ST Gibson is honestly so elite, I’ll read anything she writes!

This is a dark, sultry, atmospheric read about sapphic rivals and vampires set in an academic setting. The writing is stunning, and the characters are wildly complex. There is mystery and intrigue, as well as some high stakes danger. And last but certainly not least, there is absolutely decadent romance!

I adored the setting, and the way it blended paranormal so effortlessly into a historical girls college setting. I loved both Laura and Carmilla, as well as all the ways they are completely different but complementary. Their rivalry is absolutely believable from the jump, and their tension and chemistry is just as vivid. The complicated professor relationship left me feeling confused and hurt at times, as I believe was absolutely intended based on the nature of the way this changes and is explored. It begged a lot of relevant questions about power dynamics, while also allowed me to escape into something completely beyond due to the paranormal aspects.

I would be remiss if I didn’t gush even harder about Gibson’s writing. It’s so lush, romantic and beautiful. I listened to this as an audiobook and knew immediately I’d need a physical copy to be able to easily revisit my favorite lines. In regards to the audio, I am BLOWN AWAY by the fact that this was just one narrator. All three of our main characters sound so distinct from one another, I would have thought they were each distinctly cast.

Thank you so very much to Orbit and NetGalley for the audio copy of this beautiful book. I can’t wait until it’s out in the world to be enjoyed by more ears!

This book did not realize this book was going to take a turn into the world of the nightwalkers. Maybe that was implied in the book's description but I thought it was going to be a different story than it turned out to be. Despite that, I thought it was entertaining.

3 / 3.5
I go back and forth with my rating for this book. While I enjoyed the writing style, I felt that the plot was good as some points and then really slow in others. I think the has a *bit* of connection to A Dowry of Blood but I wasn't a fan of the interaction with all the characters. Without giving anything away, I felt like this fell a bit short for me with the plot.

Lush and seductive, An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson captures the essence of dark academia sapphic rivals and toes the line of obsession in new exploratory manners. The narrator of this particular Audio Book did an astoundingly brilliant job at differentiating the characters, especially with the alternate POV's.

I will be buying a physical copy of this book once is released on February 15th.

At the opening of this second installment to the Blood Dowry series, Laura Sheridan arrives at St. Perpetuas College for women. On her very first day, she meets Carmella- and is immediately infatuated with her. Carmella becomes her rival, competing for the affection and approval of their enigmatic poetry professor, De Lafontaine. As the story progresses, we are drawn deeper and deeper into the fantasy world of this dark academy novel.

This is the kind of book that immediately draws you in! It has the dark academia vibes, vampires, sapphic romance (sadly toxic in this case, but alas), and all the sensuous appeal any of these would carry on their own. Slight cliffhanger ending leaves room for another installment!

Set in the same world as A Dowry of Blood but many years later, An Education in Malice strikes a slightly different, but familiar, tone to S.T. Gibson's other work. This is true dark academia though with elements I certainly didn't anticipate, despite having read A Dowry in Blood! I'm trying to balance how to tell you about this book without spoiling some aspects, as I really do think this is a book that's best to go into without preconceived notions.

I don't think you need to read A Dowry in Blood first but if you do, it does probably add to the experience of reading this book as there is a cameo from one of the characters.

I really liked the vibes from this book - it's definitely on the darker side but also had me rooting for the characters. It's also a super short read which is always nice! I think this book is a pretty good balance of character driven and plot driven - some people might find the pace slow but for an 8 hour audiobook, I found the pace satisfying!

I particularly LOVED the narration by Stephanie Cannon. I thought she did the subtle Austrian and Southern US accents for Carmilla and Laura really well - they were subtle but very distinct! I think a Austrian accent is really hard to pull off but I really thought it was done flawlessly. I really do recommend listening to this book in audio format if you can - I really think the narration added to the reading experience and the overall vibes.

Read this for
- Sapphic Rivals to Lovers
- Vampires
- Dark Academia

Thank you to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley, Hatchette Audio & S.T. Gibson for this audio-arc of An Education in Malice in exchange of my honest review.

