Beauty and the Beast meets Dracula, or at least that is what this week’s Horror Book Pick is described as.
GOTHIKANA written by RuNyx was published in July 2023 and is on the bestsellers list for Gothic Romance and Horror Books.
Reviews have mostly been positive for this gothic romance novel with many praising the author’s propensity to create lively characters and create a spellbinding story that both haunts and captivates you.
Customers who bought the book had mixed reactions. While many praised the story for efficiently incorporating horror elements as well as writing believable tension between the protagonists, others found the book poorly written and not carefully edited.
Many readers thought that certain phrases were repeated throughout the book and that perhaps the hero of the book was a bit too rough with the heroine.
However, the readers did think that the twist at the end was surprising and that made up for any plot holes in the story.
Quick Book Review of GOTHIKANA based on sample
The book begins with the author’s note and a warning about all the triggers that may put off certain readers.
We then get a glimpse into the hero Vad’s past. He was a seven-year-old when he received a prophecy. He would go to a castle and that is where he would find purple eyes. The poor thing is immediately made fun of because who really has purple eyes?
Enter our heroine Corvina who as a little girl was home-schooled and ignored by the townsfolk because everyone thought her mother was a witch since she could hear voices. It is revealed Corvina herself hears the voices too.
As she ages to twenty-one years old (the legal age for whatever is about to happen to her in the rest of the story) she receives a letter from the University of Verenmore. She is apparently getting a scholarship and so she pushes all apprehensions aside and travels to this small place and up a castle the people in the town seem to avoid.
Corvina is so happy to receive this “sign from the universe” that she absolutely doesn’t care about how scary everything is or that a girl has jumped off the roof after having an alleged affair with a professor.
Corvina then wanders about one night and see the professor (also the hero) playing piano in the middle of the night. She is captivated by her looks and thus the meeting scene is completed.
The story flows smoothly and the writing style is consistent. The author quickly makes the introductions and then moves on with the story while introducing the mystery that is going to need to be solved by the end of the book.
Going by the theme of the book, a few words seemed out of place and Corvina is given an appearance that makes most characters call her freaky. She may be freaky-looking but you know she is the one who is going to end up with the best love story in the place.
The elements of a good story are all there and there is no doubt that any reader would find it curious and want to continue reading way beyond the sample.
Gothikana seems like an interesting book that readers may want to check out if they are into Goth romances and mysteries. Or if they simply want to read books that give off Harry Potter and Hogwarts vibes.
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