Reviews with content warning for Murder - An Education in Malice

An enticing mixture of the gothic and erotic, An Education in Malice breathes new life—a second life, if you will—into the subgenre of dark academia and the classic vampire tale. Heavily inspired by Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, the novel explores the carnal nature of vampirism as well as the blooming complexities of desire, devotion, and love.

Set against the backdrop of Saint Perpetua’s College in Massachusetts, An Education in Malice follows two protagonists—Laura and Carmilla—who find themselves thrown together under the wing of their elusive poetry professor, De Lafontaine. While they begin as rivals, they are quickly pulled inexorably into the orbit of De Lafontaine’s world of dark obsession and ancient, bloody secrets.

The writing style begins with a more pragmatic, diaristic tone and transforms into an obsessive interior focus as Laura and Camilla descend into the depths of their audacious desire and devotion to each other. Combined with lush prose, S.T. Gibson crafts a pulse-pounding, atmospheric novel in its setting and characters that pulls you in for it to sink its teeth into you. While it is more immersive vibes than cohesive plot, that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad piece of fiction and I still enjoyed the story.

Perfect for fans of Carmilla and The Secret History, An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson is brimming with intrigue and insatiable hungers. This book is the incarnation of the vivid imagery of Florence and the Machine’s discography mixed with the unabashed raunchiness of Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.

Content Warnings

courtsport3000's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

thebookkeepers's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious slow-paced

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

Review to come

LGBTQ+rep: f/f relationship with main characters

Content Warnings

lavender_menaceee's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book I amazing I knew within the first ten pages it was going to be a new favorite:)

THE WAY LAURA WENT OFF TO GET A KNIFE TO PROTECT HER FROM ISIS OMG😭

read this book. It seriously altered my brain forever!

Content Warnings

tales_told_in_gold's review

Go to review page

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

julalbert56's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

I’m a little confused on what S.T. Gibson wants us to think of De LaFontaine… at the beginning I was like “ok, toxic not-appropriate relationship, she’s gonna get called out/clearly become the villain”

and that started to happen when De LaFontaine was icing Laura out, but then it totally switches and St Gibson tries to make the reader sympathize with her? And say that she’s a parent figure even though she abused them

Idk man. I appreciate complex morality but this just seemed… plain unethical. I can’t tell if ambiguousness was what the author was going for though! I’m really just not sure.
The rest of the book I loved lol. Sapphic academic rivals to lovers w/vampires? Yes please.

Content Warnings

aileron's review

Go to review page

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

More...