This was off to a very slow, very frustrating start, but I’m glad I stuck with it because the second half feels like a completely different book. The first half tries to hard and makes everything painfully obvious to the point that it felt like literal Carmilla fanfic. Carmilla is hardly interesting when we first meet her, which is disappointing because there was so much potential for her to be the moody, mysterious character Laura views her as.

Oh, where to even begin?

This is an utter marvel of a book. When I got the approval email from NetGalley, I spend about five minutes jumping and hooting before I immediately sat down and dove into it. By the end of just the first chapter, I was engrossed and entranced.

For one, all of the characters feel so distinct and alive. Even with the first switch in perspective between Laura and Carmilla there is a noticeable difference in the ferocity of Gibson’s tone, one that subtly elicits their personality. Gibson writes like an absolute master of fiction.

The DYNAMICS. The DEVOTION. The OBSESSION. The RELATIONSHIPS. Have I mentioned the DEVOTION? ALL OF IT. BRILLIANT.

I really told myself I was going to pace myself with reading this, and still ate it up in one sitting.

But really, I cannot overemphasize how much I think S.T. Gibson writes like an absolute marvel. There is truly no other author out there that is able to so fully transport you to rural Massachusetts in the way she does in this book.

Frankly, I’ve just finished reading it, and this review can’t even come close to me saying everything I’d like to. There are still so many thoughts rattling around in my brain about it. Will not be forgetting about Laura or Carmilla any time soon.

Highly, HIGHLY recommend.

(Also, Christopher Marlowe mention, which automatically makes me give this 5 stars).

This sucked me in and did NOT let me go. I actually don't know anything about Carmilla, but even going in blind, I was absolutely hooked by everything about this story. Gorgeous writing, compelling relationships, and the main character was VERY well done - I immediately felt like I knew who she was and her perspective was very consistent.

Practically perfect.

4.25. I still can’t believe I got an e-arc of this book!! I devoured this book and was not disappointed.

An Education In Malice is a beautiful and gut wrenching portrayal of how love can be twisted into a tool to wound. And how those wounds don’t heal, but continue to infect other relationships.

I really appreciate the way S.T. Gibson approaches emotionally abusive relationships. The language is accessible, yet because it is written in first-person, still manages to convey the breadth and depth of the characters’ emotions. And while the book is fairly short, switching from Laura and Carmilla’s perspective gives the reader a greater appreciation of what these abusive relationships are and how they appear to those on the outside. I’m also a sucker for multiple POVs :)

Balancing out some of the darker aspects was Carmilla and Laura’s dynamic. I loved the evolution of their relationship from enemies to lovers. There was a lot of sexual tension and some *hot* sapphic scenes.

There were a few points where the plot made a jump or went in a direction that took me a little out of the story. I would have also liked more background about De Lafontaine and foreshadowing of her ulterior motives earlier in the book as it would have made the plot more cohesive. These were all minor though and didn’t detract much from my enjoyment of the book.

This book was EVERYTHING!! Sapphic, vampires, and dark academia. It was literally everything I could possibly have wanted. S.T. Gibson's writing style is just so beautifully elegant while also being dark. Laura is such a fantastic female male character, and her being plus size made me kick my feet and squeal I just loved her so much. The cameo from A Dowry of Blood made me so happy I loved seeing these two separate stories be interwoven in that way made me so happy. The rivals to lovers trope in An Education in Malice was phenomenal and the tension had me on my toes the entire time. I am a vampire girly through and through and this retelling of Carmilla was fantastic.
I have literally nothing negative to say about this book, reading it literally made me so happy, and I wish there were more books like this one.

Thank you to the Publisher for my arc!

There is something about a book that grasps you to the point where you can't focus on anything else and by the time you reach the end, its almost as if you wake up from a dream.

An Education in Malice is everything i've ever dreamed of it touches on the darkness of relationships such as uneven power dynamics. the toxicity of academia. I could go on and on, St. Gibson has this gift where she introduces you to these characters and you want to hate them immediately but she makes you as drawn to them as the main character Laura is. the writing is just beautiful and i found myself wishing i had a physical copy so i could highlight everything. This is the dark academia book of my dreams.

Another great retelling from St Gibson, this time focusing on Carmilla, reimagined in a lush dark academia setting.

This book was beautiful. This was absolutely the dark academia sensual Carmilla of my dreams - I'm so glad I listened to A Dowry of Blood a couple weeks ago, and then this came into my world. Read this in one day (not an exaggeration). Full review to be posted to goodreads and insta closer to pub date.

I love S.T. Gibson's writing. Its so beatiful and morbid and just...haunting? I guess is a good word for it. An Education of Malice wasnt as mind blowing as Id hoped, but I think someone who loves Dark Academia will love this. I still had an enjoyable reading experiance, even if it wasnt as great as i hoped.

Lesbians, vampires, and the horrible decisions people make for love. In many ways, this is a story that feels incomplete, but none of that is enough to take away from the language itself. Nor the fraught relationships that are being pushed and pulled in a thousand directions. I do think I still prefer A Dowry of Blood, but it's hard to ignore how quickly I ate up this story.

AN EDUCATION IN MALICE is a daring story for how many themes it takes on: girlhood, desire and kink, obsession, the inherent power imbalance in relationships between professors and students. Add in the vampires, and we have the potential for a gothic and contemplative tale. Unfortunately, it is because the novel sets forth to explore so many that it gets a little lost along the way.

1968: Laura arrives at St. Perpetua’s College with wide eyes, a nervous disposition, and secret desires. Upon first seeing Carmilla, obsession overtakes her. While her desires are tempered when Carmilla and her enter an academic rivalry that’s emboldened by their literature professor, De Lafontaine, Laura is still plagued by thoughts of what she wishes she could do to the other girl.

Carmilla and De Lafontaine have their own secrets. Carmilla would do anything for her professor, and the trio soon dances towards something that could culminate in disastrous and irreversible results.

Vivid descriptions immediately draw you into a Massachusetts’ autumn on the gothic campus. The story is fast paced and makes for a quick read, with writing that’s easy to follow while also maintaining that coveted atmosphere found in dark academia novels.

Early on, the novel teases how it’ll explore the power imbalance between professors and students. Carmilla is delirious with obsession for De Lafontaine, consumed by reverence, and from the beginning, De Lafontaine does little to deter her. There are some lines she won’t cross, but she encourages Carmilla’s devotion because she benefits from it. Any issued warnings are only said to assuage De Lafontaine’s conscience.

There’s a tonal shift at the halfway mark. Prior to this, the novel focuses on toxic relationships, but then there’s an introduction of murderous dark academia elements. While this sounds like an interesting read, these two elements stumble in this case.

Until that 50% mark, Laura and Carmilla are interesting characters with voices that feel distinct and genuine. S.T. Gibson plays with your expectations of how the characters will behave based on genre conventions, which makes for unexpected moments. I particularly enjoyed how from Laura’s perspective, Carmilla originally comes across as cold, composed, and aloof. Then we read from her POV and she’s overeager and so painfully juvenile in a way that’s reflective of that stage of girlhood of desperately wanting affection and recognition to the point where it’s impossible to stay composed. After the halfway point however, Laura and Carmilla’s chapters start to bleed together. I kept checking back to figure out whose perspective we were supposed to be reading from.

There’s also a surprising lack of tension as the story progresses. Despite Bad Things happening, there’s no sense of urgency within the characters to do anything about it. They’re wrapped up in their own lives and each other. As a result, the story meanders, lacking tension. If the characters care so little, what is really at stake? Why should we as readers care?

It could have worked if Laura and Carmilla consciously elected to ignore the horrors happening around them, to create tension in how we as readers know their idyllic dreamscape can’t last forever. Instead, it comes across as a forgotten or underdeveloped thread in the story, one that fades from the spotlight when paired with a focus on the dynamics between the characters. And even that weakens as the story progresses.

As it is, the ending suffers for it. The momentum building behind all the different subplots peters off, and it comes across a bit like they were forgotten. The things that made the novel feel fresh and thrilling early on became lacklustre. Particularly, the examination of toxic relationships kinda just fizzles out and, for me, lacks a satisfying resolution.

Final thoughts: The novel is daring for all the topics it sets out to take on, and the opening teases at an atmospheric and compelling read. It just wobbles a little under the weight of so many different themes.

Thank you NetGalley, Redhook, and S.T. Gibson for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This was one of my most anticipated reads because of how much I love A Dowry of Blood and it didn’t disappoint. The descriptions in this book are so vivid and I really felt like I was there. The writing style is gorgeous and lyrical, engulfing readers in this dark academia story. This book is one of the best dark academia stories I’ve ever read and is a perfect example of the genre.

This book follows Laura Sheridan as she starts school at Saint Perpetua’s College. She meets poetry professor De Lafontaine and is drawn into a strange relationship with fellow student Carmilla. There’s so much going on in this book including murder, romance, religion, toxic relationships, and more. I love seeing the rivalry between Laura and Carmilla intensify and become something more. Also, the spice was much more than I expected, but I loved it!

Overall, this one wasn’t *quite* as good as A Dowry of Blood in my opinion, but that would be incredibly hard to accomplish because of how much I love that book. If you like vampire stories, gothic setting, dark academia, toxic relationships, rivalries, yearning, and more, check this one out!

4.25 stars.

As someone who voraciously devours books, I have a tendency to speed through them and not take time to sit and really immerse myself in the book.

An Education in Malice didn't allow me to do that. It invites you in, slows you down, and asks you to savor it. The writing is immersive and descriptive, without being pretentious. I looked up the meaning of a handful of words and it made me feel curious, not frustrated.

This was a beautiful follow-up to A Dowry of Blood. The writing style is consistent, though I found the tone to be quite different. While A Dowry of Blood was a deeply moving and romantic story, it felt like that not-sweet deeply intense flavor of dark chocolate. An Education in Malice held a different tone - one of coming-of-age, dark academia, leaving girlhood and entering womanhood.

