If We Were Villains: The Sensational TikTok Book Club pick: M.L. Rio

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Oliver’s younger sister. Caroline and Oliver do not get along. Caroline is sent to an expensive recovery center for treatment for anorexia. this book altered by brain chemistry, crying throwing up, no one talk to me for 7 business days because i need to process this ending 🤧

The game Aces is playing is a dangerous one and soon it becomes obvious they are planning something much larger than just high school. There was much more of a mystery aspect than I was expecting. I would not go so far as to call it a thriller, but there was a definite eerie, who-done-it vibe. I was thoroughly invested in the story and all of the characters the entire time. And the ending.It broke my heart but in a good way and it probably boosted this book another star for me Filippa - A bit mysterious. She never reveals her home life, keeps mainly to herself but she is fiercely loyal to the others. The real sky was enormous overhead, making our mirrors and twinkling stage lights seem ridiculous- Man’s futile attempt to imitate God”

SparkNotes—the stress-free way to a better GPA

The book is an emotional and poignant retelling of the story of the Greek hero, Achilles, from the point of view of his best friend, Patroclus. That bullshit is all that kept me going.” One thing I’m sure Colborne will never understand is that I need language to live, like food - lexemes and morphemes and morsels of meaning nourish me with the knowledge that, yes, there is a word for this. Someone else has felt this before. A few hours later, Filippa summons Meredith and Oliver to the lake. There Oliver and Meredith discover a battered, broken and seemingly deceased Richard floating in the water. Richard emits a gurgling sound indicating he’s still alive. Frightened and exhausted of Richard’s abuse, the six collectively decide to let him die in the water, assuming that he injured himself while intoxicated. They craft a narrative of likely events for school administration and the police and feel relief when everyone seems to accept their version of events. But guilt erodes their relations with each other and impacts their behavior. Meredith and Oliver continue dating but struggle to be comfortable together under the watchful eye of Richard’s specter. Alexander indulges even more freely in drugs and alcohol. Wren withdraws into herself while James’s behavior becomes erratic. The only character who seems able to hold things together is Filippa. The Thanksgiving holiday offers little respite from their stress. When Oliver’s holiday plans to visit Meredith in New York are derailed by an unexpected visit from James, Meredith is upset that Oliver chooses James over her, a frequent point of contention.

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.The genre of dark academia mixed with Shakespearean players makes for a truly perfect blend. Still, If We Were Villains was an extremely daring and ambitious undertaking, especially for Rio’s debut novel. Then, almost inevitably: a murder. Now, ten years later, detective Colborne feels every choice he’d made, every action he took that fatal night, as a weight he carries with him. There are so many versions of the story, so many neat distillations of what had happened. Only one person can say which one was true. Friends, I feel like this is a book that won’t be for everyone, but if it is for you then you will love it with the sum of your being. This was perfection for me, and completely made my October this year. If you’re looking for something haunting, and thrilling, and so very atmospheric, then please give If We Were Villains a try. And that last line? It is going to haunt me forever with its beautiful perfection. To sum up: This is the secret history, but written better and with less queerbait, and it focusses on Shakespeare not Greek myths. Dark Academia is That Genre, I love it so much and it fuels me. I'm so glad I finally read this, it was truly delicious. Also, I'm talking about my Theory for the end in the last past of this review to stay tuned, folks! A story of finding and maintaining one’s individuality, the Dead Poets Society is a great book similar to If We Were Villains that captures the dark academia spirit.