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Gothikana
The Gothikana Hardcover featuring spray-painted edges, a foiled case stamp, gorgeously detailed endpapers, an updated map and deliciously moody art throughout.
The eternal romance of Beauty and the Beast meets the gothic suspense of Dracula in this erotic dark academia story of epic love from bestselling author RuNyx.
"RuNyx immerses her readers in the dark worlds she builds and then injects life into them in the most hauntingly beautiful way. Her work is unique and addictive―she really is one of a kind.” ― Hannah Grace, New York Times bestselling author of Icebreaker
“Original, innovative, and unlike anything I’ve read before.” ―L. J. Shen, USA Today bestselling author
An unusual girl. An enigmatic man. An ancient castle. What could go wrong?
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 old, 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 path crosses 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 over the past century, Corvina is getting clues to unraveling it all, and Vad needs to keep an eye on her.
And so begins a tale of the mysterious, the morbid, the macabre, and a deep love that blossoms in the unlikeliest of places.
The eternal romance of Beauty and the Beast meets the gothic suspense of Dracula in this erotic dark academia story of epic love from bestselling author RuNyx.
"RuNyx immerses her readers in the dark worlds she builds and then injects life into them in the most hauntingly beautiful way. Her work is unique and addictive―she really is one of a kind.” ― Hannah Grace, New York Times bestselling author of Icebreaker
“Original, innovative, and unlike anything I’ve read before.” ―L. J. Shen, USA Today bestselling author
An unusual girl. An enigmatic man. An ancient castle. What could go wrong?
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 old, 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 path crosses 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 over the past century, Corvina is getting clues to unraveling it all, and Vad needs to keep an eye on her.
And so begins a tale of the mysterious, the morbid, the macabre, and a deep love that blossoms in the unlikeliest of places.
399 pages, Hardcover
First published June 15, 2021
About the author
RuNyx
17 books14.5k followersRuNyx is a New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author of romance. Her stories range across subgenres from dark contemporary to gothic to historical to fantasy and more, and are currently being translated into over 10 languages.
Her pen name has a very special meaning to her. When she's not writing, she's reading, traveling, meditating, daydreaming, and most of all, procrastinating.
Join her newsletter tribe for all updates and stalk her on her social media.
Website ➡️ https://runyxwrites.com
Newsletter ➡️ https://runyx.myflodesk.com/newsletter
Instagram ➡️ instagram.com/authorrunyx
Reader Group ➡️ facebook.com/groups/runyx
Her pen name has a very special meaning to her. When she's not writing, she's reading, traveling, meditating, daydreaming, and most of all, procrastinating.
Join her newsletter tribe for all updates and stalk her on her social media.
Website ➡️ https://runyxwrites.com
Newsletter ➡️ https://runyx.myflodesk.com/newsletter
Instagram ➡️ instagram.com/authorrunyx
Reader Group ➡️ facebook.com/groups/runyx
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 11,394 reviews
May 5, 2024
This is the worst book I've ever read. I know I keep making little edits to this review here and there but it's just because it's been more than two years since I read this and I still think about how bad it is at least once a week. If I could unread one book in my life, it would be Gothikana. Video review on my TikTok here.
The concept of Gothikana is almost interesting and maybe had some 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:
The writing is heinous. It is nearly impossible to believe an actual grown adult wrote any of this. It reads like a bad fanfiction written by a thirteen year old, and I'm not just going to say that and move on, I'm including a passage from the book below. 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:
A couple more:
No, you don't have a concussion. You're not reading that wrong and I didn't type it wrong. Look at the video I linked above where I include a picture of this passage in the book to prove this is actually how it was written.
Mmm, my favorite, a glass of drink.
I could go on for pages and pages about how bad the writing is, but I think you get it.
Editing (or lack thereof):
2024 Edit: This book was picked up by Tor's new imprint Bramble for traditional publication and released a couple months ago. To this end, from quickly flipping through the Bramble edition in the bookstore it appears that the book mostly got a quick pass for copy editing, rendering this specfic section on editing potentially moot for the current version. The writing style and story appear to have remained largely the same save for the most egregious technical mistakes. For example, the first block of text I included above is nearly identical, having only changed one word and one comma if I recall correctly. The following note on the complete lack of editing pertains to the book as it was published and as I purchased and read it in 2021. Color me shocked on it garnering a trad pub book deal.
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 maybe had some interesting potential at its foundation, it all just completely falls apart. It reads like the author didn't know how to finish the book so there's 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.
The concept of Gothikana is almost interesting and maybe had some 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:
The writing is heinous. It is nearly impossible to believe an actual grown adult wrote any of this. It reads like a bad fanfiction written by a thirteen year old, and I'm not just going to say that and move on, I'm including a passage from the book below. 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."
