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

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An Education in Malice by ST Gibson - review

5 ⭐️
2 🌶️

Wow S.T. Gibson did it again. If you have read A Dowry of Blood this gives the same vibes ✨

An Education in Malice is a sapphic Carmilla retelling, do I even have to say anymore 🤯
It follows both Carmilla and Laura, two academic rivals who are infatuated with poetry and getting the approval of their demanding professor De Lafontaine.

While Laura is timid and very insecure about herself and her sexuality, is Carmilla the complete opposite, she is very confident and a bit of a mean girl. They both want the approval of the professor. But there is a thin line between desire, obsession and academic approval. 

Again S.T. Gibson her prose is just so captivating an poetic, which I just love💕. She just has a way with words that I can’t describe in any other way than just read her books and stories. The use of literary devices such as metaphors, imagery, symbolism and repetition is done just perfectly. It just adds this extra layer to the writing. 

I also just loved the inclusion of a couple of poems written by Laura and Carmilla, tho I would have liked seeing even more of them. 

The story is also again very character focused and driven just as her other books. The relationships are written soo good. The relationship between Laura and Carmilla, but also between Carmilla and De Lafontaine. The jealousy, the desire, the obsession, the lust, but also the love and friendship.
I also loved how you could really see the imbalance in power between everyone, but also how it is challenged in certain situations.

I love dark academia and I love S.T Gibson and her poetic writing, so for me this was the absolute perfect combo. 

So overall, I would definitely recommend this if you love a dark academia that is mainly character driven with sapphic relationships, vampires and obsession and desire packaged in poetic writing.

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