*I received an audiobook ARC via Netgalley, thank you very much*

My rating is not entirely about the audiobook because I could not finish it due to Netgalley just deleting the audiobook from the Netgalley Shelf app without any warning. This is something that should really be changed...for books I get dates but not for audiobooks? Weird.

Anyhow, this is a 60s lesbian, dark academia loose "Carmilla" retelling with quite the kinky, explicit content. While I found all the main characters to be pretty unconvincing and shallow, their animosity forced and boring. The enigmatic and beautiful teacher too, was no surprise. But the Gothic-ness of it all made it somewhat enjoyable because it used all the tropes and was so over the top, it was hilarious in parts.

As I could not finish the story, I cannot say anything about it. I'm not buying the audiobook now to finish the last 3 hours just because Netgalley didn't give me any warning. Sorry...

I loved A Dowry of Blood but unfortunately this book did not work as well for me. I found the writing a bit more young adult / new adult than I was expecting. The characters read very young, naive and without much agency. I think this hinders the plot as well because the characters do not do anything until a forced conclusion. I’m okay with a book not being very plot driven but then well rounded deep characters are needed.

Thank you Hachette Audio for providing me with a complementary audiobook in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I enjoyed AN EDUCATION IN MALICE but in my opinion, it does not hold a candle to the masterpiece that was Gibson’s A DOWRY OF BLOOD. AEIM is a dark academic reimagining of CARMILLA that tackles themes of uneven power dynamics and obsession in romantic relationships.

I finished this book in a day so I’m happy to say this story was addictive and an easy listen to via audiobook. Gibson is known for rich and floral prose and while there were some beautifully written moments that made me gasp aloud, I felt like writing in this book was missing the WOW factor that A DOWRY OF BLOOD had. The writing felt surface level to me. Maybe that was a purposeful choice but personally I wanted more from this book.

I liked the pacing of this book. Gibson was able to jump from scene to scene in a flawless manner. It’s one of the reasons I was able to finish this book in one day! But again, I wanted more. I wished this book was longer. I wanted to spend more time reading about the transition of Laura and Carmilla going from rivals to lovers. I wanted a slower burn of the toxic relationship the girls had with Professor De LaFontaine.

The audiobook narrator, Stephanie Cannon did a great performance. She narrates both Laura’s and Carmilla’s perspectives. I liked how both narrations of both POVs were distinct and rich in characterization.

Overall, I liked this but upon further reflection I wanted more out of this. 3.5/5

I started this book, and then tried again, but after getting through 80% of it, I let it go.

The idea itself was something that I thought would be right up my alley. Dark academia, forbidden romance, vampires, but I just couldn't get into it. None of the characters were relatable, and all of them were unlikable. I just couldn't connect, which is everything for me. There is no denying that Gibson has strong writing and descriptive skills, I just couldn't get past the people I was reading about.

This was not for me, I DNF this one, and I'm okay with it!

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love the dual POV of Carmilla and Laura, two exceptionally talented writers attending an all-girls college under the tutelage of their professor, Miss De Lafontaine. But all is not as it seems at St. Perpetua's and Miss D has some dark secrets. An enemies to lovers story, with deadly creatures hiding in plain sight. I thought the tensions between our two lovers was well done. This novel would fall under the NewAdult category a bit more than YA, I think and there are trigger warnings that came with this novel.

I loved the cover and the title was an immediate "add to tbr". The narration was really good, I think the narrator did a great job distinguishing between Carmilla and Laura's voices. The story had me on the edge of my seat, for about half the story. I wanted a smidge more horror, but overall I found the story to suck me in and hold me emotionally hostage until the very end.

🩶

🌟 A R C R E V I E W 🌟
🩸 An Education in Malice by @S.T. Gibson 🩸

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

🌟 You may like this book if you're into:

🔺Beautiful, poetic writing
🔺Poetry
🔺Vampires
🔺Academic rivals to lovers
🔺Mystery
🔺Sapphic romance
🔺Age gap and toxic relationships

It's a tale revolving around two academic rivals, Carmilla and Laura, and their somewhat toxic ties with their professor, De Lafontaine.

This book has immense potential to be extraordinary, but for me, it missed the mark. I had high hopes and really wanted to love it, but it fell flat. Perhaps if I had read "Carmilla" and "A Dowry of Blood," I waould have appreciated it more? I'm not entirely sure. It could just be me, but I didn't feel a strong connection with the characters, and the story felt monotonous. The chemistry between the characters didn't resonate with me, and there were moments where I found myself annoyed, particularly with Lafontaine.

The audiobook narration was skillfully executed, featuring distinct accents that facilitated easy comprehension and engagement for the listeners.

I would still recommend this as an introduction to the world of dark academia, particularly for those who are intrigued by themes of age gap or toxic relationships. While it didn't quite hit the mark for me personally, I believe others might still find enjoyment in it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, Orbit and S.T. Gibson for the ALC + physical copy in exchange for an honest review.

#bookreview #darkacademia #academicrivals #vampires #blood #arcread #netgalley #orbit #sapphicromance #fantasyromance #fantasy #fiction #lgbtq #romance #standalone

I love a good vampire book, but lately have found most of them to be disappointing or underwhelming. I LOVED this book, though. The writing is great and the characters were well developed. This is the first book I've read by S.T. Gibson, but Dowry of Blood has been on my TBR for a long time. Definitely bumping that one up on the list and recommending An Education in Malice to everyone I know.

Thank you to NetGalley and S.T. Gibson for this audioarc.

First I would like to say that the narrator, Stephanie Cannon, did an excellent job. I love the way she not only had distinct character voices for dialogue but also changed up the inner monologue voices depending on whether Laura or Carmila was narrating. This is one of my favorite audiobook performances to date.

A sapphic, vampire, dark academia, what's not to love? I was intrigued from the start. Horrified and yet drawn by the teacher-student dynamics (check the trigger warnings at the start of the book!). The story was engaging and well-paced. The chemistry between Laura and Carmila was perfect and each brought unique perspectives and well defined character to the story.

So why three stars and not four?
1. They're poetry students and apparently very talented, and yet we saw very little of their work in the book. This seemed like a good opportunity to show not tell.
2. De Lafontaine's arc was too neat and too tidy, leaving me feeling unsatisfied at the end.
3. I would have liked more from Laura's friendships with other students, especially at the beginning so that we could really see a change as her desire for Carmila grew.

Overall, this was a rewarding read and I recommend it to anyone looking for more than just romance in their gothic fiction.

4/5 stars.

I enjoyed this way more than Gibson’s A Dowry in Blood. While that book was told by a singular figure, An Education in Malice follows your more traditional narrative with two alternating points of view. You do not need to have ready A Dowry of Blood before this one, but there are some connections. I listened to the audiobook and throughly enjoyed the narrator and their voices for each character. The book is a mix of dark academia and the supernatural and extremely engaging.

**4.5**

I loved A Dowry Of Blood, so I was so excited for this book, and it did not disappoint. Didn't love this one quite as much but still a beautifully written joy to read. This book has everything i live in: a gothic atmosphere, sapphic romance, vampires, and some very spicy spice.

The audio book was well read and easy to follow and added to the atmosphere of the story for me. Would recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley, Little Brown Book Group. Hathette Audio and S.T Gibson for an advance copy of this book and audio book in exchange for an honest review

This book surprised me in the best of ways. The narrator added so much character to S.T.Gibson's lyrical prose, specially giving differentiating voices to the characters.

The intontantion given, led to the intensity of the story being much better represented.

Laura is a bit out of her element at Saint Perpetua’s College, and when she meets Camilla her life is forever changed. Between both of them, Professor De Lafontaine will guide the young poets through the college life but also a much darker life as well. A sensual paranormal fantasy, this dark read takes you through the highs and lows of love and blood.
While this read wasn’t exactly my personal cup of tea, it was by no means bad. It was well-written and formed. The plot, while a bit plodding, was able to guide you through the lives of these young girls and feel all they felt. The naivety of the girls almost guides the story and the outcome is exactly eh.at you would think. The narrator was new to me and was pretty good. The slight Austrian accent of Camilla seemed to go in and out a bit. I will probably read more of Gibson. It’s a 3.5 stars for me.

a student professor gothic dark academia romance carmella retelling… that’s a mouthful. this was a very fun and gripping read! i enjoyed the audiobook experience and flew through the read so fast!! i don’t read many books like this do i was skeptical but it lived up to the hype!!

