If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio has been big on TikTok for years now, especially within the Dark Academia sphere. This massive cult following and the short-form content style of TikTok compounded to make me hesitant and outright avoidant of this book. I have tried other Dark Academia favourites TikTok recommended and have been disappointed so when I did decide to pick If We Were Villains up I figured that I wouldn’t be rating it higher than a 4/5 but that it could be interesting.

This book had me invested from the first Act. Part of the whole attraction was to do with the structure – the Seven Act structure isn’t often so stark in books and it links in with the very roots of the story within the nature of Shakespearean works and performances. The play excerpts and dialogue formatted felt authentic and befitting the everyday lives of these students who literally live and breathe Shakespeare. The way in which their perspectives and lives have been typecasted as the characters they portray in the plays is a delicious bit of character building. Typecasting is something I find myself noticing a lot more in everyday social media than I used to, in part due to the mindset of how we portray ourselves to others and in part due to the performative act of social media. It was a detail that this book brought up that I didn’t realise I would have so much to think about and speak on.

The characters are so grey – morally, ethically, systematically – and it makes the internal and external conflicts so interesting. The typecasting done by the lecturers and their genuine selves are constantly at war with each other and it almost comes across like the loss of the self is a requirement for making you an attractive, powerful figure to be viewed and admired by the masses. Whether it was meant to or not, for me, this book brings up the modern trends and movements of social media, of selling your soul for internet fame, of losing who you are in an attempt to become an icon. The further down the rabbit hole we go, and the further into their characters the students immerse themselves, the more disconnected from their real emotions and thoughts they are. It makes for an interesting read given the plot and the “after” of the main event because the question of true feelings and character feelings come into play – how much of this decision is actually the person’s true thoughts and how much is the influence and pressure to be who they are typecasted as? Who they strive to be typecasted as?

The setting is beautiful and eerie and atmospheric. A small, old university campus removed from the cities, nestled in the rural heart of a state, shrouded in trees and isolation, a lake and chilling reality. This specific cover leans into that with the vines of ivy and there is another version, the one with the sparrow on it, which I really like for similar reasons. The symbolism and the tone is sets is perfect for the overall tone of the book. This tone, along with the tension and the pacing, really work to immerse the reader into the story and into the mindset of Oliver throughout his fourth year at Dellecher. I also found the “onstage” and “offstage” dialogue and interactions really relatable given my history with high school plays and productions. Not only did it feel reminiscent of those days, but it also felt incredibly accurate to the professionalism and the energy required to upkeep such a role. The intensity of the “offstage” drama and the necessity to remain in character, I feel, was aided by the tension and pacing which consistently grows and dips where necessary to put the reader right where M.L Rio wants them.

If We Were Villains has cemented itself as a 5/5 read in my eyes and a serious recommendation for many. Everything about it works together and everything about it is memorable. I haven’t even scratched the surface of this novel in fear of spoiling things. Seriously, if you haven’t yet, read this book. This is one of the few times TikTok recommendations has lead me in the right direction.