An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson took awhile to get into for me. While the warnings at the beginning prepared me for the issues contained within, I still personally found the relationship between the professor and student to be revolting. Though it is not sexual in nature, it is still horribly inappropriate and possessive. My strong repulsion of this dynamic tainted my overall impression of the book, so I am trying to be as objective as possible with this review.

The writing is good. The audiobook narrator, Stephanie Cannon, is superb, voicing dialogue from an entirely female cast with unique distinction between every character. I was really able to tell who was speaking immediately by her talented portrayals. I loved listening to her read this.
I am familiar with the novella Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, and this book emulates the characters well - like an origin story of sorts though the timeline is about a hundred years later. It evoked Holly Black's short story based upon the same text, "Millcara," as well. Laura as a character was very well developed, and I looked forward to her chapters the most. The ending was ultimately satisfying.
This book would appeal to gothic vampire fans, with an awareness that the dynamic between Carmilla and her mentor is darkly inappropriate.
Thanks to Netgalley and Hachett Audio for this advanced copy for review!

An Education of Malice has sealed S.T Gibson as an insta-buy author and the 3rd book of hers that I've rated 5 stars.

Gibson consistently and poetically crafts stories and characters that draw you in and draw out your emotions. I felt so attached to the two youngest main characters and absolutely adored watching them circle each other until we finally had them fighting the world together instead of against each other.

I would have loved to see some of the side-characters fleshed out and further dive into those relationships but ultimately am satisfied with the story focusing on our trio and their ever changing dynamics.

The ending was bitter-sweet (as I've come to recognise is Gibson's style and I'm so here for it), and I adored our little cameo character!!

I absolutely loved the narration of this but will admit that the "Austrian" accent sounded South African to me and really threw me off at times. However, over all, I really loved the narration style which I really think suits Gibson's writing style.

Cannot wait to purchase every special edition of this!!

Thank you so much for the audio and ebook copies! I thoroughly enjoyed this!

This started out really strong and I was totally into it (I mean…sapphic vampires, how can you go wrong?). Even though I’m not big on enemies to lovers I actually really enjoyed the dynamic between Laura and Carmilla, especially how Laura lacked of animosity in their competition—it was a different, refreshing take that it excited and drove her instead of being a negative, anger-inducing thing.

My main issue is that everything kind of petered out by the last 20%. The whole Isis thing was kind of weird because after a dramatic entrance, she almost disappears from the story and was barely mentioned for a good chunk of time when it felt like she should have been a looming element of suspense.

And after Carmilla is turned and the love/hate dynamic between her and Laura moves into just love, the chemistry between them kind of fizzled out and got a bit…lifeless. It would have been nice if the intensity from their competing had been retained in their passion for each other.

Even so, I did still like the story. My enjoyment of the first half of the book carried me through the slightly lackluster ending and I think I’ll probably even still want to read it again.

The narrator’s performance was really well done, especially the differentiation in the different character voices. It was really distinct and always clear whose perspective it currently was, which I always appreciate!

It’s not often I wish for a sequel but this one really has a lot of potential, when I finished it I just felt the characters had more story to tell. That is truly a testament to how much I loved the characters and their relationship, I could read 5 more books about them traveling the world and falling more in love.
This is a modern retelling of Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Set in the 1960’s with a dark academia twist. It leans more to the side of romance than horror, with a beautiful sapphic slow burn enemies to lovers storyline. There’s not a ton of spice because the plot is very rich, but what is there is very well written.
I would recommend going into this book relatively blind, it’s a great story to just fall into.
The audiobook is a wonderful option, Stephanie Cannon does a wonderful job switching between very different accents.

Massachusetts 1968, Saint Perpetua’s College
Laura is the newest student to join Professor De Lafontaine’s poetry class, she’s immediately drawn to Carmilla, the it-girl and teacher’s pet. Both young women strive for attention and praise from the mysterious professor, plunging them into a dark and secretive world.

