I have been seeing this book all over BookTok and Reddit so I really appreciated the opportunity to pick up the ARC. It was unfortunately not for me but I think it will appeal to readers new to dark academia and fantasy fiction.

I like indulgent reads as much as anyone and looked forward to a gothic fantasy, but any pleasure was severely disrupted by a lack of editing.

Some highlights, starting and ending with my favorites:
● “They were in their winter home in the snowy mountains, a large cottage-mansion.” (I don’t know why this is, but sure, I’d take one)
● “‘We saw something,’ she reminisced, remembering the long silhouette they had encountered that day.” (She breasted boobily down the street…)
● Try arranging your fingers like this, I dare you: “He extended his palm to help her up and Corvina studied his hand, that large, beautiful hand. His palm was calloused, the fingers slightly bent, especially the middle and little finger.” (My partner calls this the Vulcan shocker).
● This is very oddly worded and is the first thing that made me wonder if this was run through Google Translate or written by AI. “Aren’t you a student yourself, Mr. Deverell?” His silver eyes glinted in the light from the window. “A doctorate student, yes. I’m completing my thesis this year.” (“Doctoral student” is the common usage.)
● Funnily enough, having the characters point out obvious plot holes does not meaningfully address those plot holes: “I don’t even understand what the point of the masquerade ball is,” Ethan huffed. “Like, sure, it’s a ball, but you know there have been incidents every fucking time. Why not make it less easy for people to vanish?” Slight silence ensued after that. Corvinna looked at the clouds, at all the shapes they made in the blue sky. The one she was starting at looked like a squirrel with a nut in its hand.”
● Proof that no thesauri were harmed in the making of this book: “‘She needs to rest in a medical room,’ Dr. Larkin, the residing medical doctor on campus, interrupted from the door.” (Infirmary. It’s called an infirmary. Or sick room. This is used REPEATEDLY and I find it maddening)
It’s like Interpol but stupider: “‘But he’s not just any stranger,’ Erica told her conspiratorially, cupping her mug of coffee with both hands. ‘He’s one of Verenmore’s alumni. He graduated and joined the International Investigation Squad.’”
● Here’s some proof about that stupidity: “‘From the decomposition, I’d estimate she died anywhere between the last five years and a few months,’ he spoke, his eyes scanning the body.” (as I type this, I notice how odd it is to use “spoke” instead of “said”)
● Was this even edited? “A deep burgundy, almost dark purple dress hung from a hanger on one of the open windowpanes, a color so deep it shimmered with purple and black, its sleeves full and made of some kind of lace, its neckline a plunging V that went almost to the waistline, a slit up the side of the skirt that went to the upper thigh area.”
● Followed by the following sentences: “She had never seen something so exquisite. It was her in a gown.” (I think I get the point that’s trying to be made– that this dress embodies the character– but what a weird way to put it.)
● Finally, the love interest is named Vad. This is so silly that I first thought the book misspelled the name the first time we see it. The book repeatedly references Dracula, and I guess the author wanted to make it a little subtler for readers.

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me. I wasn’t a fan of the teacher/student relationship which was the primary focus of the book.

The non-romance part of the story was interesting enough. I can definitely see how people will have fun reading it.

I was immediately drawn into a world shrouded in gothic mystery and romance. The story unfolds in the haunting University of Verenmore, an ancient castle brimming with secrets. I was captivated by Corvina Clemm, an intriguing protagonist struggling with her mother's loss, and Vad Deverell, the enigmatic professor. Their forbidden love story is masterfully intertwined with a chilling, century-old mystery. RuNyx’s poetic and immersive writing style transported me straight into the eerie halls of Verenmore. The sensory-rich story and the vividly portrayed characters, especially the castle with its own eerie personality, left me spellbound. This novel isn't just a read; it's an experience, blending romance, mystery, and gothic elements in a way that completely mesmerized me, even though there are some plot holes, and sometimes the story could've been edited to keep the pacing and make stronger interactions between characters.

