Gothikana

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Gothikana by RuNyx

Gothikana is a dark academia horror about Corvina Clemm, a young woman who is left alone after the tragic loss of her mother. Corvina receives an admissions letter from the private and eclectic University of Verenmore, which aims to support and educate young men and women who are alone in the world without resources. Corvina accepts, but soon after arrival, discovers that Verenmore is rumored to be haunted by the ghosts of former students who were hanged after they were caught committing a gruesome crime. According to legend, every five years one of Verenmore’s students goes missing, never to be heard of again. In this mysterious and dangerous castle, Corvina meets a young, handsome professor named Vad Deverell, known for keeping his distance from students and teachers alike. An attraction immediately sparks between them, despite the university’s strict prohibition of fraternization between students and staff.

I really wanted to like the romance between Corvina and Vad, but I just couldn’t quite bring myself for root for them. Their relationship is deeply dysfunctional: neither of them seem to want to be together because of its risks, but a sexual relationship quickly sparks, even when consent isn’t clearly communicated, and while they are supportive of one another in difficult moments, they don’t have much respect for one another, nor do they put much effort into communication or equality. Vad presents himself as far more experienced and expects submissiveness from Corvina, often telling her what she can and cannot do, who she can and cannot speak to, and their first sex scene is extremely aggressive, even after Corvina tells him that she is a virgin. I know the dominant, mysterious hero is a bit of a trope, but I just enjoy romance more when the characters are kind and supportive of one another, and to be completely honest, I think it’s a little irresponsible of the author to portray a relationship that is so clearly dysfunctional without calling out or showing substantial character growth. Instead, we see a man who is willing to dominate his partner and likely hurt her during their first sexual encounter, a young woman who is quickly overwhelmed by him even when she expresses discomfort with the way he treats her, and they are shown to be happily together at the end without any change from either of them.

That being said, I did like the mystery and the setting in this one, even if the relationship itself was a huge deterrent. The author mastered the atmospheric world through which Corvina moves, and I loved how she portrayed Verenmore as a safe place for young people who would have struggled and likely been ostracized in the larger world. Corvina makes a great group of friends, and I loved seeing her learn to get along with others after so many years of being isolated with her mother. Rich visualization of the castle and castle grounds helped me center myself in the world and picture the action upon it, and the compelling mystery of Verenmore’s history and curse kept me invested from start to finish.

In all, I’ll give Gothikana a 7 out of 10. The writing was solid and the setting and plot were compelling, but I can’t score this any higher due to its problematic romance. I do think readers who want a dark academia reading will like it if they can look past the relationship.