Dark academia meets vampiric society. This story explores many different dynamics...student and teacher, friends and rivals, desire and hunger, restraint and freedom. The contrasting elements is what highlights this web of a story. This is the first book by ST Gibson I've ever read and I loved the themes explored and the lush writing that gives such a dark vibe to these otherwise simple characters. But the characters themselves felt a bit under-explored and the story a bit rushed to a very comfortable ending. I didn't quite feel anything for the characters, so it was overall a bit underwhelming.

Special thanks to Little Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for providing me an advance copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Laura arrives at St Perpetua girls school so she can get on the talented Professor De Lafontaine writing program. There she meets her literary opponent, Carmilla.

'There is only art and ugliness, and I’m willing to suffer any indignity for the sake of art.'

I didn't really read the blurb for this before I started, I love this author and the title called to me! As I started reading I was like what's going on here?! I'll say no more!

I was so drawn into this story, it was dark, sapphic and a bit steamy with the story being about rivalry, love and finding yourself.

I did feel like the last part of the story came from nowhere and ended a bit abruptly but I was still enthralled with the rest of it!

And if you've read A Dowry of Blood there's a treat in here for you too!

Oh boy. Oh boy! I loved this.
I admit, I had a hard time with S.T. Gibson's A Dowry of Blood, not because it wasn't good, but because it featured a man who was very clearly abusive and reminded me a lot of my father, which is a big yikes for me! But I could still see that Gibson is a most talented writer with a grasp of language that is almost unparalleled in this genre.

Gibson really leans into this retelling of Carmilla, having it mainly take place in a poetry class. I admit two things, here: One, I have never read Carmilla. Just ... it wasn't on the curriculum in my very conservative school, and I could barely stomach Dracula, so I never reached for it. Two, I hate poetry. God, I hate poetry. I hate reading it, I hate writing it even more. I see poetry in life, and I see poetry in prose. Writing it down on a page, and even worse, analyzing it and taking it apart in metaphors and similies and other technichalities makes it lose all of it's appeal. Thankfully, Gibson didn't make me suffer through a whole bunch of poems, just two at the beginning, and then only references. So if you're a big old poetry hater like me, don't fret.

While A Dowry of Blood features some innovative storytelling in the way of its formatting, An Education in Malice is written in more of a "typical" structure. Instead of Dowry's almost letter-like writing, adressed to Dracula, An Education in Malice has two first-person narrators, being Laura and Carmilla. These two obviously correspond to the Laura and Carmilla in the original story of Carmilla. However, in that book, Carmilla is the villian. In Education, she's more of a rival to Laura, and eventually, of course, a lover. Since she's also a narrator, she loses that villain-appeal of the original story. Instead, there is not a clear villian (except for the more-or-less minor character of Isis, who is clearly evil), but I would argue that Carmilla and Laura's poetry teacher, Evelyn De Lafontaine, is one of the more nefarious villians in modern fiction. At the beginning, she seems almost alike to Julian from The Secret History, and we all know how that story ended. She is clearly an antagonist. If she's actually a villian - that's up to the reader. However, their relationship in this sort-of love triangle is clearly abusive, but you get the sense that she really cares about Carmilla.

I'm honestly really glad that Gibson decided to make Carmilla a protagonist, and not a villain. There's just not enough sapphic books that have a good, happy relationship at the center. And I truly believe that what Laura and Carmilla have in this book will be a good and happy relationship, even though it can get kind of oppressive at times. And sometimes you just need a good and happy ending. And I think we got the best sort of ending possible with this book. Gotta admit, I was kind of worried at around the middle that it would end in tragedy. And, spoiler alert! It didn't. Sometimes, it is good to see even a very toxic character make a turnaround instead of spiraling downwards. I would still send all of those girls to therapy, though.

Two more things I loved but I don't necessarily need to elaborate on: One, maybe a non-important thing to others, but very important to me and probably a lot of others - the inclusion of trigger warnings at the beginning. Two, the positive portrayal of Laura's religion. I don't know why, but it was really heartwarming to read.

That's it, now. Do yourselves a favor and read this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group for an advanced reader's copy of this title.

Since finishing this book I have not been able to stop thinking about it. Recently I’ve been having a great time reading books that are right up my alley and they all have one thing in common, something that I don’t want to spoil, though it came as no surprise to me as it’s something I have always enjoyed in literature.

In An Education in Malice, we meet one of our protagonists, Laura, as she begins attending Saint Perpetua's College, a school for girls with an incredibly academic competitive streak. The setting of the story is in itself a character at points. The incredibly competitive and stressful environment that the students find themselves in can drive them to behave in certain ways that, while not necessarily pleasant, are showing of the impact that the school has on their mental health.

As I’m sure is the case with most people, when I read a novel, such as this, set in a school it makes me want to attend it, despite being 24 now and no longer in secondary education, but this being a school for older students made me desire this even more. There’s something almost dreamy about an old, nineteenth-century stone building with its intricacies and towers - perhaps it’s the fact I’m a history student but having studied largely in schools built in the 1960s, I can imagine they would be incredible buildings to study in, let alone live in as the students of Saint Perpetua’s do.

The book is marketed in part as a work of dark academia, and it certainly is, but don’t think that this is simply a story set in a school where something happens and students have to work it out. An Education in Malice is a beautiful piece of literature about how far we’ll go for knowledge and the emotions we succumb to when thrown into demanding environments. One thing I noted in my phone surrounding this point is that, while the plots are very different, if you’ve read and enjoyed The Temple House Vanishing by Rachel Donohue, I think that this is a book you’d really enjoy. It follows similar themes of power imbalances and relationships as well as both stories being set in educational settings for women, following the stories from two distinctive POVs.

The two points of view in the novel are clear and distinct from each other, Laura’s tone reflects her quiet, more reserved nature while Carmilla is shown to be the slightly standoffish Queen Bee that we are presented with. As their relationship to both each other and their teacher, De Lafontaine, develops, its really fun to see things from both their perspectives, especially as they see the world so differently given their life experiences.

I realise I haven’t touched much on De Lafontaine but I almost don’t want to. She’s developed as a character really well considering that you don’t get anything through her perspective. She’s very mature in character, something that is well contrasted by the sometimes childish behaviour of Laura and Carmilla, but there are times when you can see reflections of her younger self - not in an immature way, but in a way where you can sort of see how she would have been as a younger woman.

Writing this ridiculously long review you’d think I’d have run out of bullet points but no, I’ve only covered about three of them by now. Given my clear love of words that you can see through my current 700-word essay on this book is the language used. The whole book is written using beautifully sumptuous language; De Lafontaine is a poetry professor and the influence of poetry is shown throughout the whole novel. Laura is said to have been studying poetry for a few years before she begins attending the school and her language is at times reminiscent of the languages of the romantic poets: Keats, Byron, etc. Carmilla meanwhile is described as more of a natural poet, and her language is equally poetic, you can see her innate people-pleaserness in her language, while Laura seems at times more self-assured with her perspective.

It was interesting to me that like many, myself included, they are both better at writing than speaking, with their conversations beginning with Laura’s anxiety and uncertainness at her place at this new school. We see Laura get more confident as the book goes on, both with her situation as a new person at a highly competitive school and her relationships with other characters.

S. T. Gibson has done a great job for me of building the relationship between the girls in a way that feels natural not forced. The school itself is small, and the poetry seminar taken by De Lafontaine is extremely selective, as we are reminded numerous times, so it’s natural that they would spend a lot of time together; and this forced proximity works so well for their relationship to change and develop.

The story is sold as partly a romance, so I don’t feel too bad talking about the sex scenes in the book. There are sexual and sensual moments in the book, the language as well as a whole I found quite sensual, I think this is probably due to the poetic nature of it, by being more floral with language, it feels somewhat seductive.

These sensual and sexual moments build up to a quite explicit scene later in the book. Normally when I reach a spicy scene I immediately begin to skim - as an AroAce person I’m sometimes sex repulsed, though it only normally seems to be in response to extremely described scenes, but I could actually read it. I think because the descriptions of what was going on were interspersed with the reactions of others to this scene it felt more manageable for me, though of course, I speak only about my personal experience, actually when I had finished reading the sex scene in question, I messaged Isabel, the other half of this blog and said “THERES A SEX SCENE AND ITS WEIRDLY HOT” (yes, in all caps) and if that doesn’t say something about Gibson’s writing I don’t know what else I can say.

This is by no means the only spicy scene in the book but it represents the crest of their relationship. It comes at the peak of frustration for one character, as well as the overcoming of an innate shame. The sex scene comes after the description of the location as a place where debauchery is welcomed, and in fact, encouraged. Due to people being unable to partake as such in public. The story is set in the 1960s and this inability to be freely out in public is representative of a few factors of this story, and these few chapters hit so much harder when you think about the real-life implications.

Something about the later, less explicit scenes is that they are still so true to the characters; there becomes a very much submissive/dominant power exchange between the two, which is beautifully explored in both a sexual, and non-sexual way. And we get to witness this sense of power dynamic between all three main characters as they each have different relationships with each other.

Not that I haven’t enjoyed writing about sex but some of my favourite moments were actually more romantic than sexual - I don’t want to say too much but there is one quote I absolutely had to mention and that is:

“She kisses me with a martyr’s agonized desperation, like I was the only sword she ever wanted to fall on.”