I unfortunately had to DNF. While I feel and know a lot of readers will and do love this book, I didn't love the author's writing style.

Throughout the book, it seemed as if the author couldn't decide on the personality of any given character. For example, when we first meet Troy, he's introduced as an asshole. But 50 pages later, with seemingly no character development, he described as one of the kindest people our protagonist knows.

Another reason this book isn't for me is because I personally don't like when our FMC is a virgin, knowing her first sexual encounter will be more than vanilla. I just can't wrap my head around it and it pulls me out of the story.

This is a dark gothic romance that readers will love. It just wasn't for me

Myth: 4/5

I picked this one up for the vibes, and I didn’t regret it. The book is advertised as the eternal romance of Beauty and the Beast and the gothic suspense of Dracula. I highly agree with both, and they were blended beautifully.

Magic: NA

This was more in the traditional vein of dark academia. Think occultist vibes, the idea of the paranormal.

Overall: 4/5

With dark academia themes that call back to The Secret History, this gothic castle-turned-school brings a lot of traditional genre themes with a sensual romance.

I don't think I am the right audience for this book. I have discovered I'm not a dark academia fan.

This was a quick read. It reminded me of a hybrid of Harrow's Starling House mixed with a little Jane Eyre and 50 Shades. Definitely room for more character and narrative development but it kept my interest.

I was eager to check out this book when I saw it was slated for publication from Tor this winter. For one thing, it was hugely popular as a self-published titled, and I always love to see indie authors picked up by large publishing companies. Second, Tor has had a great track record this last year for putting out some really great SFF books. I’ve reviewed a ton of them and almost all of them have been positive reviews. Third, the description for this book likens it to “Beauty and the Beast.” I’m a simple person: if you tell me a fantasy story is inspired by “Beauty and the Beast,” I’ll probably read it. So, where did all of this lead me? Well, unfortunately, to a pretty steep disappointment.

I do try to start with the positives, but unfortunately, I really don’t have a lot. Really, the best I can say is that the overall concept was creative. I was drawn in by the book description, and I think if the execution had been up to snuff, than it would have been enjoyable read. Also, a lot of people do like this book. I can’t say I understand why, but they do. So clearly there’s some positive appeal for readers here that I’m not seeing, and if you’re interested in this book, there are a whole lot of people out there who would say go for it!

For me, however, right away I knew there would be problems with the writing. I read an ARC version of this book, so I can’t confirm for a fact that some of my complaints won’t have been corrected in finalized versions, but I’m doubtful. Usually, the kinds of changes you’ll see between ARCs and finished versions are last minute spelling or punctuation problems, like a dropped period or something. But here, the writing failures were way beyond this. Honestly, I was a bit shocked. In many ways it read like a bad stereotype of what self-published books can be: clunky writing, odd word choices, lack of useful descriptions (we got enough superficial stuff about fashion to last a life time) leaving the reader stranded in a wasteland. The sentences structure would be fragmented on one page, and then fall into run-on sentences on the next. Honestly, within the first few chapters, the number of times I had to stop and re-read a sentence to try to understand what was being said was shocking. It was the kind of reading experience where I was spending more time mentally re-writing and re-structuring sentences than I did absorbing that actual story.

Moving beyond the actual functionality of the writing, the style itself was also frustrating. This is a perfect example of writing that simply tells you what you’re meant to feel and see, rather than making any sort of effort to lead readers along in an organic, “showing” manner. This style didn’t help the fact that this book very much felt like it was all vibes and no actual world-building. Whenever I stopped and tried to think about how some of the fantasy elements worked, I became frustrated. I kept waiting for some sort of resolution or explanation for various plot elements that were introduced, but by the end, it became clear that tight structure and plot was not the priority. Instead of addressing the various mysteries that are brought up, the book ends with a sputter…something something magic…something something the mountain itself! If the answer to your numerous mysteries in a FANTASY NOVEL is “whelp, magic” than you didn’t have any mysteries to begin with and what story are you even trying to tell here?

