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An Education in Malice
Sumptuous and addictive, An Education in Malice is a dark academia tale of blood, secrets and insatiable hungers from Sunday Times bestselling author S.T. Gibson, author of the cult hit A Dowry of Blood.
Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua's College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.
On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.
But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and dark magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.
Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua's College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.
On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.
But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and dark magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published February 13, 2024
About the author
S.T. Gibson
11 books3,442 followersS.T. Gibson is a poet, author, and village wise woman in training.
She holds a Bachelors degree in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and a Masters of Theological Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary.
She holds a Bachelors degree in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and a Masters of Theological Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,887 reviews
June 3, 2024
sapphic carmilla retelling??? say less
Dripping with blood and brimming with desperation, An Education in Malice is an intoxicating gothic academia intimately entangled with fraught relationships, desire, and obsession. S.T. Gibson places her own twist on the story of Carmilla, reinvigorating it with an intense dark academic atmosphere and rivalry between two young women aspiring for the attentions of their poetry professor. Dark urges intensify and in the dark corners of Saint Perpetua’s College lie in wait something that could test the growing bond between two former adversaries. Gibson’s prose is suffused with hunger and violence, a glittering and deadly knife point through which she ensnares her readers in the journey from estrangement to complete and utter devotion. This is a gorgeous story. An Education in Malice is a bloody feat made ready to devour. A retelling I will be singing praises to for ages to come.
Thank you to Orbit Books for providing the review copy.
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Dripping with blood and brimming with desperation, An Education in Malice is an intoxicating gothic academia intimately entangled with fraught relationships, desire, and obsession. S.T. Gibson places her own twist on the story of Carmilla, reinvigorating it with an intense dark academic atmosphere and rivalry between two young women aspiring for the attentions of their poetry professor. Dark urges intensify and in the dark corners of Saint Perpetua’s College lie in wait something that could test the growing bond between two former adversaries. Gibson’s prose is suffused with hunger and violence, a glittering and deadly knife point through which she ensnares her readers in the journey from estrangement to complete and utter devotion. This is a gorgeous story. An Education in Malice is a bloody feat made ready to devour. A retelling I will be singing praises to for ages to come.
Thank you to Orbit Books for providing the review copy.
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February 15, 2024
"For those who didn't make it out of the ivory tower unscathed: you have always been worthy."
★ 3 stars
You'll enjoy this book if you like:
➸ Dark academia
➸ Academic rivals to lovers
➸ Sapphic vampires / LGBTIQ+ representation
➸ Dual POV
This is a Carmilla retelling, following two academic rivals, Laura and Carmilla. Both girls have an infatuation with their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine.
Carmilla is a confident, headstrong character, whereas Laura is timid on the surface and insecure about herself and her sexuality. Both girls seek validation from their mentor and peers to the point of obsession, blurring the lines between desire and academic approval.
"Erotica was one of the only places I could find frank discussions of my own proclivities, rendered in fantastical prose that both titillated the body and delighted the mind. Reading those books felt like slipping on a beribboned mask and surrounding myself to the whirl of a hedonistic masquerade, plunging into a world where I was at once at home and a stranger in a strange land."
I love dark academia, however, I haven't read anything like this before. S.T. Gibson's writing prose was captivating and I was constantly on my toes, not knowing where this book was heading. This book is very character driven, which kept me from rating this book higher as I struggled to connect with the characters. This was largely to do with the involvement of the professor, De Lafontaine. There was an imbalance in the power dynamic so I struggled to accept the relationship.
Overall, the academic rivals aspect was executed well between Laura and Carmilla. While I did enjoy aspects of this, I did find the characters frustrating and the plot was slow at points due to the large focus on the characters themselves. The writing was beautiful and it was the main appeal to me. I can't wait to read the author's A Dowry of Blood.
I would still recommend this book for fans of gothic romance!
Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for sending me an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review
⎯⎯ ୨ Pre-review: ୧ ⎯⎯
The stress of being approved for an arc less than a week before publication 😩 I love dark academia so hopefully this is worth the speed reading I'm going to have to do 🤭
March 31, 2024
DNF @72%
I'll just keep this really brief-
Full disclosure- I listened to the audiobook. I wasn't impressed with the narrators at all, and I feel like I would have felt the same way if I read the kindle or physical book. But the advantage with the kindle as I would have known each chapter as it alternated between Carmilla and Laura.
Still, I don't think it was the best decision to include both POV's. With just Laura's it would have been more mysterious and given an obscure and haunting vibe. With both, it was just muddled.
In the audio, I honestly don't recall ever hearing the switch and I had to use more brain power than I wanted to in order to decipher who the hell was talking. Their voices sounded exactly the same. Maybe there's some greater meaning to that but I honestly don't care. It didn't work for me.
The pacing was incredibly slow and while this novel has all of the makings of what should have made for a great read... I just couldn't stay engaged.
On the plus side, I do intend to read A Dowry in Blood and not give up on the author.
"A sensible girl would leave. A good girl most certainly would. But I was tired of being sensible, and I was tired of being good."
🩸Sapphic
🩸Dark Academia
🩸Vampires
🩸Gothic
🩸Dark Fantasy
Here I go jumping around genres and books again without any real rhyme or reason - just wherever my mood takes me.
I've heard mixed reviews on this one... but I'm hoping it delivers 🤞✨💚🩶🖤
I'll just keep this really brief-
Full disclosure- I listened to the audiobook. I wasn't impressed with the narrators at all, and I feel like I would have felt the same way if I read the kindle or physical book. But the advantage with the kindle as I would have known each chapter as it alternated between Carmilla and Laura.
Still, I don't think it was the best decision to include both POV's. With just Laura's it would have been more mysterious and given an obscure and haunting vibe. With both, it was just muddled.
In the audio, I honestly don't recall ever hearing the switch and I had to use more brain power than I wanted to in order to decipher who the hell was talking. Their voices sounded exactly the same. Maybe there's some greater meaning to that but I honestly don't care. It didn't work for me.
The pacing was incredibly slow and while this novel has all of the makings of what should have made for a great read... I just couldn't stay engaged.
On the plus side, I do intend to read A Dowry in Blood and not give up on the author.
"A sensible girl would leave. A good girl most certainly would. But I was tired of being sensible, and I was tired of being good."
🩸Sapphic
🩸Dark Academia
🩸Vampires
🩸Gothic
🩸Dark Fantasy
I've heard mixed reviews on this one... but I'm hoping it delivers 🤞✨💚🩶🖤
February 11, 2024
2.5 ★
“But if I couldn’t have the real Carmilla, I would settle for an illusion of my own design.”
i was expecting to like this more than i did.. but regardless, i still think S.T. Gibson’s writing is beautiful. this is a story about obsession, desire and love in all its forms, told through the carnal nature of vampires. Carmilla and Laura are academic rivals who are drawn to their professor (De Lafontaine) and become obsessed with besting each other in hopes of gaining her approval. i could see this being a fav for a lot of people, so i wouldn’t let my review deter you from reading it. it just didn’t do anything for me personally and i couldn’t connect to the characters at all. I just found their personalities to be very annoying honestly.
“Laura, who gave me a hopeful little smile like we were anything other than sworn enemies. Laura, who had intruded into my sacred space and now made herself at home there.”
thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the arc, all opinions are my own.
“But if I couldn’t have the real Carmilla, I would settle for an illusion of my own design.”
i was expecting to like this more than i did.. but regardless, i still think S.T. Gibson’s writing is beautiful. this is a story about obsession, desire and love in all its forms, told through the carnal nature of vampires. Carmilla and Laura are academic rivals who are drawn to their professor (De Lafontaine) and become obsessed with besting each other in hopes of gaining her approval. i could see this being a fav for a lot of people, so i wouldn’t let my review deter you from reading it. it just didn’t do anything for me personally and i couldn’t connect to the characters at all. I just found their personalities to be very annoying honestly.
“Laura, who gave me a hopeful little smile like we were anything other than sworn enemies. Laura, who had intruded into my sacred space and now made herself at home there.”
thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the arc, all opinions are my own.
July 19, 2024
2.5/5
The way I absolutely loved the idea for this book, but I couldn’t, even when I really wanted to connect with it and its characters. I literally took a break from reading for two days after one of the major plot twists.. I think that shows enough how absorbed I was in the story.
A Dowry of Blood will always be one of my most beloved stories, but this one, at least for me, lacked that something that would make me love it. I simply didn't care, the characters were just fine, the plot bored me and I felt like something was missing here. Unfortunately, a bit of a letdown for me.
Also, not Marie Curie, but Marie Skłodowska-Curie.
The way I absolutely loved the idea for this book, but I couldn’t, even when I really wanted to connect with it and its characters. I literally took a break from reading for two days after one of the major plot twists.. I think that shows enough how absorbed I was in the story.
A Dowry of Blood will always be one of my most beloved stories, but this one, at least for me, lacked that something that would make me love it. I simply didn't care, the characters were just fine, the plot bored me and I felt like something was missing here. Unfortunately, a bit of a letdown for me.
Also, not Marie Curie, but Marie Skłodowska-Curie.
March 24, 2024
Many thanks to Redhook Books and NetGalley for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange of my honest review.
Rating: 3.5/5
This book is the incarnation of a lesbian-academic-who-happens-to-drink-blood's Pinterest board. This feels like a long woody table decorated with Queens of the Night, red wine from Bordeaux, and Maraschino cherries in whipped cream. This feels like a date with your secret lesbian lover at night in a haunted Austrian castle, where Chopin can be heard from the deep forest near by.
The thing is, S.T. Gibson's atmosphere cannot fail. An Education in Malice is a lush, darkly riveting tale by its setting and its caracter. It's a tale of an intense teacher-student obsession, the quest for grandeur, art, and above all, love. De Lafontaine and Camilla are such interesting characters, and the role Laura played in this whole dynamic is as compelling to read as it is delightful to devour. I find myself marvelling at Gibson's writing, because it thrusted me the world that she created throughout the whole experience. Although I was very sick during the week that I read this, every time I opened my Kindle I found myself captured by the prose on the screen. I don't think I would have liked this book very much had it been written by another.
The thing about these books that are more aesthetic than substance, is that sometimes I am left wanting more from the plot. I wish the murder affair had been more suspenseful (and it would definitely help had the murderer hadn't been revealed before). I also think that the ending was awfully conventional for such an audacious book. Finally, I felt like the relationship between our main girls were slightly rushed, I wish the yearning was more balanced because I felt like the hate-to-love transition was rather abrupt.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. I would recommend this less to people seeks a proper, suspenseful horror but more to those who seek a picturesque, terribly sexy and carnal read.
