Gothikana by Runyx | Dark Romance Review
This one was not for me but I read it anyway.
My 2 Cents for Free!
I started this book on Kindle Unlimited, had to put it aside, forgot about it and restarted it on audio from the beginning because all of the details dropped out of my brain.
I guess there was a reason I put it aside. . . Anyhow, here are my thoughts.
I love a dark story that takes place in an old castle, house or school where evil may still be lurking atop every ancient staircase or waiting in the forest to getcha. Some of these old places have seen some shit.
This story takes place in a university where sketchy things have happened upon its grounds. Students seem to “go missing” during the annual Black Ball (or whatever it was called - my mind is a sieve) and no one seems to give a damn. They just keep on keeping on, probably glad it wasn’t them!
Corvina was homeschooled and sheltered from society, raised by a mostly mute mother with undiagnosed schizophrenia. She is surprised when she receives an invitation to attend Verenmore (aka the haunted castle school!) and eagerly embraces her opportunity to get out and see the world. But this world is also insulated. She’s immediately told tales of its most enigmatic teacher, he of the silver eyes, the prematurely streaked hair and a reputation for screwing around with a student. She catches him playing piano as she sneaks around the castle in her nightie and starts having hot flashes (at 20!) and everything starts pulsing and going all aflutter for the very first time. She is smitten by this devil of a man and he with her. Be damned the stories! True lust will not be denied.
I think I’ve just read too many books in my life and maybe I’m just too ancient at this point to fall in love with a book like this one. It was sort of fun in its strange little way, but the story mostly felt cliche and silly when it was trying to be sexy and enigmatic. Corvina had some serious issues to deal with and Vad was super understanding and I love that for her, but this guy felt like he was playing at being dark and just felt completely unserious to me. He read almost like a “What We Do In the Shadows” character without the humor of a Nandor or a Vladislav. Well, there was some unintentional humor, I suppose. Especially when Corvina puts on a coat that “broke the wind” and reminded me that I really am still twelve because I couldn’t stop snickering. And also, Vad’s favorite thing to do was to kiss her nose piercing. Is that a sexy new thing I’m missing out on? It seems a bit ick to me but again I’m probably too decrepit to understand this sort of sexiness. So nah, the sexy in this one didn’t work for me but it did try very hard and it might work for a lot of folks who like a bossy dude who likes to kiss a nostril.
Ok, I guess I better stop before someone starts yelling at me for reading a book and not loving it.
2 stars. Don’t ask me for more reasons because I have more notes . . .
I guess there was a reason I put it aside. . . Anyhow, here are my thoughts.
I love a dark story that takes place in an old castle, house or school where evil may still be lurking atop every ancient staircase or waiting in the forest to getcha. Some of these old places have seen some shit.
This story takes place in a university where sketchy things have happened upon its grounds. Students seem to “go missing” during the annual Black Ball (or whatever it was called - my mind is a sieve) and no one seems to give a damn. They just keep on keeping on, probably glad it wasn’t them!
Corvina was homeschooled and sheltered from society, raised by a mostly mute mother with undiagnosed schizophrenia. She is surprised when she receives an invitation to attend Verenmore (aka the haunted castle school!) and eagerly embraces her opportunity to get out and see the world. But this world is also insulated. She’s immediately told tales of its most enigmatic teacher, he of the silver eyes, the prematurely streaked hair and a reputation for screwing around with a student. She catches him playing piano as she sneaks around the castle in her nightie and starts having hot flashes (at 20!) and everything starts pulsing and going all aflutter for the very first time. She is smitten by this devil of a man and he with her. Be damned the stories! True lust will not be denied.
I think I’ve just read too many books in my life and maybe I’m just too ancient at this point to fall in love with a book like this one. It was sort of fun in its strange little way, but the story mostly felt cliche and silly when it was trying to be sexy and enigmatic. Corvina had some serious issues to deal with and Vad was super understanding and I love that for her, but this guy felt like he was playing at being dark and just felt completely unserious to me. He read almost like a “What We Do In the Shadows” character without the humor of a Nandor or a Vladislav. Well, there was some unintentional humor, I suppose. Especially when Corvina puts on a coat that “broke the wind” and reminded me that I really am still twelve because I couldn’t stop snickering. And also, Vad’s favorite thing to do was to kiss her nose piercing. Is that a sexy new thing I’m missing out on? It seems a bit ick to me but again I’m probably too decrepit to understand this sort of sexiness. So nah, the sexy in this one didn’t work for me but it did try very hard and it might work for a lot of folks who like a bossy dude who likes to kiss a nostril.
Ok, I guess I better stop before someone starts yelling at me for reading a book and not loving it.
2 stars. Don’t ask me for more reasons because I have more notes . . .
Final Rating: ⭐⭐
Publisher Plot Synopsis
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.
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.
I commend you for finishing it. It does have a really nice cover.
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely blessed by the cover gods.
DeleteOMG I own this. Is that sad or what? I am sure it was a cover buy. Kissing a nose ring - ewww. Yu get credit for reading this. Maybe I need to look at donating mine next time I clean off my shelves.
ReplyDeleteIt was such a strange read
Delete