Nightshade is an atmospheric plunge into dark academia with a romantic suspense twist that kept me turning pages late into the night. Autumn Woods sets the tone with her rich prose and gothic Scottish setting, but what really hooked me was the dynamic between Ophelia and Alex—equal parts tension, trauma, and unexpected tenderness.

Ophelia’s mission for vengeance creates a razor-sharp edge to the story, and the layered emotional development of both main characters gave real depth to the plot. Alex’s evolution from spoiled heir to emotionally-wrecked protector added nuance, while Ophelia’s grit made her an easy protagonist to root for.

Yes, there were some plot conveniences and one or two red herrings that felt familiar, but the execution? Compelling. The email banter? Hilarious. And that ending? Absolutely criminal (in the best way).

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Projects for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

ARC review of Nightshade by @autumnwoods.author
~♡~
"It's you who's the sun, Ophelia. I am the moon. You keep me in this tortuous cycle, lighting me up for the shortest time before you disappear again and make me invisible."
~♡~
This was such a great read and the banter was top tier! I went into Nightshade with no expectations, (okay maybe the dark academia/murder mystery vibes) and was immediately hooked. I wasn't disappointed at all.
~♡~
Nightshade was a fast, intriguing and overall, a good time. It's a duel POV, hate-to-love, mystery, dark academia romance book with Scottish castle vibes. Ive read A LOT of cliffhangers in my life and the ending of Nightshade?!!!! Perfectly done (jaw dropping!)
~♡~
The characters grow, you can really feel what each character has been through and how that shapes their actions/thought process and they are very easy to invest in (and the emails?!!)
~♡~
A huge thank you to to NetGalley and Zando for this ARC and of course to Autumn Woods for creating this masterpiece ✨️

A great book with great characters and a great story. Right up my lane with romantasy well written. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this arc

5⭐

Thank you so much to Autumn Woods, Slowburn Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

"𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞."

𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐞 is the first installment in Autumn Woods' dark academia murder mystery duet, 𝑺𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚. Ophelia Winters accepts a scholarship at a prestigious Scottish university to prove that her parents' death was the fault of Cain Green, an American aviation tycoon. Tormented by a malicious stalker, paired up with Alex Corbeau-Green, Cain Green's son, for a project while growing feelings for him, Ophelia's revenge severs. Would she pull the trigger to destroy the family by splitting it apart or let her revenge falter?

I truly do not have enough words to speak about this book! I was desperately waiting to read this but I couldn't read it when it was originally an indie published novel but I'm so happy for Autumn on the book deal and grateful to Zando Projects for approving this ARC! As someone who has been following Autumn from her illustration account as Summer, I'm so happy for this deal!

Nightshade blew my mind in the most incredible way. From the writing, the characters and the plot, everything felt like a breeze to ease into. Everything was very compelling that even after I fell asleep while starting this due to exhaustion, I managed to wake up at three in the morning to continue reading. That was how much I was hooked into the story which was also the reason I completed it within a few hours.

The prose, which was very compelling and the writing style had me hooked to the narrative. There was no part of this novel where I felt like I needed to put it down or take a break because everyone was flowing smoothly, an emotional impact left by every other chapter. I absolutely adored the plotlines here. The unpredictability of the movement can be credited as to why I couldn't put it down. I was constantly on the edge from all the little details and the horrors of Sorrowsong University that the twists and turns left me constantly scared to as to what happened next. All the students are dangerous in their own ways and it was so hard to know how was right to trust. The stalker, I guessed it right but there were too red herrings that kept me off the trail.

𝐎𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 is a heavily misunderstood character who goes through a lot of shit, which makes her grumpy and the person who deserves so much better than what happened to her. She's a very fierce and determined character with a no-fucking-nonsense attitude, the grumpiest lifestyle and beige clothing. I could relate to her character from the very beginning and she is so strong for everything that came to her. She's initially very firm with her decisions and beliefs, unwilling to not go against the elite and destroy Cain Green. But as the story progresses, we see a different side to her as she gets a better understanding of the Green family dynamics. Her banter and quick wit constantly left me grinning, especially throughout the moments with Alex and her friends. I love that she's never giving up on herself even when she has nothing left, where she even posseses the inner strength and resilience that is quite impossible to happen. Because of her abandonment issues, she's reluctant to befriend because she doesn't want to get into the wrong crowd of people and that makes me so sad because she's been through so much and that ending didn't help either. I'm patiently waiting for the next installment and I am a pretty firm OPHELIA WINTERS DEFENDER for life.

𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮-𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧, the man you are. No one will ever replace the standards that Alex has risen and no one is yet to defeat him in the list of book boyfriends. This sensual and poetic man has been through so much trauma and there's so many pieces of him broken, waiting to be fixed. He's a broken soul who is in charge of making sure the rest of his family aren't going to be broken like him. At first few glances, he comes off as an arrogant and spoiled rich kid but as we see sift through the layers, there's a soft and vulnerable side of him that loves Opehila to death. Alex is such a multi-layered and complex character who is always putting family above all everything and everybody else. I loved getting to see his carefree and witty side come to the surface during his interactions with Ophelia.

Their relationship started with him almost killing her to then becoming project partners. Their relationship starts off messy, a severe form of loathe to love. Opehila loathed him so fiercely and made it known all while Alex fell first and harder, and hated her in spite. Their banter and wit was hilarious, their chemistry sizzling from the very first page. Their banter in the email correspondence had me laughing. The progression grew naturally and organically, which had me kicking my feet when they started leaning towards each other more often. Alex and Ophelia are undeniably my favourite book couple!

I cannot wait for the next installment! I will be begging Zando and Autumn Woods for the next installment and be knocking on their doors. That ending was criminally dangerous and I cannot get over it. For fans of dark academia and romantic suspense, 𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒆 is the perfect read! It happens to be my top reads for this year and I am never going to stop thinking about it! This book was everything that I needed and wanted in a romantic suspense.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲.

This is great academy love. The story was so cute, and the flirting was to die for. I NEED part 2. I really liked how gloomy of a character the main girl was.

What abook. Devoured this in a sitting, will pick up anything by this author now. An auto buy. 5* from start to finish I was hooked.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for this ARC. I enjoyed this and finished it in less than two days. There were some predictable plot points but I really didn’t mind. Writing was solid and the author made it so I was invested in our main characters. The cliffhanger was a heart breaker though and I am hoping for a HEA in the end.

This was unfortunately predictable and kinda boring to me. I can definetly see how and why people might love it, because the themes a,d tropes are interesting but for me, they weren't enough to keep me invested.

Autumn woods's writing isn't bad, I just feel like some parts were dragged out while others were rushed. I also wish that Ophélia didn't abandon her revenge plot that quickly and was, idk, a bit more interested in finding out who her stalker was, specially after everything he did?

Overall, I thought that Nightshade (2.5 stars) could use a bit of work but I can see it being a hit with the booktok community.

Nightshade by Autumn Woods is a chillingly fun dark academia romance that readers will devour!

I could not put this book down. Nightshade is a page turner! It's filled with mystery, plot twists, turns, betrayal and an alibi. It's tension filled, suspenseful, swoony and romantic all at once all set in the picturesque Scotland. I loved the dark academia setting in Scotland, I felt like she painted the imagery and setting so vivid that you could feel you were right there. Ophelia wants revenge and the murderers' son Alex just so happens to go the same uni. Alex is dealing with alot and ophelia becomes his support and life line when she comes into his life. They become each other's support and the way he adores her? Alex is the perfect book boyfriend. He plays rugby, tall, accent and he years and longs and adores his girl so naturally he's perfect. You have to go into his book blind but my god the emotional rollercoaster it'll take you will be worth it. So good! I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

Ophelia & Alex
Dark Academia
Romantic Suspense
Enemies to lovers
Murder Mystery

Omg I love this one!!

Ophelia finds herself at a new college, trying to uncover what happened to her parents.

I love the connection between these two!

I love the mysteriousness!

The cliffhanger though!!!! That one is just mean 😂😂 I can't wait for book 2!!

I could not put this down. Searching for answers in a dangerous place, our main character is immersed in a world where she does not belong. Exciting and filled with twists this was so good!

This was such an easy 5star rating from me!! From the story line with the mystery and the twists and turns, to the enemies to lovers slow burn, I absolutely ate it all up!!
It had me holding me breath towards the end!! It ends on a cliff hanger.. and I mean it’s a hanger!!! I’ll be straight on to book 2 as soon as it’s released! This book will get its claws in you and you won’t want it to let go!!

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this!

This book is was everything and the ending, that cliffhanger has altered my brain chemistry because I am unwell.

Night Shade is an love to hate, enemies to lovers, rich boy/poor girl, dark academia, revenge filled story with a stalker (not the kind we like) and lots of mystery to sift through. There were multiple plot twists and heartbreaking moments.

I’ve fallen in love with Alex and Ophelia. Their banter was top tier. I mean, if you want to be giggling and blushing like a school girl or boy - this book is for you. Be warned the ending is a dreadful cliffhanger and I am unwell, the only cure is the second book in this duet.

