| Title | : | Gothikana |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 456 |
| Publication | : | First published June 15, 2021 |
An outcast her entire life, Corvina Clemm is left adrift after losing her mother. When she receives the admission letter from the mysterious University of Verenmore, she accepts it as a sign from the universe. The last thing she expects though is an olden, secluded castle on top of a mountain riddled with secrets, deceit, and death.
An enigma his entire life, Vad Deverell likes being a closed book but knowing exactly everything that happens in the university. A part-time professor working on his thesis, Vad has been around long enough to know the dangers the castle possesses.
And he knows the moment his paths cross with Corvina, she's dangerous to everything that he is.
They shouldn't have caught each other's eye. They cannot be. But a chill-inducing century-old mystery forces them to collide. People have disappeared every five years for over a hundred years, and Corvina is getting clues to unraveling it all, and Vad needs to keep an eye on her.
And so begins a tale of the mystique, the morbid, the macabre, and a deep love that blossoms in the unlikeliest of places.
Gothikana Reviews
-
this book changed my brain chemistry…i didn’t know i heavily needed a dark academic, gothic romance until i read the first few pages of this book. it scratched an itch so deep inside my mind..idk what’s real anymore.
Corvina is such a badass character omg i love her! And Vad?! ughh i want him so bad it’s not even funny 😩 they are such an iconic duo and the ending omggg 🤧🤧🤧i’m in love with them
though this book does follow their romance it also follows this underlying mystery of strange disappearances, murders, and random suicides. and the way that shit was unpacked before my eyes at the very end…could not have predicted that shit..no fucking way
multiple times i catch myself smiling and squealing at this book at random times. to say i am shocked and disgusted is an understatement. i deserve to be euthanized honestly. -
*Alexa play deja vu*
🐲Cambio dolor por libertad 🐲
Imagine me standing there smoking like Mount Vesuvius, because that's what I like to associate myself with when I'm frustrated and mad.
(meanwhile, what I actually look like while being frustratingly mad or madly frustrated:)
All due to the wasted potential of this book.
First and foremost, I absolutely loved
📍enticingly mysterious cover;
📍enticingly mysterious title;
📍enticingly mysterious atmosphere of a dark academy that takes residence in an enticingly mysterious castle, surrounded by e̶n̶t̶i̶c̶i̶n̶g̶l̶y̶ ̶m̶y̶s̶t̶e̶r̶i̶o̶s̶ vast forest and tainted with deadly secrets and enigmatic suicides.
Well, by the looks of it, today I've been banned from Thesaurus.com: Synonyms and Antonyms of Words. Might as well go with the flow and end my misery by writing a very short review, since I'm not enjoying reliving this reading experience in the least.
CORVINA, the heroine of this story, also answers to little crow:
The large path of the evolution of the human brain from early primates to great apes and ultimately to Homo sapiens, a few million years path, mind you, just so that Corvina uses it only as a device for thinking non-stop about Vad's cock??
Truly sad. I don't want to complain about the insta-lust on both parts, but it eventually gets on a reader's nerves when they are forced to read about fictional people's genitalia and wonderous ways in which reproductive organs affect their intelectual capabilities. Instant attraction, obviously, provides a solid ground for deep connection and relationship. Nevertheless, when the whole relationship development amounts to heated glances and stolen kisses? It gets annoying, as anything repetitive ultimately does.
VAD, the hero of the story, also answers to devil.
For someone who is supposed to be smart (he's a professor, after all, and a protagonist whom readers are expected to root for) that guy demonstrated the unprecedented lack of common sense. He wouldn't recognize discretion if it slapped him right in his dumb face.
Any kind of personal relationship between teachers and students is prohibited according to the academy's rules. To top it off, anyone who got entangled with Vad in the past (his female students, for one 😏), one way or another came to no good.
So, naturally, the most logical thing for him would be to stare at his new female victim (oops did I just say victim instead of student 👁️👁️) in the class/in the halls/ (insert any public space of the said academy) as if she were an oasis in his personal desert. 🤡 Let the whole world wait and see while he fantasises about his student during his working hours:D
1001 high-class techniques for making any hero seem protective vs readers invested in the couple's forbidden relationship.
Vad was the type of hero I would normally fancy: jealous, possessive... silver-eyed, too. 🤤 Yet, he low-scored on an IQ-test. I'll PASS, send me the next one. 🚬
OVERALL
I thought that there were a couple of scenes that managed to create incredibly atmospheric setting to the story. But juvenile dialogues, as well as unwarranted obscene language (frequent fucks, shits) took away from the gothic elegance this book had a potential to deliver. In my humble opinion, the author should have made her writing style classier, with lexicon that lacks in elements that we, basic bitches, are awash with on a daily basis.
I quickly got equally bored with both: the suspense and the romantic development that actually lacked any 'development'.
I reached the ~60% mark and started skimming. Suffice it to say, I got bored with skimming too. 😂
In case anyone wants to inform me of how the whole mystery was resolved at the end, it would be highly appreciated. (why does this sentence sound so formal to me, though?? 😭)“If this is madness,” she whispered almost against his lips, “drown me in it.”
“If this is madness, ” Irunia whispered, closing the book, “ just drown me.” -
I want whatever you all have been smoking because I don't get it...
-
DNFed halfway through
I don’t usually rate/review books I don’t finish but this is genuinely the worst book I’ve ever read - which I don’t say lightly. Usually I’ll never say outright “don’t read this book” but my god. I have never been so baffled as to how this has so many high ratings.
This book is clearly just here for the aesthetics, an angsty romance on a “dark academia” backdrop - or an attempt at one. The first few pages initially impressed me for its pretty gothic designs, a playlist, map, the full shebang. But lo and behold, it seems more energy was put into the design of the book that it’s contents, for it was riddled with errors and clearly needed an editor. Being self published I could let the occasional typo slide, but when the fourth one I came across was a misspelling of the word “happy” on a page with a whole seven words in total on it, in a huge graphic design quote…that just made me think the author hadn’t even bothered to read it through either. So why should I?
Not only that, but the dark academia aesthetic it was apparently striving for was nowhere to be seen beyond needing a reason for all these characters to be in one building.
