Perfect if you’re looking for something gothic, dark academia, or sapphic enemies to lovers.

S.T. Gibson does an incredible job turning a New England women’s college into haunting gothic scene. It’s the perfect backdrop as Laura struggles to pick between her devotion to her religious studies or the intoxicating dark world her academic rival and poetry professor occupy. Lust and envy consume the three characters, to the point where the difference doesn’t matter, just that they all consume the others thoughts.

While I had a great time with this book, I do think it would have greatly benefitted from there being MORE. I wish everything, from Laura’s struggle with religion, to the pining and flirting, and even what the other girls on campus are up to, was fleshed out more. That being said, it’s still a fun and haunting book.

If you’re a fan of A Dowry of Blood, this one might not be for you. If you’re new S.T. Gibson, I’d certainly recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

An Education In Malice
by ST Gibson
Redhook Books/Orbit

She’s giving rivals to lovers, entrancing slow burn, dark politics and deadly obsessions.

I could not put this book down. Laura Carmela, and DeLafontaine hold you in their grasp and have you begging for more!

Favorite character: Laura! She starts so timid and doesn’t stand up for herself, but then she transforms and opens herself up to love and friendship. I connect with her because we both share that experience.

What I loved: The banter, and the rivalry was so fun to read. I enjoyed the switch in POV as well. It made the love story aspect that much better! And the spice! Chefs kiss!

What I disliked: There were a few spots in the story where I was left wondering what other characters must be thinking or feeling. Eventually we got back to those characters, so I was thankful for that. It just seemed a little off on the timing is all.

All in all I adored the book and I am already missing the characters.

I enjoyed how singular the three main characters in the book were. There was no mistaking whose point of view I was reading, and the way that each character interacted and partook in conversations was unique to them. I liked that each of them had a temper, but they all showcased it differently and with varying frequency. Laura’s suspicion and unyielding nature, Carmilla’s boldness and sensitivity, and De Lafontaine’s sharpness and exacting nature made for a very fascinating mix. Laura wondering if everything was a hazing ritual made me giggle so many times while reading the book. Also, the side characters all had depth and characteristics that made them distinctive. I LOVED Elenore and Magdalena in particular.

There were elements of the romance in the book that weren’t really for me, but they were most certainly well done. I really enjoyed how the tastes of the characters were treated with a blend of the era-appropriate expectation of shame and also unapologetic ownership. The way that they discussed their interests before partaking in them and made sure that the other was okay with it was refreshing and showed a lot of care from the author. I also thought that the romance itself was compelling and written to be such a nice mixture of softness, teasing, shyness, and playful challenge. The characters worked really well together for this in particular. That being said, I did feel like the pre-relationship stage, especially that where two of the characters hovered between rivals and reluctant semi-friends, moved just a bit fast. I wanted more push and pull between them before moving past the rivals or pseudo-friends stages.

I loved the way that the main non-romantic relationships shifted and changed as the story progressed. There was a self-awareness to the characters that I found refreshing. It was nice to see some characters correct their wrongdoings and allow for healthier relationships while others absolutely could not bring themselves to do so, nor did they even have an interest in trying.

I really enjoyed the way that the story unfurled and the fantastical elements were revealed. The way that religion was threaded through the book was also interesting and enjoyable. I thought the aesthetic of the setting was meticulously showcased and maintained, and it was nicely contrasted in a fun way by the trip to San Fransisco.

I wish that the book had included more examples of the characters’ poetry. I felt like the pieces that we did see offered such interesting insights to the ways that the characters’ minds worked and especially the ways that they differed, plus it was all well written and enjoyable. I especially wanted to read some of Ms. D’s poetry. She was such an elusive figure, which was obviously intentional and well done, but I felt like reading some of the poetry that brought Carmilla to her doorstep would have been a way to get some idea of how she saw the world without it being explicitly spelled out.

I genuinely didn’t expect the ending, but I was extremely satisfied with it and honestly thought it was the best possible ending for all of the characters that I cared about. Also, I’m left wondering if the author likes The Raven Cycle lol. Overall, this was a really great read! I didn’t know at all what to expect going into it and I wound up enjoying it immensely!

Thank you to Redhook & NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was beautifully written just like I knew it would be. S.T. Gibson does another remarkable job at grabbing my attention with the very first line and holds on to it long after I finished reading it. I can't wait to see what she has planned next!

This was a a quick and easy to follow story. I was thinking it was going to have dark academia vibes, but instead was surprised that it was about vampires. Centered around three main characters, set at a college in the late 1960’s, the story moved fairly quickly with a did she or didn’t she type ending.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

I’m obsessed, start to finish! I devoured this book, one day and I was done. I need more of Laura and Carmilla 🥹

Thank you to Redhook Books for this ARC of An Education in Malice! Dark Academia continues its comeback and I honestly wish I enjoyed this one more than I did. I adored Gibson's A Dowry of Blood but this one fell just a bit short. I was intrigued by the premise—a sapphic Carmilla retelling—but the characters were just flat and for a book like this, the characters not intriguing me made this story drag quite a bit.

