I had mixed feelings about this book. Dark Academia pushes the bounds of what is believable in a school setting but some elements of the story felt a little too unbelievable. The suspension of disbelief worked for the staff turning a blind eye to things happening at the school but it seemed shocking that no one was exposing secrets on social media before this became a plot point in the book. It really seems like at least one of the targeted kids would have been out for some revenge by sharing secrets with the gossip blogs but setting that aside I also had some other concerns. A second marker of the genre are the morally grey characters and it felt like some of this also fell short for some of the main characters. The way the perspectives shifted helped with some of this but a couple of the main characters still fell a little flat. Additionally the way the pacing of the book was one of the main characters arc explaining his more complex side felt kind of rushed. That said I did really like Milo and Ari as characters the ways they both alternatively focused on survival but also at times wanted to fight for change was really well done particularly the way they didn't quite align their friendship was so complicated and compelling and seeing their history unfold through the book was so well done. I also thought that while elements of it were definitely rough the complex bulling system and how they used modern technology was really interesting. I'm not sure what it would have taken to fully believe that the system would work but once I was more fully immersed in the story it was a great way to demonstrate the power dynamics and high stakes of social standing at the school. As I got more into the story I was able to just let go of things that were bothering me and enjoy it more, and by the end I really enjoyed how everything came together, I still really enjoyed the story as a whole.

I'm a huge fan of Kacen Callender's work, but this book unfortunately didn't live up to his prior books. Set at an elite, conflict-ridden boarding school, the book leaned so far into dark academia that it became farce. Elite schools do have immense problems with racism, classism and the like; they also have issues with bullying. Callender excels when he leans into the former, particularly in the sections from Arianna's perspective, wherein he describes her struggles to garner social acceptance amongst her wealthy, majority-white peers as a Black girl on scholarship. When describing bullying, however, or the general social setup of a boarding school, Callender's writing becomes so absurd as to imperil his more insightful observations about the former issues. Boarding schools do not have fight clubs. Their students do not regularly beat each other up. They also generally tend to avoid hiring (and covering up) the presence of serial killers. These elements might have worked had Callender made the novel speculative (about a magical military academy, perhaps), but given his setting it in the real world, it just felt ludicrous and honestly like a missed opportunity. The number of characters proved confusing as well, an unfortunate thing, because several of them (such as Milo) were genuinely interesting and not given enough time on page. The dynamic between Milo, Liam and Arianna was enjoyable to read, and Callender sneaks in some perceptive character-work with some of the more unlikeable characters. As ever, he shines at refusing to accept easy answers or to make any figure within the book fully evil. With that said, comparing this to Felix Ever After, I found myself missing Callender's excellent capturing there of the subtle ways in which bigotry manifests in so-called "Progressive" environments. Nevertheless, I am very grateful to have read this, and look forward to his later work.

We Are Villains is a quick, fast-paced read in the very morally grey, often evil world, of Yates Academy. At one point the book references Lord of the Flies and it’s so appropriate. This is a book about how hard it can be to break from traditions, even evil ones, if they are the status quo and no authority opposes it.

I really enjoyed Milo and Liam as characters and enjoyed how complex everyone was when their ultimate goal was truly to survive and the different ways they all went about accomplishing that goal.

Bullying, racism, misogyny, and class struggle play a central role throughout, so check your trigger warnings!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Some great, well-developed central characters and an engrossing mystery make this a page-turning read. The themes of culpability, moral growth, and how to change oneself within a broken system resonate well beyond the walls of the toxic boarding school where this story is set.

It suffered a bit from too many points of view for my taste, but was a worthwhile read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

3.5 stars, rounded up.

I enjoyed this book overall. It is definitely a dark story, and at times the level of violence and bullying tolerated by the school was difficult to believe. This is a perfect book for readers who enjoy morally grey characters and dark mysteries!

I think I wanted this to be a little bit more tense. Sure, we have a mysterious death, an illicit fight club, a tacitly accepted hierarchy of bullying, but it all felt only skin deep. I’d be really curious about the first aid facilities in this school and how no one ever investigated - it all felt a little too convenient given the sheer volume of incidents and the existence of social media. I also didn’t buy into some of the relationships between characters that only get revealed in the second half; if they were supposedly close then none of the plot would hold water.

