Book Review of An Education in Malice by S.T Gibson

Name of Book: An education in MALICE 

Author: S.T. Gibson

ISBN: 9780316501453

Publisher: Redhook

Type of book: vampires, lesbian relationship, 1968, college, dark academia, enemies to lovers, Massachusetts, unhealthy relationships, jealousies, dark romance, dark love, choices 

Year it was published: 2024 

Summary:

Sumptuous and addictive, An Education in Malice is a dark academia tale of blood, secrets and insatiable hungers from Sunday Times bestselling author S.T. Gibson, author of the cult hit A Dowry of Blood.

Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua's College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.

On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.

But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and dark magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.

Characters:

The three main characters include Laura, Carmilla and Professor De Lafontaine. Laura is an innocent and good girl with blonde hair and blue eyes who is talented at poetry and seems to self conscious of herself. She follows the rules as best as she can. Carmilla is Laura's complete opposite in personality and appearance. She is mercurial, flighty, thin, dark haired and eyed and also lonely. She is the type to act and break rules and ask questions later.  De Lafontaine is a mysterious and extremely strict yet popular professor who tries to show that she is ruled by brain and logic rather than the heart.  

Theme:

Be careful what you wish for 

Plot:

THE story is in first person narrative from Laura's and Carmillas points of view and is told in the year of 1968. Its a linear story that focuses on the present. I am definitely of opinion that the characters were good but could have been better. Quite similar to DOWRY OF BLOOD, the novel doesn't explore the origins and the why's and how's of vampires but instead focuses on Laura's, Carmillas and Professor De La fountaines growth throughout the turbulent year. I definitely think also that I would have liked to see De LaFontaines point of view and she is also very under utilized. 

Author Information:
( From goodreads) 

S.T. Gibson is a poet, author, and village wise woman in training.

She holds a Bachelors degree in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and a Masters of Theological Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Opinion:

When I read the authors debut novel, A DOWRY OF BLOOD, I was impressed with the writing, the pain that the characters experienced and how it was explained. In her debut, I seriously have no words for how much I still recall the sentences that tattooed themselves in my brain. Having explained that, I had very high expectations for AN EDUCATION IN MALICE. I expected the same impact, the same meticulous sentences that construct emotions and cause readers to feel them. Much to my chagrin, I found it a disappointing read. I honestly had no issues of the fact it portrayed an enemies to lovers lesbian relationship, but I think I expected a lot more than what was delivered. I expected darkness, untold charisma, and perhaps a lot of attention to what wasn't said between the lines, and that wasn't what I got. The characters as well as settings were fascinating to read about, but they couldn't get a hold on me as one hoped. 

This was given for review 

3 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)