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A review by kimdokjaa
An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson
4.0
the absolute best thing a book can have is sapphic vampiric academic rivals to lovers
and yet, i finished this story wanting more :/ i have enjoyed some books that are vibe-heavy, as opposed to plot-heavy, but i feel like the setting here was not allowed to permeate the story enough to account for this. if i pick up a vampire dark academia story, especially one like this with such a minimal focus on plot, i want to be drowning in the gothic feel, but here in all but a few scenes i felt the intended vibe more than i actually got to experience it
i also think this would have benefited from being slightly longer. laura and carmilla had some scenes i loved, but i would kill for them to have more time to yearn for eachother. they are not only academic rivals, but poets!! i wanted all-encompassing levels of passion and desire coming off the page, especially with the ever-present themes of obsession and sensuality being explored here. and i did get this in several scenes, which i really enjoyed! but, again, i found myself wanting more
this review makes it seem like i didn't care for this, but i really did enjoy my time with this story! just conflicted on this one right now, so leaving it at that and maybe coming back once i've sat with this for a bit
and yet, i finished this story wanting more :/ i have enjoyed some books that are vibe-heavy, as opposed to plot-heavy, but i feel like the setting here was not allowed to permeate the story enough to account for this. if i pick up a vampire dark academia story, especially one like this with such a minimal focus on plot, i want to be drowning in the gothic feel, but here in all but a few scenes i felt the intended vibe more than i actually got to experience it
i also think this would have benefited from being slightly longer. laura and carmilla had some scenes i loved, but i would kill for them to have more time to yearn for eachother. they are not only academic rivals, but poets!! i wanted all-encompassing levels of passion and desire coming off the page, especially with the ever-present themes of obsession and sensuality being explored here. and i did get this in several scenes, which i really enjoyed! but, again, i found myself wanting more
this review makes it seem like i didn't care for this, but i really did enjoy my time with this story! just conflicted on this one right now, so leaving it at that and maybe coming back once i've sat with this for a bit