Oh yeah, S. T. Gibson really popped off in this one, for sure. This was the Carmilla retelling my soul needed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 & here are my thoughts. Also, thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with an E-arc for review!!!

Positive:
- truly the most delicious prose, my Angels Before Man besties would find kinship within the pages of this book let me tell you that.
- the sapphic pining? And eroticism? Absolutely incredible???
- the religious homoeroticism!!!! Absolutely!!!!!!!!
- so deeply reminiscent of If We Were Villains & Dead Poets Society and I ate this up
- the first half was where this book really soared for me; the slow all encompassing tension, yearning, and obsession had me completely entranced and I forced myself to read this slowly to really savour each and every page.

My only real critiques of this book fall into the second half of the book, where I really do wish so much more was shown and flushed out instead of just stated. I think this book could have been so much more impactful if it had stayed in suit with the first half and just was a longer more drawn out novel. I still loved it, but it definitely made the reveals/endings lose some of their glamour in the end.

An Education in Malice is a delicious, gothic dark academia novel. S.T. Gibson's writing is lyrical, wonderfully atmospheric and rich with description.

The dynamic between Laura, Carmilla and De Lafontaine was the centre of the story with a focus on Laura and Carmilla's relationship which evolved from academic rivals to lovers. I add in De Lafontaine because her relationship with Laura and Carmilla is what sets up Laura and Carmilla's relationship and affects it until the end of the book.

But because there is such a focus on them, it felt like the plot was all in the latter half of the book and so it made the pacing feel off.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 out of 5 stars! This book is what one would describe as a sapphic Carmilla retelling filled with dark academia! I thought the story line was great and I couldn’t put it down! If you are a fan of “A Dowry of Blood” also by S.T Gibson, you will 100% enjoy this!

This book was very much The Secret History/If We Were Villains meets Gibson's take on the vampire genre. And I love the vampire energy, I really do.
Unfortunately, the pacing in this book just feels very off, and it lacks the magic that A Dowry of Blood had (that was one of my favourite books of the year).
It's very good and like ADOB, it reads like a modern classic, but this left me wanting more in a disappointing way.

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Paranormal Fantasy, Dark Academia
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 2/13/2024

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: The story takes place in the 1970’s. Laura, a demure, religious, virginal young woman from the South, heads to University in the Northeast. It is here that she begins to fall for the raven-haired rival, Carmilla. The two are pitted against each other by their poetry professor. It is through the girls competition, and the goading of the professor that Laura is brought into a strange world full of vampires. While this new world is frightening and dark, Laura is finally learning that who she, and her desires are not something to hide in the dark. Can love really be fostered in this new world?

𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: I’m in my dark academia phase, and this book, my friends, was not it for me. I almost DNF’d about 50% and again at 75%. This is one of the slowest books I have read in years. I had to force myself to finish this book.

The plot was incredibly thin and none of the characters were really that interesting (imo). They had no depth, and spent the whole book fawning over each other/being in a weird rivalry. Because the plot was so thin, the book felt like it didn’t really have direction. So much so that it was so boring reading about these two girls hate/fawn over each other while Ms. D throws them glares and pits them against each other.

The attraction and sexual tension was apparent from like page 1 and colored the rest of the story. This didn’t feel like a paranormal, dark academia book. It felt like a lesbian/bisexual coming of age story with vampires on the fringe. The relationship between Carmilla and Ms. D, and then Ms. D/Carmilla/Laura were incredibly toxic and downright emotionally abusive in nature. The fact that she was a vampire was probably the most enjoyable part of the book, but also one that was under developed.

I was hoping for so much more when I signed up to read this book, but I was shockingly disappointed. I know that this author has other books out there, but after reading this one, I probably wouldn't pick up any of the others.

Centering a deliciously tense sparring match between two fiercely intelligent - and even more passionate - rivals, AN EDUCATION IN MALICE revels in the all-consuming nature of the academy, the insecurity of finding oneself and exploring one’s appetites, and the ways in which danger is always lurking below the surface. The ways in which Laura and Carmilla are drawn into the web of the enigmatic poetry professor De Lafontaine only make the growing relationship between the two of them more intense, and watching them negotiate the balance of power between them and their teacher was one of the true thrills of the book. I cannot recommend this one enough—it’s perfect for fans of Gibson’s other work, and will join the cannon of classic vampire fiction beside the original Carmilla.

After reading, and loving, A Dowry of Blood I was so excited to get my hands on S.T. Gibson’s next book. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. This was one of those books that I couldn’t stop thinking about, I couldn’t wait until I could pick it back up again and continue reading. It immediately sucked me in with its lush atmosphere and gorgeous writing and I’m a sucker (haha get it?) for any books about vampires but this book is one of my favorite books of all time. The writing was not as purple prose as A Dowry but honestly I’m okay with that, it actually was better in my opinion.  I loved both of the characters Laura and Carmilla and this is one of those rare books where I could actually envision everything happening in my head like it was a movie.