A couple more:
"Corvina felt sick not just with the night but with the story, thinking about a man in a situation she was as a woman forced him. It was absolutely disgusting.
No, you don't have a concussion. You're not reading that wrong and I didn't type it wrong. Look at the video I linked above where I include a picture of this passage in the book to prove this is actually how it was written.
"Corvina leaned against the wall for support, a glass of drink in her hand...
Mmm, my favorite, a glass of drink.
I could go on for pages and pages about how bad the writing is, but I think you get it.
Editing (or lack thereof):
2024 Edit: This book was picked up by Tor's new imprint Bramble for traditional publication and released a couple months ago. To this end, from quickly flipping through the Bramble edition in the bookstore it appears that the book mostly got a quick pass for copy editing, rendering this specfic section on editing potentially moot for the current version. The writing style and story appear to have remained largely the same save for the most egregious technical mistakes. For example, the first block of text I included above is nearly identical, having only changed one word and one comma if I recall correctly. The following note on the complete lack of editing pertains to the book as it was published and as I purchased and read it in 2021. Color me shocked on it garnering a trad pub book deal.
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 maybe had some interesting potential at its foundation, it all just completely falls apart. It reads like the author didn't know how to finish the book so there's 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.
September 23, 2022
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.
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.
October 13, 2021
I want whatever you all have been smoking because I don't get it...
November 12, 2021
*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, ” Irunia whispered, closing the book, “ just drown me.”
🐲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.”
May 18, 2024
Not me acting surprised when the weird smutty gothic book is actually a weird smutty book 👁👄👁
July 12, 2022
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.
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.
May 12, 2024
i would give this negative stars if i could. This is the worst book I’ve ever read. That includes zodiac academy.
This has no plot. The prose is terrible. The characters are terrible. The plot has plot holes and the author knows this and chooses to acknowledge them at the end and be like “yeah weird we don’t know who murdered (character name) right?”.
I wish this had ended with Vad getting stabbed.
Also you probably shouldn’t write schizophrenia the way this book depicts it.
Here’s a video: GOTHIKANA is THE WORST BOOK I'VE READ
https://youtu.be/Fnqz8Wllo1k
This has no plot. The prose is terrible. The characters are terrible. The plot has plot holes and the author knows this and chooses to acknowledge them at the end and be like “yeah weird we don’t know who murdered (character name) right?”.
I wish this had ended with Vad getting stabbed.
Also you probably shouldn’t write schizophrenia the way this book depicts it.
Here’s a video: GOTHIKANA is THE WORST BOOK I'VE READ
https://youtu.be/Fnqz8Wllo1k
March 7, 2024
She had walked these lands of evil and marked them with love.
This is clearly a case of it's me, not the book.
I've been wanting to read more romantasy lately, so I picked up Gothikana on a whim without looking at it too carefully, drawn in by its Beauty and the Beast vibes. And it turned out to be a dark gothic romance with some hints of the paranormal. While there's nothing wrong with that, it just wasn't what I was hoping for.
Right off the bat, this feels steeped in atmosphere. All the descriptions of turrets, gargoyles, flickering candles, and moonlit woods infused the story with a creepiness and gothic darkness that was hard to look away from. It felt like Beast's castle brought to life, just without the dancing accoutrements. Add to that the ghostly echoes and the school setting, and you have dark academia in spades.
But as the story went on, it became clear that this was first and foremost a romance, and a fairly dramatic one at that. It suffers from so much insta-love and lust that I found it hard to take the coupling seriously. One moment they were giving each smoldering eyes, the next minute they were doing the deed everywhere, with so much overwrought explicitness I was cringing on the inside. It's never good when I'm embarrassed for the couple, and that's what happened here.
The part I was looking forward to the most was the fantasy element, and it just never quite materialized to my satisfaction. I wanted primarily a fantasy with some romance to spice it up, and what I got instead was a romance with no real fantasy and a sprinkling of the paranormal. Without that fantasy element, I never quite connected with the story despite it being entertaining enough.
Also, one other thing. Everywhere I look, everyone's agog over dark academia, but—and please don't throw rotten eggs at me for saying this—I just don't get the appeal. Just like how I wouldn't get excited about stories set in dark grocery stores, dark restaurants, or dark workplaces, I'm unable to muster up too much excitement for dark academia. Maybe it's because I only know of studious academia (the setting where I went to school), or maybe I just haven't read a good one yet. Either way, I'm pretty indifferent, and this book didn't change my mind.
Since it's a clearly case of mismatched expectations, I can't really fault the book. I suspect many readers would enjoy the very things I take issues with, so don't let me dissuade you if this sounds like your thing. And if you're a fan of gothic romances and dark academia (whatever that is), definitely don't pass this up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
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August 5, 2022
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!
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!
November 3, 2022
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???
