“And when she breathed her sadness out， I breathed it in”

Emma ，

4。75 stars。 This book ripped my heart out。Seriously， I will never see theatre or Shakespeare the same way。 This book had me hooked and nervous and scared。 And that ending; what the fuck。 There are not enough words to describe what this book did to me。 Read this book。 I also discovered a new word:"enamored" - be filled with love for。 4。75 stars。 This book ripped my heart out。Seriously， I will never see theatre or Shakespeare the same way。 This book had me hooked and nervous and scared。 And that ending; what the fuck。 There are not enough words to describe what this book did to me。 Read this book。 I also discovered a new word:"enamored" - be filled with love for。 。。。more

Lexi ，

I NEVER read drama/mystery， but my best friend INSISTED that I would love this book - and she knows me all too well， because I absolutely fell in love with this story。 The dramatics of it all was so beautifully written。 The story， all the character development， and shakespeare are layered together so romantically， and I simply could not put the book down。 I also ready majority of the scenes in act III quite high from an evening spliff （oh， alexander）， and it made the shakespearean component of t I NEVER read drama/mystery， but my best friend INSISTED that I would love this book - and she knows me all too well， because I absolutely fell in love with this story。 The dramatics of it all was so beautifully written。 The story， all the character development， and shakespeare are layered together so romantically， and I simply could not put the book down。 I also ready majority of the scenes in act III quite high from an evening spliff （oh， alexander）， and it made the shakespearean component of the book that much more beautiful。 。。。more

Anessa Lawrence ，

i thought this was a pretty good mystery。 i like that we start with the character after the story telling what happened。 i think it was a really smart way to start this book。 the beginning of the is book was pretty hard to read。 i had to go back and read almost every page for a second page because there is a lot of info dump。 we also meet all the characters at one time and it’s really hard to remember who is who。

Emily Ross ，

Wonderful debut and really great concept！ Killer ending！ I could really picture this as a movie as I was reading it I loved how the plays they were acting in were relevant to the story taking place。。。。 that being said I did feel it was an extremely slow burn took a while to get to the plot。 And also do theater kids really speak Shakespeare to each other like that？！？！？ 😂 it was a really great book but definitely not a fast paced one。

Lorenzo ，

I enjoyed my time a lot with this book a lot even though I thought it was very predictable--I actually guessed almost all of the reveals with pretty good accuracy。

Myles ，

God。 Ouch。 It's so good， it hurts。 God。 Ouch。 It's so good， it hurts。 。。。more

Amber ，

I wanted to read the book in hand， but was recommended to use audible for this novel。 I'm glad that I did since I am not a huge fan of Shakespearean language。。。I guess is what I would call it。 Even though I took AP Literature courses in high school years ago。 BUT the way the plays were in corporated in the story seemed almost as if I was watching an entire play unfold about the actors。 Loved the wiring style-- It gave mystery， thriller， psychological， romance， Acting！ Everything you can think of I wanted to read the book in hand， but was recommended to use audible for this novel。 I'm glad that I did since I am not a huge fan of Shakespearean language。。。I guess is what I would call it。 Even though I took AP Literature courses in high school years ago。 BUT the way the plays were in corporated in the story seemed almost as if I was watching an entire play unfold about the actors。 Loved the wiring style-- It gave mystery， thriller， psychological， romance， Acting！ Everything you can think of is probably in this book。 The way the emotions were told in this book was so raw & real， I really felt it sometimes。 The audbilbe version was great！ I enjoyed it。 。。。more