I hope that a lot of people don’t go into this book expecting the same writing as Dowry, this book was beautiful in its own way. I know some people are going to disagree and say her writing has gone down from what it was but I’m more impressed that she can have multiple types of writing stylers and the books still come out amazing. The writing was still absolutely gorgeous, the way she set up the atmosphere with beautiful descriptions, the sapphic vampiric romance was amazing, this was everything I could have asked for in a book. The cover art is one of my favorites for 2024 and I’m so excited to get a physical copy and annotate to my heart’s content.

The last fifty or so pages had my jaw dropping and that ending blew me away. This was a book that as soon as I finished reading it I immediately wanted to pick it up again and reread, that doesn’t happen very often for me.

Thanks so much to Redhook Books for the gifted copy for my honest review!

I was genuinely excited for this book because of how much I enjoyed A dowry of Blood. This was definitely an enthralling read and I was definitely thrust into this world that Gibson created. The characters in this book were just okay which is why I had a little reservations with this book. The prose was also very hard to connect with which was a little lacking for me in my experience.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

All my friends have been singing S T Gibson's praises to me and after reading this book I do understand some of the hype. The writing in this book was so lush and sensual. ST Gibson managed to fully capture the dark heady vibe of this enemies to lovers romance set in a dark academia setting. What I wish we had more of is some depth. The characters other than the two central ones, the relationship, the plot and the world was surface level and the climax just felt rushed. I couldn't really understand what the point of it all was after finishing it. I would definitely check out her other books because the writing is quite frankly beautiful but other than that this book sadly lacked the depth I look for in my reads.

" For one white-hot instant, that dark instinct to overcome and overpower, to kiss and bruise, flared to life in my stomach."

An Education in Malice is a Camilla retelling set in a private all girls' school. Laura, a freshman from the southern US, comes to the school excited to study under the famous Evelyn De Lafontaine and become a priest, but becomes entangled in the mysterious lives of her professor and fellow classmate.

I went into this novel without much prior knowledge about Camilla and zero expectations. But this honestly blew me away. I loved loved loved it so much. The characters, the pacing, the tension, the storytelling were all PERFECT! It was sapphic, gripping, and so so angsty.

I wasn't this blown away when I read A Dowry of Blood, probably because I did not feel like the main character was very strong. But Laura was everything that I wanted in a main character. She was anxious yet dominant when she wanted to be, and I loved how she came more and more out of her shell throughout the story. Also, I just related to everything she thought about. I literally felt like I was living in her skin. Case in point:

"I wasn't great with first impression, and i defaulted to an almost chilly courtesy in order to cover up the butterflies that hatched in my stomach at the prospect of meeting new people."

"I'm not sure how long I drifted around, as silent and unsmiling as a chaperone."

This one especially was my favorite: "Naturally, I spent the next two days looking for her face on the quad or in the lunch line, spurred forward by my pet fixation. I wasn't obsessed, I assured myself. I was only curious."

Lots of similar beats from her other works such as A Dowry of Blood, An Education in Malice continues giving us the magical poetic goodness with a touch of enemies-to-lovers between our two lovely main characters — Laura and Camilla.

The character development shines bright in this novel of hers compared to others I have read. I loooove dual perspective in my books and it’s a preference of mine for sure. But. The world building was a little lacking in comparison, and maybe felt a hair claustrophobic to me.

The action was great. Though with vague secondary characters, the murders did lack that impact we would have had otherwise if the secondary characters had a name and a touch of backstory.

Absolutely captivating, this dark and vampy story would be a great read for those who love their vampire folk, such as Dracula! This was still a wonderful read and I liked the reasonably modern take on ‘Camilla’.


Huge thank you to ST Gibson, Redhook Books and Netgalley for the eARC!

This one really didn't work for me as well as A Dowry of Blood did, unfortunately, hitting a lot of similar beats without the great characterization that A Dowry of Blood handled so adeptly.

I wanted less poetry and more of the deepening enemies to lovers relationship between Laura and Carmilla, more understanding of the magnetic pull that Mrs. D had over the both of them, and more of a sense of overall plot. I didn't really understand why Carmilla was so captivated by Mrs. D so it made everything feel a little bit aggravating because her actions just didn't mesh entirely for me.

While I say all of this, I do think S.T Gibson's writing is lyrical and captivating. The atmosphere of dark academia is in full force in this book and for anyone who likes The Secret History or Dracula, this is definitely something that would peak their interest.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Prior to reading this book, I had very little knowledge of "Carmilla," but after reading, I'm excited to read the original and look for any other retellings of it. I absolutely love S. T. Gibson's writing style, and I thought this book was amazing. It was dark and spooky and sometimes uncomfortably gory, but I liked the romance a lot, as well as the commentary on power imbalances, which seems to be a theme in Gibson's writing.

3 stars.

I loved "A Dowry of Blood", and so had high hopes for this sapphic vampire tale that was a modern-ish take on 'Carmilla'. While "An Education in Malice" was enjoyable, it fell a little short of 'Dowry" - it fell a little short entirely. The prose, while gorgeous, did not entirely make up for the overall "YA but bloodier" vibe. The strange, intimate world of Laura, Carmilla, and their professor was appropriately claustrophobic, but as a result, the external worldbuilding suffered. Other students were named here and there, but never were more developed than "the blonde ballerina" or "the one that was snippy". As a result, once the murders started, they lacked emotional impact entirely.

