“This is the excellent foppery of the world, that when we are sick in fortune — often the surfeit of our own behavior—we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars…as if we were villains on necessity”

I can see why this book has such a differing of extreme opinions on whether this book is genre defining or being on someone’s overhyped list. Rio made a book that she is one of the only people who could have, with her background in Shakespeare and theater. Because the direction of the story, the characters, and the overall pacing of the book follow Shakespeare’s tone. “If We Were Villains” is unapologetic about what it is at its core, and it will really depend on the reader to the lasting impact (or lack there of) of this novel. 

As someone who really enjoys Shakespeare style plays, including Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth, having the story follow that traditional flow worked in its favor for me. During one of our book club meetings, the discussion we had after the first act I said that “this comes across as a book that breaking up will hinder it more” and think looking back on it I was correct because of the breaks in the flow. 

My favorite thing about this book is the slow burn on the love triangle between Oliver (who is your POV character, relating the tale to the retired detective), James (Oliver’s roommate and closest friend) and Meredith (Oliver’s “situationship” and part-time lover) The way M.L Rio shows how their on and off screen performances impact their relationships is to be applauded. 

Unfortunately the weakest part of this book is what most of the book is about, which is what happened to Richard of the night that “the incident” happened. It is pretty easy to guess and is probably the least interesting thing about the book. I cared more about what the gravitas of the situation put on the other characters than what actually happened.

The ending and epilogue were well done, and if you were hoping for a warm/fuzzy feeling then be prepared for that feeling to never come.