----------------------------
"bloodstained love letter to ambitious girls, all-consuming desires, and the agonies and ecstasies of academia"
holy shit GIVE IT TO ME. NOW.
update june 22th 2023: the synopsis sounds like music to my ear 🤭
Rating: 3.5/5
This book is the incarnation of a lesbian-academic-who-happens-to-drink-blood's Pinterest board. This feels like a long woody table decorated with Queens of the Night, red wine from Bordeaux, and Maraschino cherries in whipped cream. This feels like a date with your secret lesbian lover at night in a haunted Austrian castle, where Chopin can be heard from the deep forest near by.
The thing is, S.T. Gibson's atmosphere cannot fail. An Education in Malice is a lush, darkly riveting tale by its setting and its caracter. It's a tale of an intense teacher-student obsession, the quest for grandeur, art, and above all, love. De Lafontaine and Camilla are such interesting characters, and the role Laura played in this whole dynamic is as compelling to read as it is delightful to devour. I find myself marvelling at Gibson's writing, because it thrusted me the world that she created throughout the whole experience. Although I was very sick during the week that I read this, every time I opened my Kindle I found myself captured by the prose on the screen. I don't think I would have liked this book very much had it been written by another.
The thing about these books that are more aesthetic than substance, is that sometimes I am left wanting more from the plot. I wish the murder affair had been more suspenseful (and it would definitely help had the murderer hadn't been revealed before). I also think that the ending was awfully conventional for such an audacious book. Finally, I felt like the relationship between our main girls were slightly rushed, I wish the yearning was more balanced because I felt like the hate-to-love transition was rather abrupt.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. I would recommend this less to people seeks a proper, suspenseful horror but more to those who seek a picturesque, terribly sexy and carnal read.
----------------------------
"bloodstained love letter to ambitious girls, all-consuming desires, and the agonies and ecstasies of academia"
holy shit GIVE IT TO ME. NOW.
update june 22th 2023: the synopsis sounds like music to my ear 🤭
February 10, 2024
I felt certain that I could perish like this, suffocated by her thighs, and die perfectly happy.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
⚠️Trigger Warning: Uneven Power Dynamics, Inappropriate Student-Professor Relationships, Toxic Academic Environments, Graphic Deaths, Exhibitionism, Kink
📍Release date: 15 February
Why have I not read S.T. Gibson before? This is amazing! It's one of the most well-written retellings I've read so far. I love Carmilla so much, it's one of my favorite classic novels of all time, and I think I might love this just as much. An Education in Malice has all the best elements of the original, especially its eerie, gothic atmosphere, but with a much-improved love story in a new and modernized setting. Besides, like most vampire stories, it has a fair amount of gore and explicit sexual content. Of course, I liked it. In fact, I was completely hooked on the story. I was dying to reach the ending, in particular, to find out how different it would be from the original.
Moreover, I love this version of Carmilla. She is just as charming, confident, and enchanting as she is in the original novel, although she lacks the manipulation skills of the classic book's character. She also has her own point of view in this book, something I would have loved to read in the classic. At the same time, she is so young and naive, she is desperate for love and validation to the point that she becomes easy to control and manipulate.
As for Laura, this version of her character is, admittedly, a little more interesting than in the classic.
She is the same sweet, well-mannered girl she was in Carmilla, just as easily manipulated and controlled due to her naivete and lack of social skills. Just like Carmilla, she is desperate for validation and approval which leads to several questionable choices, even when she knows better. What took me completely by surprise was her soft-core dom kink. I saw the trigger warnings but I honestly expected them to be for Carmilla. I guess it's always the quiet ones, right guys?
Lastly, the relationship between Carmilla and Laura is completely different from the classic. It isn't about power imbalance and manipulation like in the original, although they do experience that from a third party. Their relationship is about two young girls trying to figure out their growing feelings for each other. They live in a world where those feelings are immoral, and in an incredibly toxic environment where they are pitted against each other. On top of rivals-to-lovers, the romance is slow-burn, although their attraction is immediate, tension-filled, and explosive. No matter how hard they try, how many insults they throw at one another, or how many obstacles they have to overcome, they can't stay away from each other. It might sound like nothing new in romance books, but it's what makes me swoon every time.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
⚠️Trigger Warning: Uneven Power Dynamics, Inappropriate Student-Professor Relationships, Toxic Academic Environments, Graphic Deaths, Exhibitionism, Kink
📍Release date: 15 February
Why have I not read S.T. Gibson before? This is amazing! It's one of the most well-written retellings I've read so far. I love Carmilla so much, it's one of my favorite classic novels of all time, and I think I might love this just as much. An Education in Malice has all the best elements of the original, especially its eerie, gothic atmosphere, but with a much-improved love story in a new and modernized setting. Besides, like most vampire stories, it has a fair amount of gore and explicit sexual content. Of course, I liked it. In fact, I was completely hooked on the story. I was dying to reach the ending, in particular, to find out how different it would be from the original.
Moreover, I love this version of Carmilla. She is just as charming, confident, and enchanting as she is in the original novel, although she lacks the manipulation skills of the classic book's character. She also has her own point of view in this book, something I would have loved to read in the classic. At the same time, she is so young and naive, she is desperate for love and validation to the point that she becomes easy to control and manipulate.
As for Laura, this version of her character is, admittedly, a little more interesting than in the classic.
She is the same sweet, well-mannered girl she was in Carmilla, just as easily manipulated and controlled due to her naivete and lack of social skills. Just like Carmilla, she is desperate for validation and approval which leads to several questionable choices, even when she knows better. What took me completely by surprise was her soft-core dom kink. I saw the trigger warnings but I honestly expected them to be for Carmilla. I guess it's always the quiet ones, right guys?
Lastly, the relationship between Carmilla and Laura is completely different from the classic. It isn't about power imbalance and manipulation like in the original, although they do experience that from a third party. Their relationship is about two young girls trying to figure out their growing feelings for each other. They live in a world where those feelings are immoral, and in an incredibly toxic environment where they are pitted against each other. On top of rivals-to-lovers, the romance is slow-burn, although their attraction is immediate, tension-filled, and explosive. No matter how hard they try, how many insults they throw at one another, or how many obstacles they have to overcome, they can't stay away from each other. It might sound like nothing new in romance books, but it's what makes me swoon every time.
December 19, 2023
cryinghdjshsj i fear i will never beat the "she doesn't like s.t. gibson's books" accusations
February 29, 2024
sapphic, dark academia, vampires, rivals and gothic… this really ATE!
such a fun quick read.
i do feel like the relationship moved to fast in the sense that they literally went from rivals to lovers but there was nothing in between that. i understand because the romance wasn’t the main part of the book but i do wish it were drawn out better. the vampire club scene was my favorite thing ever and is why the book has 4 stars instead of 3.
I was really worried when i started this story that there was going to be an intimate relationship between them and the teacher but that’s what i respect about the book because it focuses on the negatives that can happen with teacher/student relationships and how much they seek validation from someone that holds all the power. not just by being their teacher but also being an older vampire.
such a fun quick read.
i do feel like the relationship moved to fast in the sense that they literally went from rivals to lovers but there was nothing in between that. i understand because the romance wasn’t the main part of the book but i do wish it were drawn out better. the vampire club scene was my favorite thing ever and is why the book has 4 stars instead of 3.
I was really worried when i started this story that there was going to be an intimate relationship between them and the teacher but that’s what i respect about the book because it focuses on the negatives that can happen with teacher/student relationships and how much they seek validation from someone that holds all the power. not just by being their teacher but also being an older vampire.
April 19, 2024
Well, well, well. This was a little disappointing.
Set in the world of A Dowry of Blood, what we have here is a quite straightforward sapphic enemies-to-lovers trope with a background of vampirism.
The characters, frankly, felt unremarkable and shallow as the author doesn’t really delve into their psyche. The ever consuming loneliness of the vampirism or the dark mystique associated with it wasn’t explored.
“But then I got what I wanted, and now I don’t know what to want. I’ve always known what I wanted, Laura, I’m positively made of wanting. It’s strange, to be sure of so little.”
Thought the prose flowed easily, the writing lacked the lyrical yet obsessive/frenetic energy which I loved in her earlier work.
You could frankly more or less get the same book if you remove the vampirism altogether. Even the romance felt easy- they turn into lovers pretty quickly/suddenly. It didn’t provoke the yearning desire in me to see the characters together.
The subplot came up like an added afterthought, remains in the background for most of the book, the antagonist only showing up to provide an ending for the plot.
The character De Lafontaine could’ve been broken down further. She frankly came off as a jealous teenager masquerading as a mature adult despite being over 200 years old.
All in all, the trigger warnings in the start are more interesting than whatever happens in this book.
~ ARC received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Set in the world of A Dowry of Blood, what we have here is a quite straightforward sapphic enemies-to-lovers trope with a background of vampirism.
The characters, frankly, felt unremarkable and shallow as the author doesn’t really delve into their psyche. The ever consuming loneliness of the vampirism or the dark mystique associated with it wasn’t explored.
“But then I got what I wanted, and now I don’t know what to want. I’ve always known what I wanted, Laura, I’m positively made of wanting. It’s strange, to be sure of so little.”
Thought the prose flowed easily, the writing lacked the lyrical yet obsessive/frenetic energy which I loved in her earlier work.
You could frankly more or less get the same book if you remove the vampirism altogether. Even the romance felt easy- they turn into lovers pretty quickly/suddenly. It didn’t provoke the yearning desire in me to see the characters together.
The subplot came up like an added afterthought, remains in the background for most of the book, the antagonist only showing up to provide an ending for the plot.
The character De Lafontaine could’ve been broken down further. She frankly came off as a jealous teenager masquerading as a mature adult despite being over 200 years old.
All in all, the trigger warnings in the start are more interesting than whatever happens in this book.
~ ARC received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 11, 2023
5 ★ stars.
▬▬ 💕💌 I can't give you infinity stars so I'm giving you my heart.
I suppose this is what a personal handwritten love letter to the dark academia girls who love to drown in the ectasies of pain and the undying beauty of dangerous creatures would feel like.
I went through six stages of grief and six more stages of bliss, yet it's not enough to tie up the loose ends of my scattered feelings. I wanted to drop to my knees and weep for how beautiful the story was, like the jewel-encrusted hilt of a sharpened knife. Only S.T. Gibson can write about blood, gore, dangerous love and the seduction of death and make me sick from craving all of them. Her words stir up all kinds of sensations within me that never wear off. A brilliantly crafted, lush and atmospheric, devastingly haunted and tragically romantic page turner that will make you fall in love with the pain and beauty of love.