I think this was my favourite line, the idea of being willing to not only die for a person but to show this desperation that you would do anything for them, including die, through something as emotional and, usually soft, as a kiss, is beautiful to me - maybe I want to be worshipped in the same way, or maybe I’m the martyr, but the sentiment still gives me butterflies days later.

I’ve just checked my word count and it’s nearly 1500 words, so I suppose I should let you go on with your day now, so from Jen in October 2023, please pick up this book, it’s incredible, and needs to be read by everyone. Whether you have read from S T Gibson before or not, it will entice you in with its syrupy language and imagery as vivid as crimson, and I hope you’ll love it as much as I do. So much so that I already wish to revisit it.

Oh, and if anyone’s asking what I want for Christmas this year? I’d take a first-edition book of Sylvia Plath with a silk ribbon.

Review will be published online in February 2024.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a highly anticipated book since the hugely loved A Dowry of Blood.

It follows Laura, who is fairly lonesome girl who has moved to University for her talent in poetry. There she meets a revered professor and student who have an intoxicating but mysterious relationship.

This is an interesting story and although it explores some dark themes and has some spice, to me it felt a bit YA, reminding me of the Gilmore Girls and Rory going to University.. with vampires.

I did enjoy it and it was very easy to read, finishing it in a day.

A book that is as beautiful as it is brutal. A sumptuous and addictive read. An Education in Malice is a dark academia tale of blood, secrets and insatiable desires. Told from the dual perspective of Laura Sheridan and Camilla, an intense academic rivalry unfolds with intense hungers and ruthless desires. This is a standalone novel but their are characters and secrets that seem to follow on from A Dowry of Blood in a poetic and mysterious way.

Saint Perpetua’s College lies deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts, isolated and ancient, this is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood and stage ceremonies welcome students into the fold. Laura Sheridan, on her first day of class is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the enigmatic and beautiful Carmilla. They are drawn together into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Fontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.

Once their rivalry was purely academic but now it slowly blossoms into something far more desirous, and so, Laura must confront her own stance hungers and desire for pleasure and dominance. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and magic, Laura and Camilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.

Even if such knowledge would ultimately cost them their life. This novel is a beautiful acknowledgment to the power of words and poetry, the wanton desires that women are sometimes ashamed to feel, and a singular thirst for knowledge that would ultimately lead to the characters downfall. It’s an ode to dark academia, magic and the hungers that are longed to be satiated. It was gripping, it was beautiful and it was brutal.

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group for an advanced reader copy via NetGalley of An Education in Malice by S. T. Gibson

3.5/5

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 wanted 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!

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 quite rushed, I would've preferred it if this story was longer and 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 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.

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!

This review will be published early February 2024 at the publisher's request.

An intriguing delve into a dark academia esque world filled with control and longing. Overall I did enjoy this book and the building tension between Laura and Carmilla, but there were certain sections where my attention wandered that pulled my rating down. Nonetheless a great story!

well, that was a book alright. i cannot say it was good but i also cannot say it was bad, which is weird for me after reading a Gibson book because it's usually definitive knowing how clean the plot is and how beautiful the writing style is.

here, i feel that the book lacks direction. it did not know what it wanted to be so the book was quite aimless for a while, vacillating between toxic obsessive relationships and dark academia with murder on the side. i get that Gibson was trying for a blend of both but it did not feel like that because the plot progression was poorly paced and if there was focus on one aspect, the other elements were neglected. as a result, the resolution felt too sudden and the ending was anticlimactic. it hurts me to say this, especially because i loved A Dowry of Blood, but this was quite boring, and a dry derivative of the classic Carmilla. it lacked the excitement that usually comes with these kinds of stories and i'm also very confused how Gibson fumbled this bag because they are perfectly competent to execute this concept effectively. yet in this book, the full potential of the concept was wasted. i think the root of all this is the rushed development of the relationships. the characters were flat as there was little effort put into the establishment of their own distinct voices, so the main characters moved passively compared to the enigmatic Mrs. D. the way i see this is that Gibson might have been too excited to get into the meat of the story that she neglected the fundamentals of good characterization and proper plot progression. the writing was brilliant and the atmosphere was amazing, as expected, and the gothic and religious aesthetics went crazy, so i can easily look past this mediocre output from Gibson and move on, especially when one of my favorite characters from A Dowry of Blood made a special appearance here.

tldr, it's unexpectedly dull coming from Gibson but it's an alright book! not bad but can't say it was good either because the character developments were rushed. the writing, atmosphere, and aesthetics were perfect though so if you're in for that then go ahead and read this book!

4.5/5

I loved this book very much and have so much to say about it. The writing was so good and i loved the pacing. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and im so glad i had the chance to get an arc, i really enjoyed it so much and was not disappointed. rtc two weeks before the release date!

I’m honestly shocked that this is the same author that wrote A Dowry in Blood. The first book was creepy, mysterious, sexy and they were all quite likeable. Where as this book seemed to be 2 teenage girls whining constantly. They were unlikable and I just couldn’t root for them.

