If We Were Villains

Seven elite acting students form an insular group at the Dellecher Classical Conservatory, where they perform Shakespeare and live together in a residence called the Castle. The story centers on Oliver Marks, who has just completed a ten-year prison sentence and agrees to reveal the true events of his final year at the conservatory to the now-retired detective who handled his case. The students' lives mirror the Shakespearean plays they perform, with each member falling into distinct theatrical archetypes - the hero, the villain, the temptress, and more. Their isolated existence at the conservatory intensifies their relationships and rivalries, until fiction and reality begin to blur. The novel alternates between 1997, during Oliver's fourth year at Dellecher, and 2007, as he recounts the events that led to his imprisonment. Shakespeare's works serve as both backdrop and framework, with themes of tragedy, betrayal, and the thin line between performance and truth emerging through parallel narratives. The narrative explores questions about art's ability to shape reality, the nature of truth versus performance, and the destructive power of unchecked ambition. Like the plays that populate its pages, the book examines how people transform when pushed to their limits.

Readers often compare this book to Donna Tartt's The Secret History, with many noting it follows similar themes of academia, tragedy, and close-knit student groups. Readers appreciate: - The Shakespeare references and theatrical elements - Character development and group dynamics - The dark academic atmosphere - The tight pacing and narrative structure - The writing style and prose quality Common criticisms: - Characters can be pretentious and unlikeable - Too similar to The Secret History - Overuse of Shakespeare quotes - Some find the ending unsatisfying "The Shakespeare references feel natural, not forced," notes one Goodreads reviewer. Another mentions "the characters speak in Shakespeare quotes but it makes sense given they're theater students." Ratings: Goodreads: 4.2/5 (178,000+ ratings) Amazon: 4.5/5 (13,000+ ratings) StoryGraph: 4.27/5 Barnes & Noble: 4.5/5 (900+ ratings)

The Secret History by Donna Tartt A group of classics students at an elite college form an exclusive clique that leads to deadly consequences when academic pursuits spiral into darker territory.

Bunny by Mona Awad Students in an MFA program blur the lines between reality and fiction as their tight-knit workshop group engages in increasingly unsettling rituals.

Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates Six Oxford students create an elaborate game of consequences and dares that destroys their relationships and haunts them into adulthood.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green The members of a small theater company become entangled in a murder mystery that mirrors the Shakespeare play they are rehearsing.

The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman A Latin teacher returns to teach at her former boarding school where past secrets resurface as current students begin reenacting tragic events from decades ago.

🎭 After graduating from drama school, M. L. Rio worked as an actor and stage manager before pursuing her Master's degree in Shakespeare Studies at King's College London. 📚 The book's structure deliberately mirrors that of classical five-act plays, with each section titled as an "act" and containing distinct dramatic arcs. 🎪 The Dellecher Classical Conservatory is partially inspired by the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia, where Rio spent time as an actor. 🎬 The novel has been optioned for television adaptation by Blink-49 Studios and is being developed as a series. ⚔️ The book features quotes from thirteen different Shakespeare plays, with Macbeth and Julius Caesar being the most prominently referenced works throughout the narrative.