This book has:
• Dark academia
• The beauty of poetry
• Academic rivals to lovers
• Sapphic romance
• Illicit affairs between student and teacher
• Possessive, obsessive love interest
• Secrets of vampire society
• Blood, gore, murder, mystery
❛The story starts with the arrival of a young girl, Laura Sheridan, at Saint Perpetua's, a boarding school for girls, deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts.❜
Naive but remarkably brilliant Laura aims to perfect her writing skills in the esteemed professor De Lafontaine's class. As the only first year to impress De Lafontaine enough to be accepted in her class, she gets caught in an intense rivalry with the professor's favorite student Carmilla, who hates to share the spotlight of the professor's attention; but the maddening attraction she feels towards Carmilla is undeniable. Soon she gets pulled into their dark orbit and realizes there's something horribly wrong with the singular interest De Lafontaine has in Carmilla. The more secrets she uncovers, the more she finds herself entangled in the bigger game at play which is impossible to get out of.
💌 Laura– (innocent, small-town sweetheart who keeps a dark and wild persona hidden inside).
She is our main voice in the story. We stepped into the world of Saint Perpetua's and discovered its secrets through her eyes and it was absolute perfection. I loved being in her head. She was sweet and gentle most of the time, which made it more interesting to witness the flickers of her controlling side and ferocity peek through. You can literally see both sides in conflict till the darkness in her eventually wins out and makes her submit completely to her forbidden desires. She was introduced to a society that shattered all her beliefs and blurred the lines of reality—a big leap from her quiet life—but she took it in so well and managed to keep her humanity intact all throughout it.
💕 Carmilla– (troubled but wickedly beautiful, a constellation of longing and heartbreaks).
The whole school knows her as that stuck-up girl with attitude problems—the professor's pet at best. She's bold, daring and carries herself with the confidence of a goddess, but deep inside she is desperate to have her talents acknowledged and to have her affections for the only one she loves returned. She always appears to be in control of everything but she secretly longs to be desired, loved and protected. She was kindling the fire of her unrequited love for the professor when Laura showed up in the picture and wrecked her plans, her feelings, her mind and her heart. She hated her and she loved the way it felt so freeing, that it gave her a distraction to direct her mind somewhere else, even for a little bit.
💕💌 They were so Lana Del Rey coded–
Lipstick stains on cigrettes, the suffocating tension when eyes lock, fighting and falling in love, kissing in pouring rain, dancing to classics in the living room, skinny dipping under the moonlight, whispering poetries against skin.
Okay, I never touched poetry in my life but Carmilla and Laura and their game of seduction got me feeling things. They were everything—dark, delicious, and forbidden. It was like the moment they met, the world and it's rules ceased to exist; they built a world of their own, dark and twisted. They were two lies holding onto a truth with the power of love. Carmilla and Laura both had their individual troubles to deal with but that didn't weaken their connection even a bit. When they say, 'I love you to death and beyond', I think they meant this.
💌 Professor De Lafontaine– (no one writes morally grey characters better than S.T. Gibson).
I've never been warned that I'd fall for a 200-year-old or something vampire lady with malicious intentions and questionable motives. She is tender one second and the next I know, she's out there making me question my sanity. She loved obsessively, dangerously; she loved Carmilla in her own twisted ways but you'd never be sure if that's the love of a mentor, a friend, a guardian or a lover. Her niceity scared me more than her cruelty, she kept me on edge all throughout the book but nonetheless an interesting character to get to know.
. . .
I was familiar with the world this book took place in (mind you, I still lose sleep thinking about 'A Dowry of Blood') so I had no trouble falling in pace with the storyline and once I did, I could hardly put it down. Thanks to Netgalley and Redhook Books for the ARC, I can't wait to have it on my shelf.
10/12
❛A modern retelling of Carmilla with sizzling hot tension and an addictive lure of dark academia.❜
▬▬ 💕💌 I can't give you infinity stars so I'm giving you my heart.
I suppose this is what a personal handwritten love letter to the dark academia girls who love to drown in the ectasies of pain and the undying beauty of dangerous creatures would feel like.
I went through six stages of grief and six more stages of bliss, yet it's not enough to tie up the loose ends of my scattered feelings. I wanted to drop to my knees and weep for how beautiful the story was, like the jewel-encrusted hilt of a sharpened knife. Only S.T. Gibson can write about blood, gore, dangerous love and the seduction of death and make me sick from craving all of them. Her words stir up all kinds of sensations within me that never wear off. A brilliantly crafted, lush and atmospheric, devastingly haunted and tragically romantic page turner that will make you fall in love with the pain and beauty of love.
This book has:
• Dark academia
• The beauty of poetry
• Academic rivals to lovers
• Sapphic romance
• Illicit affairs between student and teacher
• Possessive, obsessive love interest
• Secrets of vampire society
• Blood, gore, murder, mystery
❛The story starts with the arrival of a young girl, Laura Sheridan, at Saint Perpetua's, a boarding school for girls, deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts.❜
Naive but remarkably brilliant Laura aims to perfect her writing skills in the esteemed professor De Lafontaine's class. As the only first year to impress De Lafontaine enough to be accepted in her class, she gets caught in an intense rivalry with the professor's favorite student Carmilla, who hates to share the spotlight of the professor's attention; but the maddening attraction she feels towards Carmilla is undeniable. Soon she gets pulled into their dark orbit and realizes there's something horribly wrong with the singular interest De Lafontaine has in Carmilla. The more secrets she uncovers, the more she finds herself entangled in the bigger game at play which is impossible to get out of.
💌 Laura– (innocent, small-town sweetheart who keeps a dark and wild persona hidden inside).
She is our main voice in the story. We stepped into the world of Saint Perpetua's and discovered its secrets through her eyes and it was absolute perfection. I loved being in her head. She was sweet and gentle most of the time, which made it more interesting to witness the flickers of her controlling side and ferocity peek through. You can literally see both sides in conflict till the darkness in her eventually wins out and makes her submit completely to her forbidden desires. She was introduced to a society that shattered all her beliefs and blurred the lines of reality—a big leap from her quiet life—but she took it in so well and managed to keep her humanity intact all throughout it.
💕 Carmilla– (troubled but wickedly beautiful, a constellation of longing and heartbreaks).
The whole school knows her as that stuck-up girl with attitude problems—the professor's pet at best. She's bold, daring and carries herself with the confidence of a goddess, but deep inside she is desperate to have her talents acknowledged and to have her affections for the only one she loves returned. She always appears to be in control of everything but she secretly longs to be desired, loved and protected. She was kindling the fire of her unrequited love for the professor when Laura showed up in the picture and wrecked her plans, her feelings, her mind and her heart. She hated her and she loved the way it felt so freeing, that it gave her a distraction to direct her mind somewhere else, even for a little bit.
💕💌 They were so Lana Del Rey coded–
Lipstick stains on cigrettes, the suffocating tension when eyes lock, fighting and falling in love, kissing in pouring rain, dancing to classics in the living room, skinny dipping under the moonlight, whispering poetries against skin.
Okay, I never touched poetry in my life but Carmilla and Laura and their game of seduction got me feeling things. They were everything—dark, delicious, and forbidden. It was like the moment they met, the world and it's rules ceased to exist; they built a world of their own, dark and twisted. They were two lies holding onto a truth with the power of love. Carmilla and Laura both had their individual troubles to deal with but that didn't weaken their connection even a bit. When they say, 'I love you to death and beyond', I think they meant this.
💌 Professor De Lafontaine– (no one writes morally grey characters better than S.T. Gibson).
I've never been warned that I'd fall for a 200-year-old or something vampire lady with malicious intentions and questionable motives. She is tender one second and the next I know, she's out there making me question my sanity. She loved obsessively, dangerously; she loved Carmilla in her own twisted ways but you'd never be sure if that's the love of a mentor, a friend, a guardian or a lover. Her niceity scared me more than her cruelty, she kept me on edge all throughout the book but nonetheless an interesting character to get to know.
. . .
I was familiar with the world this book took place in (mind you, I still lose sleep thinking about 'A Dowry of Blood') so I had no trouble falling in pace with the storyline and once I did, I could hardly put it down. Thanks to Netgalley and Redhook Books for the ARC, I can't wait to have it on my shelf.
10/12
January 23, 2024
➵ 2 ✰
- dnf at 50%
ok no one is more sad about this than me because this is one of my anticipated releases and i was just so let down. i loved a dowry of blood so maybe i just have really high expectations for this but either way, i was disappointed. i wanted to love this so much but i just felt so bored and had no interest in picking it up. i didn't feel connected to any of the characters and the story itself so i decided to just dnf because i made it to the 50% mark and still had no interest in it.
giving it 2 stars because the writing is still great but i just can't i feel so bored 😭
# all reviews are opinions of my own and you should experience a book before giving your own. happy reading! 💌
₊˚ ────── ୨୧ pre-read ୨୧ ────── ˚₊
i got the arc for this awhile backand completely forgot oops but this is one of my anticipated releases this year so i need to 🏃♀️🏃♀️
hoping i like this as much as a dowry of blood 🤞
- dnf at 50%
ok no one is more sad about this than me because this is one of my anticipated releases and i was just so let down. i loved a dowry of blood so maybe i just have really high expectations for this but either way, i was disappointed. i wanted to love this so much but i just felt so bored and had no interest in picking it up. i didn't feel connected to any of the characters and the story itself so i decided to just dnf because i made it to the 50% mark and still had no interest in it.
giving it 2 stars because the writing is still great but i just can't i feel so bored 😭
# all reviews are opinions of my own and you should experience a book before giving your own. happy reading! 💌
₊˚ ────── ୨୧ pre-read ୨୧ ────── ˚₊
i got the arc for this awhile back
hoping i like this as much as a dowry of blood 🤞
Read
January 15, 2024She kissed me with a martyr's agonized desperation, like I was the only sword she ever wanted to fall on. I kissed her right back like the cutting edge of a blade, trying to inflict as much damage as possible.
Thank you SO MUCH to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
IF WE WERE VILLAINS meets A DOWRY OF BLOOD in this scrumptious sapphic dark academia novel by S.T. Gibson.
This is less of a retelling of Carmilla and more a reincarnation. Gibson takes these beloved characters and pumps fresh blood into them so that they can live a life anew. And in this incarnation, Laura and Carmilla find themselves in New England as poetry students under the fierce hand of Professor De Lefontaine, a vicious academic force with a dark past. De Lefontaine doles out her praise selectively, setting students at each others' throats as they vy for her attention. But Laura and Carmilla can't tell which they want more of: attention from their elusive professor, or attention from the talented and ferocious girl they've been set at the throat of.
