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If We Were Villains – 5th anniversary edition Relié – 2 novembre 2022
M.L. Rio (Auteur) Trouver tous les livres, en savoir plus sur l'auteur. Voir résultats de recherche pour cet auteur |
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A gorgeous 5th anniversary edition of the bestselling dark academia thriller where tragedy strikes at an elite Shakespeare conservatory – complete with a brand-new cover, original illustrations and deluxe finishes.
Oliver Marks has just served ten years for the murder of one of his closest friends – a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he’s released, he’s greeted by the detective who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened ten years ago.
As a young actor studying Shakespeare at an elite arts conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same roles onstage and off – villain, hero, tyrant, temptress – though Oliver felt doomed to always be a secondary character in someone else’s story. But when the teachers change up the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into life.
When tragedy strikes, one of the seven friends is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.
- Nombre de pages de l'édition imprimée432 pages
- LangueAnglais
- ÉditeurTitan Books Ltd
- Date de publication2 novembre 2022
- ISBN-101803362111
- ISBN-13978-1803362113
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Détails sur le produit
- Éditeur : Titan Books Ltd (2 novembre 2022)
- Langue : Anglais
- Relié : 432 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1803362111
- ISBN-13 : 978-1803362113
- Poids de l'article : 788 g
- Classement des meilleures ventes d'Amazon : 3,223 en Romans policiers (Livres)
- 3,825 en Thrillers (Livres)
- 6,407 en Anglais
- Commentaires client :
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but honestly be prepared for a non stop read, i could’t put it away ... and you might want to burn the book or cry or scream... you’re Gonna suffer but you’re Gonna be happy about it ;)
Ce roman anglophone n’a pas été (encore) traduit en français : quel dommage pour le lectorat francophone ! If we were villains est une pépite rendant hommage au grand génie de Shakespeare, et qui ne peut que plaire à tous les amoureux du théâtre et des beaux mots – ce qui est totalement mon cas. Alors je n’ai pu qu’être séduite par cette œuvre écrite par l’énigmatique M.L Rio, et voilà ce qui devrait aussi vous faire craquer :
If we were villains est un huis-clos intriguant. Découpé en 3 actes, le livre ouvre chacune de ses parties par une scène du temps présent : le narrateur, Oliver, vient de terminer sa peine de 10 ans de prison, après un crime commis lorsqu’il n’était encore qu’étudiant dans une prestigieuse école dramatique. Après 10 ans passés derrière les barreaux, il est temps pour lui de parler, et d’enfin révéler les secrets de ce crime. En effet, le commissaire l’ayant arrêté ne croit pas à la version des faits ayant été donnée il y a une décennie, et, prenant sa retraite, souhaite enfin connaitre la vérité. Qu’à cela ne tienne, Oliver est enfin prêt à se confier : et il dévoile au lecteur le déroulement des faits de cette quatrième année d’étude. Prise dès le départ par cette enquête dépoussiérée, c’est surtout l’ambiance théâtrale et quelque peu malsaine qui m’a envoutée. En effet, l’inspiration théâtrale ne berce pas juste le fond de l’histoire (les lieux et activités), mais aussi sa forme ! La plupart des dialogues sont écrits sous forme de répliques – et ça, franchement, je suis fan !
La majorité de l’intrigue se déroule sur le campus élitiste et autour des 7 étudiants de 4e année (Oliver, James, Richard, Alexander, Wren, Filippa et Meredith). Ce côté huis-clos/élite, et toute l’intrigue policière autour (un meurtre, des secrets…) m’a clairement fait pensé à la bande des Keating 5, pour ceux qui connaissent la super série How to get away with murder (Murder pour la VF). C’est toute une ambiance construite autour de l’amour pour le théâtre qui rend très addictif le lecteur à ce petit côté malsain.
Et puis la fin… fin on ne peut plus ouverte, trainant encore ses mystères derrière elle, elle est si délectable, mais si frustrante !! Attention, ceux qui aiment les résolutions complètes, ne vous aventurez pas dans IWWV : des semaines plus tard, j’essaye encore de résoudre ce dernier grand mystère…
Il y a néanmoins quelques points noirs, mais rien de très affolant : ils ne viennent nullement ternir mon ressenti ! Le premier truc sur lequel j’aimerais râler, ce sont les premiers chapitres : ils sont beaucoup trop courts ! Mais ils sont là pour installer un certain rythme à l’histoire, et s’assurer que le lecteur soit pris dedans. Heureusement, au fur et à mesure des pages, les chapitres s’allongent, et on n’a que plus de plaisir à lire ça. Autre petit point négatif : le gros plot-twist, celui du crime qui a valu 10 ans de prison à Oliver, arrive (selon moi) un peu trop tôt dans l’histoire. Finalement, ce n’est pas si gênant que cela, puisque l’enquête justement s’étire sur plusieurs mois. Ce n’est juste que je m’y attendais plus tardivement, et j’ai été surprise de le voir dans la première moitié du bouquin. Un point négatif qui est néanmoins vite rattrapé par la suite de l’histoire !
Autant dire que cette lecture m’a marquée, et que si je suis dans une petite panne de lecture en ce moment, c’est grandement à cause d’elle. Un livre vraiment, vraiment addictif et très prenant, une intrigue haletante, et des personnages assez stéréotypés – ou pas… ? Alors, malheureusement, seuls les lecteurs anglophones pourront découvrir If we were villains, mais on croise très fort les doigts pour qu’un jour il soit publié en France !
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Oliver, the protagonist, begins the book being released from prison after serving a ten year sentence. He is met by Detective Colborne who put him behind bars and wants to know the truth about the events leading to his incarceration. Through flashbacks divided into Acts we learn about the group’s final year at Dellecher Classical Conservatory and the building claustrophobia that consumed them.
Oliver and his friends; Richard, Meredith, Filippa, Alexander, Wren and James are a tight knit group who live, study and act together. They live and breathe Shakespeare; they study him, they act in his plays and their speech is littered with his quotes. They have their own secret language which makes them impenetrable and almost cult like. They are in their final year and each has adopted a role both within their friendship group and on stage; the hero, the villain, the tyrant, the temptress, the ingénue and the extra. Tensions are ramped up when they are assigned roles in Julius Caeser and the pressures of the play spill over into their day-to-day lives dividing them and causing life-changing rifts. M.L. Rio ramps the tension up so well, we know something will happen but we don’t quite know what and there is an overarching sense of impending doom which oozes from the pages.
I thought the characters were wonderfully created, each had their own distinctive voice and I loved how their relationships with one another played out. Oliver’s friendship with James for instance was beautifully and subtly written and was one of my favourite parts of the novel. I also really liked that the book was divided into Acts as it helped to drive the action and was a lovely nod to the Shakespearean aspects of the novel.
I was astounded to discover that If We Were Villains was a debut book, it is so incredibly well written with beautiful and literary passages that I cannot stop thinking about. The Romeo and Juliet play for example was exquisite, moving and emotional and I was gripped. The use of the play’s words to communicate everything that cannot be said in real life was astounding and some of the passages were incredibly delicate, elegant and erotic.
I have to say that this book really appealed to my English Literature background and geeky Shakespeare love. I am by no means an expert at all, and whilst I think this book could be read and enjoyed knowing nothing of his plays, I think you’d get far more from it if you have at least some knowledge. If We Were Villains really isn’t pretentious or elitist, it is very much a coming of age novel with real depth and layers. Anybody who has been in a tight-knit friendship group or who has lived with a group of people can understand the feelings and emotions experienced by the main players of this novel.
This book is going on my Favourite Book list and I think I am going to give it a second read so I can absorb some more of the beautiful imagery and world that M.L. Rio has created in this extraordinary book.