I’m not sure I had many expectations going into this book, I was mostly intrigued by the cover and dark academia. Not a whole lot happens in terms of action but I very much enjoyed the atmosphere built by S.T. Gibson - it was gothic, dark, sinful and wholly relaxing. I was fond of both characters Laura and Carmilla, their attraction was believable and connection they both had to De Lafontaine was captivating.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the audiobook copy, narrated by Stephanie Cannon. She did a wonderful job creating a distinctive voice for each character, Laura with a slight country twang, Carmilla with a British dialect, and De Lafontaine with a deeper tone. It was a great listen! 3.5⭐️

Okaaaay, so I just finished this which means final rating is subject to change, but right now I'm feeling five staaaarrrsss! Like I was pretty invested even though I wouldn't say that this book is doing all that much. Like its pretty laid back. We have our two main girls who are both taking the same poetry class and are a little competitive but also drawn towards each other and between them is the mysterious and highly sought after poetry teacher who invites them under her wing.

Admittedly It took me a minute to get fully invested in the character and the story even though I was interested from the start. I did go into the book pretty blind so I wasn't sure what direction it was going to take and so it took some time for me to find my footing per-se.

It is sapphic, its vampiric, its lustful, a little obsessive and its full of gothic moody vibes. Their is a dark academia quality and although their are mentions of poetry, reading and classes it didn't feeeel super heavy on the academia side but I still enjoyed it (obviously). Its definitely more character driven even though their are some interesting plot moments. Or at least thats the part that stood out to me the most personally. Its not as lyrical as a dowery of blood but it was still very enjoyable and I love it. Oh and it is a little spicy which I was totally here for! Also one of the characters is Bi and we do get a taste of that.

I have pre-ordered the book and was lucky enough to get an early audibook arc from netgalley as soon as they made it available which is how I am able to rate it before it comes out. I'm so happy and can't wait to get my physical copy in my hands! So here for it and do recommend it to people who think it sounds like their thing.

Vampires are back and they are everything! I loved this book, it’s addictive and draws you in instantly. I was swept up into the tangled web S. T. Gibson wove so beautifully with her prose. The book is so quotable with lush details and pure vibes throughout. Due to its poetic nature this book is so so enjoyable to listen to as a audiobook. I would highly recommend this way of reading - maybe even to read and to listen at the same time for total immersion. There’s secrets, blood, yearning, poetry and murder! The actual plot didn’t even matter to me as it was so easy to read and become intoxicated by. If you enjoyed the original Carmilla then this book is definitely for you, a great retelling. Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for an Audio-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book.

I love the story of Carmilla and this sapphic retelling was beautiful. Goth bi Carmilla and her perfect gay gf Laura. This was dark, but so full of love. Fans of A Dowry of Blood and the Carmilla web series, this is definitely for you. Academic rivals to lovers done magnificently.

An Education in Malice is a lush, sumptuous, and captivating dark academia story.

Laura finds herself at a new school and in a new rivalry when she is accepted to an elite poetry class taught by the mysterious professor, De Lafontaine.

When I say I couldn’t put this book down! S.T. Gibson’s writing is so addictive and pulls you in entirely! I had to know everything about these characters and their history. She takes a straight-forward story of sapphic enemies-to-lovers and imbues it with so much intrigue.

The audiobook was also so excellent! The narrator did a wonderful job differentiating the characters voices so there was no doubt of who's chapter you are on!

Read this if you love gothic atmosphere, a daily dose of sapphic spice, dark undercurrents, and a lil bit (or lot bit) of uneven power dynamics.

This was one of those books where I sort of hated all three main characters and didn’t actually wish for their success of happiness - I more just wanted to see justice and completion of the story.

The most unredeemable character was without question the professor and vampire, De Lafontaine. She is solely concerned with herself, her wants needs and desires and she very nearly brings ruin on both of the college students she involves in her dark world.

