Scan barcode
A review by skillyillian
An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book! This is my honest review.
An Education in Malice is an extension of the world of Gibson's absolutely devastating A Dowry of Blood. Set in a more modern time period, with new characters (and some returning!) with new desires, this is a dark academia, romantic retelling of Carmilla that will hold you close and whisper in your ear about the revelations of immortality and obsession.
Laura is an intriguing character, so naive when she arrives at Saint Perpetua's but with a side she never lets anyone see. Carmilla is up front about her attitude towards Laura, and it's fun to see them combat each other throughout the beginnings of their time together. De Lafontaine adds such an interesting twist to things, both with her relationships with the girls individually and between the three of them.
The rivals to lovers played out really well, I enjoyed the tension that shifted into craving immensely. The dark academia vibes were very present and well-done, too. The romance felt real in such an intense way, I think it was one of my favorite parts. The smut was 10/10, WHEW, got me blushing with no one even around! Gibson very deftly takes the reader through an exploration of self and sexuality, and validates the experience of not knowing what exactly it is you want, even when you have it. There's a lot of room for discussion about morality and love, where those two things intersect, and how they change - independently and together - if time and distance stop mattering entirely.
The only things I didn't entirely love was that we didn't get as much background info as I would like to have had. We know some things about Laura, but hardly anything about Carmilla, and even less about De Lafontaine. I think the lack of information on De Lafontaine was intentional and it makes sense, considering she's the only of the three without a POV in the book and she was purposely secretive with the girls. But I wish we knew more about the other two. Besides that, I also would have liked to have seen more of Laura and Carmilla's school lives. Saint Perpetua's was an excellent, stunning backdrop to this story, and the New England autumn was gorgeous, I just wish we'd gotten to experience more of it.
I do wish that Isis's appearance had been more urgent. She started killing people and it felt like both the girls and the school were just like, "yup, okay! that sucks!" and the girls went back to being in love and the school just increased patrol of their grounds. It made Isis feel like less of an issue than I think she was meant to be, so when the climax and resolution of the story came around, it didn't feel as severe as I think it was meant to. Not a big deal, but it would've been nice to see Isis a little more up close and personal, and have her be more of a threat.
Overall, this book is a gorgeous companion to A Dowry of Blood, although slower paced and tragic in a much different way, which I appreciate because it didn't need to be Dowry again. This book has its own story to tell and I think Gibson told it beautifully, with the same prose she's known for from Dowry. Her writing style is consistently graceful and flowing. I think the book could have been longer, with more fleshing out of the school and the characters, but it wasn't way too short by any means, either. It's a very enjoyable read and if you liked Dowry then I think you'll like this, as well. I really loved this and the very minute I can get myself a physical copy I will be doing exactly that. 🖤
An Education in Malice is an extension of the world of Gibson's absolutely devastating A Dowry of Blood. Set in a more modern time period, with new characters (and some returning!) with new desires, this is a dark academia, romantic retelling of Carmilla that will hold you close and whisper in your ear about the revelations of immortality and obsession.
Laura is an intriguing character, so naive when she arrives at Saint Perpetua's but with a side she never lets anyone see. Carmilla is up front about her attitude towards Laura, and it's fun to see them combat each other throughout the beginnings of their time together. De Lafontaine adds such an interesting twist to things, both with her relationships with the girls individually and between the three of them.
The rivals to lovers played out really well, I enjoyed the tension that shifted into craving immensely. The dark academia vibes were very present and well-done, too. The romance felt real in such an intense way, I think it was one of my favorite parts. The smut was 10/10, WHEW, got me blushing with no one even around! Gibson very deftly takes the reader through an exploration of self and sexuality, and validates the experience of not knowing what exactly it is you want, even when you have it. There's a lot of room for discussion about morality and love, where those two things intersect, and how they change - independently and together - if time and distance stop mattering entirely.
The only things I didn't entirely love was that we didn't get as much background info as I would like to have had. We know some things about Laura, but hardly anything about Carmilla, and even less about De Lafontaine. I think the lack of information on De Lafontaine was intentional and it makes sense, considering she's the only of the three without a POV in the book and she was purposely secretive with the girls. But I wish we knew more about the other two. Besides that, I also would have liked to have seen more of Laura and Carmilla's school lives. Saint Perpetua's was an excellent, stunning backdrop to this story, and the New England autumn was gorgeous, I just wish we'd gotten to experience more of it.
Overall, this book is a gorgeous companion to A Dowry of Blood, although slower paced and tragic in a much different way, which I appreciate because it didn't need to be Dowry again. This book has its own story to tell and I think Gibson told it beautifully, with the same prose she's known for from Dowry. Her writing style is consistently graceful and flowing. I think the book could have been longer, with more fleshing out of the school and the characters, but it wasn't way too short by any means, either. It's a very enjoyable read and if you liked Dowry then I think you'll like this, as well. I really loved this and the very minute I can get myself a physical copy I will be doing exactly that. 🖤
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Death