Sapphic Dark Academia with vampires. This is so perfect for me. I went it this with high expectations and overall, I think it held up. The writing was sensuous and atmospheric painting the background of this story in dark and carnal ways. The ways Laura and Carmilla were interacting with each other in the beginning of this book was the perfect enemies that you know will be lovers. They were like magnets on the wrong sides fighting against each other until they did a flip, and they were in love. Then we add in the super weird De Lafontaine relationship. It was so inappropriate for the student teacher relationship and how she pushed the two together and then was jealous of them.
As Laura and Carmilla are pulled into the vampire world more and more and bad things are happening on campus is where the book lost me a little. I almost wish the murders on campus were more of a mystery and we weren't sure who was committing them. But we knew it was Isis so it didn't feel as mysterious. And then the ending with the climatic "double cross" trap was so obvious that I wasn't sure I was reading it right. It felt rushed to get to the end of the book. I could have read a million times more of this world and this campus. I would have loved to have been drawn into Laura's brain more where she was more conflicted about her religion verse the vampire world of carnal desires.
I would have loved more of Carmellia fighting between her love of De Lafontaine and Laura.
I think overall I really liked the story and the world, but I was left a little lacking in the growth of the characters. They all fell a little flat.
I would very much like to read more by this author. She has a beautiful writing style that really lets you sink into the world she is creating.
I would recommend for anyone that likes dark academia, love triangle and vampires.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Though I didn't like it quite as much as A Dowry of Blood, the rivals to lovers arc was well written. I really enjoyed all of the characters and felt they were written very well. I also loved how the vampire element was tied in.

I enjoyed it!
Firstly, that cover is 🤌🏼
Secondly, it was an entertaining read for sure. I enjoyed myself and the characters. Storyline flowed nicely too.

ST Gibson can do no wrong. I live for her writing style. It’s lush and sensual and eloquent. I’ll read anything she writes.

I love dark academia. I’m so glad that she chose this setting.

My only complaint about her books is that I’m always left wanting more. They’re so good and they’re never long enough.

There was promise to this story, but I felt the author spent little time developing the characters, the world, the environment. There were reactions from characters that felt rushed or from nowhere.

How many girls in one book can be not like other girls? Well, it turns out when you have three female main characters, apparently all three can be not like other girls.

I didn't dislike An Education in Malice but it was disappointing.

What I loved-
The setting. S.T. Gibson transported you to Massachusetts in the late 60's. The setting of an all girls college was atmospheric. It managed to be both creepy and ancient, while feeling like you could join the girls in class or on the campus and brush minds with the brightest young women of the time.
I'm sure it doesn't have to be said but the prose was perfect. Every chapter was lyrical and magical and an enjoyment to read, even when I wasn't necessarily enjoying the characters or the plot.

What I didn't love-
The characters themselves. My goodness. <spoiler>Carmilla started out as captivating and alluring but she ended up being incredibly naive and whiny. Then there was Laura, whose name I had to look up just now because I already forgot it. Laura had a lot of growth, I will give her that. However, she just wasn't super memorable. Half of her personality was being obsessed with Carmilla and the other half was beating herself up and feeling bad about her body and her "proclivities." I don't expect every character to be self-confident and accepting of themselves but calling herself "doughy" rubbed me wrong when she had such an extensive vocabulary as a writer and felt confident to strip down in front of a room of strangers barely a few days laters (I think? time was hard to follow at points).
Then there was Ms. DeLafontaine. She was supposed to be this wise woman, a mentor, and yet she couldn't make a good decision to save her life. Her relationship was Carmilla was so frustrating because I couldn't understand why she was so jealous of the relationship Carmilla had with Laura, when she didn't want a relationship with Carmilla and told her she thought of her like a daughter or her prodigy. Stop leading her on then? You know the poor girl in obsessed in a romantic way and yet Ms. D never fully shut it down until the end of the book.
And all three of them know who a killer is on campus and yet they just keep going about their life and letting women get murdered for months? What?? Like they don't even think or mention it while they're going about their lives and reciting poetry. It was weird.
And what was with the toe nail painting? </spoiler>

Then there was the general plot of the story. Dare I say that I was expecting something with higher stakes?

