Thank you Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

⭐ 4

Poetic, romantic, and extremely sentimental. Although I felt the beginning was a bit hard to get into, the last half fell together well with a surprising amount of suspense. The conclusion to this tension was a little underwhelming, too, but I found I forgave it as character's interactions and questions raised between them were interesting enough to hold my attention and keep me reading. I do wish the story was a tad longer, if only to let other side characters and the world building be more fleshed out, but I did love the amount of attention given to Laura and Carmilla's dynamic.

All that being said, I really did enjoy the book. Highly recommend if you love sapphic vampires and poetic angst.

An Education in Malice by St. Gibson is a decent read that falls somewhere in the middle for me. While the premise is interesting and the author shows potential in creating suspenseful moments, the execution could have been stronger.

One aspect that I appreciated about the book was the character development. Gibson has crafted a diverse and intriguing cast of characters, each with their own unique personalities and backstories. The interactions between them kept me engaged and curious to see how their relationships would evolve.

The pacing of the plot felt uneven, with some parts dragging on while others moved too quickly. There were moments where I wanted more depth and exploration of certain plot points, but they were hastily resolved or glossed over. This left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied and wishing for a more well-rounded narrative.

If you're looking for a quick and entertaining read with an interesting premise, this book might be worth a try, but don't expect a masterpiece.

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

This book was a dark academia novel by S.T. Gibson. I really enjoyed this story. I thought it was interesting and unlike other stories I’ve read recently. It was a short, quick read. The character development was well done and the story kept my attention all the way through. I did see the ending coming as it was a bit predictable, but that doesn’t affect how I felt about how good the book was. Overall, very well done. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Rating: 4.5/5

This book was everything I did not know I was missing! The writing was poetic, the characters were so beautifully flawed that they felt unnervingly real. I immersed myself in this book and finished it within 2 days. The story follows the FMCs, Carmilla and Laura as they navigate the world of poetry and academia. There is angst, tension, obsession (with drops of possession), internal conflicts of self-identity, and lustful desire.🥵 The plot is driven by horror/mystery undertones that kept me intrigued until the end.

"I felt like the burning sun at the heart of the universe, the white-hot center of gravity, and Carmilla was every orbiting star. She was the velvety expanse of space wrapping around me, the kiss of asteroid dust against my exposed skin."

ST Gibson creates an absolutely delectable retelling of Carmilla with An Education in Malice. You have a dark academic setting with Saint Perpetua's, an all women's college tucked away in rural Massachusetts. And academic rivals, Laura and Carmilla, who compete to be the best poetry student in their seminar vying for the attention of the mysterious Professor Lafontaine, who's relationship with the two girls borders on taboo.

Told in a dual POV, Laura's chapters were ones that I looked forward too. To be able to get inside this seemingly innocent girl's head. Laura on the outside is a southern belle, Mississippi born and raised, she's even-tempered, polite, soft spoken, and gentle. But it's on the inside, when you're reading her POV that you get to see the layers beneath the southern belle and find the darkness churning within. Laura's true nature is dominant, wishing to inflict pain alongside pleasure; to bite, bruise and own.

Then there's Carmilla; "brutal and beautiful Carmilla." The mean popular girl that oozes so much confidence you can't help but hate to love her. It's in her POVs that we get to actually see the girl that lurks beneath the mask and find that maybe she isn't as untouchable as Laura believes her to be.

Overall the pacing of An Education in Malice felt a bit too fast for my liking. But I think that that also had to do with the fact that I loved the academic setting of the novel, I wanted to spend more time in Lafontaine's poetry seminars and in her secret meetings with the girls. I wanted to live in the poetry that made this novel so unique to me.

Thank you Orbit for sending me an eARC!

First of all, I would like to thank Orbit Books for giving me an advanced readers copy of An Education in Malice by S. T. Gibson!

A Dowry of Blood was one of my favorite books this year and what a wonderful way to end the year with it's beautifully written and academic sequel!

This book was dark, queer, academic, and romantic!

First off, I love the dynamic between Laura and Carmilla from start to finish.

I absolutely love the rivals to lovers in this. it feels so well fleshed out and manages to capture their respect/attraction for each other as well as their resentment. i feel like im rooting for them to both fight and kiss 😂 the tension is killing me!!!

Seeing their relationship grow from disdain (with subtle attraction for each other 🤭) to reluctant acquaintances to unlikely friends to devoted lovers was absolutely riveting! I loved how Laura helped expand Carmilla's world after it was closed by her obsession with De Lafontaine and how Carmilla assured Laura's confidence. I love these two so much!!!

I also really appreciated seeing Laura come to terms with herself and her identity. I loved seeing her explore herself and become more confident in who she is and what she wants!

De Lafontaine is a tricky character for me. She was controlling and possessive of Carmilla while also wanting the best for her academic career yet hurt her and herself in the end. I really appreciate her growth when she realized she had to cut out a toxic love in her life and realized she was continuing that pain with Carmilla and forced them both to move on from each other in the end.

And there being a little murder mystery? A long lost love? Betrayal?! I was holding my breath during the last few chapters!

(I also loved Magdelena showing up too 🤭 Seeing her and how she's doing was a wonderful little easter egg!)

Another beautifully written story by S.T. Gibson.
I had expected an ending similar to that of A Dowry of Blood, but it was done in a way that I still didn’t see coming. These books will be some of my favorite dark academia/vampire reads of all time!

34/5⭐️

Considering the length and complexity of this book, it was pretty packed. Pacing was great and character development was so central without overshadowing the plot. Pleasantly surprised with this one as there was one point where I thought we were losing it but it got right back on track. Overall liked it, great read and of course check trigger warnings!

This was an engaging little sapphic vampire story. I absolutely loved Dowry of Blood, but this one didn’t have me in its grip the same way. It’s still a story about love and obsession and how they can blur together. DelaFontaine is mysterious and controlling, Carmilla is obsessive, as is Laura. Their tense dynamic drives the story, yet they all feel a little held at arms-length. Perhaps this would have benefited from being a longer book? While the climatic scene did have me on the edge of my seat, everything resolved fairly quickly.
I definitely did enjoy this and would recommend it. It just didn’t have the same sort of mesmerizing charismatic character to center it the way Dowry had.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced look at the book to review. All opinions are my own.

3.5 rounded up?

I have mixed feelings and really could be rounded up or down for me. I'm deciding up because the writing and vibes were good. I absolutely adored A Dowry of Blood so I was excited to pick up this one. I really wanted to love it. It was good, but it just didn't hit that spot for me. The writing, as usual, I thought was beautifully written, however I didn't really connect with any of the characters. They all felt very lackluster to me. I also didn't really enjoy the ending, it was very... anti-climatic to me.

That said, it was still good and entertaining. It was gothic, sapphic and dark academia. At times even cozy, I forgot it was a vampire book for moments. The atmosphere was absolutely stunning and I felt I could meld into that world. I love a gothic dark academia vibe and this delivered on that.

Also, that cover though! Amazing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! Here is my honest review, not spoiler free:

I really appreciated my first experience reading about sapphic love, and this booked ticked off some of my favorite themes, vampirism, dark academia, queer love, etc. However, it felt like I spent too little time with the characters, but too much time following the plot, which has very little action. This might be because of the dual perspectives. While the plot is very high stakes, I never felt the seriousness of it.

It felt icky to have a mini redemption arc for Ms. D. This is a GROWN woman who obviously has been mistreated, but she acted so childish to her students. I would have rather seen a more bitter end for her, instead of her acknowledgment that she wasn’t good for everyone, and that she needed to leave. I never felt the same admiration for her that Carmilla and Laura felt. If I could feel that, I would have found this book more powerful.

Side characters dropped off the face of the planet, and Laura’s dad fell to the wayside. Why did we meet Eleanore’s family, if we never hear from her again?

Laura was an enigma. She’s a religious southern girl, but no part of her personality or actions really made that believable. I’m from the south, and I’m sure you’d notice beyond the accent. There was a missed opportunity to explore the conflict of her values with her actions—not just the romance, but somewhat aiding or witnessing murder!

Possible spoilers…?

An Education in Malice is a sapphic novel that focuses on the budding love story of academic rivals, Laura and Carmilla. The book opens up with Laura arriving at Saint Perpetua, which is a prestigious women’s college in Massachusetts. At the invitation of another student, Laura finds herself at a bonfire, and has a brief, but captivating encounter with Carmilla.

The next day, Laura is pleasantly surprised to learn that she and Carmilla are in the same poetry class. However, after a reading, Laura realizes Carmilla is not interested in being friends and instead, has made her an enemy.

Time progresses and Laura’s desire for Carmilla deepens. Though, she is not the only one competing for Carmilla’s attention, as their intense poetry professor, De Lafontaine has an unhealthy obsession with the dark haired beauty. As the story continues these rivals must confront their feelings for one another, while also tackling sparks of jealousy from De LaFontaine and a dark creature that seeks to ruin everything.

