Dark, moody, and spicy! The University of Verenmore is full of secrets and it's ready to burst. The plot, the intrigue, the spice = chef's kiss!! 

Steamy and intoxicating with a mystery between the walls of a gothic castle. Highly recommend

I'd like to start by saying THIS BOOK IS BAD! it's really bad... however, I love it. it's such a fun read. I've read it twice now and I like it even more the second time. it's stupid, confusing and poorly written but something about it just makes me happy. I like the character of Vlad (vad is a stupid name) he has some really great moments where he's genuinely a good dude. how he dedicates himself to corvina is really sweet or when she has a panic attack during sex he stops immediately and consoles her. we stan. but he's also a massive cunt. I won't go into detail but there is an element of dubcon and the lack of communication and really asking about corvinas boundaries is very nasty work. like hey! you should talk to her about this first👍 I do like him though like he's an interesting character and i wish runyx went more in depth with his back story his current story and the shit with his alabama half sister. corvina on the other hand... for fucks sake she is so obnoxious... and alexandrias gensis? oh be for fucking real m8. her violet orbs shone in the dark moonlight as the ravens sang their songs of death face ass. she lacks depth and feels like a marry sue tbh. her character gives "im so #deepanddiffrent also we need to talk about the very problematic use of mental health disorders in this book and how they're referred to. using schizophrenia in the way runyx did is well say tacky. it's not done well at all. same with the dementia. as someone who lost a family member to the disease it was very um uncomfortable to read about her mother. 

in conclusion I love this book because it's bad. it's so fun to read and fun to laugh about. runyx you slayed i fear. 

It was very creepy. Definitely kept me on the edge but I‘m not sure if it was a bit too much 

a deliciously dark gothic romance 🖤

I finally decided to pick up Gothikana after being interested in another book called Nocticadia. And since I’m putting myself on a book buying ban, Gothikana seemed like the perfect book that would scratch that itch in my brain I had for a dark romance, dark academia, student/professor type of book. 🫦📖

With that in mind, I had an enjoyable time reading this book. It was just the type of book I was in the mood for. I admit the writing was cringy at times and a little extra when it came to love scenes, but I didn’t mind that much because I was actually invested in the characters and their story. Vad and Corvina grew on me and I loved their deep love for each other. At first I was a bit disappointed that it would be all lust for the sake of the smut, but as you read you discover their deep connection toward each other. I loved them. 💜

This is one of those books that are heavy on the vibes. If you want to escape to a gloomy castle on a mountain where bad things happen and the main characters have a lot of sex , then you’ll enjoy this book. 😂

Honestly, I found the plot really interesting as well. It was suspenseful and a bit creepy at times, however, I’m a bit disappointed that one of the big mysteries didn’t get an answer. 😩
I’m hoping that we’ll get a sequel eventually because I need to have more answers. Despite some plot points left unanswered, the big reveal at the end was actually really good and I didn’t see it coming. 😲

You’ll love this book if you enjoy:
🐦‍⬛ gothic haunted castles
🌳 wandering in the woods
👻 preternatural events
🔮 unique main female protagonists 
🩶 dark and mysterious male protagonists 
🎓 student/ professor relationships (she’s 22 and he’s 28)
🌶️ spicee

edit: changed my rating to a 3.5

trigger warning ⚠️ sa, suicide, mental illness, murder, explicit sexual content 

I have two print copies of this book, so it was a relief when I finally read it and actually enjoyed it. But buckle up, because I have OPINIONS. 

Let’s start with the good - the author is very good at setting the scene and establishing atmosphere. She writes rich, lush descriptions that engage all the senses. 

Her depictions of Corvina were compelling and it was fun to see her character arc. 

Some of the spicy scenes were quite good (the one in the Black Ball? 🔥). 

All of that said, I have a lot of gripes about this one. Most of these things could have been fixed with a firm developmental and line edit. 

The minor: As much as I love his aesthetic and possessiveness, Deverell is actually fairly flat as a character. Some of the spicy scenes are clumsy or downright terrible. The first seggs scene was awful and had me cringing for Corvina. 😬

As I mentioned above, the author is good at establishing atmosphere. The settings and descriptions establish Verenmore as almost out of time. Corvina seems a bit naive and even old fashioned, but then there would be these moments of dialogue that would completely change the tone. For example,

Corvina telling Vad “good luck getting your 🍆 wet.”

it was so out of place with the overall tone and voice, it was jarring. And there are dialogue moments like that throughout.

The pacing is a bit uneven, with certain scenes feeling rushed. They needed to be given more time to breathe. Like after

finding the weird shack, it never comes up again until the end.

 

Which brings me to the book’s  relationship to Gothic literature. *pushes glasses up the bridge of my nose* Based on the chapter heading artwork and epigraphs, it seems reasonable to assume that RuNyx is a fan of Gothic literature (though that Beetlejuice epigraph felt like a bit of a stretch…). So it was disappointing that the plot left several potentially supernatural loose ends. If the Gothic typically deals with allegory for social anxieties and the female gothic particularly centers on the power of seggsuality, there was such an opportunity to tie the “preternatural” events as she termed them to Corvina’s seggsuality. It could have been so seggs positive and affirming. But by

leaving the possibility of Corvina having schizophrenia and the weird loose ends with the disappearances and five new skulls,

it instead leaves medical and supernatural forces in play. Could have been cool social allegory. Instead it was just a spooky, ghost tale. A definite missed opportunity.

The book does have some representation of schizophrenia though I am not informed enough to know if it was a beneficial representation. No other diverse representation. Which is…strange…in this day and age. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It kept me entertained. I wish it had had one more pass with a firm editorial hand. Disappointing that Bramble didn’t have her work with an editor once they picked it up.  ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 🌶️🌶️🌶️