Review: If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

Title: If We Were Villains
Author: M.L. Rio
Format: ARC
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publish Date: April 11, 2017
Source: Publisher

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "On the day Oliver Marks is released from jail, the man who put him there is waiting at the door. Detective Colborne wants to know the truth, and after ten years, Oliver is finally ready to tell it.

Ten years ago: Oliver is one of seven young Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a place of keen ambition and fierce competition. In this secluded world of firelight and leather-bound books, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingénue, extra. But in their fourth and final year, the balance of power begins to shift, good-natured rivalries turn ugly, and on opening night real violence invades the students’ world of make believe. In the morning, the fourth-years find themselves facing their very own tragedy, and their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, each other, and themselves that they are innocent."

My Two Cents:

"If We Were Villains" is the story of a group of college students who are studying to be Shakespearean actors at an elite college. This group is at the top of their game. They are constantly chosen for the best parts and their parts start bleeding into real life. When one of them ends up dead and another ends up in jail for the murder, no one can tell what is truth and what is fiction. Nothing adds up. This book had a slowwwww start for me but boy, the middle all the way to the ending was fantastic!

When the book opens, Oliver has been in jail for 10 years and is about to be released. The detective that worked on his case contacts him and wants to know what really happened and Oliver agrees to tell him because he wants absolution even if he has already received the punishment. The story flashes back and forth between the past and the present and we get to know the others in the group. We see how Richard (the one who will end up dead) takes his parts to heart and may take them too far. Is it method acting? Is it for power? That's left up to the reader to decide.

As I mentioned this book had a slow start for me. Yeah, Oliver is in jail for a crime he may or may not have committed in the beginning of the book but at first the cast of characters seems like a bunch of unrealistic elitist actors who take themselves way too seriously. Looks are deceiving and as the book moves, we see that these characters have more substance than the labels assigned to them throughout their acting.

It took to page 100 for me to REALLY get into the story and then it happened with a flash and a bang and the action continued to the very last page. So be patient with this one and you will be rewarded.