For context, A Dowry of Blood is one of my favorite books of all time. I consider it perfect in every sense of the word.
Of course, I soon as I heard S.T Gibson was working on a companion novel, it instantly became my most anticipated release of whatever year it was said to be released on, and you better be damn sure I ran to request An Education in Malice.

I will start by saying An Education in Malice, for me (why am I even writing this disclaimer? reviews are subjective. taste, and all that shit), doesn't top Dowry. Is that a bad thing? No. I think both are unique in their own ways, and that's a beautiful thing, but I will unabashedly say that one of the reasons I so dearly loved Dowry was the poetic, magic prose, and I felt that Education was lacking in that regard, at times. Mind you, it´s still gorgeous, leaping off the page and giving you a painfully vivid image of what it's like in the character's minds and worlds. Look, I read it in one sitting. Very few books capture me like that. It should tell you enough.

If Dowry was a confession, Education is a secret. It captures dark, destructive in nature obsessions in such haunting and visceral ways it will leave you raw and aching like our girls. Beautiful girls, dangerous girls, dripping with jealousy and repression and, who knows, maybe a little madness, living and loving and discovering. It reads like a fever dream; like you believe it's real despite knowing it isn't. That's what a great book is, ultimately.

And if my review is to tell you just one thing, let it be this: unravel Education's secrets for yourself, and enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with an ARC.

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!