First and foremost, thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.

An education in Malice is a gothic- atmospheric retelling of Carmilla full of dark academia vibes. This is more than a vampire story and its more than a love story. Set in an all woman college, the story explores the lives of two students: Laure and Carmilla and how their lives end up intertwined by their mysterious professor Ms. Da Lafontaine. Gibson explores ambition and new beginnings, sexual awakening and dynamics, complex relationships and so much more.

An education in Malice must be enjoyed knowing little of it to fully grasp the wholeness of the story.

I wasn’t a big fan of this book, unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. I did enjoy the writing from time to time but the story and the characters just didn’t resonate with me.

I was fortunate to get an advance copy of "An Education in Malice" by S. T. Gibson, and all I can say is, wow... I devoured the entire book in one sitting. Being a fan of S. T. Gibson since "A Dowry of Blood" last year, their new work solidifies them as one of my all-time favorite authors. There's a haunting beauty to her writing that makes me eager to sit down and discuss how her mind crafts such vivid characters I both love and loathe.

An Education in Malice is a modern retelling of Carmilla, in a dark academia and richly gothic setting. The story contains sapphic romance, academic rivals to lovers, uneven power dynamics, obsession and death. The prose and atmosphere of this book are beautiful and chilling.

While the setting was addictive throughout, I found the actual plot took a while to get interesting, I was totally engrossed in the last 30% of the book, but found myself getting bored in the first 50%. While this a quick read, having less then 300 pages, I found the relationship between Laura and Camilla felt very rushed compared to Camilla's other relationships that seemed so embedded. I think I would have liked more time spent on understanding why their connection was so instant.

Overall I enjoyed this book but I was not blown away by it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Brought me back to the universe of a dowry of blood and I absolutely loved it.
I loved the academic enemies to lovers trope and how fhe relationships between the characters developed

S.T. Gibson delivers again with a sumptuous gothic tale of vampirism, queerness, and power - now with added dark academia. Lovely imagery and indulgent language with a hint of horror. I enjoyed this just as much as I enjoyed A Dowry of Blood, maybe even more.

Thank you to Orbit for the ARC.

"An Education in Malice" by S.T. Gibson is a delectable jewel of dark academia, casting a spell with its beautiful prose. Set in the mysterious Saint Perpetua's College, where secrets are currency, Laura Sheridan finds herself in a rivalry with the enigmatic Carmilla. As their relationship deepens into a deliciously dark romance, the novel explores sacrifice, blood, and insatiable hungers. Gibson weaves a sumptuous tale of politics, bloodthirsty professors, and dark magic, making this sequel to "A Dowry of Blood" an addictive and haunting addition to the dark fantasy genre. A mesmerizing journey into the realms of academia, love, and sacrifice.

The gifted S.T. Gibson's An Education in Malice transports readers to Saint Perpetua's College, a hauntingly old school in Massachusetts' hidden hills. The book fulfils its dark academia romance promise.

Gibson's rich, gorgeous style sets the atmosphere for a mysterious, alluring story from the start. The story follows Laura Sheridan, a novice at Saint Perpetua's tight academic environment, where secrets rule, ambition drives life, and odd rites welcome pupils into a hidden society.

Laura and the mysterious Carmilla's heated and delectable rivalry is the story's core. The plot is complicated by their academic aspirations and their poetry professor De Lafontaine's evil obsessions. Laura and Carmilla must face their passions and sacrifice for knowledge as they are lured into a web of politics, ruthless academics, and evil magic.

Gibson's story of blood, secrets, and ravenous need is rich and captivating. The novel's dark academia, where passion, ambition, and knowledge reign, is beautifully depicted. After the success of A Dowry of Blood, Gibson's An Education in Malice continues to highlight his disturbing love stories.

The acclaim from Tori Bovalino, Katee Robert, and Sydney J. Shields makes this dark academic gem even more appealing. The story is praised for its delicate and daring examination of loneliness, love, and desire, tribute to girlhood. Gibson's razor-sharp words and unabashed honesty offer an astonishing voyage into possession, release, and eternal love.

Finally, lovers of dark academia, romance, and great literature should read An Education in Malice. S.T. Gibson's intriguing and enticing narrative leaves readers breathless and wanting more. This work should be your first choice for a thrilling, engaging read.

The gothic, dark academia vibes throughout the world building are done well, and the enemies-to-lovers evolution of the sapphic relationship between the two main characters kept me interested for the most part.

I did like that the main characters were poets, as S.T.Gibsons writing style is so beautifully poetic in itself.

I would say however that the subplot towards the end was… meh? Honestly it put me off finishing, and I ended up DNFing at 79%.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A dark, gothic tale of love, death and vampires.

The first book I've read by S T Gibson, and although this is the second book in a series, this worked well as a stand alone story as well.

What can you expect from this amazing book ? Vampires, of course, a dark academia setting, a rivals to lovers romance (and they’re actually rivals guys!), sapphic, poetry, sensuality, a plus-size heroine, obsession (because you’ll be obsessed by them).
An Education in Malice is a companion story to A Dowry of Blood, and I assure you that you’ll love it just as much. I knew it was going to be a fav from the first lines. S.T. Gibson manages to give us a feel of what vampires truly are. Or at least, what I imagine them to be : dark, seductive, dangerous creatures. They embodied the night, with all its secrets and temptations.

It is a moody and poetic book, filled with love (beautiful, and manipulative), an ode to women. I loved that Laura is a plus-size heroine. I love that her body is never mentioned by other characters, except to reassure her of her beauty when she doubts herself. I loved that she talked about the “dimples of [her] thighs”, I love that she loves women. There’s almost no men in this story. Just women, owning the book, through and through.

Socially inept Laura goes to college and soon becomes embroiled in a love triangle with feisty Carmilla and their English tutor Ms De Lafontaine. But things are not all as they seem. Laura discovers that De Lafontaine is really a vampire, Carmilla is her thrall, and De Lafontaine is on a mission to rouse an ancient creature sleeping underneath the school.
A Gothic tale with elements of lesbian love, but not too graphic or lascivious. There were hints and teases of eroticism and horror, but it stopped short and didn’t quite deliver. A bit of a damp squib to be honest - I felt it was a bit tame and that the dramatic and horror elements could have been more exciting.

This book is now my entire personality.
Sapphic, vampires and enemies to lovers I'm not sure what else to say about this book.

I have fallen in love with Laura and Carmilla and will spend the rest of my life dreaming about these two.

4.5 stars! Loved this book! S.T. Gibsons writing is just as beautiful and intricate in their second book as it was in A Dowry of Blood. It did feel a little odd that this was being marketed as a sequal and, although it is set within the same world and we do have a small amount of one character from the first book, the story has nothing to do with the ADOB. However I did really enjoy returning to the world.

In terms of the relationships in the book, I felt there was a lot more grey area with regards to which actions and characters we were meant to be supportive of. De Lafontaine was a particularly confusing character as for much of the book she felt like the direct villain, we were actively being pointed towards her being not a someone we should root for, then at the end she was presented as a more sympathetic figure. I was particularly uncomfortable with the student teacher abuse of power although I know these books delve into the emotions and expereinces of power imbalances, in the first book I felt this was explored thoroughly and we got to understand the negative impact on the victims, however here I felt a lot of the impact on Camilla especially was lost. I do understand that De Lafontaine was meant to be a victim herself but this could have been more explicit and explored in order to help give her character depth and help our understanding.

Overall this book leaned more towards an all vibes no plot idea. While this was okay because the vibes and the aesthetic of the book are beautiful and interesting, we had a rare moments that showed more of the girlhood aspect of the characters - in the bell tower and scenes in the dorms - I did feel like I would have liked more plot development. Large portions of the story did not reference the wider plot at all and the end of the book felt a little rushed because of it. When Isis appears with Laura I was diappointed that we seemed to have skipped some vital steps in the story of how that came to be.

One aspect of the book that I didn't understand as much was the heavy focus on BDSM interest from Laura. I understand the idea that this is linked to her interest in vampires and her comfort with blood etc. It ended up feeling a little gratuitous with the sex scenes in a way that unfortunately didn't add anything to the story for me, unlike in ADOB where they all felt relevent and like they had a purpose and pushed the plot along.

Ultimately, while this didn't quite reach the (admitedly lofty) heights of ADOB, I thought this was a beautifully written gothic, atmospheric fantasy that drew me into its world and characters. I loved the characters and the story. I would highly recommend this to others and I can't wait to buy a physical copy when it releases. S.T. Gibson's writing is impeccable and gorgeous and I highly anticipate all of their future writing.

this was absolutely amazing.

going into this book i was expecting to love it, but i didn’t realise how much. the romance, rivals to lovers, toxic codependency, love between and for women, and desire was everything i needed.

as well as the romance there was some beautiful friendships in this book, and that just made me love it more. there was just so much good stuff

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of vampires, slight dark academia and enemies/rivals to lovers! An Education in Malice is a dark, obsessive type of book that I simply could not put down, and I can’t wait until it officially releases and I can talk/scream/freak out about it with everyone. Gibson’s style of writing is lyrical and addicting and I look forward to any future book published!

I will post a proper review on Goodreads during the week before the book’s publication date.

This book was a power struggle between darkness and desire and they flirted with one another the entire story.

The writing really reminded me of a study in drowning by ava reid. The story felt romantic, cruel and riddled with obsession.

You have our FMC Laura who goes off to study and is part of a class in poetry where she is enamoured by her professor and her academic competitor Carmilla. There is a very key prey & predator feel to the dynamics of these core characters where its subtle at first and you can see them all slowly being sucked into it beyond the ability to turn back. I won’t get into the plot too much further but you really see what obsession, jealousy and lust for the possession of another can do to anyone.

I really liked this and would happily read more by this author.

3.5 out of 5.
Having read a dowry of blood I was very intrigued to read more by this author, so hearing of a another vampire based book I was definitely drawn in. This was an easy and quick read for me, but felt a little like a YA which when looking at the trigger warnings it gives I expected this to be a little more complex and graphic.
De Lafantaine starts off as a mysterious and intriguing character and becomes possessive and almost like a stropy teenager rather than a 200+ year old vampire.
The two human characters were well differentiated to begin with, I could easily tell which chapter was told by which girl, however as the book went on the girls almost read the same and it was too easy to forget which POV you were reading from.
Again, given that there are trigger warnings at the beginning of this book I expected this to be graphic and hard to digest however I don't think it was that bad. Although it does highlight an abuse of power/authority which might be good in highlighting what that may look like to younger readers.
Overall I'd give this a 3.5 out of 5..this was a good story that read quickly but wasn't amazing but perhaps it's a a younger audience.

An Education in Malice, is an intricate and interesting dark academia written from the POV's of the two main characters, Laura and Carmilla. I really enjoyed the premise and I had incredibly high hopes, especially as I have heard many good things about this author but sadly this fell a little flat for me. I just could not find myself engaging with the plot and I felt that it dragged in parts. Perhaps I was just not the right audience for this and I do think this is a book worth giving a try, it just wasn't really for me.

I was so happy when I received the arc for this book!

This is the second book I've read by S T Gibson (the first being A Dowry of Blood) and I loved this even more.

The way tension is written is just perfection - you can feel the need and the wanting, even in the poetry. The dual POV was very appreciated as you got to see the relationship between Laura and Carmilla grow in different ways. It was one of the things I desperately wanted in A Dowry Of Blood, so I was delighted when it switched to Carmilla. Speaking of A Dowry Of Blood, Magdalenas cameo was a pleasant surprise!

I genuinely didn't want this to end, I wish there was an epilogue so I could get a glimpse at Laura and Carmillas future! I can definitely see myself reading this again, and I look forward to special editions being released ✨️