Jordyn ，

MY GOD this one hurt。

aya ，

"Couldn't you argue that Brutus' tragic flaw is his insurmountable love of Rome？"Tears。All tears。This book progressed just fine until the ending hit me like a truck。 So much pain， I'm begging you to help me。Reading this book equals reading and browsing the meaning of each poems and drama lines every here and there just so that I can understand what they're trying to say。This book basically started as them preparing for the play of the greatest tragedy， and it ended with， literally their own "Couldn't you argue that Brutus' tragic flaw is his insurmountable love of Rome？"Tears。All tears。This book progressed just fine until the ending hit me like a truck。 So much pain， I'm begging you to help me。Reading this book equals reading and browsing the meaning of each poems and drama lines every here and there just so that I can understand what they're trying to say。This book basically started as them preparing for the play of the greatest tragedy， and it ended with， literally their own greatest tragedy。Never did I expect an ending like that， Mr。 Rio how could you。To be honest， I have suspected well into the first half of the book that Oliver and James are going to be like Jude and Willem， but oh how much much tragic their story turned out。I didn't cry as much as reading other novels （example: A Little Life）， but excuse you， the pain is clawing through my ribcage。 "What could I say？ This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine。"This book left me gasping and speechless。I was actually reluctant to pick up this book at first， despite the overwhelming hype most people give about this book。 However， one day I checked on the reviews and I thought， "well， might as well give it a try。"The reviews have been good， anyway。 Besides， I love me some plot twist。I once said that I really wanted to read 'If We Were Villains' but also a bit reluctant to feel depressed because of a book。Well， guess what？The foreshadowing。Anyway， what a way to start the weekend。This review contains an exaggerated amount of repetitition of the word "tragic" because it is that tragic。 。。。more

vera ，

Well， that was disappointing。 I though for sure this would be a new favorite but I did NOT enjoy reading this at all。The characters were so bland and the plot really wasn’t that intriguing。 NONE OF THESE CHARACTERS HAD ANY PERSONALITY！ The author wrote about how a character is afraid people will never see her beyond her beauty and will only ever have an interest in her because of how hot she is and then proceeds to constantly make comments about how hot she is making everything about her about h Well， that was disappointing。 I though for sure this would be a new favorite but I did NOT enjoy reading this at all。The characters were so bland and the plot really wasn’t that intriguing。 NONE OF THESE CHARACTERS HAD ANY PERSONALITY！ The author wrote about how a character is afraid people will never see her beyond her beauty and will only ever have an interest in her because of how hot she is and then proceeds to constantly make comments about how hot she is making everything about her about her looks instead of actually giving her any personality。 Honestly felt bad for the character for how poorly she was written。 Well all of them were but this just did not make any sense。 At all。 Why write an emotional scene about a character wanting to be more than her looks and then the only thing you do is talk about how hot she is？！Also， meaningless heterosexual relationships that really made NO sense at all and really only existed to enhance something that I hate: queerbaiting。 Just the way sexuality was handled in this book felt so wrong。 It was handled distastefully and poorly。Furthermore， the author uses mental illness such as an eating disorder， substance abuse and suicide attempts and highly sensitive topics such as physical violence， abusive relationships and a r*pe joke as “decoration” and just sweeps everything under the rug。 It’s truly frustrating。 It’s like making a mockery out of all this。So yeah。 1 star。 Does not deserve more than that in my opinion。I skim read the second half of the book because I really didn’t want to waste much of my time on this book。ALSO！！！ STOP！！ QUOTING！！ SHAKESPEARE！！！！！ Maybe I’m just too dumb to appreciate this aspect of the book but it was too much。 Too fucking much。 Overkill， you know？ Like enough is enough。 You have to know when to stop。 。。。more

Brandi ，

3。5

Sophie Hutchison ，

I take back what I said

Manisha ，

Listened to the audiobook。Eh。

nina nazari ，

Another day， another rip off of The Secret History。 Two in a row is a bit much。In all honesty， this was better than Special Topics in Calamity Physics and I did enjoy it。 It had the vibes， it had the intense characters and all the pretentiousness I needed， and it had murder， it just didn't do anything new。 My search for the perfect dark academia book to go with tsh continues。 Another day， another rip off of The Secret History。 Two in a row is a bit much。In all honesty， this was better than Special Topics in Calamity Physics and I did enjoy it。 It had the vibes， it had the intense characters and all the pretentiousness I needed， and it had murder， it just didn't do anything new。 My search for the perfect dark academia book to go with tsh continues。 。。。more

