An Education in Malice is a dark academia retelling/reimaging of the sapphic vampire classic Carmilla. Except this time, it’s not told through a male gaze, and the subtext has become text. The retelling is loose enough that it doesn’t follow the exact story, and while familiar characters crop up, they aren’t the same as we recall them from Le Fanu’s text, and new players emerge. A setting of the late 60s provides a stunning backdrop for the drama to unfold. Yet, the vibes of the original story remain, including the most alluring part of both stories: the relationship between Laura and Carmilla.

This time around, Laura is a reserved southern girl leaving home for the first time to attend an all-girls New England university and Carmilla is the enigmatic favorite of their beloved professor, Ms. De Lafontaine. The chemistry is palpable and immediate despite the two students initially clashing, leading for some heated enemies to lovers scenes, and flirting with the original text’s idea that Carmilla is dangerous to Laura. But in this version, Laura isn’t as sweetly innocent as she seems either.

The book follows their year at the university and leans into the proper way to do dark academia: it maintains the mysterious allure of the aesthetic while critiquing the institutions and their abuse of power. There is a seriously wrong power dynamic at play with Professor De Lafontaine and both Carmilla and Laura, and beware that this story doesn’t necessarily dole out penance the way we often seek with such villains. This, along with certain vampire lore, reminded me a lot of Anne Rice’s work, but the way the plot progresses is unlike her novels. A lot happens in this book, including many murders, as the two women grapple with coming face to face with life’s monsters and their feelings for one another. Four stars for me, regarding a vampire book especially, is an endorsement, and I could easily see this being an absolute favorite for many people. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and how beautifully it leaned into the strong cast of female characters (men? Never heard of them). It’s the gorgeous sapphic vampire story I’ve been craving after the taste Le Fanu’s text gave me.

As much as I wanted to love this book, it unfortunately just wasn't for me. If you are however into gothic, dark academia and like her previous book vampire themed - then this book is definitely for you. I just felt the plot was lacking. I wanted more from the story and for some reason I could not connect with the characters. I couldn't feel anything for them. The poetry, prose and all that was beautiful but I guess the entire story, theme and all that just wasn't for me at this moment.
It just felt like I was reading the two girls' diary about their day to day lives. I mean yeah, there's a hint of mystery in the story but I just felt like it lacked something but I can't put my finger as to what. I'm sorry, I really wanted to love this because the cover is so gorgeous, the premise was promising for me but alas it just didn't work for me. I haven't read a lot of dark academia so maybe I'm just not in the mood for it for now?
Also, I'm not obsessed about poetry so maybe that's why?I am still open to reading more books from this author in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I had very high hopes for this book! With there being so much to love in this book. Set in an all girls college, academic rival, an alluring teacher/professor, murders, vampires, hidden crypts and sapphic romance, I was immediately drawn in. But the book fell a little flat for me, I think there just wasn’t enough deptht for me, or maybe juiciness in the plot. Did I enjoy the book yes, but i found it a tad slow. BUT I absolutely LOVE and ADORE S.T. Gibbons writing style. She has just this way with words and how she describes things that just are poetic to me. A few other things that I wish would have been explored more was DeLa Fontaines POV as well as seeing more to Carmilla and Laura’s relationship. I think if we were to have had a 3rd persons POV (MS. D’s) it would have put the plot and story into a little more perspective.

Overall , I loved the concept of this book, but I think it just needed a little more depth to really hit for me.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Unfortunately, this was a dnf at 50% because this book just ended up not being my thing.

What I liked, was the lyrical writing and initial setup of the academic meets religious aesthetic that held my attention at the beginning. There was a mysteriousness to our main characters that made me want to know more. And dark academia with enemies-to-lovers trope, need I say more?

What I did not like, was the toxic and obsessive relationships between the main characters. Despite leaving this book off around 50%, it felt like the plot wasn't on an actual track like the plot was a bit aimless. The characters also became incredibly dull. What made me dnf was how Laura and Carmilla began to just sound like each other instead of their own distinct voices. The romance also felt a bit forced and insta-love-y. I strongly dislike the insta-love trope so it was a bit hard to keep pushing on after this point in the book.

This was my first T.S. Gibson novel but probably not my last. This wasn't for me, but I did like the setup and the author's style of writing.

I don't know how this ends, so a solid 3 stars for the first half of the book I did read.

Also, a big thank you to Netgalley and Redhook Books for the ARC!

You had me at sapphic vampires. An Education in Malice was my first S.T. Gibson book so I wasn't totally sure what I was getting myself into but I am absolutely a fan. The writing was phenomenal and everything I was hoping for after reading Gibson's praise for her other novels. The characters were complex and interesting and sometimes a little unlikeable. Laura and Carmilla's "enemies to lovers" was beautifully written and the way they ended up complimenting each other was exactly what I've come to expect from the trope. I also loved the storyline with Evelyn and Isis even if I think it took too long to get the conclusion. By far though, my favorite scenes were at Magdalena's. I wish we had gotten to see more of that side of the story and given more insight to Laura and Carmilla's lives after they joined her.