June 16, 2021
3.5 stars
🌙
🔮 romance: mhm
🔮 plot: mhm
🔮 vibes: yesssss
↠ 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
↠ 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
🔮 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 much
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
↠ 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.
↠ 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 much
He 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.
April 22, 2023
When i say i love dark academia I MEAN THIS 😍😍😍😍😍
January 7, 2023
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...
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...
April 5, 2024
I'm sorry, but if a man told me "I'm your madness" mid-fucking, I would laugh so hard, his dick would snap
February 27, 2024
you couldn’t pay me to believe this wasn’t wednesday addams x harry potter fan fiction
i already don’t like teacher x student, which i didn’t know this was but that’s my fault for not reading the description. no matter how much the author wanted to age up the main character i feel like it doesn’t work because this college has the feeling of a high school. mainly because it’s literally hogwarts but whatever. i thought the main character was boring despite reminding me of wednesday addams (who i love) but also there was no plot and i found the teacher creepy from the start. there was hella grammatical errors in this book like did the author even bother to proof read?
a personal problem i had was that there was a tarot card scene that really pissed me off where she looks at her cards and the death card is at the top of the deck and it’s supposed to be “scary” but the death card doesn’t mean literal death? it means transformation. i also thing tarot was just used to add to the fmc personality but she was already severely lacking. tarot was mentioned multiple times but she only actually used it once but it was used for a yes or no question. it was just pointless because the fmc didn’t have much of a personality so she should’ve utilized it more.
i thought all the characters were flat besides the fmc as well. a weird thing i noticed is that Vad’s name was barely used like there’d be scenes between them and it’d just describe him and then would be like “he” instead of Vad and i’d be like who???
i already don’t like teacher x student, which i didn’t know this was but that’s my fault for not reading the description. no matter how much the author wanted to age up the main character i feel like it doesn’t work because this college has the feeling of a high school. mainly because it’s literally hogwarts but whatever. i thought the main character was boring despite reminding me of wednesday addams (who i love) but also there was no plot and i found the teacher creepy from the start. there was hella grammatical errors in this book like did the author even bother to proof read?
a personal problem i had was that there was a tarot card scene that really pissed me off where she looks at her cards and the death card is at the top of the deck and it’s supposed to be “scary” but the death card doesn’t mean literal death? it means transformation. i also thing tarot was just used to add to the fmc personality but she was already severely lacking. tarot was mentioned multiple times but she only actually used it once but it was used for a yes or no question. it was just pointless because the fmc didn’t have much of a personality so she should’ve utilized it more.
i thought all the characters were flat besides the fmc as well. a weird thing i noticed is that Vad’s name was barely used like there’d be scenes between them and it’d just describe him and then would be like “he” instead of Vad and i’d be like who???
Read
June 18, 2021Gothikana is now available on Kindle Unlimited ➡ mybook.to/gothikana
Paperbacks are also live!
I hope you enjoy your journey to Verenmore!
Paperbacks are also live!
I hope you enjoy your journey to Verenmore!
June 19, 2024
here we goo
June 17, 2021
”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.
January 10, 2023
it's so bad i want to give u a zero but that's not possible so i give you a one
March 20, 2024
This read had such beautiful writing, a haunting setting, and sexual tension that burns on each page. I devoured this one.
May 20, 2022
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 🤔
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 🤔
Read
March 15, 2023Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if I have good things to say. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book, then write a detailed review about it that some people on GR will look at would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
*******************************************
I don’t quite know how to talk about this book.
I picked it up because I thought it was going to be … you know the sort of bananas I enjoy. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the sort of bananas I don’t enjoy. It is, however, clearly the sort of bananas other people enjoy. And I hope we can, you know, co-exist with our independent banana preferences.
It’s just … I don’t know. I kind of felt a little bit like I was reading My Immortal? I mean the heroine has purple eyes and is called Corvina and is described like this:
Please note, however, that these black trousers are a gross assault on Corina’s identity because:
I swear to God, I have never read the words maxi skirt or fishtail braid more in my entire life than I did over the course of this single book. (I am too fucking old for what Gothikana is trying to serve me– what the hell even is a maxi skirt and/or a fishtail braid. *Googles* Okay so a long skirt and a French plait but, like, EDGY).
This is also something we learn about Corvina in the opening six percent of this book:
“Bras and Corvina were not friends. Having grown up the way she had, all alone with just her mother for company, bras had seemed necessary only in a while. Panties she wore every day except when she just didn’t want to.”
