Gothic romance
Dark academia
Rivals to lovers
Muse + artist



Gothikana is a forever favorite that blew me away and this one was no different! Gothic dark academia is clearly for me! The audio sucked me in big time as well. Thank you @macmillan.audio for this ALC

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Pub Date: April 29, 2025

4.25 stars
This dark academia romance was right up my alley! There was a mystery to solve, danger to avoid, and plenty of spice and romance.

While the narrators both did a great job I think I would have preferred this more if I read it, but that is just my (now known) preference for dark romance. Will certainly pick up RuNyx's books in the future.

Thank you so much for the gifted ALC! I was so excited for RuNyx next book especially after Gothikana which I really enjoyed. RuNyx's skills in crafting an ambient world with all of the perfectly moody vibes are stellar. I also have the physical copy of the book and looked forward to seeing each chapter art and quote-- these design choices also really pull you into the story. The narrators did a wonderful job! As for the story I had mixed feelings-- there were so many parts that I loved, and found myself invested and excited to turn the page, but on the other hand there were some parts where the pacing was off... By the time you get to the finale you might be like... that's it? I really enjoyed the characters-- which the narrators brought to life. I loved Salem because she is so different than most FMCs you read about so I enjoyed being in her head. There were some points where I had to tell myself not to cringe due to the characters age/conversations. However overall I had a fun time with this one and definitely think the audience is out there! I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

Oh and the steamy scenes were pretty fun!

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

I’m a huge audiobook listener so I was thrilled to be able to give this one a listen! Dark academia romance- say less! This was such a fun vibe, if you like Wednesday and want the adult version, this is it! So. Much. Fun! The characters were great and had lovely development over the course of the story and the plot wasn’t cookie cutter like many dark romances can be.

And the narrators??? YES. Loved them so much and will absolutely be listening to their work in the future!

Major win for me here!

I was super excited to be offered the ALC for Enigma and went into it with high hopes…but it was just ok for me. I can preface this by saying I have loved all of RuNyx other works of art, Gothikana and The Dark Verse series, but I just feel like this one wasn’t holding my attention as well as the others. I found myself becoming distracted and losing focus because I wasn’t invested in the story like I usually am with their books. The narrators did a great job, and I think the story had great potential, it just didn’t check all the boxes for me this time.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for allowing me to listen to Enigma

This audio was INCREDIBLE! I craved to keep listening and didn't want it to end. The story and the characters and the narrators were all amazing. I loved it so much.

O.M.G.! I love a good dark academia romance and this DELIVERED. Dark criminals, a broody as hell MMC and strong baddie FMC, dual-POV, secret societies, everything I was looking for.

Salem had a great arc for finding her own power within herself. Where before the girl who loved murder mysteries (maybe a little too much) was considered weird, she finds a community where she blossoms.

Caz has so many complexities about him that I won’t spoil but his character arc is fantastic too. I had an advanced listening copy of the audiobook from NetGalley and his narrator was perfect for the sultry, broody, possessive Caz.

Salem enrolls in Mortimer to try to find out how her sister died because she is not convinced that she killed herself.

Along the way Caz makes her investigate harder with all the secrets.

As she is uncovering her sisters murder she uncovers the truth about Caz too.

Mystery and steams all in one book. What is not to love.

This story plunges readers into a dark academia world with a fascinating "Hades and Persephone meets scorching romance" twist. A huge thank you to @Netgalley for the Advanced Listening Copy! The narrators do a great job with this one!

We meet Salem Salazar, a legacy student at Mortimer University, who is intensely drawn to the mysteries of death. She's on a mission to uncover what truly happened to her perfect older sister, only to find that her sister is just one of many girls who have vanished from Mortimer. Salem is determined to find answers, even if it means putting herself in harm's way.
Enter Cazimir van der Waal, a mysterious artist and teaching assistant with his own dark past and agenda. He quickly takes notice of Salem, and their dynamic is electric – she's ice, he's fire; she's organized, he's chaos. Their fates become deeply intertwined as secret societies and danger lurk around every corner at Mortimer.

I had quite the journey with this book! I found myself going back and forth, with moments of being absolutely captivated and then parts where the pacing seemed to slow down a bit. However, the unique and interesting characters kept me turning the pages. I especially loved seeing Salem's growth throughout the story, watching her become more comfortable in her own skin and realize her own worth. The ending definitely had me super invested and was quite explosive, though it did feel a little rushed given the extensive build-up to that point.
Overall, it was an intriguing read that I did enjoy.

Troupes: enemies/rivals to lovers, dark academia, secret societies, hidden identities, romantic suspense

Spice 4/5 (this is a perfect blend of plot and good spice!)
Plot 4.5/5
Pace 3.5/5
Character Personality 4/5
Character Growth 4/5
Writing Style 5/5
World Building 5/5

It was…. Okay… I didn’t necessarily dislike it but I did struggle quite a bit to get into it and invested. I would say it did eventually pick up for me but overall I felt it was very lackluster

Enigma by @Author RuNyx was such a good read! 🖤dark gothic romance lovers will eat this up🖤 I absolutely loved the characters and the character building and the tension that was written… literally such an immersive world to be in! Loved it!

#booktok #morallygraymen #darkromance #darkacademia #runyx #enigmabyrunyx #gothicromance #darkromancerecs #gothicromancerecs #grumpymmc

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of the audiobook.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF at about 50%.

At first, the story started out great. It had an air of mystery and suspense and I was invested in finding out exactly what was going to happen next. However, as the story went on, it quickly lost appeal. While I enjoy a good dark romance, I didn't particularly find this one appealing. Between the writing style and the characters, I had to stop listening.

On the bright side, the narrators did a fantastic job.

Just okay for me. The premise had potential, and I can see why others are hooked, but it didn’t quite grab me the way I hoped it would. The pacing felt uneven, and I had a hard time connecting with the characters. Some moments were intriguing, but overall, it lacked the tension and emotional pull to really keep me invested. Not bad, just not memorable for me.

Dark academia, romance, secret societies, mysterious deaths and an equally mysterious man… I loved it! It had good spice with great tension. Story line was intriguing and kept you guessing.
NetGalley gave me the audiobook in exchange for a honest review and I went and bought the book because it’s gorgeous and wanted to do the full immersive experience.

Dark academia at its finest, with an eternally smirking MMC and a badas* FMC. So many twists and turns that had me entertained throughout the whole book. This was my first RunYx book and won’t be my last!

Enigma was my first novel by RuNyx and I was pleasantly surprised!
This follows our main character Salem, a cold and lonely teenager who is starting school at the prestigious Mortimer University, the seaside gothic college where her sister died years back. She goes to Mortimer to learn more about her sister's suspicious death and the note she left before she apparently took her own life, but ends up meeting a strange man at the foot of another dead girl on her first day. Cazimir is a tall dark and broody teacher's assistant for her psychology class, and he won't leave her alone after their interaction. Is his attention lustful or dangerous?
This was marketed as a spicy Hades & Persephone retelling, which I did not even pick up on until rereading the synopsis after finishing, which I suppose means it was less than successful, but it was still a good time (although less spicy than I was expecting). There were a few storylines that I felt were abandoned or where I was left wanting more from something that wasn't built upon, but for the most part I was entertained!
3.5 stars

3.5 stars! I enjoyed the audiobook and thought the narrators did a great job! I was hoping to see more of a connection between the main couple, they kind of had that instant love thing but then I felt like their connection never built on that. This was an easy read but took a bit of time to get going. I liked the characters but felt there was too much emphasis on Salem being an outcast, I feel there were more interesting personality traits to focus on. I did enjoy the story and the spice was great, but don’t feel like I loved anything about it enough to give 4 stars. Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

I liked Gothikana but didnt love this one mainly due to the pacing-- its all over the place. It was very "insta love" and I really dont enjoy that. There just wasnt anything emotionally provoking to make me care about the characters.

This is the second time I have tried RuNyx, and I seriously regret it. I just do not jive with the writing style, and the gothic elements are not for me. I don't think this was written for an audience like me in mind, and that is okay. You might like it.

Hauntingly beautiful is the only way to describe Enigma. Set against a backdrop of secret societies, elite academia, and a string of unsolved deaths stretching over a decade, this novel pulls you into its eerie world from the first page.

Salem, the black sheep in a picture-perfect family, has always felt a pull toward the macabre. But when her sister dies under mysterious circumstances, her obsession turns into a mission. What starts as a personal quest quickly spirals into something deeper and more dangerous—especially when a mysterious, brooding TA enters the scene. Their enemies-to-lovers dynamic adds an emotional intensity that balances out the dark and twisty plot.

If you love rich cult lore, morally gray characters, and the seductive unraveling of long-buried secrets, Enigma delivers.

I listened to the ALC and was completely immersed. Thank you Netgalley and RuNyx for the ALC in return for my honest review. Highly recommend for fans of dark academia with a romantic bite.