Enigma: A Dark Academia Romance

RuNyx has a way of world-building and creating characters that feels fully fleshed-out, so when I read her books not only am I transported, I can also envision everything very clearly. I always feel her books are perfectly written to be movies, and in my mind they read cinematically. Enigma is no different. I could very clearly picture Salem, Caz and Mortimer University in ways that made the storyline quick-paced and entirely whole. I love this about her books! This is a dark academia goldmine! Secret societies, possible hauntings, seemingly desolate beach-scape with ominous lighthouse. The mood was spot on. Salem and Caz are a not too slow, slow-burn romance, and have some great tension at the start. Caz may just be your new favorite dark and broody, tattooed, MMC. He has a dark past, he’s territorial, and he’s a mercurial artist. Salem is a curvy FMC, and I much appreciated an FMC that is not the usual body type. Enigma had multi-faceted themes of found family, finding confidence in self, and learning to trust that really can speak to readers on a deeper level as well. RuNyx never disappoints. Her books, to me, are great palate cleansers. You can pick them up knowing you’re going to have a hard time putting them down. They move quickly, and you can transport into her Gothic-themed worlds entirely. Perfect for a train ride books. Perfect for a rainy day in bed books. Enigma is a perfect entry level to dark romance books!! If you loved Gothikana, you will love Enigma. However, if her Dark Verse series is more your cup of tea this might not be dark enough for you. Give it a try though! Enigma was a joy to read. I was waiting for this after I saw it pop up as to be published and I was not disappointed. 12/10 recommend.

I don’t know how I feel about this audiobook. I really liked this author’s other books. But really had mixed thoughts on this one. Yes I love a good slow burn. This book really started out really slow for me. Now will I continue reading more of this authors books and purchasing yes. This may have no been my favorite book. But I am sure someone else who has read or listen loved this book. Now the reason I didn’t want to DNF was because I was really hoping this book would pick for me. Which I guess the ending was wrapped up nicely. The spice OMG. Intense for me and I loved it so much. The narrators chef kiss maybe another reason why I stayed listening too. I recommend this audiobbook.

Amazing story and characters however the cover was slightly damaged from shipping

This book had me unhinged!!! Much like the sexy, mysterious man that is Cazimir!! 🥵🥵 I love the dark, eerie, gothic writing and setting that RuNyx spins into her stories. Enigma is full of unique and mysterious characters with an even more dark, alluring and mysterious setting that makes you cautious but curious. I love Salem, she is such a unique, woman and my first thought of her as a child was Wednesday Adam’s. 😂 seemed like they were alike in many ways, but as Salem grew older I understood her loneliness and feeling like she didn’t belong anywhere and went unnoticed. She built up such high walls and became and icy shell. I love her curiosity and dark interests. Cazimir is such a mystery. So much is unknown about him, where he came from. The way he crumbles to his knees and devours Salem and claims her in public and private is absolutely delicious!! And boy the things he can do with his pencil ✏️ 🥵🥵🥵 OMG!!! 😱 I’ve never looked at a pencil in such an aroused way before until Cazimir. This book was an absolute 5🌟 read. Cazimir became one my new favorite book boyfriends, who can possess me any day. I could live in this eerie castle forever with all its mysteries and charms. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

I loved this book! I loved the characters and I really enjoyed the character development from Salem. 4⭐️ only because the big reveal for the mystery was like a total of 2 pages long and didn’t have a whole lot of detail. It had a big lead up and then seemed rushed at the end. I did enjoy the book overall and I really enjoy reading books by this author.

Solidified: I am RuNyx’s target reader. This is the second book of hers that I’ve binged in about 2 days, which is unheard of for me with any other authors. Everything about her Gothic settings and particular flavor of dark romance positively speaks to my happy reader heart. Once again, her hardback book is GORGEOUS, especially with the deeply romantic classic literature quotes imposed over moody, atmospheric photos in between chapters. The map by Virginia Allyn sets ambience and tone. The stunning endpaper illustration by Julie Dillon has you wishing you were the one in Caz’s arms. The sprayed edges shaded like deep water near a cliffside are a poetry of their own. Chef’s kiss, chef’s hug, chef’s exuberant embrace for all that thoughtful design. The journey of growth for our FMC is one of the best executed I’ve seen, and is truly the primary focus of the story. Her perspective begins in isolation but we see her empathy expand and her view of the world widen as she begins to let others in. Our MMC Caz is my new book boyfriend. You can’t have him; his dark artist heart belongs with mine. His words and actions had me reacting aloud with cheers and sighs as I fell for him brushstroke by brushstroke. One of the author’s unique strengths is in recognizing the beauty in our darker traits and penning poetic declarations that would be unbecoming in any other setting, but are swoon-worthy in this context. Audio: This book is primarily from Salem’s perspective, but there is Dual Narration with an excellent voice portraying Caz. Both narrators are very engaging. Cons: -The final “action” sequence from the underlying drama takes place in literally 11 pages (of 473). For the threat to have been so sinister, it felt too easily resolved, leaving the impression that the author wasn’t really sure how else to flesh it out. -Just as with Gothikana, I did have some unanswered questions. This is not the dealbreaker for me that it is for most readers, I fear. But it’s probably helpful to know, going in, that RuNyx doesn’t like to give you a full plate of answers. Go in embracing some mystery.

Salem Salazar is different. She’s what you call the “black sheep” in the family. An anomaly. However, she’ll do whatever it takes to discover the truth about her sister’s death and the secret society. Then, there’s Caz, the bane of her existence. Caz has a dark past, many secrets, a hidden agenda, a bit unhinged, and a psychopath. Caz + Salem = perfection, seriously. Caz is exactly what Salem needed. I love their love. Storyline was good. Characters were great. Ending was hugely disappointing. Epilogues were unnecessary.

Okay I have to say that I really loved the plot of this book. It was full of mystery and intrigue. I was hooked from the start. I liked the dark academia setting. I loved Salem. She was brave and strong and very curious. Caz was a mystery to figure out. The story basically is about mysterious murders happening at Mortimer Academy. Salem is investigating her sister’s murder. I only gave this book 3 ⭐️’s because the ending was unfinished for me. I wanted to know why the murders happened and what happened to the persons that committed them but we got nothing. So disappointed in the ending. For the romance, I liked the angst and how they finally gave in to each other.