📚An Education in Malice 📚

Out: February 15th

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (3 Stars)
Steam: 🌶️🌶️/5 (a few scenes with graphic description)

Narration: the audiobook narration was amazing. The different voices for the two main characters made each chapter so good.

No spoiler review 👇🏻

This book was decent! It’s set in the 1960s at a women’s college. A writing professor is a vampire and some of the students get involved with her.

It’s an obsessive, gothic and sapphic read. I loved the writing in this. I read this authors book “A Dowery of Blood” and also loved her prose. It makes the story flow well. That being said I wanted more from this book. For a book about vampires it was a bit slow in the middle and wasn’t as dramatic or as interesting as it could have been. Overall it was an okay read, with great gothic vibes.

Thanks to Netgalley, Orbit and Hachette Audio for the advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest review.

CW: blood, murder, violence, emotional abuse, body horror, grief,

An Education in Malice is a gothic, dark academia, sapphic romance, with vampires!
I loved A Dowry of Blood by this author a couple years ago so I was very excited for another dark read. This is a Carmilla retelling and it delivers on lush writing, desire, obsession, and power dynamics.

We have secrets and ambitions, dark magic, what starts off as a bit of an academic rivalry between Laura and Carmilla, a demanding poetry professor with a dark obsession and hold over Carmilla, desires. I really enjoyed the dark atmosphere of this story, I’m always down for a gothic read and the academia setting for this one really worked (it is set at a Massachusetts college in 1968). Each of the characters were so complex and interesting, I wanted more from all of them. They felt like the type of people/characters you can never truly know enough of because there are so many more layers to unpack.

While I didn’t love this one as much as I did A Dowry of Blood, I still so enjoy this author’s writing and storytelling. The characters and setting always work for me. I especially enjoyed the audio narration! I received an audio ALC from Hachette Audio via NetGalley, all thoughts in this review are my own. An Education in Malice is out February 13, 2024.

Modern retelling of Carmilla, a 1872 gothic vampire novella. An Education in Malice is a simple dual-pov story between Laura and Carmilla - two students at Saint Perpetua’s College fighting for their professor’s attention to be the best.

This is an enemies to forced-friends to lovers between Laura and Carmilla. This sapphic romance was a little bland for me, especially mid-way through. I think I enjoyed the idea of listening to this book, but I couldn’t pay attention to what was happening, or what actually wasn’t since the plot was so simple. I expected there to be more explicit content, but I appreciate that the blood sucking was consensual - consent is always important.

This dark academic love story takes a turn when De Lafontaine uses Carmilla, who would do anything for Ms. D, to resurrect De Lafontaine’s ex lover, and Carmilla turns into a vampire herself. Vampires aren’t enough - there’s a set of murders that takes place, and more mysteries to unravel.

Laura and Carmilla are infatuated with each other, and we see the lust and love between the two. Laura falling in love with an immortal and Carmilla in love with a mortal - a love that can’t last forever. The relationship that the girls have with their teacher is inappropriate, but there’s something satisfying reading about the battle for attention. This love “triangle” was slow but spicy.

I recommend the audiobook over physical copy. The narrator, Stephanie Cannon does such a lovely job bringing the characters to life with her voice. I think if I would have DNF-ed the book if I wasn’t listening to the audiobook. If you like dark academic and slow builds and slow burns with more character-driven plot than an actual story, then you’ll enjoy this retelling.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

I loved Gibson's debut, A Dowry in Blood, so I was extremely excited for this book, and it did not disappoint. Gibson's prose is wonderful as always, and she's particularly capable in crafting the atmosphere of her books.

The characters were fascinating, as were their dynamics, but the deep bond between Laura and Carmilla did not quite feel earned. In this sense, I think this book being a (very loose) Carmilla retelling actually works against it, as it feels as though Gibson uses the original book a bit like a crutch: I do not need to be sold on Carmilla being magnetic and charismatic, or Laura's deep, intense fascination for her because LeFanu's novel sold me on those things already. If I just look at the contents of Gibson's novel, though, I'm less convinced.

To be clear, though, An Education in Malice is a really good book, if not quite as good as the original Carmilla (which is a classic that has stood the test of time, so it's a really high bar to clear).

