I devoured this book WHOLE! Was some of it predictable, sure, but it still absolutely held my attention and had so much entertainment factor!

I love the characters, the slow burn tension, the backstory and mystery! I cannot wait to continue this series!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

YES YES YES! This book was soo good, it was honestly like crack. Kept me going and I couldn't put it down!!! What a whirlwind of a romance...but that cliffy...COME ON!!!!

4.25 stars!! I AM OBSESSED. Ophelia and Alex are to die for. Having so many different plots going on kept me on the edge of my seat and interested the entire book. The setting is everything -- dreary Scottish highlands and an eerie, old Uni in a castle. A stalker, murder, love, tension, all of it together made for a twisty, detailed web of characters and plotlines. If you love high tension, and low-to-medium spice and a good rivals-to-lovers plotline, you will LOVE Nightshade. Waiting (im)patiently for book 2 :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Slowburn for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 🌟 thank you to net galley for a Arc of this story. This was so fun. Loved the writing style and the unknown. Cliff hanger ending and I need book 2 now!

Thank you so much for providing me with a copy of this book. I feel so conflicted with this review. I had heard so so many good things about this one that I was convinced that it was going to be an easy 5 star read to end the month. But it just fell flat for me. Some parts of this book were very much an easy 5 star and at points I just could not put it down. The stalker element and the helicopter crash had me particularly drawn to the story and I really did want to know more. I think for me it was the romance element that let this book down. I just felt no connection. I didn’t feel like I was drawn in with Ophelia and Alex like I should have been. I think because of this as characters alone I just could not vibe with them in the way that I wanted to. I feel so sad. However, the ending did have me on the edge of my seat and somewhat redeemed parts of the book that I really didnt like. I will be picking up the next book as I really need to know what happened.

This book consumed me and held me in its tight grasp until the very last page. It was stunning! An academic romantic suspense novel featuring an enemies-to-lovers storyline where both main characters are mysterious and broody. The prose was absolutely stunning-from the sentence structure to the vibrant scenery and complex character arcs. Set in and surrounding a Scottish castle at Sorrowsong University and told in dual, first person PoV, Ophelia meets another student Alex, the son of someone in her unsettled past. They both seek revenge and resolution. There’s banter and tension, bits of sarcastic humor and emotional rawness and vulnerability that make these characters (and the plot!) shine. I was immersed in Alex and Ophelia’s mysterious, suspenseful world, and define want to go back for closure as the book ends on a such an amazing cliffhanger.

𝕹𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖉𝖊 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🕯️As far as I’m concerned, it’s already Fall, which means I’m craving all things dark academia. THIS BOOK GAVE ME ALL THE AUTUMN FEELS I’VE BEEN DESPERATELY NEEDING IN MY LIFE. 🤌🏻👏🏻👏🏻

🕯️Folks, if you are just FERAL for an academy setting, and love the moody vibes of a rainy Scottish landscape, you will eat this one up. Throw in a murder mystery, secrets for days, and all of the delicious tension and banter your heart craves, and you’ve got yourself the PERFECT romance to get lost in.
🕯️This book delivered in so many ways, and checked pretty much all of my boxes. It made me want to curl up with a hot cup of tea (even on a 90° day), shirk all of my responsibilities, and read all damn day! There were so many mysteries to solve, and complex layers to this beautifully intricate story- I was enraptured from start to finish, as I tried desperately to figure out what was going on at every turn. And the freaking ROMANCE. 🥵 It was hot and sweet, as the MCs were constantly butting heads, and roasting each other. Not only was the spice immaculate, but the writing was chef’s kiss, and the humor was top-tier. The insults and one liners were absolutely sending me. It was just such a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I didn’t want to put it down. And I cannot WAIT to see what the hell happens in book 2!!

“I can’t watch someone feel blue and not let it stain me too.”

“Nightshade,” by Autumn Woods

I loved this book so much!!!! It remined me of Enigma by Ruynx and I loved that book, so I was super happy to get more books that have the same vibe. I loved the murder mystery with dark academia vibes. The characters and relationship were everything and more, absolutely perfect and kept me glued to the pages. This was a book that I wished I could read for the first time again. I cannot wait for more of the series to come out! One of the best books I’ve read this year. 5 out of 5 stars, wouldn’t change a thing.

-Murder Mystery
-Dark Academia
-Multi/ Dual POV
-Forbidden Romance
-Enemies To Lovers
-He Falls First

“Sad people are not always as deserving of our pity as they seem. Everyone has a limit at which they abandon their own morality…”

“I’ve split myself into so many pieces for so many people, I haven’t got the fight left in me to be selfless anymore.”

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

HELLO?? This book had me by the throat from page one. Dark academia ✨ revenge ✨ murder mystery ✨ grumpy x grumpy ✨ forced proximity ✨ he falls first (!!) — literally every trope I adore, served on a gothic platter in the Scottish Highlands.

Ophelia is THAT girl, carrying rage and loneliness like armor, and then there’s Alex—my toxic new obsession. The tension?? The banter?? The way he’s supposed to be the enemy but ends up her only safe place?? I was feral.

