"An Education in Malice" by S.T. Gibson, ARC audiobook. Provided by @HachetteAudio through NetGalley

The immersive and atmospheric writing style effortlessly complements the intricate layers of the dark academia setting, drawing readers into a world of mystery and intrigue. As the story unfolds, the complex relationship between Carmilla and Laura is masterfully portrayed, showcasing a delicate balance of rivalry, affection, and conflicting emotions. Through their interactions with poetry professor, De Lafontaine, the narrative delves deeper into the dynamics of power and control within relationships, highlighting the profound impact of such imbalances on individuals.

Around a little over a third into the story, the plot started to slacken and felt somewhat forced. The main villain of the story was disappointing and felt like a background story without much at stake. However, despite these minor setbacks, the overall narrative remained engaging, and I was compelled to see how events would unfold.

Additionally, the narrator's skillful delivery enhances the overall listening experience, with her pleasant voice and subtle accents adding depth to the characters and their surroundings. While I found myself engrossed in the story, I opted to listen at a slightly increased speed to maintain momentum, as the pacing felt a tad slow at standard speed.

Without giving too much away, I found the ending poetic and intriguing, leaving me with much to ponder after the final chapter. Overall, "An Education in Malice" captivates with its richly woven narrative and compelling characters, making it a must-read for fans of dark academia and atmospheric storytelling.

S.T Gibson writes the most stunningly atmospheric stories. This was truly a vampiric, sapphic delight that was intoxicating from the very first page. I am not typically a dark academia girlie, but this reallyyyyy hit the spot.

The audio experience was perfect, the narrator really gave life to the characters so I highly recommend picking up the audiobook when it releases!

"An Education in Malice" weaves a captivating tale of dark academia, sapphic romance, and vampires, set against the atmospheric backdrop of New England. The author's vivid descriptions immerse readers in the fall setting, and the audiobook enhances the experience with a narrator skillfully employing different accents for dual POVs, distinguishing Laura and Carmilla. The story delves into themes of obsession and lust, unfolding an intriguing enemies-to-lovers narrative. However, the swift transition between enmity and romance might leave some readers wishing for a more gradual development. While the overall experience is enjoyable, the ending falls slightly short for me, leaving room for a deeper exploration of the story's potential.

I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley and HachetteAudio all opinions are my own.

An enjoyable and quick listen. I love a good historical dark academia setting and this story and characters leant themselves well to it. Though there are strong differences between them, I think anyone who enjoyed "If We Were Villains" would enjoy this as well. I wish the plot and character development was more dragged out than what was given and but ultimately I really enjoyed this "Carmilla" retelling.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC!
•S.T. Gibson's "An Education in Malice" dives into the alluring world of dark academia, where gothic chills intertwine with a forbidden sapphic romance.
•I want to start by saying that i gave five stars on A dowry of blood and i was very excited when i had the opportunity to review this arc, and while the premise holds undeniable intrigue and the cover art is undeniably stunning, the execution…
•The book excels in crafting a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere that is true.
The boarding school setting, steeped in history, provides a perfect backdrop for the simmering tension between the characters.
•However, the narrative pacing was uneven, with some sections dragging and others rushing through key plot points.
•The development of the relationship was not believable in my opinion and the characters were incredibly empty…i’m a big fan of dark academia and the instant obsession that the protagonist has for Carmilla is not done very well, is too shallow…
•I liked the writing but i can’t bring myself to not compare it with A dowry of blood and how that maybe made me have really high expectations!

The story wasn’t what I was expecting, but I still found it enjoyable, maybe more so because it was different than what I expected. My sole complaint was the wrap up at the end. Was it done this way to leave an opening for another book? I’m not sure. Regardless I would recommend the read.

Thank you, NetGalley and HachetteAudio, for giving me an audio arc of this book .

Relase date : 13 / 02 / 2024
I already read this book as an ebook format but I wanted to hear the audio version and oh my god what a difference! I can’t believe I read / neared the same book.
The narrator is amazing! I while reading it I forgot that Laura has an accent but listening to it it made a huge difference between the chapters , I knew who is who from the start.
The narrator is amazing and I can’t wait to hear more books from them !

Here is my preview review of the book :
I didn't know what to expect while reading it , to my shame I did not read the synopsis before asking for an eARC , i just saw that the author had a new book coming up and i jump to the oportuniti to get one , and that it will be enemies to lovers sprinkled with dark academia.

I loved A Dowry of Blood, and I thought it would be in the same writing style , but I was wrong. For some reason, ADOB was more poetically written , which is odd because AEIM is the one with the poets and literature, but it was still beautiful written , I was just expected something else.

I didn't really like that we got 2 POVs , i think i am the type of reader that likes to be only in one's head and have the love interest be more mysterious .

The enemies - to lovers was my favourite part , but it wasn't really enemies, more like , competition - to - lovers . When I see " enemies," I think of destroying one another, and they didn't do that. It would have been better if that portion of the book was a little longer , but I like it nonetheless.

I didn't understand why the professor was so possessed with Carmilla , she wanted her in what way ? It was unclear to me. One time, they shared a kiss, and then she said it better to have boundaries, and then she was jealous of Laura when she was with Carmilla , I just did not understand her actions.

And the plot line with Isis was a little .. meh ? I wasn't sure how this book would end, but I did not expect it to end like this that for sure . It feels rushed in a way . It didn't make sense why this character was introduced at almost the end of the book .

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to have it in my little hands and highlight all my favourite quotes <3

Dark academia
Gothic
Horror
Fantasy
Sapphic romance
Rivals to lovers
Vampires


This was such a good read: gothic, moody, sensual, carnal, with some power imbalance, and manipulation. I like the fact that there are trigger warnings placed for this. The characters are richly fleshed out and I loved the differences between Carmilla and Laura (strength, faults, and insecurities). The story is well written and the author is brilliant in creating a melancholic atmosphere. It’s a bit more sapphic vampire romance than macabre or horror if that is what you are looking for. Readers who loved A Dowry of Blood would definitely love this (or so I’m told as I haven’t read that yet either).

This has all the gothic dark academia vibes wrapped up in a sapphic Carmela retelling. The story had an he signature ST Gibson style and the audiobook narrators added such a fun experience to this story. Highly recommend if this sounds at all appealing to you! #AnEducationinMalice #NetGalley

This was quite an interesting read. From the moment I heard the content warning list at the beginning of the audiobook, I thought “let’s gooo!” This is a more character driven dark academia, with a sapphic couple that I actually really like! I can overlook the weak plot because of the strength of the characters and the power dynamics.

I could have used more of the poetry, and classes and school traditions. But overall this was an enjoyable read that would be a perfect fall read.

Excellent narrator. Story is not quite my cup of tea but it is a well-written, enemies-to-lovers dark academia meets sexy vampire spice fest!

Dark academia with moody, sapphic vibes. What's not to love?

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio, Redhook for the ALC

I love every book written by S.T. Gibson. This was written in a very similar style to A Dowry of Blood. I've never heard of heard of Carmilla, the 1872 Gothic Novella predating Dracula, until I heard this is book was semi a retelling of it in a more present day. It was such a fascinating read and I will be thinking about this book for a very long time, just like A Dowry of Blood. I recommend this book and going in blind. I never really know how to review S.T. Gibsons books other than just saying, go read it. It's such a unique vampire lore book. Just read it.
I listened to this on audio and oh my gosh, it was so good. The book flew by and it was very easy to know which POV that chapter was from. The pacing was great and Stephanie Cannon's voice was perfect for this book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for an audio-arc of An Education in Malice. It was fantastic!

Dark Academia, Gothic, Sapphic, Obsession

I have actively avoided reading Dark Academia and as such, this was my first foray into the genre so I went in green

Admittedly I was almost lost within the first chapter, dreading another rehashing of Twilight, but oh no, oh nonono, if you are expecting that vibe as I was, srub that thought from your mind

If the reader allows the book to take them past the first few pages, they begin to discover that S.T. Gibson is a lyricist in describing their aesthetic, creating a visual symphony with careful scene setting and ambience. I was lucky enough to be listening to an ALC and Stephanie Cannon's smooth narration is velvety and well-suited to the prose

The story revolves around a Professors (De LaFontaine) obsession with their student (Carmilla) who is a fierce rival of the FMC Laura, the innocent, religious girl from Tennessee, who in turn begins to discover she is developing a whole new mindset, tastes and hunger than she has ever known

I was pleasantly surprised when the plot began to build into something much darker than I was expecting, and I was absolutely riveted. I will certainly try dark academia again in the future, but something tells me that this book stands apart in the genre and exceeds expectations of readers of the same

Thank you very much to netgalley and Hatchette audio for this intriguing ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Still a 5/5 for me! The prose is lyrical and enchanting. I was lucky enough to get the e-arc earlier and now the audio. I think i loved it even more listening to it. Stephanie Cannon did an excellent job with the narration and kept me vested in listening the whole time. 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 will Run, to get a copy of this. Thank you again to Hachette, Redhook Books, NetGalley and the author S.T. Gibson.
5 star!

