Review: If We Were Villains

3.5/5

For fans of: murder mystery, dark academia, Shakespeare, found families

Synopsis: In the heart of the prestigious Dellecher Classical Conservatory lies a castle, which houses seven fourth year acting students, the creme de la creme of the Conservatory’s acting program. These seven have survived a traditional culling of students every year, clung to each other honing their skills for three years, and have made it their final year of studying and acting the works of Shakespeare. When one of them is found dead in the lake, suspicions arise as each of them has a hidden or not so hidden motive. The story is told through the eyes of Oliver, the least threatening of the male characters. He thought his found family would always be there for him, that they all had their roles to play and played them well. Unfortunately for him, everyone played their roles too well. What was once a found family now unravels into a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.

Review: I love a good dark academia with all its gloomy and doomy pretentiousness. I am not a fan of Shakespeare, but as the story unfolds, I can understand how a student of the Bard could appreciate all the subtle and not so subtle nods to all of his works. I loved the set up of our cast of characters as they begin their final year having been through an extremely niche and difficult program. The settings are lush and dark, the study of Shakespeare’s tragedies establishes the mental weight the characters all carry as they compete with each other for the final roles of their academic careers. The pressure is high and personal issues bleed into their well-oiled acting machine.

As well written and as beautifully felt as this story is, it wasn’t for me. It may be the gloom of midwinter or this book hangover that I am still nursing, but this story didn’t captivate me as much as I hoped it would. As a teacher as well, the lack of support and coldness of the school’s educators rubbed me the wrong way. Their love for their craft trumped their humanity in caring for the young people in their charge. I do, however, appreciate the study and craft put into this story.