An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

Source: Netgalley – Many thanks to the publisher!
TL;DR: A worthy follow-up to A Dowry in Blood. Even with a slightly predictable ending I really enjoyed this.

Plot: The classic Carmilla remixed. Laura and Carmilla are rivals in a poetry course, it was believable and engrossing.
Characters: Really loved these over the top and flawed characters (though I’m a sucker for Carmilla stories).
Setting: A women’s college in the 1960’s. I actually found myself googling clothing styles, I found it very immersive.
Magic: Standard vampire lore here, nothing ground breaking but she kept to a well trod and reliable formula.

Thoughts:

A Dowry in Blood was a huge hit last year, with good reason. The prose itself was lovely and dark, and the story was captivating and original. I can tell you An Education in Malice (the Carmilla to the Dracula of Dowry of Blood) is much the same.

This feels much shorter than it is, grabbing you by the collar and pulling you along. This follows Laura and Carmilla, both students at a small all female college. Laura is a freshman, enrolling in a high level poetry course. There she meets Carmilla and De Lafontaine. Carmilla is a senior and the pet pupil of the charismatic teacher, De Lafontaine.

The three’s story begins to knit together as blood and words are spilled between them. My favorite part of this was the dynamic between Laura and Carmilla. At first a rivalry, it develops into a deep attraction. The two grow closer as they begin to deal with the machinations of De Lafontaine and her dark goals.

The ending was the let down on this for me. With how closely this follows to A Dowry of Blood in style I could easily see where the ending was going to go and it felt a little lackluster (though I did like it!). I just felt something was missing in that last quarter. Seeing a familiar character from Dowry was a highlight however, and I really do recommend this for fans of that book.

4 out of 5 over the top poetry classes