Reviews

After reading Hot Wax I decided to give another of Rio's books a shot and If We Were Villains definitely turned out. I'm not a theater person (never been) but I've always enjoyed reading Shakespeare so getting to experience Shakespeare's works from the pov of a theater kid was fantastic. The way Rio mixed the theater with the overall story and what happened off stage made the book stand out. I listened to the audiobook and while at first I wasn't prepared for how it was written/read I ended up very much enjoying it. Writing the book as if it was a play itself was honestly genius because it drew you further into the story and characters. Hot Wax was a Rock'n'roll vibe and If We Were Villains is a Theater vibe. Rio has a style of writing that I just love, especially as audiobooks.

Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars The mystery thriller is not my usual genre, I usually stick to romance but this year as one of the reading goals I decided to explore something outside my comfort zone. It's safe to say I'm not disappointed at all or maybe I just know how to pick the right books hehe. If We Were Villains is a mystery thriller, dark, and witty novel filled with many Shakespeare references, it's my favorite thing about this book. It's about seven fourth-year theater students facing the biggest challenge of their life or should I say the biggest theater job of their life, where they have to pretend and hide secrets, secrets that could ruin their everything. ML Rio did a great job in weaving a tale full of elements. It has everything. A slow build-up in a story, filling all the bits and pieces together with sweet elements of friendship between them, a teeny bit of morbid humor, and a lot more suspense and secret revelations, something I was not ready for. At all. Each of her characters is unique and complex in their own way. All have their unique quirks and yet it's amazing how the author made them fit together like a found family, as if they were the scattered pieces of the same puzzle which when put together complete the picture, as dysfunctional may it seem. Nonetheless, I'll have to say Oliver and James have to be my favorite from the lot. I don't think I can say much about this book because I'm afraid I'll spoil it and ruin the fun for you so I highly recommend you to read and experience the emotional whirlwind this book put me through. By the end of the book, I was too stunned to speak, and all I was thinking "WOW! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" The tropes this book explores: - Fiction - Mystery Thriller - Crime - Contemporary - LGBTQ+ - Dark Academia If you're a Shakespeare thespian and into books with such tropes, you must read this book!