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

dark slow-paced

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

3.0

I will, most likely, be in the minority with both my opinion on this book and my lack of history with the author (as this is my first book I’ve read by her). Having heard really good things about A Dowry of Blood, and generally being a fan of vampires (as a topic) and academia (as a setup), I picked this book up with rather high expectations. 

Unfortunately, I was left feeling rather underwhelmed.

 

The story is told in two POVs: Laura, a freshman and aspiring poet, starting her first year at an all-girl college, and Carmilla, a senior and the favorite of the poetry professor De Lafontaine - the only one who’s opinion matters to both of the girls. What starts as an academic rivalry for the place in the spotlight turns into something more - for the line between hate and love is thin, and secrets only stoke the fire...

 

Or, at least, that’s the gist of the story. We get an “enemies to lovers”, we get “vampires”, we get “dark academia” - but it all felt surface level. Sure, the girls disliked each other - but it was mostly one sided and really brief. Sure, vampires were involved, but while it was supposed to push the plot forward, I found it almost irrelevant, just a background happening and a setup for some spiced up make out sessions. Sure, it was taking place at a college and people were killed on campus, but really, only in the beginning did we have anything academia-like taking place (which was coincidentally my favorite part of the book). I wanted more out of this book, for it to deliver at least on ONE of these components. Alas.

 

The one thing I absolutely adored was actually the narration. Stephanie Cannon did an exceptional job portraying each character with their own voice tone and accent, especially fascinating to hear in dialogues.

 

All in all it was an okay book, worth giving a shot if you are looking for specific tropes and don’t mind them being mostly that - components of a story.

 

I received an advance review copy from Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.