A Gripping Story of Secrets, Desire & Obsession
An Audiobook Review of An Education In Malice by S.T. Gibson, Narrated by Stephanie Cannon
Published: February 14th 2024 by Hachette Audio | Redhook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 (4.75 stars)
Genres: General Fiction (Adult), LGBTQIA+, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Disclaimer: Thank NetGalley and Hachette Audio for sending me this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are 100% honest and my own.
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.
Historical Dark Academia with a Vampire Twist
An Education in Malice is a dark academia, sapphic retelling of the vampire story ‘Carmilla’. Set in 1968, the story is told in the dual POV of Laura Sheridan, a polite Mississippi church-going college freshman, and Carmilla, a ferociously determined and competitive Austrian senior.
While trying to navigate her new college and please her ever-demanding Professor De Lafontaine, Laura is forced into being instant rivals with the alluring Carmilla. As Laura and Carmilla’s complicated relationship evolves, they find themselves drowning in the dark secrets and betrayals of their beloved professor until it’s too late to escape.
Layered and Dynamic Characters
Gibson writes such individual and layered characters, and it really shines through. Although the main cast of characters is relatively small, they are realistic and complex, each with their own struggles and journeys that, at times, align with each other and, at others, conflict.
Such a close-knit and competitive academic environment, paired with the secrets hidden within the walls of Saint Perpetua’s, creates toxic, codependent relationships that completely consume both Laura and Carmilla.
Audiobook Performance
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. She distinguishes the characters with different accents. This not only helped me 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.
Themes & The Characters’ Journey
Although each character begins the story at different stages of their journey, they collide together in a way that will forever change them. Laura leaves home following her passion for poetry, only to fall into the orbit of the alluring and all-consuming Carmilla. While Carmilla, on the other hand, has run from the abandonment of her mother and finds herself coveting the attention of Professor De Lafontaine.
Together in a whirlwind of obsession and on their own to make sense of themselves, Laura, Carmilla, and even Professor De Lafontaine find themselves on a journey where they are confronted by their decisions and the consequences of those decisions.
There are many themes in An Education in Malice. These 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. Each character explores these themes in their own way, which adds to the complexity and vastness of the characters.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I loved this book and rated it 4.75 stars. Even days later, I still find myself thinking about it. The story engulfs you in somewhat the same way as the characters are in a world of dark secrets and obsessions.
It’s the perfect book if you love dark academia, complex characters & themes, and a dark, twisted and thought-provoking story.
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