Reviews with content warning for Grief - Gothikana

Where do I even begin? There are so many elements in Gothikana that combine to create the perfect dark romance novel. From forbidden love and talks surrounding mental health to paranormal activities and a murder mystery all rolled into one, RuNyx really encapsulated all the great things that make a dark romance gripping and exciting in this stunning tale.

Without giving too much away, each character played the perfect part and enriched Gothikana with their own personalities and backstories. Corvina and Vad’s relationship journey from lust to deep love was truly gorgeous to see. Both blossomed as people because of the other, and their story is one of my new favourites. RuNyx also highlighted the importance of friendship throughout the novel, and additionally the danger in trusting the wrong people.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed Gothikana and would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a spicy dark romance story!

Content Warnings

biancaneve5's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

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kae_okie's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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fantasygirliesilho's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Amazing, spicy and intriguing layer of mysteries and plot twists. Definitely a great dark academia sexy read!

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amaranth_wytch's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.25

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wii3rdo's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

the way my body and mind reacted to the paranoid, suspenseful, and tense moments in this book needs to be STUDIED! it doesn’t help that i finished reading the last 40% after midnight when my house was dead silent and dark...but we’ll gloss over that detail for now 😅

this book exceeded my expectations for how much i’d love it. if the exterior didn’t do it for me, the descriptions and the way the author made me feel exactly what the characters felt, THAT DID IT! 🙂‍↕️ everything was so vivid i felt like i could see exactly what they wanted me to see down to the specks of dust in the library. Y’ALL AS CREEPY AS VERENMORE IS, I FUCKING LOVE IT!

i will say that i have a few unanswered questions and i explained the entire book to my friend on the phone the night after i finished, and not only does he want to read it, but he has the same questions i do.

i was suspicious of everyone EXCEPT who i needed to be suspicious of. even anticipating a twist, i NEVER would’ve guessed the story’s outcome. when i tell you i flipped this book closed and looked around so many times, i felt like i was being watched 😭 as good as it was, i will say, the first half of the book felt like a drag. with how detailed everything was, in some places, it felt like there was too much emphasis on the scenery and otherwise minor details. the book was hard to put down, but in some places it made me question “is this relevant?” but i still loved it!

and i’ll say this and be done: PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF SANITY, LET THERE BE A CONTINUATION OF THIS STORY BECAUSE I HAVE SOME MAJOR QUESTIONS THAT I FEEL LIKE ONLY ANOTHER STORY COULD ANSWER 😭

Content Warnings

brianna_soto's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

The characters lacked depth- I wasn't invested in them and didn’t feel any connection to them. Also didn’t care for the romance. The mystery is what kept me reading.

Content Warnings

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 “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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