A thrilling ride of a dark romance! I was intrigued right from the start and couldn’t put this down! The writing was so descriptive and the story full of twists and drama which keeps you at the edge of your seat the entire time.

Blisteringly hot dark academia romance full of mystery & intrigue. Secret societies, blackmail, a touch of psychological thriller, an aloof fmc intrigued by death and a deliciously dark tattooed hunk of an mmc made for an amazing good read. I devoured it in a day! The narrator’s did an exceptional job and Aiden Snows voice had me melting into a puddle. I felt very much like how Salem did with the sound of Kaz’s voice.

3.5 stars. I liked the mystery/thriller piece as she investigated who killed her sister. I also felt like the FMC was written really well…still smart and cunning and brave even though she was sad and meek at times. The romance was iffy for me, but overall I liked the story.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for this ARC audiobook! This opportunity does not affect my review in anyway. No spoilers below.

Both narrators did a wonderful job and were easy to understand. I stayed captivated throughout the entire story and thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook! I read Gothikana (my first book by RuNyx) about a year ago and LOVED it. It got me into paranormal dark romance novels, and I was not disappointed at all by Enigma. Such a fantastic story with amazing characters that both show development throughout the plot. I will absolutely be doing a reread when the book is released in just over a week!

THIS LISTEN WAS INSANE!!!! I loved the characters!!! THE SUSPENSE AND MYSTERY!!! THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING!! FIVE STARS!!

This kept me interested enough to want to find out what happened, but really lacked any sort of emotional draw or connection for me.

In Enigma, Salem goes to Mortimer University to find out more about the death of her sister. She ends up embroiled in a larger mystery involving secret societies and multiple other unexplained deaths.

I wanted this book to focus more on the mystery than the romance, but at the same time, the romance was really underdeveloped. I couldn't figure out how Salem and Caz got to the point of declaring 'forever' or WHY they were making those declarations. The chemistry was definitely missing.

Other thoughts that I'm having trouble organizing:
• I REALLY liked Salem as a character.
• The friendships didn't feel like an afterthought and were genuinely sweet.
• The mystery surrounding her sister didn't go anywhere terribly unexpected.
• The ending/epilogue felt entirely too clean and happy in a disjointed way.

I was really split on how I felt about the narration. The male narrator seemed mismatched during his internal monologues, but perfect when voicing dialogue. At times, it pulled me out of the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with this ALC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
🥀 dark academia
⚰️murder mystery
🤫secret society
💀 touch her and die

Another solid dark academia by RuNyx 🔥
The cliff scene 🥵
Caz is a brooding artist and Salem his muse loves death. Both attending Mortimer University Salem is trying to uncover answers as to the mystery death of her sister and what roll the schools secret society play.

Incredible! I enjoyed listening to this audiobook from beginning to end. RuNyx is quickly becoming a favorite.

My thoughts on the book:
Very well written. RuNyx does a good job getting us readers fully into the world they are writing and does well capturing the characters and who they are.

The narrators for the audiobook:
Absolutely incredible job. I was fully engaged listening to them. I was able to keep up with them and wanting more. I loved that they read the quotes that the beginning of each chapter as well (this wasn’t done for Gothikana, at least the version I listened to. So it’s appreciated to get the full experience)

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