Book Title: Gothikana
Author: Runyx
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Horror (light)/ Mystery
Other Notes: This is a standalone (yay) romance read
Gist: Corvina Clemm is attending Verenmore- a two year college that caters to the disenfranchised youth of the world, and this place just happens to be an ancient old castle built in the middle of nowhere, on top of a mountain surrounded by woods, and has a horrific history. Corvina’s love interest is Vad (I keep wanting to change it to “Vlad”) Deverell- a professor at this university, and a mysterious figure on campus. The two of them grow closer as they deal with Verenmore’s deathly past.
Why I Chose to Read This Novel:
Humans enjoy being on the proverbial “high horse” don’t we? I heard about this novel on Bookstagram and it had mixed reviews, and plenty of them painted the novel in a negative light. I heard criticisms that that the novel was AI generated even, that it was “trite” and simple, and poorly written.
Then I heard the comment that always makes me wary and but mostly intrigued- that this novel was somehow similar to Twilight. I used to visit Barnes and Nobles every week and so when Twilight came out, I was probably one of it’s first readers and to say I was obsessed with this series would be an understatement. Twilight gets a bad rep- and so when Gothikana received the “Twilight” label, I knew I would have to buy it and read it eventually.
By happenstance, I was in a small town visiting the cutest bookstore, and I saw this novel laying on a table and decided to buy it.
The purpose of my reviews is to give my honest feedback, not to hate on things I don’t like, there’s too much of that in this world and my opinion barely matters as it is. Anyway, on to the review.
What’s In My Read:
Tags/Content Warnings/ Messages
- Explicit sexual content (for adults only)
- There are mentions of orgies and the main two characters do not participate per se- but they watch and do their own thing I guess…
- Public sexual stuff- there is a term for this that I’m not remembering
- Cursing & foul language
- Witches/ mentions of tarot readings and crystals
- Slight age gap (female protagonist is 21/22, male love interest is 28)
- Male love interest IS her professor so…
- Forbidden relationship/sneaking around
- Horror features- gruesome murders, mentions of ghosts/ voices, suicide, (a person walks off a tower), drug use- bodies found, etc…
- Main character sees things- “Bloody Mary” style in the mirror
- Mentions of health disorders like Schizophrenia
- Questionable parenting skills
- Woke Agenda: Besides the witchcraft, there is no real “woke” items for me to list here- there is not even a “gay” side relationship like I’m used to seeing. I was actually impressed with this one.
Why I Enjoyed This Read:
- This novel has a Wednesday Adams feel to it and the overall gothic nature of the novel was written well.
- Vad is a professor of English and literature
- Corvina, due to her upbringing, is inexperienced- virginal on the outside, but horny on the inside, and if you were an awkward person in your early 20s (me), you may have a certain affinity for this troupe.
- Verenmore- the haunted castle on the hill, was written incredibly well- I felt like I wanted to live there but also did NOT want to go anywhere close to there at the same time which is, I think, the feeling the author was maybe going for.
- Vad Deverell is a good-looking, masculine man who is your typical alpha a-hole at the beginning of the novel, and you know what- I dig that too.
- This is a standalone romance adventure, and I love a good one-shot.
- Not all the questions and mysteries are solved, which I actually liked, especially after reading the author’s note at the end of the novel.
- The horror elements were properly scary for people like me who don’t read or watch horror (and the book is not in the horror section, at least at the Barnes and Nobles and small-town bookstore I visited). Still, I was creeped out a couple times and some of the images and storylines are still getting processed through my head.
- Even cooler- the author took inspiration for this novel from her experiences at a boarding school in the mountains where she spent three years. She writes in her author’s note that she never received answers to some of the questions and mysteries she encountered at her time at this school and I find that cool, and creepy AF. This also puts the storyline of the novel into a new light.
- The relationship between Corvina and Vad starts off as both of them attempting to be casual, and get their instant attraction to each other “out of their system”, but this doesn’t last longer than necessary before feelings are confronted and they are truthful with each other.
Questionable Choices/ Criticisms:
- My romantic brain likes the idea of a student/teacher love, but my actual teacher brain does not. However, this is a university, not a high school, and Corvina actually turns twenty-two during the course of the novel and so those facts slightly augmented the gross factor.
- Okay- the descriptions of things were repetitive. For example, how many times does Corvina call Vad the “silver-eyed devil” even after she knows his name and even after they sleep together for the first time? Also- the descriptions of people- Corvina’s purple/violet eyes, Vad’s silver/mercury eyes, Corvina’s long black hair… etc..
- I actually don’t mind physical descriptions of characters. I feel like author’s are told to NOT give those often, but this novel hammered it home a little too much, I would have dialed back on some of these.
- The sex-scene descriptions were a little cringey and uncomfortable but again, not a deal breaker.
- During the Black Ball in the novel…like…where are the teachers, and who the heck is chaperoning this thing? Is it because the students are technically adults that they can drink and do X-rated things in alcoves? Not everyone wants to partake in public displays of affection!
- ***If the above was due to the events of the plot it was not stated!
- This one is double-edged- I enjoyed that there were still questions at the end of the novel, but I also did not as I wanted to know everything.
Ultimate Question: Is it worth the… (time/money)?
- Yes
- True, I am easily entertained, but I’m still thinking about the plot of this novel and the events that transpired a week after I finished it. I personally think that if a novel manages to haunt the reader in such a way, then the author has done something special.
TLDR: If you are an adult, if witchcrafty stuff doesn’t offend you, if some horror won’t give you too many nightmares, and if you don’t mind some cliche in your romance- pick up this novel (or don’t, it’s your money).
What's In My Read? 
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