🖤

I read a Dowry of Blood a few months ago and was absolutely obsessed with the story and writing style. I also LOVE any story with Carmilla, so when I saw this book was available on NetGalley, I was practically foaming at the mouth to read it. 😫

After finishing, I can honestly say this lived up to my expectations. It’s an enchanting story of desire, obsession, toxicity, and love. I highly recommend everyone checking this one out. Please be sure to review the content warnings before diving in! Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook for this ARC. 🖤

This book is amazing. I loved it, the prose , the characters all of it!! I need more! I can predict this book being in the Goodreads choice awards for 2024

An Education in Malice was my most anticipated release for 2024 after A Dowry of Blood so thoroughly consumed me - I quite literally could not contain my excitement when I saw that I was approved for an arc. S.T. Gibson once again masterfully weaves a dark, twisted, and intoxicating vampire story complete with romance, obsession, and murder.

I went absolutely feral over Laura and Carmilla's relationship, especially their academic rivalry beginning. The tension? The taunting? The contempt? And don't even get me started on the all-consuming longing and obsession.. the whole story could have been focused on this part of their relationship and I would have eaten it up and left no crumbs. After the two get together all of these feelings combine and form a beautiful, bloody, and passionate love, enthralling both the reader and the characters. Then Gibson went and sprinkled some bdsm on top of that? I repeat, I went absolutely *feral*.

The academic setting was perfectly crafted as well and the focus on the creation and appreciation of poetry provided the perfect dark and moody atmosphere. I really appreciated De Lafontaine's character in relation to this as she nurtured the sense of the rivalry between Laura and Carmilla, even if it didn't turn out quite how she thought it would. Her relationship with both girls, especially Carmilla, was incredibly interesting to read about, toxicity and all. Gibson has proven herself as a master of creating complex relationships yet again. Loved the Dowry character cameo as well!

This wasn't quite 5 stars for me as I found myself wishing for more development in characters outside of the two mcs (Laura's friends, Isis, De Lafontaine). I feel like the murder subplot could have been expanded upon as well, as is it seemed like an afterthought added for some superficial drama. Also, this isn't a bad thing, but I wouldn't consider this a Carmilla retelling. Yes names were taken from Carmilla, and there's vampires, but that's about where the similarities end in my opinion.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this story and S.T. Gibson will remain as one of my auto-buy authors. Can't wait to add a physical copy of this to my collection!

Thank you NetGalley and Redhook Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book! The characters were compelling and fleshed-out, I liked that they were all a little bit (or a lot) selfish and had their own motivations. The main focus was clearly the relationship between our MCs, and at times the rest of the subplots clearly suffered for it - I would've loved a little bit more of the school, Laura's friends, even the villain seemed like they could have used some more attention. I still really enjoyed the story though, I would love to see another stand-alone in the same universe, the vampire party was such a fun little mention that had a dozen stories inside of it.

Thank you for this arc!🫶🏽

This book was beautifully written— I was captivated by the first chapter. The way Laura and Carmilla start off is a complicated relationship with themselves. And each other. They find comfort in each other and it develops to something more unorthodox.

I didn’t understand half of what they said with the poetry but it is still amazing. The plot flows really well.
Tropes:
Dark academia
Sapphic
Obsession

The cover is also very gorgeous. S. T. Gibson is now a auto buy author for me♥️

This is what I’ve come to know and love S.T Gibson for. Dark, melodic, and vibey romance that leaves me waiting for Fall and a cup of tea. The way she weaves she moody stories grabs you and keeps you enthralled in her world until it comes to its end. If you liked A Dowery of Blood then this is the perfect next step, although I did love ADOB more. I hope she continues this vampire nightmare that she’s created.

An Education in Malice is one of my most anticipated releases of 2024 and it did not disappoint.

The growth in dominance of Laura coupled with the change to submission of Carmilla was a wonderful surprise. I love the Dead Poet's Society meets Carmilla vibe and found myself wondering more than once how beautiful this world must be for them.

I was a huge fan of Dowry and was initially worried as of late I have not been as into dark academia leaning fiction but the writing is beautiful. You almost forget the time period, while also never losing sight that it is clearly not written in today. Sometimes writing can pull you out of the story throwing in phrases/slang that is modern and An Education does none of that.

The on page spice was also beautifully done. Not crazy descriptive but also not something that is drawn out for those who prefer a closed door read. You could easily ask someone who has read it to provide the modifications needed to skip it and lose none of the plot.

An Education, to me is perfect as is. And S.T. Gibson has not lost her spot as an auto buy (and multiple edition buy) author for me.

This book was able to completely captivate me from the very beginning. With its complex characters and dark atmosphere, An Education in Malice, teleports you into the story and doesn’t let you out until you are done. I was enamored with both Carmilla and Laura, with such a depth to them, I fully believed them as part of this world. The author, S.T. Gibson, left me speechless with her work!

This sapphic dark academia tale should've been right up my alley, but unfortunately I felt that the romance developed too quickly, which diminished the tension and yearning that I usually prefer in my romances. Still, the writing is lush and beautiful, and Gibson is adept at creating rich, gothic imagery as with her previous work.