Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I am conflicted.. I liked the story but I was left wanting more. Its basic, predictable. So many questions unanswered.
The trigger warnings caught my attention and its why I had such high hopes.
The relationship between out three mains, Laura, Carmilla, and De LaFontaine was just not it. It did not make sense, felt forced and very childish.

Parts were rushed while others felt unfinished. Also, Laura.. her character was annoying. She just couldn't make up her mind on who/what she was. We weren't seeing her struggle to fit in or discover herself, she just didn't fit anywhere the author placed her.

It does make for an interesting read thought.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very well written. The integration of poetry throughout was really unique and you can tell the amount of time and dedication the author put into creating this novel.

The dual POV between Laura and Carmilla was perfect for both character's development as each girl had different areas they were exploring and developing. The tension and rivalry in the beginning was *chefs kiss*.

I love dark academia, I was just a bit disappointed that the majority of the book took place with one Professor in a private setting and less of the academic setting. But the moody, dark atmosphere was totally there.

Really enjoyed this author’s style and will definitely read their other books.

This book is based off the story of Carmilla - which I am not going to lie, I have never heard of.
The setting is a college/ academy with the main character, Laura, enrolling as a freshmen to enhance her writing skills. Here, Laura meets her well known and mysteriously alluring professor as well as her professors protege, and Lauras soon to be ‘rival’ Carmilla. Laura begins learning more about the strange relationship between Carmilla and the professor. Laura finds herself enraptured with both, and invited into the professors private study session and favoritism. Here, Laura learns more on not only the strange relationship between Carmilla and her professor, but also of the dangerous secret they both keep.

The writing of this story is poetic and aligned with the passions of the main characters. The prose is a bit mystic and paints the more gothic elements of the setting. While the story is told from the prospective of Laura and Carmilla, I would consider Laura to be the main character as we learn more about her past and motivations, where as Carmillas point of view is mostly centered on the main conflict and her relationships. This is one of those stories that is ripe with metaphors and subtle symbolism that seems to expand beyond the storyline itself. This book does seem like it would lend itself to rich discussion in a book club as readers explore the relationships.

For me, it didn’t quite hold my interest other then trying to decipher the weird attachment between Carmilla and the professor. This is a good that I would say is good, and might recommend to others whose interests aligned with the themes of the book, but probably wouldn’t recommend otherwise just because it didn’t quite suite my reading preferences.

Wow! I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars. I was blown away from the writing style, the weaving of the story, and throughly enjoyed every page. This is the first book I’ve read by S.T Gibson and I will immediately be checking out their other publications.

An Education in Malice was everything I didn’t know I was looking for in a book. Vampires? Check. Enemies to lovers? Check. Secrets upon secrets? Check. A story so well written that it left me satisfied with the ending? Check. I cannot say enough good things about this book, and I cannot highly recommend it enough. Happy reading!





So incredibly thankful to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Publishers for allowing me an opportunity to read this book.

I dove into this book and never put it down! The author was able to create a stunning novel full of dark desires, mystery, horror, and every chapter kept me on edge! I thought the different POV's were all well done and gave the read an easy flow. I have read a lot of Horror and this rates right up at the top for my reads so far this year!

i really wanted to like this bc sapphic vampires in academia, but i mostly wanted to dropkick the poetry professor who was triangulating them.

i felt like the plot was a bit all over the place. the academia/poetry went out the window pretty quick. even the rivalry was short-lived and the relationship progression between carmilla and laura went 0 to 100 for me personally.

i wasn't aware going in how central the relationship w the professor would be, and age gap just really isn't for me. if you don't mind age gap and/or toxic power dynamics though, you will probably enjoy more than i did.

an honest arc review <3

Thank you to Redhook and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased, honest review!

Sorry, there’s just no other way to say it: this is one of the horniest books I’ve ever read. This story fell flat for a number of reasons for me, but you can’t say the sapphic pining isn’t here. For hating each other’s guts, Laura and Carmilla really can’t stop thinking about getting in each other’s pants and it’s the kind of book I blushed to read in public.

Unfortunately, this story didn’t deliver for me on the “dark academia” promise: there is literally one classroom scene and other than occasionally saying campus locations, the academic setting doesn’t add anything to the story. Despite a poetry class being the thing that brings all three of our characters together, actually poetry reading happens…twice? Dark academia usually just means vibes>setting/plot, but just on merit of this being a vampire story, this was already going to have a dark & moody atmosphere, so calling it dark academia seems superfluous and after reading the attempt: disappointing.

