Dark academia, enemies to lovers, secret societies and Ru’s beautiful ability to piece together a story that will have you emotionally invested from the very first page… what’s not to love?!

Salem and Caz are everything. The setting is everything. The mystery that built and built and then unravelled in the most satisfying way was EVERYTHING.

Ru’s done it again my friends. Absolutely hauntingly beautiful from start to finish.

This book is like Deep End by Ali Hazelwood, it’ll stay with me for a long time. I already want to reread it. It’s eery and spooky and emotional. The romance is EVERYTHING. And freaking hot. I loved loved loved the sexual tension, how their relationship was both deeply romantic and rough around the edges. Secret societies, mysterious murders, scorching romance… RuNyx delivered once again. I will miss Caz and Salem so much.

THIS BOOK!!! I was completely consumed by it. It pulled me in and did not want to let go.
Salem is on a mission to uncover the truth about her sister’s death at Mortimer University. And every step of the way she is wrapped up in danger, obsession and secrets.
Incomes Cazimer…he is broody, brilliant and absolutely maddening. I absolutely loveeee them together.
Twisted and addictive with a gothic slow burn vibe.

Enigma has a fascinating premise—dark, twisted, and full of characters who are purposefully a little unhinged… but that’s kind of the charm. It gave me similar vibes to Nocticadia by Keri Lake (though without the deeply disturbing elements—no teacher/student dynamics or serial killer love interests here). The dark academia atmosphere was done well, and I was fully on board for that aesthetic.

That said, the pacing felt all over the place. With tighter structure and better timing, so many of the story’s elements could’ve hit harder. The romance especially would’ve benefited from a slower build—more time spent letting the main characters bond over their shared eccentricities and the mystery connecting them would’ve made it feel more earned. And the ending? Way too rushed.

This book had potential, and I wouldn’t call it bad by any means—but it definitely could’ve been better.

I LOVE WHATEVER RUNYX WRITESSSSSSS. gothic, mystery, fantasy, UGH. yum. i loved this. i just had the best time

I went into this book wanting to distance myself from my emotional attachement to the DV series and give this book a full chance. and I don’t even know why I was surprised of how good the writing, the storytelling, the characters were. that’s what runyx DOES

probably my favourite thing about this book was the atmosphere and the storytelling surrounding mortimer.
beside that, the writing was really poetic and lyrical in this book. some quotes made me pause, some made my jaw dropped and some just blew my mind. I know it’s not a writing for everyone but it is for me

the plot was super interesting. runyx knows how to peak our curiosity and play with the idea of powerful secret societies. the murder mystery did take a back seat for a while and when the plot unraveled it was quite shocking yet I would have loved for it to be more explore and explained.

overall it was a really great book and it played with different subjects, morals, stories and it was entertaining to follow it all. the immersive storytelling was so uniquely done, the romance so freaking sweet and overall I recommend the book! it won’t be for everyone but if you like dark academy and dark romance give it a try!

ratings: 4.25⭐️

Thank you to RuNyx and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

There are some books that define a genre. Enigma by RuNyx creates one.

A masterpiece:
It’s impossible to describe this book without using words like haunting, gorgeous, immersive, unforgettable. But even those feel insufficient. This book defies categorisation - not because it avoids genre, but because it builds something new with its own hands. It is dark academia, yes. There’s a secret society, an unsolved mystery, a slow-burning, exquisitely beautiful romance. But all of these exist beneath something greater: an atmosphere that breathes and lives.

This is not gothic. That label, though tempting, would be misleading. It is not shadows or castles or blood or candles or roses. This is something foggier, more fluid, like sea mist curling over memory and silence. If I had to name it, I would call it salt-lit fiction or mistcore - a genre born from sea mist and ink, from longing and silence, from the sound of waves crashing against memory.

Reading Enigma felt like stepping into another world - and not one filled with fae or elaborate lore. This world was real, tangible, breathing yet still the definition of escapism for me as a reader. The atmosphere of sea mist, the mystery, the ocean air, I could feel it all and I couldn't get enough of it.

