thank you netgalley & hachetteaudio for providing me with an arc!

dnf at 55% i had such high expectations for this one considering i LOVED a dowry of blood but unfortunately this fell flat for me. i found the characters were one dimensional & the plot was very stale and repetitive. i didn’t find myself caring about any aspect of the book. however, the gothic and dark atmosphere was done well and i did fly through the first 15% of the book!

2 stars

I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it was a complete miss for me, with a DNF at about the 50% mark.

I think the author did an excellent job of capturing the atmosphere of academia in the 1960s with the prose, characters, and dialogue; unfortunately, I'm not a fan of 60s culture or settings (unknown to me based on the synopsis I'd originally read). I also never clicked with either Laura or Carmilla, finding the latter pretentious and the former bland. I spent most of my time wondering where the angst was for Laura, who is unabashedly attracted to women. For Carmilla, it made sense that she was so comfortable in her sexuality based on her personality. And while there were instances of Laura worrying what others would think, I never got the sense that her sexuality was a real issue for her, in a religious college, in 1968.

(As an aside, I saw promotional art for the book before reading, and would've had no idea that Laura is a plus sized main character based on reading.)

As to the audiobook, which I listened to in tandem with reading the e-ARC, I had a few issues with the narration - namely that the Mississippi accent was not Mississippian, (and that that is NOT how you pronounce "cicada"). I was frequently taken out of the story focusing on the vague twang of Laura's POV, which I thought would've been really great if I was convinced it was authentic. As a positive, I did appreciate that I could differentiate between each character easily, and that emotion was put into all the characters.

The biggest sin of this book for me, though, was that I was just so incredibly bored while reading. I waited for anything to really happen, and then when something finally did, I felt nothing. I wasn't interested, I didn't care what was happening to any of the characters, and I asked myself "If I stopped right here, would it bother me that I never finished this book?" And I realized the answer was no.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing free access to ARCs of both the ebook and audiobook in exchange for my honest review

I thought this book was fine - nothing stood out to me though. The characters felt flat and lacked growth. I was also confused about the chemistry between Laura and Camilla. They were enemies and randomly (with very little gradual chemistry) became ride or die lovers. Interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette audio for an advanced copy of An Education in Malice by S. T. Gibson, in exchange for an honest review.

An Education in Malice is something of a related story to Gibson's A Dowry of Blood, though the setting and characters are new. We follow two poetry students, Laura and Carmilla, at a prestigious women's college in 1968. Carmilla almost immediately takes a dislike to Laura, whom she sees as a threat to her position as favorite of their poetry professor, the mysterious and mesmerizing Miss De Lafontaine. Laura becomes obsessed with Carmilla, secretly featuring the older girl in her dark, lustful poetry -- not that she shares these poems with anyone at first.

Gibson has once again produced a beautifully written and darkly sensual narrative about the imbalances of power in relationships, and graciously includes a list of content warnings at the beginning of the book. Stephanie Cannon's narration is superb, capturing the youthful innocence hiding darker proclivities of Laura, and the elegance and sophistication hiding desperate need of Carmilla. In print or audio, this was an excellent book.

What a beautiful, intellectual, and gripping book! S.T. Gibson's writing is beautifully lyrical and depicted in such a vivid way by the narrator!

I can't say I am typically a Dark Academia but this was an incredible place to start. The writing wasn't too complex where I felt like I was getting caught up in world-building but it was so poetic that you feel a part of the academic atmosphere that the book takes place in.

The relationships in this book are filled with yearning and desire with the added complexity of a forbidden romance.

Overall I loved this story, and the audiobook made it all the more enjoyable!

*this review will also be available on my instagram www.instagram.com/tinsleysbooks/

Wow, this audiobook was absolutely amazing! It exceeded my expectations! It was so enthralling and easy to follow along to

Honestly, the narration for this book was a delight! I was a bit obsessed with the accent used for Carmilla's chapters, and every voice was so distinct and charming--this was one of my favorite audiobooks.

I'm afraid I had different expectation of this book going in, especially having loved A DOWRY OF BLOOD. I wasn't comfortable with the slight...redemptive (?) arc the abuser got in the end of this story. (Maybe redemption arc isn't the right phrasing....maybe sympathy arc is better.) Honestly, I didn't care about any of the professors past, and how her past abuse was a reflection of how she was abusing Carmilla--I just wanted her to be punished, as I would want any abuser in that sitution. I wasn't satisfied by how the plot handed her leaving. But this isn't a need for edit per se, and I enjoyed many other aspects of the novel--Saint always delivers on vibes.