The dialogue made me cringe so hard I physically recoiled, and what I assume was meant to be a steamy sex scene just read like a violation.
So yeah, a DNF from me. -
Gothikana was one of my most anticipated reads of this year, and now, it's become one of my favorites! RuNyx did not disappoint in any capacity! Corvina Clemm and Vad Deverell are unlike any couple I've read before, and I loved every minute of their story!
Corvina grew up in an unconventional manner raised and homeschooled by her schizophrenic mother that doesn't like people or to speak more than necessary. Throughout her childhood, she had only the crows, her books, and the voice in her head to keep her company. When an invitation to attend Verenmore arrives, it comes as a surprise... one she never expected would change her life.
"𝑰𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔," 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒔, "𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕."
Suspense, steam, murder, mystery, forbidden love, a heroine with questionable mental stability, and a hero with questionable morals, it's like this book was written just for me! Everything from the atmosphere to the orgasms is utter perfection! It has a dark, eerie vibe that I couldn't get enough of, and Vad and Corvina are some of the most intriguing and unique characters I've ever read.
Verenmore, a character in it's own right, is the exclusive university where Corvina attends and Vad teaches. It sits atop a secluded mountain, beautiful and terrifying with ghosts of the past haunting the halls and the woods on the castle grounds. This majestic setting and the secrets it holds made the story so much fun and created an ambience both romantic and downright creepy.
Everything in this book is mysterious. It's written in such a way that you're constantly uncertain and completely captivated. The history of Verenmore, the voices, the shadows, the suicides, the supposed curse, the woods, the lake, a century of murders and disappearances, and even the main characters themselves keep you guessing the whole way through!
This is the part of my review where I would normally start gushing over the characters and discussing the plot. However, I realized that everything else I have to say could possibly spoil something or take away from the overall experience of the story. Believe me, you don't want that! You owe it to yourself to experience this book in the way it was intended, and Vad and Corvina deserve no less!
Spine-tingling, atmospheric, sexy, and macabre, Gothikana is gothic romance and dark academia in its finest form. It's a spooky smorgasbord of preternatural activity with surprises around every corner, and I sincerely hope Runyx gives us more of this world. Either way, she just got a brand new fan!
-
3.5 stars🌙
↠ in short:
🔮 characters: mhm
🔮 romance: mhm
🔮 plot: mhm
🔮 vibes: yesssss
↠ in long:
🔮 ᴄᴏʀᴠɪɴᴀ ᴄʟᴇᴍᴍ
↠ loner w violet eyes, enjoys tarot cards, candles, dark lipstick, and crystals. it was a refreshing take on the spooky dark academia thing that she doesn't get creeped out by stuff easily bc she's a witchy lil creep too. her and Verenmore just vibed and i liked that she had certain qualities that made her specially suited for the castle. aside from that and her superior aesthetic, i thought her personality was a bit bland and sometimes she gave the book YA vibes, but she could also be v adorable, especially when she was around vad
🔮 ᴠᴀᴅ ᴅᴇᴠᴇʀᴇʟʟ���Steer clear of me, little crow,” he muttered, his eyes piercing, flaying her open. “You might be a luring siren but I’m no ordinary sailor.”
↠ ok so this man was sexy. tbh, i found him sexiest in the beginning and the more i got to know him the less i liked him cause his personality kinda rubbed me the wrong way, but whatever, he could still get it 💁🏽♀️ if RuNyx knows how to write the hell outta two things, it's a hot mysterious man and heavy sexual tension, bless her heart.
↠ also maybe a disclaimer: you know the repetitiveness in
The Predator, how for some reason it could never just be Tristan, it was always *deep ominous voice* ᴛʀɪsᴛᴀɴ ᴄᴀɪɴᴇ. yeah, same thing here but Vad is *phantom of the opera music plays* 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖎𝖑𝖛𝖊𝖗-𝖊𝖞𝖊𝖉 𝖉𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖑. in case you can't read that stupid ass font to catch the stupid ass name, it's THE SILVER-EYED DEVIL ok 😙 he just didn't have the devil qualities to pull that off; still liked him tho
🔮 ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ↠ i wish they hadn't been so insta, but i was pretty impressed that for a relationship beginning w only vague statements and staring contests (yes ruNyx has not switched up her tried and true methods), these two had chemistry and a bucket load of sexual tension 🔥 also i thought the way he said i love you was rly rly cute
🔮 ᴛʜᴇ sᴍᴜᴛ
↠ (yes it's getting its own section, i have shit to say) : :
this book made me miss tristan's silent ass 😭😭 i complained in my predator review about how tristan needs to up his dirty talk game (my precious boy was straight up mute lmao), but vad was the other end of the extreme in that he would not stfu 😩 he was doin too muchHe bit the side of her neck, wild in his passion. “I’m in your head, in your blood, in your very veins. I’ve claimed you before anything else ever could. Your body, your heart, your mind, your fucking soul, it’s all mine. Your hunger is mine to feed, your madness is mine to tame. Do you feel that?”
they barely even know each other at this point i just didn't understand.... is he signing her up for a cult? a blood rite? also the use of the word 'punching' in this book was so questionable, like his dick 'punching' in and out of her bro that sounds goddamn violent i'm stressin
🔮 ᴘʟᴏᴛ/ᴍʏsᴛᴇʀʏ↠ mmmm didn't ensnare me or anything but i still appreciated it as background and thought it amped up the gothic setting which was already *chef's kiss*
🔮 ɪɴ ᴄᴏɴᴄʟᴜsɪᴏɴ
↠ the ending had me worried for a sec but their final decision put me at ease 🕊🕊 it was perf. honestly this was a solid book, all the elements were just good enough that it kept me invested, but aside from the setting, none of them completely knocked it out of the park for me. i never felt the urge to stop reading tho so that means i mostly enjoyed it. -
Ugh I am so mad rn because I wanted answers and I need them. A LOT OF THEM. If you want to read this book and expect to get answer about what happened then do not read this because you do not get them.
I was so excited about this. The plot seemed great and the description of the castle was really nice and I wanted to get fully immersed in the story.
The mystery also started off great and I was excited to read about it but we never get any answers which just made me extremely mad.
