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A review by readingthestars
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
3.0
This might be an unpopular opinion regarding this book. It was good enough to keep my attention and make me turn the pages to find out what happened, but it didn't truly deliver the experience I expected. I was in a theatre program in college, and one of my favorite books is The Secret History by Donna Tartt - If We Were Villains is essentially a dark academia novel, similar to TSH, but with theatre/Shakespeare students. So I figured Perfect! This is right up my alley!
Unfortunately, I tend to agree with a lot of what was mentioned in this review. It was eerily similar to TSH, so nothing really stood out or surprised me too much. I liked the writing, and this book may be more accessible to readers in general. But I found a lot of the middle bit kind of...pointless? Maybe that's not the word, but it wasn't as interesting. Basically, there was the murder and everything leading up to that was interesting and exciting, and then the last 30 or so pages had me turning the pages as fast as I could. But in between, the momentum was lost. It was like I was waiting for someone to just admit it was a murder all the while knowing it had to be - what else could it have been? But the characters didn't realize that, and the officers didn't put enough pressure on them to, and no one was even entertaining the idea of finding out what truly happened that night. So then...why am I reading? There wasn't really a sense of "I'm gonna find out who did it" or "we have to hide this murder!" It was more that the murder happened, it affected them, and they went about their days until the truth came out at the last minute. The writing was fast-paced enough so that the story never dragged, but by the time I got to the end, I was wondering how everything really fit together. I also saw the ending a mile away, and the whole time I was just waiting for the shoe to drop or more hints to be revealed.
I found the romance a bit messy, as well, especially for. I liked the idea of them together and figured that they would have a relationship, but when it came to actually confessing their feelings, it kind of came out of nowhere. They were best friends and roommates, but nothing had ever happened or been brought up before their senior year?
Also, the entire book I was thinking of one thing: This thought carried with me throughout the story, and made me think that a lot of it could have been avoided.
It was a fine and, the more I think about it, average read, I would say. The characters stayed in their lanes, and I enjoyed reading about them, but there was just something missing from it all.
Unfortunately, I tend to agree with a lot of what was mentioned in this review. It was eerily similar to TSH, so nothing really stood out or surprised me too much. I liked the writing, and this book may be more accessible to readers in general. But I found a lot of the middle bit kind of...pointless? Maybe that's not the word, but it wasn't as interesting. Basically, there was the murder and everything leading up to that was interesting and exciting, and then the last 30 or so pages had me turning the pages as fast as I could. But in between, the momentum was lost. It was like I was waiting for someone to just admit it was a murder all the while knowing it had to be - what else could it have been? But the characters didn't realize that, and the officers didn't put enough pressure on them to, and no one was even entertaining the idea of finding out what truly happened that night. So then...why am I reading? There wasn't really a sense of "I'm gonna find out who did it" or "we have to hide this murder!" It was more that the murder happened, it affected them, and they went about their days until the truth came out at the last minute. The writing was fast-paced enough so that the story never dragged, but by the time I got to the end, I was wondering how everything really fit together. I also saw the ending a mile away, and the whole time I was just waiting for the shoe to drop or more hints to be revealed.
I found the romance a bit messy, as well, especially for
Spoiler
James and OliverAlso, the entire book I was thinking of one thing:
Spoiler
they really didn't need to lie to the police about how they found Richard. At least, I don't think they did. They found him, discovered he was still alive, and then he died like maybe 5 minutes later. Without knowing that James killed him, amidst their initial panic and however long it would have taken help to get to them, he would have already been dead by the time he got medical attention, and they wouldn't have had to actively decide to let him die. Would James have had to lie to the police? Yeah, sure, but nobody else would have.It was a fine and, the more I think about it, average read, I would say. The characters stayed in their lanes, and I enjoyed reading about them, but there was just something missing from it all.