A review by hannahelaine
An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

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. 
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