There's a specific type of romance dynamic—often reserved for the tragic achilleans—that always captures my heart. The Hamlet and Horatio kind of vibe. The king and the poet kind of vibe. And it's something I've NEVER been able to find in sapphic romances. They always fall short, lacking that chemistry and tension and absolute world-shifting passion. And I think this book has FINALLY done it. It has finally replicated that absolutely soul-crushing romance dynamic that I live for but with sapphics. Thank you S.T. Gibson for blessing us.
I gorged myself on this book, sucking the ink from its pages with fervor and reckless abandon. I constantly had to remind myself to slow down and luxuriate in its prose. In all honesty, reading this book almost began to stress me out with its richness. I was reading it faster than I could process it, and I have a laundry list of scenes I want to illustrate burning a hole in my notes app. It's absolutely ripe with gorgeous prose, a rich dark academic atmosphere, sexual delicacies, and heart-wrenching romance.
My only issue with the book is with the second half, where that I found that a lot of the stakes were told rather than shown. It made the climax of the story feel a bit out of nowhere and unearned despite the time spent building up to it. I think the story deserved to be even longer (I think this could've easily been an absolutely tome) and that would've given more space to build that plot up.
But I'm absolutely OBSESSED with this book and its incredible characters, and will not be shutting up about it for quite some time. It contains so many literary rarities, some I knew I was starving for and others I didn't even know I was craving. S.T Gibson is out for blood with this story and she can have mine by the gallon.
CW: blood & gore, murder, sexual content, alcohol consumption, dead body, decapitation, death of mother (past)
Thank you SO MUCH to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
IF WE WERE VILLAINS meets A DOWRY OF BLOOD in this scrumptious sapphic dark academia novel by S.T. Gibson.
This is less of a retelling of Carmilla and more a reincarnation. Gibson takes these beloved characters and pumps fresh blood into them so that they can live a life anew. And in this incarnation, Laura and Carmilla find themselves in New England as poetry students under the fierce hand of Professor De Lefontaine, a vicious academic force with a dark past. De Lefontaine doles out her praise selectively, setting students at each others' throats as they vy for her attention. But Laura and Carmilla can't tell which they want more of: attention from their elusive professor, or attention from the talented and ferocious girl they've been set at the throat of.
There's a specific type of romance dynamic—often reserved for the tragic achilleans—that always captures my heart. The Hamlet and Horatio kind of vibe. The king and the poet kind of vibe. And it's something I've NEVER been able to find in sapphic romances. They always fall short, lacking that chemistry and tension and absolute world-shifting passion. And I think this book has FINALLY done it. It has finally replicated that absolutely soul-crushing romance dynamic that I live for but with sapphics. Thank you S.T. Gibson for blessing us.
I gorged myself on this book, sucking the ink from its pages with fervor and reckless abandon. I constantly had to remind myself to slow down and luxuriate in its prose. In all honesty, reading this book almost began to stress me out with its richness. I was reading it faster than I could process it, and I have a laundry list of scenes I want to illustrate burning a hole in my notes app. It's absolutely ripe with gorgeous prose, a rich dark academic atmosphere, sexual delicacies, and heart-wrenching romance.
My only issue with the book is with the second half, where that I found that a lot of the stakes were told rather than shown. It made the climax of the story feel a bit out of nowhere and unearned despite the time spent building up to it. I think the story deserved to be even longer (I think this could've easily been an absolutely tome) and that would've given more space to build that plot up.
But I'm absolutely OBSESSED with this book and its incredible characters, and will not be shutting up about it for quite some time. It contains so many literary rarities, some I knew I was starving for and others I didn't even know I was craving. S.T Gibson is out for blood with this story and she can have mine by the gallon.
CW: blood & gore, murder, sexual content, alcohol consumption, dead body, decapitation, death of mother (past)
June 28, 2024
Ooh, Miss Taylor Swift, the album you could write about this one...
“But this girl, this Carmilla… she undid all my domestication”
I want to take a moment to convince every bi girl and lesbian reading this review to pick this book up, and I'll start with a few quotes to set the mood.
“I wanted nothing more than to be the voyeuristic ghost in the room when she read those poems in her bed at night.”
“every inch the creature out of myth in her platform shoes”
“Can I confess that I loved it?
I loved getting under her skin. I loved knowing that, if I tried hard enough, my words could pierce the armor of her popularity and her persona and disturb something inside her”
“ I worked myself into a fever over her, hunched over my typewriter in my dorm room while my tea went cold on my bedside table”
“I domesticated my own wildness, starved the odd appetites inside me. ”
“What was Carmilla when she wasn’t safely trapped behind the bars of one of my poems?”
“But this girl, this Carmilla… she undid all my domestication”
I want to take a moment to convince every bi girl and lesbian reading this review to pick this book up, and I'll start with a few quotes to set the mood.
“I wanted nothing more than to be the voyeuristic ghost in the room when she read those poems in her bed at night.”
“every inch the creature out of myth in her platform shoes”
“Can I confess that I loved it?
I loved getting under her skin. I loved knowing that, if I tried hard enough, my words could pierce the armor of her popularity and her persona and disturb something inside her”
“ I worked myself into a fever over her, hunched over my typewriter in my dorm room while my tea went cold on my bedside table”
“I domesticated my own wildness, starved the odd appetites inside me. ”
“What was Carmilla when she wasn’t safely trapped behind the bars of one of my poems?”
May 17, 2024
An Education in Malice is a reimagining of Carmilla that takes place in the backdrop of an all girls college in the 1960's, where Laura Sheridan has been sent to study poetry and Carmilla is forming an unhealthy bond with her poetry professor, De Lafontaine. We follow Laura and Carmilla as they descend further into a place neither of them can escape.
There was truly no way that a vampire book with THREE sapphic poets could be anything less than 5 stars for me, but this book really does excel in so many aspects. Laura and Carmilla are the centerpiece of this book and they are perfection. Even while they are rivals, the tension between them is palpable and it just grows as they become closer. While they are definitely into each other before, the whole vampirism thing seems to accelerate the desire part quite swiftly. I liked how their obsession felt softer and could give way to love, directly contrasting Carmilla and De Lafontaine's relationship. That being said, De Lafontaine really holds this story together. She is an older vampire who is really pushing the boundaries of what is morally acceptable with her students. It's clear she less evil than a product of her own environment, but it's impossible to like her. She shows a different side of love and obsession, one that corrupts and hurts and adds so much to the tension.
I love vampire books and I love S.T. Gibson's vampires above all. They are easily my favorite supernatural creatures to read about precisely because of how we see vampires lose or twist their humanity. Similarly to A Dowry of Blood, Gibson utilizes vampirism to discuss abusive aspects of relationships. We see how cruel obsession and power imbalance drives De Lafontaine's relationship with Carmilla and how, while Lafontaine is cruel, she treats Carmilla that way because it is how she was conditioned in past relationships, thus showing how the cycles of abuse can continue in relationships.
I am a sucker for dark academia books and, even though the academia aspect is definitely more on the backburner, this is no exception. Gibson does something really beautiful here in making all three of these characters poets. The original poems shared and the existing ones that are studied add an extra layer to the work as a whole.
S.T. Gibson's writing is magnificent and atmospheric, sucking you into the story completely. Even after reading A Dowry of Blood (which I highly recommend), this book blew me out of the water. While so many aspects of this book stand out, her writing is by far the best part and, for me at least, the core of why this book is so easily 5 stars. I cannot wait to share some of my favorite quotes (which I'll add in when I have time).
Small aside, but it is insanely fitting that I got a Carmilla scented perfume in my literary perfume calendar yesterday. I was definitely smelling that the whole time I was reading this book for the vibes.
Thank you Net Galley & the publisher for sending me an e-arc. I am going to go scream into a pillow and smell Carmilla perfume some more.
There was truly no way that a vampire book with THREE sapphic poets could be anything less than 5 stars for me, but this book really does excel in so many aspects. Laura and Carmilla are the centerpiece of this book and they are perfection. Even while they are rivals, the tension between them is palpable and it just grows as they become closer. While they are definitely into each other before, the whole vampirism thing seems to accelerate the desire part quite swiftly. I liked how their obsession felt softer and could give way to love, directly contrasting Carmilla and De Lafontaine's relationship. That being said, De Lafontaine really holds this story together. She is an older vampire who is really pushing the boundaries of what is morally acceptable with her students. It's clear she less evil than a product of her own environment, but it's impossible to like her. She shows a different side of love and obsession, one that corrupts and hurts and adds so much to the tension.
I love vampire books and I love S.T. Gibson's vampires above all. They are easily my favorite supernatural creatures to read about precisely because of how we see vampires lose or twist their humanity. Similarly to A Dowry of Blood, Gibson utilizes vampirism to discuss abusive aspects of relationships. We see how cruel obsession and power imbalance drives De Lafontaine's relationship with Carmilla and how, while Lafontaine is cruel, she treats Carmilla that way because it is how she was conditioned in past relationships, thus showing how the cycles of abuse can continue in relationships.
I am a sucker for dark academia books and, even though the academia aspect is definitely more on the backburner, this is no exception. Gibson does something really beautiful here in making all three of these characters poets. The original poems shared and the existing ones that are studied add an extra layer to the work as a whole.
S.T. Gibson's writing is magnificent and atmospheric, sucking you into the story completely. Even after reading A Dowry of Blood (which I highly recommend), this book blew me out of the water. While so many aspects of this book stand out, her writing is by far the best part and, for me at least, the core of why this book is so easily 5 stars. I cannot wait to share some of my favorite quotes (which I'll add in when I have time).
Small aside, but it is insanely fitting that I got a Carmilla scented perfume in my literary perfume calendar yesterday. I was definitely smelling that the whole time I was reading this book for the vibes.
Thank you Net Galley & the publisher for sending me an e-arc. I am going to go scream into a pillow and smell Carmilla perfume some more.
September 24, 2023
She kissed me with a martyr’s agonized desperation, like I was the only sword she ever wanted to fall on. I kissed her right back like the cutting edge of a blade, trying to inflict as much damage as possible.
I wanted her to be able to think of nothing but this kiss when she was alone in her bed at night. I wanted her to feel just how much I reviled and desired her, to what maddening brink she drove me.
i must marinate with my thoughts because this has me feeling soooo many conflicting emotions. rtc <3
thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group for the arc in exchange for an honest review!
February 19, 2024
An Education in Malice is a dark academia Carmilla retelling set at a Massachusetts women's college, following Laura and Carmilla as academic rivals in a poetry seminar - presided over by a mysterious and ruthless professor.
