This book felt like "amazing idea, poor execution" to me. I loved the narration, the prose and the structure but I stopped reading after 130 pages because I couldn't go past the one-dimensional characters and the plotholes. The form was excellent but the substance was not there. It we remove the dark academia, Shakespeare and the prose, we are left with a pretty shallow and under-developed story.
I am really enjoying your channel. I like the diversity of the books you review, and that you review one book per video. It allows the viewer to get a more in depth review of the pros and cons. I do enjoy dark academia. I will be adding this to my TBR.
Thank you for this spot on review! I love Shakespeare and therefore had difficulty with the lack of complexity in the stereotypical dull characters. The Shakespeare parts were vey compelling but much of the rest was a slog.
Was a 2.5 from me. I like Shakespeare but I found the constant quoting to be annoying. It was like you said too obvious. I think the characters could still be tragic archtypes without bein so on the nose about it. I understand that it makes sense for them to speak sometimes using lines from a play, but it was just too much. I hated all the characters, they were very shallow. I wanted a reason why Richard was so angry. I found it weird that he just suddenly started abusing his girlfriend and best friends. I also didn't really buy the characters as a group of friends, Oliver didn't seem to really know much about any of them, so I'm wondering did they just never talk about their lives outside of the plays?? I know some of them are supposed to be mysterious, but the rest of them, just nothing there. Especially Wren, wow like she could have not been in the book and there would be almost no difference. You could have put any random girl in her place, I know she was in the way of JAmes and Oliver, but it could have been a random third year, wouldn't have mattered. For a moment I know we are supposed to suspect her for being the murderer, but I saw through that pretty easily. I also knew almost from the first chapter who Oliver was going to be protecting by going to jail. Also it seemed unbelievable they would have just let Richard die, I mean he was being a jerk but it wasn't *that* bad. I thought the first 55 pages or so were a slog. The characters were so boring I kept confusing them. The twist was obvious, even the second twist in the final chapter was something I easily guessed. I'm not a galaxy brain or anything, it was just so predictable. There was a spot in the middle where I enjoyed it, the writing was sort of nice in places where it got a little more purple. Normally I don't love overly descriptive writing, but I marked a few passages in this story I liked. Overall, blablablaaaa.... The was recommended to me because I loved the Secret History, but this felt very amateur compared to SH. I liked the backdrop of the school, yes I'm a sucker for Dark Academia, but this was such a letdown for me. Not the worst book I've read by far, but as others have said, good idea, bad execution.
I really like how you mentioned how it felt cult like when the teachers would talk about them diving into a character. Listening to how they explain how to become one with a character made me feel uncomfortable. I thought the writing style was very unique. The blips of Shakespeare in the book become so much deeper as you read on once you notice how they foreshadow the book. Also the ending was amazing! Leaving it up to the reader to interpret the ending or what Oliver might do next.
Well, I love dark academia and Shakespeare as a teacher of Literature, so your prediction was right: I gave it 5 stars. It is my first 5 star book for the year. I appreciate the parallels between the novel and Shakespeare's tragedies. Maybe that's why I was so affected by the novel. Good review BTW.
I do think this book was predictable and lacked substance, but I did think that the character archetypes were pretty convincing- though, stereotypical for sure. I appreciated the way Rio used the “life imitating art” theme to assist in developing an understanding of the characters (Richards decent, James’ taking on the “Edmund” role, etc) and how personally their studies impacted them-- the whole “feeling two things at once” due to their proximity to the characters they play was certainly a driving factor in how the book plays out. I agree with how some of it felt cultish simply because it's so clear how Gwendolyn and Fredrick groomed them into these characters and blurred the lines between life and art. Definitely a 3.5 or 4 star for me.
I don't like Shakespeare but as this book is one of my favourite I even accept my fate: I will read Shakespeare just to understand characters better (but even without reading Shakespeare readers can understand characters, you just get who is who, which role they play and how they switch roles and you don't need to read Shakespeare for this).
Hey. Hope you’re good. It’s been a while since I reviewed this book…so not entirely sure what I said in this video…from memory I’m gonna say no, you can enjoy this book if you haven’t been to university / an arts school…however, I think there’s quite a few things in this book that might seem odd to anyone who didn’t attend a drama / arts school…maybe unbelievable even. But those things actually do happen.
@@Tommy-xy1ehi didnt go to uni or art school. I loved the book so much. I read it in the sun cause i couldnt put it away, the spine melted in my hand(usually im not that stuck on a book, but this one i loved) i would give it a try, the weirdness of some situations makes sense while reading cause its so immersive
I disliked this book at first It was sold to me as a WHO DONE IT MYSTERY THRILLER ... Which it really isnt , i mean there is a mystery but thats not the main story , once i figured what it was , it was still ok , not the best ( or worst) ive read 🤷♂️
This book felt like "amazing idea, poor execution" to me. I loved the narration, the prose and the structure but I stopped reading after 130 pages because I couldn't go past the one-dimensional characters and the plotholes. The form was excellent but the substance was not there. It we remove the dark academia, Shakespeare and the prose, we are left with a pretty shallow and under-developed story.
