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If We Were Villains cover
MATCHED

Finished If We Were Villains? Meet your next match.

You're not looking for just any book. You want that exact dark feeling again. We compatibility-checked 12 books and found your matches.

by M.L. Rio

Literary FictionDark AcademiaMystery 🌶️ 1/5 DarkTheatricalAtmospheric

So If We Were Villains wrecked you. Welcome to the club. Whether it was the dark vibes, the dark academia, or M.L. Rio's ability to make you forget you have a life outside these pages — we've been there. These aren't random "if you liked X" picks. Every book on this page was matched element by element against what made If We Were Villains hit different. Same energy, new stories.

YOUR MATCHES

12 Books Matched to If We Were Villains

Grouped by the elements that made If We Were Villains unforgettable.

Matches that share If We Were Villains's dark energy

97%
The Secret History cover
The Secret History
by Donna Tartt
🌶️ 1/5 · 559p · Literary Fiction, Dark Academia
Your BookTok FYP is about to thank you for this one.
Add to your TBR →
94%
An Education in Malice cover
An Education in Malice
by S.T. Gibson
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5 · 352p · Dark Academia, Gothic
Matched on mood, spice, and that specific thing you can't explain but need.
Add to your TBR →
91%
In the Woods cover
In the Woods
by Tana French
🌶️ 1/5 · 429p · Mystery, Literary Fiction
Shares If We Were Villains's dark DNA — same rush, different story.
Start reading tonight →

Your literary fiction matches

89%
Hamnet cover
Hamnet
by Maggie O'Farrell
🌶️ 1/5 · 320p · Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
The literary fiction you didn't know you needed after If We Were Villains. Trust us.
Meet your match →

Your #1 Match — We'd swipe right for you

Based on mood alignment, spice compatibility, and trope DNA.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt — 🌶️ 1/5 spice, 559 pages

Meet your match →
BEFORE YOU COMMIT

Quick answers before your next match

Based on mood, trope, and pacing analysis, the most similar books to If We Were Villains include The Secret History, An Education in Malice, In the Woods. Each matches on specific elements like dark and theatrical that made If We Were Villains resonate with readers.

We recommend starting with The Secret History by Donna Tartt — it shares If We Were Villains's core Dark energy while bringing something fresh to the table.

If We Were Villains is a standalone novel. You can jump right in without reading anything else first.

If We Were Villains has a spice level of 1/5. The recommendations on this page range across spice levels — each one is labeled so you can find your comfort zone.

If We Were Villains is already a low-spice read (1/5). Most similar books on this page have comparable heat levels.

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How these profiles are built

Every Sort By Cravings profile is written after a full read-through — not scraped from publisher blurbs. We cross-reference BookTok discussions, Goodreads reviews, and 500+ reader reactions before publishing any mood tag, spice rating, or compatibility note. Read our editorial standards.