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A review by mspilesofpaper
An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this eArc.
God, I wish I could tell you how I feel about An Education in Malice but I cannot because I'm just confused and highly irritated. I liked A Dowry in Blood (gave it 4 stars), so I was extremely hyped when a) I learned about this novel and b) got approved for an eArc.
The entire book lacks direction and the ending is just as open-faced, and without any sense, as the rest of the novel. It jumps from one point to another point without any real connection, and I struggled a lot while reading it (to the point where I had to re-read sentences and paragraphs again because my brain couldn't be bothered to stay engaged; normally it's only so bad with academic papers).
I think, the lack of direction just stems from the lack of character development as all three main characters are utterly flat (and the side characters tend to disappear after like five pages). Their relationships are very rushed as well. Especially the romance between the girls; it just felt like insta-lust and that's something I despise in every book. Their hate/rivalry turned quickly into love but the love had no real substance aside from having the hots for each other (especially Laura for Carmilla).
A 100 pages more might have helped the novel as Gibson would have had time to develop the plot and the characters more then.
Bonus points for meeting Magdalena again.
God, I wish I could tell you how I feel about An Education in Malice but I cannot because I'm just confused and highly irritated. I liked A Dowry in Blood (gave it 4 stars), so I was extremely hyped when a) I learned about this novel and b) got approved for an eArc.
The entire book lacks direction and the ending is just as open-faced, and without any sense, as the rest of the novel. It jumps from one point to another point without any real connection, and I struggled a lot while reading it (to the point where I had to re-read sentences and paragraphs again because my brain couldn't be bothered to stay engaged; normally it's only so bad with academic papers).
I think, the lack of direction just stems from the lack of character development as all three main characters are utterly flat (and the side characters tend to disappear after like five pages). Their relationships are very rushed as well. Especially the romance between the girls; it just felt like insta-lust and that's something I despise in every book. Their hate/rivalry turned quickly into love but the love had no real substance aside from having the hots for each other (especially Laura for Carmilla).
A 100 pages more might have helped the novel as Gibson would have had time to develop the plot and the characters more then.
Bonus points for meeting Magdalena again.