Oliver’s amicable youngest sister. Leah and Oliver get along well. Leah stays in touch with Oliver throughout his incarceration. This romantic tragedy is the perfect tale and refreshing take on one of the old classics and a great read for those looking for a book like If We Were Villains. If We Were Villains is the debut novel of American author M. L. Rio, first published in 2017 by Flatiron Books. The novel concerns a murder mystery surrounding Oliver Marks, a former actor at the fictional Dellecher Shakespeare conservatory and primarily takes place during his fourth and final year at the conservatory. A series adaptation of the novel is in development. [1] Plot [ edit ]

The fourth years are assigned King Lear as their spring production. However, as the semester progresses, the cast grows increasingly despondent due to Richard's death. Wren begins to suffer fainting spells, James breaks Oliver's nose during combat practice, and Alex overdoses on drugs but survives. The night of the Lear cast party, James gets drunk and begins acting erratically, only speaking in character as Edmund. The following morning, as Oliver cleans their dorm room, he discovers a bloodstained boat hook hidden in James' mattress. I’ve seen few female characters written more poorly than Meredith. In the beginning of the story, all of the classmates are asked to share their biggest insecurities. Merediths is that she doesn’t want to just be seen as beautiful, sexy- she doesn’t want her body to cause people to overlook her personality and intelligence. At the same time, the seven main characters, including the one who dies, are joined together in complex relationships of friendship and love and part of the work of the novel is to explore the differences between these forms of affective connections. More important than fixed sexual preferences—at least one of the characters represents himself as being fluid in his desires—is the examination of how other feelings, including envy or hatred, might contribute to desire and its expression. Because many of the characters are alienated from their families, the bonds they have created during their time at Dellecher Classical Conservatory are a source of emotional comfort and strength. Yet, in trying to protect the sustaining connections they created, the group tragically embarks on a course that guarantees their collapse. At the end of the novel, Filippa tells Oliver they are no longer in touch. That he still sees the shade of Richard suggests this is not entirely true.please don’t be afraid to hate this book. disliking this book is not a reflection of your intelligence or ability as a reader. this book is not for everyone Oliver and James return to Lear, only to see Colborne waiting in the wings. Realizing their time is up, James kisses Oliver onstage. Before Colborne can make an arrest, Oliver confesses to Richard's murder, using a slightly tweaked version of James' story. As his fingerprints are on both the shirt scrap and the boat hook, he is arrested and put on trial, though Colborne does not believe him to be the real killer. If We Were Villains lured me in, like a fish to a hook, by appealing to my dark academia loving heart. Shakespearian aesthetics, academic setting, homoeroticism, a secret society whose members communicate (pretentiously) through literary quotes, characters doing morally dubious things at odd hours, a devastating murder, and M.L. Rio has set the scene for an exhilarating, unsettling, and devastating thriller. In short, I was never going to surface from this story with my emotions intact. considering this perfect storm of elements, it’s not surprising when life and art get blurred and one of them ends up dead. but is it the result of an accident or murrrrrderrrr? the events of that night are murky, but our verbiage-spouting narrator oliver marks confessed to the murder and has spent the past ten years in jail. his release coincides with the retirement of detective colborne, the lead investigator in the case, and oliver is ready to tell colborne exactly what happened that night. his way. If you like one-on-one battles involving magic and the supernatural as well as murderous revenge plots, Vicious is the perfect book like If We Were Villains for you!

For us, everything was a performance.” A small, private smile catches me off guard and I glance down, hoping he won’t see it. “Everything poetic.”Meredith’s older brother and the only family member she sees when she visits New York for holidays. Approaching his 30s, Caleb likes to party. i want to be the cool girl who walks around with a worn, annotated copy of this book. i’m taking a pen to the text and doing some research next time i read this. ✍🏻 First, there is Devon, a talented musician who hides in rehearsals but everyone’s eyes are on him when private photos are leaked. Now, the remaining friends have to use their acting skills to convince the police and each other that they are not murderers.

A decade ago: Oliver is one of seven young Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a place of keen ambition and fierce competition. In this secluded world of firelight and leather-bound books, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingénue, extras. If We Were Villains follows Oliver, who has just been released from prison. The lead investigator on his case ten years ago, who has now quit the police, begs Oliver to reveal the truth of what happened on the fateful party that landed Oliver in prison ten years ago. And so begins a tale of friends who attend an elite acting school for Shakespeare, where the characters and words they become every day start to distort their own perceptions of themselves. Ten years ago, Oliver and his group of seven friends were attending an elite arts college where they studied Shakespeare. The roles they play reflect their roles in real life so when the casting is changed and the secondary characters begin to upstage the stars, things spin out of control until a body is found.Overall, I thought this was fantastic, and I highly recommend it. Murder mystery mixed in with the drama of the theatre and the passion of Shakespeare. What's not to love?

The degree to which the character dynamics affect this plot is just so so amazing. There is a genuine actual love triangle, as in every branch has some weird tension. (Actually, I don’t know how to make a love dynamic of this friend circle. Help them.) A large problem with If We Were Villains, in fact, is that it rests in The Secret History’s long shadow. This could perhaps be excused if the reader’s expectations weren’t set up that way going in: but it’s all there from the start, from the testimonial on the front which begins ‘Like Donna Tartt’s A Secret History…’ to the cover which pays a striking homage to the 1992 classic. We are swept up into the students' world of parties, drugs, obsessions and secrets. And honestly? It is so addictive - there is this underlying theme of darkness, we know something bad is going to happen, it's just a matter of when. In the end, it doesn’t matter you enjoy the drama, because everything turns into a careful tragic masterpiece with no chance of changing its ending.A talented third-year drama student at Dellecher and Alexander’s love interest. Colin is one of the only younger students to be named in the novel and frequently interacts with the fourth-year cohort. his whole world is falling apart & once he realizes he can’t stop it or fix it or change it, there’s only one thing left to do”