I could not put this down. I loved the sapphic representation and the palpable emotional complications of love, friendships, and mentorship. I had no idea that this was a retelling unfortunately.

I'm not sure this book knows what it wants to be. It starts out a normal awkward girl in new school meets mean girl story. Morphs into love triangle with professor. Mix in some vampire story. Just about at the end, however, we get thrown in the "sire" and her crimes, which to me throws the whole thing off. They just let murders happen? I also had no idea WHEN this story was happening until the very end. Very odd.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for ARC for review.

I loved the narrator, Stephanie Cannon. She was able to switch between accents flawlessly to indicate the different characters and really made this book a great listening experience.

As for the actual story, that was good too! It was set in the 1960s at an all-girls' college in New England. While it is a vampire story, it's more about interpersonal relationships. It's about two students who go from rivals to lovers and each of their relationships with an idolized teacher. I enjoyed the non-monogamous relationships and the complexity it brought to the story.

If you're looking for a book heavy in vampire lore, this one isn't going to be for you, but if you want a complex sapphic love triangle with a power dynamic, read (or better yet, listen to) An Education in Malice.

3.75⭐ rounded up to 4. I found this book and the voice actor captivating, but felt like it didn’t quite live up to its full potential, especially when it comes to character development and consistency.

❤️ Stunning prose and poetry
❤️ Lush Gothic atmosphere with dark academia vibes
❤️ Tension and forbidden romances
❌ Hard-to-like characters
❌ Lack of character consistency
❌ Predictable ending

Plot:
Laura is a timid, religious small-town girl who secretly enjoys erotic literature. Carmilla is a confident and enigmatic European aspiring poet. They meet during a poetry seminar and soon become rivals, competing for the attention and favour of their beautiful and demanding professor, De Lafontaine. All three women have their own dark obsessions, and Laura will soon discover that Carmilla and De Lafontaine are not only tangled up in a toxic, forbidden relationship, but also that they keep dangerous secrets.

Despite this book feeling atmosphere- and aesthetic-driven, the plot was still riveting. There’s a lot of tension, forbidden romance, obsession, love and betrayal, danger, slightly shocking spice, a secret society, and more. I was a little disappointed by how predictable the ending was, however.

Characters:
There isn’t a single character that I could say I liked or felt I could relate to. I didn’t hate them, but I simply couldn’t connect. I also thought that Laura was the only consistent character, whereas Carmilla and De Lafontaine’s characters went through drastic and dubious changes mid-story. I would have liked to see more development and consistency, which would probably have made the rivals-to-lovers trope a little smoother and more believable.

Writing:
This novel was my introduction to Gibson’s writing, and I was impressed. Her prose is elegant and evocative, with smooth dialogues and vivid descriptions. I was never a fan of anything that includes blood drinking, but the writing made it seem so sensual it was almost enticing.

Also, I didn’t find any typos, and that made me happy. In this “fast literature” era, it’s not often that we come across novels when literary rigour was applied. *sighs with relief*

To conclude, here’s another quote I absolutely loved:

“She looked, I realized a little breathlessly, like a holy icon cast in gold. I wanted to fall at her feet and worship her. I wanted to desecrate her in every filthy manner I could imagine. I wanted all of her, in every way all at once.”

2x narration was an easy listening experience. Nice job switching between American and Austrian accents, and even a little French when needed.

Set in the 1960s at an all girls school, Laura is an incoming freshman hoping to find friends and make her mark with her poetry. Soon, she's ingrained with her literature professor and another, older student--even as she continues to try to build relationships with other girls closer to her in age.

The dark academia element touted in the story is lost; the school and the education become forgotten elements. There is folklore around vampires, but it's not well defined and more glossed over rather than adding any significance to the plot.