The book is well written (if not to the standard of Tartt), but the characters felt somewhat flat- while a character doesn't need to be likable to be rounded, the cast here are neither, but do seem to change personality on a regular basis with prima donna mood shifts which go beyond even the drama students I know.
The author is obviously a Shakespeare expert- as can be seen in her writing, even if it wasn't clear from her bio, but the motif became a bit too intrusive for me: characters constantly answering each other with Shakespeare lines, and at times whole pages of quotations- I would estimate if you removed the extended passages made up of Shakespeare dialogue, you would reduce the book by 15%.
The framing device felt forced and unnatural as a means of telling the story, and the 'one final, astonishing twist' (Booklist) is anything but: it was clear where the novel was heading throughout.
It will be interesting to see what the author does as a follow up, and whether the endeavor will move away from such a Shakespearean focus


Putting that aside and taking the book on its own merits, it's generally a compelling read. The plot is ultimately fairly thin, but it's the sense of place, the characters, and the atmosphere that keep you turning the pages. I particularly liked the elite college with its weird rituals and traditions - it felt as fleshed out and magical as Hogwarts and despite some of the unpleasantness, left me with quite the desire to attend.
The characters were basically deliberate archetypes - hero, villain, seductress etc - which was quite a fun idea but rather laboured. The first few chapters spent far too much time spelling out every key character's background and personality rather than letting it come out naturally. The main character and narrator is generally cast as a supporting character, and feels like that's also the role he plays in college life. It was an interesting route to go down and I'm in two minds about whether it helped to make him relatable or whether one of the more flamboyant characters might have made a more compelling lead.
I loved the way Shakespeare was woven into the plot, from the way characters behave and the plot plays out, to the way the characters always quote - or sometimes misquote - the bard, and above all, to the way the intensity of performing certain scenes was portrayed. Reading about the characters' experiences of performing and living these scenes bought the plays to life for me more than any theatrical performance I can remember.
There's a bit of a dual narrative, with the book starting ten years after most of the action, with the main character newly released from prison for some sort of crime he did or didn't commit while at the college. Most of the proper story is what he's recounting to a now-retired policeman who originally investigated the case. I usually love flashbacks and other non-linear narratives, but I think this would have been best told in straight chronological order. From the present day scenes, it wasn't hard to work out what had happened in the past way before it was shown in the narrative, which killed some of the tension, and it didn't really add any particular twists or revelations.
Overall, while this was far from perfect, I'd definitely recommend it.

I found that even for me to be a little tiresome towards the end, and I personally worked out "who dunnit" quite early on in the book too, but that didn't take it away from me.