I listened to this in audio, and I think the narrator did a fantastic job, particularly on giving the characters unique voices that really fit them. The narration was a five out of five stars for me.

More of a dark academia spicy in parts romance than a horror novel, I still found it delightful. I think I'm a sucker for poetically beautiful writing and Gibson has that in spades. I was an ardent fan of Dowry of Blood, and this Carmilla retelling is steeped in lesbian longing. Totally for me. While I think some readers would be put off by some of the darker themes, (the book comes with a warning to be gentle with yourself) I think a lot of people will really vibe with the themes. If you've hung out on any social media and longed for an older woman to step on your throat you'll probably love this. Thank you for letting me have a chance to listen to the audiobook!

A whole lot of nothing happened in this book. This book was essentially all world-building and an attempt at dark academia, which might have been forgivable had the last twenty pages essentially thrust the two protagonists and one of the antagonists out of the world of academia.

I found both of the protagonists to be ungodly whiney, and so many of their interactions and reactions could only be described as giving me the ick. Should there be a follow-up to this novel, you won't find me on the edge of my seat waiting for it.

I was really expecting gothic horror vibes when I picked this up, but it has a lot more of a romance main plot than I was expecting. The horror/vampires are almost a side plot to the romance. Not a problem at all, just not what I went in expecting from the blurb. After I got myself in the right genre headspace, I was able to enjoy this a lot more. It's really a rivals to lovers romance, and it does that rather well.

Thank you as always to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for an arc of the audio for An Education In Malice.

This was a 3/5 stars for me.

This story follows Laura who is studying creative writing in college, getting accepts into an advanced poetry class as a freshman is not small feat and as the story unfolds so does the continued competition to be the favored student of Professor De Lafontaine. Obsession, hate, love, and power thrum through this book.

I had really high hopes since I loved A Dowry of Blood and was hoping the writing style would be similar but it was quite difference. I did not really connect with the narrator but I enjoyed the Carmilla retelling it was hoping for a little bit more to grip me.

3.5 rounded to 4

AN EDUCATION IN MALICE by S. T. Gibson is a Carmilla reimagining that takes place in the 1960s at an all-girls private college in Massachusetts. It’s a dual-POV novel filled with sapphic vampires. This book is atmospheric and filled with dark academia themes (check the content warnings before reading!).

I very much enjoyed this book. I loved Gibson’s prose and character development. Where I didn’t naturally identify with and fall in love with the characters, I was still able to thoroughly enjoy this book. The academic rivals-to-lovers trope was done well in the beginning but lost a bit of steam once the two girls got together. There were several parts of the book that felt rushed, this being one of them, but it never brought me out of the story.

The narrator, overall, did a great job. Her accents and voices were great for each character. My one complaint is that she lost the accents a few times, which made some pieces of dialogue a bit confusing.

Again, overall, I very much enjoyed this book and am excited for Gibson’s next work.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

Dark academia and an enchanting tale of blood, secrets and insatiable hunger? Yes, please!

An Education in Malice follows the main FMC as she begins a college in Massachusetts, has a rivalry with another student, and vies for the attention of their poetry professor. Obsession, suspense, and poetic art are some of the main themes of this book.

This is the second book of S.T. Gibson’s that I’ve read, and I am always captivated by her writing. I love her poetic style and how she is able to capture the gothic atmosphere with her words.

I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator’s voice also really added to drawing me into this alluring world.

While I loved the story (I listened to this book in one day), I was missing something to really connect me with the characters and their character arcs. The relationship between the two main characters was rushed for me. I wanted more from the “to” in “enemies to lovers.” For me, it was rushed and abrupt.

I’d recommend this to anyone who loves dark academia, vampires, and just being drawn into a general gothic or eerie atmosphere.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for providing me with this audiobook ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Thank you Redhook and Hachette Audio for my free ARC of An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson— available Feb 13!

Read this if you:
🧛 can't get enough of the gothic vampire vibes
🩸 read and loved A Dowry of Blood
❤️‍🔥 enjoy a slow-burn atmospheric novel

This is a retelling of Carmilla, considered to be one of the earliest vampire novels, as it was published in 1871. S.T. Gibson sets her version in an isolated prep school for girls, where Laura is the new girl and she finds herself entranced by the beautiful Carmilla. Their professor is demanding and cruel, and the girls begin as academic rivals but blossom into something much more deadly.