TMI, FICTIONAL GIRL. Why am I—the reader—being told this? And in this bizarrely toneless style that sounds like the book is being narrated by the Google Maps voice. I mean, we find out Corvina doesn’t like underwear later via the hero sticking a finger in her so if nothing else, this is completely redundant information. But it also feels genuinely weird for one of the first things we learn about the character we are spending the next however many pages with is that her bits are flying free and living wild. It’s sort of the textual equivalent of someone coming to you at non-sexual social event and being like “Hello, my name is Corvina, I’m a libra vegetarian, and I am pantsless right the fuck now.” Let me get to know you a bit before you tell me about the below stairs coverage or lack thereof.
Anyway, Corvina here is home schooled in the middle of nowhere by a mother with paranoid schizophrenia who talks to crows. After her mother is institutionalised, she receives a mysterious invitation to a mysterious university that invites students from under-privileged backgrounds to access higher education. Which is excellent. Except, as we quickly find out upon Corvina’s arrival, the mysterious university of mysteriousness is … like … this dark and haunted castle where the students keep dying. Never a good sign. Also not a good sign is the presence among the teaching staff of a PhD student called Vad Deverell, who is this sharp tongued, silver-eyed crush bait with a dark reputation. It is later explained why this guy is somehow being allowed to do teaching (I mean apart from the spurious “they couldn’t get anyone else” offered at the beginning) and it makes a mite more sense than it initially seems. A mite. Not more than a mite. Needless to say, Vad and Corvina get it on after some smouldering and library-inspired fingering, the mysteries of Weird Castle University are mostly unravelled, and that’s … that’s the book, really.
In bare bones, I think this is probably fairly engaging? And it’s willing to go some pretty dark places—it’s just I’m sure how equipped it is to handle those places, having gone there. For example, there’s a sort of on-going thread regarding Covina’s mother’s mental health, and whether Covina herself is suffering from the same illness or legitimately supernaturally attuned. And where that takes us ultimately is here:
“But [Corvina’s mother] not only raised Corvina all on her own, she was rational enough to make a living, homeschool her, teach her everything she needed to be selfsufficient, all the while dealing with her own undiagnosed condition. It is one of the most extraordinary things I’ve heard. But then, maternal instinct has always been something understudied.”
I’m kind of—having complicated feelings about this? Because on the one hand, that’s great. After all, the idea that someone with a mental health condition can’t take care of others or function in the world is super toxic. Except this also seems to be implying that if a woman is sufficiently *maternal* she can overcome, you know, paranoid schizophrenia. Which in turn implies that anyone who does need extra support to parent—or indeed just couldn’t parent— for mental health reasons just didn’t mother hard enough.
Anyway, the other major arc of the book is Corvina’s relationship with Vad. And this is … I mean. It almost makes 50 Shades of Grey look healthy. I mean, say what you will about Ana and Christian AT LEAST HE WASN’T HER ACTUAL TEACHER. And yes, yes, I know teacher/student is a thing for some people and probably fits the dark academia theme (more on dark academia in a bit, btw) but, like, even in—especially in—dark academia uncomfortable teacher-student dynamics are supposed to be a bad thing. Not an HEA. This is like if The Secret History ended with Henry and Julian Morrow getting together. In any case, all you need to know about Vad is that when Corvina tells him she’s a virgin he responds:
Wow. Hot.
I feel I’m being more negative about this book than I would like to be about, well, any book, really. I can genuinely appreciate the *exuberance* in Gothikana, you can’t go wrong with a murder university plot, and there’s some solid writing here, for sure. But it also, ultimately, felt quite juvenile to me, probably because I am old enough to find nose rings fairly banal and, in a professional capacity, more inclined to obsess over Vad Deverell’s terrible teaching than his sexy silver eyes. I think what also lowkey bugs me—not that I think this is any reflection on the author—is that Simon & Schuster bought this thing on the basis of its TikTok success (which is immense, btw, so don’t come for me: just because a book doesn't work for me doesn’t mean I can’t celebrate the accomplishment of the author) and couldn’t even show it enough respect to excise a few of the repetitions and tighten the prose. Let it shine a bit. Because, honestly, it could. It really could.
The other thing Gothikana kind of got me thinking about was the whole … what is dark academia for/about chestnut. I know dark academia is supposedly big right now, and I think there’s always been a kind of hopeful push towards making academic happen somewhere other than Tumblr but I think part of what makes that really difficult, borderline impossible, is translating it from an aesthetic or a vibe to an actual book that is a) functional as a story b) feels true to the themes/preoccupations of whatever dark academia supposed to be about. The thing is, The Secret History—which probably originated the whole shebang—did this so successfully and so comprehensively that it’s hard to know where to go from there. I’m not saying it’s impossible, I think Atlas manages by bringing magic to the table, and I think Babel and Catherine House do the same by bringing, um, colonialism. But I think Gothikana where you end up when dark academia is almost entirely aesthetic. And while that’s fine—if that’s what draws you to dark academia, more power to you—it’s part of what contributed to the book feeling slightly shallow and unconvincing to me personally. Like, apparently the hero’s thesis topic is “correlation and influence of music on literature through the ages”. And, I mean, Jesus wept, no wonder he hasn’t finished the thing: the sheer impossible breadth of that would get you laughed out of the room in any academic institution that was not an isolated murder castle.
