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tobyisnotabee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
books_r_cool's review against another edition
dark
This is a novel deeply rooted in love and obsession with sweeping prose. Suffice to say I really enjoyed the dark, twisted story and characters. I think the first half or the story was stronger and it slightly dwindled from there, but this was all in all a good novel.
spacexgay's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
ktindol's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
maryaliceelange's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
3.5
bananafreckles's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
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
5.0
iloveyou's review against another edition
2.25
An Education in Malice promises a dark and delicious rivals-to-lovers with its sapphic retelling of Carmilla.
Set in Saint Perpetua, a selective school for girls, Laura (our mc and aspiring writer) struggles to find her clique. Yet, she becomes obsessed with the poetry professor, De Lafontaine, and of course Carmilla, De Lafontaine’s mysterious and brightest pupil. Laura obsesses over Carmilla: the two quickly (if not instantly) developing into rivals-to-lovers.
The story somewhat delivers its promise of the synopsis, although it lacked plot for a LONG time. I quickly discovered that the showy writing, though beautiful, did not impress me. I do enjoy dark academia and enemies-to-lovers, but the atmosphere fell flat. Instead, Laura fixates on Carmilla the millisecond she sees her and let’s just say that I have whiplash. After finishing this book, I feel disappointed because I loved the setting but Laura and Carmilla were not particularly memorable characters as they had zero personality or chemistry.
Set in Saint Perpetua, a selective school for girls, Laura (our mc and aspiring writer) struggles to find her clique. Yet, she becomes obsessed with the poetry professor, De Lafontaine, and of course Carmilla, De Lafontaine’s mysterious and brightest pupil. Laura obsesses over Carmilla: the two quickly (if not instantly) developing into rivals-to-lovers.
The story somewhat delivers its promise of the synopsis, although it lacked plot for a LONG time. I quickly discovered that the showy writing, though beautiful, did not impress me. I do enjoy dark academia and enemies-to-lovers, but the atmosphere fell flat. Instead, Laura fixates on Carmilla the millisecond she sees her and let’s just say that I have whiplash. After finishing this book, I feel disappointed because I loved the setting but Laura and Carmilla were not particularly memorable characters as they had zero personality or chemistry.
justbeechy's review against another edition
3.75
The writing was beautiful, the narration was spectacular, and I loved how different all the characters were. I just missed the point a little bit.
mweir710's review against another edition
4.0
3.75/5 stars
This book has been so hyped, so I was excited to read it. I've barely dipped my toes into the themes of vampires and was happy to delve deeper into it all. However, I had a hard time understanding the plot or purpose of this book. What was the point? Was it just a narrative on the ugliness of certain types of love and the shadow of death that looms over us all (some more than others if you have to sustain yourself with life)? The point of the narrative just missed the mark for me.
Gibson's writing style is beautiful, however, and this book is filled with prose that flows and makes the reader think about the larger themes of love and death. I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook and that was honestly what kept me engaged. The narrator, Stephanie Cannon, was phenomenal. Every character had a unique inflection and I never had an issue sorting out who was speaking each chapter. If it weren't for the narrator and the beautiful prose of this book, I may not have finished it (and I did like the ending, so I'm happy I finished it).
Thank you as always to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and S.T. Gibson for giving me the opportunity to listen to the advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review!
This book has been so hyped, so I was excited to read it. I've barely dipped my toes into the themes of vampires and was happy to delve deeper into it all. However, I had a hard time understanding the plot or purpose of this book. What was the point? Was it just a narrative on the ugliness of certain types of love and the shadow of death that looms over us all (some more than others if you have to sustain yourself with life)? The point of the narrative just missed the mark for me.
Gibson's writing style is beautiful, however, and this book is filled with prose that flows and makes the reader think about the larger themes of love and death. I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook and that was honestly what kept me engaged. The narrator, Stephanie Cannon, was phenomenal. Every character had a unique inflection and I never had an issue sorting out who was speaking each chapter. If it weren't for the narrator and the beautiful prose of this book, I may not have finished it (and I did like the ending, so I'm happy I finished it).
Thank you as always to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and S.T. Gibson for giving me the opportunity to listen to the advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review!