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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think this simply wasn't my kind of read. This is heavy on the romance and sensual tension and light on the plot. Nothing wrong with that, just not what I expected. I did appreciate the appearance of a familiar character though and was hoping for others after.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
After adoring A Dowry of Blood, I wanted to love this book so much but I was utterly disappointed. The writing, just perfect Gibson standards, is stunning. But this book was missing the feary passion and the dark obsession I was promised. As soon as it started heading in that direction, the author pulled the brakes and I was left on my hunger. An Education in Malic barely scratched the surface of its full potential. There was a point in the beginning of the second half where I was obsessed with what was happening and I thought to myself if it keeps going this way, it would save the whole book. But alas. That only accounted for maybe 20% of the book. The rest of it was boring, repetitive and stayed surface level the whole time.
I finished this book in two days, but not for the reasons you might think.
It's quite an easy read. The prose is straightforward, and the details capture the setting well. But it felt like the reading level of fanfic: accessible but not difficult to parse through. It really did feel like someone's fanfic take of the ... story.
The relationship between Carmilla and De Lafontaine is probably the most interesting part of this story because of the way it starts and the way it ends. It's a really complicated and toxic relationship that reminds me of Susan Choi's Trust Excercise, but not as well-written.
Gibson depicts Laura as a virgin and as a polite Southern girl from Mississippi who yearns for more erotic vices, and Carmilla as a haughty senior of De Lafontaine, but she actually is a brat that likes being held down at times. I liked the idea of turning their characters on their head during moments of passion. At least made those erotic moments more entertaining to read.
Overall, 3.75 stars. Nothing special, reads like fanfic, and not too complicated. The story gets wrapped up easily.
It's quite an easy read. The prose is straightforward, and the details capture the setting well. But it felt like the reading level of fanfic: accessible but not difficult to parse through. It really did feel like someone's fanfic take of the ... story.
The relationship between Carmilla and De Lafontaine is probably the most interesting part of this story because of the way it starts and the way it ends. It's a really complicated and toxic relationship that reminds me of Susan Choi's Trust Excercise, but not as well-written.
Gibson depicts Laura as a virgin and as a polite Southern girl from Mississippi who yearns for more erotic vices, and Carmilla as a haughty senior of De Lafontaine, but she actually is a brat that likes being held down at times. I liked the idea of turning their characters on their head during moments of passion. At least made those erotic moments more entertaining to read.
Overall, 3.75 stars. Nothing special, reads like fanfic, and not too complicated. The story gets wrapped up easily.
4.5 stars
In this 60's set retelling of Carmilla, Laura is dedicated to her poetry. For the first time in her life, she leaves her sleepy town to go to a prestigious women's college to grow her craft. Despite her being a freshman, her work impresses the distinguished Professor de Lafontaine enough to let her into the class. de Lafontaine's star student, the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla, feels her spot is threatened, despite all the secret time she spends with the professor. As the two students are pitted against each other, they find themselves on the line between obsession and hatred - but the professor's dark secret may tear them asunder.
I read this in a vlog! Watch me give my thoughts in real-time here: Reading Authors I've Given 5 Stars To Before
The biggest question about this book is going to be: Does it live up to A Dowry of Blood? I think it does. I don't think it's quite as strong, but I do think it lives up to that legacy. The atmosphere and the metaphoric writing style made it very clear that this was a companion. The vibes were the same, and I got the feelings that I was looking for! There were so many quotes that I read and reread because they gave such a complete image of these characters. I absolutely love the rivals to lovers arc of Carmilla and Laura; I was so obsessed with them getting together despite the circumstances. Gibson is unmatched in how she writes desire and desperation; you can feel their want oozing through the page. I thought it was an interesting twist on the original text to have Carmilla originally be a vampire's blood supply and be a victim of grooming rather than Carmilla being the ultimate villain of the story. This showed how strongly a young person can be manipulated by someone older because they believe they're in love. There is a side plot of the professor vampire dealing with her sire which took up a good amount of the back half of the book, but I didn't think that portion was developed enough to really feel successful. This made the book split focus despite it being pretty short. Dowry is so short and still works flawlessly because it is singularly focused in a way that Education is not. Because of that, I think that this book could've been longer to flesh out the arcs to their fullest.
Overall, this is definitely a spiritual sister to ADOB and while I adored so much of it, I think it could have delved even deeper to flesh out its multiple plotlines.
In this 60's set retelling of Carmilla, Laura is dedicated to her poetry. For the first time in her life, she leaves her sleepy town to go to a prestigious women's college to grow her craft. Despite her being a freshman, her work impresses the distinguished Professor de Lafontaine enough to let her into the class. de Lafontaine's star student, the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla, feels her spot is threatened, despite all the secret time she spends with the professor. As the two students are pitted against each other, they find themselves on the line between obsession and hatred - but the professor's dark secret may tear them asunder.
I read this in a vlog! Watch me give my thoughts in real-time here: Reading Authors I've Given 5 Stars To Before
The biggest question about this book is going to be: Does it live up to A Dowry of Blood? I think it does. I don't think it's quite as strong, but I do think it lives up to that legacy. The atmosphere and the metaphoric writing style made it very clear that this was a companion. The vibes were the same, and I got the feelings that I was looking for! There were so many quotes that I read and reread because they gave such a complete image of these characters. I absolutely love the rivals to lovers arc of Carmilla and Laura; I was so obsessed with them getting together despite the circumstances. Gibson is unmatched in how she writes desire and desperation; you can feel their want oozing through the page. I thought it was an interesting twist on the original text to have Carmilla originally be a vampire's blood supply and be a victim of grooming rather than Carmilla being the ultimate villain of the story. This showed how strongly a young person can be manipulated by someone older because they believe they're in love. There is a side plot of the professor vampire dealing with her sire which took up a good amount of the back half of the book, but I didn't think that portion was developed enough to really feel successful. This made the book split focus despite it being pretty short. Dowry is so short and still works flawlessly because it is singularly focused in a way that Education is not. Because of that, I think that this book could've been longer to flesh out the arcs to their fullest.
Overall, this is definitely a spiritual sister to ADOB and while I adored so much of it, I think it could have delved even deeper to flesh out its multiple plotlines.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Had a good time. Been hearing "toxic lesbian vampires" as a tagline a lot for another popular book that a lot of book content mentions, but honestly this is the book I'll probably think of the next time I hear it! A bit of spice, a bit of plot, interesting characters. A good balance all-around.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
An Education in Malice was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024, and I'm very happy to say that it did not disappoint! This is a must-read if you are a fan of the dark academia sub-genre, academic rivalry, sapphic vampires, or gothic settings. S.T. Gibson's writing is captivating, and the dual POV adds so much to this story! An Education in Malice is full of obsession, desire, and sapphic yearning. If you enjoyed A Dowry of Blood, I highly recommend picking this one up!
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Rating: 4.5 Stars
This was one of my anticipated reads for the year since I loved A Dowry of Blood, but I felt that it was a bit mid. Education in Malice shows themes of obsession, manipulation, and love. The story focuses more on the characters and their interactions that the main plotline was lost. The pacing for it dragged at times, and for me, it was missing the tension or buildup for the story and the stakes for the characters. There was definitely tension between characters though (though for my taste, it wasn't enough to gloss over the lost plotline).
The ending was anticlimactic and unraveled the MC's character in a way that didn't make sense to me or was glossed over too quickly. The writing, I think, is one of its strengths. It's easy to get sucked into the book because of how easily digestible it was. Overall, it was a quick and easy read but needed more substance.
The ending was anticlimactic and unraveled the MC's character in a way that didn't make sense to me or was glossed over too quickly. The writing, I think, is one of its strengths. It's easy to get sucked into the book because of how easily digestible it was. Overall, it was a quick and easy read but needed more substance.
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes