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

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Spending more and more time with the Bunnies and at their off-campus ‘workshops’ which are truly rituals where they conjure the monsters in their imaginations, the line between fiction and reality begins to blur. the passion which radiates throughout this story makes me feel so in love with shakespeare and his words (and i honestly never considered myself a fan). the way in which these students dedicate their lives to studying him is almost romantic, in a way. how they integrate his language into their own interactions, making their own lives a work of poetry in the process, is very inspiring.

The next morning, Oliver and Meredith are awoken by Filippa. She leads the group to the lake, where they find Richard with his skull broken. He is alive, but barely. James tries to help him, but is stopped by Alexander, who suggests they should let him die and thus end his reign of terror. The group agrees to wait for Richard to die, then call the police and pretend he was already dead when they came upon him. 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

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Filippa - A bit mysterious. She never reveals her home life, keeps mainly to herself but she is fiercely loyal to the others.

don’t be afraid to skim the Shakespeare quotes (of which there are MANY) if you don’t understand them. don’t get too caught up if you’re confused… you’ll start to understand the scenes through context. :) For readers who love the Ancient Greek and academic aspect of dark academia, The Song of Achilles is the perfect read.The school’s occult history is everywhere as girls gather in dark rooms but Felicity wants to leave that all behind after last year. Asked to help first-year and prodigy novelist Ellis Haley research the Dalloway Five for the girl’s second book, Felicity can’t say no. 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?

seven friends, bound by the same passion. for years they’ve played the same type of roles. but as the casting changes, so did their lives. Surprising. After all, Shakespeare is poetry—most of it, anyway— and there’s a certain mathematical pattern to poetry, isn’t there?" Much like Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, M. L. Rio’s sparkling debut is a richly layered story of love, friendship, and obsession...will keep you riveted through its final, electrifying moments.” When their activities get out of hand, one of their friends, Bunny, ends up dead. Soon, the group begin to turn on one another and their lives start to fall apart.When you read the synopsis for this book, you will likely hear a voice saying, “Oh, this sounds interesting! Let's give it a shot.” And I’m here to tell you right now—that’s the devil talking. Richard Stirling’s cousin and peer actor. Petite and blonde with an innocent disposition, Wren is often cast as an ingenue at Dellecher. Fragile Wren suffers bitterly following her cousin’s death. Olivia begins to see half-formed ghostly figures and her cousins are hostile and totally uninviting. Then, she finds a place that is Gallant yet not where the ghosts are full-bodied and the manor is desolate. Books like If We Were Villains have the ability to transport you into another world entirely with their rich details, intricate worldbuilding and enthralling plots.

The novel’s main action revolves around seven fourth-year acting students. Their final year will focus on Shakespeare’s tragedies, and their fall performance is slated to be Julius Caesar. Close friends, they can easily anticipate their roles based on previous castings, even before their auditions: Richard will be Caesar; James will play Brutus; Alexander, Cassius; Oliver will be Octavius; Meredith’s role will be Calpurnia; Wren will play Portia; and Filippa will be in drag, playing multiple male characters. The students are also assigned roles for a Halloween performance of Macbeth. Oliver describes this to Colborne as what caused the players to lose touch with reality and struggle to sort out their own emotions from those of their characters. All in all, we follow main characters. At first, I do think they're a bit stereotypical and cliche, but I thought Rio did a good job at exploring these cliches, and analysing why and how people categorise characters and people. Oliver confronts James during the intermission of Lear, and James reluctantly confesses. As Richard stormed out of the Caesar cast party, he assaulted Wren, who was trying to calm him. Wren then begged James to go after Richard, fearing he would hurt himself. James searched for him by the lake, only to realize Richard had been following him the whole time. Richard began to taunt and threaten him, eventually making a homophobic remark in which he accused James and Oliver of being in love with one another and threatening to drown James in the lake. James then grabbed the nearest item — the boat hook — and hit him with it. James also admits that Filippa knew about the murder, and it was she who burned his bloody shirt in the fireplace. It’s a shame, as when the narration steps outside of the early modern period it proves compelling. The novel is exacting in its description of the minutiae of college life – people conspicuous by their absence, and the gradual closing-in of the police investigation. What Rio doesn’t quite capture, however, is the sense of growing guilt, of the slow descent into madness which made Tartt’s book what it was. None of the group regrets the death of their former friend, nor can the audience blame them – rather than subtly psychological, the violence is visceral (broken noses, bruised arms, smashed-in faces), and tied up in a none-too-subtle Julius Caesar metaphor. This means the second half cruises along without much direction, the group feeling vague paranoia without the moral ambiguity needed to give it any substance.As for the pros, I found If We Were Villains to be well-plotted and well-executed with poignant references to Shakespeare, as well as a compulsively readable mystery with so much suspense and intrigue that you can’t put it down. 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 A group of boys at Welton Academy find their lives changing for the better when they get a new English professor named John Keating. Richard Stirling, a talented actor who also hides an abusive dark side. He is a second generation actor. Plays The Tyrant.

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