It doesn’t deliver as a vampire story either. This doesn’t do anything new for vampire stories or lore, and the “rules” of this vampirism are never explained or explored. While I really enjoyed the very final scene and its implications for our POV character, Laura, the main vampire conflict wraps up too quickly and obviously. I never cared about who was a vampire or what it meant when another vampire came on the scene.

And finally, this didn’t deliver for me as a romance, either! After a bunch of horny pining, Laura and Carmilla are rather toxically in love with each other, and I don’t buy it. The story is a dogpile of toxic relationships that I didn’t feel compelled to squeal over or have stick with me.

I also take a bit of an issue with the professor/student portrayals and relationships here (which I’ll hide in spoiler tags here): Obviously Professor De Lafontaine acts capital-I-Inappropriately with Laura and Carmilla. Blood-sucking aside, she’s WAY more intimate, physically and emotionally (while not actually crossing that romantic/sexual line) with these students than any adult in a position of power should be. My biggest problem with this is that it’s never, ever challenged and in the end, they hug goodbye as if De Lafontaine was a great mentor and not actually predatory and problematic as all hell. I kept waiting for someone to go “hey, maybe quit inviting these two underage girls to ‘salons’ at your house?” Or “yo, you seem kind of unhealthily obsessed with your poetry teacher. Maybe stop?” But no dice. Felt like a weird message to send - although perhaps the real horror in this “dark academia” is treating this character like they haven’t done anything wrong and this relationship as acceptable?

While I have loved a previous S.T. Gibson work (A Dowry of Blood is vampires done well!), this one fell really flat for me.

Dowry was so good- I was so amped to see a new book by S.T. Gibson.

Add in Carmilla (hey, pre Dracula!) and Fontaine - I just knew this would be one BA dark vamp goodness, and I was right. Can’t wait to see more from them!

Thank you to net galley for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I really loved this book! A vampire on a college campus. I have a four star because I felt like the ending could have more but maybe there will be a second book. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I would definitely recommend this book! It is getting published February 13, 2024. I can’t wait to get my own copy!

Thank you to the author, Netgalley, and the publisher for allowing me to read this book. It was an ARC read that I was not paid for and this is my honest opinion.

Who wouldn’t love a modern retelling of Carmilla?! Sapphic romance and dark academia really do go hand in hand. This book holds the stage with vampire society, mystery, gore-ish murder, and the sweet gothic troubles one would face in a secluded boarding school. Laura enters as this cutesy girl from a little life that encounters the obscurities this place holds. Carmilla is quite the opposite with her divinely troubled ways. Rivals to lovers continues to hold absolute sway over me time and time again. READ IT!!!

Usually by the time I get to reading the ARC, I have no memory what it's about. I take a shotgun approach to requesting books, whatever looks interesting, I ask for. Usually it works out for me, and this was no exception.
I have never read Carmilla, however, like any decent lesbian, I did watch the web series. Which I liked, all things considered. I did like An Education in Malice even more.
I did enjoy both the characters of Carmilla and Laura-- and absolutely adored De LaFontaine. (I would absolutely take a whole book focused on her). Laura was a character of contradictions which was not only handled well, but made her compelling. I do wish more was done with Carmilla, however, I still did like her character. I found her chapters to be less interesting than Laura's.
I really enjoyed it! I definitely recommend!

When I say I like dark academia, this is the epitome of what I mean! Carmilla and Laura are academic rivals that toe the line between hate and lust. They fight tooth and nail for the attention of their poetry professor, Ms. De Lafontaine. The pining, the college-age-girl cattiness, the spice is all top notch!

When I read S. T. Gibson’s A Dowry of Blood, it was an immediate favorite of mine. The writing style in that story is so unique and exquisite. This book is set in the same world as that original novel, but the writing is not quite in the same vein. I loved this book and will likely think about it long after finishing it.

If you want a book about rivals-to-lovers, vampires, a fall/winter setting at an all women’s college in New England, then pick up this book! The writing, the words, the quotes, will all move you to be highlighting on just about every other page.

Thank you to #RedhookBooks and #NetGalley for an ARC of #AnEducationInMalice by #STGibson for an honest, spoiler-free review!

It’s hard to express my feelings about this book. I enjoyed reading it, but I don’t think I’m the target audience.

The relationship between De Lafontaine, Carmilla, and Laura is not something that I would usually gravitate towards. There are moments that I liked reading because you could watch the characters being manipulated and used, but the ending felt a little unfulfilling. I liked the unexplainable attraction that Laura and Carmilla felt towards each other and the constant urge to be with the other. However, I thought that the sexual tension that was built up between the two was messed up by how long it got drawn out and how many times they were interrupted. There were 3 times that I wrote “cock-blocked” as a note. Some scenes in the book, relationship-related or otherwise, felt out of place and didn’t further the plot.

