If We Were Villains was an unexpectedly fantastic read that I’ll be thinking about for a long time. It’s a story that is truly about the journey rather than the ending. Each character was so well written, I feel as if I was the 8th fourth year student attending class and practice with them. Everyone had their own voice; even when dialogue tags were sparse it was easy to tell who was speaking. And similarly, I could feel and envision Dellecher as if it were a memory of a place I’ve spent many years at. This book is heavy on Shakespeare which was daunting at first. As someone who loathes Shakespeare’s work, I reluctantly picked this up to participate in Pagebound’s spring readalong. However, the quotes were weaved in seamlessly, and while there were many, it was never an overwhelming presence. I briefly mentioned already that this story is not about the ending. We already know the ending from the first page of this book. This is a tragedy that keeps you engaged with constant anxiety about what’s coming, who is going to lose their mind next, and how our main character ends up in in jail. It’s not often I can say this, but I honestly cannot think of any valid criticism for this book. It is certainly not something everyone would enjoy, but it is incredibly well written and a brilliant story.