If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

Rating: ★★★★★

This is very popular book, but I hadn’t heard much about its story. I avoid details most of the time when it comes to books (or movies, or tv). I didn’t have any idea what it was about when I started reading it except that it was a darker atmosphere. I love going into books blind. And this book blew me away.

I’m not the most knowledgeable about Shakespeare apart from maybe a dozen or so productions I’ve been to over the years, from an adolescent until now. I don’t know most of the stories’ plot lines, and I definitely couldn’t quote anything directly. But I would still say I’m a fan. I enjoy going to a play. I have favorites (Macbeth, Midsummer, Tempest). I’m just saying this so you know my relationship to Shakespeare since this book is honoring him.

Our protagonist is Oliver, who, at the opening, is leaving prison after ten years. The book is told in flashbacks to what happened ten years ago in Oliver’s final year of college. He was a Shakespearean theater student in a very select school and had six close friends. I won’t go into detail because my personal philosophy is that a story should unfold for you as the creator(s) wanted it to. But of course you can guess something happens and this affects their friendships and their final year of school.

Reading this book, the way the scenes played out, felt like a scene on stage. I don’t really know how to explain that. When watching something on stage, especially something emotional or violent, you are engaged, leaning forward, expectant. I felt that way in Rio’s emotional, violent, and telling scenes. The way she especially describes violence astounded me because I could follow it and be interested. For me, reading combat in any way usually bores me where I just skim it and/or I simply don’t know what’s going on. I thought this ability to pull me in and keep me there showed huge skill alone. I had similar feelings when there were tense scenes between characters, either when they were on or off stage. There are many things throughout the novel that I loved in terms of technical skill.

Regarding the story itself, dark academia is a favorite of mine. Particularly, somewhat unrelatedly, stories about adolescent girls at a gothic boarding school will always be something I want to read. Anything in this genre interests me, so these seven friends, living in a castle, devoted to Shakespeare, is thrilling. When everything starts falling apart, it didn’t feel insanely horrific, but was still spinning out of control. You could expect a story like this to really lean into madness, confusion, terror, and in some ways it does, but not in that “gothic” way that you may be used to. At least, what I am used to. If We Were Villains feels relatively realistic, except that our main character, Oliver, is telling his tale with such verbosity and drama that you understand this is a version of the truth. This version of the truth is something that would play out on stage. Of course, Shakespeare has plenty of madness, confusion, and terror. What I love about this book is how much it mirrors Shakespeare yet is still devoted to its own form. The characters of the book speak to each other in their scenes, in regular conversation, and it can be dramatic, funny, tense, emotional, etc. But they also speak to each other through Shakespeare’s words while playing their characters. Rio somehow created these characters with these dynamics and fit them in to certain players within several different Shakespearean plays, and they fit beautifully. Magically.

I finished this book and immediately wanted to read it again. I can’t tell you how rare that is for me. Maybe 1% of the time or less, and I don’t read that many books. Also, I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator, Robert Petkoff, is phenomenal. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook, especially considering Shakespeare is a big focus of the story. It’s so much different to watch/hear/experience Shakespeare than to just read the words on a page.

I don’t write about spoilers in my reviews (when I can help it). I so wish I could go on about this book in greater detail, and of course the ending. All I can say is: just read it.

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

Rating: ★★★★

Wow, I loved this book. I did not know what to expect from it. So many times in my reading I feel like I could guess what’s coming, but this one surprised me all the time. It was so much fun. I also, from the beginning, thought there’d be a sequel because it’s such an elaborate world, but this is a standalone! Normally, I love standalones because there are enough series out there. But I so want more from this world.

Our protagonist is Jebi, who is nonbinary, and there are queer relationships and gender fluidity throughout the book. Another reason to love it. Their country has been conquered and there is a segregation of sorts between the two peoples. Jebi’s people are often looked down upon and work as servants. Jebi is an artist, which really means something in this world. It’s highly regarded, even by the government. Jebi finds themself working on a top-secret project that involves using magical pigments to bring machines (automatons) to life for the conquerors. Specifically, a dragon. The story has a winding road where war is coming.

I feel like I could go on and on about the plot points, but that’s not the point of this review. I will say relationships within the story – familial, romantic, adversarial, friendship – are nuanced and moving. The way Ha Lee writes these characters makes them so real. They come alive from this world of pure fantasy. And that is what I love to see in fantasy. Their relationship with Arazi, the dragon, is particularly interesting and touching. Arazi is such a loving creature where, in my opinion, we’re used to seeing dragons as angry, mean, selfish, and dangerous. This mechanical, magical dragon is beautiful.

Jebi themself can be kind of a annoying in a younger-sibling way, but it doesn’t make them unlikable. They don’t want to deal with any of this, and they’re scared, and unsure how they can help. But they keep going. It’s relatable. Each of the characters are.

Again, I wish there was more to this world. What a fun read.

Quick Reading Update – October 2025

I’ve found myself reading more than I have in the past several years, and most of them I didn’t think I could do a full review on. For a few, I wrote some comments on my Storygraph, but mostly rated them. I thought I’d do an update here with some thoughts.

A Witch Alone: Thirteen Moons to Master Natural Magic by Marian Green is a practical book where you’re supposed to read a chapter each month and follow the guidance, but I read straight through and took ideas for things to do. Maybe this “curriculum” is something I could do in the future, but I still feel very new to magick and I’m feeling things out. I enjoyed the book. ★★★★

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters is a long and winding book where I loved the writing, but I did feel it could have been edited down. So many scenes went on for long periods of time. I kept thinking in several instances that a scene was ending, but it would continue. In general, the book took a long time to get where it was going, but I did enjoy it very much. Waters’ writing is wonderful. ★★★★

Moon Magic: Your Complete Guide to Harnessing the Mystical Energy of the Moon by Diane Ahlquist I had to DNF. It felt very surface-level with even some offensive undertones, such as fatphobia and racism.

Chlorine by Jade Song was fascinatingly dark. It’s written in second-person and roped me in straight away, particularly because I was listening to the audiobook and the narration was great. It tells the story of being a teenage girl under incredible pressure, pressure most people can’t imagine, so well. The horror of it all, literally, was moving. I gave it three stars and now I don’t remember why not four. I think it felt repetitive in a lot of ways, but is still very good. It’s something I’d recommend and go back to. ★★★

The Third Son by Julie Wu was enjoyable and interesting, but the protagonist bothered me a bit and the way he felt at the end made me so annoyed. Additionally, the insta-love with his wife drove me crazy. He knew nothing about her, and as readers we learn virtually nothing about her. She has no real personality. But he goes on and on about how much he loves her, but who she is as a person doesn’t matter. Then there are his parents and family, and that whole relationship, which made me angry. Ugh! ★★

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was my re-read for the year. I don’t think I’ve read this book since it was first published. It still holds up. Absolutely devastating. ★★★★

The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson is another book I DNF’d. It’s YA and I struggle a lot with enjoying YA. The way the characters spoke annoyed me so much, along with their actions, and the plot. It felt cliche.

How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin is the sequel to How to Solve Your Own Murder, which I read and loved last year. This one was alright. It moved things along with characters and there’s another book coming out next year. I had fun. ★★★

Othello by William Shakespeare I read for class and have never read it before. I knew nothing about it, actually. I think Shakespeare hates women. I enjoyed discussing it in class. ★★★

That’s all for now!

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Rating: ★★★

Here’s another book I’ve read as an audiobook, which really seems to be working for me lately. It was narrated by Christina Moore and her voice alone is magical. Highly enjoyed her reading. I read this book in about 9 days. It pulled me along and I enjoyed it. It had its emotional moments that made me tear up a little, about mothers, daughters, and sisters, which affected me since my only sibling is my sister and we’re incredibly close, and my mother passed away in 2018. There’s a moment in the book where the youngest daughter is imagining missing and remembering certain things about her mother – how she purses her lips – and that may be one of the moments that really sticks with me.

To summarize the book, it simply follows the Owens’ girls – their lives, their relationships, their thoughts, their imaginations. Sally and Gillian are sisters, and Antonia and Kylie are Sally’s daughters. They all may have equal amounts of time given to them throughout the book. Sally and Gillian were raised by their strange aunts and so were always the weirdos in school. Sally, as an adult with children, wanted nothing to do with that and wanted her girls to feel normal, so she moved far away. Gillian, though, became a real wild child. All of this is so interesting, deep, and moving…

However, in the end, it didn’t feel hit home since the main theme was about romantic relationships. The book would talk a lot of the familial relationships, and center the plot around what sisters needed to do together, and about the loss of parents. It would talk about self-shame, self-worth, devastation, desperation, humiliation. There was little action, and would simply follow the characters and their actions, which I personally do love. But then it’d swing back to romantic relationships being the most important thing anyone could ever experience.

Every character in the story, everyone, is a part of relationship, or was heartbroken at some point. I’ll be honest that for me, one romance in a story is usually too much unless it really makes sense, isn’t a cliche, and isn’t shoehorned in, so maybe others will enjoy all of this going on. But my main issue is the balance between emotional, familial relationships, and the need to be in a romantic relationship. I think the former would have been more important in this book.

To think about the book in comparison to the movie, it’s like they’re two separate stories completely. The characters’ names are the same, and there are a handful of similar elements, but I think this book stands on its own. There is no “magic” ever done as shown in the movie. It’s more a feeling the characters have or give to others, or an interesting recipe. There are supernatural things that happen, and I like the idea of magic being small, little things that are apart of someone’s life, instead of great big cauldrons and fireballs. So this worked for me as well.

Overall, I would recommend it cautiously. Half of the book’s focus is so strong, and then every time romance comes in, it kills it. But of course, I did enjoy it and read it quickly. So maybe it would be worth a read.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (translated by Eric Ozawa)

Rating: ★★★★★

This is a short book so I don’t want to say too much about it. I highly enjoyed it. It felt so perfectly descriptive. This itself is hard to describe. It was like the author wrote about, in wonderful detail, how a beautiful painting looked, and that painting encapsulated the feeling of all of life. I know this sounds pretty heavy for what people call a lighthearted book. The book folds in the emotions of life, which is how life is. You walk home a little drunk and start talking about things that left a gaping hole in your life. The writing in this book isn’t sensational or gratuitous. It’s welcoming and true.

I understand that it’s described as “lighthearted” for that reason – that the writing itself is light – but the book does touch on so many deep emotions that leave the characters in turmoil. It begins with the main character, Takako, leaving her job and going to stay with her uncle at his used bookstore because she is completely heartbroken. From there, we learn about all of the characters and how they affect each other’s lives.

I found the book beautiful and moving, and I highly recommend it. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator, Catherine Ho, was wonderful.

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

Rating: ★★★★

This book was so fun! A couple of nights ago, I decided to listen to the audiobook, which was on a whim as I never listen to audiobooks. I own this in paperback since I picked it up a while ago to have something cozy to read, and that’s how I knew about it. I listened to this so quickly! In about 3 days, I was done. The narration, done by Caitlin Davies, was phenomenal. Everything in here was a romp.

The book opens with a stuffy, antisocial librarian named Kiela and her talking spider plant named Caz fleeing their burning city as a revolution is underway. She smuggles spellbooks out with her because she doesn’t want the knowledge to be lost. In this empire, magic can only be wielded by those approved by law. The two set off for a little-known island, which happens to be Kiela’s home where her parents’ old cottage is. They move in and discover the island is dying, so they decide they need to turn to the forbidden magic to help it heal. Also, she has a friendly neighbor named Larran where a mutually crush begins to bloom.

I’m not a big fan of romance most of the time, but I didn’t mind it in this book. Dare I say I liked it? The whole of the book was so cute and loveable. It was completely driven by plot, and I can’t say there was much character development, but I don’t think that’s the point here. The point is a good time.

I could critique some things such as it being shown to us over and over how antisocial Keila is and how blind she is to Larran’s crush on her. The same phrases seemed to flow through her mind chapters apart. I wondered why she wasn’t coming around and changing.

Of course, I wanted a light, fun read, so maybe I didn’t go in with the most critical eye. Additionally, listening to audiobooks often makes me lose details. It’s why I don’t do it too often.

Recommended, though, for cozy fun!

Quick Reading Update – August 2025

I love reviewing the books I read, but this summer I’ve mainly been reading non-fiction books related to Paganism and spirituality. I have no idea how to review those, so I haven’t written anything here. Today, though, I thought I’d share some quick thoughts on each of them.

Wicca by Scott Cunningham was the starting point for my exploration of these topics. I don’t think Wicca is a tradition/religion I’ll be strictly following, but I learned a lot here. I enjoyed how it was written as it was easy to understand and connect with. Cunningham gives a lot of wonderful practical advice and deep descriptions on how to do things.

The Little Book of Crystals by Judy Hall is a cute little book to learn more about a few crystals. It was aimed at the mainstream, which didn’t quite work for me, especially with its “curious facts” that didn’t relate to anything. It is a very small, short book, and I learned a bit from it. I liked the information generally and got some suggestions.

The Druidry Handbook by John Michael Greer was fascinating and alluring to me. It was a great introduction to Druidry and I want to know more. For a while, I considered following the guidelines set down in this book before anything. But I’m beginning to feel Druidry, while not really considered rigid, might be too rigid for me personally. The book itself was readable, not difficult to understand, and incredibly informative. However, I read and rated this before knowing about Greer’s current right-wing views. I believe he wrote this book before going down the rabbit hole, but it should still be read carefully.

Two books I DNF’d: Welsh Witchcraft by Mhara Starling I may return to. I think it was simply marketed wrong. I thought it would be informative, like a reference in a way, but it felt so much like a memoir. Starling constantly referred to her personal experiences. Celtic Mysticism by Tracie Long I really didn’t enjoy or trust the information within.

Wild Witchcraft by Rebecca Beyer had a lot of information. I mean a lot. It just wasn’t for me (yet). I’m not at this level. I appreciated all the knowledge, but I do think you would have to be more than a beginner to enjoy this book.

Wild Magic by Danu Forest I enjoyed, but I didn’t like the layout. I enjoyed the ways to connect to Earth spirits, sitting in nature, folk tales and traditions, and a few recipes. However, just sitting and reading it straight through didn’t really work. It felt like a real reference. I wish the book had been split differently, with maybe all of the folk tales in one section and all of the practical advice in another, and all of the reference information in another. I found myself skimming large parts of the book and almost the entire last chapter. But please don’t take this as a bad thing. I would recommend this book, and enjoyed it, and want to own it.

Intuitive Magic Practice (Pagan Portals) by Natalia Clarke was helpful, though it could have been edited better. At times the author rambled and there many grammar mistakes which caused me to be confused. I appreciated the book, though, as it’s important to me to discover and listen to my intuition.

The Triple Goddess (Pagan Portals) by Rachel Patterson also suffered from a lack of editing. There were so many grammar/punctuation/format errors that they were distracting. However, I liked how the author described different goddesses and how to work with them. She gave great information and detail. I learned a lot, and want to purchase a copy for myself because it felt so much like a guide.

Spirituality Without Structure (Pagan Portals) by Nimue Brown I absolutely adored from the beginning. I’ve been exploring my spirituality deeply these past few months. If you’re no longer interested in organized religion, but still feel a connection to the Divine, I highly recommend this book. It is also written for atheists and anyone walking a solo path. The book is very short so I can’t say much more than the fact it’s great and effective.

I will share more about the non-fiction books I read when I have finished another handful.

The Anti-Consumerist Druid by Katrina Townsend

Rating: ★★★★

I found this book by chance at my library. I hadn’t read about it or seen it recommended anywhere, and I’ve been reading many Pagan-related, non-fiction books in the past few months. So, I took that as a sign. I took it as a sign because I’ve also been battling a shopping addiction. I realized this this past March. It’s been a horrific struggle. Coming across this book by absolute chance shocked me. After reading 30 pages, I needed my own copy.

