When I first found If We Were Villains, by M.L Rio, it was on a forum recommended for those who were looking for books similar to The Secret History, filled with dark academia and twisted romance.
Upon first reading, I wasn’t immediately sold, and was somewhat overwhelmed with the amount of detail and characters I had to immediately memorise. However, after the first chapter this close knit group of students soon came to life, the extensive detail lending itself to create a vivid film-like image in my mind.
The plot, much like The Secret History, begins at the end with our protagonist Oliver Marks on the day before he is released from decades of imprisonment for an unmarked crime. As Detective Colborne interviews Oliver off the record for one final time, we are taken back to his final year at Dellecher Classical Conservator and his complex relationships with his 6 classmates.
After the first chapter this close knit group of students soon came to life, the extensive detail lending itself to create a vivid film-like image in my mind.
Whilst If We Were Villains doesn’t immediately appear as a ‘queer’ novel, much like real people’s experience, the realisation of being queer is something that is slow and building throughout the novel. Oliver’s queerness and feelings for James aren’t explicitly stated until the climax of the novel, yet they are alluded to and noticeable to the reader soon enough. For me, this subtle depiction of queerness felt refreshing, as often I’ve found that queer romance novels to be overbearingly explicit, lacking the enjoyable nuance of letting the reader piece things together for themselves. Ultimately, to me, If We Were Villains is a novel about devotion; to art, to friendship, and to love, even when it’s not completely realised. Rio masterfully captures the intensity of youth, the blurred lines between performance and reality, and the quiet tragedy of unspoken desire.