Clearly, I have many complicated feelings around this book. I give this read a solid three: four starts for the first half, three for the middle, and one star for the end.

I did really enjoy this book, though it did move a bit fast for me. I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if it was a bit longer and took more time to sell me on the main characters. But overall I did like the storyline and world building, even if it could’ve used more explaining.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley, Orbit Books, and Hachette audio for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Oh my gosh where to begin with this one! Dark academia, vampires, and enemies to lovers all in one book. I could not hit request fast enough and I was so excited to get approved for this book! I flew through this book. Like read it in one day and would have probably read in one sitting if I didn’t have a toddler that needed me so much 😂. The storytelling of this book was beautiful and so immersive. I felt like I was on campus with the characters. The dual POV also had me so intertwined in their lives and getting to know both of the characters separately and together.

I really enjoyed the audiobook. I thought the narrators did a good job keeping the listeners engaged and she portrayed the character so well! Overall, one that I would highly recommend if you are looking for a wonderful, captivating, fantasy read!

Thank you to NetGally and Hachette audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really didn't know what to expect going into this book, but I absolutely love anything gothic. We have Laura, who is essentially at this school on a scholarship, and Carmilla, a girl from Austria who has come to study. Both are vying for the attention from Ms. De Lafontaine. Their rivalry devolves into lust and a dark secret is revealed from Ms. D.

Spoilers ahead!

This was my first sapphic book, and I'm not sure what I expected but lesbian vampires was not it. I did enjoy this a lot, it did get fairly gory, with lies and deception abound. School romance is still not for me. The narrator did a wonderful job, I thought it was two separate people doing the different point of views. She switched effortlessly between a southern accent and an Austrian accent.

3.75/5

I'm on a vampire roll so I was really glad to be able to get my hands on this title - even though "A Dowry of Blood" by the same author is still on my to-be-read list. I generally enjoyed my time with this book but I was never truly sucked into the story (pun intended). Halfway through, I had to put it down for more than a week when I was dealing with some obligations – and I never truly felt the pull of missing out on it during that time. Which is a shame because I've just recently read another vampire book which I literally couldn't put down. But mostly because of that I couldn't rate it higher, "An Education in Malice" wasn't a bad or boring read but it missed something for me.

This novel revolves around the emotional journey of two students, Laura and Carmilla, the way they immediately fall into each other's orbit but both need their time and drastic circumstances to understand what kind of relationship is blooming between them – rivalry, envy, or desire? Add into the mix their mysterious poetry professor who has a peculiar relationship with both of her students. The professor drags the two young women into a completely new world they weren't aware existed right next to the regular lives they've known up until now. We follow the main characters as they navigate the interpersonal rollercoasters mixed in with fundamental changes to their worldviews. The book offers dual point of view, of both Laura and Carmilla, and I enjoyed the dynamic of their intertwining insights. The thing I found missing in it all may have been some kind of overarching plot that paralleled the characters' arcs because anything else that happens outside of these three women's relations seemed of little consequence. I don't intend to spoil anything but I have to briefly mention the ending, I think the open nature of it may not be beloved by all readers but I think it was fitting the overall feel of that conclusion and personally I liked it.

I haven't read much dark academia so far, even though the idea of it speaks to me very much, since from what I've heard these novels often become borderline ridiculous with the world building of the academia setting; and I know that would throw me off right away. In "An Education in Malice" that setting is well-crafted and believable. This novel is definitely meant for adult readers but the smut wasn't overwhelming. The main focus is on the emotional journeys but the sex scenes that were in there were well-written and didn't feel forced, they added to the dynamics of the characters involved.

I really enjoyed the production of the audiobook itself. The voice narrator was enjoyable, she expressed the characters' emotions well, and her accent added flavour to the story.

Overall, I think "An Education in Malice" is an engaging piece of sapphic romance and a good vampire story, but readers should definitely expect focus on character studies and emotional struggles, finding the depths of love and the borders of obsession, rather than captivating action and deep plot.

This is amazing, it was well written and the characters were so well done! This was so fun to read and such a good retelling. It stands well on its own as well

I was really excited to read this book but it did fall a little flat for me. I enjoyed the overall story but much of it felt it could have used more background or explanation for why characters did what they did. I also found the narration to be more tell than show. I prefer books that allow the words to show me the story as it unfolds rather than narrating every aspect of it.
All in all, a good read. I did enjoy it.