However I also found the way Carmilla tries to get absolutely everything she wants, regardless of who she hurts along the way. And then Laura… I truly just wanted her to leave the entire situation but ultimately I think she got what she deserved as well.

Even though I disliked them all, I was still committed to the story through the end. The writing was good and the story was interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for gifting me this ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book, because I had heard a lot of good things about Gibson’s previous book and the cover art is so unbelievably beautiful, but unfortunately, this was not a read I enjoyed.
I did not read Camilla beforehand, so I might be missing something there, but the overall feeling I got from this book was just uncomfortable. I didn’t feel shocked or scandalized or any other thought-provoking feeling, just uncomfortable, to the point where I had to stop and take a break from the book. What made me most uncomfortable was the power dynamic between Mrs D and Camilla, but also Mrs’D behaviour towards Laura. For most of the book, Mrs D restricts Camilla's access to see Laura to the point where it feels like Camilla is a hostage during their Thanksgiving break. Mrs D. did not come across as a 200-year-old woman, but rather as a jealous juvenile who got her feelings hurt. The fact that they were not only her students but also staying over in her flat without necessarily wanting to and were very dependent on Mrs D, did not make it any better.

Camilla and Laura came across as more mature than Mrs D but then only barely and only in their own heads. I think Camilla is meant to be 20, they are both definitely over 18 but don’t really act like it. They both reflect that Mrs D’s behavior is strange and manipulative but they don’t do anything about it. They don’t even stand up to her or go to another person even when they recognize that her behaviour is strange.
The relationship between Camilla and Laura also felt a bit off to me. They start off as rivals then become friends and then lovers, which is a nice progression in itself, but Camilla has almost all the power in the relationship and starts to mirror Mrs D a bit in her neglect of Laura’s feelings. Laura has very deep feelings for Camilla almost instantly and although Camilla might be a bit unaware of them her behaviour toward Laura is careless. The scene at the party made me feel very uncomfortable in particular. Camilla and Laura's relationship is not established at all – they have kissed ONCE and Laura is altogether sexually inexperienced. This is something Camilla is aware of, but she goes much further with two other people in front of Laura and the other people at the party. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for spice, but this was not the time or place. Taking into account that this is an introduction to the vampire society for Camilla and that Laura is introduced and shown off as her companion, a sort of accessory, everywhere and Laura is expressly told she has to ask for Camilla's permission if anyone else wants to taste her blood, this power dynamic is just fucked up. Laura tries to combat this by pretending to know what she’s doing and trying to take charge by telling Camilla what she is supposed to do in this sex scene. But it is very obvious that it is not the role she would have chosen for herself and this is just something she knows Camilla likes and this way she will at least be on Camilla's radar. When Camilla realizes that Laura might not be altogether comfortable with this she stays in the scene a bit longer kissing the other individuals and only then cutting it off. And in good old
The conflict at the end was resolved very suddenly without Camilla or Laura having to do anything about it. This seems to be a whole theme in the story: Even though they are the MCs they are not in the driving seat of their own story and what’s more infuriating about it is that they actually don’t seem to want to be. The ‘HEA’ they enjoy in the end was not created by them taking agency but rather put there by Mrs D.
After the conflict is resolved Mrs D. seems to be the only person trying to establish boundaries between the previously blurred lines, but then again Camilla and Laura do nothing to affirm those boundaries or to confront Mrs D about her toxic behaviour, they don’t even really reflect on what has happened to resolve it. In this way, the ending seems a bit unresolved.
Similarly, the fact that Camilla turned into a vampire in the middle of the book is barely dealt with or discussed. Overall, there was just no character development apart from on Mrs. D's side maybe which makes everything seem very surface level – even though ironically this is something Camilla criticises about Laura’s poetry in the beginning.

The narrator did a great job with the different accents, but even then I sometimes had to pay very close attention to whose perspective I was listening to. The lines between the characters blurred a bit into each other after their first kiss.

