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okgm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Religious bigotry
krispi_kebob's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Gore, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity and Forced institutionalization
gabburrit0's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
in all seriousness, this was a nice, bite-size story that I instantly liked. the atmosphere was really what drew me in as well as Fontaine. i personally would've given this book a glowing 5 stars if we had delved further into Fontaine and Irene's background (like an off chapter from Fontaine's POV) but I understand that she's supposed to be this brooding and mysterious character and I can respect Gibson for sticking with that til the very end
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Body horror
egheinze's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol
themagicalworldofnian'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
5.0
5 ⭐️
2 🌶️
Wow S.T. Gibson did it again. If you have read A Dowry of Blood this gives the same vibes ✨
An Education in Malice is a sapphic Carmilla retelling, do I even have to say anymore 🤯
It follows both Carmilla and Laura, two academic rivals who are infatuated with poetry and getting the approval of their demanding professor De Lafontaine.
While Laura is timid and very insecure about herself and her sexuality, is Carmilla the complete opposite, she is very confident and a bit of a mean girl. They both want the approval of the professor. But there is a thin line between desire, obsession and academic approval.
Again S.T. Gibson her prose is just so captivating an poetic, which I just love💕. She just has a way with words that I can’t describe in any other way than just read her books and stories. The use of literary devices such as metaphors, imagery, symbolism and repetition is done just perfectly. It just adds this extra layer to the writing.
I also just loved the inclusion of a couple of poems written by Laura and Carmilla, tho I would have liked seeing even more of them.
The story is also again very character focused and driven just as her other books. The relationships are written soo good. The relationship between Laura and Carmilla, but also between Carmilla and De Lafontaine. The jealousy, the desire, the obsession, the lust, but also the love and friendship.
I also loved how you could really see the imbalance in power between everyone, but also how it is challenged in certain situations.
I love dark academia and I love S.T Gibson and her poetic writing, so for me this was the absolute perfect combo.
So overall, I would definitely recommend this if you love a dark academia that is mainly character driven with sapphic relationships, vampires and obsession and desire packaged in poetic writing.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
amina_writes_books's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Sexual content, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Alcohol
bergha1998'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
3.75
Fantasy, Enemies to Lovers, Emotional, 2 1/2 🔥
“Life doesn’t seem worthwhile without synthesizing my experiences into art, the catharsis of putting it all out onto the page. It’s the only way I’ve ever been able to get other people to understand how I’m feeling.”
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
madlysoph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment
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
steen19's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
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!
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Murder