There were things I really loved about this and things I didn’t. Firstly, S.T Gibsons talent for writing sparse, yet evocative prose is unparalleled. Her books are very much all vibes, low on plot and somehow we are seduced into feeling like this doesn’t matter. It’s evocative of the feeling you get when you watch an atmospheric music video - fleeting but makes you FEEL THINGS,

On paper, this book is everything I could possibly want in a book. It’s Sapphic, plays with power dynamics in relationships, with no men in sight. It is a retelling of a classic piece of literature, albeit a mildly obscure one which is mostly known only by literature students. It is a companion novel to ‘A Dowry of Blood’, last years tour de force of vampire novels.

But where ‘A dowry of bloods’ excellence almost stems from its brevity, the same approach barely works in this novel. At a meer 200 pages or so, the main conflict feels like an afterthought and relationships are not fully fleshed out enough for you to have real investment in it. The main sapphic relationship was a little too “instalove” for my tastes and the power play between the professor and her two students not sufficiently developed for you ever to feel a sense of dread about it.

Sadly, I have to give this 3.5 stars. Worth a read for the sheer beauty of it but it is fleeting and rings rather hollow.

A cute, darkish coming of age set in an all girls college on the cusps of the feminist wave! It made me think it is Le Fanu's Carmilla in modern/different clothes. And now I have to read Carmilla to ascertain that, lol!

Anyway, I'd say An Education on Malice is enjoyable, with cute characters who learn that power can be attained in different ways. Definitely worth a read, especially if you are into this genre, but otherwise it can be skipped without necessary missing anything!

Quite an original retelling. I really liked how it took the original love-hate relationship between Laura and Carmilla and gave it a new meaning, while getting the homophobia out of the way as soon as possible.

Not sure if "more accesible" is the right way to describe this book in comparison with A Dowry of Blood, but I do think the narrative style is more conventional and more people will be drawn to it, while enjoying a very atmospheric book.

My only complaint would be that some parts seem rushed, I would not have minded the book being longer so all the parts of the plot (specially the Isis plot) would have been explored more. That said, I really can't wait to read the next book by S.T. Gibson.

Thankyou to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for a free e-arc in exchange of an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and it turned out to be a very good read.
Things i liked:
-The dark academia tones
-Gothic tones
-70's setting
-Beautiful writing
-Obsession and jealousy
-Characters- although i think they could be developed slightly as on some chapters (dual POV) towards the middle and end, both narratives sounded very similar and not distinct enough.

Things that didn't work for me:
-The plot was very mild and could have been developed further- the writing does save this as that was the star of the show.
-I would have liked a little bit more information of how vampire work in and have the vampiric work layered up a little more

I would definitely be reading a sequel if we get the stories of summer!

As soon as I saw S.T Gibson had a new book coming, well, I knew I had to read it.

What I loved about A Dowry Of Blood is here too. Her writing is just something I adore. The way she crafts a scene and builds tension and drama in her writing is incredible in this book until the very last page. Gibson is able to put you in a scene and make you feel you are the watching with such talent and that is something I did love about this book.

Character wise, things were okay. Maybe I've just read alot of books in this sort of 'dark academia' genre with reminisces of other books for me thrown in with vampires even though this a retelling of Carmilla. I feel like the author has revitalised the story for sure and the romance in this book is written well, if not I feel done a little too quickly.

A book packed with tension, obsession and drama, I feel this book would be a great book to be a gateway to classic books, but also a book that if you love the dark academia genre, you're going to want this in your collection. Beautifully written and crafted well I will definitely keep on reading this author's work.

(Thanks to the author/netgalley for the arc copy for honest review)

First, I wish to thank Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An Education in Malice is a dark academia, sapphic, vampire, enemies-to-lovers set in an all-girls college in the 1960s. The book has two POVs and is told in first person.

This is my first work read by S.T Gibson and I am impressed. I was a little scared that the world-building would be hard to follow at the beginning, but it was an easy read from start to finish, where the character development, plot, and main story were properly written and laid out.