Instead, the main focus is on the power dynamics in the relationships (or at least in the love triangles) that seems odd to have been allowed to occur. The sexual elements feel messy and out of place, lacking genuine emotion built on the previous hundreds of pages of plot. Instead, it leaves all the characters as vapid and boring.

Overall: 2 stars (It was just fine)

I'll tell my students about: LGBTQIA+, language, alcohol, drugs, violence/gore/death, sex, supernatural, power imbalance/relationships

**Thank you to NetGalley & Hachette Audio, Redhook for the free ALC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

Book review:

I have seen claims made that this novel is a dark academic reimagining of Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, this was partly what made me interested in reading this book - that and I'm a sucker for both dark academia and vampire stories. However, if similarly to me, that is what appeals to you about this book, you will be disappointed. This is only a retelling/reimagining/reworking in the sense that the characters share names from Le Fanu's novella and some of them are vampires and some of the female characters engage in romantic relationships with women. That is it. The dynamics are entirely different, the themes are generally rather different and the narrative direction is very different. This left me feeling a little frustrated as it felt like a needless cash grab by using the iconic novella's characters to get bums in seats rather than to meaningfully engage with the concepts at play.

An Education in Malice follows Laura as she starts her university career at Saint Perpetua’s College, all so she can attend Professor De Lafontaine's writing class. Professor De Lafontaine is enigmatic and intelligent and demands a lot from her students, especially her favourite pupil, Carmilla. While initially rivals, Laura and Carmilla are drawn to each other while also competing for Professor De Lafontaine's praise, pushing each other creatively and emotionally, all while they are about to be sucked into the darker world Professor De Lafontaine really inhabits...

As with a significant amount of 'dark academia' novels currently, the actual academia unfortunately takes a back seat from about mid way point wherein the novel almost immediately changes. It feels almost like a section was removed despite no time passing. Suddenly the character;s priorities shift dramatically as do their relationships, going from allies at best to suddenly claiming they are in love with each other (this mostly applies to Carmilla's feelings for Laura which seem to spring up out of nowhere). The vampiric lore of the novel is virtually non-existent and the vampire setting seems mostly to be there to work as scenery for the novel's heavy use of kink. While I appreciate that the author was using vampirirc society as a metaphor for sexual deviance and outsiderness, I would have preferred it to just be vampires honestly.

As a result, the lore is very weak and the resolution of the big climax is laughably bad. The stakes are essentially non-existent when you realise how easy it is to defeat the 'big bad' for lack of a better term. The stakes were set up to lie in the relationships entangled with it, but not enough time was established to the relationship between De Lafontaine and Isis for it to have any real impact as we only see it through forced exposition from De Lafontaine which differed constantly. Despite there being a warning at the outset that there would be inappropriate relationships between a teacher and student, it seemed like Gibson was unwilling to actually embrace De Lafontaine as a antagonist or even that morally grey in the ending. De Lafontaine's priorities fluctuate madly throughout the novel, and while the character is hard to read by those around her, she also makes very little sense to the reader either.

I was disappointed with this book as I really wanted to like it, but it just felt messy and an excuse to include a lot of sex scenes. While there is a warning at the beginning, the blurb, narrative style and extra frills of the novel seem to want to pretend it has something deeper to say than to simply attempted to titillate the reader, but unfortunately, that is all it is.

The book's rating: Two stars

Audiobook review:

My favourite thing about this audiobook was how much the narrator clearly enjoyed saying the name De Lafontaine.

While I devoured audiobooks when I was younger, I fell out of the habit of listening to them in recent years so I was curious as to how I would handle listening to a book like this in this format. I was listening to it almost (or what felt like) constantly for three days and I really enjoyed the narrator. I will say some of the accents chosen were a little inconsistent but I did like the accent chosen for Carmilla.

Overall, I thought this was a good audiobook. It was certainly engaging even though overall I did not especially love the book itself.

Audiobook: 3.5 stars

This was a very well done story. It took me a bit to get into the story at first but once got into it, it was good. There were definitely time I thought the story was gonna go one way and it did not go as I thought. So the author did a good job telling this story. It was a fun read.