S.T. Gibson has had me under her spell since I first read her work; without fail, it is always dark, decadent, and utterly delicious. So I’m MOST EXTREMELY DELIGHTED to be a part of the cover reveal for her next novel, An Education in Malice, set in the same world as the incredible Dowry of Blood!

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO:

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson
Published on: 13th February 2024
Goodreads

Sumptuous and addictive, An Education in Malice is a dark academia tale of blood, secrets and insatiable hungers from Sunday Times bestselling author S.T. Gibson, author of the cult hit A Dowry of Blood .

Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua's College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.

On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.

But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and dark magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.

Is that not a ridiculously beautiful cover?! Usually I prefer more illustrated covers, but I have a definite soft spot for ivy, and I adore the colour-scheme – especially how the gold pops! Duncan Spilling, the artist, has done a wonderful job, imo.

I imagine the printed version on the books themselves will have gold foil where there’s gold now, which would be gorgeous!

A few details have me intrigued – like the hourglass tucked almost out of sight, half-camouflaged by the ivy. And what about the dark grey vine-thing, the one that crosses some of the text? That doesn’t really look like a vine. Is it another plant, are the whispy bits meant to be roots? HMM.

Also, knowing Gibson, I wouldn’t be surprised if the flowers here meant something specific in Victorian flower language…but I’m terrible at identifying flowers, and have no idea what these ones are! Someone smarter at that than I will have to work that out!

TL;DR: definitely a cover I’d be happy to have on my shelf!

You can preorder An Education of Malice at Blackwells, Waterstones, and of course, the Big River company!