I also very much struggled with the romance. I didn’t care for either character, our leading lady or Vad (the name alone!). At best, it was under-developed and I couldn’t understand why either character was interested in the other. At worst, it wasn’t helped by dialogue that had me experiencing indirect embarrassment for the characters. This also had a hirer level of spice than I was anticipating, which isn’t necessarily the book’s fault. But what I’m coming to understand about myself as a romance reader and my approach to spice levels is that it has much less to do with how spicy the book is, and much more to do with the overall approach to these scenes. There are certain descriptive words that I just don’t like in my romance scenes. And there’s a very fine line where these sorts of scenes can stray into the corny, and the minute that happens, the romance is drained and it all gets a bit of an “ick” sheen. Again, this is going to be very subjective from one reader to another. But all of the problems I had with the writing in general just compounded the problems I had with the romance aspects.

Overall, I can’t recommend this book. The romance aspects are subjective, for sure, and some readers might like these sorts of spicy scenes. But the writing was actually just bad, and there’s no two ways about it. Romantasy is having a big moment currently, which means that readers can hold their books to higher standards than this one had to offer, I’m sorry to say.

Rating 5: Honestly, if I hadn’t requested an ARC, thus feeling more obligated to give it a full review, I would have DNF’d this within the first 25%, the writing was that bad.

Review will go live on The Library Ladies January 10

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Gothikana by RuNyx!

This book was both so messed up psychologically and also so good at the same time. I practically blew through the book and loved every second of it.

This just wasn't what I expected. I was prepared for dark but not for quite this dark. It just isn't right for me as a reader.

Gothikana is a strikingly written atmospheric dark romance. Corvina Clemm has always felt like an outsider, but when she accepts admittance to Verenmore, a school located in a gothic castle on top of a mountain, she is thrown into a world of secrets, deceit, and darkness. And she find she can’t fight her attraction to her teqxhee, the mysterious Vad Deverell, who is equally captivated by her. The writing is beautiful. It is eerie and the gothic tone is perfectly encapsulated. I will say, I had a little trouble with the ending. The story is a romantic suspense and the ending feels like a thriller ending that loses momentum. But the lead up into that is steamy and romantic and dark. Corvina and Vad are both such tragically tortured characters and this Beauty and the Beast retelling is striking. I would’ve liked a little more development in the romance but I loved the solace these two find in each other and how seen Corvina felt with Vad, even with his mixed signals. The mystery is interesting, and I loved the dark academia setting of this. It’s a beautifully written gothic romance.

Unfortunately, the writing in this novel is absolutely atrocious. There is so much incorrect word usage.

One of my friends highly recommended this. I am not a dark romance girly by any means but this was pretty good! I would recommend to anyone who likes dark romance with an academic setting.

I liked the vibe of this book but the "romance" seemed forced and unhealthy. The gothic and dark academia aspects were my favorite. I wish it had focused more on that.

It’s easy to follow and extremely readable. I stopped after chapter 1, but I can definitely see it doing well with its target audience. Easy three to four stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC.

I love a good dark academia romance novel, but this one fell flat in a few places for me. I'm not a huge fan of insta-lust/love and there we re a few too many plot holes for my preferences, however, it was well written everywhere else.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group - Bramble and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This title was originally self-published in 2021 and is being rerelased by Bramble in 2024.
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. This is a dark academia romance with a morally grey MMC, spice, dual-POV, and has multiple trigger warnings. The "insta-love" attraction between a student and teacher fell flat to me personally. On the bright side though, the haunted castle and grounds were a delightfully creepy setting. It's suspenseful and full of intrigue. I would have preferred more closure by the end; there were several plot holes that are never fully resolved. Overall I contemplated DNF'ing this one early on but am glad I stuck with it. Readers of dark academia may enjoy this.

This was simultaneously great and meh. I loved the gothic, dark academia setting. I loved how he called her "Little Crow" and "Little Witch" and she called him her madness and her devil. I loved the secrets and the twists. The references to Poe and Dracula were amazing! But there was something about it that was just meh. I can't quite put my finger on it.