Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC.

Aiden Snow and Jaclyn Kelso are exquisite as Caz and Salem. They definitely read the damn thing so well!

Wow. Just- I am so glad I have pre-ordered this book. I think I am in love with Runyx… or maybe just her stories.

No one does dark academia like RuNyx. The story immediately took me away, and I devoured everything. The FMC is easily one of my favorites. The darkness that covers her is so alluring to not only the MMC but the reader as well. Dark, thought-provoking, sexy, and entertaining. RuNyx is fastly becoming my favorite author, and I can't wait to see the next dark journey I am led on.

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭.

RuNyx never misses. Thanks to Ru and Netgalley for the e-ARC and ALC of this book. To be able to read and listen along at the same time was a TREAT.

Salem is perfection. She's so smart and curious and careful. She finds a body on the beach and we find out that she's in school for forensics, and the study of dead bodies is where her interests lie. I loved getting to know her. Her quirks, her peculiarities. I loved that she finds a found family, and love, and doesn't have to feel like she doesn't belong.

Caz is... well he's the Enigma right? She meets him on the beach, where he's sketching the body and she senses this darkness in him, that calls to her own. He's so passionate and protective and fierce and possessive and everything I want in a MMC. Especially written by Ru!

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐈’𝐦 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐦. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐦 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐲? 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐟*𝐜𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝.”

Both characters have lost someone and come to the university of Mortimer to discover it's secrets.

So in this old castle turned university, we have secret societies, murder mysteries, and shady professors.

Salem and Caz's relationships starts as a push and pull, but then becomes explosive. You'll never think of an alter in the woods or a PENCIL in the same way ever again.

I absolutely loved the mystery and the twists and turns but I adored the way that Salem finds herself in this book. Between finding love and finding the friends she's always wanted, Salem as a character will make anyone that's ever felt like they could never have those things believe it's possible. And that's the beauty of this book.

𝐒𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐞, 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.

This was my first RuNyx book. I was so excited cause it was also an ALC for me. I just couldn't get into it. I tried, but I felt the story was all over the place. I hated that it was dual narration but in the third person. I feel like that made it harder to follow. I'll definitely try another book by RuNyx, but this one was a no for me.

Runyx has done it again. I loved the characters, the whole atmosphere, the quotes at the beginning of the chapters themselves set the whole mood.
I couldn't put it down, now that I have finished it, I want to read it all over again.
.
Hate to love
Tension
Mysterious and gothic setting
Dark academia/ The secret history like college setting
Secret societies
Suspense
Dual PoV
M*rder board and nerdy glasses need separate point
Spicy 🥵
.
It was all perfect, except for the ending. I felt it was too abrupt and things didn't entirely make sense.

Spoilery thoughts:
Our girl Salem helped figure a lot of stuff, had an entire m*rder board, but the ending happened in front her without her involvement imo. Kaz definitely kept her in the dark, but also even after she said some things to police, she was safe from the culprits somehow which seemed very unlikely.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio & Bramble for the ALC in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first dark academia & RuNyx book and I fear I may have a new obsession. This is the first book I've listened to that was narrated by Jaclyn Kelso and I need more immediately - of course Aiden Snow was incredible as always. I am an avid audiobook listener and it's really true about the narrators being make or break for books - I think I enjoyed this as much as I did because of the narrations.

As for the story, it was dark, gloomy and mysterious. I found both Selena & Caz's characters to be intriguing and different, their chemistry was incredible. Caz has definitely found a place on the book boyfriend list!

Am I going to yell at everyone I know to read this on publication day? Yes, yes I am.

3.75

Dark and haunting.
It's what I expected and it's what we got.

I am obsessed with gothic romance and dark academia vibes, and I loved Gothikana. So I was obviously looking forward to this new book by RuNyx!
And it definitely hit the mark in those regards, still left me slightly underwhelmed however.

Salem is the typical Wednesday-style gothic FMC and I enjoyed exploring Mortimer University with her. I loved her interest for the morbid and forensics. Sometimes, aspects of her character felt a bit placative but I still liked the way she was crafted and developed throughout the story.

Obviously, a book like this requires a dark, mysterious MMC with a sense of danger and tons of secrets. Caz, the reclusive, unapproachable, slightly unnerving artist fits the bill perfectly and he came with just the right level of allure and darkness.
Their dynamic was good, too, although in my opinion, the build-up of their relationship could have been a bit more prolonged. I think this is part of why, ultimately, the book as a whole fell a bit flat for me.

The other aspect was the finale - I think I just expected a bit more and the only thing that surprised me was the lack of surprises. After how much I loved the book going in, the secrets and shady businesses in the background, I was just a bit disappointed...

Nonetheless, the overall plot was good and the way things were tied up ultimately made sense and worked and I still enjoyed Enigma very much, predominantly for the vibes and characters. The build-up of the book was great and the quotes at the beginning of every chapter were a fun feature. Overall, the world RuNyx created checked all the boxes of a gothic / dark academia book
On top of that, the narration was amazing, I especially loved, not surprisingly, Aiden Snow and think his voice is simply perfect for this.

