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    If We Were Villains: A Novel
    If We Were Villains: A Novel
    If We Were Villains: A Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    If We Were Villains: A Novel

    Written by M.L. Rio

    Narrated by Robert Petkoff

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    “Much like Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, M. L. Rio’s sparkling debut is a richly layered story of love, friendship, and obsession...If We Were Villains will keep you riveted through its final, electrifying moments.”
    --Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest

    Oliver Marks has just served ten years in jail – for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he's released, he's greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago.

    As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.

    Intelligent, thrilling, and richly detailed, If We Were Villains is a captivating story of the enduring power and passion of words.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateApr 11, 2017
    ISBN9781427286451
    Author

    M.L. Rio

    M. L. Rio is the author of international bestseller If We Were Villains, which has sold 470,000 copies in English, been published in nineteen languages, and was recently optioned for limited series adaptation by Blink49 Studios and Eleven Films. She holds an MA in Shakespeare studies from King’s College London and Shakespeare’s Globe, and a PhD in English literature from the University of Maryland, College Park.

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    Reviews for If We Were Villains

    4.5/5

    1,050 ratings49 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      If you read this expecting a murder mystery full of plot twists, you will probably be disappointed. If you read this expecting a heartbreaking tragedy with lovable characters, beautiful friendships, complex emotions and picturesque settings, you'll love it.
      There are lots and lots of references to Shakespeare, so I would recommend reading some of his plays (Caesar, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear) or plot overviews for these ones to fully appreciate this book.
      As a person who is a huge theatre geek (and is currently suffering from theatre withdrawal in lockdown), I immensely enjoyed this book and I hope you'll give it a go because it is really well written and deserves more recognition.

      3 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Just like Shakespeare's tragic plays it was gut wrenching but sweet in a sickly twisted way.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This book really has a lot of those wow….WOW moments. Even though I have always avoided love triangles, the amazing plot kept me reading. I definitely recommend!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This was my first time listening to the audiobook but the third time visiting this book. I loved the performance issued by the narrator. I truly love this book and encourage everyone to give it a chance.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Stunning, wrenching and heartbreaking. A true tragedy as Shakespeare would've written it in modern times. Absolutely marvelous voice actor.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Idk what to say bro........just wow i am speechless LOL

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      BEST BOOK I HAVE READ IN YEARS. oh my god. The characterization. The plot. The REFERENCES. THE INTRIGUE. JAMESSSSS. If you like Shakespeare and/or dark academia and/or Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, you OWE IT TO YOURSELF to read this. 100000/10 stars

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This book was an amazing ride, and the complexity of it all is so breathtaking and the readers thoroughly attach and embrace the chapters and emotions each part brings.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      i was not expecting pain when i start listening to this

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      There’s something wrong with the recording, it was skipping through sections and then repeating some chapters. I completely lost the thread of the story so had to give up by chapter 12.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      The text: I'm not sure who is owed the greater debt, Donna Tartt or Shakespeare as both were heavily borrowed. The Shakes was probably most egregious, as substantial bits were lifted that added neither to the story or the character development. Presumably one would read this if they were Shakes fans, so the lengthy passages weren't necessary, and if one isn't, they do little to elucidate anything, only pad the bad copy of The Secret History, which was similar right down to the setting, character motivations, and character descriptions, save for a little sexier and a little more queer-neither of which made the story more intriguing; it only made it feel kind of cheap and almost comical. The way the non-het characters were spoken about was borderline and the way the women were written was downright gross. If you are looking at this book because you liked The Secret History and you want something similar, this will be a disappointment. At best, this might have made a better short story.
      The audiobook: If bad drag had a voice, it would sound like this. The women's voices were comical, especially the "sexy" one which sounded like a man trying to sound like a sexy middle aged woman in a sit com. It was distractingly terrible. The gay character sounded like a mockery, and the collegiate Brit sounded like a Ren Faire Patrick Stewart from Ohio. Both of the British accents were strange sounding. The cop voices were straight our fo Mike Hammer (though I suspect that was at leat partially written into the novel, which lent a "hard boiled" character to these small town Illinois cops for absolutely no reason). When the actor wasn't using such affected accents and styles, he sounded fine and I'd have much preferred if he'd have just read it mostly straight, perhaps with a few inflections for character differentiations.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Loved the mysterious dark academia vibe! Dialogues were well chosen ?

