Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Gothikana by RuNyx

9 reviews

ellalunaaa's review against another edition

dark funny tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, and Murder

very dubcon

meliroo's review against another edition

dark

• Loveable characters? No

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

marinajonesreads's review against another edition

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 “gothic romance” I was thinking along the lines of Adalyn Grace’s “Foxglove” — 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 we’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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Incest, Blood, and Death of parent

labxtch's review against another edition

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 didn’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.

‘Gothikana’ reminded me why “books-that-make-you-think” are my absolute freaking favorite. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Blood

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Dementia, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

emu_308's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, and Death

direguard's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Medical content, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

hobbit_at_heart's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 

I really enjoyed this story! However, I will say I do not see any correlation between this story and comparing it to "dracula and beauty and the beast" aside from a girl falling for a "devil" in a castle.

The whole time I thought Vad Deverel was going to end up being a vampire or something and that never happened. So that was a touch disappointing. The smut could have been a touch better, but I won't complain.

I suck at reviews, but all-in-all, a good story. Definitely New Adult vibes. At first I was under the impression that this was set in an older timeline, however it was fairly modern with random things like the use of phones and internet was stuck in. Some of the writing was kind of cringy and I sped read through a LOT of fluffy bits that simply weren't all that necessary to have even been put into writing. Overall, good book. If Goodreads would do a 1/2 star system, this would be a solid 3.5 for me but I rounded up for the sake of having enjoyed the plot twist at the end bc I never would have seen it coming. Wild ride at the end!

HEA was corny as SHIT.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit, Medical content, and Stalking

Minor: Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Toxic friendship

jshawreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I really do not know where to start with this book. This has potentially been the most conflicted I have ever felt after reading a book. Elements were fantastic, the gothic setting, the unsettling quasi-magical phenomena, the bloody mystery of a cult. Sadly, elements were absolutely terrible, one of the worst cases of insta-love I have ever seen, paired with gratuitous, and sometimes quite repetitive sex scenes, and possibly the worst ending to a book in a good while.

Now, I dont mind a bit of spice in my fiction... But when the spice is just purely "This is my p***y now", "slam, slam, slam" and the main characters thighs being "soaked", along with the worst phrase I have ever read (and it came up twice) "Her nipples pebbled" it just comes off as tacky. Gratuitous sex and poorly written, supposedly romantic, moments really detracted from the actual plot. If the sub-plot of romance was gone, this book would have been infinitely better. 

This is a real shame, this book could have been excellent

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury

emilycruz1016's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail