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dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you liked Gothikana, you will love this, because it's literally the same novel, same plot, and same characters, repackaged and spit back out with different names. I don't know how the editors let the author get away with this. The Venn Diagram of overlapping elements between Enigma and Gothikana is a single full circle.
Don't believe me? Here's a list of elements that are exactly the same:
--Prestigious university for wealthy/the elite, located in a secluded location on top of a mountain
--Mysterious, violent love interest with a complicated past to convince you he has a good reason for withholding information, being abusive, and generally being a not great person
--Shy, withdrawn female lead character who Just Doesn't Fit In and Isn't Like Other Girls
--Both main characters have eye colors that are either incredibly rare or simply impossible for humans so that you KNOW they are the main characters
--Secret cult society pulling the strings
--Young adults cancelling their life subscription suspiciously, main character investigates!
--Female lead comes from fractured/broken family and has experienced significant past traumas that are Definitely Relevant to the current plot
--Female lead is supposed to be the one investigating and saving the day, but don't worry, male love interest and his buddies have it all handled
--Male lead seems poor/destitute but is secretly loaded
--Male lead initially seems evil but is actually pulling the strings and investigating on his own For Good
--Happy ending with marriage and timeskip to successful and fulfilling life
My other problems with this book include the fact that SO MANY details went unresolved. Grandma's journals lasted about three pages and then we never needed them again. Plot points were easily guessable since I had read Gothikana first and knew exactly what the author was planning next, down to which friend was up for sacrifice at the climax of the novel and which character was the one that would suddenly expire from the mortal realm to move the plot along. Also, if you NEED your characters to experience being GROOMED AS A CHILD and having inappropriate photos of them shared to the internet against their will to move a plot along or develop them as a character, maybe you're just not cut out for this writing thing at all. The female lead spends the ENTIRE novel having NO IDEA what's happening around her, despite her best efforts - the narration pointed out, several times, that she "knew she was on the verge of a breakthrough" but never had that breakthrough. Instead of events unfolding for the reader to enjoy, we pretty much are just suddenly thrown some plot beats and then everything the female lead didn't understand gets explained to us in dialogue thanks to the all-knowing male lead. Throughout the book, I found myself frustrated at the female lead's inability to pick a single thing up, because I was predicting patterns much sooner than she did. Ultimately, she did nothing to save the day by the end of the novel, so having the story told from her perspective (most of the time) truly felt like a waste of time.
Credit where credit is due, though: RuNyx went from describing the female lead's nipples as "pebbled" from about 20+ times in Gothikana to maybe 5+ times in Enigma. We are truly making progress!
That was sarcasm, please heed my words and skip this, unless you're like me and have decided to rage-read the rest of RuNyx's anthology from here on out, then cheers buddy, stay strong.
Don't believe me? Here's a list of elements that are exactly the same:
--Prestigious university for wealthy/the elite, located in a secluded location on top of a mountain
--Mysterious, violent love interest with a complicated past to convince you he has a good reason for withholding information, being abusive, and generally being a not great person
--Shy, withdrawn female lead character who Just Doesn't Fit In and Isn't Like Other Girls
--Both main characters have eye colors that are either incredibly rare or simply impossible for humans so that you KNOW they are the main characters
--Secret cult society pulling the strings
--Young adults cancelling their life subscription suspiciously, main character investigates!
--Female lead comes from fractured/broken family and has experienced significant past traumas that are Definitely Relevant to the current plot
--Female lead is supposed to be the one investigating and saving the day, but don't worry, male love interest and his buddies have it all handled
--Male lead seems poor/destitute but is secretly loaded
--Male lead initially seems evil but is actually pulling the strings and investigating on his own For Good
--Happy ending with marriage and timeskip to successful and fulfilling life
My other problems with this book include the fact that SO MANY details went unresolved. Grandma's journals lasted about three pages and then we never needed them again. Plot points were easily guessable since I had read Gothikana first and knew exactly what the author was planning next, down to which friend was up for sacrifice at the climax of the novel and which character was the one that would suddenly expire from the mortal realm to move the plot along. Also, if you NEED your characters to experience being GROOMED AS A CHILD and having inappropriate photos of them shared to the internet against their will to move a plot along or develop them as a character, maybe you're just not cut out for this writing thing at all. The female lead spends the ENTIRE novel having NO IDEA what's happening around her, despite her best efforts - the narration pointed out, several times, that she "knew she was on the verge of a breakthrough" but never had that breakthrough. Instead of events unfolding for the reader to enjoy, we pretty much are just suddenly thrown some plot beats and then everything the female lead didn't understand gets explained to us in dialogue thanks to the all-knowing male lead. Throughout the book, I found myself frustrated at the female lead's inability to pick a single thing up, because I was predicting patterns much sooner than she did. Ultimately, she did nothing to save the day by the end of the novel, so having the story told from her perspective (most of the time) truly felt like a waste of time.
Credit where credit is due, though: RuNyx went from describing the female lead's nipples as "pebbled" from about 20+ times in Gothikana to maybe 5+ times in Enigma. We are truly making progress!
That was sarcasm, please heed my words and skip this, unless you're like me and have decided to rage-read the rest of RuNyx's anthology from here on out, then cheers buddy, stay strong.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
SPICE: 🌶🌶🌶, RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, VIBES: Mysterious, haunted hearts, dark academia energy ✨🖤🔍🎨🩶
This story was epic! The tension? Delicious. The mystery? Deadly. The characters? Emotionally unhinged in the best way.
It gave me a whiff of God of Malice—that same shadowy allure and morally gray intrigue—but still carved its own lane. No copycat vibes here.
Salem is our quietly powerful, genius FMC who speaks softly but thinks loudly. And Caz? Tall, tortured, and dripping with artistic angst. Their chemistry crackles like a match to gasoline. Together, they bond over shared scars, unsolved secrets, and a dangerous puzzle that just might kill them—or heal them.
The plot keeps you guessing, the vibes are moody and magnetic, and the slow-burn romance is chef’s kiss.
This story was epic! The tension? Delicious. The mystery? Deadly. The characters? Emotionally unhinged in the best way.
It gave me a whiff of God of Malice—that same shadowy allure and morally gray intrigue—but still carved its own lane. No copycat vibes here.
Salem is our quietly powerful, genius FMC who speaks softly but thinks loudly. And Caz? Tall, tortured, and dripping with artistic angst. Their chemistry crackles like a match to gasoline. Together, they bond over shared scars, unsolved secrets, and a dangerous puzzle that just might kill them—or heal them.
The plot keeps you guessing, the vibes are moody and magnetic, and the slow-burn romance is chef’s kiss.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Blood
Minor: Suicide, Death of parent, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5 but since Goodreads only has whole stars we are deopping to a 3. I thought it would be darker. It had all the work up to be more morally gray and just overall "darker". The MMC was morally gray but never embraced it, was just light gray IMO. He had the depth and character development there just didn't actually have / didn't really do anything. The FMC was the same. I kept waiting for them to do something truly bad. lol And I can't believe I'm saying this, but other than 1 and .5 ish spicy scenes, there were a lot of fade to black type scenes. They had soooooo much chemistry and heat, but very little played out on the page. The Dark Verse series is one of my all-time favorites. This one sadly didn't live up to that amazingness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide, Grief
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you so much to Publisher and the author for the early release finished copy.
I really enjoyed reading Enigma as my first RuNyx book.
I found the pace to be slow for at least the first 100 pages but picks up after.
This is dual pov's but the book is majority Salem Pov I loved seeing it from Salem Pov while she tries to find out what happened to her sister at Mortimer university.
I really enjoyed reading Enigma as my first RuNyx book.
I found the pace to be slow for at least the first 100 pages but picks up after.
This is dual pov's but the book is majority Salem Pov I loved seeing it from Salem Pov while she tries to find out what happened to her sister at Mortimer university.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Grief
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
A lot of thoughts, most of them not fantastic.
So, as you can assume from my title, I wasn't obsessed with this, which is really disappointing since I've been looking forward to this book since its announcement. The first 30% of this book was good; I was so sat for the setup, and the last 30% was pretty good too (with some grains of salt, the salt being plot holes). But the middle 40% so stupid, slow, and reiterating shit we already knew about. All of the villains were easy to guess, and there was no plot twist because you could literally see everything coming from a mile away. The characters felt so one-dimensional that I was so over the author trying to make us feel like they were deeper than they were. And there were a few times where Salem would mention something like it was a revelation when we had already discussed and discovered that chapterssss ago.
Now, I have a gripe with secret society plot lines because often they are poorly done. And lo and behold, we have another poorly done secret society plot line. What do they do? Who knows! Why do they do what they do? Your guess is as good as mine! It was irritating to have this plot line built up and then have absolutely no explanation as to what the societies are actually doing. Like, what is the point?
I enjoyed Gothikana, but dislike RuNyx's other works, so I figured that Enigma would be right up my alley. Now I'm thinking that Gothikana was a one-hit wonder for me, and everything after, and before that, is nonsensical bs. And I know, this is kind of a scathing review, but there were things that kept me reading and enjoying the novel to a certain extent. The romance was somewhat good! I enjoyed scenes between Salem and Caz when they weren't being fucking stupid for no reason.
Overall, while I was very excited for this book and it gripped me in the first part, the way the plot played out left me wanting, and not in a good way. RuNyx hides behind the saying that she wants her books to be imperfect and still have mystery. I think this is an excuse to be lazy and leave the book shoddy, put together with plot holes galore. I think I'm done with her books after this. Combined with all of the issues the Syndicater had, it's not looking good for Miss Ru.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide, Violence
Minor: Gun violence, Rape
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i loved this book. it is honestly refreshing to read a novel where the FMC is intelligent and complex, but i would never have expected less from Runyx as an author. it was interesting to have Salem (the fmc) be the more "detached"/less outwardly emotional main character, as opposed to the generic trope of the MMC being that way. i really love that she felt like a complete character with her own intricacies before the romance is even mentioned. Caz (the mmc) felt the same, not necessarily needing a love interest to make him intersting, though i would have loved to read more from his pov. his ferocity regarding Salem i suppose could be described as typical in regards to MMCs in this genre, but the poetic way he speaks to her about his feelings was very romantic and refreshing. it did make sense considering he's an artist lol. while i dont necessarily relate directly to Salem and her traumas and being logical vs emotional, i did really relate to her feelings of loneliness in childhood and feeling detached from her family. the way Caz and her new friends were with her with her was comforting to read.
the mysteries in the plot were well written and intriguing! i LOVE when there is such a balance between the romance and the plot, i personally felt this book had a perfect ratio. i do like that everything was wrapped up fairly neatly, i dont personally feel like i need more answers or like there was anything left unresolved. i also felt the background characters were involved just enough without being distracting.
i would recommend this book a million times over. if you're just dipping into "dark romance" i would consider this a good starter! if you read and enjoyed Nocticadia by Keri Lake (or anything by Keri Lake), i think you would most likely enjoy this as well.
Runyx, if you have anything else in the works i am beyond excited to read more. after reading through the Dark Verse earlier this year, you have quickly become one of my favorite authors. thank you. 🖤❤️
the mysteries in the plot were well written and intriguing! i LOVE when there is such a balance between the romance and the plot, i personally felt this book had a perfect ratio. i do like that everything was wrapped up fairly neatly, i dont personally feel like i need more answers or like there was anything left unresolved. i also felt the background characters were involved just enough without being distracting.
i would recommend this book a million times over. if you're just dipping into "dark romance" i would consider this a good starter! if you read and enjoyed Nocticadia by Keri Lake (or anything by Keri Lake), i think you would most likely enjoy this as well.
Runyx, if you have anything else in the works i am beyond excited to read more. after reading through the Dark Verse earlier this year, you have quickly become one of my favorite authors. thank you. 🖤❤️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts