Scan barcode
bookboxbabe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
oh boy…ummm, where do i start? *sweats nervously*
this was such a letdown. i was so excited to start reading this because even though i hadn’t read a dowry of blood, i had heard amazing things.
unfortunately, this book was, shall we say, not good.
the prose is overly flowery, the plot was virtually nonexistent, the characters were bland and i didn’t care about what happened to any of them, and the conflicts just never really felt fleshed out enough for me to care
also, the vampire aspect could’ve been taken out and nothing would’ve changed. like the vampirism was so non-important that i’m struggling to see how this was a “carmilla” retelling, aside from the name
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use
phoricho's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Sexism, Vomit, and Religious bigotry
literatureish_liz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting
sproutedpages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
An Education in Malice is a sapphic, vampiric dark academia novel that is a reminder of why I so deeply adore queer vampire novels: they are deliciously indulgent and passionate. And although the narrative voices are younger and less luxuriant than that of A Dowry of Blood, it feels appropriate given the more modern setting, and the ages of the viewpoint characters.
It is beyond evident that S.T. Gibson loves the characters that she creates (and the relationships that these characters cultivate), and those in An Education in Malice are no exception. The lust-tinged academic rivalry that Laura and Carmilla share is absolutely divine, and the manner in which their relationship continues to develop is very enjoyable— though the rivalry could have been extended a bit longer. I would have also preferred more time spent detailing the shift in the dynamic between Carmilla and Professor De Lafontaine, which begins (or becomes perceptible) around the halfway point of the novel.
Moderate: Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Religious bigotry
CWs, as provided by the author: Uneven power dynamics, inappropriate relationships between a professor and students, toxic academic environments, blood, gore, murder, consensual sexual content (including public sex), kink (negotiated and spontaneous), alcohol and drug use, smoking, as well as brief references to: racist political policies, homophobia, and religious discrimination against women.takarakei's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I absolutely devoured this book. Almost read it in a day but ended up taking a little more time with it intentionally. Some beautiful writing and lush descriptions:
Mississippi was a study in green, crawling with Spanish moss and bedecked with heavy-laden magnolia trees, but I never realized how many colors there were to be found in nature until that first fall in New England.
I am obsessed with Laura’s character and I really identified with aspects of her personality. There were some just real good quotes about female rage, feeling othered, and life. The academic rivals to lovers I thought was well done with the appropriate amount of angst.
Slight pacing issues that dragged about 70-80% of the way through. The ending was both expected and unexpected in different ways.
🌶️4/5
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use
The teacher is the emotional abuse/toxic relationship w a studentvreyna20_2004's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
I had high hopes for this book and they sadly didn’t achieve it. I’ve heard plenty of great things about how beautiful S. T Gibson’s prose is and I expected nothing less but while reading it I thought I would come out a different person like when you would read a book in English class and feel a new person with this new revelation but I felt none of that. It was a simple story that went too long in my opinion.
Now the romance between Laura and Carmilla. It didn’t evoke any emotion within me or make me scream at Laura/Carmilla to confess their love for each other it felt rushed almost instalove because Carmilla hated Laura for her writing and how much De Lafontaine liked her and talked about her but when Carmilla got turned to a vampire (because of De Lafontaine wanting to wake her lover) and Carmilla being hungry had to drink Laura’s blood that’s when her distasteful actions towards Laura switched and now she wanted to be near her all the time like a crying puppy. As you can tell, I didn’t enjoy the characters as much as I would like to me they did things for no reason their actions made no sense and once they explained why they did what they did it was a dumb reason.
The only thing about this story that I enjoyed was that Laura was a plus-size girl since there are not a lot of stories about that but even then I would forget she was plus-size.
If someone asked my thoughts on this book I would say, “It had the potential to be great but fell short.” What I’m trying to say is some may enjoy it some may not and I’m sadly not those people.
Graphic: Drug use, Blood, and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence