If We Were Villains is an atmospheric, eerie dark academia novel that fully immerses you in the world of elite Shakespearean theater students. The setting was hauntingly beautiful, and the tension kept me intrigued—I just had to know how Oliver ended up in jail.

That said, I struggled to connect with the characters. Their morally gray decisions and tangled secrets made for an interesting read, but I never truly felt for them. While many say you don’t need Shakespeare knowledge to enjoy this book, I personally felt that understanding the plays would have deepened the experience. So much of the plot revolves around the characters using Shakespeare’s words as a figurative and metaphorical way of expressing themselves, and I know I missed some of the clues because of it.

The ending left me with more questions than answers, which I guess added to the book’s dark academia nature, but also left me wanting more. A solid read, but not an all-time favourite for me!