So I read and enjoyed A Dowry of Blood, because the atmospheric quality of it was just exquisite. An Education in Malice continues this trend, chock-full of gothic vibes and dark tones. I found the story interesting most of the time, but S.T. Gibson is definitely an author that you read for the atmosphere, not the plot. I felt the ending to be a bit rushed after such a slow, steady buildup, but overall it's worthwhile if you're into retellings, vampires, and sapphic stories.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am divided between a 3 and 4, so let's say 3.5

Laura enrolls in Saint Perpetua's College because she wants to study creative writing. She does everything she can to enroll in the advanced poetry class with De Lafontaine, but she has competition, Carmilla, for the post of best student in class, or, at least, she has competition in Carmilla's mind because Laura is obsessed with her since the beginning.

I thought this book was going to be a dark academia story of professors abusing their students, student competition and a bit of vampires. Indeed the book has a professor playing favorites because they are obsessed with finding companionship for their eternal life and two students competing for their attention. What spoiled it for me is that the story was a bit rushed, like the enemies to lovers part happened too fast. Carmilla hated Laura but suddenly they are in love. Another problem for me, is that there might be too much 'salaciousness' (I don't know maybe I am becoming a prude, let me know in the comments) instead of actually building up to the romance part.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 ⭐️

Personally, i liked this book more than A Dowery of Blood, which is hard to say because i absolutely adore that book.
An Education in Malice really brought me into the story right away, and i couldn’t put it down. the entire book was read in 4 hours. Laura and Carmilla were such great characters, and i loved their relationship. De lafontaine was such a interesting character, and i enjoyed learning about her in the small bits i was given throughout the story.
My only grievance with this book is that some parts were a tad bit rushed, but it’s easy to look past.
This is a must read for anyone who loves queer stories. Please read this book. The cover being absolutely gorgeous is a added bonus.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit books for allowing me to read this book early.

An Education in Malice has been one of my most anticipated releases of the year. A dark academia version of Carmilla in the 60s? Sign me up.

An Education in Malice is told in dual PoV between Laura Sheridan and Carmilla Karnstein. Laura is a 20-year-old freshman at Saint Perpetua’s school, enrolled in a senior poetry class run by the demanding and vampiric Professor De Lafontaine (Laura’s governess in Le Fanu’s Carmilla). She yearns for the admiration of her professor over the clear class favourite, Carmilla, who has an inappropriate and all-consuming relationship with her professor. The two girls are pitted against the other, both vying for the attention of their professor, in a blend of toxicity and artistic genius.

I wouldn’t call this a retelling, it’s a transplant or even an AU (and I meant that in the most affectionate way). The elements of girlhood and obsessive relationships between women shines in this reworking. One of my favourite parts of this book is the delicate balance of what could be contradictory desires within her characters. Carmilla is simultaneously hyperindependent, worldly, sharp, cutting and incredibly needy.

“In her righteous indignation, she seemed like a wrathful goddess but now she sounded very much her age, a child chasing after the approval of her mentor.”

Laura is sheltered, sweet, eager and also incredibly needy. Gibson transforms her from her sheltered, upper-middle-class existence schloss in Styria to the epitome of Southern politeness and grace, which was a smart move on Gibson’s part. Ultimately, Gibson taps into the essence of Le Fanu’s Carmilla, it’s a story about yearning, obsessive love and neediness. Both young women yearn for love, friendship and each other. Laura and Carmilla do not become the fast friends of the original novella, but that doesn’t stop the obsessive infatuation they have for each other. Finally, we get the explicit sapphism that was denied in Carmilla.

It was toxic, messy and Gothic. I loved it!

This is the dark academia I have been looking for ever since reading The Secret History. Gibson’s strength is in writing is the atmosphere and her prose. I wish I had recorded more of the beautiful prose but as I often listened to it while driving I couldn’t. Her writing makes sure you feel New England's biting cold and the mist circling the character's ankles as they walk across the quad. You feel the same rage and injustice that Laura and Carmilla feel as they chafe against the binds put on them.

I have to shout out the audiobook narrator, Stephanie Cannon, who brought the book to life, effortless shifting between Laura's Southern Mississippi accent and Carmilla's refined Austrian accent, never confusing me with who was speaking or which PoV we were in.

This is a character-focused book that centres on Laura and Carmilla’s relationship, made all the more dangerous by vampirism which is used as a metaphor for artistic genius and the ideals of youth. The first half was addictive. The second half ramped up the plot, but there were times it was relegated to the background even as a murderer ripped through the school. I felt like the horror could have been amped up here as the reader knew who was behind the murder, but the focus was centred on Laura and Carmilla’s desire for each other. I wish there was a bit more of a sense of things closing in on our characters, and further challenging their dynamics. This occurred right towards the end but I wanted more of it. I also wanted the dynamic between Laura, Carmilla and De Lafontaine to be resolved a little more neatly but I suppose relationships like those depicted aren’t always neatly resolved, I just wished that it culminated in a breaking point.

Overall, this is an amazing take on Le Fanu’s Carmilla and even with the things I wasn’t sure of, this is a book I highly recommend to most people. It is beautifully written, I adore Laura and Carmilla and the atmosphere is top-notch!

*3.5 rounded up*
Thank you to NetGalley and Hatchette Audio for my copy in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

As a fan of S.T. Gibson's first novel, "A Dowry of Blood," (which I recommend to anybody and everybody looking for an interesting queer retelling of "Dracula") I knew that I needed to check this out. I missed the mark for the book arc, so I thought I'd try the audiobook arc.

In "An Education in Malice," Gibson takes us to the dark hills of Massachusetts to Saint Perpetua's College, an isolated and ancient school not for the lighthearted. We follow Laura Sheridan as she begins an academic rivalry with the mysterious Carmilla. Amidst their rivalry, we become acquainted with their poetry professor, De Lafontaine, and her own obsession with Carmilla. Bloodthirsty takes on quite a literal meaning in this explicitly queer dark academia retelling of "Carmilla."

I gotta say, even in audio, Gibson's gorgeous and lush prose shines through. No hate to the narrator, but sometimes I found her lacking in being able to communicate some of the lines that their professor would say, especially towards the end when everything was resolved. Storywise, I think this was weaker than Gibson's previous book. For one, once the relationship between Laura and Carmilla was initiated, the tension disappeared. They had so much tension leading up to the culmination of their relationship and it just seemed like it was nonexistent. The story itself was kind of bare bones and it seemed that this was definitely more of a character-driven narrative but even then, I found that towards the end, I was really speeding up the narrator because things just felt so not serious. Like it felt like all the stakes were gone and not that important.

I wouldn't say that I was disappointed because I still give this a 3.5. Gibson's writing is still quite lovely to hear and I enjoyed how they interpreted the general story of "Carmilla." Put anything into a dark academia aesthetic college for me and I'm sold. I also found both Laura and Carmilla's perspectives interesting. It just fell apart in the final like five chapters.

Overall, I'd still recommend this. Especially if you've read the original "Carmilla," I think you'd enjoy this for the attempt that it does. I enjoyed how explicit the queer relationship was in this retelling versus the implications of the original and the characters were intriguing.

I couldn't resist picking up An Education in Malice by S.T Gibson, cause bloodthirsty sapphics, count me in. I have always been partial to dark academia media and following my love for S.T Gibson's previous work in Dowry of Blood I was delighted to read about An Education in Malice. The relationship between Laura and Carmilla was something that took it's time developing throughout Gibson's words but the way it was written was delightful. I cherish a rivals to something akin to lovers especially within an academic setting. I enjoyed the style of writing immensely, spending my time listening to the audio-book while traveling. In collaboration, the narrator of this book was effective with adding clear distinction in the differing perspectives per chapter which allowed me to keep track to some degree. I will note that the distinction could've been more clear with the presence of there being only one narrator. Overall I would recommend this book to my friends, though I will likely recommend they acquire the physical copy rather than the audiobook format.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was very much a character-driven story vs plot. Knowing this, I admit I was bored at times, but for the most part I found the narrator very compelling. There's two main characters with Laura being the main narrator. Which, by the way, it's very rare I come across my own name in a fantasy and I was thrown off whenever I heard them use her name. Aside from that, I enjoyed this one.