It fell flat because of that especially because sooooo many things happen. We have the mystery of Corvina and why she is the way she is, the Thesis of Vad, the purple eyes, the ball, the disappearing of students, the witches, the rituals, the lake, the forest, the powder and nothing gets answered or just very broadly explained by saying it is because the mountain is magical.
It made me hate the second part of this story especially when the characters full out said that some things don't have or need answers. Uh yes I do need answers that is why I am reading this??? -
”I’m scared one day Verenmore will have more ghosts than people. I just hope we don’t end up as one of them.”
I didn’t really care much about the romance, I was more interested in the eerie atmosphere and the creepy gothic elements in it. I definitely preferred the author’s dark verse series more, but this was still good enough. The plot and the setting were fine, I just wasn’t a fan of the characters or the romance.
”You’re the mountain I build my castle on, brick by brick,”
I wish the romance wasn’t so insta. I would’ve loved to see their development, but they just happened so fast. I’d take Tristan’s silent treatment than this. I think they slept together once, he ignored her for weeks, and then he was going all alpha and claiming her. I was like dude chill you’re moving so fast. It was kinda too much and not really convincing. Or maybe it’s the fact that I’m a sucker for a good slow burn which would’ve really worked with this book. -
✩ 2 stars ✩ BR with
hala ✩
So if you guys know me, I freaking love RuNyx, her darkverse series is delicious (Tristan can get it any time and day of the week). So when I saw she was releasing a DARK ACADEMIA novel, a trope not really done in new adult I was gassed, but this book fell through in the last half for me.
🌙 Plot 🌙
Corvina Clemm is accepted into Verenmore university, a place where she can finally get out into the real world now that her mother has been placed in an institute due to her battle with Schizophrenia. Set in an ancient castle, Corvina (along with those damn voices in her head), starts a new adventure.
Upon starting, her roommate Jade shows her the ropes off the place and soon the mystery and horror of the castle reach her ears as Corvina finds out that over the last century people have gone missing, most recently her roommate Jade's friend Alyssa who disappeared after hooking up with her professor, her body along with the others never to be found, happening on a special night of the universities ball.
As she learns more about Verenmore's history she encounters the silver eyes and hair of Vad Deverall, the man that is her literature professor who has a dark reputation, and they embark on a secret and forbidden relationship.
🌿🥀🃏 Corvina Clemm 🃏🥀🌿
Miss thing with the witchy purple eyes and boho clothes, Corvina Clemm is most certainly not like OtHeR gIrLs, but she was cute because she never explicitly states it, her fashion sense kind of does it for her what with everyone on campus calling her a weirdo, someone who does witchcraft and gives people blowjobs in the forest.
"Wearing one of her black full-sleeved tops and brown maxi skirts, a black ribbon choker around her neck, brown lipstick on her mouth, black liner outlining her odd violet eyes, hair in a fishtail braid, silver danglers hanging from her ears, silver ring piercing her nose, and the multi-crystal bracelet on her left wrist she never took off except to recharge, Corvina felt most like herself."
- tbh she just sounds like she stole vanessa hudgens coachella outfit
Corvina was an interesting character but her development fell through for me. Her mother is schizophrenic, but she hears voices in her head which literally helps her find her friend Troy who was about to jump off a building, and then later on to the lake in which they managed to uncover like 15 dead skeletal remains of the missing people.
This all makes her sound like a supernatural being or at least someone with psychic abilities, but we never found out the reason why she heard those voices? Her doctor thinks it's her subconscious, but that doesn't explain how she found people in a place she had never been to before.
It was sad how she was just reduced to the girl with purple eyes when she could've done so much more with the mystery plot of the disappearances rather than the 360 degree turn of never finding out what happened and shifting it all to Jade being the reason for Alyssa/Troy murder-suicide all because Jade's demonic brain thought her and Vad were soulmates lol wtf is up with that wattpad shit???
🕷💀⛓ Vad Deverall ⛓💀🕷
This man had a lot of potential.
I LOVE student-teacher tropes (what? don't tell me you never wanted to fuck one of your teachers? hiMrSlaterMrHawkleyMrMoon). Vad was immediately wrong in my eyes. Before we even met him we found out he had fucked around with students before. ERM, WHY??? The only reason I enjoy student/teacher relationships is that the teacher has never done that before. They're good at their job and love it, so why would they jeopardize it? Until they meet the heroine/hero and they fall naturally by forming a deep relationship.
What did we get here? *cue insta-lust, 20 seconds of intense staring into a fuck fest that lasts throughout the whole book*. There was no relationship development whatsoever. In the beginning, I found Vad kinda fun and fresh, they gave me YA feels with the setup of the gothic scenery but they literally went from 0-100. Vad's dirty talk game in the first 40% was pretty good but that's all he had going for him.
“Things like my fist in your hair and my tongue in your mouth,” he told her harshly, the lines of his face strained. “Things like fucking you in front of the boy who held your hand, just to tell him you’ll never be his. Things like bending you over my desk after class and telling you to wrap your lips around my cock like you do with your pencil.”
But the more we got to see Vad, the more annoying he got and I just wanted him to shut his mouth. He was bragging to Corvina about sharing another girl? Vad needs to take some notes from Tristan. Sometimes silence is necessary. The only other good thing about him was he told Corvina everything and seemed obsessed with her (that's probably the lust talking tho). They also kinda had kinda cute nicknames for each other:
“Witch,” he muttered, there, right there, so close she could almost feel his lips. “Devil,” she murmured back, seeing his eyes flare with molten fire, feeling the heavy bulge of him pressed against her stomach, right where heart coiled deep.
✨ Final thoughts: ✨
So many things disappointed me in this book
🔮 The lack of relationship development
🔮 The biggest mystery was unsolved and not even explained properly, we were diverted to somebody else being responsible for two deaths, but not the rest of the disappearances.
🔮 Don't actually know what happened to Jade
🔮 Could have had more scenes/dialogue between the main couple that didn't involve sex
I started the book by highlighting so many quotes because, the dark academia vibes were giving, but after 30% I stopped because that's when the book started to get dry in terms of the plot but way too fast in terms of the MC's relationship. It pains me to give a RuNyx book 2 stars but this is literally how I felt reading this, hala can confirm because we were both baffled by the plot holes and pointless scenes. The only character we were intrigued by was Ajax, and the way the book ended makes me think he *may* get a book? Maybe then we can find out more about the disappearances and whatever happened to Zoe, his gf. -
Gothikana is now available on Kindle Unlimited ➡
mybook.to/gothikana
Paperbacks are also live!
