I'll start by saying that this is very VERY loosely based on Carmilla, and by that I mean only characters' names and the presence of vampires are shared by both. I recommend thinking of this as an original work and going in with no preconceptions.

This is definitely more of a character-driven work, you really get to know Laura, Carmilla and De Lafontaine, as well as their interpersonal relationships. Not much plot, but that's not a problem to me.

My favourite aspect of this book is for sure Laura and Carmilla's relationship. They're rivals and they kinda hate each other, but it also motivates them to be better poets, BUT ALSO they are infuriatingly attracted to each other. And it all leads to a great romantic (and kinky) relationship. Amazing give me ten more

I really dislike De Lafontaine as a person but she makes for a fascinating character. Like, I can see why the girls admire her so much and seek her approval, and at the same time how her relationship with Carmilla is so inappropriate and crossing so many boundaries.

Anyway, all in all it was a very good read and I highly recommend it.

An Education in Malice is a dark academia story with some great elements—academic rivals, a sapphic relationship, and gothic vibes. It’s a retelling of Carmilla and follows Laura and Carmilla, two poetry students who are not only obsessed with each other but also with their demanding professor, De Lafontaine. Carmilla is bold and confident, while Laura struggles with insecurity, especially around her sexuality, which creates a tense, obsessive dynamic between them.

S.T. Gibson’s writing is beautiful, and the dark, moody atmosphere really pulls you in. I enjoyed the academic rivalry between Laura and Carmilla, and the whole gothic romance aspect was intriguing. But honestly, I struggled to connect with the characters. The professor-student relationship felt uncomfortable and threw off the balance of the story for me, and the pacing dragged in places due to the character focus.

That said, I think this book will really resonate with fans of gothic romance or anyone who enjoys dark academia. Even though it wasn’t quite my cup of tea, it’s worth checking out if you’re into that genre.

Firstly, I should say that I read a Dowry of Blood a few years back and absolutely loved it.

The first 50% of this book was probably more a 4.5/5 for me, but the second half sadly let the whole book down for me and brought it down to a 3.5/5.

I really loved this premise. And it was really strong at the start of the novel and ticked a lot of boxes for me, the setting, the budding rival/romance of our two leads, and of course, the inclusion of vampires.

After Carmilla gets turned it kind of all just meanders and does nothing for a good 40% until the very last 10% which is where it fell off for me... I can agree that plot doesn't have to be everything, and I won't deny that Gibson has some lovely prose and makes her works easy and enjoyable to read but man I just wanted *something* to happen that wasn't just "oh we should really do something about the weird vampire lady under the school at some point.....".

Another gripe I have with the writing is that it's very very hard to distinguish between Laura and Carmilla when reading their POV's... they read pretty much identical and a lot of times I would forget whose POV I was in until one of them would mention the other... so although the prose it really lovely, there is just a lack of defining style for each of out POVs which made it hard to tell the two apart.

The spice, was good but I still feel that we could have got more, compared to what we were shown in the beginning with the pamphlets all we got was a little bit of exhibitionism and then some wrist tying... the best part was the encounter they had at the party and then in the lake which was rudely interrupted... I also feel like there could have been more conflict in Laura between her faith and her more darker desires/interaction with vampires and how that impacts her view on her faith... I would have also like more kind of like... push back on how the teacher interacted with the students very unprofessionally rather than just "oh I view her as my daughter uwu" when the relationship was clearly inclined to not be that for a good 60% of the book but okay...

Overall, although the second half of the novel kind of fell off for me it hasn't put me off of reading more Gibson in the future as I do find the prose to be very well written as well as being enjoyable to read. It does say in the author's note that Gibson found An Education in Malice difficult at points to write and unfortunately I feel that does come through in the final book.

★★★★☆ (3.5 stars)

As a certified gothic romance girlie™, this was an easy one to get into.

The characters are each delectably complicated people that blend beautifully into the dark academia setting. I LOVE a mysterious professor when done correctly like this (not you, The Secret History), and following our protagonists as they descend the stairway of darkness is an enticing tale of love and the corruption of innocence.

