I probably would’ve liked this better reading it, which is unusual for me. I *loved* the female narrator, but the male narrator gave me the worst cringe. The sexy scenes were okay in that voice, but his entire voiceover was… weird to me.

But anyway, onto the plot. This has plenty of twists and turns, some of which I saw coming, some of which I didn’t. It’s pretty linear and easy to follow, with plenty of breadcrumbs to lead you along. Definitely dark academia, with lots of secrets. This is classified as a dark romance, but it isn’t overly erotic. There are descriptive scenes, but they don’t make up the majority of the book. I would rate this 2🌶️, it could be way spicier, but the author chose to have the plot be the forefront.

The characters are intriguing and very different, not conventional at all. Both are social pariahs in their own right at the beginning of the book, but by the end they have friend groups and social lives. The development is really nice, even if their relationship is more than a little… unusual. We even start to care about side characters by the end of the book.

The writing is very easy to follow, and honestly I recognized so many of the quotes the author used in this book, which makes me happy for no real reason.

Honestly, I’m glad I picked this one because the story was really interesting, but I’m discovering dark academia isn’t a major love for me. I enjoy them, but I’d just as soon read a traditional thriller or mystery. Worth the read, but the male narrator just isn’t for me.3.75⭐️

I love a good dark academia and this met all qualifications - mystery, FMC with wit and personality, a romance with a dark and broody MMC, and a plot that keeps my interest. I loved that the FMC & MMC had backstories and lives outside of their relationship. That added a layer of complexity and kept me entertained and drawn in.

It ended beautifully with the mystery solved and epilogues that to give the characters their “where are they now” wrapped up with a bow summaries. I will definitely read whatever RuNyx publishes next.

I listened to the audiobook arc and while I wish it was more of the dual narration throughout the conversations, I did enjoy both narrators on their own.

Hades and Persephone vibes
Dark Academia Romance
Mysterious
Murder mystery elements

Dual Narration- Aiden Snow & Jaclyn Kelso
Great narrators

I struggled to get into this one. The way it is told was tough to get into the mood. I stuck with it and I did enjoy it however it just didn’t hit the way I had hoped.

Salem has enrolled at Mortimer university which is a prestigious academy for high society college age kids. She is there to find out what truly happened to her sister.
There have been a number of on campus deaths and she is determined to crack the case open.
Caz the MMC has many secrets. We don’t get a lot in his pov. Salem and Caz become entangled together and he is a mystery to Salem.

I would definitely recommend this to a dark romance reader.

Wow. This book was everything I could ever have wanted in a dark romance. A bright, self aware heroine, a swoony hero, and a setting full of secrets.

Salem Salazar has gone through plenty in her young life. Even though she comes from a wealthy, prestigious family, she has never felt like she fit in. Her relationship with her family is surface at best, she was betrayed by someone in a group who leaked photos of her, and she is attending the elite Mortimer University to find out why her sister died there under suspicious circumstances.

When she meets the mysterious Caz van der Waal, the attraction is immediate and mutual. Caz has plenty of secrets of his own, but he makes no secret of the fact that he wants Salem. Lust turns into a possessive and mutually distrusting relationship, scorching hot and intense, and as Salem finds out more and more about what happened to her sister and other people who also died at Mortimer, the more she wants to know what Caz is hiding.

Salem is an amazing character. She is always on guard, always examining every detail. I loved her mind, how fiercely she loves even though she has experienced so little love in return, and how she reacts at a crucial moment near the end of the book. Caz is completely taken over by Salem. His every thought is of her, he is consumed by her and despite all the things he has been though, he does not waver in his love for her.

This book has it all - I loved RuNyx's Dark Verse series and I obsessed over this story. Whatever RuNyx writes, I will read it.

Thank you NetGalley and Bramble for the audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

First let me start by saying they could not have picked better narrators for this book! RuNyx knows how to write so beautifully! An atmospheric dark academia full of secret societies, emotion, spice, and personal acceptance. Two grieving people come together to solve the mystery of mysterious deaths occurring at Mortimer University and also find love. Salem being such a relatable character and Caz with his art, protectiveness, touch her and die made this such a good read. I didn’t want it to end.

Audiobook Review:

Enigma is dark academia collage romance that brings you dark backstories, high society, secret societies, loss, and murder.

The FMC and MMC bring you a relationship that full of acceptance and being your true self. Theres mild spice in this book and a touch her a die vibe. The FMC has Wednesday Addams vibes and the MMC is that sexy, dark enigmatic man.

The narration was a pleasure to listen to and done well.

If you enjoyed Gothikana, Enigma is an excellent read.

Oh my god. This book. AMAZING. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I would’ve binged it in a day if I didn’t have work that’s how much I loved it. The smut scenes were *chefs kiss* and the characters felt so human and yet so mysterious. This is a must read if you love dark romance with secret societies, mysteries, and dark academia. Even if you don’t love dark academia you’ll love this book!

idk. Meh. I don’t think I vibe with Runyx.

Don’t let my rating discourage you, this is the 4th or 5th book I’ve read from this author and we just don’t mesh.