I am really enjoying your channel. I like the diversity of the books you review, and that you review one book per video. It allows the viewer to get a more in depth review of the pros and cons.
I do enjoy dark academia. I will be adding this to my TBR.
Thank you Wendy!
Thank you for this spot on review! I love Shakespeare and therefore had difficulty with the lack of complexity in the stereotypical dull characters. The Shakespeare parts were vey compelling but much of the rest was a slog.
I haven't read if we were villains and may not read it, but I thoroughly enjoyed your review
Thank you Georgina!
Was a 2.5 from me. I like Shakespeare but I found the constant quoting to be annoying. It was like you said too obvious. I think the characters could still be tragic archtypes without bein so on the nose about it. I understand that it makes sense for them to speak sometimes using lines from a play, but it was just too much. I hated all the characters, they were very shallow. I wanted a reason why Richard was so angry. I found it weird that he just suddenly started abusing his girlfriend and best friends. I also didn't really buy the characters as a group of friends, Oliver didn't seem to really know much about any of them, so I'm wondering did they just never talk about their lives outside of the plays?? I know some of them are supposed to be mysterious, but the rest of them, just nothing there. Especially Wren, wow like she could have not been in the book and there would be almost no difference. You could have put any random girl in her place, I know she was in the way of JAmes and Oliver, but it could have been a random third year, wouldn't have mattered. For a moment I know we are supposed to suspect her for being the murderer, but I saw through that pretty easily. I also knew almost from the first chapter who Oliver was going to be protecting by going to jail. Also it seemed unbelievable they would have just let Richard die, I mean he was being a jerk but it wasn't *that* bad. I thought the first 55 pages or so were a slog. The characters were so boring I kept confusing them. The twist was obvious, even the second twist in the final chapter was something I easily guessed. I'm not a galaxy brain or anything, it was just so predictable. There was a spot in the middle where I enjoyed it, the writing was sort of nice in places where it got a little more purple. Normally I don't love overly descriptive writing, but I marked a few passages in this story I liked. Overall, blablablaaaa.... The was recommended to me because I loved the Secret History, but this felt very amateur compared to SH. I liked the backdrop of the school, yes I'm a sucker for Dark Academia, but this was such a letdown for me. Not the worst book I've read by far, but as others have said, good idea, bad execution.
I really like how you mentioned how it felt cult like when the teachers would talk about them diving into a character. Listening to how they explain how to become one with a character made me feel uncomfortable. I thought the writing style was very unique. The blips of Shakespeare in the book become so much deeper as you read on once you notice how they foreshadow the book. Also the ending was amazing! Leaving it up to the reader to interpret the ending or what Oliver might do next.
I’ve always stuck to the rule of finishing a book once started..until today. I’ve been reading for nearly 70 years.
Well, I love dark academia and Shakespeare as a teacher of Literature, so your prediction was right: I gave it 5 stars. It is my first 5 star book for the year. I appreciate the parallels between the novel and Shakespeare's tragedies. Maybe that's why I was so affected by the novel. Good review BTW.
I was just telling myself “I hope Roro posts today”
I do think this book was predictable and lacked substance, but I did think that the character archetypes were pretty convincing- though, stereotypical for sure. I appreciated the way Rio used the “life imitating art” theme to assist in developing an understanding of the characters (Richards decent, James’ taking on the “Edmund” role, etc) and how personally their studies impacted them-- the whole “feeling two things at once” due to their proximity to the characters they play was certainly a driving factor in how the book plays out. I agree with how some of it felt cultish simply because it's so clear how Gwendolyn and Fredrick groomed them into these characters and blurred the lines between life and art. Definitely a 3.5 or 4 star for me.
I don't like Shakespeare but as this book is one of my favourite I even accept my fate: I will read Shakespeare just to understand characters better (but even without reading Shakespeare readers can understand characters, you just get who is who, which role they play and how they switch roles and you don't need to read Shakespeare for this).
Does it mean it’s not for those who have not attended university ? 😢
Hey. Hope you’re good. It’s been a while since I reviewed this book…so not entirely sure what I said in this video…from memory I’m gonna say no, you can enjoy this book if you haven’t been to university / an arts school…however, I think there’s quite a few things in this book that might seem odd to anyone who didn’t attend a drama / arts school…maybe unbelievable even. But those things actually do happen.
@@rororeads
Thank you 🙏🏻
It’s just I’ve watched quite some people recommended this book - must be a good one.
Nice to get your advice though
🍀
@@Tommy-xy1ehi didnt go to uni or art school. I loved the book so much. I read it in the sun cause i couldnt put it away, the spine melted in my hand(usually im not that stuck on a book, but this one i loved) i would give it a try, the weirdness of some situations makes sense while reading cause its so immersive
but was suprisingly middd
I disliked this book at first
It was sold to me as a WHO DONE IT MYSTERY THRILLER ... Which it really isnt , i mean there is a mystery but thats not the main story , once i figured what it was , it was still ok , not the best ( or worst) ive read 🤷♂️