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torismazarine's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Gore, Racism, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
krispi_kebob's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
An Education in Malice is quite the story. I found myself invested in the characters right from the beginning. I appreciated the content warnings at the start of the book a lot to understand what I was getting myself into - the story is complicated, morally grey. I appreciated that sex and sensuality were not the total purpose of the book, but rather fit into the plot like a key in a lock.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Death, Grief, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Infidelity
courtsport3000's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-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
4.5
Super solid 4.5, leaning oh so close to a five. This book had me on a leash the entire time I was reading it. I was hooked from the first chapter and tore through the pages as quickly as I could. I always wanted to be reading, always had these characters on my mind.
There's so much in this book that Gibson does well that I hardly know where to start. The dark academia vibes are perfection. The character work is some of the best I've read in a long time. The way the relationships are portrayed in this book... somehow Gibson manages to capture all these subtle, delicate little details that really make everything feel realistic and relatable, even when it's not. There's this careful balance between the comfortable and the uncomfortable and it's handled in a way that's almost playful. It works so well in a book that centers yearning that becomes obsession and idolatry that borders on unhinged. Add in all the trademark moments of college girl life - discovering an independent self, exploring sexuality, deciding where you fit (or don't fit) within the norms and expectations you carry... I could ramble forever about all the ways I found this book relatable in all the best and worst ways.
As for the more horror-ish elements, those were more in the forefront than I expected them to be, but not in a bad way. I do wish certain aspects of that plotline were better fleshed out (not a pun...?) but I found them rewarding regardless. I also have complicated feelings about the ending, but I'll leave it at that to avoid spoilers. Eager to see what other readers think about it.
I'm basically going to scream about this book for a really long time. So grateful to Redhook for an ARC in exchange for review.
There's so much in this book that Gibson does well that I hardly know where to start. The dark academia vibes are perfection. The character work is some of the best I've read in a long time. The way the relationships are portrayed in this book... somehow Gibson manages to capture all these subtle, delicate little details that really make everything feel realistic and relatable, even when it's not. There's this careful balance between the comfortable and the uncomfortable and it's handled in a way that's almost playful. It works so well in a book that centers yearning that becomes obsession and idolatry that borders on unhinged. Add in all the trademark moments of college girl life - discovering an independent self, exploring sexuality, deciding where you fit (or don't fit) within the norms and expectations you carry... I could ramble forever about all the ways I found this book relatable in all the best and worst ways.
As for the more horror-ish elements, those were more in the forefront than I expected them to be, but not in a bad way. I do wish certain aspects of that plotline were better fleshed out (not a pun...?) but I found them rewarding regardless. I also have complicated feelings about the ending, but I'll leave it at that to avoid spoilers. Eager to see what other readers think about it.
I'm basically going to scream about this book for a really long time. So grateful to Redhook for an ARC in exchange for review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Alcohol, and Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
tales_told_in_gold's review
mysterious
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Abandonment, and Death
Minor: Alcoholism and Vomit
aileron's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Infidelity, Death, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement and Gore
Minor: Abandonment and Injury/Injury detail
midnightrose_reads's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson is a standalone sapphic dark academia retelling of Carmilla.
It was mostly an enjoyable read for me even though some things bothered me about the plot. Specifically the lack of urgency on the part of DeLafontaine, Laura and Carmilla to dispatch an out of control vampire on the college campus sooner in the narrative. Instead DeLafontaine introduces them to vampire society (specifically Carmilla who she’s turned earlier in the story; with her human companion Laura in tow), Laura goes for Thanksgiving break to San Francisco to spend time with her friend’s family, and DeLafontaine holds these private poetry readings between Carmilla and Laura. There doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency until towards the end of the book to prevent more murders of the student body which I found bizarre.