I loved it! I found myself on multiple occasions finding extra time just so I could read another chapter, and I do not know how many times I mentioned to my friends that I love this work and they have to get it when it is released.

I highly recommend this as it left me with butterflies and a love for a new genre of books.

#AnEducationinMalice #NetGalley

My expectations for An Education in Malice were pretty high after the fantastic A Dowry of Blood and somehow this book managed to exceed them anyways. It wasn't quite what I expected it to be, but I was not able to put this book down nonetheless.

Just like with Dowry of Blood the writing style and poetic prose drew me into the story from page 1. There is this quality of timeless classics to Gibson's writing that never fails to remind me why I enjoy reading so much. The author's love for words shines through every sentence.

Storywise it's a sapphic dark academia retelling of the vampire novel Carmilla and it did a great job at that, even though the vampiric aspect was cut short and it instead focused more on the relationships between the all-female lead character cast.
Set at a all girls college in New England in the late 60s it tells the story of freshman student Laura, whose passion and talent for poetry puts her between the fronts of a seemingly questionable relationship between her teacher and her favorite student.

The setting, the time period, the characters and their relationships towards each other all worked out so well and were presented in an immaculate way in my opinion. Gibson has a way of creating these incredibly convincing, flawed characters and showing their inner workings through interactions with such impressive psychological insight.

After pondering about the book for a while after finishing it, I do see some things that could be improved in the story that I could point out, but they didn't really irk me while reading it. All in all the things that the book did good it did so well, that it overshadows any complaints I could possibly have. It was way too enjoyable a read for me to even fathom giving it anything less than 5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"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've never been much of a romance reader but after devouring A Dowry of Blood and An Education in Malice back to back within two days i've realised my taste in romance is just extremely specific. That being messy, sapphic romances set against lush gothic backgrounds, with a perfect balance of captivating prose to get lost in and desperate, tasteful spice. I am OBSESSED.

An Education in Malice brought me the rivals to lovers story i have been yearning for and my only gripe is that it isn't a thousand pages long. I am so happy to have found a new favourite author with S.T. Gibson and will be reading anything she releases in the future. In the meantime, I will be making this book my entire personality and recommending it to everybody i know.

5/5 stars

Thankyou to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Vampires you say? I'm in 😍

This is a sapphic dark academia book with rivals to lovers. It's a Carmella retelling, a tale of student teacher obsession and fighting desires.

This book is all female main characters (it was a delightful change to see this)

I inhaled this book within a few hours, I loved Dowry of blood so I couldn't wait to read this.

The authors style of writing is perhaps a little different in this book but it works well

My only urk was the ending, it just didn't hit the spot for me . It just felt like it could have ended a better way?

I love Gibson’s poetic attention to what drives a person to insanity and devotion but the substance of this book was a let down as it seemed to lose focus.

I devoured the first half which felt like a character study of tipping over to involuntary obsession. A discovery of conflict within one’s psyche. But the story took an inexplicable turn with a random villain arc and a rushed relationship. I felt no moral conflict or danger.

Underdeveloped and missed opportunities are my main themes here. Sexual scenes felt mistimed as if they happened too late by which tension had disappeared. The 1960s dark academia setting could have been changed to 2020s contemporary and I wouldn’t notice. Somehow this book’s about vampirism but doesn’t delve into that, except for a few expository dialogues (the tell-instead-of-show which dooms a lot of books). The character of Laura also seems to have an affinity to religious conflict but it’s not used for development. And Carmilla wants to break free but remains passive.

I feel this book could benefit from more focused editing and removal of certain plot points to make room for building tension and characterisation. It told more than it showed and felt very anticlimactic. Funny enough, this also didn’t deliver on the intensity of its trigger warnings.

This book isn’t good, but before anybody decides that I'm public enemy No. 1, hear me out. I adored A Dowry of Blood so much that I own the book three times, but what worked wonderfully in Gibson’s first novel, doesn’t work in this one.

The language. I get that this is meant to be a gothic novel set in the Seventies, but it felt alienating. The dialogue is modern and constantly clashes with the more sophisticated narration. I kept stumbling over vocabulary that seemed to have been placed by a Thesaurus and didn’t fit at all.

Laura. I have the same issue with Laura that I had with August from One Last Stop. I couldn’t connect with her. Partially due to the strange prose and partially due to her characteristics. Sorry to break it to you, Laura is an incredibly flat character. She doesn’t have any ambitions or goals, and she just drifts through the entire story. We don’t learn anything about her and, no, being “dominant” is not a character trait.

The plot. I kept getting the impression that we were reliving the same three scenes: with the same characters in the same location having the same conversation over and over again. The only conflict magically resolves itself, robbing the plot of its only action.

The pacing. We get far too much telling instead of showing, which made me lose interest fast. This quote is from chapter 25, so almost at the end of the novel. I got the impression that Carmilla can be reckless early on, so why am I being told that she is now?

“I’ve always had the strangest instinct to run towards whatever is hurting me, to bare my neck to any predator that caught my scent, and that instinct was even stronger in times of crisis.”

Here are a few more examples, which describe emotions instead of showing them:

“Without the frequent clandestine meetings I had grown accustomed to, I felt antsy and ready to burst, like an overly ripe peach.” (chapter 3)

“The inked illustrations of ferocious women in corsets and garters whipping prone men made me smile because of their fanciful nature, but they also stoked that dark fire forever smoldering in my chest.” (chapter 4)

“De Lafontaine was absolutely rhapsodic about Carmilla’s work.” (chapter 6)

“…and as nervous as I was about living all together in close quarters, I was overjoyed to have more time with my beloved.” (chapter 27)

When Gibson can clearly show us emotions:

“De Lafontaine stalked through the apartment, slamming cupboards and yanking open drawers as she retrieved her coat and gloves.” (chapter 28)

Why could we not get more of chapter 28?

Sadly, the novel also has countless chapters that tell us how much time has passed. It’s okay to skip ahead once or twice. If it happens too often, readers get the impression that the characters’ time isn’t valuable, which makes it even harder to connect with them:

“I had spent the next two days looking for her face…” (chapter 2)
“I didn’t see Carmilla for three days after that.” (chapter 17)
“De Lafontaine summoned Laura and me to her apartment the next day with two vague letters…” (chapter 20)
“Carmilla didn’t call on me for two days after that…” (chapter 22)
“Laura went away for four days before Christmas…” (chapter 27)

Did I have high expectations that the author was bound to fail? Maybe. Probably. But I haven’t seen many negative reviews on here, and somebody had to say it. This book needed more time. It reads like a first draft that should have been edited better. I don’t work in publishing, so I don’t have any understanding of the time frames involved, but I hope that’s the explanation.

While not my typical read, I took a chance on this book after adoring A Dowry of Blood by the same author, and it proved to be a brilliant decision. A beautifully written dark academia tale intertwining poetry and sapphic vampires, it delves into academic life and power dynamics, both among professors and students and vampires and humans. The narrative centers on Laura, Carmilla, and Professor De Lafontaine. On the first day of class, Laura and Carmilla become rivals vying for the professor's attention, but the relationship between De Lafontaine and Carmilla proves far from simple. The delicate exploration of their interconnected relationships peels back layers of humanity and love.

This isn’t a book I’d normally read, but after reading and loving A Dowry of Blood by this author, I thought I’d give it a chance and it was the best decision
It’s a beautifully written dark academia with poetry and sapphic vampires.
It explores the academic life and power dynamics (between professors and students, vampires and humans). It focuses on Laura, Carmilla and the professor, De Lafontaine. On the first day of class Laura and Carmilla become rivals, fighting for the professor’s attention, however De Lafontaine and Carmilla’s relationship is not a simple one.
All three’s relationship is explored in a delicate way, unraveling the layers of humanity and love.
Thank you NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group Uk and Orbit for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you Little, Brown Book Group UK, Orbit and NetGalley for letting me read and honestly review this ARC.

