Yet what the students have done, or not done, causes them to unravel, both individually and as a group. James becomes violent, Alexander overdoses, Oliver sees Richard’s ghost, Wren withdraws from the others almost entirely, and Meredith struggles to sleep. Only Filippa seems unflappable and motivated, she explains late in the novel, to protect the only family she’s ever had. In the end, Oliver saves his peers, and especially James, when he accepts full responsibility for their collective decision. In so doing, he acts, as James had thought he might, as a tragic hero. His tragic flaw is generosity, taking on himself the burden of their shared guilt. His is a surprising choice, but one that deepens the novel’s investigation of the dynamics and implications of complicity. An eccentric, aging hippie and the other teacher and director. Her focus is on the craft of acting, which she believes relies on vulnerability and a certain degree of fear. And you know what, this book would have been a five no matter how it ended, but the ending made me screech out loud. So there’s that. This book talks about love, either desperate, hopeless, mad or even platonic love. Impossible love. It talks about sacrifice and whatever it is that leads one to do it. It talks about the fine line that stands between real and not real in the life of troubled, artistic and wild souls.

I loved this book very much, as I love anything that even slightly reminds me of The Secret History, and anything that invests me insanely in a set of annoying (at best) or criminal (at worst) characters, and anything with a plot so twisty and intense that it makes my heart beat faster, and anything whose ending I dread (even as I found the book less and less interesting as it went on).

O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Oliver gets extremely creeped out at the Lear cast party when he finds James blind drunk, standing on the ledge of the library window, darkly reciting Shakespeare. This book is so haunting, so atmospheric, so gripping, and so perfect. And If you, too, love The Secret History by Donna Tartt then I recommend this book with every single bone in my body. Also, this is such a love letter to Shakespeare and all his work, so if you appreciate that I think you’ll also fall so head over heels for this story. I’m honestly not sure what I expected going into If We Were Villains, but it is now one of my favorite books of all time. Oliver Marks –The protagonist and one of seven Dellecher Classical Conservatory theatrical students. He is intelligent, charismatic and talented but is haunted by his past and struggles to come to terms with his role in a tragedy that happened ten years earlier.

Cruel Twist Ending: In true Shakespearean fashion, the ending reveals that James died while Oliver was in prison.Niveus Private Academy looks like the perfect school with the perfect students. It seemed idyllic until an anonymous texter calling themselves Aces reveals two students’ dark secrets. Another book similar to If We Were Villains full of dark academia themes is Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, author of the Shadow and Bone trilogy. When you read the synopsis for this book, you will likely hear a voice saying, “Oh, this sounds interesting! Let's give it a shot.” And I’m here to tell you right now—that’s the devil talking.