An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson is a dark, intoxicating blend of gothic horror and academic intrigue that kept me enthralled from the very first page.

The setting of a prestigious university, steeped in ancient secrets and hidden rituals, provides the perfect backdrop for the story's exploration of power, obsession, and the blurred lines between love and manipulation.

The characters are complex and morally ambiguous, each with their own motivations and secrets - their journey is both heartbreaking and compelling, making it so fascinating to read.

What truly sets an Education in Malice apart is its ability to challenge the reader's perceptions. The themes of power dynamics, consent, and the seductive allure of the forbidden are all in the center of this book and the author deals with all these subjects in a very clever way.

The only reason I'm holding back from giving it a full five stars is that there were moments where the pacing felt a bit uneven, with certain scenes dragging slightly before the tension ramped up again.

An Education in Malice is a book that will stay with you long after you've finished it, and I highly recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

I get why people didn't like this, but I ate it up.

I think the most glaringly obvious issue with An Education in Malice is that, due to the names of the characters being lifted from Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla, there is an understandable expectation that this will be a retelling. It isn't. Some of the themes from the original are carried over, most notably female sexuality, but the exploration of those themes was... well, it was fine.

This book's strength is in its character work and in the ways it delineates love and obsession. I also appreciated its exploration of the hubris of youth; of being twenty-one and feeling like you've got it all figured out. Carmilla is bold and self-possessed, but we quickly realise that she is also painfully naive. Her relationship with De Lafontaine was really interesting to me, and I enjoyed the juxtaposition of that "romance" (read: abuse and manipulation) against her budding relationship with Laura.

If you enjoy dark academia and a slow-burn romance with ✨ vibes ✨, you'll love this.

I love dark academia, vampires and everything this book promised. But I DNF'd it at 25% ... there was nothing that pulled me into this story, alot being said but not a lot going on.
I wasn't sure on that instant infatuation from the beginning, the random sexual thoughts from the smallest things.
There wasn't much vampire plot in the first 25% that I read and I just didn't feel a connection to make me want to finish the story unfortunately.

i have been obsessed with s.t. gibson’s writing since i read a dowry of blood so i couldn’t pass up an opportunity to read another one of her works. i didn’t realise this was a retelling; it’s inspired by ‘carmilla,’ which i’ve never read, but i still really enjoyed this story.

it’s a dark, gothic, sapphic romance between academic rivals fighting for the attention of their elusive poetry teacher. there were some uneven power dynamics as carmilla and de lafontaine had an established situationship. there’s no ‘real’ romantic feelings, it’s more perceived on carmilla’s part; de lafontaine needs her more for sustenance and company. carmilla’s very devoted until a new classmate, laura, is introduced and disrupts their dynamic.

this book has three complex characters and i’m not sure how i feel about one of them in particular, de lafontaine. she was this dark, powerful figure thriving on the love and devotion of her students but very withholding in that she didn’t do much to return their feelings. she got very possessive, especially over carmilla, and acted out whenever any threats arose. the glimpse into her backstory helped understand her a little but i still wasn’t very drawn to her by the end.

i did like the other two though and i enjoyed switching between their povs. this dual perspective was really needed, especially with camilla. she was presented as this intriguing character from laura’s eyes but very closed off. she was a little hostile and antagonistic towards her because of her insecurities but they still had some underlying tension which made for some interesting reading. my favourite scenes were from them in the library and when they raced each other to class in the rain. they were both very enjoyable to read.

the academic setting makes for the perfect autumn read but it becomes less of a focus once other storylines are introduced. i would still recommend this book and author, especially if you love dark academia mixed with fantasy.

- sapphic romance
- dark academia
- rivals to lovers
- found family
- dual pov

DNF. It has everything I’d enjoy for an autumn reading : sapphic + dark academia settings. Unfortunately, it was poorly executed in my opinion.

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

Thank you to the publisher for the earc!

I love dark academia books, so I was really excited to read this one, but in the end I just felt uncomfortable while reading. I did love the main story, vampires and sapphic romance and the writing itself. It was seriously beautiful. Everything else was not good. I didn’t understand Laura’s fixation on Carmilla in the beginning, they hadn't even talked and she was already obsessed. I wasn’t a fan of any of the characters, both Laura and Carmilla seemed annoying. And the relationship between De Lafontaine and Carmilla was the main reason why I felt uncomfortable during the book.

Overall, it was a good book, I just wasn’t the main audience for it.

What I loved about this story... I went into this story completely blind. The only aspect I knew about it was the title cover and it had something to do with education, hopefully. I was very pleasantly surprised by the plot and the characters, especially given the fact that I didn't know anything about what was going on or who people were there was a character reveal that I completely didn't see coming (but should have looking back at the clues!). This was such a fun read.

What I didn't like about this story... If I had to be picky I would have loved to have seen more action in the story. I felt that some of the time we were just being told what was going on rather than being shown.

Would I recommend... 100% I would even go as far as to recommend going into this story not knowing anything at all about it. It would make the surprises in the story all that much more enjoyable.

So I received this as an ARC and god I was excited to read this. Sapphic vampire? Yes please. While I have a dowry of blood in my library, I didn't read it yet so this was my first S.T Gibson book. Well. I'm sadly disappointed. This is more of a 2.5 read to me. The story itself felt extremely bland and quite repetitive. There was nothing that pulled me into the book and had me reading with anticipation. The characters themselves were given little personality. Laura was just obsessed right away, which was a bit creepy honestly. We were just given breadcrumbs about the characters and most of it was obsession over each other. I genuinely wanted to like this book and hoped it gets better but sadly I can't say it did.

This doesn't mean I don't wanna read the authors other books though. This story just didn't align with me.

I loved everything about this book except for the pace. It could’ve been a bit faster, especially in the beginning but once you were into it it was freaking amazing! It’s an amazing dark academia novel and hits the right spots with the hate love relationship. The fantasy aspect with the vampires was great as well.

Thank you to Little, Brown book group for allowing me to access this through Netgalley, before the paperback release in September.
⭐️4.5 stars
I read this in three sittings and I loved every bit of it. Sapphic vampires, academic rivals and a gothic setting are all such good elements for a great fantasy novel. I became a little obsessed with Laura and Carmilla’s relationship as the book went on, waiting for them to get together. THE DINNER PARTY SCENE! My jaw was on the floor the entire time. This is my first S. T Gibson novel and won’t certainly be my last. I just kept thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it, and was gripped by the first 50% that much, that I read in one go. Love, love, love this so much.

Dark academia can be hit or miss for me, and An Education In Malice was a hit! The sapphic love/hate relationship was well written and the fantasy elements were intriguing. This book was well paced and the plot kept me interested the whole time.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I honestly loved this one so so much! I litterally read it in one day (on a day after I had to stay awake all night, might I add).
I had loved "A dowry of blood" so much, that I was afraid I would be disappointed, but now I think this one is even better! The dark academia vibes were immaculate tbh, and I want more stories in this universe please!
The romance was *chef's kiss* and the spooky vibes went well with the story! One of my favourite Sapphic romances tbh!.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I loved the story and the writing style, but the pace felt so slow to me so I kept zoning out and missing information. That’s more of a me problem I guess. I will try a dowry of blood by this author, seems to have potential, it just wasn’t fully executed in this one

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the ARC

Dark and delicious. An Education in Malice is another great book from S.T. Gibson. It's a dark academia retelling of Carmilla. The atmosphere is eerie, the magic is dark and the relationships are sapphic. Nothing more to ask for. A mesmerizing tale from a prolific author.

If you're looking for vibes, you've come to the right place.

A companion novel to the excellent A Dowry of Blood, An Education in Malice doesn't quite live up to its companion, but I also don't think it tries to. It's an entirely different setting than Dowry, entirely different time period and plot, and you don't need to read one to read the other (but you really should read Dowry).

One thing that S.T. Gibson excels at - and she excels at many things - is atmospheric, vivid writing and tone. In the case of this book, that tone is yearning and obsession. I don't know if you could call Laura or Carmilla likeable, but they are enchanting as characters, and real in their flaws, and it's hard not to get a bit sucked into their melodrama.

This is a fever dream romance - with vampires and academia - and it's truly romantic in the most base definition of the word. The story didn't quite wrap itself around me the way that I would have liked, but the writing still dragged me into it and honestly, I just can't get enough of S.T. Gibson's lovely, visceral writing.

Thank you to the publisher, Orbit, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

This book has… everything I want it to have to be a favorite. Dark academia and queer girl vampires and polyamory (sort of) and bdsm and unhealthy dedication to your craft and dazzling parties and unethical professors. I really deeply truly want you to pick it up because of these things.

That being said I think the writing itself was not entirely up to the task of conveying what it was trying to convey. At times it was beautiful and lyrical, but at times it was corny and too literal. I think S.T. Gibson’s writing, while not perfect, worked really well as a fictional diary entry in A Dowry of Blood, but it just did not work perfectly in this book and thus I cannot give it 5 stars as much as I loved every other element if it.

Thank you to Orbit UK for providing me with an arc.

I didn’t think I could enjoy any Gibson book more than a dowry of blood but here we are. This book was dark and sinister and best of all sapphic. A true competitor to the dark academia genre which you should most definitely read.

⊹ ࣪ ˖ ARC REVIEW⊹ ࣪ ˖

Oh! My! Goodness!!!!!! This book was honestly chef’s kiss, stunning, gorgeous, unbelievable! My favourite ARC of the year so far for sure.

This standalone queer, gothic/paranormal & dark academia romantasy ticked literally all of my boxes. Sexy vampires? check. Morally grey main characters? check. Enemies to lovers? check!!

Picture academic rivals to lovers, but make it sexy vampires and bloodlust, portrayed as a tale of desperation, constant need to please (as well as some mummy issues) with a sh*t ton of complex relationships! Oh and it all has a feminist undertone!

I don’t think I could have asked for more from this book - I only wish that it wasn’t a standalone! (brb buying more S.T. Gibson books as we speak)

I would 100% recommend this book.

Trigger & Content Warnings: blood, violence, abuse of power relationships, murder, sex,

[thank you NetGalley & Little, Brown Book Group UK for this digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review ahead of its UK paperback publication date]

I loved everything about this. The setting, the characters, the romance, the conflict, everything.

I loved A Dowry of Blood and this one didn't disappoint either, so I'm an S.T. Gibson fan.

This has vampires, obsession, love, passion, intrigue, and it's sapphic; many of the elements I usually love and enjoy.

The plot is simple and the characters are very interesting. I found them to be very compelling and I liked their toxic kind of attachment. The way that was explored and the character growth was very nice.

That said, I do think that some plot points could've been developed or executed better to create more tension. I would've also liked more vampire lore and details, but it's not a deal-breaker.

4.5 stars!