What I really liked was Milo. Trans and aroace, probably autistic, constantly juggling his desire to puzzle through what makes other people tick with whether secrets can and should be kept. I think we could have gotten more of his moral dilemma, and that would have really hammered home his character.

I also thought the ending was way too neat

Another Kacen Callender novel? Sign me up! I have to admit it, it’s not my favorite genre and I loved too much Stars in your eyes, but this book is good too. The premises are so interesting and the story is developed really well. I was captured and I love it. It’s a truly good Dark Academia book.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

I’m always looking forward to the next Kacen Callender book. If nothing else, I’m always interested in seeing what comes next for the characters and worlds they create. I was curious as to how they’d go about this premise.

I liked the focus on identity, morality, and the complexities of being labeled a “villain.” The premise is strong, and the character dynamics are intriguing, particularly as they struggle with their roles in the story.

That said, the book didn’t quite live up to its potential for me. Some parts of the narrative felt fragmented, making it difficult to fully engage with the characters or their arcs. While the themes are interesting, the story didn’t come together as cohesively as I had hoped. At times, the pacing lagged, and I found it hard to connect emotionally.

Though it has its moments, We Are Villains didn’t quite resonate in the way I expected. It’s an ambitious book, but it fell short of delivering the depth I was looking for. 3/5 stars.

I feel like I should have enjoyed this, but I just couldn't get on board. Multiple POVs are something I struggle with - not keeping on top of them, but connecting to the characters properly and I think this is part of what happened here.

Review DNF: I'm sad to say I DNFed this book so fast, I made it about 70pgs but it was rough. It's a boarding school murder mystery (which I love!), but I found it difficult to read. It seems like it needs so much work still.

When the book starts its drops you into the story so abruptly it was jarring. There wasn't a lot of stage setting and it felt like I jumped into the middle of the story not the start.

The tone was all over the place. It had a serious vibe with the murder and intense school bullying happening, but the school social hierarchy was gossip girl level over the top (also there was a fight club?). The book is lacking the playfulness gossip girl used for balance so it just felt dark but with an extremely dramatic power dynamic. Maybe it didn't need playfulness but to make the hierarchy feel more natural and less exaggerated? I don't know, it just meshed together strangely. Something about it felt incohesive.

I just finished Where Sleeping Girls Lie in October (also a boarding school mystery) and I couldn't help comparing them. WSGL is phenomenal and We are Villains just seems like an early draft in comparison. I have enjoyed other books by this author before and don't think this one is a good representation of their work.

Thanks to @netgalley and Amulet Books for a copy of this book!

Before picking up We Are Villains, I had read two other Kacen Callender novels and really enjoyed both, so I went into this novel expecting, at the very least, to like it. And wouldn't you know it, that is exactly what happened. I've read a ton of dark academia novels this year and had a bunch of misses and very few hits, and I'm glad I found another I really liked that I will eventually add to my shelves. This follows a large cast of queer morally gray characters and explores morality, grief, mental health, and corruption. I particularly liked one of it's main characters, Milo. He was ace/aro, hinted at being autistic, a trans boy, and just generally one of the more interesting characters to follow over the course of the novel. The diverse representation in this book was overall really good. I can't pinpoint exactly what about this story I didn't love enough to give a full five stars, but I think it was the wring style, it felt a little too simple, but considering this is YA, I'm gonna say thats not a fault of the book and a personal preference on my part. I will absolutely be picking up more Callender novels in the future.

"We are Villains" is a dark academia young adult mystery novel by Kacen Callender. Milo is a returning senior at Yates Academy, coming back after a breakdown when his friend Ari went missing and is presumed dead. Liam is the King of the school and seemingly has everything, but he starts getting messages that say that he killed Ari and if he doesn't confess, more evidence will be released and ruin his life. Liam hires Milo to find out who is sending him the letters. A mystery set in a rich high school where there is a distinct division between the scholarship kids and the rich kids, as well as constant hazing that is overlooked by the adults. A must buy for YA fiction collections, especially where mysteries and dark academia are popular.