“Enter the players. There were seven of us then, seven bright young things with wide precious futures ahead of us. Until that year, we saw no farther than the books in front of our faces.”
Summary
If We Were Villains is an updated take on dark academia conventions, placing our characters in a prestigious acting conservatory in a secluded Midwestern town. The story opens on the day Oliver is released from prison, where the Detective who arrested him ten years ago is waiting for him, finally ready to hear the truth about his friend’s murder.
Review
M.L. Rio lavishly crafts a story that takes us through the intimate rivalries of the thespians, where poetic obsessions gradually manifest in violence. The players’ combustive egos and envy are only exacerbated by the psychological puppeteering of their instructors. One of the biggest strengths of the book is the authenticity of theatrical environment. (Though my actor friend would disagree, because what stage combat instructor allows his students to wear watches during a rehearsal?) But the instructors’ mental manipulation and the resulting emotional trauma inflicted upon the actors is true to form. Are the characters victim of their circumstances? Are the theatre professors the real villains for encouraging toxic competition and putting the actors into unhelpful boxes??
I think it’s impossible not to compare If We Were Villains to The Secret History, but I think it’s perhaps a disservice to reduce the literary analysis to a comparison of the two. Of course there are many “dark academia” conventions present through both novels, and there’s even a line that I marked in both books that are, in effect, identical. Where I think If We Were Villains excels is that M.L. Rio is very forward about how elitism and academia has the potential to obfuscate morality. Each act is prefaced with Oliver in present day to remind us that this story happened ten years ago, which allows Oliver and the reader to acknowledge the cult-like behavior they were subject to and engaged in.
“It’s remarkable how the theatre—and Shakespeare in particular—can numb us to the spectacle of violence.”
Personally, I had a lot of fun reading If We Were Villains. Despite not being a huge fan of mysteries or thrillers, I was captivated by the plot and skillful storytelling. Half the fun of murder mystery novels is when the murderer is revealed, saying, “I knew it!” or being genuinely shocked—both I think are equally fun. As a ✨theatre person✨ I really enjoyed the elements that put to page the magic of live theatre, and the emphasis on performers not only as entertainers, but as artists and scholars. (Also the small moment of an unnamed ASM getting stressed because an actor was missing is truly relatable content.) The Shakespeare woven into the dialogue was seamless, and despite not being a Shakespeare expert, the writing was still easy to comprehend. M.L. Rio’s clear Bardolatry has definitely inspired me to pick up more Shakespeare.
If We Were Villains would of course appeal to fans of The Secret History, Shakespeare, and any reader who is a fan of dark academia themes.
Writing ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Themes ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Only Naengmyeon 
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