If We Were Villans - M.L Rio

"Oliver Marks has just served ten years for the murder of one of his closest friends - a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he's released, he's greeted by the detective who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened ten years ago. As a young actor studying Shakespeare at an elite arts conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same roles onstage and off - villain, hero, tyrant, temptress - though Oliver felt doomed to always be a secondary character in someone else's story. But when the teachers change up the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into life. When tragedy strikes, one of the seven friends is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless."

This book is so darkly beautiful that I didn’t want it to end. What fascinated me more was the fact that it is not only an ode to Shakespeare, but also the value of the Villain. Well-written villains are the crown jewels in Literature and a large majority of readers find them absolutely fascinating.

In M.L.Rio’s novel, we have seven four-year students that are about to graduate and become actors in the real world and leave their isolated almost cultish world. A tragic event following a short period of intense feelings causes their world to tumble down. Passions and hidden animosity come forward and the villains become victims and the victims are turned to villains on their own freewill.

The seven friends are among the most interesting characters you’ll come across. They are not to be trusted, or believed, but you must care, and hate them by turn. The entire book is described exquisitely and defused with an un-real, dreamlike quality that is sublime to immerse yourself in.

There is a sequence of a production of the Scottish Play, set during the night of Halloween, in the darkness, outdoors. It is among the most beautiful and most powerful depictions I've ever read or watched.

Something else that I loved was the strange/strong relationship between James and Oliver. When I was reading, I kept on wondering why the heck I wanted them to end up together. Quite badly, too. I mean, by all appearances they were just friends. Plus, Oliver was head-over-heel for Meredith and yet, I couldn't help but feel that while he lusted after Meredith, he had a very real passion for James. Just like Oliver himself says (towards the end), he himself had no idea what he and James were. Whatever it was, it was bloody brilliant.

Modern language interacts with Shakespeare’s immortal lines in a brilliant flow of speech. I really liked the little turn at the end. It opens up a lot of questions about what will happen next, but it was a nice little surprise in a story I thought had already ended.

Age Rating 14+. Drugs, drinking, murder. You know, normal college stuff.