I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson Published by Redhook on February 13 2024
Genres: Adult, Horror, LGBTQ+
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Angsty, immature characters, overly-dramatic dialog and secrets revealed too soon add up to a disappointing story.
It seems February is the month of disappointments, as yet another one of my highly anticipated 2024 releases failed to impress me. I had high hopes for An Education in Malice, especially after loving the author’s last book, A Dowry of Blood, and the promise of a queer dark academia story with vampires (and a loose retelling of Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu) had me anxious to see if Gibson could score another win. Unfortunately, this book is full of over-the-top drama and stilted, cringey dialog that felt more like Anne Rice fan fiction than a carefully crafted story of its own. I’ve read some excellent vampire fiction recently and can’t help but compare An Education in Malice to those books.
Laura Sheridan has just been admitted to Saint Perpetua’s Women’s College, where she plans to sharpen her writing skills. She’s also secured a highly sought after spot in a poetry composition class, taught by the imposing Evelyn De Lafontaine. On her first day of class, Laura meets another student named Carmilla, who appears to be De Lafontaine’s pet pupil. Laura feels immediate attraction to Carmilla, but she also senses a dangerous relationship between Carmilla and their teacher which keeps her at arm’s length—at first.
When Laura stumbles upon the two by accident and catches them in an illicit act, she’s drawn into De Lafontaine’s dark and dangerous world, and her life will never be the same again.
I’ll start off with what I liked about this book. Gibson’s prose is wonderfully gothic and lush, the perfect style for a dark academia setting. I loved the mood of the story, and her descriptions of the college, the students and the fiercely competitive environment worked really well for me. Laura is the first character we meet, and I immediately liked her. She seems to be a fish out of water, uncertain that she’ll fit in with the other, more worldly girls at the school. Her clothes are conservative and she’s sensitive about her body and appearance, which made her a very likable character. But she’s determined to make friends and succeed, and she does, although it isn’t easy at first.
When Carmilla enters the picture, it’s pretty obvious the two will eventually fall into a relationship. And I did like them together. Carmilla is the mysterious, beautiful classmate who seems completely out of Laura’s reach. It’s only in alternating chapters from Carmilla’s point of view that we see she is attracted to Laura as well.
The tension between Laura and Carmilla is provided by De Lafontaine, who pits the girls against each other academically, but also seems jealous of Carmilla’s interest in Laura. This isn’t your standard love triangle by any means, but the dynamics among the three characters make it feel that way at times.
And while I didn’t mind Carmilla, I really despised De Lafontaine, who comes across as a two dimensional villain. Her reactions are ridiculously over-the-top, and her dialog, unfortunately, seems immature and overly-dramatic. There is one scene in particular, a big turning point for one of the characters, that is supposed to be shocking, but it came across as funny and ridiculous to me.
Which brings me to the vampire element in the story. I like my vampires with layers and interesting backstories, but here they seem way too cliche and uninteresting. De Lafontaine eventually relates her vampire origin story, but it’s told by info dumping and wasn’t the least bit unique or inspiring. There’s also a moment when Laura discovers the truth about De Lafontaine’s and Carmilla’s relationship that could have added some drama to the story. But Laura just takes everything in stride. In fact, all the characters have a weird nonchalant attitude about everything that happens, it was so strange.
Gibson includes an Eyes Wide Shut-inspired scene that also had the potential to be shocking. But I didn’t believe for a second that Laura would feel comfortable enough at this point in the story to act out her fantasies in public. In fact, all the important events seemed rushed, with very little page time devoted to developing the relationships, or even Laura and Carmilla coming to terms with some of De Lafontaine’s secrets.
I can’t help but wonder if the story would have worked better if it had been told entirely from Laura’s point of view. The shocking revelations, Laura’s sexual awakening, and her initiation into the dark world of vampires might have had a bigger impact without Carmilla’s chapters, where secrets are revealed way too early.
Nothing about the ending surprised me at all. In fact, the story hit all the beats I was expecting, sadly enough. 2024 may be the Year of the Vampire, but as I’m learning, not all vampire fiction lives up to my admittedly high standards.
With thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Oh no Tammy! I really didn’t expect this to be a 2.5 star rating from you. But I can see why you didn’t like it much. Now I’m a little scared to read it. I’m still going to, to see what my thoughts on it are gonna be. I’m sorry February seems to be a month of disappointments. Hopefully your next read will be better!
Me either!! I’m dying to see what you think, Stephanie! There are a lot of rave reviews on Goodreads, so who knows…
Oh dear. I thought this sounded quite good from the description so sorry to hear it didn’t work for you. Hope you’re enjoying whatever you’ve decided to read next 😀
It does sound good, I just didn’t care for the execution.