What I found interesting was the way the conflict is resolved, but more so the ending, in that it happened so fast that I felt like I missed it and had to go back to re-listen to the end of the last chapter just to make sure I understood everything that happened in that final moment.

Definitely recommend this one, not just the book itself but the audio. The narration was well done, her voice clear, and it has a dreamy quality to it that also added to the dreamy atmosphere of the book. Overall, I loved it.

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

My sincere thanks to @HachetteAudio and NetGelley for an Audio-ARC of "An Education in Malice" by S.T. Gibson in exchange for an honest review.

For me, this was an introduction to the writing and world-building of S.T. Gibson. The Gothic dark academia style that is presented really appealed to me. If you are a fan of books like The Secret History or Ninth House, then I would definitely recommend this book.

In true rivals-to-lovers style, they work towards a sapphic relationship with great tension. The mutual struggle for the teacher's attention had a strengthening effect. However, I thought this tension diminished a lot when the relationship came about and I thought that was a shame.

In addition to a great atmosphere and the relationship between the main characters, I find the story itself a bit disappointing. It seemed as if the focus was mainly on the relationships and the atmosphere and that the storyline was therefore somewhat run down. It wasn't bad and I enjoyed the book, but for me this wasn't a book I would pick up again anytime soon.

What does this book have:
- Poetic gothic/dark academia aestatics
- Murder mystery
- (Vampiric) sapphic romance
- Rivals to lovers

Would I recommend this? Yes, even though I am not necessarily someone who quickly reads books in which sapphic relationships are in the foreground (not because I am against it, but because I cannot identify with it). The way the book is written and the atmosphere it creates makes it a good book for anyone who likes to read dark academia.

The narration of the book is done by Stephanie Cannon. Stephanie did a great job of bringing the book to life with her voice. I often listen to my books at 1.7x speed, but it is still pleasant to listen to.

I loved a Dowry of Blood and this one didn't disappoint either.

It's sapphic and it has an atmospheric academic setting, rivals to lovers, obsession, and intrigue. I enjoyed the heck out of this and I can say I'm a fan of S.T. Gibson.

The plot is rather simple, but the characters were very interesting to me. This is a 4.5 rounded up to 5!

I'm not a huge fan of the narrator for this, The voice didn't match the character in my opinion, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I would like. But that's subjective, so do with that what you will.

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson
Narrator: Stephanie Cannon
Rating: 3.5
Pub date: 2/13

This dark, gothic tale takes readers into the world of Saint Perpetua's College, where the story seamlessly blends dark academia, enemies-to-lovers, and a Carmilla retelling, along with tales of blood, secrets, and intense rivalries.
As Laura Sheridan arrives at Saint Perpetua's, she becomes entangled in an academic rivalry with the captivating Carmilla. Laura is drawn to Carmilla, but Carmilla is involved with the mysterious poetry professor, De Lafontaine, whose dark obsession with Carmilla becomes apparent right from the start. Themes of power manipulation, toxic learning environments, and codependency are front and center, even when we aren’t sure what’s going on. It’s best to go into this one blind so as not to spoil the surprise.
I’m glad that is a dual POV because I enjoyed getting glimpses into the evolving dynamics of Laura and Carmilla’s rivalry from both their perspectives. It was hard to get a read on Carmilla at first, but once we are in her head, it’s easier to understand her motivations. Her scenes are intense, which adds an element of foreboding as her dark past unfolds. Meanwhile, Laura's assertiveness and determination make her a compelling sparring partner for Carmilla.
I listened to this on audio, and the narrator, Stephanie Cannon, did a fantastic job! You wouldn’t even know it was only one person speaking. She nailed the accents and brought all of the characters to life.
This was a captivating read that kept my interest for the first half of the story but then started to drag. The pacing was slower on purpose, which I wasn’t ready for, and I had a difficult time paying attention.
While I found it to be slow, it delivered on the promise of a gothic dark academia with a nuanced exploration of power, rivalry, and the consequences of unchecked ambition. There are already countless five-star ratings for this one, so check it out if you like:

*dark academia
*sapphic love stories
*taboo relationships (teacher/student)
*academic rivals to lovers

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Redhook for my advanced copy and Hachette Audio for my complimentary audiobook.