And obviously--*obviously*--it is not reasonable to expect any book with dark academia theming to be The Secret History or to even *want* to be The Secret History. Gothikana clearly has its own interests, and they’re maxi skirts and men who are eye-wateringly inept at dirty talk. It’s just when you’ve grown up with:
it’s a bit weird to find yourself at:
I’m absolutely not saying the latter doesn’t have a place, and clearly it has an appeal to a lot of readers. It’s just that, for me, while I’m definitely up for having fun with dark academia … this isn’t my kind of fun.
It may well be your kind of fun. And no shade if it is.
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if I have good things to say. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book, then write a detailed review about it that some people on GR will look at would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
*******************************************
I don’t quite know how to talk about this book.
I picked it up because I thought it was going to be … you know the sort of bananas I enjoy. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the sort of bananas I don’t enjoy. It is, however, clearly the sort of bananas other people enjoy. And I hope we can, you know, co-exist with our independent banana preferences.
It’s just … I don’t know. I kind of felt a little bit like I was reading My Immortal? I mean the heroine has purple eyes and is called Corvina and is described like this:
A short, slight girl of questionable heritage, with slanted violet eyes, sun-kissed skin even though she rarely spent much time in the sun anymore, a nose ring, long, black hair in a fishtail braid that reached her waist, dressed in loose black pants and a thin purple sweater.
Please note, however, that these black trousers are a gross assault on Corina’s identity because:
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.
I swear to God, I have never read the words maxi skirt or fishtail braid more in my entire life than I did over the course of this single book. (I am too fucking old for what Gothikana is trying to serve me– what the hell even is a maxi skirt and/or a fishtail braid. *Googles* Okay so a long skirt and a French plait but, like, EDGY).
This is also something we learn about Corvina in the opening six percent of this book:
“Bras and Corvina were not friends. Having grown up the way she had, all alone with just her mother for company, bras had seemed necessary only in a while. Panties she wore every day except when she just didn’t want to.”
TMI, FICTIONAL GIRL. Why am I—the reader—being told this? And in this bizarrely toneless style that sounds like the book is being narrated by the Google Maps voice. I mean, we find out Corvina doesn’t like underwear later via the hero sticking a finger in her so if nothing else, this is completely redundant information. But it also feels genuinely weird for one of the first things we learn about the character we are spending the next however many pages with is that her bits are flying free and living wild. It’s sort of the textual equivalent of someone coming to you at non-sexual social event and being like “Hello, my name is Corvina, I’m a libra vegetarian, and I am pantsless right the fuck now.” Let me get to know you a bit before you tell me about the below stairs coverage or lack thereof.
Anyway, Corvina here is home schooled in the middle of nowhere by a mother with paranoid schizophrenia who talks to crows. After her mother is institutionalised, she receives a mysterious invitation to a mysterious university that invites students from under-privileged backgrounds to access higher education. Which is excellent. Except, as we quickly find out upon Corvina’s arrival, the mysterious university of mysteriousness is … like … this dark and haunted castle where the students keep dying. Never a good sign. Also not a good sign is the presence among the teaching staff of a PhD student called Vad Deverell, who is this sharp tongued, silver-eyed crush bait with a dark reputation. It is later explained why this guy is somehow being allowed to do teaching (I mean apart from the spurious “they couldn’t get anyone else” offered at the beginning) and it makes a mite more sense than it initially seems. A mite. Not more than a mite. Needless to say, Vad and Corvina get it on after some smouldering and library-inspired fingering, the mysteries of Weird Castle University are mostly unravelled, and that’s … that’s the book, really.
In bare bones, I think this is probably fairly engaging? And it’s willing to go some pretty dark places—it’s just I’m sure how equipped it is to handle those places, having gone there. For example, there’s a sort of on-going thread regarding Covina’s mother’s mental health, and whether Covina herself is suffering from the same illness or legitimately supernaturally attuned. And where that takes us ultimately is here:
“But [Corvina’s mother] not only raised Corvina all on her own, she was rational enough to make a living, homeschool her, teach her everything she needed to be selfsufficient, all the while dealing with her own undiagnosed condition. It is one of the most extraordinary things I’ve heard. But then, maternal instinct has always been something understudied.”
I’m kind of—having complicated feelings about this? Because on the one hand, that’s great. After all, the idea that someone with a mental health condition can’t take care of others or function in the world is super toxic. Except this also seems to be implying that if a woman is sufficiently *maternal* she can overcome, you know, paranoid schizophrenia. Which in turn implies that anyone who does need extra support to parent—or indeed just couldn’t parent— for mental health reasons just didn’t mother hard enough.
