*4.5 stars*

An Education in Malice is dark and lush, an excellent sapphic story of rivals and vampires set in late 1960s academia. I devoured this.

S.T. Gibson excels in atmosphere and prose and this book was no exception. I think the academic setting was a perfect choice for this story and well done. I enjoyed the ending but I wish we’d gotten to see more of Laura and Carmilla begin to navigate life on their own terms. I think that the inner narrations of Laura and Carmilla did sound very similar at times, and I wish they had been a little more fleshed out. Still, this was highly enjoyable and I definitely recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this work. All opinions in this review are my own.

I liked A Dowry of Blood, and I think the main issue with An Education in Malice is it felt too similar to really stand out. I’d take Dowry over this one because everything felt more natural in that book than it does here. Fans of dark academia will like this though, it does hit that dark tone nicely.

Note: arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for honest reviews

I am honestly loving this author more and more with each book I read. An Education in Malice was deliciously insatiable, sexy and exciting. I would highly recommend it!

An Education in Malice is about our main FMC’s Laura and Carmilla. This is a Carmilla re-telling and it was beautifully done. Laura and Carmilla attend the same school and the first moment they met we get this spark, but the girls quickly become rivals in the highest regard. Both girls are attending the school for their writing promise and quickly become enthralled with their professor De Lafontaine as they do with each other. But De Lafontaine has a secret and motivations of her own. When Laura discovers the unusual relationship between Carmilla and De Lafontaine, she is thrust into a world she could have never expected.

I loved the obsession, the respect and irony of this story. The mash up between past ideals and modern acceptances around femininity and sexuality was nicely done. Also enjoyed the cameo from a character of S.T Gibsons’ from A Dowry of Blood. I will be honest and say that sapphic stories were not always my go to, S.T Gibson is one of the first authors I have read sapphic storylines from and she does it in a way that is really enjoyable.

Honestly, looking forward to my next S.T Gibson read!

An Education in Malice is being released February 13, 2024!

📌Thank you NetGalley and Redhook Books for a copy of this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A beautifully written Carmilla retelling, that retains all of the hallmarks of the original story, while creating a fresh new take on this classic tale.
I love a good Gothic vampire romance, and this one was brimming with all of the darkness, angst, and complex romance that I crave. All of the relationships are intoxicating, and leave you breathless, and wanting more.
The story is atmospheric and lush, and pulls you right in. That is the magic of the author’s lyrical and captivating writing style. As with her A Dowry of Blood, I truly felt like I was there, within the pages of the story.
The reader is truly engrossed, and taken on a journey. There is murder, mystery, and edge of your seat suspense, all woven throughout story, and anchored by the intricate relationships between the main characters.
This book is erotic, raw, dark, at times gory, and absolutely spellbinding. The slow-burn and illicit romances will truly suck you in and hold you fast. Like the original story, you will be simultaneously horrified and captivated, and I am absolutely here for it.

4.5⭐️ 3🌶️

Excellent for those who love dark and thrilling reads. I loved the story, and I enjoyed the approach that the author took in developing how modern vampires might chose to exist in this day and age.

At this point, S.T. Gibson could lead me into her lair of vampires..... coffin and all.......

Her writing style makes you reflect on the marvel and the macabre of how it feels to live forever. From A Dowry of Blood to An Education in Malice, Gibson captures the essence of what it means to be a creature of the night. Her words whisper with the flirtatious thoughts of alluring vamps. While the plot stakes you right in your mortal heart with their unforgettable toxic nature.

Laura is a southern gal and reserved to a fault. Carmilla is everything, but. They are both battling for an ounce of praise from their poetry professor De Lafontaine at Saint Perpetua's College. When studious behavior turns sinister, will an unrelenting pursuit of knowledge be worth the secrets they unearth?

Obsession. Seduction. Lies.
An Education in Malice is moody, with a capital M! If you love dark academia vibes, vampirism, and academic rivals....THIS. IS. FOR. YOU!

I loved A Dowry of Blood and I think my expectations from that book carried over into An Education in Malice. The idea of a taboo relationship between a professor and her students was so intriguing to me. The obsession and strive for perfection could very easily lead to an unstable environment and I wanted to see that play out. While the atmosphere was developed very meticulously, the story ended up falling flat for me. I was uncomfortable the entire time I was reading due to the power imbalance present which was great execution on the author’s part. However, the ending was lackluster and the pacing dragged in certain parts. I didn’t like how there wasn’t repercussions for certain characters and I expected this book to take a darker turn than it did. The ending just let me down.

An absolutely delicious sapphic Carmillia reimagining, An Education in Malice is a beautifully written slow burn vampire story that follows Laura as she begins college in America. Set in the late 1960's, we follow along as Laura meets her soon to be rival Carmilla and the two of them become dangerously entangled with both one another and their mysterious professor.
This story is beautifully written and I cannot wait to read more from the author.
Please find attached my more in depth youtube review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhVANE8SeqE

"An Education in Malice" was a delicious, addicting, divine read. From start to finish, everything about this novel is absolute sapphic perfection. The writing is terribly beautiful, with a dark academic world that's simply to die for, and characters who feel so real it's almost as if the reader knows them themselves. Filled with romance, gore, glory, and murder- "An Education in Malice" is well above a five out of five star read.

This was such a great read! It had the perfect blend of dark academia and vampire vibes, with the addition of a sexy sapphic romance. S.T Gibson is incredible at setting an atmospheric tone, and it truly set the stage for this delicious tale.

It was very fast-paced and truly so captivating! I loved the characters, the world, the vampires, and the romance was *chefs kiss*.

I have yet to read A Dowry of Blood, but I will definitely be adding it to my TBR and I am so excited to read more books by this author!

S.T. Gibson does it again! Seriously how can I learn to write like this?! It’s so beautiful and intoxicating.

so excited we get another release from this author this year!

And if you liked Dowry of Blood there’s a special guest appearance 👀

Beautiful! Another stunning novel from S.T Gibson who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Already requested we sell this book and it was thusly ordered.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of the highly anticipated book An Education in Malice! This is a Carmilla retelling and I absolutely loved the sapphic vampire romance in this story! I felt a little confused with the teacher/student relationship, it was very hard to tell if it was a romantic thing or a platonic, which was obviously the goal. The reason why I’m rating this 4 stars is because it took 80% for this to actually get some action. Don’t get me wrong I loved the relationship and watching them grow but I want some action with my vampire stories.

S. T. Gibson returns the vampire novel to its brutal, bloody origins of exploring youth, power, and sexuality in this sumptuous dark academic take on the genre. For fans of An Interview with the Vampire, Underworld, and If We Were Villains, An Education in Malice reshapes the famous vampire story Carmilla into a late '60s sapphic story of forbidden longing and youthful love.

Laura, a sheltered freshman, arrives at Saint Perpetua's ready to pursue her dreams of writing poetry. She's is immediately dropped into the intoxicating world of Ms. De Lafontaine, the enigmatic creative writing professor, and her star pupil, Carmilla. Academic rivalry fuels hate and desire between Laura and Carmilla, jealously watched over by Ms. D. When secrets turn un-deadly, Laura must decide if the tantalizing world of sex and blood ruled over by vampires is something she's willing to dive in to.

The beginning chapters had this former English major flashing back to assigned readings and the furious late-night writing of university life. I remember striving against peers for the praise of a favorite professor, but Carmilla and Laura take it to another level. The academic slowly fades to the background as Laura and Carmilla's story becomes more entrenched with De Lafontaine's, but the edge of competitive attention seeking never totally disappears. Even among vampire orgies and confrontations with reawoken ancient lovers, there is an element of approval seeking that underlies the entire story. It's a fascinating study in the power imbalance of unboundaried relationships between students and mentors, and childhood trauma that drives it.

Gibson includes a list of content warnings to begin the novel, which I suggest taking seriously. A student-teacher relationship, and the power dynamics involved in it, are central to the novel. Sex, sexuality and kink all feature strongly as well. But these themes are what vampire stories have always been about, from its earliest iterations on ancient Sumerian cylinders to the original Carmilla to Anne Rice's seminal works. Really the only relationship safe from these is Laura's friendship with upperclassmen Elenore, which provided tender and needed breaks.

I devoured this novel in just 48 hours. I cannot wait to read more from S. T. Gibson.

This is my first Gibson book and I can absolutely tell why people have been telling me to read the author's books. 😂 The writing style is so fun and easy to read! I absolutely loved the rivalry between Carmilla and Laura. I never read the original Carmilla, but I feel like the tone Gibson has in the writing here fit very well. I love how we get to explore both girl's relationships with each other as well as with De Lafontaine as well!

Even though the plot isn't similar at all, I kind of got Cruel Intentions vibes from it too for some reason, but AGAIN, the plot isn't similar to that at all. 😂 I do think that there was just a little bit of an oomph missing here which is why it's not a 5 ⭐ read, but I read this all in one sitting and loved the build up so much. The ending was really nice too!! I can't wait to go back and read A Dowry of Blood and for Gibon's upcoming Evocation as well.

To Laura Sheridan, the small, all-female college in Massachusetts where she enrolls is a different world than her home in Mississippi. And in her advanced poetry course, she meets Carmilla. Carmilla, the best student in the course and the pet of the instructor Ms. De Lafontaine, is immediately her rival and perhaps something much more…

I loved Dowry of Blood, so I was excited to read this one, especially since I heard it was inspired by the 19th century Gothic novella Carmilla. Like Dowry of Blood, there are a lot of vibes, but unlike Dowry of Blood, there’s somewhat more of a plot. I think some readers will absolutely swoon over the combination of dark academia, sapphic romance, and vampirism.

And the relationship between Carmilla and Laura is certainly the heart of this book. The tension is occasionally scintillating, but the relationship progresses in these odd, jerky rushes like a clumsy inchworm. There’s a sensual scene that’s a big tonal shift about 70% that’s truly the climax of the book, leading the last 30% to kind of fizzle.

Laura is an intriguingly complex character, but even though she’s our main POV character she’s not fleshed out enough to feel real. I think there’s a tug of war at play where Laura is intended to be both her own character and a cipher for the reader. Instead, the things we know about her– her penchant for mary jane shoes, her appreciation for erotica with power imbalances, her self-consciousness with her own body– sit lightly on a nonentity, but her actions feel occasionally baffling. Similarly, De Lafontaine, vampirism in general, the 1960s setting, and the rest of the plot are just garnishes– they feel like they could be removed entirely and the heart of the book, such as it is, would still be there.

I hate to say it, but An Education in Malice is a lukewarm companion to A Dowry of Blood. Like A Dowry of Blood is a reimagining of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, An Education in Malice is a reimagining of Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. It’s a good attempt, but not nearly as successful. The pacing felt disjointed and the plot lacked direction. Events were taking place, character dynamics were changing, yet I couldn’t place the motivation behind it all. Perhaps it’s because there was a lot of telling instead of showing. This too was heavily present in A Dowry of Blood, but it worked because it was an epistolary novel. The dual perspectives of Laura and Carmilla were not distinguishable enough from each other, especially as the story progressed. And despite getting a first-person narrative, I didn’t find the romance between Laura and Carmilla convincing. Their trajectory from haters to lovers came off very clunky. Lastly, I was unsatisfied with Ms. De Lafontaine’s character. I kept expecting her to be a darker, more sinister character but that never came to fruition. I just expected there to be something more to the grooming plotline. Now, I know I’ve given a lot of critiques, but I still found An Education in Malice a solidly entertaining read. I got through it quickly which would not have happened had I not been interested in the story. I highly recommend interested readers give it a go for themselves. A Dowry of Blood remains one of my all-time favorites and I will certainly pick up Evocation, another novel from Gibson coming out this year.
3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for this book!

The book was just wow! Loved the characters Laura and Carmilla. The retelling was fantastic. Have read some of the bad reviews and can not understand why some.people had such a harsh reaction. I was totally engrossed in the book and loved how the author retold the story.

Loved the spice, loved the gore, jyst lived it all!

Recommend.

I went into this blind, so I didn't realize it was a retelling of Carmilla until the pieces started to come together in the first third of the book. I really enjoyed this. Lush, beautiful writing and a compelling plot, featuring the 1960s, vampires and lesbians in a dark academia setting. Recommended!

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson perfectly captured gothic vampirism. A sapphic college romance set in 1968. The writing is thought provoking as well as poetic. I couldn’t put it down, between the dual point of view and the mystery element at play. While Laura is demure and southern, her bite and work ethic will have you rooting for her. Camilla is the epitome of class, the kind of girl all girls envy while simultaneously wishing to be her.