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

5.0

Fantastic. Dark academia that really delivers. The time period soaked into the story and was very real. As was the rivalry, jealousy, and passion. So often, works set in this time period and in college/academia focus on the passions of men, and I was delighted to see so many vivid and engaging women take the spotlight here.

I'm a long-time fan of

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vampire fiction,

and the choices that were made here were really great in terms of the lore. One of my favorites is

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the idea that the sire and their spawn lose some sort of connection or bond,

and that was perfect here. I also really liked the author's choice to specify that

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these vampires cannot satisfy their need for blood with animals

. It really lent itself so well to the themes of isolation and the strong focus on the intimacy, between the main characters.

Long story short--I loved it. The rivalry angle was done better than most, and rooting for imperfect characters was fun and engaging. The differing POVs were handled deftly, and each had its own very distinct flavor.

I often shy away from themes of jealousy in books because it's just not enjoyable, but here it was heated and conflicted and multi-faceted in all the best ways. I also love

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vampire fiction

for its themes of long-echoing love and even obsession, and the book handled that so well. It also dealt deliciously with the question of

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how much humanity do non-human creatures retain,

and the question of

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self-determination in the context of sire/spawn relationships as well as in the college coming-of-age setting

.

Special note for the audiobook, even though I only read about 20% of the book this way: one of the best audiobooks I've ever heard. The voices were distinct and had slight--not overpowering--accents that fit them perfectly. Truly talented voicing.

I'm looking forward to another S.T. Gibson book, even though I didn't love Dowry of Blood.