Anyway, the other major arc of the book is Corvina’s relationship with Vad. And this is … I mean. It almost makes 50 Shades of Grey look healthy. I mean, say what you will about Ana and Christian AT LEAST HE WASN’T HER ACTUAL TEACHER. And yes, yes, I know teacher/student is a thing for some people and probably fits the dark academia theme (more on dark academia in a bit, btw) but, like, even in—especially in—dark academia uncomfortable teacher-student dynamics are supposed to be a bad thing. Not an HEA. This is like if The Secret History ended with Henry and Julian Morrow getting together. In any case, all you need to know about Vad is that when Corvina tells him she’s a virgin he responds:
“You chose the wrong guy for your first time, little crow”
Wow. Hot.
I feel I’m being more negative about this book than I would like to be about, well, any book, really. I can genuinely appreciate the *exuberance* in Gothikana, you can’t go wrong with a murder university plot, and there’s some solid writing here, for sure. But it also, ultimately, felt quite juvenile to me, probably because I am old enough to find nose rings fairly banal and, in a professional capacity, more inclined to obsess over Vad Deverell’s terrible teaching than his sexy silver eyes. I think what also lowkey bugs me—not that I think this is any reflection on the author—is that Simon & Schuster bought this thing on the basis of its TikTok success (which is immense, btw, so don’t come for me: just because a book doesn't work for me doesn’t mean I can’t celebrate the accomplishment of the author) and couldn’t even show it enough respect to excise a few of the repetitions and tighten the prose. Let it shine a bit. Because, honestly, it could. It really could.
The other thing Gothikana kind of got me thinking about was the whole … what is dark academia for/about chestnut. I know dark academia is supposedly big right now, and I think there’s always been a kind of hopeful push towards making academic happen somewhere other than Tumblr but I think part of what makes that really difficult, borderline impossible, is translating it from an aesthetic or a vibe to an actual book that is a) functional as a story b) feels true to the themes/preoccupations of whatever dark academia supposed to be about. The thing is, The Secret History—which probably originated the whole shebang—did this so successfully and so comprehensively that it’s hard to know where to go from there. I’m not saying it’s impossible, I think Atlas manages by bringing magic to the table, and I think Babel and Catherine House do the same by bringing, um, colonialism. But I think Gothikana where you end up when dark academia is almost entirely aesthetic. And while that’s fine—if that’s what draws you to dark academia, more power to you—it’s part of what contributed to the book feeling slightly shallow and unconvincing to me personally. Like, apparently the hero’s thesis topic is “correlation and influence of music on literature through the ages”. And, I mean, Jesus wept, no wonder he hasn’t finished the thing: the sheer impossible breadth of that would get you laughed out of the room in any academic institution that was not an isolated murder castle.
And obviously--*obviously*--it is not reasonable to expect any book with dark academia theming to be The Secret History or to even *want* to be The Secret History. Gothikana clearly has its own interests, and they’re maxi skirts and men who are eye-wateringly inept at dirty talk. It’s just when you’ve grown up with:
Springs of honey bubbling from the ground. If we are strong enough in our souls we can rip away the veil and look that naked, terrible beauty right in the face; let God consume us, devour us, unstring our bones. Then spit us out reborn.
it’s a bit weird to find yourself at:
Girls I interact with dance with death much sooner than they should
I’m absolutely not saying the latter doesn’t have a place, and clearly it has an appeal to a lot of readers. It’s just that, for me, while I’m definitely up for having fun with dark academia … this isn’t my kind of fun.
It may well be your kind of fun. And no shade if it is.
July 3, 2021
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.
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.
![Profile Image for Lori [semi-hiatus].](https://cdn.statically.io/img/i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1652024485i/125758944._UX200_CR0,0,200,200_.jpg)
December 21, 2021
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)
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)
May 2, 2023
3.5★
See, the thing with this book is that I set my expectations way too high. Don´t get me wrong I liked it, but there were just way too many things left unanswered. It's actually frustrating the hell out of me tbh cus now I have to fill the voids of unanswered things myself. Like common you write a whole 450 pages book and you couldn't make it a bit longer to give us readers some answers? In case someone finds the answers, it would be highly appreciated if you let me know. Thanks!
Anyway I was going to lie in this review and blah blah about only good things, but i think it's only fair if i also talk about the things i didn't like.
Lets get on to the characters, shall we?
𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝘾𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙢 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙧 𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝. A sweet purple eyed girl who has never had real relationships with people besides her mom. Well she and her mom didn't really have a relationship since her mother is demented and mentally not available to talk to. Corvina is such a badass ahsqshazbd i actually really liked her clothing style, the chokers, the nose piercing and skirts ughh love it.