Last year I devoured both Le Fanu's Carmilla and S.T. Gibson's previous work A Dowry of Blood - so needless to say I had high expectations of this going in.

This retelling follows Laura's arrival at Saint Perpetua's College, as she finds herself immediately falling into an academic rivalry with classmate Camilla, both of which are under the thrall of the capricious and mercurial poetry professor, Ms. De LaFontaine.

I enjoyed the alternating chapters between Laura and Camilla. The narrator did well to distinguish between the two voices, however I felt that as the novel darkened it became harder to tell. While this definitely is in line with the events of the story, it did make it a bit harder to follow.

Read for:
- Dark academia
- Sapphic vampires
- Academic rivals to lovers
- Dark romance & horror blend

The book starts with trigger warnings - which was definitely useful.

The romance and spice were liberally blended, and were also heavily tied to many triggers - however the exploration of trauma, grooming, and obsession was accurately toxic in the best possible way.

This is definitely not going to be everybody's cup of tea - but I devoured this in two days, and honestly wished I could have finished it earlier.

4.5 stars - rounded up to 5 stars

************************************

"I felt certain I could perish like this. Suffocated by her thighs and die perfectly happy."
- An Education in Malice.

Probably my favorite read of the year. The voice actress did such a lovely job THOUGH I do think some of the side characters lacked an originality to their tone. The pastor sounded a lot like Ms. D to me. I was hooked however the entire time, and I liked the ambiguity we got in the ending. I had never read the story it was based on but I found myself really digging Laura and Carmilla and I liked the growth within Ms. D.

This was an odd read but it was pretty interesting. I jumped on this one when I knew it was set in Massachusetts because I love books set in places near me. Plus Massachusetts is a great setting for dark academia. There was spice, vampires, and murders. It was dark but it felt a little anticlimactic for me. I am always happy to read a book with LGBTQ representation. I will say the inappropriate relationship between student and teacher was a bit off putting for me so be wary of that trigger warning. I did really enjoy the narrator in this one though. Her voice was so soothing and kept my attention!

Overall this was an enjoyable audiobook. The narrators did a great job embodying the characters and gave life to the story. I wish the pacing of the story was a bit faster in some parts. I think this had potential to be better than it was, but it is a good read as is.

Sapphic academic rivals? Count me in!
The prose is gorgeous and immersive, the characterisation is great, and I'm SO happy that the predatory student-professor relationship is presented accordingly. The dark academia vibes were immaculate. I listened to it in one sitting (the audiobook performance was AMAZING), and I absolutely loved it. It also surprised me by being dual POV and that was such a treat, both character voices were so distinct from each other and you can tell the author put a lot of effort into building their characters skillfully. This was, above all, a story about the characters, who they are, and what drives them. If you love character-driven stories then you're in luck!

The only minor gripe I have is with De Lafontaine, I feel like there was a lot more about her character that was left to unpack and the story was geared a little too favourably towards her, but I also understand the generational trauma and the idea of perpetrating what was once done to you onto others. Just wish there was a little more explanation and denouncement of that!

Also, I DID happen to forget that it was tagged as a vampire story so that was a fun little shock for me, but a welcome one to be sure! Vampires are SO back.

This is the first book of S. T. Gibson that I read, and it was on my radar as I saw it in multiple 'anticipated releases' videos.
I requested and was granted an ARC of the audiobook.
I, on purpose, did not look up even the synopsis of the book, to be able to enjoy it without expectations, and I was not disappointed.
I particularly enjoyed how the dinamics that we are used to and perhaps considered cliches, are switched here in a very fun and interesting way. I loved how immersed I became in the scenes and settings. The writing was very well acted by the narrator, who represented every character perfectly.
The only negative thing about this book is that I wish it was longer, I can already tell revisiting it in the future, perhaps in print, to live the story again.

