S.T Gibson, strikes again! I fell i love during A Dowry of Blood and fell even harder for this book. It is an utterly gorgeous dark academic, an absolute must read for any spooky fan!

I'm starting to love S.T. Gibson.

They have such beautifully haunting prose and coupled with the traditional dark academia troupes this was a solid read for me.

I'm nothing if not a Vampire romance girlie and S.T. Gibson’s "An Education in Malice" is a dark, seductive, and deeply atmospheric novel that delves into the intricacies of power, desire, and the supernatural. This gothic fantasy is set within the hallowed halls of a prestigious academy, where the line between academia and the occult is tantalizingly thin. With its compelling characters and hauntingly beautiful prose, Gibson crafts a tale that is as intellectually stimulating as it is emotionally gripping.

Gibson explores themes of power, corruption, and the pursuit of knowledge, questioning the ethical boundaries of ambition and the cost of uncovering hidden truths. The novel also delves into the nature of desire and the dynamics of power in relationships, particularly within the charged environment of the academy. The interplay between the academic pursuit of knowledge and the seductive allure of the occult creates a tension that permeates the entire narrative.

This book is a must-read for fans of dark fantasy, gothic literature, and anyone who enjoys a richly woven tale of mystery and intrigue.

I absolutely adored Dowry of Blood, Evocation I was on the fence about so honestly I was really unsure how I would get on with this book, sadly it wasn't for me at all.

S.T.Gibson's writing style remains absolutely stellar and all their ideas are wonderful - I think sometimes the execution falls flat, in this case the characters themselves which I honestly did not care about at all. Cool setting, lovely writing, white bread characters and 0 plot driving force.

Maybe A Dowry of Blood was a one of hit for me...

When I started this book, I thought this would be some new favorite. I really liked the character work and the dynamics between the characters. Also I enjoyed the academic setting a lot. Sadly I was a little bit disappointed towards the end. I would have wished for a much more dramatic ending.
But overall I had a good time with this book and I read it quite fast. I really like the writing of the author and the atmosphere they create in their work.

The world that this book takes place in kept me gripped and was so immersive. This book was very chaotic but I have to say that I loved it and the academic rivalry and the complicated student/teacher relationship.

I enjoyed the writing style of this book, and many of the elements within it are things that usually would make this book a favorite for me, however the characters weren't as fleshed out as I would have liked.

What a twisted, messy little book. S.T. Gibson seriously knows how to have you sucked in feeling the dread and despair of the characters while also rooting for things you probably shouldn’t. I was thriving but feeling terribly uncomfortable about it.😅

A Dowry of Blood still reigns as my favourite from this author for the time being, but this was an excellent read and I’d definitely recommend for anyone who wants some dark academia vampire vibes.

Last month I read Evocation by the same author and loved it, so I jumped at the possibility of a new book by her (I had already bought the beautiful FL editon which helps of course).
An education in malice is a delicious Carmilla retelling with a Dark Academia twist that was both Gothic and delicious.
Carmilla is a sophmore student at Saint. Perpetua's College in Massachussets that feels threatened by Laura's arrival at the seminar tought by Professor De la Fointaine. Laura is a freshman who has been accepted to a seminar for older students and feels exilariated about it. Everything is new to her and she wants to dive in, but she feels fascinated both by her teacher and her fellow student who seems to hate her.
Things turn out dark soon, the relationships are well fleshed out. Envy and Jealousy play a great part, but S.T. Gibson makes it all pretty with her writing. This is a wonderful and sapphic dark academia with a vampire twist.

New to the isolated and elite Saint Perpetua’s College, Laura finds herself thrust into an academic rivalry with her poetry professor’s unparalleled favourite, Carmilla. But the further in Laura is drawn the clearer it becomes that nothing about this student/teacher relationship is at it seems, and Laura’s own obsession with Carmilla only grows.

ST Gibson’s writing is so enjoyable, not too flowery but just indulgent enough for a gothic world of dark academia, lust and obsession, vampires and humans. Unfortunately, this alone was not enough to save this book for me.
The characters just fell a bit flat for me, and rarely distinct enough in their internal monologues to justify a dual POV. Camilla in particular generally felt more interesting as a character from Laura’s POV than her own. Because even in her own, we get very little of her internal life or her motivations, anything other than the infatuations and obsessions. Which I can see may have been at least partially intentional to demonstrate their all-consuming nature, but its execution fell a bit flat.
Likewise, I would have liked to have seen more of the academic setting explored, as ultimately it seemed to only serve as a way to call this dark-academia. Again, I can see the intention behind it; Laura getting so wrapped up in the twisted dynamic of Camilla and De Lafontaine that everything else fell away, but it made the movement of time through the narrative feel a bit disjointed, and was another reason the characters never felt fully fleshed out to me.

