Gothikana

Gothikana, Book 1/SA

An unusual girl. An enigmatic man. An ancient castle. What could go wrong?

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 while 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. The moment he crosses paths with Corvina, he knows she is a danger 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. Corvina is getting clues to unravel it all, and Vad needs to keep an eye on her.

So begins a tale of the mystique, the morbid, the macabre, and a deep love that blossoms in the unlikeliest of places.

Cover Design by Nelly R.

©2023 RuNyx (P)2023 Podium Audio

Great gothic romance with student/prof vibes!

“This will last, Corvina. This will last until the day roses on my grave stop sharing roots with the roses on yours. I will have you even in death, little witch. I am your beast. I am your madness. And you, you’re my afterlife.”

4.5⭐️ 3🌶️ 4🎧

Publisher: Podium
Narrators: Scarlett Dorian + Aiden Snow
Narration type: Dual
Standard length: 10:37
Listening speed: 1.7x
Listened via: Audible

Tropes: gothic romance, dark academia, student/professor, age gap, romantic suspense

📖 This was my first Runyx read and it most definitely will not be my last! I often find that I don’t stay as engaged in stories written in third person, but in this case I think the audio or the moodiness of the story really kept me engaged! Vad and Corvina were absolutely intriguing — both independently and together. And my third favorite character was Verenmore castle and the surrounding grounds. While not a true character, this story was so incredibly atmospheric, the setting absolutely came alive! In addition to an intense love, and an incredible gothic setting, the story was also filled with mystery that slowly unraveled. Such a great read, and since we are coming up on spooky season I would definitely add this to your TBR!

🎧 This is dual narration with writing in the third person — but I will say there are way more Corvina chapters than there are Vad chapters, so Scarlett does much more narration than Aiden. Scarlett’s voice is perfect as Corvina, she strikes a moody vibe with her deeper yet still feminine voice that is really quite unique. I didn’t love her narration of male voices quite as much. If this had been duet narration this would have easily been 5🎧 because Aiden absolutely crushed the male POV. He has a rich voice with a deep tone and pulled off the dominate vibes that Vad radiates.

Amazing!!!

This book deserves all the freaking stars and so much more!!

I read the book first and then listened to the audiobook when it when live and both are equally fantastic. RuNyx has blown my mind away with this modern gothic dark academia romance, the mystery, the unknown, the forbidden age gap romance and all the dark and gothic settings and vibes made this book one of my top read this year. There is absolutely nothing I didn't like about this book.

Corvina is a young woman that has been isolated for most of her life. Her unique upbringings makes her a mysterious and intriguing character. She knows she is different and so when an opportunity is presented to her to attend a Verenmore University she decides she needs a fresh start, somewhere when no ones knows about her past. What she gets instead is so much more following inexplicable events, suspense and questions about her sanity but it also comes with her meeting professor Vad Deverell, a man that will completely change her life.

Vad is also another mysterious character with so many secrets and his own agenda to keep his real identity a secret. But there is nothing I don't love about him, read and you'll see what I'm taking about.

Corvina and Vad's chemistry is intense and all consuming, their sensual tension will burn the pages of your kindle, they are some steam scenes that live freely through my mind rent free lol.

A ride I didn’t want to end!

This book was like a rollercoaster ride I didn’t want to end. This ride was intense, mysterious and passionate. 5/5 would recommend if you’re looking for a great dark academia - dark romance, this is a ride you’ll enjoy.

So Worth The Blind Dive

A bunch of people were reading this in a group I'm in on social media, so I decided, "Why Not?" I got enough information as to what the characters were about, and I was not disappointed. The action, the mystery, the horror, and all the love and support made this book fantastic. The reader even had a nice voice and good additional acting! most people just read it... well, she READ it 💜💜 10/10 for me!

Excuse me please

I don’t know when or how this will get done but there needs to be another book more answers to the ink moon connections and just more I need it!! For my soul !! So please could you please!!!