First, the narrator for this audiobook was excellent! She did a great job giving a unique voice to each of the characters and it was easy to listen and know who was speaking throughout the story. I really appreciate this as with some narrators, the characters all sound a like and conversations get muddy at best when trying to puzzle out who is speaking when.
The atmosphere surrounding the story was a whole vibe! This book did such a great job capturing a broody, gothic setting and I loved it. The characters though were all pretty flat with no one in particular being a standout. I was really excited to get an ARC of this book as this was one of my top releases I was excited to dive into! Unfortunately, the story just felt very slow with the plot not really advancing and I found myself getting bored at times.
Given the narration and the overall vibes of this book though, I'd still recommend.

3.75/5 stars

This book has been so hyped, so I was excited to read it. I've barely dipped my toes into the themes of vampires and was happy to delve deeper into it all. However, I had a hard time understanding the plot or purpose of this book. What was the point? Was it just a narrative on the ugliness of certain types of love and the shadow of death that looms over us all (some more than others if you have to sustain yourself with life)? The point of the narrative just missed the mark for me.
Gibson's writing style is beautiful, however, and this book is filled with prose that flows and makes the reader think about the larger themes of love and death. I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook and that was honestly what kept me engaged. The narrator, Stephanie Cannon, was phenomenal. Every character had a unique inflection and I never had an issue sorting out who was speaking each chapter. If it weren't for the narrator and the beautiful prose of this book, I may not have finished it (and I did like the ending, so I'm happy I finished it).

Thank you as always to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and S.T. Gibson for giving me the opportunity to listen to the advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

This was my introduction to S. T. Gibson, and I thought the writing was absolutely beautiful.

However, despite the allure of the writing style, the narrative left me feeling disconnected as the plot seemed to lack momentum. Told through the dual perspectives of Laura and Carmilla, both characters failed to resonate with me. Initially drawn in by their rivalry, I found the transition to love hastily done.

I really enjoyed the narrator and their skill in distinguishing the voices of each character, that definitely enhanced the reading experience.

While "An Education in Malice" may not have been the right fit for me, I recognize its potential to resonate with other readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook for my advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest review.

Content of book - 3.75/5

Audiobook - Narrated by Stephanie Cannon

Review of audiobook - 4.5 stars

Stephanie’s narration of An education in Malice was captivating. She did a good job in support the image of each character with her vocal changes.

Content of books:

Vampires • LGBTQ+ • Fantasy • Dark Academia • Love triangles • rivals to lovers • slow burn •

Content warnings: inappropriate student teacher relationships and abusive relationships.

It is so refreshing to read a fantasy that is not a female and male love story. Theres a lot of lesbian spice in this book and I am so here for it.

I really enjoyed the novel and plot line, I just wish there had been more suspense throughout.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the arc to this wonderful book.

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

I recently read this author's other work and I was excited when this novel got announced since it's set in the same world. An Education in Malice follows Laura and her enigmatic classmate Carmilla. Both girls develop an obsession for one another and after one fateful night become entangled in a relationship. This novel had the type of vibe i enjoy in dark academia and romance. I loved Laura and Carmilla's relationship and loyalty to one another it made it easy to root for them. The villain of this story could have been a bit better especially since the conflict felt like it dragged on for a bit too long. However, this was still an enjoyable read and I recommend the audiobook if you decide to pick it up!

An Education of Malice opened my world to the story of Camilla and i had no idea this was a retelling of a known character.
All i needed to see was dark academia and was just bonus of sapphic vampires.

I had checked out the page count before started and even though on the shorter side, the story is told so well and a wonderful arc for our two main girls Laura and Carmilla. The setting in Massachusetts is fin and adds to the spookiness vibes.

I will definitely be reading more by S.T. Gibson.

Thank you to Hachette Audio , Net Galley and S.T. Gibson for this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I’ll save my full review of the book for the ebook but this narrator was AMAZING. One of, if not the best, narrators I’ve ever had for an audiobook. The emotion, accents, the DELIVERY. I could not get enough, I will be looking for this narrator in the future!

I loved a dowry of blood by St . Gibson but an education in malice was a miss for me . It is very trope heavy and their are far too many reminders of this being a retelling for my liking .
Thank you netgalley for the eARc.