I thought this one started out better and with a better premise than Gothikana, but it felt pretty insta to me as well. I couldn’t connect with the characters.

The pacing was a little all over the place for me which I think made it hard for me to stay engaged.

If you typically enjoy Runyx, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

These last min arcs are kinda killing me lol. Excited to jump into this one though! I’ve gotta start it now…

🖤Dark Academia
🖤Standalone
🖤Rivals to Lovers
🖤Mystery x Suspense
🖤Secrets
🖤Secret Society
🖤Gothic Romance

Expected Pub Date - 04/29/25

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the advanced audio copy, all thoughts are my own. 💐

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook. I wasn’t a fan of the narrator, and they made the book drone on. I ended up DNF’ing at 30% it just wasn’t for me

okayyyy lmao i tried so hard not to dnf this one but “take care of my pussy” is my final straw, time of death 70% 💀

i unfortunately just dont think runyxs books are for me. i think they have amazing premises, they start off strong and then for me personally they just never seem to live up to what theyre described as. i shouldnt be 70% into a book wondering where the hell the secret society aspect of this book is.

the relationship shouldnt feel like it was out of nowhere, they have a handful of interactions and then weirdly all of a sudden are together… theres also a huge lack of chemistry for me between the two. FMC is somehow a pick me yet has absolutely no personality, MMC is also insanely bland other than possessive.

theres not a whole lot of actual investigating going on either. plot is kind of also nonexistent?

to sum up my experience of reading it, there are a whole lot of words but not a lot actually happening lol.

The fact that this stuff happens in real like makes me sick to my stomach...
Such a good book! The Narrators were perfect for these characters.

Description
There are secrets she must uncover.
There are secrets he must keep.
Salem Salazar is a Mortimer University legacy and the black sheep of her scandal-ridden, wealthy family. Obsessed with death, she arrives at Mortimer on the hunt for answers about what happened to her perfect, missing older sister. There, she discovers that her sister is far from the only girl to have gone missing at Mortimer. Salem will do anything to discover what dark forces are killing Mortimer's students... even if it means using herself as bait.
And Cazimir van der Waal has caught her scent. He has a dark past, a hidden agenda, and a ravenous appetite for a beautiful, golden-eyed girl who seems determined to risk her life. But he is far from the most dangerous thing at Mortimer.
In this magnificent, steamy dark academia romance filled with taut suspense, sparks will fly, rivals will become lovers, terrible truths will be revealed, and an epic love will change everything.

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this book!

Enigma
by RuNyx
Narrated by Aiden Snow; Jaclyn Kelso
Publisher Macmillan Audio
Pub Date Apr 29 2025

Thank you NetGalley and RuNyx for the chance to listen to this ALC!

This is the second book by RuNyx I’ve listened to and I absolutely loved it! It was beautifully written and I enjoyed the uniqueness of the story. The characters, the setting, the plot… so good! RuNyx is quickly becoming one of fav authors and I’m looking forward to discovering more from her.

The narrators, Aiden Snow and Jaclyn Kelso, done an amazing job. Their voices fit the charachters perfectly and complimented each other well. They were able to capture the emotions and feelings of the charachters and I was able to stay engaged the entire time.

Caz and Salem had me 🫠 If you love dark academic stories filled with mystery, suspense, secrets, secret societies and steamy rival to lovers romance you’ll love Enigma!

I was not prepared for how much I loved this book. This is the best mix of dark academia, scorching romance, self discovery and mystery.

The MMC Caz will absolutely be your next morally gray book boyfriend. The way this man cherishes the FMC Salem, helps her find herself, accepts her and always knows exactly what she needs was so beautiful. And the juxtaposition between his sweet side and his extremely morally….dark gray side was perfection.
Caz gives the possessive, unhinged, touch her and die vibes and pairs it with a dirty as hell mouth and gives us the ultimate sweet and spicy and dark book boyfriend.

Salem is such a great neurodivergent rep. She has trouble with social cues, her hobbies and fascination with death people find unnerving and she’s has a tough exterior but she comes out of her shell so much and has such a great character arc. I love that she’s different from the typical FMC’s.

The murder mystery and secret society aspect was done so well. There’s enough suspense to keep you hooked throughout the story. I finished this book in less than 24 hours and equal parts wanted to know what happens and didn’t want it to end.
It does seem like, although this is a standalone, the author has set things up for a new mystery.

The audiobook was amazing and the narrators did such an amazing job bringing the characters to life.

Overall, this was an amazing dark romance with a compelling plot and well written prose that sucks you right into the story.
I highly recommend this book to any dark academia lovers but do suggest that you check your trigger warnings as there are some dark themes that may find triggering.

You’ll enjoy this story if you like
-Dark Academia
-Gothic Atmosphere
-Spicy Romance
-Secret Societies
-Murder Mystery
-Morally gray MMC
-Touch Her and Die
-Neurodivergent Rep

Thank you NetGalley for this audioARC in exchange for an honest review

Salem is death obsessed and finally getting into Mortimer University where she plans to uncover more about what happened to her missing sister.
She’ll quickly realize there are even more secrets to uncover at the university- one being a person- Caz, who she just can’t seem to figure out.