S. T. Gibson'd writing style was truly what kept me coming back for more with this book. The imagery was spectacularly done and the prose was *chef's kiss.*

If you're looking for a dark sapphic story with rivals/enemies to lovers, slow burn, and dark academia, I would encourage you to pick up this book! Oh, did I mention there are vampires?! 🥰

The only thing to note is don't come into this book with the expectation of beautiful, well-developed characters. Unfortunately, they were a little one-dimensional at times and were difficult to relate to/invest in.

3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️

3 stars for An Education in Malice. Romance, LGBT, Vampires.
An Education in Malice is a vampire romance story that follows a college poetry professor and her star pupil and her newly recruited pupil. When the professor is confronted with her past lover she needs to choose her old life or new life, all while she watches her star pupil develop a life she once lived.
I absolutely love the writing style S.T. Gibson rewarded us in this book. The sophistication and dark academia “stage setting” was perfection. When I initially read the description of this book I was excited to not just see a basic vampire story since it said it had some dark magic, and I was highly disappointed to not fall upon any dark magic. This is your typical vampire love story executed in great writing.
You will love this book if you love:
LGBT romance
Classic Vampire retelling
Semi enemies to lovers

The atmosphere of this book was incredible. A dark sapphic story of obsession and slow burn rivals to lovers set in the 1970s at a women’s college…with vampires — this book was hot! It’s not necessarily filled with spice, but the rivalry, yearning, and desire was so intense, befitting a book filled with thirsty vampires.

I was enraptured by S.T. Gibson’s writing. Her prose is sultry and lyrical with rich imagery. I haven’t read A Dowry of Blood, but I will definitely pick it up now!

Beautiful flowing prose that was such a pleasure to read, but ultimately this book fell flat for me. The main characters felt thinly sketched and the plot somehow felt incomplete, unsatisfactory. Much of the book left me torn between absolutely loving it and feeling deeply disappointed. For example, the much-hyped public play scene failed to live up to expectations, but a later scene of private intimacy between the leads was absolutely fantastic. I look forward to more from this author and will still cautiously recommend this book.

Thank you Netgalley and the author for the arc to review!
“I learned how to survive in the cutthroat world of girlhood, where all strangeness was unrooted as ruthlessly as weeds from a garden.”
I cannot tell you how much I fell in love with this book. By the first page, I think. The atmosphere and extravagant characters have been hand-sewed into my heart and I will be thinking of this story for weeks to come. Laura and Carmilla had me gushing from their rivalry to their devotion to each other by the end. Needless to say, words aren’t enough to how I feel about this beautiful story except that I cannot wait for others to read it as well and fall in love with the world of S.T. Gibson.

Sapphic vampires, dark academia, rivals to lovers..say no more! I enjoyed A Dowry of Blood but loved An Education in Malice even more. I loved Laura and Carmilla’s chemistry.

S.T. Gibson, you genius.

Obsession, toxicity, jealousy, and vampires; what else could you ask for? This book is a perfect mix of Bunny and A Dowry of Blood, keeping you engrossed. An Education in Malice is about Laura, Carmilla, and De Lafontaine and how they become entangled after Laura joins Ms. D's university poetry class. Laced with lovely prose and quotes, this story is very similar to S.T. Gibson's other book, A Dowry of Blood. I would have appreciated a different paranormal creature for this book, but I understand keeping with a theme.

Definitely an author to look out for in the future.

I HAD SUCH A GOOD TIME WITH THIS BOOK!!! This is a sapphic Carmilla retelling that has gothic thriller academia vibes. Carmilla and Laura, our two FMCs, are academic rivals to lovers who find themselves in an f/f/f love triangle with their professor. And their professor so happens to be a vampire. If you love dark academic, you will absolutely love this book

This story was so well crafted. There was such a romantic way that the blood and gorey scenes were written. Also, this book was fucking hot. There wasn’t a lot of spice but the pining and the female obsession and the power dynamic between professor x student (and later on a more mature power dynamic) was so insanely fun to read, I truly don’t think I’ve read a story like this. I really hate to relate taylor swift songs to everything, but truly illicit affairs captures this book perfectly. That song with the focal lense of sapphic dark academic x vampires is the definition of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book. I will soon be checking out other titles by this author, because I have fallen completely in love with their writing.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

3.5 ⭐️
1.5 🌶️

A dark academia sapphic romance with a bloodthirsty professor.

I wanted to love this book but I just couldn’t. It was very easy to read the way it’s written and structured. S.T’s writing has always been easy for me to read and comprehend. But the story just didn’t capture me at all.
But I can see people liking this book. It just wasn’t to my liking, I wanted to dnf so many times from boredom.

