Eliza and Rory Review M.L. Rio's 'If We Were Villains'... with texts!

Enter the players. There were seven of us then, seven bright young things with wide precious futures ahead of us. Until that year, we saw no further than the books in front of our faces.

We, here at The Attic on Eighth, love a good novel that delves into the literary canon, plays with what we know, and then produces something of great value that's all its own. M.L. Rio's debut novel, If We Were Villains is just that. Dipping in and out of the present, IWWV tells the story of seven young Shakesperian actors who are faced with violence. The novel plays with the prose, borrows from theater, and creates a compelling story of drama, crime, lust, and friendship.

As the author is a friend of ours, we decided that we would do something a little different in addressing If We Were Villains. To get things started, Culture Editor Eliza (A True Theater Kid & Literature Student) and Beauty Editor Rory (Who Could Have Been an Early Modernist) review the novel through a series of text messages. Tomorrow, Fashion Editor Raquel is going to whip up a cocktail inspired by the novel. Finally, on Saturday, we're going to host an interview with M.L. Rio herself.

As Rory likes to point out, we've learnt to cope with distance quite effectively at the Attic, as we all (except for Rory and I) live in different cities, countries, and continents. We communicate regularly thanks to a group chat that helps us coordinate but also support each other. Our regular line of communication inspired Rory with this piece, giving her hopes that giving you a glimpse behind the scenes could be a new way to let you participate in the discussion of a book several of us have loved.

Without further ado, your piece. We really hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did!