Enjoyably decadent in the most delicious of ways, S.T. Gibson’s gothic, Dark Academia retelling of Carmilla was an intoxicatingly lush and immersive read that Vampire lovers definitely don’t want to miss.

It’s set in 1960s Massachusetts, at St Perpetua’s Women’s College and sees freshman Laura lured into a world of sensual rivalries, secrets and deadly obsession that had me utterly gripped. I’m not all that familiar with the story of Carmilla (besides knowing that it’s a sapphic vampire novel) but the gothic atmosphere and dark academia aesthetic were absolutely spot on.

If you’ve read Gibson’s previous novel (A Dowry of Blood) you’ll know that her prose is gorgeously lyrical and haunting in the best way, so it should come as no surprise that her follow up (and companion novel to A Dowry of Blood) is just as captivating.

I loved both protagonists (and POV characters) Laura and Carmilla, who balanced each other out rather well (Carmilla’s confidence emboldening naive Laura into a more dominant role was quite interesting to watch unfold.)

The heady cocktail of jealousy, obsession and competitiveness they exhibit (for the attention of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine) was also really intriguing and made for a rather intense (but utterly gripping) first half. Though, I do feel that De Lafontaine as a character wasn’t as detailed as I would’ve liked. And had hoped to explore her conflicted thoughts and actions (particularly when it came to her maker) in more depth.

Overall, a beautifully written story that Dark Academia fans are sure to enjoy!

Also a huge thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for the e-arc.

Content Warnings

shadowspinner's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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wellgonomorearoving's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

An Education in Malice is a dark academia retelling/reimaging of the sapphic vampire classic Carmilla. Except this time, it’s not told through a male gaze, and the subtext has become text. The retelling is loose enough that it doesn’t follow the exact story, and while familiar characters crop up, they aren’t the same as we recall them from Le Fanu’s text, and new players emerge. A setting of the late 60s provides a stunning backdrop for the drama to unfold. Yet, the vibes of the original story remain, including the most alluring part of both stories: the relationship between Laura and Carmilla.

This time around, Laura is a reserved southern girl leaving home for the first time to attend an all-girls New England university and Carmilla is the enigmatic favorite of their beloved professor, Ms. De Lafontaine. The chemistry is palpable and immediate despite the two students initially clashing, leading for some heated enemies to lovers scenes, and flirting with the original text’s idea that Carmilla is dangerous to Laura. But in this version, Laura isn’t as sweetly innocent as she seems either.

The book follows their year at the university and leans into the proper way to do dark academia: it maintains the mysterious allure of the aesthetic while critiquing the institutions and their abuse of power. There is a seriously wrong power dynamic at play with Professor De Lafontaine and both Carmilla and Laura, and beware that this story doesn’t necessarily dole out penance the way we often seek with such villains. This, along with certain vampire lore, reminded me a lot of Anne Rice’s work, but the way the plot progresses is unlike her novels. A lot happens in this book, including many murders, as the two women grapple with coming face to face with life’s monsters and their feelings for one another. Four stars for me, regarding a vampire book especially, is an endorsement, and I could easily see this being an absolute favorite for many people. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and how beautifully it leaned into the strong cast of female characters (men? Never heard of them). It’s the gorgeous sapphic vampire story I’ve been craving after the taste Le Fanu’s text gave me.

Content Warnings

alysbookclub's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

4.5

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

A gothic dark academia drenched in desperation, longing and blood. A retelling of the novel Carmilla, Laura and Carmilla are two young women who are trying to find their way in a world where their feelings are immoral and they are pitted against each other by their otherworldly and enigmatic professor. A rivals-to-lovers dark sapphic romance that manages to be explosive and yet so sweet.

TW: explicit sexual content, gore, toxic relationships

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summermorning's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

Content Warnings

bookameme's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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

Dark, Gripping, & Stimulating

Quote:📖

In the end, I stayed. I had the awful, yawning feeling inside myself that for her, I would always stay.

Thoughts: 💡
The first chapter had a slightly slow and meandering feel to it, but as soon as the story dove into the rivals to lovers vibes I was hooked. There is this moment of intense attraction that quickly burns into rivals that grabbed all of my attention in a sharp flash and from that point on the story had a fast and dark vibe, and I adored every minute of it. The imagery and poetry that permeated everything was spectacular. It was very LGBT positive but still recognized the struggle of marginalized people in the time period. I can’t sing enough praises for this story.

Writing Mechanics: ✍️
The plot is inspired and the language used and structure of it all is brilliant. All the characters were beautifully developed with rich backstories and deep motivations. There were points of the story that were so eloquently written that I had to reread and ruminate on the context and beauty of it. And the poetry! Gah! I can’t sing the praises of it enough! Everything in this book was spectacular!

Fun Bits:
⚜️ Sapphic Vampires
⚜️ Academic Rivals
⚜️ Needing to Please The Teacher
⚜️ Beautiful Poetry
⚜️ Sizzling Romance
⚜️ Plus Size Heroine

Important Note:✨
Standalone companion novel to A Dowery of Blood.

Full Content Warning:⚠️
Uneven Power Dynamics, Inappropriate Relationships Between Professor & Students, Toxic Academic Environments, Blood, Gore, and Murder, Alcohol and Drug Use, Smoking, Racist Political Policies, Homophobia, Religious Discrimination Against Women

Stats:📊
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Characters: 💙💙💙💙💙
Dark Historical Fantasy: Dark Academia, Sapphic Romance, Academic Rivals to Lovers, Vampires, Mystery Vibes
First Person, Present Tense, Dual POV

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heather_harrison's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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.

"I felt certain I could perish like this. Suffocated by her thighs and die perfectly happy."

- An Education in Malice.

Content Warnings

mariebrunelm's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

ARC provided by the editor via NetGalley.

It is Laura’s first year at Saint Perpetua's College, and she has been admitted to the very closed circle of Ms De Lafontaine’s poetry class. There, in addition to the heady blend of poetry she has to absorb and create, she faces the immediate hatred of one student, Carmilla, the teacher’s favourite. A web of secrets links the prodigy student and the professor, one that hints at something not entirely proper. Soon, Laura finds herself drawn into the tight circle of their relationship.

This dark academia novel / romance had all the vibes. It felt gothic, rather sexy, dangerous and morally very gray. The relationship dynamics were probably the highlight of this book as it explored the trope of rivals to lovers as well as power abuse in academic settings. I felt these were well executed, introducing a lot of tension from the former and a lot of “ugh please no” from the latter. I was thoroughly enjoying myself and couldn’t put the book down. When I did, however, I felt a little frustrated. I think I wanted a little more from it, especially because of the novella S.T. Gibson drew from — Carmilla. That being said, the original piece is very short and suggests more than it takes a deep dive into its themes, so maybe that’s fair for An Education in Malice to do a similar job. The fact that I wanted more from it probably stems from the fact that I was really enjoying myself, and that’s a good thing.

Rep : bisexual MC, lesbian mid-size MC.

Summary of the CW listed at the beginning of the book: power abuse, inappropriate relationships, toxic academic environment, blood, gore, murder, consensual sexual content (very spicy), alcohol and drug use, smoking.

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