An Education in Malice

By: S. T. Gibson

Narrated by: Stephanie Cannon

Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Sumptuous and addictive, An Education in Malice is a dark academia tale of blood, secrets and insatiable hungers from 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 magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.

For more from S.T. Gibson, check out A Dowry of Blood.

©2024 S. T. Gibson (P)2024 Redhook

Critic reviews

"An Education in Malice is an ode to girlhood; ribbons, blood, poetry, and rage. Gibson’s fang-sharp prose and unflinching honesty create a delicate and fearless exploration of loneliness, love, and—as the bridge between those two absolutes—longing."—Sydney J. Shields, author of The Honey Witch

An interesting Vampire story

An enjoyable dark academia story about the pressure of proving yourself worthy to a teacher you idolize, young love, and the consequences of decisions made when you listen to your heart and not your head.

Artistry in its true dark form

Loved how the story was depicted with this constant struggle of the unknown yet unrestricted. Loved the style of writing & story telling. Definitely recommend.

couldn't finish

the reading is so annoying, I cannot finish this book. So I gave it 3 stars, because I'm not sure if the book sucks or if I just couldn't get past the narrator.

The writing.

I am a huge fan of S.T Gibson as dowry of blood was my first read. However many people stated this was a DNF for them and that scared me away for a while. This is still just as brilliant of a book and I truly have not one bad thing to say especially for a retelling of Carmilla.

I adored the narrator. I loved the different voices she used for the different characters.

loved this book! Great imagery without going overboard with world building! I need to go read the original "Carmilla" story immediately

Beautiful Sapphic Vampire Story

I loved the characters, the narration was beautiful, and the plot held my attention. I devoured this audiobook in less than 24 hours. I LOVED it. I wish there was more. Highly recommend you read “Dowry of Blood” first because it’s set in that world and there is a character from that story that makes an appearance.

Stupid trigger warning spoiled the book

The trigger warning at the beginning of the book was so specific it spoiled everything that happened. It was completely unnecessary. Otherwise interesting book.

Another Nuanced Depiction of Abuse from S.T. Gibson

I was hesitant going into this one as Dowry Of Blood is my absolute favorite book, and I was scared that if the sequel was bad it would ruin it for me. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. As in Dowry of Blood, S.T. Gibson depicted a nuanced view on abusive relationships that I just adored. This time, exploring non-partner abuse and generational abuse in a way I quite liked. I also loved our main sapphic pairing and their rivals-to-lovers dynamic, though I do think it could have used more development. I will also say the ending to the book felt a bit sudden. I liked it nonetheless, but I wish we had had a bit more ramp-up to it. We did a lot of hearing about the eventual adversary, and not a lot of seeing her. Ultimately, I still loved this book and hope to see S.T. Gibson add more to this world in the future!

I kept waiting for it to get better

Good: lesbian love, cool premise, sexual tension

Bad; everything else

The narrator was so bad at Carmilla’s accent, it was distracting. The prose was long and wandering. There was very little payoff in terms of romance/sex. It took a long time for things to happen. Action was minimal. The girls wavered between obsession and repulsion with Delafontaine with no reason or explanation for the changes. Super cool concept, terrible execution.