"If We Were Villains" by M.L. Rio

When the weather gets colder, I like to reach for dark academia books. M.L. Rio's If We Were Villains definitely fits the bill. We follow seven Shakespearian theater students as they begin their senior year at an exclusive arts college in rural Illinois. Even though the seven seniors consider themselves to be friends, things are not as rosy as they seem to be, and after a particularly rowdy party, one of the seniors winds up dead. 

The novel follows a dual timeline. It begins with Oliver getting out of prison after serving a 10-year sentence and flashes back to the events on campus as he narrates what happened 10 years prior. The characters in this book might seem overly pretentious as they literally speak in Shakespearian quotes. But I believe it is quite possible for a group of people to be so absorbed in the thing they study and live that they naturally begin to speak in citations that they memorize. I was not bothered by the abundance of quotes. Another thing that fascinated me about the book was that I kept wondering if any of the characters were ever themselves or whether they just kept acting even off-stage.

This is the kind of book where you do not need to know much about the plot. Just expect a dark academic setting and a murder mystery. Everything else will be a bonus. I must say that the best part about this book is the ending. It is absolutely perfect. 5 out of 5 stars.