Taylor ，

Oh my god。。。 this book。 I laughed， cried and died a little bit throughout this book。 It left me speechless。 Honestly can’t put into words how much I loved this book。 Everything about it was amazing， the writing style， the descriptions， the characters， EVERYTHING。 I really didn’t think i was going to like it。。 i’m a romance/fantasy book type of person， but man this book。 Words aren’t coming to me at the moment to express how amazing this book is。The ending for sure broke me a little。。。 ok a lot。 Oh my god。。。 this book。 I laughed， cried and died a little bit throughout this book。 It left me speechless。 Honestly can’t put into words how much I loved this book。 Everything about it was amazing， the writing style， the descriptions， the characters， EVERYTHING。 I really didn’t think i was going to like it。。 i’m a romance/fantasy book type of person， but man this book。 Words aren’t coming to me at the moment to express how amazing this book is。The ending for sure broke me a little。。。 ok a lot。 That epilogue was heartbreaking。 It really all comes rushing yo you at the end and just hugs you were it hurts。Definitely deserves more than 5 stars in my opinion。 。。。more

Lucas Schrier ，

~3。5

Samah Sharmin ，

Get thee to a nunnery！

Amanda Del Brocco ，

This was The Secret History， but with Shakespeare。 I think I would have liked it a lot more if I was more familiar with Shakespeare’s plays， as I have only read Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar。 I thought it was too long， even as an audiobook on 1。5x

Ria ，

this is now my favorite book of all time and my most hated one because i have never been in this much pain before

Georgia ，

4。5* no no no NO ！！！！！

Sarah ，

DNFed 03/02/21: I don't think this is a bad book， I just found the writing to be not to my taste。 It's quite heavy-handed and obvious， and really lays out what is happening for the reader， which is just not what I'm looking for in my reading right now。 DNFed 03/02/21: I don't think this is a bad book， I just found the writing to be not to my taste。 It's quite heavy-handed and obvious， and really lays out what is happening for the reader， which is just not what I'm looking for in my reading right now。 。。。more

Nushia ，

4'5 estrellas。 Nunca me ha llamado mucho la atención Shakespeare y siendo sinceros， tras leerme este libro， no tengo muchos más conocimientos sobre sus obras。 Por ello podemos llegar a la conclusión de que a pesar de jugar un papel fundamental en la trama， sirve como hilo conductor pero en verdad es un añadido más para adornar una historia que se ha contado miles de veces: el amor， los celos y el odio。 Sin embargo， que haya sido explotada por activa y por pasiva no significa que la autora no lo 4'5 estrellas。 Nunca me ha llamado mucho la atención Shakespeare y siendo sinceros， tras leerme este libro， no tengo muchos más conocimientos sobre sus obras。 Por ello podemos llegar a la conclusión de que a pesar de jugar un papel fundamental en la trama， sirve como hilo conductor pero en verdad es un añadido más para adornar una historia que se ha contado miles de veces: el amor， los celos y el odio。 Sin embargo， que haya sido explotada por activa y por pasiva no significa que la autora no lo haya abordado de manera magistral en este libro。 Madre mía cómo me lo he gozado。 A pesar de estar inglés， de que se me hayan hecho bola los pasajes copiados de las obras de Shakespeare （el inglés antiguo es un grano en el culo） y de que en sí la trama tenga una cadencia lenta， no podía soltarlo。 Personajes bien hilados con una profundidad y luces/sombras apabullantes， emociones a flor de piel que han hecho que sienta angustia y nervios durante muchas páginas y sobre todo la dolorosa necesidad de que todo tuviera un final feliz aún cuando sabía que lo más probable es que no pasara。 Y obviamente el giro de la trama final， que tuve que buscar spoilers porque no sabía si no lo había traducido bien o en efecto era tan PUM como parecía。 Si quieres un libro que trate de las relaciones entre personas que se ven superadas por ellas y que están abocadas a ser marionetas del destino y todo ello ambientado en el trasfondo del teatro este es tu libro。 Si quieres simplemente sufrir y gritarle a las páginas porque los personajes son frustrantes （en el buen sentido）， este es tu libro。 Si quieres que te quemen las manos por haber pasado tres horas leyendo totalmente enganchada， sí， efectivamente， este es tu libro。Además hay edición en castellano， para que no tengáis que sufrir como yo。 Recomendable al 100%。 。。。more

elise ，

ok ok i said the secret history was rlly good but man this is like a better version - i actually like the characters and i understand why they hate richard and they’re all just super interesting and lovely and i love their dynamic ahhhh i love this book

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=If We Were Villains

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=If We Were Villains&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,If We Were Villains&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0