AUTHOR: S.T. Gibson
SERIES: n/a
GENRE: Fantasy
AGE: Adult
BLURB:
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.
Thank you to Orbit for an arc & a final copy!
An Education in Malice is a darkly seductive sapphic dark academia book with a tad bit of paranormal. The vibes in this book are immaculate – the atmosphere is everything.
One thing that I like about this book is it takes place in the 1960s, a turning point in American History, and I feel that it fits very well with the bit of “coming of age” story that is incorporated into the book.
The homage to the book Carmilla is evident in one of the main characters names, as is some of the moments within the book.
This book plays on the gothic tones of past books, such as Dracula and the aforementioned Carmilla as well as some newer moments of gothic writings. It also plays a bit with tones of The Secret History.
The prose in this book is beyond beautiful, Gibson is a seriously talented writer and I loved everything about this book. I loved the incorporation of the elements of poetry, both written by the leading ladies as well as some classic poetry.
“Well what a miserable little band we all are. Bound by blood and secrecy, with no recourse to anyone but each other.”
I absolutely adored this book, it is an addiction. There was not one bit of this book I would change. It had vibes that I was all over, and it made me feel things. I loved the relationships in this book, and I loved the character development we see in all the main characters.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves dark academia as well as gothic stories or vampires. This book ties all three of those things together so well, and is an unforgettable book.
I don’t know what else to say about this book, mostly because it just left me with feelings and thoughts that I cannot put into words. Honestly, I cannot wait to read more of Gibson’s works!