An Education in Malice is a retelling of Carmilla. I loved The Dowry of Blood so naturally, I wanted to read this book too. It was so good. The writing style was very lyrical and the atmosphere was amazing. If you like dark academic settings with sapphic vampires this book is for you.

Excellent writing with elements of the Secret History and references to Carmilla, with a modern twist. Dark academia with lesbians and vampires, with beautiful poetry, compellingly diverse characters, and a very complicated love triangle. Some questions about the time period (assumed to be set in the 1960s from references to segregation and socialism), but only emphasised the sense of mysticism.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc! S.T Gibson did it again! After falling in love with her previous work a dowry of blood- I thought it would be difficult for another book to make me love it the same way. I was wrong. This enemies to lovers Carmilla retelling was everything I was hoping for and more. I love it to bits

I received this book as an e-arc by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

Rating: 4⭐️
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Dark Academia
Pages:352
Series?: A Dowry of Blood
*Check trigger warnings for any book

I quite enjoyed this book. It was a quick and easy read for me. There was also quite a bit of spice in this book that I was not anticipating, not that I am complaining! I didn’t realize this was part of a Dowry of Blood but you do not need to have read the book before you read this. It can be read as a standalone or prior in my option.

I was pretty hooked from the start and found it a really quick read. I enjoyed the book and the dark academia elements to it. I have been reading more and more in that category and this fits right in. There is definitely spice but at times also felt YA, which is confusing I know. I definitely recommend it to anyone. There are enemies to lovers, vampires, murder, etc. It was a fun read and definitely did not see the book going, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

This was honestly perfection. It truly felt like it was written for me, personally— like ST Gibson climbed inside my soul and wrenched out everything I love and poured into this deliciously dark gothic book.

Everything, from the writing style, so luscious and decadent and vibrant, to the hedonistic chemistry between Laura and Carmilla, was executed effortlessly. I loved both girls so much, Laura especially who I saw so much of myself in. Both girls beinf rivals, on the same level with one another was such a fascinating twist I wasn’t expecting— I assumed Carmilla would have the dominant role over frail little Laura but in fact, the novel really explored the complex, tumultuous dynamic between both girls and I was so pleasantly surprised at being shown a retelling that was so different to the original.

This book was an ode to the perfectionists, the academic validation girls who are burnt out on life but trying to hold onto the little control they have left. It was truly spectacular and made me feel… alive, I guess.

I always tend to struggle to articulate my sheer adoration for books that satiated my soul and this book is one of them. I just graduated this summer with a first class degree in English Literature and this book just fed my soul and reminded me why I truly come alive when I’m presented with the literary canon of the gothic variety. All of the references to some of my favourite books were so delightful,

And the dark academia aspect of this was stellar. The book actually tackles the twisted, obsessive spiralling academia has to offer the students who seek validation through their work and peers. so many dark academia books think being set at a boarding school adjacent location means it automatically classifies it as dark academia without making any social or political commentary on the conditions of what being at an institution like this entails. But “An Education in Malice” digs deep into the spiralling, lonely and toxic psyches of Carmilla and Laura as we witness their intense, sensual rivalry fuelled by repressed romantic feelings. “An Education in Malice” encompassed everything I adore about this genre, about the gothic, about dark academia— the festering underbelly of our quest for knowledge and success, how our hubris can be our hamartia. Truly an enthralling read and arguably one of the best books of the year for me.

I cant wait to see what ST. Gibson does next!

An Education in Malice is an atmospheric retelling of Carmilla. It is a gothic novel and full of dark academia vibes. It's a very dark and bloody novel full with secrets, intense rivalries, lust & love. It isn't out until feb 2024 but it's definitely a novel to watch out for if you love lesbian vampires

Another amazing book by S.T. Gibson. Followed a similar theme and I’m pretty sure theres a character cross over but don’t quote me! Obsessed with the relationship between the 3MC

This book is very much in the vein of "if you liked A Dowry of Blood, you will like this", but do it at a more YA pitch. It has a lot of the same elements: the prose that seeks to create a very lush, gothic setting from the get-go and does so with utmost seriousess, queer polyamorous dynamics that have a recognizable blend of self-exploration and toxicity coming from power and experience imbalance, and a homage to a vampire classic. Granted, it is a different classic this time around, but a lot of beats felt very similar, as if i was reading a sapphic dark academia AU of St.Gibson's debut novel.. It can be just the right thing if you are craving more of the same, but I wanted more novelty. I'm hoping Evocation would be different!

Thanks to #NetGalley for an ARC of #AnEducationinMalice

S. T. Gibson has done it again and created a masterpiece. A Dowry of Blood is one of my all-time favourite books and this one just joined the list!