The academic world of the setting wasn’t really made important. We got small glimpses of it here and there.
I didn’t really feel much of any emotions toward the characters, especially the side characters. They felt like a means to an end. A tool to use and throw away as needed to further small plot points.

The focus was mainly placed on a love triangle. Of obsession and jealously. And any issues brought up during this time were treated like it wasn’t a big deal. I don’t know about you but if I just found out about vampires I wouldn’t be acting nonchalant about the things happening around me as though it’s an everyday occurrence.

The only thing that peaked my interest was when the characters branched out to a party and were no longer being smothered by one another alone. It was short lived.

The ending was interesting though. I would actually read the next book if there was one and it involved the characters at the end of the book. It finally felt like it was starting to get interesting and then it just ends.

I just wanted more. I wanted more from the characters and their personalities, I wanted more passion. I wanted more branching out into the lifestyle like that of the party. But that’s not what we got. And it fell flat for me.

Dark, sapphic vampire dark academia romance set in the 70’s at an all girls school. If you like gritty, obsessive romance, this for you. So much tension, such a sexy book. Definitely check your triggers (the author like all should adds those warnings right at the beginning of the book!)

An Education in Malice
S.T Gibson
272 Pages, ARC
Queer Fantasy, Dark Academia, Romance

** Thank you NetGalley for providing an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review **


“An Education in Malice” is a sumptuous dark academia tale of passion, rivalry, and supernatural mysteries. When Laura Richardson enrolls at Saint Perpetua’s all-women College in the forested Massachusetts hills, she is immediately thrust into an academic rivalry with the mystifying Carmilla, the resident star pupil, that will lead them on a winding road of violent delights to violent ends.

S.T Gibson is such a talented writer and I’m once again highlighting a thousand and one different sentences that capture the most delicate of moments and ephemeral of feelings. I love the evocation of atmosphere through her blend of poetry in the narration, conjuring up hazy vignettes of late 1960s Massachusetts college campus where chain-smoking, chunky heels, and equality debates held sway. Carmilla and Laura’s relationship was enrapturingly intense from the beginning, simmering, brewing, and served scalding hot. I loved these two characters and how their story developed alongside Ms De Lafontaine, the pupils idolized poetry professor. I enjoyed the fantasy elements and the character development, but I loved Laura’s infatuation and Carmilla’s passionate love even more. I won’t ever hesitate to read anything by S.T. Gibson, she is a new favorite of mine. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a dark academia with lesbian romance!

Rating: 4.25 (I wish it wasn't so fast paced; I confused the two narrators more than once)
TW: Toxic Relationships, Blood, Sexual Content

This Carmilla retelling book was a wild read for me. It's about cycles of abuse, love, obsession, lust, the things you'll do for your writing, the thin one between hatred and love which is marred by the similarity of passion. Carmilla and Laura are wrapped up in each other just as much as they are wrapped up in the life of their poetry professor, De Lafontaine. Their relationship with her is…terrifying. Carmilla’s especially. It makes you want to keep going, and see if she figures it out.

This is one of those stories that you feel wrapped up in kinda like a car wreck. There's so many little moments where you feel like the girls might get a chance at normalcy, where they might walk away from what they've become entangled in, but then they just can't because it's gone too far. There's definitely some underlying pieces here about acts of kindness etc and how they can't always pull someone out of some inevitable train crash but they still can be nice?

All this to say I definitely liked it. Engrossing and lyrical for sure. Absolutely messed up relationships at their finest. It's gothic and awesome and two girls trying to find themselves and each other while chin deep in shit. Definitely recommend if you're into sapphic, dark academia, or vampires at all.

Dark academia with Sapphic vampires? Yes please! As someone who was an overachiever in academics and a people pleaser with a touch of religious trauma, this book hit HARD.

Laura is a polite southern girl from Mississippi who is attending an all women's college in Massachusetts, Saint Perpetua's, to study writing. But underneath her shy and proper shell, Laura is much more dominant and dark than she appears, domesticating her "own wildness, starved the odd appetites inside" herself.. Also, while she isn't rushing to use the term herself, is a lesbian.
The other POV character is Carmilla, a senior at Saint Perpetua's who also happens to be a writing student.
Both girls are enchanted by their brilliant professor, De Lafontaine. Especially Carmilla, who had been her star student and protege before Laura arrived (check TW- definitely not an appropriate relationship between professor and students). And Carmilla knows De Lafontaine's secret.
As Laura gets pulled in by her desire to learn and admiration for De Lafontaine as well as her obsession with Carmilla, she also begins to learn the truth about De Lafontaine and a little about herself.

"My nervous temperament was soothed by the rote prayers of organized religion, even if I developed a reputation back home for questioning the priest at every turn." (MEEEE)

Overall, a wonderful rivals to lovers story that is dark and sexy. I believe it is a standalone but wouldn't be mad if we got more of their story.