My main takeaway by the end, having read it as an e-arc, was shock at how long it actually was. Reading it, I felt like a slightly dragged out 400 or so pages, but that justified some of the pacing issues for me. When I discovered it was actually less than 300, I can no loner justify just how long it felt to read.

Thank you Orbit and NetGalley for my e-arc of this title, received in exchange for an honest review.

The setting is amazing. But the plot and the characters didn't convince me, I found it all a bit chaotic, but entertaining. I liked the open ending.
Recommended for those who like gothic settings, dramatic characters and vampires.

A fantastically written book. I loved that it was a sapphic retelling of Carmilla. It was positively brimming with anticipation and I loved the gothic academia vibes.

This story felt like such an indulgent treat.
Saint’s use of gothic tropes in this historical, dark academia setting is inspired. Dripping with intrigue and opulence, the characters are a reflection of the setting that surrounds them.
It’s a testament to Saint’s imagination and dedication that all the elements of this book are so masterfully tangled together and perfectly aligned, poised to draw you in effortlessly.
I loved it, and I highly recommend it to all who want to be seduced and haunted.

Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for the advance copy!

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK (Orbit) for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Laura Sheridan joins a remote woman’s only university, with old secrets which she is unaware of. On her first day of poetry class, she meets the enticing Carmilla who is breathtakingly beautiful. Carmilla is the star of the class, and always has the attention of the equally beguiling professor, De Lafontaine. Laura begins to develop feelings for her rival Carmilla, and in doing so uncovers the secrets of her professors obsession.

This dark academia novel, from the incredible author of A Dowry of Blood, is of course perfect for fans of Carmilla, and is equally as dark and gothic. The plot is perfectly paced with well written characters.

I loved this as a retelling of Carmilla, whilst I'm snot super familiar with the original novel i know enough about so i could see the parallels. The writing was done really well and i liked following the two perspectives. I found the elements of horror and romance were combined well. The writing really kept me hooked and i flew through this book. This just proves that anything by ST Gibson i will love as i similarly enjoyed her previous novel! A great read for fans of queer vampire stories.

2.5 stars. I absolutely wanted to love this book. A Dowry of Blood was incredible and I had high hopes for An Education in Malice.

Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to what I was expecting. The writing was just as amazing as I’ve read before however the characters felt really flat, I found it really difficult to form a connection with any of them.

The plot was really slow and while I enjoyed the second half of the book more, it was still quite predictable and unsatisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read this novel in one sitting. The writing is sumptuous and addictive and I was unable to put it down. I loved A Dowry of Blood, but An Education in Malice is a story of secret longings, set in a world of dark academia. It ticked all the right boxes for me and I cannot wait to read more works by S. T. Gibson. She is fast becoming one of my favourite authors.

I loved the way the book started out, dark academia vibes but in the sixties. The relationship between the two protagonists; Laura and Camilla was enjoyably tense and could have been explored more before it turned in to a lovey dovey fest. Although some parts had great dark academia vibes, the vampire story was bland and a little predictable.

Ich weiß ehrlich gesagt nicht, wie ich dieses Buch bewerten soll, da ich es aufgrund relativ kurzer Ausleihdauer (ohne Verlängerung) nicht lesen konnte.

This was a pretty solid vampire dark academia novel! I like how ST Gibson includes her religious ideologies within her novels without making them a focal point; I thought Laura's faith was an interesting minor aspect of the novel. While I didn't like this one as much as A Dowry of Blood, I would still recommend it!

Thank you, NetGalley & Little Brown Book Group, for approving me for this ARC.

Another 5⭐️ from S.T. Gibson, I loved this Carmella retelling. The writing just had me hooked it just draws you in, and it's so hard to put down.

Laura is a freshmen and Carmella is a senior, when they meet they instantly have thos rivalry for the attention of their poetry professor De Lafontaine who has this aura they are both drawn to an want to be the one who impresses her the most. All the while, they are becoming obsessed with each other.

This was a beautifully written, dark academia, gothic, saphic, vampire book about love and obsession and the imbalance of power.

Stunning🖤