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.
We broke down If We Were Villains into the elements that made it hit — and found books that match each one.
You loved If We Were Villains for the dark and atmospheric and dark academia? The Secret History is your next obsession. Same emotional frequency, different story — and Donna Tartt might just become your new auto-buy author.
An Education in Malice hits the same dark and atmospheric and dark academia notes that made If We Were Villains impossible to put down. S.T. Gibson brings gothic and dark to every page.
The dark and atmospheric that made If We Were Villains unforgettable? In the Woods channels that exact energy. 429 pages of atmospheric, dark that'll fill the void.
If If We Were Villains's atmospheric and shakespeare energy had you one-clicking at midnight, Hamnet delivers the same rush with a historical fiction twist. Maggie O'Farrell knows exactly what you're craving.
You loved If We Were Villains for the dark and atmospheric and dark academia? The Secret History is your next obsession. Same emotional frequency, different story — and Donna Tartt might just become your new auto-buy author.
Answer one question and we'll point you to the right book.
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.
Every "Books Like" page on Sort By Cravings is built from element-level matching — not surface genre tags. We compare mood profiles, trope density, pacing, heat levels, and emotional tone across our entire library of 12 profiled books to find reads that match on the things that actually matter to readers. Read our editorial standards.