Thank you to the publisher for this copy!

Read this book if you like: Beauty and the beast, dark academia, forbidden romance

This mostly wasn't for me. I was intrigued by the story, but the writing was rough. I liked some of the characters. It was just so long and dragged on.

Dark academia, gothic romance? You're speaking my language! Plus the first edition being stunning doesn't hurt either. This was sexy and sultry and I loved every minute

Ugh, I hate that I didn't love this one. It's been so hyped by everyone, and I just didn't love it.

There were a lot of repetitive actions, like the constant nipple flicking... Like every other scene. 🥴 Some of the dialogue was super cringe during their smexytime, and it took me completely out of the book.

There were some good parts, and I think if the repetition and dialogue weren't such an issue, I may have actually enjoyed it.

I saw another reviewer state it read like a wednesday/HP fanfic, and I can agree on that. It's like Wednesday fell for a younger professor Snape, who sounded like Voldemort when he's connected to professor Quirell. (Listened on audio) and the voice used for the MMC, especially during the smexy stuff, was a whole other reason to dislike this book. And for some reason, at the end of the audio, the MMC used a completely different voice, which could have been a game changer it used through the whole book. Like WHY didn't you use that voice instead of the female narrator doing such a terrible male voice. It WAS NOT sexy!

And now I'm stuck with two copies (oop cover and the new sprayed edges one) due to the hype and FOMO and I'm mad about it. 🙃

I absolutely devoured this romantic dark academia story! The tension and chemistry between Cor and Vad was incredible, and this will absolutely be one of my favorite rereads.

It will come as a surprise to no one familiar with my reviews that I did not enjoy the extremely open door romance element of this story. That said, I liked pretty much everything else about this book.

Though I found the romantic subplot cringey, I was incredibly relieved to find it to be almost entirely angst-free. The smutty aspect of it doesn’t appeal to me, but it’s much easier to tolerate in an otherwise good book because it doesn’t pervade the entire narrative like an overwrought, will they-won’t they romance does. Don’t like smut? It’s easy to skim the sex scenes without missing anything critical to the story. Like smut? Read right on through.

Though I agree with some other reviewers that the writing was in some ways not great, I mostly connected that to the romance components of the plot and the related dialogue. The pacing is excellent, the plot is well-constructed, and the sense of place and atmosphere are outstanding.

There’s a gorgeous creepiness to this story, rooted largely in very well-rendered sense of place. The general shape of the plot follows a common structure for YA fantasy, but the win is in the details here, which set this book apart from many other magic school/magic college fantasy novels.

The conclusion of this book left a lot of unanswered questions, hopefully because we’ll be getting a follow-up to it. Vad and Corvina do get the happy ending that you hope they will, but there’s a lot about Verenmore that we still don’t know, and I hope RuNyx let’s us find out more before too long.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I really wanted to like this - I thought the premise sounded really good and really like something I would like. Unfortunately I couldn't get over the romantic feelings between the FMC and MLI. Even though it was clear that it was a college setting and both were well above legal age, it felt like an illegal relationship. I just found myself not being able to move past it.

Hmmmm. This is a hard one to review because I loved the concept and finished the book, but I can’t tell if I actually enjoyed it….. there was so much insta-love that happened between our two main characters, and it didn’t feel like they ever actually got to know each other in a non-sexual way.

I remember our MMC asking Corvina, “do you trust me?” And I remember thinking, how could she? Yall literally don’t talk or do anything to really get to know each other!!!

I also wasn’t the biggest fan of how they portrayed Corvina and her family’s mental illness. As someone who works in the field, it felt very stereotypical and kept making it seem like she was “crazy”.

Thinking back, I am quite dissatisfied at this book. Maybe I just wasn’t the right audience.

This was crazy. I don’t usually read books like this but if you want a wild ride. Pick this up. I had a hard time putting it down.

I was not sure what to expect from Gothikana, but it lived up to the hype! This is an adult dark academia with lots of *spice*. The tension between Corvina and Vad was palpable and while I don’t normally like the “insta-love” trope, I will not put this book into that category as their attraction makes sense. There are definitely supernatural elements and not everything is wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end, but that is the author’s intention. There are some questions in life that are just never answered.

“Steer clear of me, little crow,” he muttered, his eyes piercing, flaying her open. “You might be a luring siren but I’m no ordinary sailor. I’m a mad pirate and I’m trying to resist your call. If I land on your shores, I will plunder and take away everything worth having. Be very careful giving me those eyes.”
Vad is dark, handsome, mysterious, and so swoon worthy. I’m a sucker for the ‘stay away from me even though I can’t stay away from you’ trope. If dark academia with a sexy teacher who says and does even sexier things is your vibe, this book is for you!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

I learned of this book on Bookstagram and decided to give it a go. I like dark academia and gothic romances, so the premise of "Beauty and the Beast meets Dracula" was intruiging.

In Gothikana, we meet Corvina Clemm, who gets a letter to attend the mysterious Verenmore University. Bonus, it is in a creepy old castle in the middle of nowhere, isolated on a mountain and surrounded by forest. It also has a very dark and horrific history. What could go wrong, right? Corvina meets (and becomes attracted to) a part-time professor named Vad Deverell. He is dark and mysterious and dangerous. Corvina and Vad grow closer and Corvina begins to unravel the secrets of Verenmore.

This book has a lot going on. There is definitely explicit content and some sex scenes. Obviously, there is a classic (and a bit cliche) professor-student relationship, and a horny-virgin trope. There are also horror and occult/witchcrafty-elements in the story, and, is actually (surprisingly) loosely based on the author's own personal experiences at a boarding school. For some reason this makes the book that much creepier and cooler. I really like that the book was dark and erotic and how original and innovative the story was. I've definitely never read anything like it before.

Fans of the TV show Wednesday will definitely enjoy this book. I will definitely be recommending this one to my book club and library friends, and checking out other books by this author!

I liked this one a lot but I did find it to be too long. I did like how everything tied together at the end. I'd recommend it for someone searching for a dark, but not too dark, romance.

I loved the romance part of this book but idk if I’d really call it dark romance. It was ok. It was definitely a creepy book but I feel like there should be a book 2. Unanswered questions, confusing parts that didn’t really get closure. I did enjoy the book though but was turning the pages quickly hoping for a better ending than that one.

I’m very disappointed that the publisher used an AI cover for this book.

This was a good dark romance. The writing style was not my favorite but I can see why so many people like this book.

This is Beauty & The Beast meets dark academia with erotica in a spooky castle setting.

Corvina is an outcast who may or may not be mentally ill, but Vad, her enigmatic professor, accepts her thorns and all. This was not a slow burn at all, this was borderline instalust/instalove and romances like that remove too much tension for me. I love the will they won't they pull and this question was answered far too quickly for me. This could've been an amazing and spicy forbidden romance between professor and student but the slow pull wasn't there for me.

There is also a mystery tale playing in the background which is semi-interesting but not enough.

The potential for a spooky gothic romance was there but this fell a bit flat for me.

Thank you to Bramble for the arc!

Dark Academia flows through these pages. While I enjoyed this book, I found I was left with more questions than answers. There was so much left to be told. The gothic vibe of the book as well as the details of the castle, were instalove for me. I just wish I had more answers.

Gothikana was one of my most anticipated reads of this year, and now, it's become one of my favorites! RuNyx did not disappoint in any capacity! Corvina Clemm and Vad Deverell are unlike any couple I've read before, and I loved every minute of their story. Suspense, steam, murder, mystery, forbidden love, a heroine with questionable mental stability, and a hero with questionable morals, it's like this book was written just for me! Everything from the atmosphere to the orgasms is utter perfection! It has a dark, eerie vibe that I couldn't get enough of, and Vad and Corvina are some of the most intriguing and unique characters I've ever read. Totally recommend!

This book just was not for me. I don't like ambiguous endings, and there was a lot left unanswered. The nicknames little crow and devil were a little over the top for me. I really could not get through this book fast enough. Absolutely not my style.

This was an interesting idea, and Gothikana has potential to be someone's whole personality. But - It wasn't well written. Half the time I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be set in some distant past early 1900s or in a fantasy world of modern times. Inconsistent with over the top smut dialog. The mystery was very intriguing but the forbidden relationship just didn't work.