And okay. I didn't love it.
The positives:
Dark academia often struggles to escape the shadow of The Secret History or If We Were Villains, but An Education in Malice manages to maintain its own identity. It interrogates the relationship between professors and students, and how professors hold institutional power that they can leverage for their own benefit - an area I think this genre has only just started to explore. Gibson's prose is direct, without frills, meaning that the pace moves quickly and that the moments of more descriptive imagery land with impact.
The negatives:
This book is so, so dedicated to telling and not showing. I cannot express how bizarre it is to read a character's internal narration list exactly what their personality traits and interests are upon their introduction, and then to never explore those traits in the actual story. This impacted Laura the most, I think, who clearly wanted to be a complex, multidimensional character. She is studious and competitive, shy and intense, sheltered and dominant, religious and independent - and she tells us this, constantly! But she studies off the page, her religion has no impact on how she thinks or perceives the world. Conversations and key events are summarized retroactively. As a result, these character descriptions feel inauthentic, and a roadmap for who Laura should be as opposed to who she is. Carmilla I felt like I understood better, but only because she's a less complex character, fitting the prideful + sassy + insecure archetype. I was able to substitute characteristics from this understanding to compensate for her lack of dimensionality, but this didn't exactly lend itself to an interesting character. Both of these characters are 'obsessed' with poetry, but share their writing exactly once, in the very beginning of the book. Like I just don't believe them!
This also meant that the book's exploration of kink within their relationship was unsatisfying. Genuinely funny that when Carmilla is introduced she tells you exactly what role she would like to play within a relationship, and why! It is easy to show your readers that your vampire love interest is a bratty sub! Why are we doing this!
All of this led to the relationship feeling insubstantial. Of course I am supposed to assume they will get together, as their BDSM preferences are immediately stated to complement each other. When they go from rivals to lovers, there's little room for the grey area in between that allows them to try to navigate their new relationship and explore how they fit together. They used to hate each other, but they love each other now. It's no more complicated than that, but it should be.
Another issue I had with this book concerned De Lafontaine and the way she ties into the story.
On a more personal note, I just wanted more from this story. This is a light 300 pages (the font is huge), and I would've loved to read it for 600. If we're doing the dark academia toxic relationship vampires thing, let's commit! Give Laura and Carmilla room to breathe, let this book be the pretentious love letter to poetry and Massachusetts autumns it so desperately wants - and arguably needs - to be.
ST Gibson has spoken at length about how she struggled to write this book, and I think you can tell. I'm almost convinced the straightforward approach was intentional, because it's so at contrast with her other books. But I can't figure out why she would've made this choice.
I'm not saying not to read this book or that you won't enjoy it. If An Education in Malice sounds like something you would enjoy, I think it's worth a shot. Having read and loved Gibson's other work, is it a compliment to say I expected better?
And okay. I didn't love it.
The positives:
Dark academia often struggles to escape the shadow of The Secret History or If We Were Villains, but An Education in Malice manages to maintain its own identity. It interrogates the relationship between professors and students, and how professors hold institutional power that they can leverage for their own benefit - an area I think this genre has only just started to explore. Gibson's prose is direct, without frills, meaning that the pace moves quickly and that the moments of more descriptive imagery land with impact.
The negatives:
This book is so, so dedicated to telling and not showing. I cannot express how bizarre it is to read a character's internal narration list exactly what their personality traits and interests are upon their introduction, and then to never explore those traits in the actual story. This impacted Laura the most, I think, who clearly wanted to be a complex, multidimensional character. She is studious and competitive, shy and intense, sheltered and dominant, religious and independent - and she tells us this, constantly! But she studies off the page, her religion has no impact on how she thinks or perceives the world. Conversations and key events are summarized retroactively. As a result, these character descriptions feel inauthentic, and a roadmap for who Laura should be as opposed to who she is. Carmilla I felt like I understood better, but only because she's a less complex character, fitting the prideful + sassy + insecure archetype. I was able to substitute characteristics from this understanding to compensate for her lack of dimensionality, but this didn't exactly lend itself to an interesting character. Both of these characters are 'obsessed' with poetry, but share their writing exactly once, in the very beginning of the book. Like I just don't believe them!
This also meant that the book's exploration of kink within their relationship was unsatisfying. Genuinely funny that when Carmilla is introduced she tells you exactly what role she would like to play within a relationship, and why! It is easy to show your readers that your vampire love interest is a bratty sub! Why are we doing this!
All of this led to the relationship feeling insubstantial. Of course I am supposed to assume they will get together, as their BDSM preferences are immediately stated to complement each other. When they go from rivals to lovers, there's little room for the grey area in between that allows them to try to navigate their new relationship and explore how they fit together. They used to hate each other, but they love each other now. It's no more complicated than that, but it should be.
Another issue I had with this book concerned De Lafontaine and the way she ties into the story.
On a more personal note, I just wanted more from this story. This is a light 300 pages (the font is huge), and I would've loved to read it for 600. If we're doing the dark academia toxic relationship vampires thing, let's commit! Give Laura and Carmilla room to breathe, let this book be the pretentious love letter to poetry and Massachusetts autumns it so desperately wants - and arguably needs - to be.
ST Gibson has spoken at length about how she struggled to write this book, and I think you can tell. I'm almost convinced the straightforward approach was intentional, because it's so at contrast with her other books. But I can't figure out why she would've made this choice.
I'm not saying not to read this book or that you won't enjoy it. If An Education in Malice sounds like something you would enjoy, I think it's worth a shot. Having read and loved Gibson's other work, is it a compliment to say I expected better?
February 19, 2024
UM HELLOOOOOOO BURY ME WITH THIS BOOK. SERIOUSLY.
i know this one has people greatly divided, but this actually changed my dna. no seriously. i had such a great time immersing myself in this story, in carmilla, and in the dark academic background this is set on.
listen, if u know me, u know i am the MOST smut-adverse reader ever, it makes me cringe like nothing else, mostly bc i usually cant imagine real men (in straight smut) ever saying the overly sweet things they say in books in real life, but i think i found my cure: SAPPHIC VAMPIRE SMUT. yall... the way i was SWEATING and TINGLING reading this!!! (yeah i know that says more about my bi identity than it does all smut but just walk with me here) i was EATING this UP wishing carmilla would just show up through my window and treat me like shit (and other things) 😩 maybe i should have realised hot mean women are my weakness much earlier, but hey its never too late to learn new things about urself.
anyway, this one def wont be for everyone, as a dark academia plot does tend to unravel a bit slower than other types, but the YEARNING, the TEASING is IMPECCABLE. this immediately went into my favorites shelf and miss gibson is officially an author i will pick up everything from.
i know this one has people greatly divided, but this actually changed my dna. no seriously. i had such a great time immersing myself in this story, in carmilla, and in the dark academic background this is set on.
listen, if u know me, u know i am the MOST smut-adverse reader ever, it makes me cringe like nothing else, mostly bc i usually cant imagine real men (in straight smut) ever saying the overly sweet things they say in books in real life, but i think i found my cure: SAPPHIC VAMPIRE SMUT. yall... the way i was SWEATING and TINGLING reading this!!! (yeah i know that says more about my bi identity than it does all smut but just walk with me here) i was EATING this UP wishing carmilla would just show up through my window and treat me like shit (and other things) 😩 maybe i should have realised hot mean women are my weakness much earlier, but hey its never too late to learn new things about urself.
anyway, this one def wont be for everyone, as a dark academia plot does tend to unravel a bit slower than other types, but the YEARNING, the TEASING is IMPECCABLE. this immediately went into my favorites shelf and miss gibson is officially an author i will pick up everything from.
February 4, 2024
At St. Perpetua’s College for women, the imposing gothic campus has become home to more than just young vibrant minds: Vampires have quietly embedded themselves into the very heart of the school. As you settle into An Education in Malice by S.T Gibson, you are swiftly reminded that not all monsters hide in the dark…they can have the insidious ability to blend into the classroom with you.
An Education in Malice is clearly a retelling of the classic horror story of Carmilla by J. Sheridan. Gibson even reuses names from the classic novella for her own characters throughout the book, which cements this literary connection into stone. It is a dark academia novel centered around our two main characters: Laura Sheridan and Carmilla. Both girls are students who rapidly become intellectual rivals with sapphic sexual tension laced into every interaction. Unlike the classic Carmilla’s unhealthy predator/prey relationship dynamic, the relationship that develops between Laura and Carmilla arises from something sweeter, resemblant of two kindred souls finding restful peace with one another. The unhealthy power dynamic aforementioned is instead seen played out in one Professor De Lafontaine, the teacher of Laura and Carmilla’s elitest and demanding poetry seminar. De Lafontaine is beautiful, wickedly smart, and horribly obsessed with Carmilla. This inappropriate fascination with Carmilla snares the girls into a sinister, unholy world where the harm of navigating De Lafontaine’s twisted love may ultimately cost them their own lives—or worse yet, their love for each other. The tangled romantic enmeshments of these characters have the potential to repeat a toxic, tragic history, or alter fated events entirely by trailblazing a new future with love sharply cutting away the decaying rot of the past.
S.T. Gibson’s capacity to build a nostalgically familiar, moody atmosphere within her books has impressed me. Even though her books seem to be highly character-driven stories, her ability to weave an immersive, verdant environment around them is remarkable. I have read A Dowry in Blood in addition to this novel by this author and I find that the feel of these books are distinctive in their reading consumption: Dracula’s story in A Dowry of Blood transformed from such painful psychological neglect and entrapment to being an emotionally rich and romantically righteous tale. Markedly, in An Education in Malice, the internal focus is much different. It has a dark, interlocking character predicament rooted in danger, which deteriorates alarmingly fast due to toxic relationship dynamics. And yet, it should also be noted that Laura and Carmilla’s (as well as De Lafontaine’s) love stories are also indulgently unapologetic about choosing your own path regardless of the happiness or misfortune it may bring you. In a way, Gibson is making these horror classics of Dracula and Carmilla more relatable and accessible to modern-day readers by redefining each story with characters and thematic elements woven together in a contemporary way.
Open the story of Carmilla and Laura if you wish to see if poisonous, malicious love flourishes…or gets buried deep in the soil at the ever-watchful St. Perpetua’s College.
Thank you so much Net Galley and Redhook Books for the ARC and the opportunity to share what I think! All opinions are my own. Publication day for this book will be February 13th.
An Education in Malice is clearly a retelling of the classic horror story of Carmilla by J. Sheridan. Gibson even reuses names from the classic novella for her own characters throughout the book, which cements this literary connection into stone. It is a dark academia novel centered around our two main characters: Laura Sheridan and Carmilla. Both girls are students who rapidly become intellectual rivals with sapphic sexual tension laced into every interaction. Unlike the classic Carmilla’s unhealthy predator/prey relationship dynamic, the relationship that develops between Laura and Carmilla arises from something sweeter, resemblant of two kindred souls finding restful peace with one another. The unhealthy power dynamic aforementioned is instead seen played out in one Professor De Lafontaine, the teacher of Laura and Carmilla’s elitest and demanding poetry seminar. De Lafontaine is beautiful, wickedly smart, and horribly obsessed with Carmilla. This inappropriate fascination with Carmilla snares the girls into a sinister, unholy world where the harm of navigating De Lafontaine’s twisted love may ultimately cost them their own lives—or worse yet, their love for each other. The tangled romantic enmeshments of these characters have the potential to repeat a toxic, tragic history, or alter fated events entirely by trailblazing a new future with love sharply cutting away the decaying rot of the past.
S.T. Gibson’s capacity to build a nostalgically familiar, moody atmosphere within her books has impressed me. Even though her books seem to be highly character-driven stories, her ability to weave an immersive, verdant environment around them is remarkable. I have read A Dowry in Blood in addition to this novel by this author and I find that the feel of these books are distinctive in their reading consumption: Dracula’s story in A Dowry of Blood transformed from such painful psychological neglect and entrapment to being an emotionally rich and romantically righteous tale. Markedly, in An Education in Malice, the internal focus is much different. It has a dark, interlocking character predicament rooted in danger, which deteriorates alarmingly fast due to toxic relationship dynamics. And yet, it should also be noted that Laura and Carmilla’s (as well as De Lafontaine’s) love stories are also indulgently unapologetic about choosing your own path regardless of the happiness or misfortune it may bring you. In a way, Gibson is making these horror classics of Dracula and Carmilla more relatable and accessible to modern-day readers by redefining each story with characters and thematic elements woven together in a contemporary way.
Open the story of Carmilla and Laura if you wish to see if poisonous, malicious love flourishes…or gets buried deep in the soil at the ever-watchful St. Perpetua’s College.
Thank you so much Net Galley and Redhook Books for the ARC and the opportunity to share what I think! All opinions are my own. Publication day for this book will be February 13th.
March 5, 2024
An Education in Malice was a solid vampire novel, but it left me wanting more.
Laura Sheridan begins her first year of study at Saint Perpetua’s College. There, she meets the beautiful and mercurial Carmilla, who soon becomes her academic rival. Both girls vie for the approval of their exacting professor, De Lefontaine. Things devolve and get bloody as Laura and Carmilla enter De Lefontaine’s private world.
Like A Dowry of Blood, this is a seductive vampire novel. However, this one is loosely inspired by the classic vampire novel Carmilla, which predates Stoker’s Dracula. It is a sapphic romance with dual POVs.
I loved Dowry, so I thought this book would be just as gripping, but unfortunately, I just kept waiting for something to happen. I mean things were happening but not with the razor sharp tension or depth of the previous book.
I was just left wanting more - more character depth and a deeper look at the themes, i.e., unequal power dynamics and obsession. Still, this is a quick and solid read if you want a story of vampires mixed with dark academia. It has a moody and beguiling feel to it from the first page.
The author conveniently provides a list of content warnings.
I’m a sucker for a good vampire story, so I’ll definitely pick up the author’s next book if it has them.
3.5 stars.
Thank you to Orbit for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
https://booksandwheels.com
Laura Sheridan begins her first year of study at Saint Perpetua’s College. There, she meets the beautiful and mercurial Carmilla, who soon becomes her academic rival. Both girls vie for the approval of their exacting professor, De Lefontaine. Things devolve and get bloody as Laura and Carmilla enter De Lefontaine’s private world.
Like A Dowry of Blood, this is a seductive vampire novel. However, this one is loosely inspired by the classic vampire novel Carmilla, which predates Stoker’s Dracula. It is a sapphic romance with dual POVs.
I loved Dowry, so I thought this book would be just as gripping, but unfortunately, I just kept waiting for something to happen. I mean things were happening but not with the razor sharp tension or depth of the previous book.
I was just left wanting more - more character depth and a deeper look at the themes, i.e., unequal power dynamics and obsession. Still, this is a quick and solid read if you want a story of vampires mixed with dark academia. It has a moody and beguiling feel to it from the first page.
The author conveniently provides a list of content warnings.
I’m a sucker for a good vampire story, so I’ll definitely pick up the author’s next book if it has them.
3.5 stars.
Thank you to Orbit for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
https://booksandwheels.com
March 22, 2024
"She kissed me with a martyr's agonized desperation, like I was the only sword she ever wanted to fall on."
Stars: 5+/5
spice 2/5
Tropes and what to expect:
- queer main characters
- enemies to lovers
- academic rivals
- dark academia
- poetry
- drugs and alcohol
- vampires
- period piece (1968)
This was my first S.T Gibson book but will absolutely not be my last, I was hooked from the first page and it just got better and better as the story went on. This book is poetically smutty, it is luxurious and dark.
Our lovely main characters Laura and Carmilla pull you right into the story. They are convincing, realistic and beautifully flawed people. Their personalities are so different while also allowing them to fit together as love interests quite well. This is definitely an opposites attract situation in the best kind of way.
The dark academia setting of this book was described so beautifully that I could really envision the world that S.T. Gibson created for this story. Lots of dark gothic buildings and pretty college dorms, an interesting juxtaposition where everything felt so old and yet not at the same time. S. T. Gibson also took a lot of care in describing what all of the characters were wearing, and their wardrobes were so nice, I might have to take some inspo from a few of them.
The most unique aspect of this book and my favorite part was just how poetic S. T. Gibson was. Both Laura and Carmilla are poets and it really shines through with the way the describe themselves, as well as people and things around them. This is most prominent in their love story, the way they describe each other is absolutely captivating. I could not stop highlighting lines in this book because they were just so pretty.
If you like vampires, sapphic love and dark academia then this is absolutely a book to pick up in 2024.
Thank you Netgalley for my ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Stars: 5+/5
spice 2/5
Tropes and what to expect:
- queer main characters
- enemies to lovers
- academic rivals
- dark academia
- poetry
- drugs and alcohol
- vampires
- period piece (1968)
This was my first S.T Gibson book but will absolutely not be my last, I was hooked from the first page and it just got better and better as the story went on. This book is poetically smutty, it is luxurious and dark.
Our lovely main characters Laura and Carmilla pull you right into the story. They are convincing, realistic and beautifully flawed people. Their personalities are so different while also allowing them to fit together as love interests quite well. This is definitely an opposites attract situation in the best kind of way.
The dark academia setting of this book was described so beautifully that I could really envision the world that S.T. Gibson created for this story. Lots of dark gothic buildings and pretty college dorms, an interesting juxtaposition where everything felt so old and yet not at the same time. S. T. Gibson also took a lot of care in describing what all of the characters were wearing, and their wardrobes were so nice, I might have to take some inspo from a few of them.
The most unique aspect of this book and my favorite part was just how poetic S. T. Gibson was. Both Laura and Carmilla are poets and it really shines through with the way the describe themselves, as well as people and things around them. This is most prominent in their love story, the way they describe each other is absolutely captivating. I could not stop highlighting lines in this book because they were just so pretty.
If you like vampires, sapphic love and dark academia then this is absolutely a book to pick up in 2024.
Thank you Netgalley for my ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 6, 2024
half baked narrative, paper thin characterization, all tell no show, no finesse, no gravitas and hardly any commitment to it’s themes. also for a story meant to evoke eroticism and depict a kinky, semi toxic relationship it was boring and flavorless to a deeply surprising degree.
February 8, 2024
3.5/5
And what do you know of the atrocities I've committed for love? Love is sacrifice. Whether it's you on the butcher's table or not, someone always bleeds.
Thank you Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, I didn't love this book as much as I'd hoped to. I adored A Dowry of Blood and so I believed this would be an easy favourite of mine but, alas, I was a little disappointed.
As always, I loved Gibson's lavish prose and the haunting religious imagery used all throughout. The dark academia university setting was incredibly atmospheric and I loved exploring it.
I also loved seeing a character from A Dowry of Blood in this book, it made me want to read it all over again!
Art outlives all of us. It makes us immortal.
What sadly fell flat for me were the characters and relationships (the very driving force of the story).
I liked the characters well enough, however I never felt as though I truly connected with them. I also felt that the relationships were strangely rushed, I would've preferred it if this story had been longer and if it'd had more time to flesh out and deepen both the characters and their core relationships.
I suppose I wanted a book that was, at least in the beginning, a little more subtle. I wanted to feel the yearning and the pining of this obsessive desire, however I found that these aspects were overlooked and instead rushed into.
I also didn't like De Lafontaine's ending as I felt it was too forgiving. I am not the singular voice or opinion you should listen to on this matter, but I did expect and would've liked an ending more similar to A Dowry of Blood. (I am a rage-driven person at my core and I do like that in stories.)
I also do want to add that I'm not a big 'spice' reader so I didn't enjoy those aspects of the story as much as I'm sure others will.
It was always going to be this way. One of us was always going to bleed for the other.
I still very much appreciate Gibson's craft and I continue to find their writing beautiful. I'm just upset I didn't love this as much as I thought I would. I hope others enjoy it more!
I can't wait to read Evocation!
And what do you know of the atrocities I've committed for love? Love is sacrifice. Whether it's you on the butcher's table or not, someone always bleeds.
Thank you Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, I didn't love this book as much as I'd hoped to. I adored A Dowry of Blood and so I believed this would be an easy favourite of mine but, alas, I was a little disappointed.
As always, I loved Gibson's lavish prose and the haunting religious imagery used all throughout. The dark academia university setting was incredibly atmospheric and I loved exploring it.
I also loved seeing a character from A Dowry of Blood in this book, it made me want to read it all over again!
Art outlives all of us. It makes us immortal.
What sadly fell flat for me were the characters and relationships (the very driving force of the story).
I liked the characters well enough, however I never felt as though I truly connected with them. I also felt that the relationships were strangely rushed, I would've preferred it if this story had been longer and if it'd had more time to flesh out and deepen both the characters and their core relationships.
I suppose I wanted a book that was, at least in the beginning, a little more subtle. I wanted to feel the yearning and the pining of this obsessive desire, however I found that these aspects were overlooked and instead rushed into.
I also didn't like De Lafontaine's ending as I felt it was too forgiving. I am not the singular voice or opinion you should listen to on this matter, but I did expect and would've liked an ending more similar to A Dowry of Blood. (I am a rage-driven person at my core and I do like that in stories.)
I also do want to add that I'm not a big 'spice' reader so I didn't enjoy those aspects of the story as much as I'm sure others will.
It was always going to be this way. One of us was always going to bleed for the other.
I still very much appreciate Gibson's craft and I continue to find their writing beautiful. I'm just upset I didn't love this as much as I thought I would. I hope others enjoy it more!
I can't wait to read Evocation!
December 30, 2023
If you want a sapphic, vampires and Gothic rivalries to lovers full of intimate longing... READ THIS!
A Education in Malice is a haunting, deliciously Gothic Carmilla retelling that will simultaneously have you giggling, kicking your feet and sitting at the edge of your seat. Set in Massachusetts in Saint Perpetua's College - a desolate, decrepit and ancient estate where secrets fester and life lives among death... we follow Laura who is thrown into a passionate (yet deadly) academic rivalry with Carmilla.
A story full of obsession and the lengths one will go to in order to meet their desires, we see the unraveling of dark magic, lust and the pursuit of knowledge, no matter how bloodthirsty. S.T. Gibson's writing is ALWAYS as eloquent as it is astounding and I am constantly left in awe and wishing for an extra 200 pages and it was absolutely no different with An Education In Malice. I was instantly transported to the autumnal gothic estate, dreaming that I could frolic among the danger and fog. The world building and setting were the perfect level of cosy alongside the frightening and it absolutely lived up to its dark academia label.
When it came to the characterization, I felt SO MUCH for these characters and found myself adoring both Laura and Carmilla despite their inadequate differences and flaws. When we arrived at their coming together (and their coming apart) I loved the way that S.T. Gibson explored such delicate and complicated feelings all whilst keeping the plot enjoyable and fast paced. The dual POV definitely aided this!
And it's absolutely worth noting that chapter 21... PHHEWWW
I cannot URGE you enough to pick this up! I have no doubts that this will be one of the biggest books of 2024 and I am already so excited to read what S.T. Gibson does next!
rating: 4.75
A Education in Malice is a haunting, deliciously Gothic Carmilla retelling that will simultaneously have you giggling, kicking your feet and sitting at the edge of your seat. Set in Massachusetts in Saint Perpetua's College - a desolate, decrepit and ancient estate where secrets fester and life lives among death... we follow Laura who is thrown into a passionate (yet deadly) academic rivalry with Carmilla.
A story full of obsession and the lengths one will go to in order to meet their desires, we see the unraveling of dark magic, lust and the pursuit of knowledge, no matter how bloodthirsty. S.T. Gibson's writing is ALWAYS as eloquent as it is astounding and I am constantly left in awe and wishing for an extra 200 pages and it was absolutely no different with An Education In Malice. I was instantly transported to the autumnal gothic estate, dreaming that I could frolic among the danger and fog. The world building and setting were the perfect level of cosy alongside the frightening and it absolutely lived up to its dark academia label.
When it came to the characterization, I felt SO MUCH for these characters and found myself adoring both Laura and Carmilla despite their inadequate differences and flaws. When we arrived at their coming together (and their coming apart) I loved the way that S.T. Gibson explored such delicate and complicated feelings all whilst keeping the plot enjoyable and fast paced. The dual POV definitely aided this!
And it's absolutely worth noting that chapter 21... PHHEWWW
I cannot URGE you enough to pick this up! I have no doubts that this will be one of the biggest books of 2024 and I am already so excited to read what S.T. Gibson does next!
rating: 4.75
January 27, 2024
2.5 stars rounded up
Mixed feelings on this one. An Education in Malice is supposed to be dark academia and sapphic vampires, which I was very excited for. But it's the sort of book that had the potential to be amazing and instead is just fine.
It does deliver the sapphic vampires fairly well, though I found the dark academia element to be lackluster. The school is shallowly developed, mostly set dressing for the three main characters and unrealistic in how things actually function. The sense of atmosphere is much better in the latter half of the book, but the first part is pretty bland with a lot of telling rather than showing and infodumps. I pushed past being very bored and there was a bit of a payoff though not as much as wanted.
Conceptually, I like how this is taking a more classic look at vampires in terms of power, seduction, danger, and sensuality. But while it hints at these larger questions of power dynamics, desire, informed consent, the interplay of religion and sexuality etc. But it never really goes anywhere with them and the ending is neatly tied up in a bow which isn't what I want from a book like this. For me this was okay, but disappointing compared to the book might have been. That said, I will try the next book from Gibson because I loved Dowry of Blood and this had some really excellent scenes scattered through the narrative. The audio narration was a mixed bag. Laura's perspective does a southern accent pretty well, but Carmilla is supposed to be from Europe and that accent is patchy at best which was sometimes distracting. Otherwise, the narrator was fine. I received an audio review copy from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
Mixed feelings on this one. An Education in Malice is supposed to be dark academia and sapphic vampires, which I was very excited for. But it's the sort of book that had the potential to be amazing and instead is just fine.
It does deliver the sapphic vampires fairly well, though I found the dark academia element to be lackluster. The school is shallowly developed, mostly set dressing for the three main characters and unrealistic in how things actually function. The sense of atmosphere is much better in the latter half of the book, but the first part is pretty bland with a lot of telling rather than showing and infodumps. I pushed past being very bored and there was a bit of a payoff though not as much as wanted.
Conceptually, I like how this is taking a more classic look at vampires in terms of power, seduction, danger, and sensuality. But while it hints at these larger questions of power dynamics, desire, informed consent, the interplay of religion and sexuality etc. But it never really goes anywhere with them and the ending is neatly tied up in a bow which isn't what I want from a book like this. For me this was okay, but disappointing compared to the book might have been. That said, I will try the next book from Gibson because I loved Dowry of Blood and this had some really excellent scenes scattered through the narrative. The audio narration was a mixed bag. Laura's perspective does a southern accent pretty well, but Carmilla is supposed to be from Europe and that accent is patchy at best which was sometimes distracting. Otherwise, the narrator was fine. I received an audio review copy from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
March 22, 2024
“I learned how to survive in the cutthroat world of girlhood, where all strangeness was unrooted as ruthlessly as weeds from a garden. I domesticated my own wildness, starved the odd appetites inside me.”
good news is that i didn’t hate this book. bad news is that i didn’t love it either. don’t get me wrong, it’s sexy and tackles important themes of exploring one’s sexuality, grooming, and manipulative partners but the plot didn’t work for me. maybe there was a deeper meaning in the book that went over my head and if that’s the case then feel free to let me know in the comments :)
nothing happens in the first 40% of the book. the plot in the first half of the book is just our fmcs denying their attraction for each other and competing for their favourite professor’s validation. there’s no urgency or suspense in the plot like i wasn’t DYING to know what happened next, which is a bummer because i didn’t feel excited continuing it. even the ending was underwhelming and anticlimactic. i prefer books that bring out strong emotions in me and leave me ruminating on it after it’s finished.
whoever said this book had “murder mystery” lied because the murder happens after the 50% mark and it isn’t even a mystery who did it. granted, it’s a retelling of the 1872 Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu and as i wasn’t familiar with that book, i did not have the slightest clue what this would be about. however, i’ve read and loved S.T. Gibson’s A Dowry of Blood so i was really excited to read another one of the author’s works but Education just didn’t hit its mark.
i can tolerate plotless books so long as they have formidable characters but both carmilla and laura came off as rather bland to me. they were interesting for sure, but neither of them stood out in any way. i’m also not a fan of instalove as it’s one of my most disliked tropes and laura was already head over heels for carmilla during their very first meeting. they did have a slow burn of sorts later on but i was kinda thrown off by how quickly she became smitten with carmilla. i did like the whole “i hate you but i also find you incredibly irresistible” thing that they had going on for majority of the book but ultimately, i expected much more in terms of plot, pacing, and mystery.
the writing style was the best part of the book. it was poetic and atmospheric which is very fitting as the setting revolves around poetry a lot. the only complaint i have about the writing is that it reads more like a journal or a diary at some parts. not that it’s a bad thing, but i felt like i was reading some sort of memoir but maybe that’s how Carmilla was written too?
overall, this was an OKAY book but i really didn’t vibe with it. it’s a quick read and there is no plot whatsoever but if you can ignore that and just focus on the sapphic vampires then you might enjoy this.
February 9, 2024
4.0 Stars
This was such an engrossing piece of dark academia. I am a sucker for the details of classroom life. I soaked up the details of class schedules and teacher lectures.
As a retelling of Camilla, I don't feel qualified to comment on those aspects. I have never read the work and only know the surface level synopsis of this work.
This work really stands on its own. The prose was quite strong. The narrative felt lush and decadent. I would highly recommend to readers who love dark academia.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this novel from the publisher.
This was such an engrossing piece of dark academia. I am a sucker for the details of classroom life. I soaked up the details of class schedules and teacher lectures.
As a retelling of Camilla, I don't feel qualified to comment on those aspects. I have never read the work and only know the surface level synopsis of this work.
This work really stands on its own. The prose was quite strong. The narrative felt lush and decadent. I would highly recommend to readers who love dark academia.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this novel from the publisher.
April 1, 2024
modern carmilla retelling but always knowing no matter what universe they’re in carmilla will always be in love with laura
June 18, 2024
*+:｡.｡3.5 stars (lovingly) <3
an education in malice has all the right components. sapphic vampires. academic rivalry. darkly beautiful, whimsical atmospherism. but despite all this, it still lacked . . . something.
this book is a retelling of carmilla, which i have never read, so i can’t state whether it was true to the og novel or not. from what demi (🩷) told me, an education in malice stayed relatively close to the original tale but with a more feminist + modern lens.
╰┈➤ we follow the alternating povs of laura and carmilla as they come together to uncover the secrets lying beneath st. perpetua’s college and wrestle with their own internal turmoil, falling for each other along the way, and discovering deeper arcana within their pristine school ✰
: ̗̀➛ one thing i, verily, adored, was the writing. s.t. gibson is an extravagantly precise writer, and she conjures different scenes so gorgeously it’s hard to not fall in love with her prose. at will, i was plunged into tea-scented, damp october afternoons, cryptic corridors, and sunny days out on the grass. it all read really smoothly too, which was suchhh a delight.
: ̗̀➛ the start of carmilla and laura’s relationship was also very very enjoyable. they perfectly complement each other- laura is the flower, the steeling breath against fear, the citrus, whilst carmilla is "cloves, rosewater, and cheap liquor." their initial rivalry was great and tension-full, and it was genuinely heartwarming to see them get closer (THAT RAIN SCENE 😭😭🙏🙏💕💕).
but it wasn’t enough for me.