I love the story and it deserve more, personally I love the banter so much and I want more, I have nothing to explain but overall I love it and ate it

OKAAYYY hottest new dark academia romantic suspense! And the banter between the MCs was so good - like really love. Plus, the rivals to lovers action was chef’s kiss. My only complaint was that there could have been a slower burn, as it came across a bit instalove when it did happen.

Overall, a fun read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for this eARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

Zando only ever publishes bangers. I’m convinced.

First and foremost, thank you so much to Slowburn for the ARC of this book!!!!

I love a good romantic suspense. Love a good plot twist. Love a good forbidden, enemies to lovers romance. This book had it ALL.

Ophelia is a girl who’s been dealt a shitty hand of cards, but when those cards aren’t eating her alive, they’re fueling her desire for revenge. The fact that she is still trying to avenge her parents’ death, even when everything about it is practically erased and she’s ignored from everyone who might have information is a testament to her strength.

Alex is a man who has his entire world on his shoulders and carries the burden of caring for everyone who means something to him. Emotionally stunted? Maybe. But his love language is acts of service and that’s the hottest thing about him. He’s only 23 and he shouldn’t have to be a father to his 6 sister while also juggling his mother’s health, his father’s shady businesses dealings, and his own life, but he is. And we love him for fighting and living for everyone in his life.

The plot of this book wasn’t just centered around a budding romance between one-sided enemies, but a woman searching for the truth of her parents’ death while falling in love with the son of the man who she deems responsible. The fight for their love was hard-fought. Through death, stalkers, blackmail, and too many outside forces to name, they still made it through… kind of.

Let me just say, that ending had my jaw ON THE FLOOR and yelling. I am more than ready for book 2 and will be waiting with open hands for it to land in my inbox (hint hint, nudge nudge, Slowburn 👀)

It’s always such a delight when a hyped book lives up to its hype. And @authmnwoodsauthor’s “Nightshade” was all over my feed and it LIVED UP to the hype. This is the first book in a duology, and Autumn has created such a lush and intriguing world that’s making me want book 2, like, now.

This is dark academia in a world of haves - rich kids with richer parents living in the morally gray. Ophelia is on a mission for vengeance, and is the grumpiest grump ever. She’s single minded in her focus until she meets Alex, who is charming bd attractive and exactly the wrong person for her to want. She does her best to avoid him but then, wouldn’t you know it, they end up in each other’s orbit constantly (and Alex loves having her nearby).

Ophelia is sad and has abandonment issues and keeps to herself. She was such a brilliant character, someone smart and capable who isn’t afraid to let herself speak up while trying to not be perceived. I loved how reluctant she was to integrate into Sorrowsong and how quickly she was forced to do so - fighting her feeling for Alex from the jump.

Alex, meanwhile, was perfect as a brooding, down bad, protective man who would do anything for the girl who burrowed her way into his heart (despite his reluctance). He was so funny in that perfectly dry way I love, broken just enough, and had so much charisma. And honestly all he wanted to do is kiss Ophelia!

There’s crossword puzzles used as flirting, email as foreplay, and the best banter. The setting is moody and dark, with elements of humor and suspense (there’s murder and mystery and a stalker and shady people lurking everywhere). PLUS there are some unbelievably fun side characters (hi Vincenzo!). Autumn wrote a completely compelling and unputdownable book that had me gripped, and then completely kept me on the edge of my seat.

Absolutely devoured this one. Nightshade is a gritty romantasy full of sharp edges, slow-burning enemies-to-lovers tension, and one seriously badass heroine. The pacing is relentless - in a good way! And the emotional stakes hit hard. I especially loved the way the author peeled back the characters’ layers over time, revealing vulnerabilities beneath all that strength.

The world felt dark but immersive, with a hint of political intrigue and a heavy dose of danger. Definitely a standout in the romantasy space.

🔥 Main takeaways: Addictive chemistry, complex leads, and top-tier angst
🖤 Would recommend if you enjoyed: Throne of Glass, The Bridge Kingdom, or The Shadows Between Us

This book is so incredible i cant recommend it enough, the setting, plot characters, chemistry everything about this book is perfection. i was lucky enough to receive this book as an ARC and i have no doubt this book is going to blow up from how amassing it is.

Pre thoughts
- romance?

Post thoughts
- Very atmospheric read
- The tension and plot twists!!!
- Vincenzo is a great side character


Overall:
I need the second book in the series!!! I devoured this book in two days and it was an absolutely beautiful read, the healthy development of the characters and mental health representation is lovely. I can’t wait to see how this series’s progresses.

Stars 4/5
Spice 2/5


Tropes:
Slow burn
Enemies to lovers

Thank you net gallery, zando and Autumn woods for the opportunity to review this ARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own xx