I hope you enjoy your journey to Verenmore! -
Ever since I was a kid and the first time I finally got my hands on Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, books such as Gothikana have been one of my very favorite things. And with the legends and old wives tales abounding this is giving me everything I could possibly want.
Fantastic world building.
The sexual tension is phenomenal.
Interesting that he keeps warning her away from him but he’s continually the one seeking her out, trying to get her attention. Perhaps you should listen to your own warnings, Mr Deverell.
Holy shit! That scene in the library made my heart palpitate, made it hard to breath. Goddam, he is one sexy mofo!
Corvina is fearless, almost borderline sociopathic by her lack of emotions that only appear to be brought out by the silver eyed devil. It makes for a new, interesting take on an h and I couldn’t be happier by that.
“If this is madness,” she whispered almost against his lips, “drown me in it.” “If this is madness,” he told her, echoing her words against her lips, “I’ve already descended too far.” -DEAD! 🥵🔥
Oh yay, she called him out on his bs. “You give me mixed signals, you know?” she told him quietly. “When you say stuff like that, it’s one. Then you warn me away from you, it’s another. You need to make up your mind about what you want from me.”
Is she crazy or is it real? And if it’s real what is it? That’s the age old question. One that’s common since the beginning of gothic romance.
God, he already reminded me of Emeric from Dark Notes and than he put her on the piano. 👀
In the end I had an inkling but not the whole story for what came to pass. While the mystery was good it paled in comparison to the love they share. But really that’s the most important part.
He’ll always be her Devil, her madness, her mountain. She’ll always be his witch, his little crow, his castle. In this life and hopefully every one that comes after. -
Just some thoughts and things I didn't like about the book, but it was sadly such a disappointment.
A few spoilers
1. 3rd person POV- not a fan usually. But this particular writing here made it hard to connect with the characters, and the way the author uses "she" and "he" so often, and not the name of the person, it made it super confusing if the sentence was about another character or the MC.
2. insta love 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
3. Personally, I like the age gap to be a bit bigger in teacher/student books for the more taboo aspect, so this was kind of like... Yeah...so what?
4. Cliche
5. Boring
6. Calling the hero "devil" is so cringe omg
7. "This madness"
8. The hero already has fcked at least one student and I think another professor, so what's so special about the heroine? Her eye color? Give me a break.
9. Where is the discreetness?
10. If the heroine gets horny one more time... I swear🙄
11. Wouldn't it be nice to not have to wear a bra everyday
😒
12. "Our madness"
13. Where is the 🔥🔥? Their relationship was dry AF
14. The dialogue is super immature
15. For how much she was warned to stay away from him and how much he pushed her away, she started to look a little pathetic giving in to him so easily
16. The author is trying way too hard to make the hero mysterious and all, that it made me lose even more interest in him with how forced it is
17. Omg if I hear them talking about their "madness" one more time...🤡
18. All the mentions of hero's past relationships and experiences. Such as one of him sharing his friend's gf 🙃
19. Heroine getting hot and bothered finding out about that 🤮
10. Apparently it's not a dark acedemia book without some orgies
21. Dark & suspense= orgy
22. Random school orgy that was so out of the blue and made me dislike this book even more tbh (hero and heroine did not join in with others, but it was pretty much a room full of the students having sex with each other, heroine and hero we're doing some stuff too and getting off on it)
23. School orgies I guess is the answer to bring everyone closer on a night where everyone is on high alert for someone to go missing or die
24. Hear enough about the orgy yet?
25. THAT'S IT?🙄🙄🙄
26. Wow, the only time I've actually liked the hero is in the last 5 pages. Shocking.
27. The end.
Things I did like:
1. The atmosphere
2. The mental illness aspect
3. The cover
Safety:
Virgin heroine/ imma say hero is a ho since he's fcked 3 people that I know of so far, that go/went to the school or worked there, and he has a vasectomy (random detail I know, but I thought it was pretty random in the book too)
Ow drama- not really drama but we get a lot of talk about his past relationships and experiences
Sharing- not with h, but he did previously share his friend's gf, and hero is a bit of an exhibitionist
No cheating
Om drama- none but some jealousy because of her male friend
Not sure if I'm missing anything 🤔 -
The concept of Gothikana is pretty interesting and had quite a lot of potential to be a good Gothic Romance, but the execution just isn't there. 2 Stars. Edit: after taking a couple days to think about this, I'm dropping it to a 1.5. This book is terrible.
Edit January 2023: I'm just seeing this review again and I can't believe I ever gave it 1.5 stars, much less 2. Maybe I was trying to be nice? I'm much more confident in the way I rate and review now and this book, for me, is the reason 1 star reviews exist. 15 months later I still think about how bad this book was all the time.
There are three areas where this book seriously falls apart: the writing style, the complete lack of editing, and the actual story.
Writing Style:
This is largely subjective and personal for every individual, but the writing style in this book was not it for me. It felt very juvenile and I found myself reading slower because I was actively re-writing lines in my head to make it flow more seamlessly, fix improper word usage, and generally just sound better. This passage is a pretty good indicator of the style throughout the book:"Dr. Kari was one of her scariest professors in the semester. He had down tilted dark eyes and a fierce white beard, and he was strict. One time a girl got late to the class and he made her stand outside in the corridor in full view until she had gone red in the face from humiliation. Students were scared to ask him a question. But it didn't end there. He also seemed to enjoy looking at young girls too much in the class, all eighteen-year-old first-years except an older Corvina."
Editing (or lack thereof):
This book wasn't edited or proofread at all. The author clearly didn't even bother to run spell check, which is where I admittedly start to lose my patience with a book. It's annoying, as a reader, to think about the fact that I paid X amount of dollars for a book the author couldn't be arsed to comb for spelling errors. I completely understand that things get missed, but it's excessive in Gothikana. Chapter breaks occasionally have special art pages with famous quotes, and you'd think a copy and paste quote would be safe from spelling errors...but you'd be wrong.
Gothikana is chock-full of misspelled words, incorrect word usage (i.e. "compatible" where she meant "companionable," among a multitude of other instances), constant misuse of punctuation, run-on sentences and sentence fragments abound, and missing movement in the writing (a character moving from one place to another in a scene seemingly by teleporting since the writing never indicated movement, which actually creates a big problem in the climactic scene of the book). If you get twitchy at unedited books, this will be completely unreadable.
((Edit: In talking with someone who's reading the ebook, it sounds like the digital version may have been edited/updated. The paperbacks being sold have definitely not received the same treatment.))
The Story:
As for the story itself, I understand that this is much more subjective but it didn't work for me either. Even beyond the technical aspects of the writing, there's just a lot that doesn't make sense in the story. From the fact that it's a university full of adults who are told they can't leave or use the one single phone on campus without express permission from faculty (if someone tried to tell me I couldn't use a phone to call my doctor when I was twenty one years old I would have punched them in the face, but our main character and every student on campus seem to think that's completely reasonable) to a psychiatrist telling a girl with a history of schizophrenia from BOTH parents that the voices she hears in her head aren't a problem...I spent a lot of the book saying
None of that even covers the massive amount of plot holes and narrative threads that are started and then abandoned with no resolution. It's like the author started with an attempt at a cohesive plot and just gave up entirely about halfway through, then made it to the end and realized they didn't have answers for any of the questions they themselves created, and tried to make it seem like the total lack of an ending was intentional. The book legitimately goes from the climactic scene straight to an epilogue with a time jump. You want answers to questions posed by the beginning of the story? Too bad, you're not getting any.
Overall I found pacing to be poor, the romance was extremely underdeveloped, and while the plot was interesting at its core it really fell apart for me at the end. It reads like the author didn't know how to finish the book so there's just no resolution for anything and it gets a meta ending that was never earned. Props for at least starting with a plot that I wanted to be invested in, but literally none of it was done well.
I would have DNFd this book very early on if I didn't have a self-imposed policy about finishing a book once I start it. -
how do i give this a zero im dead srs
this was so bad it almost circled back around to being good because WHY WAS THIS FUNNY ASF DFGLKJDFLK
seriously though i went into this pretty blind off the rec that it was a ~dark academia mystery~ a la ninth house/secret history… i think a more accurate comparison would be my immortal. this book has the frantic testosterone and finesse of a 17 year old boy and no joke is the worst book i have ever read. i will never be able to read the words “the woods” or “deep gravel voice” without it triggering a flashback
Some highlights: a ~voice~ visiting our main character to whisper “he’s important vivi this one” (like a.. force ghost?) that appears in her head WHILE this man is fucking her in a car?
him fingering her while she tells him about her schIZOPHRENIC MOTHER (??????)
Constantly calling her his “little crow” ….like boy you are SO creepy and your “single grey streak” … you will never be stacy london
honourable mention to “magic pussy”, “as though she hadn’t been wet with his seed” and
“and if i am? does that make you loathe me? will that keep your pussy dry” being things i also read with my bare eyes.
Like i get that smut is a genre in itself and while that's not what im into and did not go into this book expecting to see, i have to believe that i have an issue with this book not solely because it isn’t “my thing” but because this has to be an atrociously bad example of it… right? RIGHT????? Everything and i mean everything in this book is at its best awkward/corny or at its worst downright creepy. plotwise it was clear that anything that didn’t directly have to do with the romance was a heavy afterthought. at points it genuinely felt like satire it was getting so ridiculous, then decided to get META at the end to explain away the plot holes? META????????????????????????? consider me retired from booktok recommendations jesus christ
on a brighter note those ppl saying kindles make u read faster were NOT joking... -
![Lori [semi-hiatus]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1652024485i/125758944._UX200_CR0,0,200,200_.jpg)
DOWNGRADING THIS TO 1 STAR AFTER FURTHER CONTEMPLATION BECAUSE IT RUINED THE TEACHER STUDENT TROPE.
IT'S NOT FORBIDDEN IF THE TEACHER MAKES IT A HABIT TO SLEEP WITH STUDENTS. IT JUST MAKES IT PREDATORY AND CREEPY
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is actually more of a DNF half way through because I couldn't care enough to finish the book. I agree with what another reviewer said that the only feeling this book gave me was indifference.
A few thoughts:
I tried to read The Predator before and couldn't because the writing was bad. This wasn't the case in this one. I thought the writing was much better and it flowed nicely, even though some sentences were still stilted and a bit juvenile. Kudos for the improvement though!
My issues were with the story and characters. I just didn't care about any of them. Corvina was a little bland and I couldn't warm up to Vad at all.
Their dialogue was interesting in parts, but I wasn't invested enough.
Safety for what I did read (I skimmed a lot too) -
genuinely altered my brain chemistry??? insanity i fear .
-
4.5 🌟
Vad was kinda annoying at times, especially in the start but he kinda made it up with that hotness holy hotness. I already have a thing for forbidden romance and Vad and Corvina served. The spice. 🤌🏻 The dirty talk. 🤌🏻 The freaking tension. 🤌🏻
Someone take me to Verenmore pls I wanna live there. The aesthetic of the book was everything, and I especially salivated over Corvina's wardrobe. I WANT THOSE RIBBON CHOKERS. AND THE NOSE RING. AND THOSE SKIRTS. NOT TO MENTION HER DRESS AND MASK AND SHOES DURING THE BALL.
I generally don't like the insta-lust thingy but I didn't mind it here. That's not to say I liked the push and pull thing they had going on there in the beginning. I mean, I kinda understand?? But at the same time, I don't.