Very eerie vibes but it worked so well for me. I’ve only read RuNyx’s mafia so I didn’t know what to expect, but I was hooked right from the beginning.

10/10 for a haunting vibe, great mystery to solve, intriguing opening, and fmc. Salem's family was interesting and her secrets had a lot of potential. Her career path and reason's why was perfect for the plot.

Caz's story was interesting too and I'd have liked to have more about his side during everything that happened in the current plot.

The ending was a let down for me. The mystery, danger, and evil characters just dissolved into nothing. Questions were answered and things wrapped up but I didn't really feel any fear for those who might be "next".

This felt like a murder mystery, academic setting, secret groups, and bridgerton.

I had been wanted to read a Runyx book for a hot minute but had not had the opportunity until now. I was thrilled to receive the ALC in order to experience their unique storytelling and it didn’t disappointed.

I love dark academia but am very picky a with my likes and dislikes. Enigma was a treat. It was a bit of a rollercoaster but in a good and different way. I am really digging the relic live story fused with a mystery thriller as it combines so much into one cohesive story.

I was so please to consume the audiobook as narrators Aiden Snow; Jaclyn Kelso both did a great job with their recitations. They kept me engaged and spoke at decent paces for the 1x speed. I did enjoy Ms Kelsi’s vocal a bit more so I was glad that her performance was primary.


I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from MacMillian Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

This titles comes out on April 29th 2025
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

3.5⭐️
Okay so at first I had a hard time getting into it and connecting to the characters but once the plot kinda got going and things started happening I was in it. Enjoyed the ending and epilogues.

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. It’s impossible to describe this book without using words like haunting, gorgeous, immersive, unforgettable

Wow that was quite the spicy dark romance between two damaged people looking for the truth in the mounds of secrets and deaths at Mortimer University. I could definitely see shades of Hades and Persephone with Salem being the golden girl and Caz the tormented dark artist who finds a muse in Salem. Some very sizzling scenes and lots of dark chemistry between the two but still the good mystery of finding out why Salem's sister died, along with all the other deaths near the university over the years. If you like dark academia, many shades of love that edges to the brink though still consensual and exactly what both parties wanted, with a good ending and a mystery solved, then you will like this.

The narrators did a good job of bring Salem and Caz to life on the grounds of Mortimer University and the story felt very alive. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me listen to this audiobook for review.

🏛 Dark Academia
⚔️ Rivals To Lovers
🔍 Secrets & Mystery
🗡 Suspicious Deaths

This was really interesting & I appreciated having a FMC that isn't so "stereotypical" for once. 😂 I really loved both narrators & they did a wonderful job. They brought the characters to life, two lost souls that eventually found comfort in each other. Finding someone who accepts all the darkness inside of you, that really sees you for you. Isn't that the dream? 😍

*I received an advance review copy for free in the form of an audiobook (advanced listening copy) from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is my honest feedback about the book as an avid reader.*

This is my first RuNyx book I've read & I am curious to get to Gothikana sitting on my tbr cart. 🙂

Huge thank you to the author, McMillan Audio & NetGalley. 💜

Available for purchase on April 29th, 2025

This book was so very well written. It kept me engrossed the entire time. I do think it gave more Romeo and Juliet than hades and Persephone. The ending was perfect though and I am extremely pleased with it from start to finish.

Enigma by RuNyx was a dark academia ride that gave me all the Wednesday Addams vibes in the best way. From secret societies to twisted riddles, this story kept me intrigued from start to finish.

I really enjoyed following Salem as she tried to unravel the mystery behind her sister's death, all while diving deeper into the enigmatic world of Mortimer University. The atmosphere was moody, immersive, and perfect for fans of gothic academia.

The chemistry between Salem and Cazimir? Chef’s kiss. Their enemies-to-lovers dynamic was full of tension, banter, and those delicious slow-burn moments that make your heart race. I just wish we had more chapters from Cazimir’s POV—he was such a compelling character, and getting inside his head a bit more would’ve added another layer to the story.

One thing that stood out to me was the mental health representation—it was handled thoughtfully and added emotional depth to the characters.

That said, I wasn’t entirely clear on how this was meant to be a Hades and Persephone retelling. The vibes were dark and mythic at times, sure, but the parallels didn’t feel fully fleshed out for me.

I listened to the audiobook version, and the narration was fantastic. Special shoutout to Aiden Snow, who brought Cazimir to life with the perfect mix of intensity and charm!

If you love secret societies, morally gray love interests, and brooding academic settings, this one might just be your next obsession.

