Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - An Education in Malice

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

100 reviews

grownmoss's review

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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? Yes

4.25

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cristina_margarita's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A Dowry of Blood was maybe my favorite book I read last year. This was one of my most anticipated reads of this year. Saying I am disappointed is an understatement. This book was not written with any of the beauty or care that A Dowry of Blood was.

Firstly, this was not a Carmilla retelling.

The characters were all descriptions, I learned nothing about them through their actions. Any “development” in their relationships or as individuals (not that anyone developed really at all as an individual) was told to me & never elaborated on; it felt so forced & unbelievable.

There was simultaneously too much & not enough going on. The story with Isis needed to be expanded upon as did the rest of Evelyn’s backstory. The vague threat of the police & dangling of vampire society (just to facilitate a sex scene) felt unfinished. Evelyn’s relationship with both girls but especially Carmilla needed to be fleshed out, the book told me she was hugely influential but the internal monologues & her actions did not demonstrate that. The way the relationship with Dracula was handled in A Dowry of Blood was so delicate & real whereas this relationship was so flat.

Additionally, throwing Magdalena in to the mix but not telling us what happened to Constanta & Alexi?!!!??!!! Homophobic & downright rude!! (I was very happy to see Magdalena but still)

Also, this book was initially marketed as being a polyamorous story so it was very jarring to be waiting for Evelyn to join the relationship the whole time & for that to never happen.

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librariamortis's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5 stars

Netgalley Review

“After all, what horror wouldn’t I tolerate, if it was meted out by the hand of my beloved?”

Screaming, crying, throwing up, kicking my feet, blushing AND giggling.

What a wonderful read, I couldn’t have been more engaged and enthralled from start to end.

Also that little ADOB Easter egg???? Obsessed obsessed obsessed.

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manola's review

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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).

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itskenzcarter's review against another edition

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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.

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bergha1998's review

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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.”

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hedonsgaybookshelf's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

Dark academia, obsessive sapphic romance, vampires, kink, and gore? Yes please!

As in ‘Dowry of Blood,’ Gibson swiftly establishes a lush and immersive atmosphere of dark tension and intrigue. The characters’ relationships are consuming and dangerously intertwined, characterized by both sick fascination and a craving for violence. We see this cruelty become sweeter and more intimate over time, mirrored in the sexual power play between the two young women MCs. Several plot turns are refreshingly unpredictable, moving faster in the second half and racing toward an imperfect but hopeful ending.

I enjoy the exploration of attachment beyond the romantic, the different relational forms that love and lust can take. The professor-student power dynamics are notably not sensationalized, thoughtfully balancing themes of predation/exploitation with the classic queer experience of infatuation with a mentor. I appreciate Gibson’s consideration with handling toxic academic power dynamics, as well as the race, class, and body size representation in this book.

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