As much as I enjoyed this book, I had a few qualms that kept this from being a 5 star read for me. First off, for being dark academia, there was very little academia. The most you get is Laura mentions studying, a couple of De Lafontaine's classes, and reciting in her apartment. I was hoping for more considering the entire book takes place at a college but it feels like the setting could've been anywhere. My other issue was the pacing. I found the beginning and end of the book to move quickly and held my interest. The middle? Not so much. I found myself reading only a chapter or two before putting it down to play with my phone or pick up a different book because it wasn't holding my attention. While I understand the need for the mundane scenes to develop Laura and Carmilla's relationship and push the timeline along, I found myself bored by it.

All in all, I would recommend for Gibson's writing alone.

4/5

oh i absolutely adored this!! A Dowry of Blood was one of my favorite reads of 2022 so I can't say I am surprised to find that I enjoyed another story by the same author. As I said, I really enjoyed this story, however I will say that the plot itself was kind of a mess lol and I wished it had a bit more organization and more angst between the main two characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the ARC of An Education in Malice!

A gifted poet, Laura moves from Mississippi to Massachusetts for her college education. Its the 1960s and she is attending an all girls, religious school. Laura has always felt herself to be unusual as she daydreams fiercely about girls instead of boys. Her first night there, at the welcome bonfire she comes face-to-face with Carmilla, an upperclassman that Laura becomes entranced with. Laura has been allowed into the evening poetry seminar with the upperclassmen and Carmilla is Professor De Lafontaine's favorite. Will the rivalry between Carmilla and Laura turn into something more? What is Professor De Lafontaine's obsession with Carmilla?

I felt like this book didn't go dark enough. It felt to me more like a Sookie Stackhouse retelling than a dark academia story. The school isn't that gothic, even with a vampire on staff. Everything about the story felt very surface level, and I was ultimately disappointed with the story.

I was provided an ARC of this title for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was the second S.T. Gibson title that I’ve had the pleasure of reading, the first of which being Evocation, and I enjoyed them both for the different feel that each of them provided while also finding a sense of familiarity & comfort with Gibson’s style of writing.

I love a reimagining and, while I haven’t read Carmilla & so cannot speak on similarities/ differences from the original story, I found An Education in Malice to be a captivating and compelling sapphic enemies to lovers tale woven into an intriguing dark academic setting, that I definitely struggled to walk away from until its conclusion, and was heavy on my mind for a while still afterward.

Thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy!

Duplicate review due to approval for both audio and ebook.

An Education in Malice is so very slightly-below-average. Characters are flat and guileless (no spoilers, but even THAT one). Mild spice between the lead MCs, but no real chemistry there. It almost seems like it would have worked better if it had been retooled as YA.

Poetically dark and atmospheric, An Education in Malice is the sapphic taboo vampire book that readers didn't realize they needed! Saint Perpetua's College is a place to stretch and strain student's ambition. Somewhere that feeds both knowledge and rivalry, for Laura and Carmilla it is both. De Lafontaine, their poetry professor, will feed and stoke these hungers. But as hate turns into lust turns into a emulsion of these things, Laura and Carmilla will have to decide how far they will go to reach their aspirations - both old and new.

This book was an entire mood. The atmosphere was perfectly dark and the plot was both entirely original, while having all those signatures of a good vampire book. So many people are going to love this book.

The problems that I had with this book mostly came down to personal taste. Poetry is my least favorite genre, and this book is a dark love story dedicated to poetry. It was slow and moody, dramatic and outrageous. The writing style, while brilliantly done, is not one that I find enjoyable.

An Education in Malice is going to be a huge hit with a lot of people. There are so many that I know who will love it for the very reasons that I struggled. I thought that the writing was amazing. The way the atmosphere is built from the first page was impressive, and the characters all had so much depth. I really cannot wait to see vampire story-lovers think of this!

🖤 happy pub day 🖤

Book: An Education in Malice

Author: S. T. Gibson @stgibsonauthor - also the author of A Dowry of Blood, which I read at the end of last year and ADORED 🫶

Pub Date: TODAY! go grab yourself a copy!

GOOD THINGS CHECKLIST:

✔️ vampires 🧛🏼‍♀️

✔️ dark acadmia, fantasy, gothic, & romance vibes all mixed into one beautifully written book

✔️ sapphic academic rivals, opposites attract

✔️ some rather unexpected but not unwelcome steamy scenes 🔥

✔️ focus on plot and character development had amazing balance & felt easy to get so sucked into

✔️ truly just amazed at Gibson's writing - so lush, so many highlighted passages 🫶

I absolutely loved this one! Check it out TODAY (if you know what's good for you 🤭) - thanks to @redhookbooks and @netgalley for the advanced digital copy!

This book was a solid 3/5 for me: I enjoyed it, but there was nothing about it that stood out to me.

I found the dynamic between the girls unique, but their relationship felt rushed to me. When Laura and Carmilla started getting romantic, it felt slightly jarring, because I had expected for it to take more time. Some of their dialogue felt unnatural: I would read it and think, 'No one actually talks like this,' which really took me out of the book at some points. As for plot, I felt like more could have been done - and the pacing felt so rushed! I wish we had spent more time with the vampire society, and that the climax and conflict felt more urgent, which I think could have been done had the book been a big longer. There was a lack of tension in the climax of the book - had the tension been built up, the book would be better to me.

However, I did enjoy the setting! A college campus in a small town is always fun to read about, especially when it's a very new place for the main character - although, again, I feel like more could have been done with the vampire society, like integrating them with the town a little more. I wasn't incredibly attached to the characters, but I did like reading about them and their relationship; I don't have any notes for that! The writing was easy to get through, and I enjoyed the prose.

Thank you to Orbit and S.T. Gibson for the ARC!

Giving this one three stars. I will say, it was very well-written. It captured the gritty and slightly detached nature of a great gothic novel. I also loved that the supernatural elements always felt slightly out of reach (which may be an unpopular opinion, but is a favorite element of this genre for me). However, the character development and overall shallow plot is where this fell flat. I wanted to care more about Laura and Carmilla, but I did not. I wanted to have some sort of explanation for Ms. D, but I did not. Even the decisions of all three characters towards the end felt completely out of left field. Overall, I would say the setup had me very excited, which made the execution pretty disappointing. I still enjoyed reading and can definitely see the appeal to a different audience. With that, it sits at a solid 3/5.

All together a solid read. The characters were as likeable/dislikeable as they needed to be. I never felt like the author was overdoing it on the likeability which seems to be a common thing these days. I greedily wish I knew her decision in the end but I guess that leaves it open for a sequel. My only issue was the font being too small and I couldn't fix it because of the way Kindle formatted the download, but that will be fixed when the finished copy comes out I'm sure.

Sapphic Carmilla retelling for the win? I think so. Sign me up.

I will say that this felt a little short to me — the big, overarching plot problem felt like it wrapped up very quickly and in a bit too neat of a bow — but I cannot deny that it was a fun ride from start to finish. I think I just really like S.T. Gibson's writing, man. Her prose manages to be borderline purple but also compulsively readable, and I'm loving this vampiric universe she's building. Looking forward to (hopefully?) even more of it in the future!

Hauntingly beautiful in a way that sends shivers down your spine, but you still crave for more. An Education in Malice was a fine delicacy. Imagine Carmilla, but modernized and set in an academic setting where the main characters, Laura and Carmilla, are academic rivals-to-lovers! Every page was a blessing to my eyes. The longing. The resistance. The fulfillment of seeing them confess their feelings! Every moment that sparked a tension of their romance felt like a tense. If dark romance is your to-go troupe, An Education in Malice is definitely up there. Three words to describe this novel: Blood, Lust, and Power.
🏷️
Sapphic
Gothic
Vampires
Academic rivals to lovers

Thank you to Redhook and Netgalley for providing me with this arc, it was truly a joy to read.

As soon as this publishes this week, I will purchase a physical copy asap. This was added to my favorites shelf and a definite 5 star read. S.T. Gibson wrote my favorite novel, A Dowry of Blood, and this novel, An Education in Malice was another favorite. An Education in Malic is another vampire focused novel but in a completely different setting: 1960s dark academia in New England. This book was stimulating, lyrically beautiful, and steamy. Check out for a queer, rivals-to-lovers. Carmilla-esque thriller!

Some of my favorite quotes:

"She was like a modern-day princess, with a face sculpted by generations of thoroughbred intermarriage and a mouth shaped for giving orders. I was desperate to know what she looked like on her knees.

"If we transgressed boundaries or dove into the dark waters of something taboo together, I never noticed, as lost as I was to her. For the entirety of the spring semester of my junior year, I was her morning glory, her silver spoon, her prize mare. I devoted myself entirely to a life of letters under her tutelage, wringing every last drop of emotion I had into my poems. And oh, how she praised me. Whether she was lauding me in front of a classroom or whispering encouragement to me in private, I was always her little star. Our spirits were kindred, she would tell me, linked by art and blood in a chain no man’s disapproval or god’s judgment could break."

"I often felt like a wolf wearing the skin of a girl, balancing on two legs and hoping no one would notice. But this girl, this Carmilla . . . she undid all my domestication. One smile from her and I wanted to loose my hair and chase her barefoot through the woods, I wanted to knock her to the ground and pin her like a butterfly, I wanted to dig my teeth into her plush lower lip, I wanted, I wanted....."

Absolutely convinced the author wrote this book for me. I can NOT speak highly enough of it. If I could rate above 5 stars, I would. This book deserves the world.

I could not put this book down! It’s a real coming-of-age story mixed with fantasy aspects. I enjoyed this story so much and absolutely adored Laura’s character development!

S.T. Gibson has done it again! AN EDUCATION IN MALICE is the stunning retelling of CARMILLA that all vampire fanatics should read. Gibson's prose caught my attention from paragraph one. She avoids clichés in vampiric storytelling and still drafts a compelling tale.

Since the story does involve grooming, I definitely did not enjoy the time the professor had on her pages. Even if her intentions are good, it still felt uncomfortable to read her behavior. And this was something Gibson portrays very well.

The one thing holding me back from a five-star rating is that I felt the ending could have been stronger. While we are left open-ended, it could have had the same outcome in a more impactful way,

4.75 stars!