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A review by bookameme
An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Dark, Gripping, & Stimulating
Quote:π
In the end, I stayed. I had the awful, yawning feeling inside myself that for her, I would always stay.
Thoughts: π‘
The first chapter had a slightly slow and meandering feel to it, but as soon as the story dove into the rivals to lovers vibes I was hooked. There is this moment of intense attraction that quickly burns into rivals that grabbed all of my attention in a sharp flash and from that point on the story had a fast and dark vibe, and I adored every minute of it. The imagery and poetry that permeated everything was spectacular. It was very LGBT positive but still recognized the struggle of marginalized people in the time period. I canβt sing enough praises for this story.
Writing Mechanics: βοΈ
The plot is inspired and the language used and structure of it all is brilliant. All the characters were beautifully developed with rich backstories and deep motivations. There were points of the story that were so eloquently written that I had to reread and ruminate on the context and beauty of it. And the poetry! Gah! I canβt sing the praises of it enough! Everything in this book was spectacular!
Fun Bits:
βοΈ Sapphic Vampires
βοΈ Academic Rivals
βοΈ Needing to Please The Teacher
βοΈ Beautiful Poetry
βοΈ Sizzling Romance
βοΈ Plus Size Heroine
Important Note:β¨
Standalone companion novel to A Dowery of Blood.
Full Content Warning:β οΈ
Uneven Power Dynamics, Inappropriate Relationships Between Professor & Students, Toxic Academic Environments, Blood, Gore, and Murder, Alcohol and Drug Use, Smoking, Racist Political Policies, Homophobia, Religious Discrimination Against Women
Stats:π
πΆοΈπΆοΈπΆοΈ
Characters: πππππ
Dark Historical Fantasy: Dark Academia, Sapphic Romance, Academic Rivals to Lovers, Vampires, Mystery Vibes
First Person, Present Tense, Dual POV
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death of parent