Whelp, I was hoping to like it more than „Dowry of Blood” and now it seems that „Dowry of Blood” was peak quality for Gibson. She definitely has a thing for vampires and whole spectrum of erotic tension that goes with blood-sucking, but while „Dowry of Blood” had beautiful prose, even though I was not so invested in the story „An Education in Malice” doesn't have even that. And without it the simplicity of the plot painfully stands out. There is nothing in this story that I couldn't have figured out by my own after reading the blurb. No surprise, no mystery and, mark my words, almost no dark academia, despite the title. The book focuses on a developing throuple between two students and their poetry teacher, but the course of this relationship was quite dull and I didn't care about it whatsoever. Probably because it strongly resembles what we already got in „Dowry of Blood” with Dracula and his companions. But the erotic scenes were nice and I liked the audiobook version.

I will, most likely, be in the minority with both my opinion on this book and my lack of history with the author (as this is my first book I’re read by her). Having heard really good things about A Dowry of Blood, and generally being a fan of vampires (as a topic) and academia (as a setup), I picked this book up with rather high expectations.
Unfortunately, I was left feeling rather underwhelmed.

The story is told in two POVs: Laura, a freshman and aspiring poet, starting her first year at an all-girl college, and Carmilla, a senior and the favorite of the poetry professor De Lafontaine - the only one who’s opinion matters to both of the girls. What starts as an academic rivalry for the place in the spotlight turns into something more - for the line between hate and love is thin, and secrets only stoke the fire...

Or, at least, that’s the gist of the story. We get an “enemies to lovers”, we get “vampires”, we get “dark academia” - but it all felt surface level. Sure, the girls disliked each other - but it was mostly one sided and really brief. Sure, vampires were involved, but while it was supposed to push the plot forward, I found it almost irrelevant, just a background happening and a setup for some spiced up make out sessions. Sure, it was taking place at a college and people were killed on campus, but really, only in the beginning did we have anything academia-like taking place (which was coincidentally my favorite part of the book). I wanted more out of this book, for it to deliver at least on ONE of these components. Alas.

The one thing I absolutely adored was actually the narration. Stephanie Cannon did an exceptional job portraying each character with their own voice tone and accent, especially fascinating to hear in dialogues.

All in all it was an okay book, worth giving a shot if you are looking for specific tropes and don’t mind them being mostly that - components of a story.

I received an advance review copy from Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Couldn’t put it down and I finished in a day. There are a few spicy scenes for all of my smut queens🌶️ 🌶️ This book releases 2/15/2024.

-enemies to lovers
- murder/sex/drug use
-vampires
-all girl college with a total dark academia vibe
-bloodthirsty professor who harbors her own secrets.
The book is told from two students, Laura & Carmilla, as they constantly feel in competition for the attention of their professor De Lafontaine. I don’t want to give away the plot but it’s captivating. The audiobook narrator, Stephanie Cannon, did a great job. She narrated both POVs and one had an Austrian accent and I can’t imagine that being easy to do for about half of a book.

My one issue with the plot is that I wish we would have really gotten to know the characters better. I wanted more on De Lofontaine. It seemed like she left us in the dark the entire time and I wanted more on Iris. For being a huge part of the story I felt like she ended up being an afterthought. 3.5 💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽

Thank you to S.T. Gibson, Hachette Audio and NetGalley for a copy of an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

DNF.

I am still rating this somewhat highly because while I do not think it was my story, I do very much think it will be for others. The author’s prose and description were captivating.

Unfortunately, I was not captured and eventually moved on to something else without finishing this eARC. However, I will say that the narrator is capable, did their job excellently, and is very much a storyteller - although you can tell they’re from the UK by some of their word pronunciations. It was strange to hear the word ‘cicada’ in a southern accent with a soft middle ‘a’ (I was intrigued enough to research).

As for the reason I ultimately set this aside, it was because the storyline was a bit too angsty for me and I felt like the romance was going to progress very quickly without much substance. It is possible that I gave up too quickly, as I did not get very far. The attraction between the main characters is announced very early on, perhaps within the first few pages (I listened to the eARC), and it sets the tone for something angry, jealous, and bitter. I love romance, but I like it presented to me in such a way that it isn’t instantaneous and allows me more of a connection with the characters.

Bloody and beautifully written, “An Education in Malice” is a sapphic vampire story that lures the reader into a dark world of love and lust. Readers of “Plain Bad Heroines” rejoice, this is the modern gothic novel you’ve been looking for!