The writing:
The writing is typical RuNyx style: exquisite - lyrical, aching, intelligent. Ru writes as if every word has been carefully chosen, not only to move the story forward, but to layer it with meaning, with stillness, with breath. The setting doesn’t just exist; it surrounds not only every word in the book, but it surrounds you as a reader. As you read, you can feel the salt in the air. You can hear the waves crashing against the cliffs. You can taste the quiet. It is so rare for a book to not only tell a story but to wrap you in it. I didn’t just read Enigma - I lived inside it.

Dark academia done right:
This is dark academia done right. In a genre that has lately felt bloated with aesthetic mimicry and surface-level imitation, Enigma digs deep. It understands that dark academia isn’t just about secret societies and leather-bound books - it’s a feeling. A hunger. A haunting. And the only way to write it convincingly is to either live it or study it intimately. RuNyx, clearly, has done both.

You can feel her knowledge, her love of the genre, her understanding of what makes it beautiful and brutal. And more than that, you can feel that it came from her soul. This book doesn’t just imitate dark academia - it revives it. I had almost given up on the genre entirely, exhausted by repetition and aesthetic over substance. But this book reignited everything I ever loved about it - and somehow offered more. It reminded me why I fell in love with it in the first place.

The Plot:
At its heart, Enigma is a mystery. But not just one of death and secret societies - it's a mystery of the self. Of grief. Of legacy. Of what’s left behind when the people we love disappear. Salem arrives at Mortimer University searching for answers about her sister’s suspicious death. Caz is already there, mourning his brother. Two broken people drawn to the same haunting place, pulled by the same unanswered questions. But what they find there is so much deeper.

There’s a secret society. There are puzzles, cryptic riddles, eerie symbols, and the ever-present atmosphere of the sea. The mystery was crafted so carefully that I never once felt lost - even when the characters did. It’s layered, intricate, with reveals that feel earned and moments that make you physically still. It’s smart without being pretentious, dark without drowning in itself. Every page felt like peeling back another layer - of the society, yes, but also of Salem and Caz.

It’s a story about death - but even more than that, it’s about what comes after. What we choose to do with the grief. Who we become in the wreckage. A major theme in this book is "remember to live" and that's definitely what I took away from it.

Salem: For the misunderstood girlies
Salem is one of the most unforgettable characters I’ve ever read - endearing, deeply odd and fiercely brilliant. She is, in every sense of the word, an enigma. It’s no coincidence that the book bears that title. Salem is the book. She is its soul, its silence. The fact that the very name of the book speaks to both her and Caz is just another testament to how perfectly crafted every detail of this story truly is.

From the first page, Salem doesn’t beg for your attention - she quietly demands it. You notice her. Not because she wants you to, but because she has a pull you cannot look away from. You notice her, which is ironic because nobody in her life ever did. Salem has always been an outcast - neglected by her parents, picked on by her sister, ostracised by those who didn’t know what to make of her sharp mind and sharper silences.

Salem stopped speaking as a child through selective mutism, believing that her silence would finally make them look. That maybe if her voice disappeared, someone might finally hear her. But they didn’t. They didn’t even notice she became mute. And there is something so gutting about that quiet grief, that yearning not to be adored or praised - but simply seen. . My heart ached for her.

Salem has been fascinated by death for as long as she could remember. Not out of violence, but out of curiosity. As a child, she studied dead animals, looking inside of them, not to be morbid, but to understand. To peer into the mystery of what comes after. That alone told me who she was: someone born not just to ask questions, but to seek answers others are afraid to voice. From the prologue alone, I could just tell from 12 year old Salem, that she would grow up to be an amazing forensic scientist. That she belonged in labs and autopsy rooms, not because she’s cold or disconnected, but because she cares. Because she needs to know.

