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A review by lydiature_
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
my mind is...broken.
so confession- last year after reading "the secret history", i decided to give this a shot and i only made it a chapter in. like most negative reviews, i thought "if we were villains" was a poor copy cat of one of the greatest books i have ever read. i immediately judged the pretentious characters, the shakespearean dialogue every 5 seconds, the format.
and oddly enough, this time around (a year after i finished "the secret history"), i fell in love with "if we were villains." yes, it's very similar to TSH--almost identical at times. but it's also special in its own way. but for me to get that, i had to forget about the existence of TSH.
despite shakespeare getting quoted all the time (and me not understanding all the references), i found the writing to be very approachable. much more approachable than TSH (which again, i loved). the dialogue overall felt very realistic and not pretentious at all, in spite of some of the characters coming across as pretentious at times. and speaking of the characters--they all felt so REAL!!! i was able to imagine them all, their little mannerisms, ways of speaking, etc. i also didn't think that i would like oliver, but i ended up rooting for him. was he flawed and naive? yes, 100% but i still liked him. i liked how alive each of the characters felt.
to me, rio did a fantastic job with her characters. few writers can make their characters jump off the page like she did--giving flesh to paper. as far as the plot--hands down amazing. like tartt, the characters themselves were important. like bunny in TSH, we knew that someone in IFWV would die. understanding the characters would guide the story itself. that's why neither of the books work as your traditional thriller.
ugh, i absolutely loved this book. i didn't think i would. i understand why some people don't like it (because it seems too similar to TSH), but i found that the best way to really just enjoy this book was to put TSH out of my mind completely. this book deserves to stand on its own.
i need to talk about the ending with someone ASAP!!!!!! my dms are open
so confession- last year after reading "the secret history", i decided to give this a shot and i only made it a chapter in. like most negative reviews, i thought "if we were villains" was a poor copy cat of one of the greatest books i have ever read. i immediately judged the pretentious characters, the shakespearean dialogue every 5 seconds, the format.
and oddly enough, this time around (a year after i finished "the secret history"), i fell in love with "if we were villains." yes, it's very similar to TSH--almost identical at times. but it's also special in its own way. but for me to get that, i had to forget about the existence of TSH.
despite shakespeare getting quoted all the time (and me not understanding all the references), i found the writing to be very approachable. much more approachable than TSH (which again, i loved). the dialogue overall felt very realistic and not pretentious at all, in spite of some of the characters coming across as pretentious at times. and speaking of the characters--they all felt so REAL!!! i was able to imagine them all, their little mannerisms, ways of speaking, etc. i also didn't think that i would like oliver, but i ended up rooting for him. was he flawed and naive? yes, 100% but i still liked him. i liked how alive each of the characters felt.
to me, rio did a fantastic job with her characters. few writers can make their characters jump off the page like she did--giving flesh to paper. as far as the plot--hands down amazing. like tartt, the characters themselves were important. like bunny in TSH, we knew that someone in IFWV would die. understanding the characters would guide the story itself. that's why neither of the books work as your traditional thriller.
ugh, i absolutely loved this book. i didn't think i would. i understand why some people don't like it (because it seems too similar to TSH), but i found that the best way to really just enjoy this book was to put TSH out of my mind completely. this book deserves to stand on its own.
i need to talk about the ending with someone ASAP!!!!!! my dms are open