I really enjoyed this and liked the vibes of this book with all the gothicy romance and dark academia, but the ending was underwhelming. If you take anything from my review, take this: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞. 𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐞, 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐞𝐬.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 ✮⋆˙

Things I liked:
🐍 Both the FMC and MMC were interesting characters. Gothic romance characters can often be a little unrealistic, but I feel like they had a good balance. Salem, with her ice queen facade and claustrophobia and inner loneliness, and Caz with his anger issues and stubbornness (and his possessiveness).
🐍 The secret societies and the dark academia setting never miss for me
🐍 The canvas altar scene iykyk
🐍 Just the vibes were right. Gothic and macabre, they were well written in every scene
🐍 I enjoyed the spice actually. Not too long, not too quick, not gross. It was nice
🐍 The old-money society families and the corruption within the school

Things that didn't work for me:
🐍 I just feel like with both this and Gothikana (my only other RuNyx read) that the mysteries aren't quite there. Like the entire time, I had a guess that seemed really, really simple, and it ended up being correct with not much of a twist. It left for an underwhelming ending. I enjoyed the book and honestly was debating giving it 5 stars, but then there wasn't really a twist, and I almost felt robbed of a true mystery. I felt like the book could have been longer, so we could have really delved into the conspiracy more. The ending was rushed and disappointing.
🐍 The characters aren't smart. Like they're supposed to be, but it almost takes them forever to connect dots that I thought were already connected. And the scene where she was smart in psychology was about super super basic stuff, like her nature versus nurture statement was nothing profound, but I think we were supposed to think it was?
🐍 Some of the writing wasn't right for me. I liked a lot of it, but there were some craft-level things that I thought could make the book any better. She uses the words "She felt" and "seemed" a lot, which makes the characters distant from the reader. Emotions were a little over-explained rather than felt, and as I said above, the characters aren't smart.

Overall, a good gothic read, and I'm so happy that I got the ARC, but the ending could have been better. It wasn't enough to ruin it for me, but I looked forward to listening to this, and now I'm like "oh. ok."

ALC review
Publication date: 29 Apr 25

"Enigma" by Runyx is a romance, set in a dark academia world.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC (via Netgalley).
Opinions from this review are completely my own.

I feel in love with Runyx's writting while reading the "Dark Verse" series, that became my favorite dark romance series ever.
Also, "Gothikana" is a great dark academia/gothic romance that I loved.
So, I was looking forward to reading Enigma. And it is even better than I expected.

Salem is a Mortimer University legacy and she tries to find out what happended to her missing older sister.
Caz is her mysterious TA, with a dark past and many secrets.

What I liked:
- the dark academia setting
- a lot of mystery
- secret societies
- the atmosphere is dark and adds to the suspense
- Salem is a smart and fierceless character
- Caz is protective (even if he is a bit too possesive)
- the tension and the spice
- dual POV
-the writting
-the quotes at the beginning of the chapters

The audiobook is narrated by Aiden Snow and Jaclyn Kelso. They both did a good job and helped me get even more engaged in the story.
Their voices captured the characters well and they both managed to bring out their feelings and personality well.
I was so invested in the story that I finished the book in less than 24h.

If you liked Gothikana, I also recomend this book.
Even if it is not as dark, I recomend reading the content warnings before if you have any triggers.

Enigma by RuNyx

Okay this had me gripped from start to finish. I FLEW through this. I was lucky enough to get an Advance Listeners Copy of this bad boy and it did not disappoint. There is mystery, pining, tension, secrets, and intrigue. If you’ve loved RuNyx writing before I think it’s safe to say you’re gonna love this one. I loved the dual narration, the narrators did a fantastic job and i feel were perfect for the roles portrayed.

As always, PLEASE READ ALL TRIGGER WARNINGS AND PROTECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. Your mental health is important, read those babies and judge for yourself.

Feral Rating 4/5 🦝🦝🦝🦝
Spice Rating 3.5/5🌶️🌶️🌶️🫑

What you can find:
- Dark Academia
- Gothic Romance
- Rivals to Lovers
- Mystery & Secrets
- Suspense & Intrigue
- Secret Societies
- Tension for Days
- Possessive Artistic MMC

Summary:

Strange things have been happening since before she could remember, from the events that occurred when she was young leading up to her sister’s death and father’s breaking point. There were just too many unknowns, and for Salem she wanted to crack open the unknowns and reach for the truth. She does just that but making it her mission to figure out what happened to her at Mortimer University. Having always been called strange due to her fascination with forensics, she’s decided to use this interest to her advantage and get to the bottom of it. All is well until another master is launched into her path, Cazimir van der Waal. She can’t decide where he fits into all of the games at play, but what she does know is that there are secrets buried deep and a murder a large. And Salem will stop at nothing until she finds the answers she seeks.

✨✨✨ ALC NetGalley Review ✨✨✨

Tropes:
Dark academia
Secret society
Rivals to 🖤
Suspense

3⭐️
3🌶️

🎧 Narrators:
Jaclyn Kelso and Aiden Snow