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. Cleverly written and beautifully plotted... anyone who likes Donna Tartt s books will love If We Were Villains too. Richard is the tyrant and the only character that I truly despised from the beginning; no matter how talented you are, what a promising rising star you might be, if you’re not a decent human being, then you’re nothing; and Richard is absolutely disgusting as a day-to-day person and I couldn’t like him in any way. I was able to look past a lot of the cheesy and over the top moments because I really truly wanted to have a good time reading this. I was ready for something light, maybe even a little silly. And the first two acts really delivered. Even though it was kinda cheap, I liked how the plot of If We Were Villains was actually reminiscent of the plot of the Shakespeare plays at the center of the story. Their performance of Macbeth had me on the edge of my seat. It was so thrilling. I loved experiencing a play I like so much through the eyes of these misfits. Also, Alexander as Hecate is everything.

If We Were Villains: The sensational TikTok Book Club pick

the author did an incredibly amazing job to write multi-layered characters. their development and depth was so mesmerizing and i couldn’t help but be amazed by the foreshadowing of each characters fate. Okay, so this is a drama set at a Shakespeare theater, in which a group of theater actors accidentally kill a man and deal with the fallout. Yay! Fun happy stuff. As the plays continue, their roles within this drama shift and switch, ironically mirroring their respective development, and they accidentally get way too involved in several plays as they are occuring.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. Although there are seven main characters, they share their lives with an eighth person, William Shakespeare. As Oliver notes in Act 2, Scene 8, Shakespeare felt like their older and wiser friend, one they could not see but whose ideas were always in their heads. He cites a line from The Two Gentlemen of Verona, “Much is the force of heaven-bred poesy” (3.2), to punctuate the thought. They speak and think in the language of Shakespeare on stage, in their classes, and in their personal lives. It is not too much to say that they cede parts of their identities to the Bard, assuming that this is a fair and reasonable bargain to make with genius. Yet, as undeniably powerful as Shakespeare’s works are, the worlds he depicts are full of dark passions. To immerse oneself in his tragedies, as the group does for their final year, is to constantly confront the worst elements of the human psyche. As the novel makes clear, this can be dangerous, perhaps especially for people who have yet to reach full maturity. When Oliver sacrifices his future to rewrite the ending of a personal tragedy which he understands as Shakespearean, he exemplifies the ease with which a young and good person can be swayed to make questionable choices by imagined intimacy with genius. The writing in If We Were Villains was also really beautiful. I found myself tabbing A LOT of this book because it was so wonderfully written. The prose was a good balance of pretentious and flowery, a hallmark of the genre, but not overly incomprehensible. I also loved how the atmosphere and setting were established. Rio created such a tacit and tangible setting, with the smells and the pictures and the tone so easy to picture. I liked how she took Shakespearean conventions to establish elements of the story, blending prose and play in such a clever way. The it's okay to press pause and try again later if you're not liking this one. as a mood reader, i had to be in the perfect mood for this book or it wouldn’t have hit the same. 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.

If We Were Villains: The sensational TikTok Book Club pick If We Were Villains: The sensational TikTok Book Club pick

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! This was literally: The Secret History VS If We Were Villains, and obviously for me, the former wins with a BIG SLAP across the face against IWWV. I think on its bare bones, there wasn't much substance following the fact after we learn who was killed...which was pretty predictable in every sense. And murderer(s)? Equally pinned down. Call me a wizardry thriller enthusiast, I don't know but the fact that this was basically a lighter thriller and even more less mysterious counterpart than that of its successor before it- The Secret History....kind of ruined it for me I suppose.

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An eccentric, aging hippie and the other teacher and director. Her focus is on the craft of acting, which she believes relies on vulnerability and a certain degree of fear. 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. This book talks about love, either desperate, hopeless, mad or even platonic love. Impossible love. It talks about sacrifice and whatever it is that leads one to do it. It talks about the fine line that stands between real and not real in the life of troubled, artistic and wild souls. 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. And each act, to me, really highlights a different Shakespearean play, that really sets the tone for what is unfolding in that act. From A Midsummer Night's Dream, to Julius Caesar, to King Lear, to Romeo and Juliet, to so many more; the honoring, appreciation, and celebration are all there and it truly makes for a read like no other. This book is a love letter to theater. And this book is structured so perfectly, written so expertly, that I really think that R.L. Rio crafted something beyond genius.

If We Were Villains: Full Book Summary | SparkNotes

Wren is such a weird character, it was a bit hard for me to love her; I liked her enough but there was something unpleasant about her that I just couldn’t place and so I have no developed opinion about her; she seems, somehow, too unstable, fragile; the ingénue of the group maybe; Oliver - The main character. He's the 'good guy', generally nice, just wants everyone to be friends and keep the peace. He is a bit naive, a little bit unsure of himself, but as likeable as these characters can be. Filippa - A bit mysterious. She never reveals her home life, keeps mainly to herself but she is fiercely loyal to the others.Alexander - The funny friend. He's gay and latinx. Known for partying/drinking/drugs. He was one of my favouries because he was so funny. Usually gets the funny side character parts.