╰┈➤ there were some things in this book i had issues with. namely, de lafontaine, the isis thing, and the progression of c + l’s relationship.
1. one of the elephants in the room here is de lafontaine. de lafontaine hate club raise ur hand!!!!!! booooo 👎👎👎👎👎she was laura and carmilla’s poetry prof, and oh man we have beef. her relationship with carmilla was hella predatory but she was still presented as sympathetic in the end…? like we were meant to root for her…? no, bitch!
2. the isis thing. i can’t really explain who/what isis is without giving away spoilers, but that whole plotline felt rushed and although it was resolved in the book, it didn’t feel that way in my head.
3. i also think carmilla and laura’s relationship wasn’t as developed as it could have been. i treasured their rivalry, but that didn’t last very long. wish it was a bit more of a slowburn. i think there should have been a little more pining; a little more angst- essentially, they needed to suffer a little more. 😭.
despite all my complaining, i still enjoyed reading this. it was bewitching and fun to read, and the concept was great. (i just like to whinge 💔)
please read the content warnings at the start of the book before reading!!
★★★⯨
ꨄ︎ pre-read !
.............................................
sapphic dark academia carmilla retelling? say less. buddy reading with [envigourating music] demi!!!!
an education in malice has all the right components. sapphic vampires. academic rivalry. darkly beautiful, whimsical atmospherism. but despite all this, it still lacked . . . something.
this book is a retelling of carmilla, which i have never read, so i can’t state whether it was true to the og novel or not. from what demi (🩷) told me, an education in malice stayed relatively close to the original tale but with a more feminist + modern lens.
╰┈➤ we follow the alternating povs of laura and carmilla as they come together to uncover the secrets lying beneath st. perpetua’s college and wrestle with their own internal turmoil, falling for each other along the way, and discovering deeper arcana within their pristine school ✰
: ̗̀➛ one thing i, verily, adored, was the writing. s.t. gibson is an extravagantly precise writer, and she conjures different scenes so gorgeously it’s hard to not fall in love with her prose. at will, i was plunged into tea-scented, damp october afternoons, cryptic corridors, and sunny days out on the grass. it all read really smoothly too, which was suchhh a delight.
“she looked, i realised a little breathlessly, like a holy icon cast in gold.”
: ̗̀➛ the start of carmilla and laura’s relationship was also very very enjoyable. they perfectly complement each other- laura is the flower, the steeling breath against fear, the citrus, whilst carmilla is "cloves, rosewater, and cheap liquor." their initial rivalry was great and tension-full, and it was genuinely heartwarming to see them get closer (THAT RAIN SCENE 😭😭🙏🙏💕💕).
but it wasn’t enough for me.
╰┈➤ there were some things in this book i had issues with. namely, de lafontaine, the isis thing, and the progression of c + l’s relationship.
1. one of the elephants in the room here is de lafontaine. de lafontaine hate club raise ur hand!!!!!! booooo 👎👎👎👎👎she was laura and carmilla’s poetry prof, and oh man we have beef. her relationship with carmilla was hella predatory but she was still presented as sympathetic in the end…? like we were meant to root for her…? no, bitch!
: ̗̀➛ carmilla literally relied on her; idolised her. therefore their relationship (basic psa, we all know this) was super inappropriate and that was never addressed!! we were both so pissed at her the whole time, like omg STOPPP. she was so annoying. like get out of the way! ugh. i can’t believe we were meant to like her.
2. the isis thing. i can’t really explain who/what isis is without giving away spoilers, but that whole plotline felt rushed and although it was resolved in the book, it didn’t feel that way in my head.
3. i also think carmilla and laura’s relationship wasn’t as developed as it could have been. i treasured their rivalry, but that didn’t last very long. wish it was a bit more of a slowburn. i think there should have been a little more pining; a little more angst- essentially, they needed to suffer a little more. 😭.
: ̗̀➛ laura’s faith was also barely addressed: it was meant to be an important part of her character, but there was like zero detail. where was the agonising? the guilt? the reckoning with the fact that vampires exist? nowhere, that’s where! an education in malice would have just been amped up a level for me if there was that layer of religiosity and that nice blend/juxtaposition between it and lesbian vampirism.
despite all my complaining, i still enjoyed reading this. it was bewitching and fun to read, and the concept was great. (i just like to whinge 💔)
please read the content warnings at the start of the book before reading!!
★★★⯨
ꨄ︎ pre-read !
.............................................
sapphic dark academia carmilla retelling? say less. buddy reading with [envigourating music] demi!!!!
March 1, 2024
“𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊 𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖓𝖘 𝖘𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖕𝖊𝖔𝖕𝖑𝖊 𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖎𝖗𝖉𝖘 & 𝖇𝖊𝖌𝖌𝖆𝖗𝖘, 𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖒𝖆𝖐𝖊 𝖒𝖊 𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖔 𝖆𝖗𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖙𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖊, 𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖔 𝖆 𝖘𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖙𝖚𝖆𝖗𝖞 𝖔𝖋 𝖘𝖔𝖋𝖙 & 𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖞 𝖘𝖕𝖆𝖈𝖊𝖘 𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖊𝖉 𝖙𝖔 𝖈𝖆𝖙𝖈𝖍 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉 𝖔𝖋 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖛𝖔𝖎𝖈𝖊.”
rating:╰☆
OVERALL VIBES:
🧛 fantasy
🏹 rivals to lovers
🔥 sexually explicit
🩸 sapphic vampires
📚 dark academia
🖤 gothic romance
🏳️🌈 LGBTQIA+
🕶️ dual POVs
TW: uneven power dynamics, inappropriate relationships between teacher & students, murder, blood, gore, public sex, kink (negotiated & spontaneous), homophobia, racist political policies, religious discrimination against women
my synposis:
Set in a Massachusetts women’s college known as Saint Perpetua’s, two academic rivals, Laura & Carmilla, become entangled in not only their own fierce competitiveness to best one another, but into web of dark secrets. Their relationship grows from great disdain to great lust, where their immediate attraction is soon unable to be denied. The girls’ poetry professor Evelyn De Lafontaine, ensnares Carmilla as her prized pupil, which quickly turns to an incredibly dangerous relationship. Much to Laura’s dismay, she then drags her beloved into the ghastly underworld of vampires.
Now the girls in their ruthless devotion towards each other & their pursuit of knowledge, dive deep into this sinister dark world where death is considered a welcomed companion. Laura & Carmilla navigate their toxic interpersonal relationships, mysteries and their new insatiable appetites for each other.
What I adored:
The dark-vampire-academia vibes
The relationships between professors and students & how professors can often hold institutional power that they use for their own benefit is a genre I have yet to encounter. Now mix that in with VAMPIRES and I’m sold! I loved the power dynamics (even though wildly inappropriate) & of course, the scholarly rivals to lovers are always fun to read! The competition between our two main characters was so fierce it was what had me hanging in there to not DNF.
Spicy Spicy SPICY!🌶️
Is it hot in here or is it just Laura & Carmilla? Damn. Laura discovering her sexual preferences & exploring her kinks was genuinely the only relatively interesting aspect to read.
What I disliked:
Storyline more like FLATLINE
I angrily read this book & wanted it to be over! This book had no pulse. (get it vampires? lol). The storyline lacked serious depth & felt vastly unimaginative. An Education in Malice was more character-development based, but even then they felt shallow. Overall, the plot felt lazy & disappointing. Nothing *that* eventful happened that sucked me in wanting to read more.
Childish dialogue
Just awful. The writing was not descriptive nor engaging. I felt so bored by our characters’ inner monologues or simply conversing with one another. It was inconsisently messy & repetitive.
If you’re gonna go gothic vampire dark academia murder mystery PLEASE COMMIT!! That is all. 🙃
﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋
➳ 𝚄𝚙𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝟸.𝟸𝟽.𝟸𝟺
I’ve heard mixed reviews on this, but it’s been staring at me for weeks on my bookshelf👀💀
rating:╰☆
OVERALL VIBES:
🧛 fantasy
🏹 rivals to lovers
🔥 sexually explicit
🩸 sapphic vampires
📚 dark academia
🖤 gothic romance
🏳️🌈 LGBTQIA+
🕶️ dual POVs
TW: uneven power dynamics, inappropriate relationships between teacher & students, murder, blood, gore, public sex, kink (negotiated & spontaneous), homophobia, racist political policies, religious discrimination against women
my synposis:
Set in a Massachusetts women’s college known as Saint Perpetua’s, two academic rivals, Laura & Carmilla, become entangled in not only their own fierce competitiveness to best one another, but into web of dark secrets. Their relationship grows from great disdain to great lust, where their immediate attraction is soon unable to be denied. The girls’ poetry professor Evelyn De Lafontaine, ensnares Carmilla as her prized pupil, which quickly turns to an incredibly dangerous relationship. Much to Laura’s dismay, she then drags her beloved into the ghastly underworld of vampires.
Now the girls in their ruthless devotion towards each other & their pursuit of knowledge, dive deep into this sinister dark world where death is considered a welcomed companion. Laura & Carmilla navigate their toxic interpersonal relationships, mysteries and their new insatiable appetites for each other.
What I adored:
The dark-vampire-academia vibes
The relationships between professors and students & how professors can often hold institutional power that they use for their own benefit is a genre I have yet to encounter. Now mix that in with VAMPIRES and I’m sold! I loved the power dynamics (even though wildly inappropriate) & of course, the scholarly rivals to lovers are always fun to read! The competition between our two main characters was so fierce it was what had me hanging in there to not DNF.
Spicy Spicy SPICY!🌶️
Is it hot in here or is it just Laura & Carmilla? Damn. Laura discovering her sexual preferences & exploring her kinks was genuinely the only relatively interesting aspect to read.
What I disliked:
Storyline more like FLATLINE
I angrily read this book & wanted it to be over! This book had no pulse. (get it vampires? lol). The storyline lacked serious depth & felt vastly unimaginative. An Education in Malice was more character-development based, but even then they felt shallow. Overall, the plot felt lazy & disappointing. Nothing *that* eventful happened that sucked me in wanting to read more.
Childish dialogue
Just awful. The writing was not descriptive nor engaging. I felt so bored by our characters’ inner monologues or simply conversing with one another. It was inconsisently messy & repetitive.
If you’re gonna go gothic vampire dark academia murder mystery PLEASE COMMIT!! That is all. 🙃
﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋
➳ 𝚄𝚙𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝟸.𝟸𝟽.𝟸𝟺
I’ve heard mixed reviews on this, but it’s been staring at me for weeks on my bookshelf👀💀
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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