Reviews tagging 'Gore'

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

33 reviews

alysbookclub's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

4.5

"After all, what horror wouldn't I tolerate, if it was meted out by the hand of my beloved?"

A gothic dark academia drenched in desperation, longing and blood. A retelling of the novel Carmilla, Laura and Carmilla are two young women who are trying to find their way in a world where their feelings are immoral and they are pitted against each other by their otherworldly and enigmatic professor. A rivals-to-lovers dark sapphic romance that manages to be explosive and yet so sweet.

TW: explicit sexual content, gore, toxic relationships

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bookameme's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Dark, Gripping, & Stimulating

Quote:📖

In the end, I stayed. I had the awful, yawning feeling inside myself that for her, I would always stay.

Thoughts: 💡
The first chapter had a slightly slow and meandering feel to it, but as soon as the story dove into the rivals to lovers vibes I was hooked. There is this moment of intense attraction that quickly burns into rivals that grabbed all of my attention in a sharp flash and from that point on the story had a fast and dark vibe, and I adored every minute of it. The imagery and poetry that permeated everything was spectacular. It was very LGBT positive but still recognized the struggle of marginalized people in the time period. I can’t sing enough praises for this story.

Writing Mechanics: ✍️
The plot is inspired and the language used and structure of it all is brilliant. All the characters were beautifully developed with rich backstories and deep motivations. There were points of the story that were so eloquently written that I had to reread and ruminate on the context and beauty of it. And the poetry! Gah! I can’t sing the praises of it enough! Everything in this book was spectacular!

Fun Bits:
⚜️ Sapphic Vampires
⚜️ Academic Rivals
⚜️ Needing to Please The Teacher
⚜️ Beautiful Poetry
⚜️ Sizzling Romance
⚜️ Plus Size Heroine

Important Note:✨
Standalone companion novel to A Dowery of Blood.

Full Content Warning:⚠️
Uneven Power Dynamics, Inappropriate Relationships Between Professor & Students, Toxic Academic Environments, Blood, Gore, and Murder, Alcohol and Drug Use, Smoking, Racist Political Policies, Homophobia, Religious Discrimination Against Women

Stats:📊
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Characters: 💙💙💙💙💙
Dark Historical Fantasy: Dark Academia, Sapphic Romance, Academic Rivals to Lovers, Vampires, Mystery Vibes
First Person, Present Tense, Dual POV

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phoricho's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

This book was my introduction to dark academia and also S.T. Gibson, and it did not disappoint.

Gibson writes such individual and layered characters, and it really shines through. Although the main cast of characters is quite small, they are realistic and complex, each with their own struggles and journeys that, at times, align with each other and, at others, conflict. This creates extremely complex relationships between them.

Although told in dual POV, this book is narrated only by Stephanie Cannon, who did an incredible job. Cannon didn’t just read, she put on a performance. Distinguishing the characters with different accents not only helped to know whose POV I was in but also added to the depth of the characters and the overall immersion of the story. At first, I didn’t even realise that there was only one narrator.

Some of the themes in the book include the exploration of sexuality and desire, discovering who one is as a person, complex relationships and power dynamics, the dangers and consequences of getting what you want and losing yourself in obsession. These were such powerful themes that each character explored in their own way.

Overall, I loved this book. Even days later, I still find myself thinking about it. It’s the perfect book if you love dark academia, complex characters & themes, and a dark, twisted and thought-provoking story.

CW/TW: Uneven power dynamics, inappropriate relations between professor and students, toxic academic environments, blood, gore, murder, consensual sexual content, public sex, kink (negotiated and spontaneous), alcohol and drug use and smoking. Brief references to racist political policies, homophobia, and religious discrimination against women.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for sending me this audiobook for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are 100% honest and my own.

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bookswithbethx's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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steen19's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Dark academia 🤝 vampires

A sapphic enemies-to-lovers, on a college campus, with dark themes and crisp fall vibes. It’s dual POV, there’s catacombs, there's a monster, and a possessive poetry professor.

I flew through this. Quite literally I started it at dinner and stayed up until 1am to finish it. The writing was so smooth and vibrant.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for my advanced digital copy!

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sproutedpages's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

Thank you to NetGalley, Redhook Books/Orbit Books, and author S.T. Gibson for providing me with a digital proof copy of this novel! All opinions within this review are voluntarily given and entirely my own.

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.

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takarakei's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

First and foremost I want to say that if you (like me) did not care for A Dowry of Blood - you might give this one a shot anyway!

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.

I didn’t trust Ms. D but then I was also unsurprised when she did not sacrifice Carmilla. However, I am still forming thoughts on the “villainess” of her character arc. She showed growth, but I guess I was expecting a bit more devastating ending, or at least more conflict between her and the girls?

🌶️4/5

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brittonmc1221's review

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense

4.0

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sestrout's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Dark, sapphic vampire dark academia romance set in the 70’s at an all girls school. If you like gritty, obsessive romance, this for you. So much tension, such a sexy book. Definitely check your triggers, which the author (as all should!) has them listed at the beginning.

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bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

This is my first time reading from S.T. Gibson and I really enjoyed the writing! It was lush, atmospheric, mysterious, and solemn. We read the dual first-person POVs of Laura, a new student at Saint Perpetua's College and Carmilla, engimatic and a pretentious favorite student. They are posited as academic rivals but quickly build up sexual tension as they are invited to their professor De Lafontaine's house for an elusive "poetry group". Dark secrets unfold, and Laura and Carmilla navigate fears, uncertainty, and danger well through the last few pages of the book.

I have been going into books blindfolded (as opposed to blind, which I learned to use as my IG friend @beautyandthebookworms told me this verbiage hehe), and I am very glad that I did so with An Education in Malice too, because what a fascinating ride! I was not expecting the reveals!!! I was genuinely shocked and I hope you will be too!

Someone marketed this book as a f/f/f love triangle, and I don't know if I am fully behind that; the dynamic between Carmilla and Evelyn De Lafontaine absolutely has sexual undertones in the beginning. However, towards the end, the professor explicitly states she has seen Carmilla as a daughter, so I am inclined to believe that Carmilla simply adored and admired Evelyn in the way a student may have a crush or fixation on their well-read, enigmatic professor. Been there! I also never saw any attraction between Evelyn and Laura, so I don't think this fits the brief for a love triangle.

Carmilla and Laura's academic rivals turned hurt/comfort sapphic romance was sexy and absolutely delectable. I loved the moments of longing that Carmilla especially displayed towards Laura, and was thoroughly annoyed every time one of their intimate moments was interrupted, usually by Professor De Lafontaine! Let the lesbians makeout, my gawwwwd!

The ending with Laura's life-changing choice was perfect - in most paranormal romances, someone is offered this option, and I enjoyed how it was laid out here. We don't know what Laura will choose, but either choice is valid.

I saw that A Dowry of Blood (S.T.' Gibson's book that was published in 2021) was optioned for tv/film so I'm excited to see that when it's adapted and I am definitely going to add that book to my TBR.

cw: murder, blood, violence, manipulative professor/student relationship, toxic relationships, emotional abuse, gore

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