I cannot stop gushing over Verenmore istg and the plot was *chef's kiss*. I'm in love ajskkakskkaks
REREAD:
Yea Vad was still annoying mostly. And the word 'mountain' was used so many times in the second half it kinda irked me. Rereading this also reminded me of the fact that most of the things are unanswered but I STILL LOVE THIS BOOK SM. 😭 -
This was such a spooky and atmospheric romance unlike anything I've read before! I loved that this took place at a spooky college that had all of the creepy elements. We had creepy woods, a creepy lake, a creepy cemetery, and a creepy old school with secret tunnels and strange murders. Vad is a professor with a bad boy reputation and Corvina is immediately intrigued by him. They enter a relationship, but Corvina doesn't know how much she can trust Vad or what rumors about him are true. While it was a professor/student romance, nothing felt too taboo because Corvina was only about five years younger that Vad. It was definitely creepy following the two of them as they were trying to uncover more about the mysterious deaths that have happened at the college and in the town. I also liked how suspenseful things became at the end and the secrets that came out. If you're in the mood for an atmospheric dark academia romance, you should definitely check this out.
We were left with a lot of unanswered questions, so I'm hoping the author writes a second book after this! -
This is one of those cases in which I loved the idea of a book more than I did its execution.
I don't know what I expected from this book exactly, but it definitely wasn't a Zodiac Academy rip-off, which, ironically, manages to sound even more juvenile than the OG series does.
I say ironically, because, well...ZA is the apotheosis of juvenile, and if you've followed my journey into the ZA universe, you'll also know that I've suddenly grew out of it one day and can't stomach it anymore. I still love Orion, Darcy and Geraldine, though.
And it doesn't matter that there's smut (in both); smut doesn't automatically make a book mature and edgy, just like calling a book Gothikana and having a main character named Corvina who likes the color black, doesn't make a book gothic.
Am I a little disappointed? Eh, you could say that.
The title, the cover, the blurb, they all suggested a world I didn't find in the 80 and so pages I brought myself to read. I especially didn't like the writing -with emphasis on the dialogues- and how immature and YA they sounded.
Case in point, it also reminded me a lot of
Vampire Kisses, now that I think about it, and while 15-year-old me would have drunk that shit up at every meal, I'm too picky now to let it pass.
I don't know if I'm being grumpy and eventually missing out on a good reading opportunity that's the literary equivalent of a late boomer, but I really don't wanna and shouldn't be stuck with a book I'm not feeling only because it's popular or because I was promised an age-gap relationship.
Right?
(Please send me all your age-gap book recs while you're at it?) -
When i say i love dark academia I MEAN THIS 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
-
Gothikana has so many different vibes and such great ones on top of it. Bram Stocker’s Dracula is my favorite book, and this book gave me such aesthetics of the book. ( There is no vampire in this one, just the vibes of Dracula).
After receiving Corvina receives a letter from admissions of The University of Verenmore, she believes she can have a new take on life. Twenty-one years of age, she was homeschooled and sheltered. She didn't expect Vad, her Professor, deaths, and the mystery of the castle.
There is an instant attraction between the two, and boy, can you feel it. Vad is very mysterious, dark, broody, and hot as sin. A force to be reckoned with. Corvina and Vad are everything. They were born for each other.
“My little witch with those fucking purple eyes, fucking made for me. And I’m your devil, am I not?” Corvina rocked her hips back against him, whimpering. “My devil.”I absolutely love the world RuNyx created with this book and how we are transported to such a beautiful and gothic world. I have to be honest, I was very intrigued going in, it’s not my first gothic book, and the author literally blew my mind. I am obsessed with this book. The author went into great detail about the setting, and the plot is impressive. I hope to see more of Vad and Corvina in the future.
-
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶🌶🌶🌶/5
TW: Explicit Sexual Content, Crude Language, Dark Themes, Psychological Trauma and Suicide.
I am pleasantly surprised by this read. I picked up this book after seeing it constantly on bookstagram for over a week. I came into this book without any expectations and I am glad that I didn't know exactly what to expect. Was this perfect? No. I have a few little nit-picky things to point out, however the only reason I will point them out it is because they are nothing more than constructive criticism . There is SO MUCH potential behind this author's writing style and imagination. I know people's writing develop the more they write and I want to make sure RuNyx knows she has the skill and that little seed inside of her that could turn her into one of my favorite authors.
This is the sort of book I search for. These are the sort of vibes I could read forever and ever, this is my tribe. Romantic ghost stories, tragic, consuming, maddening dark romances are the reason I read every single day. I live for this style of writing, gothic romance is EVERYTHING to me and Gothikana (as it is in the name, delivered almost every possible aspect of a goth romance I could wish for).
Here are the small things I think could be improved:
1. the repetition of certain sayings, and again these are very small notes, but she used the sentence "phantom ants" a lot. I think the real challenge in a book is to make sure you wear, tear and expand all the vocabulary you could possibly have to describe things differently every time.
2.This book could have been a little longer, I feel like Vad and Corvina had a very rushed, out of nowhere start and gothic romances thrive when you add a good slow burn and a more of an intricate development, they needed more time at the beginning to really connect so things wouldn't feel forced.
3.Some small dialogues were slightly cringy, and I mean this in a kind way, I think this also goes back to repetition, some things didn't need to be said more than once, they have more impact that way.
I am only saying this because I really loved this book and I had SUCH A GREAT TIME reading it. I feel like RuNyx has something really special and she is so close to PERFECTION. I would only make this amount of nit-picky annoying notes for a book I care about and for an author I really want to succeed.
Now to the GOOD, awesome things about it. The sex scenes were freaking phenomenal, the best I have read in a while. The tension was incredible, the age-gap romance was absolutely exquisite, the teacher-student trope was out of this world and executed perfectly, the mystery was creative. The story, the vibes, the castle, everything had a huge personality and soul. Our main character was sweet, intriguing, her mind was easy to follow and the world RuNyx created was easy to get lost in. The plot twists were fire, the gothic scenery and hidden secrets were exactly the mood I'd love to have in every book I read.
I can't wait to see what Runyx comes up with next, I really want to see her succeed and feed my gothic/dark romance addiction the same way Keri Lake does. I bet this book was really hard to write and she did it wonderfully!
-
“This will last until the day roses on my grave stop sharing roots with the roses on yours,” he declared. “I will have you even in death, little witch. I am your beast. I am your madness. And you, you’re my afterlife.”
I would’ve written this sooner, but my eyes are dry from bingeing the fourth season of Elite.
I don’t know what it is about older men; the seductive masculine vibes they give just does it for me. If I imagined half of the things Vad says in this book, come out of some “bad-boy” in a bully romance, I would’ve DNF’ed it.
@TJ; I take back everything I said about us having different taste in books and @Matilda: your review gave my the final push to start this.
My views on this book isn’t different from everyone else. I think this was dark in a way that was hauntingly beautiful. The writing and the description in this gave me the “dark academia vibes” i wanted going into this book. There were so many aspects that I loved about this book and so many that were just predictable
CORVINA
So I get the whole “she’s not like every other girl” theme that’s going on with her, but I genuinely liked her character and personality. She was shy without being meek and her friendship with the gang was one she didn’t ignore or make it a lesser priority like the other heroines in student-teacher romances.
“The only rule she broke was hooking up with a professor.”
“That’s not allowed?” Corvina asked, curious.
Jade shook her head. “Absolutely not. It’s one of the strictest rules here. Students and faculty have different lives”
And she didn’t just have a magic pussy; she had magic with tarot cards too. That was a fun lil addition to the story, I don’t think ive ever read anything with them. And cutesy/ fangirl moment :
VAD FUCKING DEVERELL
This man. He is the definition of a broody-mysterious-stranger. Because that’s exactly what he was throughout the entire book. A stranger. Inspite of this whole ”I have a lot of secrets and I cant get attached with you” bs, he intrigued me to infinite depths. I like that he didn’t push the h away to build walls, he was honest with her and himself about his feelings for her. Was I annoyed about his secrets? Not really. You don’t even notice it with how quickly the story progresses. Besides, corvina had her secrets too; I practically died when she called out ”Mo?” when they were having sex.
“You might be a luring siren but I’m no ordinary sailor. I’m a mad pirate and I’m trying to resist your call. If I land on your shores, I will plunder and take away everything worth having. Be very careful giving me those eyes.”
And I actually enjoyed the classes he taught. It was a dark and an interesting subject in general : Danse Macabre
He’s also very sexy
“I would’ve kissed you bathed in blood, Corvina. If I had a chance to kiss you while a thousand ghosts rose from their graves, I would have kissed you. Don’t doubt that.”
RELATIONSHIP
I admit in the beginning I was kind of annoyed that they didn’t have any interactions before getting into their relationship. I mean they had eye contact… yeah nope. There was no sexual tension or even angst that I wanted pre-fuckathon.
it didn’t bother me later on because their chemistry was through the fucking roof. Very mature (more or less) and honest ( omission of truth not included)
“I want to know your side of the story.”
“Can you just... not look at me while I’m speaking? It makes the nerves worse.”
“Vad nodded, putting his hands on her thighs and spreading them wider, his fingers playing on her knees. “I’ll be looking at something else. And if you’re good, I’ll make you come.”
POSSESSIVE SMUT
I think I finally understand why the sex scenes got a whole different category; this author writes smut like no-other. I love possessive heroes. Always have. It might irk some people but I eat that shit up. Its amazingly arousing and Vad Deverell’s mouth spits out that shit like a meoldy
“Would a stranger know the exact taste of your come on his tongue?”
“Would a stranger know exactly how deep his cock can go in that tight pussy, hmm?”
“Would a stranger know the way those your tits bounce when your nipple is flicked?”
“You want to know who I am?” he punched his hips harshly against her.”
“I,” slam “am” slam “your” slam “madness.”
“I’m in your head, in your blood, in your very veins. I’ve claimed you before anything else ever could. Your body, your heart, your mind, your fucking soul, it’s all mine. Your hunger is mine to feed, your madness is mine to tame. Do you feel that?”
“Don’t think about me with that boy at your side,” he told her, his eyes fierce. “The call of these,” he twisted one nipple between his fingers, “is just for me. I’d hate to hurt him.”
🙈I swooned.
MYSTERY
The main storyline revolved around the mysterious deaths taking place at the university and we follow Corvina (who has visions and a voice in her head) try to find out why and how this is happening.
Was I surpised? Yes. I was so focused on the smut and relationship that I lost track of the mystery aspect of the plot.
Was it satisfying? Ehhh, sure? But I guess that’s more me than the book
OVERALL
I throughly enjoyed this book for what it was. Could it have been better? Yes
Maybe a little more about the voices in her head and about
I would completely recommend this to someone looking for something hot and easy to get into.“If something like that happens, you tell me. If you need help, you tell me. If you need comfort, you tell me. Whatever it takes. I get to be the only madness inside you, you understand?”
-
Student/teacher romances are my jam. Add a haunted castle on top of that and I'm completely sold. But unfortunately this did not meet my expectations.
The romance is based on instalust. They don't know each other, they dont really talk to each other, they just fuck a lot and drop in little details in between when they have had time to catch their breath.
Corvina (ugh, that name) and Vad (ugh, that name) just start eye fucking each other from day one and from then on it's straight on to love and marriage talk. The only thing Vad (ugh, that name) has going for him is his looks because his personality got lost in the mail somewhere. Yes, he's tall, dark and brooding and I'll admit he ticks all the boxes but aside from that we don't really get to know much about him until well into the second half of the book. And even then it's just not that interesting. When he took her virginity very roughly I stopped caring about him in general and knew there was nothing left for me to enjoy about this man. I knew I was right when I later on found out his girth and size could be compared to an adult's arm. Add that on top of the numerous "Really???" moments that made me frown.
Before coming to the castle Corvina (ugh, that name) is home schooled by a schizophrenic recluse (her mother) and so well adjusted she makes me look like a psycho. Hell, she makes your sweet grandmother seem like one. Sure, she hears voices, but nobody knows and aside from that she seems like just a normal girl with a weird fashion sense andshuddersviolet eyes. (again, really?????)
The plot was somewhat interesting but the constant cheesy dialogue between Corvina (ugh, that name) and Vad (ugh, that name) was just nauseating and stopped me from enjoying anything that was happening all together. -
dnf @ 20%
who is even surprised? 😐
lowkey this was one of my anticipated ones for this month, and the potential was there, but the way both main characters Vad and Corvina’s “romance” is more insta - lust than slow burn it just did not work for me enough. i’m a huge slow burn kind of a gal especially the way Vad’s character type was dark + broody i was just expecting something different. i just couldn't connect with the way they both started to feel something for each other almost right after their first meet, to me it didn't seem to go with Vad's character type and i definitely was hoping for something more along the lines of resistance.
plus, i have been in the reading slump for almost 84 years now so maybe that’s also a reason why i didn’t feel much from this book. -
4 loaded stars to Gothikana, I felt every eerie and myterious imagination. This world build connections to other-wordly, of dark woods, strange roses, bodies in a lake, witches - everything hit jackpot with brilliant imaginations. My first book by RuNyx was a winner.