I’m sorry this proved to be such a disappointment for you, but I have to agree on all counts with your comment: even though I’m roughly only 2/3 or the way in, I know this book will not fare any better than Evocation and I’m wondering if the author will ever be able to double the narrative impact that her first novel had. Moving forward with the book is proving a struggle and I’m soldiering on only because I don’t like to DNF review books that I requested, but I know that after finishing this one I will need one of my “comfort reads” to get back into the proper mood…
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…BOYS IN THE VALLEY, by Philip Fracassi
Now I’m so curious to read your thoughts! I’m glad I’m not the only one who struggled with this…
What a let-down! This does seem to be a year of disappointing reads for so many of us. Sorry this didn’t work for you — sounds like one to skip.
I’ve had more than my share of disappointments recently, hopefully that will change soon!
Always a bummer when one doesn’t hit the mark.
It is! I really wanted to love this one.
Sorry this one didn’t work better for you.
Me too, I really had high hopes (maybe too high)
I am so sorry it wasn’t better for you Tammy! I also wrote that the penmanship is exquisite and all the points you made are valid. I had not the same deep “read” of the story as you have as I am not used to these sapphic and mix of gothic/gore stories so that’s maybe why.
I’ve seen lots of positive reviews, so it might be just me:-)
Whoops! That didn’t go as expected. Maybe better to get these ones out of the way early in the year so you can finish on a high note? 🙂
So true! Oh well, it’s bound to happen sometimes.
Oh, that’s a shame! I was intrigued by the description of this and looking forward to some good dark academia. I’ll maybe look elsewhere!
calypte recently posted…When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain – Nghi Vo
There are better dark academia books out there:-)
Oh wow! Hopefully, next one will be better. I actually recently DNFed a book I really wanted to love: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6238980249
Emma @ Words And Peace recently posted…Sunday Post #103 Walking and reviewing 2/11/2024
Anticipation can sometimes backfire, right?
Oof, sorry it was such a bad read, Tammy! Fingers crossed your next one will be better!
My current is definitely better:-)
Oh bummer! I’m starting this one soon and I had really high hopes based on how much I loved A Dowry of Blood, but maybe I need to temper those a little bit, haha. Sorry to hear this didn’t work out!
I’m so curious to see what you think!
Yeah, I didn’t love this. quite a few dark academia books out there already that are so much better tbh. The vampire element felt strange – like it was so stilted. The relationship was rushed. I don’t know, it just didn’t really work for me.
Lynn 😀
Lynn Williams recently posted…Can’t Wait Wednesday : The Drowning House by Cherie Priest
And better vampire books! The vampire elements seemed so cliched to me.
I’ve read some very enjoyable ones this year, so I’m sad to see you’ve had a few disappointing reads. I’ve seen a few mixed reviews for this one but seeing your review and another friend’s has me in doubt whether I should even bother picking it up.. Thank you for such a thoughtful review Tammy even when you didn’t like it..
Sahi recently posted…THE LIES OF THE AJUNGO / THE TRUTH OF THE ALEKE by Moses Ose Utomi – Immersive and Captivating..
There really are a bunch of mixed reviews for this book, so obviously it’s working for some readers.
I’m sorry to hear this one didn’t work for you. Thanks for sharing your honest thoughts on it.
I know it must be hard for authors to write that second or third book, after a successful debut, but this definitely needed more work.
Ugh, that’s a shame
It was disappointing:-(
I am sorry this didn’t work out for you!! I can see why, sure, but still I am sorry that this was such a disappointment!
For me this book worked, because I think that what really worked for me was the atnosphere and the writing. Strangely enough I wasn’t annoyed by the characters, even if their dramatic ways feel a lot like teen tantrums, and this is strange because usually I don’t have the patience for it, but this time around… I don’t know why, but I enjoyed the characters. At least up to a point. Anyway, sorry for the disappointment!!
2.5 stars?! Oh my. Well, I haven’t read it yet, so I’ll try to remember to come back to your review after I’ve formed my own impressions. I’m sorry this one didn’t work as well for you as A DOWRY OF BLOOD!
I do agree that the whole “vampires are real” part went over shockingly well! Sorry you didn’t like this one as much, on to the next!
Caitlin G. recently posted…Review: FATHOMFOLK by Eliza Chan
Oh, no! I’m sorry to hear that this one wasn’t better for you! I’ve heard quite a few people saying this was quite the disappointment, and I’ll admit, it has me a little nervous to pick it up with a buddy next month
Destiny @ Howling Libraries recently posted…Weekly Check-in: so many novellas!
Beautiful cover! But too bad it didn’t live up to what you’d hoped. And info dumping is so annoying! The author needs to find a way to weave it into the story. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, sorry it didn’t work for you!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…ARC Review: The No-Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall
An excellent review, Tammy. We certainly agree on many of the weaknesses regarding this one. Though I particularly take your point regarding the scene at the party which I hadn’t addressed in my review – and I absolutely agree with you. It felt completely out of character for Laura to have been so blatent, given her general social insecurity. What a shame – I feel this book could have been something special with another major rewrite and effective editing.