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

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 
I read, and loved, A Dowry of Blood when it came out a year or so ago. So when I saw this sapphic dark academia vampire situation from Gibson on NetGalley, I requested it immediately. And I was hype (thanks Orbit) when I was approved for an eARC. Then I saw it was a sorta retelling/inspired by Carmilla, which I'd had on my TBR shelf for a little while, so I decided to read that first, for full context. And then, finally, I was able to jump into this. And let me tell you....it delivered. 
 
I'm behind on reviews, so I'm borrowing/adapting from Goodreads for this synopsis: Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua's College. On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla. As their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own hungers. And now that they're deeply tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and dark magic, Laura and Carmilla (individually and together) must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge and art. 
 
Alright, I said this novel delivered. Now, let me tell you how. The vibes hit fast and hard and early and they are spot on, as far as the Carmilla source material and the general sapphic, gothic, dark academia that the blurb promises. It's definitely there in the setting: rural New England all girls school with enigmatic professors and women budding into adulthood expressing themselves in poetry and cult-ish style ceremonies and parties. And of course it's in the plot: academic rivalry and sexual exploration/coming of age and the mystery of De Lafontaine's presence at the school and, of course, all the vampire situation. I'm trying not to spoil anything here, but the dramatic and "ending the cycle" storyline related to these vampiric relationships was so well done. 
 
On that note, the real and true highlight  of the vibes was the characters and their relationships with each other. The toxic emotional manipulation, the combative attraction and inexorable pull of antagonism that turns to desire, the casual cruelty, the jealousy and loneliness and suppressed feelings, the mercuriality of all three MCs (Camilla and De Lafontaine and even Laura) was developed so well. It's all unhealthy AF and yet utterly mesmerizing and somehow I found myself still cheering(?) for all three of them. These relationships were exhausting to read and yet I could not, didn't want to, look away. Phew. There is a fascinating questioning of whether love almost cannot help but turn capricious, when one lives forever (can boredom be avoided when one has that many years) OR whether it is just that those who are naturally capricious are the ones yearning for, and thus finding/choosing, that forever life. I got some very real Spike and Drusilla feels from that and, since I cannot help but love Spike and Drusilla, made this reading experience that much better for me. 
 
A few other things really stood out to me that I want to mention as well. I loved the flipping of control, of who does the "debauching" here, as compared to the original Carmilla. While Carmilla herself still has the outer appearance of rebel and "bad" influence (and of course still introduces Laura to the vampiric side of the story), and Laura’s facade is still quiet and demure, we see a real power balance flip in their actual relationship, with Laura taking charge and Carmilla submitting. And I was absolutely here for that. I got a non-traditional sort of polyamorous complex-and-not-always-healthy relying on each other (and yet in the end that connection prevails for a safe ending) among our three MCs that was reminiscent of A Dowry of Blood, in some ways. I didn't hate that call back, since I really enjoyed that story. I was also really satisfied with the ending: a breaking of a cycle, but recognizing and keeping the “good” parts of the “darkness” lifestyle. Plus, in a smaller way, I was particularly pleased with the way the story ends for Laura: with a choice, but no clear decision, with a coming into her own and the freedom in owning who she is, no matter which path she takes. It's the exact right "open-ended, darkly hopeful" vibe that fits with the rest of the story and the fact that, with immortality in the mix, there can never be a real ending anyways. 
 
Overall, this was everything I wanted it to be. There were some new twists and different directions, but it remained, at its core, a spectacular version of exactly what it promised. And I am so, so sated by it. 
 
"Love and pain grew in a thorny grove inside me, impossible to disentangle from one another." 
 
"I learned how to survive in the cutthroat world of girlhood, where all strangeness was unrooted as ruthlessly as weeds from a garden." 
 
"She was the kind of woman I would have liked to grow into; confident and poised and aesthetically cohesive." 
 
"Right and wrong don't exist, Laura. They're fairy tales made up by priests and parents. There is only art and ugliness, and I'm willing to suffer any indignity for the sake of art." 
 
"We were happy, for a time. But love rots and spoils, it disintegrates with time like a rose in a vase, and soon there was nothing between us but animosity and arguments and the resentfulness of having to rely on each other." 
 
"A sensible girl would leave. A good girl most certainly would. But I was tired of being sensible, and I was tired of being good. I couldn't walk away from what I was being offered: the chance to live an exceptional life." 
 
"Pure desire, distilled down into a heady elixir. It was to be, I realized with a creeping sense of dread, the rest of my life." 
 
"I felt like the burning sun at the heart of the universe, the white-hot center of gravity, and Carmilla was every orbiting star. She was the velvety expanse of space wrapping around me, the kiss of asteroid dust against my exposed skin." 
 
"Relief at being loved and the anticipation of being handled as though I was anything but pooled warmly in my stomach." 
 
"She was in love, and that was dangerous. After all, what horror wouldn't I tolerate, if it was meted out by the hand of my beloved?" 
 
"The world was more enchanted that I had ever dreamed, but it was also more terrible and strange."  
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