𝗩𝗮𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹. Our silver eyed professor, he was sexy in the relationship but umm how can you always only fall for your students? No judging, just curious.🫣 It´s okay for one time but every fucking time is....
I kinda found him too lust driven in the second half but I actually also loved how he cared about her there. Ehh struggle cuz I have 2 kinds of thoughts about him. One where I liked him and one where I disliked him. It really dependent on how he acted. Anyway I liked his nickname for Corvina.
Overall I liked the story but it's not the best thing I've ever read. I did enjoy the ending even though
it´s left unanswered, it made me so excited and curious while reading it.
Thanks for reading my pep talk!
Some of my favorite quotes
“𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝, 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝. 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩. 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙖����𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚.”
“𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙄 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙣, 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙗𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠.”
“𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙛𝙛.”
----------------
let's get it
See, the thing with this book is that I set my expectations way too high. Don´t get me wrong I liked it, but there were just way too many things left unanswered. It's actually frustrating the hell out of me tbh cus now I have to fill the voids of unanswered things myself. Like common you write a whole 450 pages book and you couldn't make it a bit longer to give us readers some answers? In case someone finds the answers, it would be highly appreciated if you let me know. Thanks!
Anyway I was going to lie in this review and blah blah about only good things, but i think it's only fair if i also talk about the things i didn't like.
Lets get on to the characters, shall we?
𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝘾𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙢 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙧 𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝. A sweet purple eyed girl who has never had real relationships with people besides her mom. Well she and her mom didn't really have a relationship since her mother is demented and mentally not available to talk to. Corvina is such a badass ahsqshazbd i actually really liked her clothing style, the chokers, the nose piercing and skirts ughh love it.
𝗩𝗮𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹. Our silver eyed professor, he was sexy in the relationship but umm how can you always only fall for your students? No judging, just curious.🫣 It´s okay for one time but every fucking time is....
I kinda found him too lust driven in the second half but I actually also loved how he cared about her there. Ehh struggle cuz I have 2 kinds of thoughts about him. One where I liked him and one where I disliked him. It really dependent on how he acted. Anyway I liked his nickname for Corvina.
Overall I liked the story but it's not the best thing I've ever read. I did enjoy the ending even though
it´s left unanswered, it made me so excited and curious while reading it.
Thanks for reading my pep talk!
Some of my favorite quotes
“𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝, 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝. 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩. 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙖����𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚.”
“𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙄 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙣, 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙗𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠.”
“𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙛𝙛.”
----------------
let's get it
June 27, 2024
DNF @53%
I don't really get the rave reviews on this one lol at all. I mean, this isn't the first time I'm somewhat in the minority, it surely won't be the last. But lemme just say that this book is listed and apparently marketed as New Adult, College, and Adult when it actually reads like a 'gothic' Young Adult version of shadows creeping around the hallways of a castle version of West Beverly High with the amount of times I had to read 'Like Totally' 'OMG Seriously' 'OMG Totally for real man' 🙄 - Don’t get me wrong, I have read some super YA novels that overuse these terms and still loved them but they are that, YA.
At 53% nothing has happened but this emo FMC walking around a cemetery and hearing voices in her head, seeing some so called spooky things and her having insta lust for her professor. I can only imagine the reason this book is listed as NA is due to the multiple pointless sexual encounters this chick is having with her teacher. I don't have any problem with smut but someone please dish me out a plot.
Aside from some shadows, teenage lingo, hot for teacher sex - we are constantly reminded of ole dudes 𝙎𝙞𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙀𝙮𝙚𝙨.
'𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪�� 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸'
'𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴'
'𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘢, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴'
'𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳'
'𝘈 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴'
'𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩'
'𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘵, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵'
'𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴'
"𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦," '𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴'
𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘱 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥. "𝘌𝘠𝘌𝘚"
'𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦'
𝑶𝑴𝑭𝑮 𝑺𝑻𝑭𝑼 𝑨𝑳𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫𝒀! 🤦🏻♀️
This is not even half of the references. Man, talk about wanting to rip your hair out. Someone call an editor.
That's all I've got on this. Wish I could burn this dumpster fire from my mind.
I don't really get the rave reviews on this one lol at all. I mean, this isn't the first time I'm somewhat in the minority, it surely won't be the last. But lemme just say that this book is listed and apparently marketed as New Adult, College, and Adult when it actually reads like a 'gothic' Young Adult version of shadows creeping around the hallways of a castle version of West Beverly High with the amount of times I had to read 'Like Totally' 'OMG Seriously' 'OMG Totally for real man' 🙄 - Don’t get me wrong, I have read some super YA novels that overuse these terms and still loved them but they are that, YA.