The last important I have to note is that, in my opinion, An Education in Malice is more similar to the web series Carmilla, not the book. I don’t have a problem with that, but I think readers should know that there is little resemblance to Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla before going into it.

The book is good and I enjoyed reading it, but I’m able to recognize that I’m not the target audiences. There’s definitely people who will love this.

✨ARC Review - thank you, Netgalley and Redhook Books✨

5⭐
1.5🌶️

This vibes in this book alone are enough to live on, I stg. It's Dark Academia and poetry cohorts and sapphic and dark and mysterious. I loved it. I fell in love with the characters, despite my best efforts not to. The writing was beautiful. I will be keeping an eye out for more works by this author.

I absolutely LOVED this book! The vibes were impeccable and everything I hoped for when it comes to saphhic dark academia vampire slow burn. I especially loved the dynamic between Carmilla and Laura and how much it changes throughout the book.

I cannot wait to continue reading more of S. T. Gibson's work and eagerly await the next opportunity to do so!

I absolutely loved this book. I felt like the writing fit the theme, it was perfectly written with a moody background, and the relationship was just so good. I had not read the original Carmilla book that this was inspired by, but because this was so well written I had actually went back and got it to read as well. The ending was fantastic, and over it was such a fun read. I feel like this will be the next big thing in Sapphic romantasy!! Can't wait to read more from the author.

Here's the pros/cons:
Pro's-
enemies to lovers sapphic relationship
vampires
mystery
dark academia mood
Beautiful prose

Cons-
The Professor/student relationship was not fleshed out as much as I would like
Confused a little with the dynamic between relationships

The only thing I would add to this book was if there was a POV with the professor's thoughts, but other then than I thought that it was so good!!


Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC!

This was an enjoyable read! I loved S.T. Gibson’s A Dowry of Blood so I had high hopes and while I don’t think it was quite on that level it was still very entertaining. I loved the dark academia setting - one of my favorite type things in books. Also really enjoyed the rivals to lovers sapphic romance I felt they had good tension and chemistry. Overall the problem with this book for me was the plot felt really lacking sometimes - it was a very atmospheric and vibes type book so if you are looking for something with a strong plot not sure I would recommend this but personally I did enjoy and will be adding a copy to our library.

This is an atmospheric retelling of Carmilla, set in the same world as A Dowry of Blood, wherein Laura Sheridan is thrust into an academics rivalry at a college that harbors sinister secrets and dark magic.

The gothic and dark academia atmosphere was well crafted, but I was still left wanting for something else. The characters fell a little flat for me. The professor’s character didn’t seem utilized as much as she could have been, and although I like duel POVs, the tone seemed very similar between the two and it was hard to distinguish between them sometimes.

There are content warnings upfront for sexual content, and while I don’t have a lot of opinions on smut/sexual content/kink in books, I thought it didn’t do much for the overall story. The characters begin as rivals, but there is a distinct trajectory. I didn’t feel that pining for them to get together because it seemed to happen so fast, and I unfortunately wasn’t as invested in their relationship as I hoped to be.

Overall, the prose was well written and there are wonderful vibes, but I still wanted more from the characters.

You will probably like this book if you like:
- sapphic romance
- duel POV
- rivals to lovers
- vampires
- dark academia / gothic vibes
- carmilla retelling

If those sound interesting to you, definitely pick this up!

**ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

One sentence review for this would be, “All vibes, no plot” 😂

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson
Releasing February 13, 2024

🗡️ Sapphic
🌹 Vampires
🗡️ 1960’s
🌹 Academy Setting

An Education in Malice is a very character driven novel set at an all girls academy in the late 1960’s. We get dual POV between Laura and Carmilla, the two main characters. Laura is an angelic goody-goody, who is somehow drawn to Carmilla. Laura and Carmilla grow closer to each other after spending time together at their professor’s working on extra poetry. This is more than just a romance, though, as the girls find themselves battling an ancient vampire.

I did. really enjoy reading this! I felt very immersed into the story. I found myself thinking about the story while I wasn’t reading it. I enjoyed the academy setting and the time period. I found the characters likable and interesting.
About halfway through, though, it did get a bit boring. The story is very character driven and there did not seem to be much plot until half way through. It would become very stagnant at parts, and dragged on. Then everything seemed to happen in the last 25 pages.

I would recommend this if you are looking for something with big dark academia vibes with a F/F relationship. Just don’t expect there to be a huge amount happening besides character and relationship building.

I loved this book. I was hooked from start to finish and loved how this book was written.

An Education in Malice has: dark academia, sapphic romance, rivals, and vampires. I loved the vibes of this book and I can’t wait to reread this during the fall.