Corvina was invited to a school on mountains. It's like Harry Potter movie where magic students are only invited to Hogwarts. At twenty-one years she is older for a senior, with a mysterious bubly friend she starts school days. But the school wasn't normal, the events both past and present was scary and mysterious. The school was a castle with spooky ghost tales. Corvina has always taken care of herself, her mother home-schooled her keeping her away from the outside world. Corvina sought independence through books and her love for romance and happily ever afters are always she craves. Hearing an eternal music of melancholy she wanders and meets her temptation which turns out to be her teacher. Vad (28) knows more secrets of Corvina than she realises. He is not an usual man in the castle, he is riddled with mystery Corvina struggles to understand.
Honestly this felt more like a ghost story. There are tarot readings, good and bad witches. The plot was interesting and there were twists resulted by past deeds. I still don't know how Vad's grandfather died or I missed it. Vad and Corvina moments were hot. At the beginning I was a little bored and wanted to hop to the middle of the book but after myterious happenings and Corvina's inner voices had my attention erect. This haunting castle of Varenmore of diturbing legends and unfinished pasts must be solved or no living or dead souls will find peace. Highly recommend. -
Rating: 3.5
Thanks to the lovely
Mia for recommending this!! I am also in love with Vad!!
It’s hard to find a dark, adult and romance book that actually develops a story rather than focusing solely on the smut. Gothikana really hit the spot for me :D. If anyone has recommendations please let me know!
Pick this up if you enjoy or don't mind:
❤️ Insta Love between a good girl and dark broody guy. The relationship went from 0 to 100 in no time
🚫 Forbidden Student and teacher romance (though it didn’t feel that forbidden, there was nothing to lose)
🔥 Hot chemistry, smut and spice!
🖤 Dark academia setting
🕵️♂️ Mystery
What I enjoyed:
This was a fun, quick and easy read. I loved the dark academia and mysterious setting and the smutty romance! I am a fan of Vad! He was dark, enigmatic and intense! Damn, why did my uni not have a Vad or Carlsen haha.
What I wanted more of:
There was a lot of mystery but they weren’t well explained or built up enough, there was nothing more than basic descriptions and pass by mentions in a conversation. Some specific examples:
- I simply had to accept that the forest was dark and dangerous. People roamed in and out unscathed which actually made it seem fine.
- History and story of the slayers was brief.
- What's with the horny ball and why did no one question it?
- The premonition that Vad would meet a purple eyed person. What was the significance? I wished there was some greater meaning.
- Why do people go missing only on full moons?
I'm ok when there are unexplained phenomena or events, but the ball and the disappearances felt like a big hole. If this is going to be a series then that's fine, but not as a standalone.
Lack of character development. Corvina was meant to be a shy, introverted and sheltered person who hasn’t had much interaction with people. However there wasn't enough indication that her experiences were new and she never really had any hesitation, especially the romance scenes! I was really hoping to see her grow but she was more or less the same the whole way through. Also every other character was secondary.
I wish the romance between Vad and Corvina took more time to develop because just one look and the deal was sealed. -
4.5 ⭐
I SCREAMED!!! okay hands down idk if I love Vad more then Run other heros... I KNOW HOW DARE I!!! But lordddd that man can Run me over with his tongue any day. I said what I said!!! ALSO THERE ARE SOME TRIGGERS!!! BE WARNED!!!
Corvina has some problems she hears voices and she's just a strange girl to ppls and she didn't give a fuck if she was strange or that she read cards.. now she has few secerts she liked to keep covered up but now shes in a new place new school and has some sinful eyes on her... Mr. Vad is a young teach at the school who had a mysterious past and has his sight set on Cor but they both push/pull at eachother due to school rules.. but those rules get broken many many times... you'll wanna pull your hair out with Vad he keeps a wall up for awhile until he no longer can stay away from his witchy witch. But more bad things happen at the school.. and you are pulled so many different ways.. few side characters that have you wondering what's their part... some scenes that make you cry..
And the dirty mouth Vad has.. 🔥🔥🔥🔥 I can't wait to see if we get more from this universe. I don't wanna give to much away.. but if you want spoilers dm me :]
Low angst, no om drama sorta ow (its tiny) no cheating, Slight secondary character, Drama, sexy times, virgin gal and no manwhore (he had a past)
Recommend-yes
Cover-⭐⭐⭐
Heat level-🌶🌶🌶
Prologue
21h/28H
Push/pull from both
Pinning
suicide
murder
mental illnesses
mentions of sexual assault
mentions of human sacrifice
No condom
Hea
Epilogue -
head empty just “If this is madness,” she whispered almost against his lips, “drown me in it.” (shakespeare is rolling around in his grave right now)
also vad could bodyslam me into ongoing traffic and i'd thank him -
"I am your beast. I am your madness. And you, you're my afterlife."
Gothikana is a gothic paranormal romance set at a mythical university. Corvina Clemm has been isolated her entire life from the big evil world. When she receives a mysterious invite to attend the University of Verenmore, she ventures off to begin a new adventure. At the university, she meets many interesting people, and one man, in particular, draws her in. Vad Deverell is her professor and has quite a reputation on campus. With an instant connection and a mysterious draw, Vad and Corvina are pulled together, and nothing can keep them apart!
"Haunting in the way only very few living things could be, because it sent a shiver down the spine and cloaked itself in the darkness and fed on the energy around them."
Overall, Gothikana will appeal to fans of gothic paranormal romance who enjoy a passionate and intense read. No matter how hard I try, I cannot embrace the student-teacher trope, but the intense connection between Vad and Corvina and the exquisite writing made this book engaging throughout the story. This was my first RuNyx read, and I look forward to checking out more from this author.
This was our September Shhlutty Read!
https://bit.ly/Sep2021SR
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