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

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

This is a dark academia reimagining of Carmilla, the og sapphic vampire book. I felt that I was expecting too much from this text in the beginning. Once I nestled into the story and allowed it to voice itself, I was having a great time. I’m a huge fan of S.T. Gibson’s lyricism and although I don’t think this is quite up to the level of Dowry of Blood, it has many of its own moments. Gibson handles obsessions and power dynamics in such an interesting and graceful way. I’ve never encountered about her author that depicts them so violently and beautifully. This is advertised as dark academia which, by all accounts, it is on paper. The plot and setting shift largely away from the academic portion of the story quite early. It also has little to no consequence on the rest of the story. What makes this so riveting is how sweet and chaotic and intrinsic the character relationships are to each other and the story as a whole. The two main characters are bright, clumsy, and full of youth. Which is a delectable contrast to their elder and wizened counterpart. I enjoyed this thoroughly and would likely read it again! However, if I was to recommend Gibson I would reach for Dowry.