It was mostly an enjoyable read for me even though some things bothered me about the plot. Specifically the lack of urgency on the part of DeLafontaine, Laura and Carmilla to dispatch an out of control vampire on the college campus sooner in the narrative. Instead DeLafontaine introduces them to vampire society (specifically Carmilla who she’s turned earlier in the story; with her human companion Laura in tow), Laura goes for Thanksgiving break to San Francisco to spend time with her friend’s family, and DeLafontaine holds these private poetry readings between Carmilla and Laura. There doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency until towards the end of the book to prevent more murders of the student body which I found bizarre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Gore, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent and Grief
manola's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book sadly fell short for me. It had an interesting potential but it focused on few things that developed in ways that weirdly didn't feel compelling.
The story centers on both protagonists, Laura and Carmilla, and how their relationship develops and twists over time. Both girls were fine; I liked Laura and it was fun to witness the first interactions she had with Carmilla, who remained cold and a bit 'bitchy' at first, but their POVs were hard to differentiate. The author did explain in an interview that she was avoiding their narrations clashing too much and disturbing the cohesion of the story, but for me that ended up muddling their voices together in a way that made it difficult for me to find what made each their own character.
I understand that part of the idea for the story (if you want to completely avoid spoilers, I suppose you should skip this part) is watching Laura kind of turn into Carmilla, to start resembling her in some ways, and making the reader sit uncomfortably in that process and wonder if it truly is what's 'best' for her or not. But that transformation wasn't that enticing to me for some reason. I couldn't make myself connect with the characters or feel much compassion for them either. I thought the story could've benefited from weaving in more subplots and character's stories; there are a few secondary characters I found interesting and left wondering about them when the novel tied off.
I just feel like it would've been interesting to have had more things happening in this book. What it concentrated on I ended up not feeling compelled by in the end. It's an interesting concept, and if you enjoy vampire novels it might strike your fancy, but it didn't really do it for me.
(I'm also writing this after some days of having read this, and the story got pretty scrambled in my head so it was hard to put my feelings into words).
The story centers on both protagonists, Laura and Carmilla, and how their relationship develops and twists over time. Both girls were fine; I liked Laura and it was fun to witness the first interactions she had with Carmilla, who remained cold and a bit 'bitchy' at first, but their POVs were hard to differentiate. The author did explain in an interview that she was avoiding their narrations clashing too much and disturbing the cohesion of the story, but for me that ended up muddling their voices together in a way that made it difficult for me to find what made each their own character.
I understand that part of the idea for the story (if you want to completely avoid spoilers, I suppose you should skip this part) is watching Laura kind of turn into Carmilla, to start resembling her in some ways, and making the reader sit uncomfortably in that process and wonder if it truly is what's 'best' for her or not. But that transformation wasn't that enticing to me for some reason. I couldn't make myself connect with the characters or feel much compassion for them either. I thought the story could've benefited from weaving in more subplots and character's stories; there are a few secondary characters I found interesting and left wondering about them when the novel tied off.
I just feel like it would've been interesting to have had more things happening in this book. What it concentrated on I ended up not feeling compelled by in the end. It's an interesting concept, and if you enjoy vampire novels it might strike your fancy, but it didn't really do it for me.
(I'm also writing this after some days of having read this, and the story got pretty scrambled in my head so it was hard to put my feelings into words).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Blood, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
itskenzcarter's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I can’t even begin to describe how great this book was. The writing was fantastic and it really draws you in. I ended up loving all the characters. I highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
bergha1998's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.75
Beautifully written and the setting was gorgeous. As with Dowry of Blood there is so much psychological and interpersonal conflict. It can be difficult and a bit triggering to be honest. However, I really liked Laura and Carmilla.
Fantasy, Enemies to Lovers, Emotional, 2 1/2 🔥
“Life doesn’t seem worthwhile without synthesizing my experiences into art, the catharsis of putting it all out onto the page. It’s the only way I’ve ever been able to get other people to understand how I’m feeling.”
Fantasy, Enemies to Lovers, Emotional, 2 1/2 🔥
“Life doesn’t seem worthwhile without synthesizing my experiences into art, the catharsis of putting it all out onto the page. It’s the only way I’ve ever been able to get other people to understand how I’m feeling.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol, Body horror, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Toxic friendship, Blood, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Bullying, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Death
fseely's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Emotional abuse