It’s messy, it’s atmospheric, it’s dramatic in the best way. I could not stop reading and now I need ten more books set at Sorrowsong. Consider me obsessed.

Ophelia accepts a scholarship at Sorrowsong, a prestigious university where her parents worked. Her only goal is to prove they were murdered by Cain Green. Things get tricky when she finds out Alex, Cain's eldest son is also at Sorrowsong with her, and even trickier when she starts getting anonymous threats.

This is a dark academia romance. The author did an incredible job making me feel just how dark Sorrowsong was as a school. The vibes were definitely creepy! Alex as a MMC was perfection. I adored how he was grumpy, but also sweet, and totally fell first. Seeing the dynamics with his sisters and mother was really endearing too. Ophelia was more standoff-ish, understandably so. She was lonely, with trust issues, but also so incredibly strong, smart, and resilient. Their emails back and forth were amazing and their banter was incredible. The ending did feel a little abrupt, and I'm really interested to see how it all plays out in book 2!

Thank you to Zando and NetGalley for the advance copy!

This was everything! Thank you Autumn, slowburn, zando, and net galley for the ARC! I need the second book ASAP! I’m not a huge fan academia reads but I thought it would give Nightshade a good and I’m obsessed! The build up was great and I can’t wait to get my hands on book two!

Please Lord, I see what you do for others 🙏🏻 I genuinely can’t remember the last time I was so obsessed with a book. I thought I knew what good banter was, but realized I had no idea until Alex and Ophelia. The crosswords? <b><i>UGH</i></b>. May this love smack me in the face.

Alex’s dialogue was so funny and his obsession with Ophelia literally had me giggling and kicking my feet. It was the perfect blend of mystery and romance. I absolutely cannot think of anything that would make this book better. How am I supposed to live until book two? 100 stars.

𝓶𝔂 𝓱𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼

♡ he falls first
♡ flirty crossword puzzles
♡ romantic suspense
♡ enemies to lovers
♡ dark academia

Thank you netgalley for providing an earc of this one!

I must admit that, even if I could tell where this story was going since the beginning, I want to keep on reading the series because I fell in love with the characters and the world Autumn has created. I loved the dark academia vibes and the hate to love relationship between the 2 main characters. And the MMC?! gosh, I loooove him.

This is a 3.75 for me, for sure, and I cant wait to keep on reading the rest of the books because that ending left me speechless.

Little too cliche for me =) But overall a great read! The characters were exactly what you’d expect for this type of story, but that didn’t make them any less entertaining. I loved the main duo more and more as the layers peeled back—complicated, messy, and thrown into chaos they never saw coming. The romance? I was into it. But honestly, I might’ve enjoyed their pre-relationship tension just a smidge more… because apparently, I’m slightly toxic like that.
The pacing kept me hooked, and that ending? A perfect cliffhanger—just the right amount of torment to have me desperate for book two.

This is a work of art. As much as people may dislike Alex I actually love him. All of his depraved glory. Something about the villain gets to me. I fell in love with the cover just to realize the story is as amazing as the cover. The vibes from this book will draw you in.

I am always up for a good dark academia story. Many time when I read a book sometime the verbiage in the story will have be questioning if I enjoy what is being written. It may be the context or the way words are used. For whatever reason I am not a fan of stories that are written in the British or Scottish context. I think part of it is not knowing what some fo the words mean or how to way them. Overall this was a good read and the banter between the characters was good. It definitely had me keep turning the pages. It was an overall ok book for me.

This book was such a good mix of plot and romance, I enjoyed it a lot!! My fav thing about Ophelia and Alex is their little moments. the way they wash each other’s hair, the way he makes the selfie she takes on her phone his lockscreen🤭

I looved the yearning but the progression from their enemies phase to lovers felt a bit weird to me. It’s clear that they love and understand each other but I felt like I didn’t understand the switch well

I am so so excited for the sequel, I need it in my hands now😩😩😩

This book was absolutely brilliant!!

The beginning was slow but it was what was needed. The buildup to the mystery was perfectly setting the mood. I was so invested in the mystery part of the book, that I forgot it was a romance until the slow burn finally BURNED and it was so good!!

I loved the banter between Ophelia and Alex and like everyone who read this book, I’m completely obsessed with Alex. He’s so caring for everyone he loves.

The mystery had me at the edge of my seat and I only figured out the stalker right before Ophelia did. But even then, the world is still full of mystery. I really liked the pop culture references (which makes me think the author is around my age) and I loved recognising them.

The ending was SO cruel and I’m crying because I need to know what happens next, like yesterday!! The cliffhanger was so unexpected, that I kept turning the page a few times to check if it was actually the end.

I 100% recommend this book for anyone who loves dark academia, slow burns and mysteries!

I ate this up omg. I went in a little blind, solely here for the covers vibes because it’s such a pretty cover and wow did I love this!! The tropes are some of my fav, which already hooked me but THE ENDING. Need book two right now!