And that’s what drives her to Mortimer University - the unanswered death of her sister. The girl who called her a freak. The girl everyone adored but her. And yet, despite the cruelty and the neglect, Salem needs to understand. She needs the truth. She chases it like a calling, like oxygen. And in that search, she finds herself swept into the tangled heart of a secret society that is as dangerous as it is consuming.

But what I loved most about Salem was not just her intellect, her bravery, her obsession with the truth. It was her growth. When we start the book, Salem is a shell of a person, and over time, you get to watch her grow and accept herself. It's beautiful to see. Her growth wasn't about reinvention, though. It was about reclamation. She doesn't become someone new. She becomes more of herself. Fierce. Wild. Curious. Brilliant. Unapologetic.

She's not some tragic heroine, or a convenient genius. She's Salem. She's her own archetype. And for every girl who has ever been called too weird, too quiet, too much or not enough - Salem is for you. She is yours. You will find yourself in her, in the things she cannot say and the things she refuses to silence. I know I did.

Caz
Cazimir, my newest husband, is an artist and I need him to paint me like one of his french girls.

If Salem is water - cool, logical, reflective - then Caz is fire. He burns through every page he's on. He's chaos. He's an artist. He's unfiltered, irresistible, and HOT. But RuNyx writes him in a way that feels real, not performative. It’s not chaos for the sake of aesthetic. It’s the chaos of grief, of love, of a man trying to hold himself together through loss whilst looking for answers.

So, Caz is a painter. But we don’t get to see his art until the very end - and that choice? That restraint? It speaks volumes. Because Caz doesn’t reveal himself easily. His grief is buried under smirks and sharp words and reckless bravado. His brother died. His world cracked. And the only thing that seems to steady his universe is finding out what happened to him, and her - Salem, the girl who derails his plans and walks into the fire anyway.

Caz didn't want Salem tangled in this secret society, but of course, she went in headfirst - and he followed. He always would. I adore them. He loved her so fiercely, protectively, without trying to tame her strangeness. He didn’t want to fix her. He just saw her. And for a girl like Salem, who spent her whole life being overlooked, that kind of love is a revolution.

Caz is HOT, raw, messy, passionate, artistic. I'm obsessed. I'll never move on from him.

Final Thoughts
Enigma is unforgettable. It doesn’t belong to a shelf or a genre. It belongs to the ocean, to the fog, to the bruised hearts who’ve felt like outcasts and longed for someone to look their way and see them. It is a book made of sea mist and starlight and shadows - and I am absolutely ruined by it. I hope RuNyx never stops writing. And I hope, somehow, we get more from this world. Because one visit to Mortimer was never going to be enough.

Runyx had some how done it again. Creating the most beautifully poetic story about two very lost souls finding each other. Through space and time to create the most romantically haunting story I have read since Gothikana. The way she is able to transport you to a whole new world, with such vivid descriptions and powerful writing. The scenes unfold so perfectly in your mind until you’re there along the shores of Mortimer with them.

I absolutely love how complex these characters were. The way their backstories unfolded and we were able to see such raw characters. Some that may seem one way on the outside due to nature and childhood to who they get to be underneath.

This story had everything I was looking for. A fast paced plot with such a unique world, spice to make you sweat, a mystery to keep you in your toes until the very last chapter, an absolutely perfectly unhinged MMC that you can’t help but to immediately want more of.

I knew I would love this book from page one. The atmosphere was dark and inviting. I could get lost in this world despite all of the death. But isn’t that the point? Learning that death makes life beautiful.

I loved the pacing of this book. There was just enough breadcrumbs dropped around the mystery to be solved. And the TENSION between the characters made me flipping the pages like crazy.

Caz and Salem are definitely two sides of the same coin. Both have secrets, both have losses. Watching them grow together and slowly breaking their shell around each other was intoxicating.

Definitely a hauntingly beautiful story. The ending was satisfying as a standalone, but of course I wish there was more.

I will be sharing this review on instagram.com/cinnabunbooks on April 11th

I have been waiting on pins and needles for this book since it was announced last year!!! I’m feeling so grateful to have gotten to read this early!! RuNyx is a an incredibly talented storyteller and I swear she feels like a soul sister to me. The vibes of her books are always dark and introspective. Her writing just lights up a part of me and makes me so happy.
Enigma was amazing. I was so excited for another dark academia from RuNyx because Gothikana is one of my favorite books! Enigma is dark academia with gothic vibes and mystery. Salem Salazar is a quiet, cold person. Nothing can crack her because she’s built up walls around herself her entire life. She’s always been interested in forensics. A few years after multiple tragedies have struck her family, she is headed to Mortimer University, where the elite send their family members to get degrees and make connections. Salem is looking for answers to her sister’s d3ath. She was a student at Mortimer as well and Salem thinks a secret society has something to do with it. At Mortimer she meets Caz, the painter that everyone whispers about. They’re drawn to each other, but they’ve both got so many secrets.
I’m obsessed with both Caz and Salem, separately and together. Caz was so dark and mysterious, and so dirty 🥵 He also gave off lonely sweetie vibes and I just wanted to hug him. I could relate to Salem in so many ways. She was so stoic and strong until Caz showed her she could let her walls come down with him. I cried multiple times at them being soft together and getting the affection they both needed. The way they loved each other was so beautiful. Caz was also so possessive and that was one of my favorite parts about him! A favorite microtrope of mine is when the MMC is obsessed with the FMCs hair and touches it all the time. I loved that Caz was obsessed with Salem’s hair & the touch was used to show both passion and tenderness.
I love this book so much!!

Started off a little slow for me but picked up at about 25%. It was pretty good! I’m not a typical dark romance girlie but this one wasn’t too off the walls and I enjoyed it! I loved the legacies aspect of the school too!

I would say this is better than book 1. I was hooked with the mystery but about 50% in if not less I figured it all out. I did the interactions leading up to the steamy scenes, the foreplay, but the actual scenes were meh. Juyst felt a bit forced. And Ive said this before I just can't do instalove.

This book takes place over a year but you don't really get that. The time jumps just happen and they don't feel smooth. It just feels like the author needed the story to move on so they just do a time jump.

I"ve read almost all of this author's books but i dont know whats happening lately

Salem has always been fasinated with death. When she attends the school her sister had been murdered at, she meets some weird individuals. With the help of friends and Caz, she finally gets closure from her sister's murder.

Enigma is truly a magical whimsical story that only Runyx can masterfully craft!

I absolute love gothikana so being back in the world was an absolute treat! Prepare to fall for Salem and Caz because their connection was like no other. I cannot even describe how hauntingly beautiful Runyx can create a story and dynamic like that but it had me turning page after page. I devoured this story in a sitting and before I knew it was done and it was amazing! You have go into this story just full throttle and let it consume you. It's so unique and unlike her other books but so good! I absolutely loved the detail that she crafted the lore and story and world building with the rich history, the rituals, the gothic romance and horror like vibes that the story took you on. Salem is such a beautifully complex and crafted character that you feel a kinship with, I think on some level relatable and Caz is just the dreamiest, slightly unhinged, protective and the perfect love interest. I can say that fans of Runyx will devour this story and absolutely love it. It's amazing and a must read!

Ooooo this was a fun time. This book gives spooky, mysterious, dark academia vibes.

Salem, the fmc, is a lonely, misunderstood girl obsessed with death. After the shady death of her sister, Salem heads to Mortimer - a very old University for the elite upper class, to uncover what really happened. The school has a dark history and a darker present with a whole lot of sus deaths that have occurred at the school. There’s a secret society that seems to be behind everything but Salem has to figure out how to investigate and infiltrate the society to prove they had something to do with her sister’s death. She finds an unlikely ally in Caz - both of them know there is something dangerous going on but cannot fully trust each other to get to the bottom of it. Yet their individual darkness draws them to each other’s…

I really loved Salems character. The way that her loneliness was written about was really beautiful. I loved that she was able to find friendships and love after being so lonely she had come to terms with the fact that she would just be alone for the rest of her life.

This books is full of mystery, tension, strong characters, and dark vibes that will give you chills.

THANK YOU to the publisher for sending me this arc!

Thank you, Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group, for the early copy of Enigma by Runyx. I enjoyed this story; it was spicy and sexy with dark mystery. I like thriller mysteries with a little bit of smut. Thank you again

RuNyx can never do any wrong. Because this book? A FREAKN MASTERPIECE. Might be my FAVE OF ALL TIME. The butterflies I felt reading this book truly was insane.

Salem and Cazamir have that charm that is just so unique to RuNyx work. The chemistry between them was undeniable, and once again Ru manages to do this gaze between charcaters that will have you blushing through the page as if they are visibly staring at you. I’m not sure how she manages to do this every time but gosh does it always work.

Set in a world of Dark Academia, sizzling chemistry, dark themes, and intrigue, this book will have you on the floor with eyes on the page never stopping until the story is long over.

I’m obsessed with everything about this book I need 15 more right now🤩🤩

I was really excited for Enigma, it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and sadly, it fell a bit flat for me. The mystery and initial plot are so intriguing but I didn’t feel we really got a whole lot out of it and the ending wrapped up so quickly! The romance between Salem and Caz developed so quick they went from what was supposed to be hate or rivalry to completely obsessed with each other with no real build up of tension or explanation on how they got to that point. I still had fun reading it and Runyx always has great pacing but I just didn’t love it as much as I had hoped.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group | Bramble for the ARC!
Publishing Date: 4/29/2025

Enigma by RuNyx pulled me in from the very first page with its deliciously dark academia atmosphere, slow-burning mystery, and emotionally charged romance. If you're a fan of secret societies, unsolved crimes, and characters with layers upon layers of secrets, this one absolutely delivers.

Set in the elite and eerie Mortimer University, the story follows Salem—a curious and aloof student of criminology, obsessed with cold cases—and Caz, a famous yet enigmatic artist with far more going on beneath the surface than anyone realizes. The world RuNyx created came to life so vividly in my mind that I felt like I was walking the halls of Mortimer myself. It’s gothic, it's moody, and it’s full of the kind of hidden darkness I love to sink into.

The relationship between Salem and Caz is intense, tender, and beautifully complex. Caz's quiet protectiveness and unwavering attention made him one of those characters you just need more of. Their connection felt earned, forged through shared loneliness and the unspoken things they slowly began to uncover about each other.

The side characters were just as compelling—I honestly wish this were a series, because I’d love to spend more time with Aditi, Baron, Melissa, and Jacob. There’s so much more to explore in this world and these relationships.

My only real gripe is with the ending. The buildup throughout the book was so well-paced and gripping, but the final revelations and wrap-up came a bit too quickly for my liking. It left me wanting just a little more depth and time to sit with everything that was uncovered.

Still, this is another win for RuNyx. Enigma is best read without too many spoilers, so I won’t give anything away—but if you enjoy a romantic thriller with gothic undertones, hidden identities, and plenty of dark secrets, this book is for you. Atmospheric, emotional, and filled with intrigue—Enigma was a gripping and immersive ride.

I absolutely love RuNyx’s writing, there’s just something about it that grabs me in and makes me addicted. But I found this book was a bit different to her usual books. I did really enjoy it but it did fall a bit short for me.

It took me a good 30% to get into the book. I found that the storyline didn’t flow very well and I was finding it difficult to figure out what was happening. I did actually go back and re-read the start to make sure I wasn’t being stupid and skipping lines.

There were some really really good parts in the book. I loved the mystery and Caz of course 🤭.

I found the romance between Salem and Caz suddenly started around half way in the book. I really love a big lead up to a couple getting together but I found we didn’t really get it. They met at the start, had a few interactions and then were suddenly dating. But their romance was perfection and I loved reading about it dearly 🥰.

The ending did fall a bit short as well, everything was just suddenly solved which is a shame. I won’t go into much detail as I don’t want to spoil anything.