They play their parts on and off stage as hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, and extra. I half expected it to be bland, and somewhat faceless as the characters fall into their archetypes and never come out. Oliver is our point of view and he is the sidekick in the story, but him being the sidekick and caring for everyone makes him interesting. To read If We Were Villians it is best to jump into the cold dark water of this tale. 

The only thing that piqued my interest was the murder aspect of the book as one of the seven kids is found dead. Only a single death, an accident, or a murder. None of the cast has the slightest idea.  

This cast of many characters are confusing at times, but as you move with the story you ease into it as each character falls into their own respective archetype. Then, slowly but surely, M.L. Rio uses the most colorful language to carefully unfold each character out. Once they are the puzzling characters that they are I fell in love with each of them. As I read I fell with all of the Shakespeare sewn throughout. She primarily uses quotes from Shakespeare himself as dialogue to underline who each person is. Each act and every scene slowly peels away the curtain of night that hides the truth.

It feels as though I have been reading Shakespeare, even as it be, I have never read any of his works. Shakespeare is all throughout the book with the plays that they perform for each act to them quoting Shakespeare to each other. From the darkly lit firelight of Macbeth to the stary performance of King Lear, they all keep with their art of acting.

Since it is not a mystery about what happened but simply how it happened. The central portion of the book is about the tragic aftermath that ensues because of the death, but M.L. Rio could have done much more to show their grief and have them being cross at what they have reaped.

In the whole of it all, tis a story about lies, being engulfed and infatuated with Shakespeare, but also about the dénouement, the counterstroke, and the end-all that comes from a story finally being told.  

 Most will think this is not realistic, possibly even lackluster, or it has not in the slightest of an idea of what it wants to be as a story, but it does not make it less enticing as you begin it. As each character struggles to escape the eyes of others they still don’t find serenity within their own.