Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Gothikana: A Dark Academia Romance: TikTok Made Me Buy It! by RuNyx

6 reviews

haleydeppert's review against another edition

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  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Talk about plot holes! šŸ•³ļø Dude, this book has so many unanswered questions. Who was kidnapping the students for years after the Slayers were gone? Why were they going missing? Because ā€œJadeā€ said she didnā€™t do itā€¦ In the bonus scene from the Black Ball at the end of the book, why did Vad find more skeletal remains and then just say eh, not my problemā€¦??? I am so confused and have so many questions. That was the least satisfying ending to a book like ever. Not to mention, it got so extremely cringy that I could barely stand it. The castle and the mountain thing they said to each otherā€¦ CRINGE. The nicknames of ā€œmy devil,ā€ ā€œmy little witch,ā€ and ā€œmy madnessā€¦ā€ WATTPAD-ESQUE. Then, they told each other they loved each other in the weirdest way and then barely spoke of it after. Corvina was described as a basic little outcast ā€œgoth/emoā€ kid. Also, the college age students acted like high schoolers. Not to mention, the main female character being a ā€œvirginā€ and having her professor take it from her. What is with societyā€™s obsession with virgins??? I donā€™t know but Iā€™m not understanding the hype around this book. This book was just words slapped onto paper as the author thought of them. Too bad the author didnā€™t also think to put words onto the paper describing all of the unanswered questions from the plot. It wasnā€™t the worst book Iā€™ve ever read, but it certainly wasnā€™t good. 

Spice rating: 2.5/5 šŸŒ¶ļø
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marinajonesreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I got through it. Solid 2. The writing was at time pedantic and the plot lacked a lot of substance. I think we I saw ā€œgothic romanceā€ I was thinking along the lines of Adalyn Graceā€™s ā€œFoxgloveā€ ā€” a slow burn, out of time, dark romance. This was dark. I will give it that. I would strongly advise one check the content warnings before reading. But the ending just lacked so much. It kind of was just there. I felt like weā€™d been building to something supernatural or even just unexpected. But we instead get a Scooby Do-esq storyline. And I was still left with so many questions. And not in a fun way. This felt, at times, like one big spicy book with words around it in the vague wispy form of a plot. Ironic, I know. Would I recommend? Probably not.

But I will say, the cover, binding and sprayed purple edges are beautiful. The purple and black is such a solid choice. Love the Verenmore gold foil. 
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labxtch's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book had me SPIRALING. I honestly did not know where this was going to go or how this was going to end, and didnā€™t until I got to the very end.

The way Corvina feels throughout the book is so incredibly relatable, and the style in which the author transcribes perfectly just how Corvina feels.. The words are utterly breathtaking at times. I have so many quotes saved that just hit close to home and were so dark & beautifully said.

ā€˜Gothikanaā€™ reminded me why ā€œbooks-that-make-you-thinkā€ are my absolute freaking favorite. 
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btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The mystery in this book kept me interested, but the twist wasn't for me. One part surprised me, but the other part seemed reductive and trite.

As a whole, didn't love the romance, but that's because it's very lusty and not much "get to know you" happened. The demi in me just couldn't get on board with it all. The sexy parts seemed unrealistic at times too, but that's a whole other conversation. Also, I felt like there were just a lot of questions I never got answers to, and while the characters might've been fine with it, I wanted to know as it felt like a huge part of the mystery of it all.

In the end, I was interested throughout, but a lot of it was just a miss for me as things came to light. Great for gothic girlies who love when the LI calls the MC a "good girl" and enjoys a little bit of a psychological/paranormal thriller. I am not that type of girly.

Rep: Parent with schizophrenia and dementia

TW: blood, suicide, murder, death, torture, fire, sexual content, kidnapping; mentions abandonment, death of a parent, bullying 
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emilycruz1016's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

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toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

1.0

just nope. 
i read 260 pages of this mess and it just kept getting worse. i'm counting it as read. i've suffered enough. 
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