Truly, it was enjoyable to read as something character driven with low stakes. The writing is truly lovely. I just wish the characters had been more consistent in their personalities and that the plot was more of a driving force and not just something happening in the background.

Thank you netgalley and Redhook for the ARC

I have loved S. T. Gibson’s unique way of telling stories and the stories she chooses to revive. This one is a retelling of the Carmilla tale, set in a 1960s Massachusetts girls college. The author is always incredibly provocative and unforgiving with her characters. They’re flawed and consistently grey. Multiple times throughout this book I changed my opinions on each of the main characters, unable to decide if they’re a good person or bad. But that’s the whole point is that they’re somewhere in between with differing motives. She also writes complex relationships, bordering abusive in the most subtle ways at times.
My main complaint is that I wished the conflict had more of a surprise to it, because I found it to be a little too anticlimactic.

Thank you so much for letting me read the ARC copy!

This book reminded me a bit of Dowry of Blood, but with the atmosphere of Bunny by Mona Awad.

Here is my honest feedback & thoughts:

I enjoyed it a lot, but it definitely doesn’t beat Dowry of Blood.

It was a bit uneventful and honestly I don’t even think I remember the ending less than a month after reading it. So it’s not one that really left an impression on me, but I did enjoy it.

I ended up listening to this on audible and I’m definitely glad I listened to the audiobook or else I may have been bored and not enjoyed it as much.

I do really wish it had a spookier atmosphere though. I also felt like it was missing something. I feel like it either needed more atmosphere, spice, mystery, or suspense.

But I did enjoy it.

I loved this! The dark academia and the sapphic. Ugh, it was great! There were some parts that were a bit slow for me and I wish some of the minor characters were fleshed out a little more. However, I absolutely loved it overall. I really related to the characters and I even loved to HATE the characters that I was supposed to hate. The storyline was fantastic and I really do hope that there is a second one. I would love to see what happens next!! My co-host and I gush over it this Thursday 3/7 on our podcast, The Good Girls Society (@good.girls.pod on instagram and tiktok).

I’ve never immediately raved about the writing in a book as I’m reading it, but the writing in this book had me hooked in the first two pages. The word choice and the way everything flowed was poetic in nature. The plot was fast paced, if not a bit predictable in parts. The characters were relatable and ones you could root for. After reading this book, I would read more of S.T. Gibson’s work, without a doubt - and would recommend this sapphic dark academic romance to friends.

This book was delicious. Vampires, all-girls boarding school, academic rivals to lovers, southern preacher’s daughter and european aristocrat— YUM.
For a Carmilla retelling, I wanted a little more bite. I wish Gibson gave it permission to be more vicious, especially at the ending, which felt shallow in comparison to the original work.
An Education in Malice crafted an alluring atmosphere, intricate relationships, and some truly sumptuous scenes. If you’re looking for a new adult vampire romance, this is the one to read!
Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the opportunity to read and review An Education in Malice.

<b>ARC provided in exchange for an honest review</b>

<i>3.75 ★</i>

I have a lot of thoughts about this book, let’s start with what I loved.

Not sure how I didn’t realize this when I got the ARC but this is a Carmilla retelling!!!! What a wonderful surprise!! The writing is gorgeous as well, it was so easy to connect with the characters and the story was truly focused on more about the characters developing rather than a plot, which is lovely when it’s done correctly like this story was done.

So, mentioning the connecting with the characters, I do need to point out the obvious topic that took 2 stars from this book.. the teacher, De Lafontaine. I understand wanting to make the character complex, she definitely is one, but wow. In the beginning I thought she had a full on inappropriate relationship with Carmilla, which I later understood that it was implied but not fully like that, more in the sense of emotional rather than physical but,, if I may speak frankly THATS WEIRDDDD. I didn’t like her at all and it was a surprise when I realized that I was supposed to somewhat have positive thoughts about her. Like the ending gave her a somewhat redemption,, and she mentioned how she saw Carmilla as her daughter but the jealousy she had between Carmilla and Laura was so extremely uncomfortable. Ever time she was mentioned in the story, my face immediately went into the “looking at the secret camera” action from The Office with a 😐 expression. I think it’s more upsetting that I can’t figure out if the readers were supposed to be,, happy with the ending relationship of Carmilla and De Lafontaine? Like they’re still very very negatively codependent on each other,,, other than that loved the sapphics, although the romance was surprisingly a bit rushed as it went from hate to love real quick but it wasn’t something that ruined the book for me.

