RuNyx - Gothikana
4⭐
Genre: Romance, Fiction, Dark Academia, Paranormal, Gothic, Mystery
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback Proof
Publisher: Solaris
Date Published: 16th March 2023
Huge thank you to Solaris for sending me a proof copy of this book to read and review.
Book Blurb:
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 olden, 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 paths cross 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 for over a hundred years, and Corvina is getting clues to unravelling it all, and Vad needs to keep an eye on her.
And so begins a tale of the mystique, the morbid, the macabre, and a deep love that blossoms in the unlikeliest of places.
My Review:
I loved the atmosphere this book
has, so creepy, gothic, mysterious, supernatural and suspenseful. The dark
academia vibes in this book were spot on too! I was definitely obsessed with
the Verenmore mystery and the Slayers. I loved the writing and the setting of
this story, as well as the character development, especially Corvina’s
throughout the book. However, the only love-hate relationship that I have with
this story was Corvina’s and Vad’s relationship and at parts smut that was just
too cringe.
The story follows Corvina who is
invited to attend Verenmore University for gifted students from unfortunate
backgrounds. At Verenmore, she soon meets the very mysterious, attractive bad
boy Professor Vad Deverell and can’t seem to get away from him. Vad also seems
to be very attracted to her. However, Corvina tries to be careful around him,
not only because of his reputation as a Casanova with the female students but
also because she believes there is something evil about him and that he might
be responsible for all the mysterious and unexplainable things that are
happening at Verenmore.
I loved the gothic atmosphere,
dark academic vibes and mystery of the story, especially the forbidden woods,
scary lake and cemetery, castle tower, as well as dungeons. The whole Verenmore
and the surrounding mountain felt like one big secret and it was a rather
exciting one! I also loved how the mysteries surrounding Verenmore, were
answered one by one and quite slowly. At times it also felt that we as readers
learn everything at the same pace as Corvina, and the reader is there with her
to experience it all.
I really liked how much Corvina
grew as a character throughout the book. At first, she was so shy and reserved,
and also doubted herself so much, but Verenmore and uncovering all its secrets
made her so confident, strong and determined. I think she is definitely one of
my favourite characters.
In terms of Vad, I wished there
was more of his POV in this book. Maybe then I would have warmed up to him and would
have understood the relationship and attraction between him and Corvina. For me,
he still ended up just as mysterious at the end of the book as he was at the
beginning.
Also, there was a lot of smut and
spice, like a lot! I mean I enjoyed most of it, but in parts, I wanted less of
it, as it was getting rather cringy. I was also very conflicted about the
relationship between Corvina and Vad Deverell, in part I loved it but in part I
hated it…So I ended up having a love-hate relationship with those parts of the
book.
The ending….I wanted more…I felt
that there were so many things that this book didn’t answer yet. Yes, most of
the mysteries were solved in this story but there were so many that weren’t. So,
I do hope it is because there will be a second book (fingers crossed), as I
need to know the answers and need more mystery of Verenmore in my life!
Overall: Despite the love-hate
relationship that I have about the relationship of the main characters in this
book, I loved it! I loved the gothic, dark and mysterious atmosphere. I was
also obsessed with dark academia vibes and Verenmore in general! The mystery
too!! Run, don’t walk and get a copy yourself! I will be definitely looking out
for more books by RuNyx in the future!
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