I will be totally honest- I struggled a lot with this book. I wanted to love it, but I simply couldn't make myself care. It felt like the author was trying far too hard to be deep and it came across as pretentious. Just because the characters like poetry and drink absinth doesn't make it "dark academia". I also was not a fan of the narrator.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc

While I was reading this I kept thinking why?? I was never understood why characters did what they did. Why was Carmilla obsessed with De Lafontaine, why did De Lafontaine choose Laura as a pupil, what did Laura and Carmilla see in each other, why was Laura drawn to this whole situation? We are given explanations for some but I was never very convinced, it was very tell and no show.

Also I find that the description of this book paints a different picture than what it is. The blurb makes to sound very atlas six and the whole knowledge is power thing but there was not a lot of academics in this dark academia. Sure there are some poetry quotes sprinkled throughout but the description states “how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge” but what knowledge?? It did not seem like a ruthless pursuit for knowledge at all, just a couple regular students obsessed with their mysterious professor.

The romance was done fine, again I wasnt very convinced of their attraction. But there was a bit of rivals to lovers fun in there and some spicy scenes if you’re into that.

The supernatural world that the author created was pretty interesting too, I wish we were able to learn more about that.

Overall a bit of a disappointment for me.

#netgalley

An highly enjoyable read! An Education in Malice gives us back vampires, but rather tame vampires who are all about sensuality and higher education.

(+) The romance between Carmilla and Luisa - it is such a good rivals to lovers romance. They had me on the edge of my seat, gasping for more. Even better than the build up was when they finally got together, and Carmilla submitted to their dark desires. I do wish the relationship had been a bit deeper, I wish they spoke frankly about their situation instead of dancing around the circumstances. But it was still highly enjoyable.

(+) THE VAMPIRES. Very Interview with a Vampire, romantic figures of darkness. We get to see a limited variety of the creatures of the night, with little mythology thrown in. I swear this book needed more pages to further SINK into the story, characters, and lore.

(-) Superficial look at the student/teacher relationship and power dynamics. While I do appreciate the new light the author sheds into the “student/professor” taboo, I do feel like we were slightly robbed of a direct interaction between Carmilla and Mrs. D. The teacher feels human, in her desires and needs, however she is also untouchable. Nobody pins anything on her, even though the entire thing is essentially her fault. She has to hold HERSELF accountable, as her students cannot (maybe due to their age and worship, which says a lot). Like I appreciated the commentary, but I also wanted a win for Carmilla.

(+) The narrator for this one was on point. I could easily tell between the two POVs (Luisa and Carmilla) as she captured the nuances of each character quite well (even when she did the dialogue for Mrs. D).

Overall? Quite good! I guess I just wanted more in some instances, but the book had one job to do and it did it well.

absolutely loved this book. the tension was fantastic, the characters were amazing. i’ve read carmilla a lot and i was so happy to hear about this coming out and it did not let me down. this author is really something special!

This was such a good time and offered all of the moody vibes. S. T. Gibson transports us to 1960s New England for a gothic, dark academia retelling of Carmilla. An Education in Malice had so many things that jumped out to me and I couldn’t wait to read it. An atmospheric, boarding school setting? Check. Rival poetry students who happen to be obsessed with one another? Mmhmm. Sapphic vampires.? Seriously, say less.

The audiobook narrator did a fantastic job with An Education in Malice. They easily transitioned from character to character and used a variety of voices to depict characters of different age and accent. I never got lost in the story and was easily able to keep track of whose POV we were following. They really brought S. T. Gibson’s characters to life.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for a review copy.

Loved this audiobook! very unique plot and characters. Tons of twists and turns while maintaining the dark academia theme.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!

An Education in Malice is a captivating dark academia tale set in the ancient Saint Perpetua’s College. Laura Sheridan, a new student, engages in an intense rivalry with the enigmatic Carmilla. Their competition escalates as they both attract the attention of their poetry professor, De Lafontaine. Amidst secrets, dark magic, and forbidden desire, the novel weaves a hauntingly atmospheric narrative. S.T. Gibson’s storytelling shines in this must-read for fans of gothic romance and vampires.

This is a must read for fans of a Dowry of Blood and you may even meet a few familiar faces.
The story is inspired by the classic Carmilla. However, this sapphic retelling it is original enough that I was engaged the whole time and did not expect everything that was coming.

I highly recommend this for everyone, but most especially for fans of dark academia and sapphic drama.

The narrator was engaging and clear and the audio was a very enjoyable way of listening to this as it really added to the atmosphere and drama of the plot.