At 53% nothing has happened but this emo FMC walking around a cemetery and hearing voices in her head, seeing some so called spooky things and her having insta lust for her professor. I can only imagine the reason this book is listed as NA is due to the multiple pointless sexual encounters this chick is having with her teacher. I don't have any problem with smut but someone please dish me out a plot.
Aside from some shadows, teenage lingo, hot for teacher sex - we are constantly reminded of ole dudes 𝙎𝙞𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙀𝙮𝙚𝙨.
'𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪�� 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸'
'𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴'
'𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘢, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴'
'𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳'
'𝘈 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴'
'𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩'
'𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘵, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵'
'𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴'
"𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦," '𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴'
𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘱 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥. "𝘌𝘠𝘌𝘚"
'𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦'
𝑶𝑴𝑭𝑮 𝑺𝑻𝑭𝑼 𝑨𝑳𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫𝒀! 🤦🏻♀️
This is not even half of the references. Man, talk about wanting to rip your hair out. Someone call an editor.
That's all I've got on this. Wish I could burn this dumpster fire from my mind.
October 31, 2021
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!
We were left with a lot of unanswered questions, so I'm hoping the author writes a second book after this!
Shelved as 'dnf'
March 5, 2024my first dnf of the year goes to this boring ass shit
dnf @21%
i’ve tried reading this twice this year and i have no urge to continue reading it. it takes a lot for me to dnf a book bc i always force myself but i can’t read more than one page at a time.
the characters fell so flat for me, like there was no tension between the mc’s imo. i just had higher expectations and this is probably what’s gonna solidify me not getting on the authors arc list but i just can’t pretend or force myself to enjoy this. i just didn’t care to learn more about either of them.
life is too short to waste it on boring books
dnf @21%
i’ve tried reading this twice this year and i have no urge to continue reading it. it takes a lot for me to dnf a book bc i always force myself but i can’t read more than one page at a time.
the characters fell so flat for me, like there was no tension between the mc’s imo. i just had higher expectations and this is probably what’s gonna solidify me not getting on the authors arc list but i just can’t pretend or force myself to enjoy this. i just didn’t care to learn more about either of them.
life is too short to waste it on boring books
November 15, 2023
“It’s just that I prefer happier endings. Tragedies are beautiful, but they always take more than they give. A story can be tragic but it doesn’t have to end as one.”
This was all so wattpad coded, I can't even. Easily, the first 50% was js the fmc going on and on ab how she was "nOt LiKe oThEr GiRls" only bec she had purple eyes and could do a tarot reading? but after 50% it started to pick up and i gen got rly interested in thehot characters 😋 story
The last couple of chapters rly had me sitting down and questioning my whole existence (ALL OF MY FAV CHARACTERS DIED EIWNJWOSNWJA) the way everything js fit together perfectly yet not at the same time kinda irked me out but I believe there will be a second part to this so it's finei think 😃🔫
Does the ending kinda annoy me? yes, is it still abs perfect? yes, did I want to cry while reading the ending? yes again, would I go through all the emotional trauma again? you guessed it, yes!!
~quotes~
🏰 The molecules in her body recognized the molecules in his, the madness in her blood recognized the madness in his, the melancholy in her soul recognized the melancholy in his.
🏰 “Rest your pretty head, witch. I’m the devil you know, not the devil you don’t.”
🏰“You’re the mountain I build my castle on, brick by brick,” she whispered to him, her eyes stinging. “You stand, I soar. You crack, I crumble.”
🏰 “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’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."
-----~~~-----
the last couple of chapters hurt my brain
rtc!
----~~~----
I heard she has purple eyes?? 😀
This was all so wattpad coded, I can't even. Easily, the first 50% was js the fmc going on and on ab how she was "nOt LiKe oThEr GiRls" only bec she had purple eyes and could do a tarot reading? but after 50% it started to pick up and i gen got rly interested in the
The last couple of chapters rly had me sitting down and questioning my whole existence (ALL OF MY FAV CHARACTERS DIED EIWNJWOSNWJA) the way everything js fit together perfectly yet not at the same time kinda irked me out but I believe there will be a second part to this so it's fine
Does the ending kinda annoy me? yes, is it still abs perfect? yes, did I want to cry while reading the ending? yes again, would I go through all the emotional trauma again? you guessed it, yes!!
~quotes~
🏰 The molecules in her body recognized the molecules in his, the madness in her blood recognized the madness in his, the melancholy in her soul recognized the melancholy in his.
🏰 “Rest your pretty head, witch. I’m the devil you know, not the devil you don’t.”
🏰“You’re the mountain I build my castle on, brick by brick,” she whispered to him, her eyes stinging. “You stand, I soar. You crack, I crumble.”
🏰 “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’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."
-----~~~-----
the last couple of chapters hurt my brain
rtc!
----~~~----
I heard she has purple eyes?? 😀
July 5, 2021
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️/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!
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