So why only 3.5 stars? The first 70% was excellent, the latter 30% unfortunately let it down. In truth, the stakes simply weren’t high enough. I wanted more drama, more tension, more heartbreak. For me, vampire story retellings (and particularly that of Carmilla) need to be heavy on the addiction and the blind devotion, and whilst there was most definitely hints of this, I was left wanting more.

We’re introduced to a villain who boasts superior age, power, and extreme violence, only to have this wrapped up quickly with very little conflict. I also felt certain elements were underdeveloped, such as Laura’s inner “darkness” - we’re given a glimpse of this but it doesn’t really go anywhere which is a shame. I’d have loved if things were taken a bit further at every turn.

Up the ante and surprise the reader. It’s all in there, it just needed to be bolder.

Huge thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book! The above opinions are entirely my own.

I was living my dark academia dreams with this one! S.T. Gibson manages to keep up an incredibly captivating atmosphere throughout the whole story. With it's setting and slightly spooky storyline it's a perfect autumn read.
Also worth noting: this is academic rivals to lovers done right! The characters and their inner worlds are well-rounded, yet chaotic and make you feel with and for them.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for this ARC. This review will be posted on Netgalley, Goodreads and Storygraph.

ARC Review

A really well written and provocative story.

Laura leaves her Southern home behind for college at Saint Perpetua’s in Massachusetts and is quickly thrust into a deep academic rivalry which changes her life.

The story mainly revolves around Laura’s poetry studies and because of this features lots of beautiful prose.
I really enjoyed the darker elements of the story and the strong character development. I would love to have attended the epic Halloween party described!

A faster pace would have seen it getting 5 stars - this is led by my ADHD 😅

Themes/tropes: Rivals to lovers, vampires, dark academia, sapphic romance, coming of age

2/5 🌶️ rating

AN EDUCATION IN MALICE -
S.T. GIBSON - ARC
This gorgeously gothic dark academia novel had me utterly captivated. I loved the nostalgia the book made me feel wishing I belonged in a time that I never got the chance to experience. The enemies to lovers trope is one of my absolute faves and I also love a surprise twist! I audibly gasped when it happened! The all inclusivity of the book had me enthralled and wondering if it was a true reflection of the times.
A little bit spicy
, surprising in parts,
romantic, obsessive, blurred lines, and a weird teacher relationship this book has it all!
@rachaelmcreads

An Education in Malice has a promising setting and plot but lacks in the actual execution.

The idea of a dark academia set in an all girls school in the 1960's was a really interesting idea. There were a lot of great ways that could have gone. Unfortunately the author didn't take it that way.

I think where this book lacked were the characters and the overal vibe. The writing itself was decent enough but it never carried over any atmosphere. It stopped be from being drawn in to the story. The addition of the vampires was very underwhelming. The threat of a vampire felt like absolutely nothing throughout.

It didn't help that I didn't care about our characters which is not helpful in a character driven story. There was a little bit of our characters here and there but I didn't feel like I was getting to know anything about them before they came to the school. I felt like I was missing a whole chunk of them. Their before lives didn't go away the moment they entered the school. The worst was that this was even thrown into one of the characters faces when barely any of that pre-history was shared with us.

Their whole rivalry and romance was an obsession, and the author seemed to forget that maybe there was more at the school than just a writing class. I get that the obsession was the whole point but it could have been a more well rounded story.

It was a decent read but not memorable in anyway.

Honestly, I didn't know what to think going into this book. But I devoured it within roughly 26 hours.

🩸Vampires
👭 Sapphic romance
🥀 Gothic
📚 Academic rivals
🖋 Retelling ('Carmilla')

I honestly loved it. It was if The Secret History was mixed with a gothic vampire book to make this beautiful retelling of Carmilla. The atmosphere and setting created in this book were incredible.

I really enjoyed it and have little critiques. It played on the key ideas of desire and obsession. It also focused heavily on existing power dynamics/imbalances that was a driver of the plot and development and characters.

I loved seeing the characters' journey from strangers to devoted lovers.

I guess it's time to read A Dowry in Blood?

I really wanted to like this book, but I had to drop it at about 30%. I expected academia with vampires and romance, and yet it's heavy romance, at times light erotica. Such books are not for me, such writing just makes me roll my eyes.

If you like enemies to lovers heavy romance with a lot of it being explanation of their lust for one another, set in an academic setting with a vampire, then this is a book for you.

This book was a difficult one to review. I loved the whole idea, the setting, the mystery this book made me feel when looking at the cover and plot. But unfortunately I struggled to get through it. I found myself constantly distracted, reaching for my phone or doing something else instead of reading.
I struggled to like the characters, I hated most of them and found their behaviour just odd and annoying. At first I did really like Laura’s as I felt that I could relate to her and how she was getting through her first few days at the school having been a boarder myself. Unfortunately she never really developed and just seemed to bob along without emotional development.
I struggled with most of the plot, some parts felt rushed and unplanned for (the scene where Camilla gets turned for example) and some seemed to drag on for ages (most of the other ones to be fair). I was hoping that at some point we would get a nice plot twist or something but that never happened and the whole plot just felt flat.
I feel like the author has tried to write a dark academia book without realising what dark academia is all about. The students unhealthy relationship with the teacher just gave me the ick and I would have liked to understand why this relationship was going on

I haven’t read Dowry of blood and I’m not sure I would want to although I have heard that people preferred it.

A dark and twisted tale of rivals to lovers, murder and gothic intrigue lurks within the pages of this book by S.T. Gibson.

I liked the premise of this book, dark-academia with a love story and murder thrown in - what's not to like? However, there were times when it seemed to rush, and I'd have loved just a little bit more.

I was honestly expecting that the book had to have a sequel at different parts as I just couldn't see how it could wrap up with how many pages I had left. Alas, it did, but I would have liked to see more danger, more drama, and a stronger finish.

There were a few spicy scenes which, although not extreme, were well written and did enhance the romantic element of the plot between the two female leads.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this book via Netgalley.

,

S. T. Gibson’s sapphic slice of Dark Academia unfolds in leafy New England. It’s 1968 and Laura Sheridan’s newly arrived from the South to study writing at St. Perpetua’s Women’s College. But on her first night Laura meets the capricious Carmilla, unexpectedly stirring a passion that quickly threatens to eclipse every other aspect of her existence. Carmilla however seems to be in thrall to their mysterious poetry teacher, the glamourous Miss De Lafontaine who only tutors at night. Gibson’s novel draws extensively on Sheridan Le Fanu’s iconic vampire story <i>Carmilla. </i> But she blends in a range of other influences from Anne Rice to erotica to <i>The Secret History. </i> Gibson’s narrative’s well-researched, a richly detailed depiction of sixties culture. Overall, it’s definitely readable and fairly entertaining despite Gibson’s prose which veers between stilted and almost-laughably overblown – I’m not sure if it’s deliberate but the style and elements of the plot were strongly reminiscent of melodramatic, vintage lesbian pulp.

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for the ARC.
This was such an enjoyable read. The writing style was different to the books I normally read but it just pulled me in and I finished this book in only two days. Both main characters had their own distinct voices and I loved getting both their POVs. The story started off a bit slowly but it ended up being much more intense than I anticipated and I couldn’t put it down. If you enjoy sapphic romance with high stakes and academic settings this book is for you.

I finished this book still wondering whether or not I actually liked it. So I made a pro/con list to sort out my thoughts.

Pro:
•The book contains vampires in a traditional sense and focuses on the dark, perverse and lustful aspect of them.
•The authors writing style was beautifully poetic.
•The tension and angst between the 2 main characters is great.

Con:
•The story would have felt more mysterious if being told by one POV instead of from both main characters.
•Considering Laura started the story wanting to be a member of the clergy, her religious beliefs don’t feel that strong once the story started.
•I didn’t like the power dynamic between the two main characters and their teacher.
•The plot felt quite slow, and I was left feeling unresolved.

Overall: I enjoyed some parts of the story, yet felt frustrated at others, and finished the book just feeling a little “eh”. but the writing style was so lovely, so I would probably read more of this authors work. Perhaps it was just the story that I couldn’t get on with.

It's well written but the story didn't do it for me. Also found it a little too repetitive at times and very slow beginning.

An Education in malice
My rating- 2.5stars

I Dnf at 40% 🤷‍♀️
I found I just wasn't wanting to pick it up, bored and just uninterested in all the characters

This book had so much potential and based on how people speak about ST Gibson’s other works, it really wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Sad to say I was a little disappointed.

I enjoyed the premise and the story line. I just felt that the prose was really lacking and at times I felt like I was being “told not shown” things in the story. Which I think led to me not being able to get immersed in the story and it didn’t feel as atmospheric as it could/should have for a vampire novel imo.

For the middle section of the book it was sort of giving contemporary romance novel, which just felt odd to me. There were some beautiful moments and and individual sentences that were beautifully written. But I just didn’t care much about finishing it, it just didn’t grip me. I didn’t feel much emotion throughout it which was a shame because on paper it’s something that should have had me hooked.

The review has come across quite negative, but I definitely still think that the book is good, I just felt let down because of the potential I saw for it and how the authors other works have been discussed. I’m definitely still going to read a dowry of blood.

In summary...
I loved:
- the basis of the story.
- The plot/setting
But I felt it lacked:
- the prose to create the atmosphere expected of the novel.
- emotional connection with the characters to keep me hooked.
- I also wasn't expecting there to be sex scenes in this the way that there was. I can definitely see why they were necessary but the detail of the scenes caught me off guard a bit.

An Education of Malice is a look in academic rivalry, the intoxication of secrets and a deep desire to possess another. Gibson’s writing is very easy to read and enjoyable to engage with. The two point of view characters, Laura and Camilla, are written differently enough to be distinct even as they go through similar tribulations. Laura and Camilla have a sort of rivals to lovers relationship, with a lot of unspoken lust and care. You root for them the whole time!! The addition of Ms De Lafontaine and her secrets surprised and entertained, as well as the obstacle it provides adding to the tale to make it an interesting read.

I was sucked in by the haunting allure of An Education in Malice, where the halls of Saint Perpetua’s College are as twisted and dark as the secrets they harbour.

S.T. Gibson delivers another amazing tale that blends dark academia with gothic horror, creating a world you’ll be both thrilled and terrified to enter.

From the moment Laura Sheridan steps onto the isolated, ivy-clad campus, you know you’re in for a wild ride. Saint Perpetua’s isn’t just a college, it’s a living, breathing entity, steeped in history and mystery, where ambition is a dangerous game, and the price of knowledge might just be your soul. Laura’s rivalry with the enigmatic Carmilla is the heartbeat of this novel, pulsing with a delicious tension that quickly evolves into something much more sinister and captivating.

Gibson creates a tale of power and obsession, where the academic rivalries are as cutthroat as the clandestine ceremonies that bind the students together. The shadowy poetry professor, De Lafontaine, adds another layer of intrigue with her dark fixation on Carmilla, leading Laura into a labyrinth of blood-soaked rituals and forbidden desires.

But what made An Education in Malice truly addictive for me was its exploration of the darker side of academia—the hunger for knowledge that consumes, the sacrifices everyone is willing to make, and the blurred line between love and domination. The writing is lush and evocative, pulling you deeper into the twisted relationships and the gothic atmosphere that drips from every single page.

If you’re a fan of dark academia, gothic tales, or just love a story where the characters are as complex and dangerous as the magic they wield, this book is an absolute must-read.

Thank you to the publisher Orbit, The author S.T. Gibson and Netgalley for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.