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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
themagicalworldofnian's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
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
5.0
An Education in Malice by ST Gibson - review
5 ⭐️
2 🌶️
Wow S.T. Gibson did it again. If you have read A Dowry of Blood this gives the same vibes ✨
An Education in Malice is a sapphic Carmilla retelling, do I even have to say anymore 🤯
It follows both Carmilla and Laura, two academic rivals who are infatuated with poetry and getting the approval of their demanding professor De Lafontaine.
While Laura is timid and very insecure about herself and her sexuality, is Carmilla the complete opposite, she is very confident and a bit of a mean girl. They both want the approval of the professor. But there is a thin line between desire, obsession and academic approval.
Again S.T. Gibson her prose is just so captivating an poetic, which I just love💕. She just has a way with words that I can’t describe in any other way than just read her books and stories. The use of literary devices such as metaphors, imagery, symbolism and repetition is done just perfectly. It just adds this extra layer to the writing.
I also just loved the inclusion of a couple of poems written by Laura and Carmilla, tho I would have liked seeing even more of them.
The story is also again very character focused and driven just as her other books. The relationships are written soo good. The relationship between Laura and Carmilla, but also between Carmilla and De Lafontaine. The jealousy, the desire, the obsession, the lust, but also the love and friendship.
I also loved how you could really see the imbalance in power between everyone, but also how it is challenged in certain situations.
I love dark academia and I love S.T Gibson and her poetic writing, so for me this was the absolute perfect combo.
So overall, I would definitely recommend this if you love a dark academia that is mainly character driven with sapphic relationships, vampires and obsession and desire packaged in poetic writing.
5 ⭐️
2 🌶️
Wow S.T. Gibson did it again. If you have read A Dowry of Blood this gives the same vibes ✨
An Education in Malice is a sapphic Carmilla retelling, do I even have to say anymore 🤯
It follows both Carmilla and Laura, two academic rivals who are infatuated with poetry and getting the approval of their demanding professor De Lafontaine.
While Laura is timid and very insecure about herself and her sexuality, is Carmilla the complete opposite, she is very confident and a bit of a mean girl. They both want the approval of the professor. But there is a thin line between desire, obsession and academic approval.
Again S.T. Gibson her prose is just so captivating an poetic, which I just love💕. She just has a way with words that I can’t describe in any other way than just read her books and stories. The use of literary devices such as metaphors, imagery, symbolism and repetition is done just perfectly. It just adds this extra layer to the writing.
I also just loved the inclusion of a couple of poems written by Laura and Carmilla, tho I would have liked seeing even more of them.
The story is also again very character focused and driven just as her other books. The relationships are written soo good. The relationship between Laura and Carmilla, but also between Carmilla and De Lafontaine. The jealousy, the desire, the obsession, the lust, but also the love and friendship.
I also loved how you could really see the imbalance in power between everyone, but also how it is challenged in certain situations.
I love dark academia and I love S.T Gibson and her poetic writing, so for me this was the absolute perfect combo.
So overall, I would definitely recommend this if you love a dark academia that is mainly character driven with sapphic relationships, vampires and obsession and desire packaged in poetic writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content
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
lila_still_reads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Boy howdy, I loved this book. A Dowry of Blood was alright, but Gibson really got me with this one. There’s sapphic vampires, there’s healthy exploration of submission/domination dynamics, there’s critique of unhealthy power dynamics in academia. It’s a Carmilla retelling. It rules. Some of my friends now think I’m weird because I won’t shut up about the dark academia sapphic vampires but jokes on them, I’ve been weird all along.
I loved Laura finding both her confidence and voice without needing to lose her softness. I appreciated that Carmilla never truly finds a healthy dynamic with De Lafontaine but is still able to move forward. I love what a pretentious little shit Carmilla can be and how her growing feelings towards Laura express themselves through academic jealousy and poetry critique.
It’s really good. There’s a certain scene at a party that just had me floored. Gibson writes tension so well and paces the romantic scenes in a way that made me kick my feet. As someone who’s just left college and has always felt that terrifying need to please authority figures, Carmilla’s dynamic with De Lafontaine was both so real and so heartbreaking. By choosing to depict De Lafontaine as more pathetic than evil by the end of the story, I think Gibson actually does a great job in defanging her (pun intended). Carmilla discovering healthier love was beautiful and I loved how her dynamic with Laura subverted my expectations.
It's not perfect- the over-arching danger/mystery element wasn’t always well paced- but I still loved it. Definite recommend if you don’t think it’s weird to love the unhinged poetry-writing vampires.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Mental illness
grace_emc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Minor: Racism, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
hannahelaine's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Dark academia isn’t really my thing and I think this book just hammers that home for me. It had some interesting parts and nice lines, but was very slow to get the plot moving, and once it finally was, raced. Pacing inconsistent.
All that said, I would have given this a higher rating if not for the fact that it’s literally just a retelling of Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu— that the author never acknowledges. Apart of the character names are directly lifted from the novella, the general plot and vibe, I couldn’t find any instance of the author or publisher mentioning this in the book itself. Not the plot summary, the authors note or acknowledgements, nor the Q&A. I can’t fathom why she isn’t mentioning it— Carmilla had a big resurgence after a web series was made in the style of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries back in the early 20-teens. Regardless, it feels bad, wrong, and icky to not do so. While Carmilla is in the public domain and came out in the 1800s, so the author is long dead, it feels wrong to not credit the inspiration for the novel.
All that said, I would have given this a higher rating if not for the fact that it’s literally just a retelling of Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu— that the author never acknowledges. Apart of the character names are directly lifted from the novella, the general plot and vibe, I couldn’t find any instance of the author or publisher mentioning this in the book itself. Not the plot summary, the authors note or acknowledgements, nor the Q&A. I can’t fathom why she isn’t mentioning it— Carmilla had a big resurgence after a web series was made in the style of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries back in the early 20-teens. Regardless, it feels bad, wrong, and icky to not do so. While Carmilla is in the public domain and came out in the 1800s, so the author is long dead, it feels wrong to not credit the inspiration for the novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
jmatsumura's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Beautiful prose. Weak execution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship
If you have trauma from an abusive professor or teacher, this is probably not the book for you. I don't think this is a spoiler as the flap and summary pretty clearly state this. This is one of the best examples of academic grooming and emotional abuse I've seen portrayed in a fictional story.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
elesapphicbooks's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Toxic relationship
grownmoss's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
Moderate: Murder and Death