They both become targets to a secret society and have to decide if they want to work together and survive or remain divided.

Could you get anymore of my favorite themes into one book??

Dark academia ✅
Gothic fantasy ✅
Rivals to lovers ✅
Secret society ✅
Hades / Persephone vibes ✅

BUY THIS BOOK!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ALC ! Release date 4/29/25!

Now, this wasn’t a super mind blowing read. But was I entertained? Yes 🙂‍↕️ Did I wish it had a bit more depth? Also, yes lol. The relationship was definitely spicy, but I feel like I needed a bit more chemistry between them. As for the overall storyline… It was alright, but it kept me intrigued!! From the mysteries to her friend group, I ate it up in a day 🙇🏽‍♀️ I just wish the mystery was a bit more of a mystery, we kind of set the target early on & yeah… Although, there were a few components that had me wondering!!
Overall, I enjoyed thissss. The narrators did a wonderful job, I wish it was a full on duet 🤧

Ａｕｄｉｏｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ
🌟🌟
Unfortunately, this story didn't do it for me. I had high hopes because I enjoyed Gothikana, and this book, *Enigma*, has some of the same tropes, but this story fell flat. The instalove/slow-burn romance felt forced. The third-person narration wasn't engaging. I did like that each chapter started with a quote! But honestly, I should have DNF'd it, but I wanted to see how it would end. The ending disappointed me because it felt rushed and predictable. Would I read this again? Probably not. Would I recommend this book? Of course, because I can easily see this book becoming popular with its tropes. This book just wasn't for me.

The audiobook is dual narration, which is a major plus. The narrators did a good job bringing this story to life. They were easy to understand and listen to. I listened at 2x speed.

𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬:
•dark romance
•rivals to lovers
•dark academic
•secret society

Thank you, NetGalley, and MacmillanAudio for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

4.5/5 ⭐️
2/5 🌶️

Thank you to RuNyx, their publisher, and NetGallwy for providing me with an ALC of this novel.

You should read this book if you like:
🖤 A take on Hades & Persephone mythology
💙 Dark Academia
🖤 Gothic Vibes
💙 Secret Society
🖤 FMC obsessed with death
💙 She’s a lone wolf type but learns to lean on friends
🖤 She must solve her sister’s death
💙 Artistic bad boy MMC
🖤 He’s her Psych TA
💙 Rivals? to Lovers
🖤 He becomes obsessed with her
💙 Spicy Spice 🌶️
🖤 Touch her and 💀 vibes
💙 “Mine.”

RuNyx can do no wrong. If they write it, I will read it! No one does spicy dark academia quite like them. Highly recommend you pick this up as soon as it publishes.

They had veteran narrators Jaclyn Kelso and Aiden Snow on board. It is not done in duet style, which I think really would’ve elevated this audiobook even more!

Dark academia meets dark romance, and I am once again feral.

I loved Gothikana when it came out—it hit just right while I was in the depths of a Wednesday/secret-society/romantic-gothic craving. So the second I saw Enigma pop up, I didn’t even hesitate. Requested immediately. No thoughts. Just vibes. And once again, RuNyx delivered.

This one leans heavily into those delicious Hades and Persephone undertones, which I ate right up. There's this beautiful, brooding tension simmering beneath everything—from the eerie halls of Mortimer University to the electric dynamic between Salem and Caz. At one point, I was convinced we were tipping into supernatural territory and found myself furiously DMing a friend who also had an early copy like, “Wait. WHAT is going on??” It was the best kind of confusion—where you're too intrigued to stop.

I’m not usually a huge dark romance girl, but something about this mix—dark academia, secret societies, mysterious deaths, and a maybe-murderer with cheekbones sharp enough to kill—just works for me.

Also, let’s talk about the audiobook: Macmillan Audio owns me. If they have no fans, it means I no longer exist. Aiden Snow and Jaclyn Kelso did such a great job bringing these characters to life—perfectly capturing the mood and slow-burn madness of it all.

So to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio—thank you so much for the early listen. And to RuNyx: please never stop writing dark academia. I will devour every single one.

I was so unbelievably excited when I saw that I received an ALC of this book. I’m obsessed with RuNyx, so this was a dream come true for me.

And this book did not disappoint! The narrators of this book were fire. They were literally perfect. If anything were slightly different, it would’ve been not nearly as good as it was.

There were several moments where I gasped or found myself actually talking out loud with/at the characters, which to me is a sign of a fabulous book.

This audio really brought this book to life. I’m excited for the physical book to come out so I can listen and read along at the same time for a second listen.

Absolutely phenomenal.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this book. I absolutely loved it! All opinions are my own and are not influenced by the manner in which I received it.

A dark academia secret society romance. Runyon checked ALL the boxes with this one. Romance ✔️ Suspense ✔️ Plot twists ✔️ Spice ✔️ Dark academia setting ✔️ Attempting to write a spoiler free review on this is more difficult than it should be, but read it. I loved the investigative aspects and how in each working for their own secret causes, they reluctantly come together and find what they each need in more ways than one.

Narration also 5⭐️