If We Were Villains: A Theatre Kid's Review

I have always gravitated towards dystopian and fantasy books, but when one of my friends recommended a novel that she described as ‘a bunch of murderous theater kids running around’. I immediately picked up a copy and began to read. 

If We Were Villains is a debut novel from author M.L. Rio, and the plot features thespians going to a prestigious conservatory named Dellecher. Each student is expected to try their hardest, as each year the class is thinned out. The novel’s narrator is Oliver Marks, one of the seven students remaining, and through his eyes we are able to see the stress each thespian is going through as they begin their fourth and final year, performing Shakespeare tragedies.

As a theater kid, I loved the language in the book, as the characters use their knowledge of theater in their daily lives. With further research, I learned that Rio was once an actor herself, and holds a degree in Shakespeare studies which is shown through The novel splitting into five acts, with multiple scenes in every act. Rio’s knowledge is further shown in If We Were Villains’ use of Shakespeare’s, a special element that kept me hooked throughout reading. The plays the characters perform throughout the year add foreshadowing to later events in the plot, and use quotes in their normal day-to-day conversations. As a casual Shakespeare reader, I was excited to see his work used in this way.

The setting of the novel was another intriguing factor, and greatly affects the plot. If We Were Villains takes place in the late 1990s to early 2000s, and Dellecher Conservatory is in Broadwater, Illinois (unfortunately, the school nor the town exist). The school has a dark academia feel to it, with the thespians living in a space on their campus called ‘the castle’, complete with a fireplace and small rooms for each student. The locations on the campus add towards the feel of the novel, and without spoilers, all I can say is that the campus being close to a lake was intentional.

Despite these two positives, there are some aspects of the novel that I did not enjoy as much. For example, I found the romance in the book to be one of my least favorite parts. This is difficult to explain without spoilers, but two of the thespians begin with a toxic relationship, and their interactions made me feel quite uncomfortable. Regarding the ending of the novel, I was quite surprised at how quickly everything developed and once I finished, I felt confused, needing time to debrief. If the novel had moved slower towards the end, I feel reassessing would not be necessary.

Overall, I enjoyed most aspects of If We Were Villains, although I have mixed feelings. I am not sure if I would recommend this book to everyone reading this post, but if you are looking for a romance murder mystery involving thespians, this is most certainly the book to read! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my rant. If you’ve read the novel, I’d love to see what you think! 

-Nona Reynolds