4⭐️! It’s been a long time since I’ve read a great Vampire book. I could write something about how I enjoyed the theme of toxic obsession and compelling darkness, or the great representation in this but really, the characters were fun and the plot wasn’t surprising but it also wasn’t boring or too predictable. This was solid and I’ll probably look at the authors other books, or anything they write in the future!

An Education in Malice immerses readers in a gripping mix of dark academia, sapphic romance, and vampiric allure. The novel navigates the complexities of forbidden desires, intellectual rivalry, and the supernatural. Atmospheric prose and richly developed characters create a highly enjoyable experience, offering a fresh take on the Dracula mythos within the evocative realm of dark academia and sapphic romance. This story offers a captivating academic rivals to lovers storyline and immerses us into the hidden world of vampires in poetry and academia.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the eARC of this book.

An Education in Malice was a title I was very excited for. I love A Study in Drowning, so knowing this was set in the same universe raised my expectations too high, which migh've been the problem here.

See, I don't think this is a bad novel by any means, but it was a perfect case of a 3 star book Something about the pacing of the story and the plot were quite underwhelming and a bit boring.

The biggest highlight of the book is that the prose is very beautiful, and overall I would still recommend it, but sadly, it's not gonna become one of my favorites.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved Dowry of Blood, so I was a bit nervous that An Education in Malice wouldn't be as good. It was even BETTER! I couldn't find anything wrong with this book! I enjoyed the setting (an isolated collage), timeline (yay, more historical vampire stories set in the last century) and the writing was so smooth and flowing. I especially liked the complicated feelings between all the main characters and how it changed as the story progressed! Also the warnings at the begining of the book are so good - while I don't have a lot of triggers, it was reallt nice to know what to expect. 5 stars with sparkles on top!

This is my first book by ST Gibson and my expectations were high after hearing such positive reviews of a Dowry of Blood. At the start my expectations were met, I got good atmosphere and character introductions. The quiet and conservative Laura impresses the alluring and mysterious Ms De Lafontaine and earns a place on her exclusive evening seminars. Here she finds conflict with Carmilla, a favourite of De Lafontaine, and a battle for supremacy ignites. Alongside this, there is an undertow of attraction and both girls find themselves drawn not only to De Lafontaine, but each other.

It is at this point I started to lose some momentum with the story. After a scene at an event off campus I felt the feelings of the main two characters had escalated beyond what felt believable. I was also slightly disappointed in the lack of disclosure from De Lafontaine's character. This felt like a missed opportunity and could/should have been made more of.

In many ways I enjoyed the writing style but the story just missed the mark for me. This could be due to an incompatibility with me and the author but I will absolutely be reading Dowry of Blood to find out as I know not every book can suit every reader.

In light of my mixed feelings I found it really hard to rate this book and landed on the ambiguous 3 stars. Hoping for better but can see this will be a favourite for many.

#stgibson #aneducationinmalice #sapphic #vampires #darkacademia

An Education of Malice has sealed S.T Gibson as an insta-buy author and the 3rd book of hers that I've rated 5 stars.

Gibson consistently and poetically crafts stories and characters that draw you in and draw out your emotions. I felt so attached to the two youngest main characters and absolutely adored watching them circle each other until we finally had them fighting the world together instead of against each other.

I would have loved to see some of the side-characters fleshed out and further dive into those relationships but ultimately am satisfied with the story focusing on our trio and their ever changing dynamics.

The ending was bitter-sweet (as I've come to recognise is Gibson's style and I'm so here for it), and I adored our little cameo character!!

Cannot wait to purchase every special edition of this!!

Thank you so much for the audio and ebook copies! I thoroughly enjoyed this!

I found every single character so unbearable and the couple had no chemistry. I liked the writing style, but that is about it. Def not for me.