Another thing that I felt a bit cheated of was the feeling of a book that is set in the 1960’s. It is mentioned in the beginning of the story and if you pay close attention, Camilla or Laura sometimes mention that they were not allowed to show their affection in public too much. As I had totally forgotten that the story was set in the 60’s (I mean it was really never mentioned again) I first thought this was just because they were avoiding Mrs. D.’s wrath. When Camilla and Laura were separated during the Thanksgiving break, I first thought “Why don’t they just use their smartphones?”, till I realized that they couldn’t because they don’t have smartphones, because this book is set in the '60s after all. That’s it, that’s all the 60’s feeling you will get.
Reflecting on everything I did not like about this book, mainly the lack of character development and the almost caricaturesque portrayal of the characters, I am questioning whether this was intentionally used as a stylistic device.

So to sum it up, if you care more about prose than character development and you want to feel a little uncomfortable while reading, this is the book for you. As I did not like that, the book gets a 2,5 stars from me. The narrator of the audiobook did a great job, so if you think this book is for you, I can recommend listening to the audio version.

I was thrilled to be gifted an arc of An Education in Malice by ST Gibson. When I heard it was a Carmilla retelling I was even more excited as I loved a dowry of blood.

As someone who absolutely adores vampire stories, this one was not bad. It did fall in the middle of average for me, as there was nothing that really stood out to me as separate from everything else that I've read. I definitely prefer a dowry of blood to an education in malice. That's just personal taste.

Unfortunately I feel like the main characters fell a little flat for me. I would've really liked some background story on them in more detail than we got. I really think the story could've benefited from some flashback chapters going back to D Lafountaine's turning and eventual separation from her sire. For I had a hard time with her motivations and depth as a character as well.

The sapphic romance was well done, although I did get tired of the constant "instalove" obsession a bit. The sex scenes were very well done, not all cringe, and I felt like they were very realistic. Although I did have a slight hard time with how easily Laura excepted the whole vampire situation.

The story was easy to read, easy to follow, and did pull you along throughout the storyline in a very relatable way. There was nothing inherently "wrong" with the story it just did not fully capture my mind and attention.

I had absolutely zero issues with the narration of this book. The narrator did a fantastic job, differentiating that characters and adding emotion to the story. I would definitely read more books narrated by this narrator.

I still adore Gibson's writing, and will absolutely read anything else she puts out. I do recommend this book overall because of things that didn't necessarily work for me. Absolutely can work for a different person.

2.5 stars rounded up

Mixed feelings on this one. An Education in Malice is supposed to be dark academia and sapphic vampires, which I was very excited for. But it's the sort of book that had the potential to be amazing and instead is just fine.

It does deliver the sapphic vampires fairly well, though I found the dark academia element to be lackluster. The school is shallowly developed, mostly set dressing for the three main characters and unrealistic in how things actually function. The sense of atmosphere is much better in the latter half of the book, but the first part is pretty bland with a lot of telling rather than showing and infodumps. I pushed past being very bored and there was a bit of a payoff though not as much as wanted.

Conceptually, I like how this is taking a more classic look at vampires in terms of power, seduction, danger, and sensuality. But while it hints at these larger questions of power dynamics, desire, informed consent, the interplay of religion and sexuality etc. But it never really goes anywhere with them and the ending is neatly tied up in a bow which isn't what I want from a book like this. For me this was okay, but disappointing compared to the book might have been. That said, I will try the next book from Gibson because I loved Dowry of Blood and this had some really excellent scenes scattered through the narrative. The audio narration was a mixed bag. Laura's perspective does a southern accent pretty well, but Carmilla is supposed to be from Europe and that accent is patchy at best which was sometimes distracting. Otherwise, the narrator was fine. I received an audio review copy from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Loved this in book format so had to request and listen to the audiobook as well to see about purchasing it for our library! It was wonderful the narration was just as vivid and atmospheric as the writing was. This book/audiobook is a fantastic dark academia sapphic rivals to lovers story that I think so many people will enjoy. The audiobook in my opinion was even better then reading it since the imagery is so vivid that spoken aloud paints such a great picture. Will be purchasing for our library.

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook arc, for my honest opinion. An Education in Malice is a dark academia sapphic story, and I wanted to like the story more, but fell flat to me. At times I wasn’t sure what the plot point was.

★★★★★ -𝓐𝓾𝓭𝓲𝓸𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀

An Education in Malice by S. T. Gibson
༘Spoiler free ༘
🎙️⭐️5/5 *audiobook rating
📖⭐️ 3.93/5 *book rating
🌟 4.465/5 *combined rating
🌶️ the perfect level of spice
Romantasy, Dark Fantasy
🎙️ **Stephanie Cannon 5⭐️**
➳ 🩸 vampires
➳ 🤺 rivals to lovers
➳ 🗝️ dark academia
➳ 🦇 gothic
➳ 🪄 dark magic
➳ 🤫 deadly secrets
➳ 🍂 new england autumn
➳ 🎓 all-girls university setting

✨✨

🎧Narration Review🎧

An Education in Malice was brought to life with Stephanie Cannon’s melodic and dreamy narration. I found the narrator seamlessly flowed between characters for the dual pov, and nailed the voices for each character. Few narrators succeed at bringing a book to life in this way, but the team at Hachette Audio found a way to elevate An Education in Malice into a lush and delightful listening experience. Stephanie Cannon’s narration perfectly reflected the lovely prose S.T. Gibson wrote, and i’d say this pairing is a match made in heaven. I loved reading this novel, but this audiobook was the cherry on top. I appreciated the choice not to use any special sound effects, as those can often make me feel distracted or drawn out from the story itself. The audiobook flowed smoothly, whilst managing to get me on the edge of my seat, and unable to stop listening. Stellar performance, for a lovely novel.

🧳🖋️🍂

Stephanie Cannon is a new must-listen narrator to me. Her voice and the recording/production quality made it possible to listen to this audiobook at any speed seamlessly.

**Fantasy Scoring**
Worldbuilding ➷ ✅ 4/5
Foreshadowing ➷ ✅ 3.75/5
Plot ➷ ✅ 4/5
Relationships ➷ ✅ 4/5

Thank you to the S. T. Gibson, Hachette Audio, Redhook, Orbit and NetGalley for the opportunity to provide my honest opinion on the ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed A Dowry of Blood but maybe preferred An Education in Malice… Following the dark academia / Vampire themes. This book quickly drew me in and didn’t let go until it was finished. For fans of Silvia Morena Garcia and Olivie Blake, I loved this book!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an audio arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

DNF @10%

This is not the book for me and I knew it instantly… I didn’t look into the trigger warnings and honestly didn’t know what this was about. Luckily at the very beginning of the audiobook there was a content warning. I still gave it a little bit of time just to make sure this wouldn’t be for me. From what I did hear of the audiobook I really enjoyed the accents and the narrator did a good job. This was just a personal preference that made me decide to DNF.

✨ About the Book ✨

Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua's College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.

On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.

But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and dark magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.

Author: S.T. Gibson
Release Date: Expected publication February 13, 2024
Genre: Gothic horror, Dark academia, vampires
Pages: 352 pages, Hardcover
Star Rating:


📚 How I See it 📚

Review pending.

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Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own thoughts

An absolutely stunning sapphic modern retelling of Carmilla. It is extremely well-written exploring complex relationships full of emotion and desire. It is very atmospheric and character driven with beautiful poetic prose. I love the dark, gothic New England setting. I would have liked to see more character development. I listened to this on audio and thought the narrator, Stephanie Cannon, was just spectacular. All the characters had such distinct voices and different accents. Her narration is lyrical and full of emotion that really sets the tone.