The character work here is top notch - I very much enjoyed the dual perspective. I did not, however, truly buy the heel turn toward redemption of one of the characters toward the end. Not enough work had been done plot-wise to make certain actions forgivable (or even reasonable), and as a result, I didn't feel much sympathy for someone I got the impression I should have.

Not my favorite, but still a fun vampire story, and I greatly enjoyed the sapphic romance.

This book was just alright in both of its story and characters. For a book that wasn't very long, I found myself not very hungry to pick it up and had a bit of trouble pushing through. I do love S.T. Gibson's prose though, even if I think it lacks a bit here. I'm looking forward to whatever Gibson put out next even if this one wasn't for me.

This is the first ARC I’ve ever received so it’s going to hold a special place in my heart. This is my first time reading S.T Gibson (A Dowry of Blood has been on my TBR for months) and I immediately want to dive in to everything they’ve wrote. I went and preordered this book along with Evocation. The writing is absolutely divine. I had heard their writing was poetic and it definitely delivered. I loved the dual POV and dark academia sapphic vampire vibes and fell into it so fast. I had no trouble finishing this book quickly as the ending came faster than I expected. I liked seeing someone so seemingly perfect unravel into someone flawed and relatable. Both of our FMC Carmilla and Laura were likable in their own respective. All around solid read I would recommend to friends.

What a fun read! I will admit that I enjoyed A Dowry of Blood more for a few reasons. First, I found the prose in ADoB more poetic and beautiful than An Education in Malice. That is likely due to the different time periods the story takes place in, but I did miss that aspect. I also (and this is my own fault) thought that this would be more of a sequel and less of a standalone, and I was a bit disappointed in that. *Spoiler* There was a bit of overlap, but I would have loved to see a little more. I kept waiting for a shocking "It's them again!" moment that never really came.

All of that being said, I did have a great time with this book. It's deliciously sapphic and much spicier that ADoB, but not in a tacky or cringey way. It still has the aspect of abuse (albeit in a different form), and I find it fascinating and genius the way that Gibson is able to so accurately depict what it's like it be in these types of toxic situations. Gibson writes beautifully and deeply. I will absolutely be reading anything she writes.

Thank you so much to S.T. Gibson, Redhook Books, and NetGalley for the ARC.

4.5 Stars

Are you looking for a sapphic vampire romance set in an all female college in the 1960’s? Then look no further because do I have the book for you.

First up: the prose is stunning. The characters have depth and unique personalities. The setting is intriguing. And overall the entire story is completely atmospheric. All things I love in a book.

However I did have some minor grievances with this book. Firstly; I wish the ending would have been left ambiguous (that would have been such a delectable choice to make). Secondly; the climax and ending of the book felt rushed. Thirdly; the secondary characters weren’t fleshed out at all and I wish they would have been given more personality.

Setting that aside this truly is a book that pulls you in. It’s quick to read and easy to find yourself submerged in. You want to sit on a velvet couch, drinking liquor, and listening to people recite poetry that brings a tear to your eye. You will absolutely want to be pulled into the world that the author has created because it’s so well written. Truly another novel that I am so happy I got the privilege to sink my teeth into.

• thank you to netgalley & redhook books for an ARC of An Education in Malice.

after previously reading A Dowry of Blood earlier this year I was beyond excited to see that S.T. Gibson had another sapphic vampire novel that would be coming out later in the year.

i enjoyed reading this modern retelling of Carmilla that is based at a all girls school in the 1960's, which happens to be where Laura & Carmilla end up meeting and form a unhealthy relationship with their poetry professor, De Lafontaine.

overall, i loved the story line but i do prefer Gibson's other book, A Dowry of Blood. i still overall liked this book though, i enjoyed the different plot lines that occur throughout the story as well. the story was written extremely well, the writing is gorgeous and very captivating throughout the story and keeps you hooked in until the end. i highly recommend this book if you have enjoyed Gibson's other works.

i also really enjoyed seeing one of the characters from A Dowry of Blood. (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me an arc of this novel.

The story and the writing are deeply intoxicating and wonderful that I was sucked into the world and couldn’t leave. The story is about obsession that wavers between passion and admiration. Of darkness that can consume you whole if you’re not careful.

I love how Laura and Carmilla are both equally obsessed with others with both hatred but also a desire for the other’s attention. How the two fight each other on the surface and also fighting themselves to not cross the line of rivals into lovers. The two are really cute from how they came from academic rivals to passionate lovers.

De Lafontaine is an interesting character reminiscent of Dracula from A Dowry of Blood. But instead of forcing love, she does her best to set boundaries and not let her obsession win.

For the story, it starts off at a perfect, world-building speed: not draggy but not rushed either. The conflict of competition and desires between Laura and Carmilla was delicious and so well done. One critique I have is that it would’ve been nicer to have a deeper dive into De Lafontaine‘a character as I feel we just skimmed the surface of it.

Overall, the story and writing was excellent and I highly recommend to those who enjoy these troupes: dark academia, academic rivals, and vampires.