That being said, there were moments in the book where it felt like leaving girlhood and entering middle age. There were conversations and actions that felt much more aged up from the primary characters.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to those who enjoyed A Dowry of Blood. The writing style is consistent and it has that same feeling of our current reality but slightly... different. The vampires are again written in a way that is not out of touch with our current world.

If you read A Dowry of Blood but didn't like its deep intensity, you might enjoy this one more as the characters are at a younger age and it is set in a more modern time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books. I received a free digital advanced reader copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was my most anticipated read and it sure did not disappoint. When I received this book I dropped everything to read. The prose is lyrical and enchanting. This is the way dark academia should be done. The relationships are toxic, but I devoured every word. This will be sure a re-read, just like S.T. Gibson's Dowry of Blood. I am not sure which one I can say I like more. I will read anything this author publishes. Run, to get a copy of this. Thank you again to Redhook Books, NetGalley and the author S.T. Gibson,
5 Star

This is one of those books that I know many people will LOVE, but I did not. I personally didn’t care for ST Gibson’s writing style, I think lyrical, poetic prose is so beautifully written when done well, but I didn’t think Gibson’s was anything special? I was expecting more because I know people absolutely RAVED about A Dowry of Blood, but the prose felt more purple than lyrical. I also had a hard time with the characters, there always felt like a distance between me and the characters, like I was watching the story unfold from afar instead of being a part of it. It wasn’t a bad book, it just wasn’t for me.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

ST Gibson's brilliant A Dowry of Blood is one of my favorite horror books of all time. I have waited for her next story and I am thrilled to say that An Education in Malice is a wonderful read, full of Gibson's imagery and gift for immersing the writer in the setting of her stories.

Carmilla and Laura are students at St Perpetua's, rivals for the attention of professor DeLafontaine. There is more than attention being doled out, with manipulation and emotional damage being only two of the risks that the girls must face as they become closer to their teacher and each other.

When students at St Perpetua's start dying, it signals a larger risk, a worse monster, and a reckoning ensues. I don't know if "enjoy" is the right word to describe my experience with this book - it was more of a mixture of dread and delight, and while it didn't reach the exalted heights of A Dowry of Blood, it's still a beautiful story of longing.

Where do I even begin? This book was my most anticipated upcoming release and I was lucky enough to receive an arc! So first and foremost, thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for making my whole year and letting me read this early <3

Carmilla is a fantastic book and I urge anyone who hasn’t read it yet to run out and grab a copy. I was so excited when I found out Gibson’s new book was going to be a reimagining because I like Carmilla more than Dracula and my god did I adore A Dowry of Blood so this book had all the expectations attached to it.

This is how you do dark academia / academic rivals! These girls are cutthroat (ha) and I could literally feel the tension leaking right off the page. It was so deliciously toxic and wrong in all the ways. We’re talking power dynamics, borderline creepy stalking and obsession, professor/student dynamics, murder, intrigue, religion, so much poetry!

Carmilla and Laura love to hate each other and I loved having a front row seat to it. Their dynamic is super unique. They have a lot of trauma to unpack while dealing with this intense connection they share. I think they’re both VERY morally grey which is an absolute treat but we do get a fair bit of character development (for better or worse) and we really got to watch them grow into their own in such a short amount of time.

Oh and side note. The spice??? This is what I needed in Dowry. It was immaculate.

This book is chock full of gorgeous quotes which we’ve come to expect from Gibson. The world is well thought out and filled with so much color and life. I wanted to follow all of the side characters off the page and see what they were up to because they felt so real. Especially when you know who showed up. Can we follow them? Pretty please?? Book 3? Maybe? 👀

Guys. It’s gothic, it’s sapphic, it’s vampires. Please do yourself a favor and grab this book when it releases and bite into this gorgeous reimagining.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Poetic academic rivalry, a professor that isn’t what she seems, secret societies, blood magic, death, devotion, pain, lust, love, and so much more, all within a beautifully gothic atmosphere. This story will entrance readers; who will be unable to put it down. Definitely a story that will sit with me for a while.

When I heard Saint was writing a Carmilla retelling, I knew I had to drop everything to get my hands on this book. I finished this in one single plane ride- I was THAT captivated. This is S.T. Gibson PERFECTION. Everything about this was enthralling- the tension between Carmilla and Laura, the setting, the atmosphere, ALL of it- I could not have asked for a more devastatingly beautiful book to scratch my Dowry of Blood itch. If you liked A Dowry of Blood, I beg you to pick this up (and if you haven’t read A Dowry of Blood… what are you doing?), but in general, fans of queer academic rivals to lovers with vampires and ribbons used in VERY creative ways will love this book. I highly recommend reading this and I am SO glad I preordered this and cannot wait to obtain every special edition available. Saint- you’ve absolutely done it again. Incredible.

While I didn't enjoy this book as much as I loved A Dowry of Blood, I was still enchanted by Gibson's atmospheric and moody prose, and was fascinated by Laura and Carmilla's tension-filled relationship. Also I am a huge sucker for dark academia and poetry so this was right up my alley.