The way Townsend describes her shopping addiction made me feel seen. The thoughts, feelings, and actions were all things I’d experienced. I haven’t read any books related to shopping addiction before this, but since this was paired with Druidry, which I’m exploring, I wanted to read it. I don’t know if I’ll read any others related to shopping addiction, either. I’m not one for specific “self-help” books.

This book felt more memoir than anything. She made many points, though, that I took away firmly. They deeply affected me. Such as thinking about performing myself for social media by buying things or going places just to take pictures, or how the “developed” world consumes and discards so much that the “underdeveloped” world has no use for it (there’s just too much!), or how the crystals I’ve suddenly become interested in (and been buying excessively) may not be collected ethically.

I feel I highlighted something on every page. It’s difficult to properly review a non-fiction book, at least this one, because the experience was so personal. However, I wanted to post about it because I want people to know about this book.

The only reason this isn’t five stars is because she does get repetitive and a bit holier-than-thou at times. I found myself pulling a face a few times, thinking, “I’ve already heard this,” or, “I get it!” But her messages are simply earnest. The entire story of the book is earnest, and that’s why I loved it.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

Rating: ★★★★

I highly enjoyed reading this mystery novel. It took a bit to pull me in, but even from the beginning I was intrigued. Who were these characters and why were there so many perspectives? I eventually got used to going back and forth through time, back and forth between characters’ perspectives. This was a fascinating way to let the story unfold. I believe it’s been done before, but to this degree was impressive. There were so many layers and intricate details. I took breaks from reading to focus on other things, though, and that had nothing to do with the book. Unfortunately, each time I picked it back up, I felt a little lost, but I found my footing. The last two hundred or so pages I read quickly. So my way of reading may have affected my feelings on the book.

The God of the Woods follows… many things. It’s hard to describe without going into deep detail. My personal preference is to go into books as blind as possible, so I will simply share that a girl at a camp goes missing. She’s the daughter of a wealthy family, who also owns the camp. Coincidentally, the girl’s younger brother also went missing many years earlier. Secrets abound. There are several characters we hear from regularly, and many, many more we get to know throughout the book. There’s also a map! So pay attention.

This is, of course, a story about characters, and it is superbly done. Every character, especially the ones whose perspectives we get, is clear and unique. The way they interact, live together, love each other, and search for each other is moving and real. I won’t forget these characters or this story soon. If anything, I want more of it, surprisingly, since it’s nearly 500 pages long. Because there’s so many characters, maybe a spin-off with one or two? This is the first book I’ve read by Moore, and I can’t wait to read more.

While the structure of the book twists things around and makes everything interesting, I did feel it pushed the format a bit too hard. There could have been less back-and-forth and fewer pages. By the end, while I liked it, I felt a bit frustrated. Leading up to it all felt convoluted, and a disservice to the story. The story itself is intriguing in many ways. I loved it, honestly. But, again, the format could have been reined in a bit. This is the only reason this isn’t a five-star read for me.

Shady Hollow by Juneau Black

Rating: ★★

After discovering cozy mysteries last year, I was really excited to start a new one. This one was read for a new book club I created on Instagram. I thought it would be fun and cute since it’s basically a murder mystery where the characters are all woodland creatures. That’s all I knew about it. And that’s a good synopsis. I don’t think anyone really needs to know more.

However, I found this book too cutesy. The names bothered me, like how our main character is a fox and her name is Vera Vixen. I may not be the target audience for that. I wanted more imagination, maybe? Because the writing was simple and basic as well, along with the plot points. At one point, Vera finds a mysterious note on her desk and goes to chase down the lead. Then she returns to her desk and there’s another mysterious note and away she goes. It all seemed forced. The author wanted our characters to end up in certain places, in certain situations, and forced their way there, instead of maybe just writing out events and seeing what would happen.

There was a lot of potential. I loved the idea of a lot of the characters, from the moose running the coffee shop to the police bear to the slutty sheep, but it didn’t go far enough. I know it’s supposed to be cozy, so maybe I’m just still unfamiliar with the genre. I also listened to the audio book, which I would recommend if you want to read this book. The narrator, Cassandra Campbell, does a wonderful job. She even does different voices for the characters!