- a reimagining of Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1872 vampire novella Carmilla
- set in 1960s New England
- dark academia, all-girls college
- sapphic academic rivals to lovers
- poetry professor behaving badly
- student/professor power imbalance
- romantic obsession
- gothic atmosphere
- sexual tension, spice, kink, exhibitionism
- companion novel to A Dowry of Blood, but can be read as a stand alone
- check trigger warnings

listen to: Lacy by Olivia Rodrigo

Gibson’s lush prose pulled me into this deliciously dark gothic 1960s world on page one and had me captivated all the way through. This story is highly character-driven, told in first person dual POV, and filled with angst, drama, desire, manipulation and obsession. Carmilla, Laura and professor De Lafontaine are each such interesting, distinct, and well-developed characters. I loved this world and especially loved the ending. I hope certain characters appear again at some point in Gibson’s work. 🩶

Comparing this to A Dowry of Blood:
I enjoyed this book more than A Dowry of Blood. (Note: I loved ADOB and rated it 4 stars). For me, ADOB was heavier. It had more of a sad desperate tone. An Education in Malice, while still dark, feels much more hopeful. In large part, due to the school setting, youthfulness of the characters and the intoxicating romance.



Thank you Netgalley, Redhook Books and Orbit Books for the opportunity to read and review this gem!

Beautifully written with poetic references. I had no idea there would be vampires featured, so that took me by surprise, pleasantly. I would give this a 3.5/5. It was on the shorter end which was nice, while also feeling like the storyline wasn't missing anything.

"I've always known what I wanted, Laura. I'm positively made of of wanting. It's strange to be sure of so little."
Ahhhh this was a nice read!
I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, especially going into this blind. This book alone made me want to read more of this author.
The style was very enjoyable. Poetic, lyrical, but not incomprehensible either. Everything felt very artful and the aesthetic of the world that was described to me (Ms. D's office, the school as a whole, etc.) was right up my alley.
I also really enjoyed the characters. Laura grew on me and Carmilla drew me in right away. I liked that their temperaments were established so soon in the story and that, although they evolved through the novel, they still stayed coherent characters.
The only reason I am giving this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because I wish the plotline with Iris could have run a little deeper. The ending sadly did not feel as satisfying to me as the rest of this very good book.

It was a great book, the story is amazing! I cant wait to read more from this author! I gave this book 4/5 stars, it was very well written and i just fell in love with the characters. I want to keep this spoiler free so i wont same much else but it was very enjoyable and i highly recommend

Wellllll this one just wasn’t for me. It read like a short story that was just extended into a high enough word count to make it a book. I liked the alternating POVs which definitely made it more engaging, but I just wasn’t invested. I did like the ending thought, as well as the idea that not all the vamps were bad. Some will love this, just not I!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64414866-an-education-in-malice

Sapphic vampires in dark academia? SIGN. ME. UP. I love-love-loved this one. The setting was dramatic and atmospheric, the characters were rich and compelling, and the romance/sex scenes were STEAMY. S. T. Gibson can simply do no wrong.

this is what you’d expect from an st gibson story. obsession, atmosphere, stunning prose, and truly messy characters that captivate the story. as for plot, it’s a stretch to say it even secondary in this story but it’s there nonetheless but certainly isn’t where this book shines. if you go into this story expecting it to be like a dowry of blood you may be disappointed as the tone is vastly different and the more toxic elements to this story aren't really challenge therefore lacks those conversations loved in a dowry of blood. i went into this for the vibes and just being back in the world and was pleased. I’ve never wanted to change my aesthetic so much before this story.

This book is one of lush story-telling and violence. The characters are young and naive in the most realistic way possible. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I absolutely love a good exploration of the corruption of academia. However, I felt the exploration of Carmilla and De Fontaine needed a bit more backstory. I want to know how this attachment came to be.

I also felt the romance felt a little forced. Laura and Carmilla did not have as much chemistry as I would've hoped. I did still enjoy their romance though.

As a young college student myself, I felt St. Gibson did a phenomenal job representing the confusion and adjustment college students face.

I really enjoyed this read! Thank you NetGalley!