#bookinfluencer

| If We Were Villains ▪︎

| M. L. Rio ▪︎

| 10/10 ▪︎

The review may contain slight spoilers (almost none at all)

"If we were villains" by M.L. Rio is a book that may evoke a lot of extreme emotions, but that's what good literature is all about - They don't have to be just subjectively perfect. I must admit that at the very beginning the book did not captivate me. I read it with some reluctance, even though its concept itself seemed extremely interesting to me. The number of characters seemed burdensome at first, but over time you get used to it. The inserts from Shakespeare's works may be just a headache for some, but I was absolutely charmed by them, and without them the composition seems soullessly empty.

Intrigue, beautiful surroundings and stage drama. The author introduces the reader to the world of actors whose roles on stage are reflected in reality in which art intertwines with brutal truth. The whole action is narrated by Oliver as a memory from the old days, he is a character you can simply like. The text, which is divided into acts, only adds a mood that perfectly complements the story about the tragedy that took place among acting students. Someone dies, someone is guilty. Can you guess who the murderer is? You can, but it's not obvious at all. The plot twist that appears at the end is breathtaking, regardless of the reader's suspicions. Dear people who have read this book, I hope you know which line in the final act tore my heart to shreds. The feelings that the characters have for each other are so incredibly vivid and true - Full of drama and suffering and many unspoken words.

Many people consider this work to be superior in its inspiration to Donna Tartt's "The Secret History". Well, I personally don't think so. However, this book is absolutely not bad. After getting through the arduous first few chapters, I was left in tears at the very end and with a storm of emotions in my head. I recommend reading it, it's a really great text. Initial reluctance turned into my tears at the end, and books that evoke emotions are the most beautiful.

⁉️𝑸𝑶𝑻𝑫: 𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔?

✨𝙰𝙾𝚃𝙳: 𝙼𝚢 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚡. 𝙸’𝚕𝚕 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚘𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗, 𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝 𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚘𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚞𝚙𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔 𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔. 𝙸’𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚘𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚞𝚙𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔. 𝙰𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸’𝚖 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍. ⁣

⁣

𝙸 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚖𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚊𝚕𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜.

✨Speaking of books: I want to thank BookSparks and Kendare Blake for the copy of #ChampionOfFate for the #FRC2023 #backtobooks fall reading challenge.

✨Also, here is my notebook that I received from BookSparks to decorate. I went a little sticker happy with all the stickers they gave me but it’s fine and totally reminds me of my composition books when I was in elementary school with all the stars, hearts, and smiley face stickers I had. I think the way I decorated it shows my personality.

✨Now back to the book: I’ve been a fan of Kendare Blake since 2016 when Three Dark Crowns released. So, I am super excited that this book was included in the track I was selected for.

✨Champion of Fate follows our main character Reed who has always wanted to be an Aristene-who are a legendary order of mythical female warriors. The time has finally come for Reed as she is now an initiate with only one more challenge between her dream and if she fails she will be cast out from the home she has ever known. But Reed meets her hero-Hestion and everything may change how she views her world as a war brews.

✨I will update you all on my reading progress or with a review when I get around to reading it!

My IG @theheelerbooklife:

It’s officially spooky season 🎃