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Dark Academia, Queers, Beautiful Women, and MURDER? Yes, loved this book. Personally, I think the ending is perfect.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Rating: 4.5

      It's been a while since I've read a novel that's left me feeling like this. It's like waking up in the middle of a really good dream knowing you can't go back to bed. I'm truly torn by this one. Although, I loved every aspect of this novel. I don't know if I like the ending. Yes, it ends on a cliffhanger and there are amazing plot twists along the way and it's a good read but I don't know.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I can't say I particularly loved the ending, but I did love the book. In my opinion, the book go weaker towards the end, the motivation of characters such as James were not as understandable (take the ending) ane the whole revalation of truth was not on the same level as the rest of the book. Taken the context, I expected something a bit different. However, I did love the book and the characters. And I got them. The context made them and their actions easy to understand. I definitely recommend to read this one

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This book... I haven't read anything as good since high school. That was before I went off to college and lost my brain cells reading about politics for pain. The way this is written, the dimension of the characters, the twists on suspense, and the juxtaposition of the stories with Shakespeare's oeuvre, God... In less pretentious words, it's everything teen me would've died for and adult me still does. Did it destroy me? yes, but in a meaningful way, proving emo wasn't a phase and letting me live my dark academia dreams vicariously through this wonderful work.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I loved this book! I found it looking for something different and it delivered! I found myself dreaming about the characters and waking up pondering the emotional humanity on display. I dont agree with the other reviews about the ending. Yes, I was disappointed, but it was not with the tone or feel of the story. I was disappointed with the decisions of the characters, much like real life. This book was masterfully written! It makes me want to keep reading hoping that the story never truly ends.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Oh my gosh this book has me in a choke I honestly don't know what to say at this moment.
    • 5/5
      Fantastic unfolding with the Shakespearean aspect. Audio was well done.
    • 5/5
      this novel, at its core, is about love, hate and pure obsession. The exploration of love and how far it can take you, to the visceral human hate for owns soul, with natural and jealous obsession fueling it all. “Everything poetic”.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book to the bits! Definitely recommend it.
    • 5/5
      So, so amazing. I resonate with Oliver on another level, and I know this is one of the many books I’ve read that I will never truly let go let alone forget.
    • 5/5
      I don’t know why, but this is one of my favorite books.
    • 4/5
      I didn’t love the ending, but it’s a solid dark academia murder mystery. Highly recommend if you’re a Shakespeare nerd or theatre kid. Things definitely got weaker as the novel went on, but overall I enjoyed it.
    • 5/5
      Amazingly well done. A dark academia thriller with an ensemble cast set at a theatre school. So many emotions and tangled webs of love, lust and jealousy, set against the glittering backdrop of performing the tragedies. Even people who aren't into Shakespeare must surely enjoy this.
    • 5/5
      This book is heaven. Mystery, language, relationship, suspense.. And the most perfect feeling of what it’s like to be part of something so limitless as Shakespeare; As acting.. as the bond of brothers. There were moments (hello, Macbeth?!) that I couldn’t put it down for sleep, and had zero regrets in the groggy morning. I would read M. L. Rio’s grocery list. So much talent and heart. Highly recommend to everyone I meet!
    • 3/5
      Maybe if I knew more about Shakespeare I could appreciate this book better. Also I'm not big fan of a perpetual angst myself. I prefer a few rewarding bits at least. All in all it was an ok listening , with a good narrator and an unsatisfied ending .
    • 1/5
      Awful, the worst book I've read this year. So disappointed,
    • 5/5
      Extremely well written and superbly read! You don’t have to be a Shakespeare fan (I’m not), to still enjoy the creative dialogue and intriguing plot. Highly recommend the book!
    • 5/5
      A perfect story..
      The end was a little bit mysterious ?? I hope there’s a sequel
      Many thanks to the narrator, honestly he’s the best.. he made me live the story with different emotion.