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I had a good time with this book, loved the macbre aspects and the unhinged main characters. Caz & Salem were hot. Period.
Was the ending a tad underwhelming? Sure. I wanted way more for the “revenge” plot toward the society… I mean this could have been a prime opportunity to let Cazs crazy out to play with that pencil. Lolol
But overall a fun read, honestly Runyx never disappoints me.
Was the ending a tad underwhelming? Sure. I wanted way more for the “revenge” plot toward the society… I mean this could have been a prime opportunity to let Cazs crazy out to play with that pencil. Lolol
But overall a fun read, honestly Runyx never disappoints me.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this book had me really contemplating the ideas of life and death. it was so so good. it felt like a mixture of dark academia romance with murder mystery combined. i loved the character arc with our fmc Salem— it was subtle on the outside but huge in terms of her inner self reflection. the mmc was unhinged in the best way possible, and totally dark, possessive and obsessed.
the only thing keeping this book from a full 5 stars was the writing felt a bit repetitive and i felt as though it could’ve dived a bit deeper into the story & plot. but otherwise this was a great read and definitely one of my favs of the year so far
the only thing keeping this book from a full 5 stars was the writing felt a bit repetitive and i felt as though it could’ve dived a bit deeper into the story & plot. but otherwise this was a great read and definitely one of my favs of the year so far
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was good. The pace picked up for me about a 1/3 into it. I kept thinking there was going to be a supernatural twist to it, but the secrets were good.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I admit that the first part of the book intrigued me but didn't particularly enthrall me... but by the halfway point, I found myself looking forward to finding out how this mystery was going to be solved. I really liked the characters, although Caz's possessiveness was sometimes a little too violent for me. But that didn't stop me from enjoying the story and its outcome.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
3.75 ⭐️
Dark academia meets dark romance, Enigma follows Salem Salazar, a new student to grace the halls of the prestigious Mortimer University determined and focused on one goal: to find answers behind her older sister’s sudden death. Salem soon finds out that mysterious dark forces are at play in the shadows of Mortimer, and she’ll have to risk everything, including herself, if she wants to uncover the answers she’s looking for. Alongside the gripping mystery, Salem gets caught in the web of Cazimir van der Waal, an elusive, dark and handsome artist turned teaching assistant with an even darker backstory on the hunt for answers of his own. In the midst of their explosiveness, Salem might just realise that their goals are one in the same.
As soon as Enigma was announced, I was SAT. I ate up RuNyx’s previous Dark Verse series, so a new standalone dark academia romance with secret societies? Yes. Absolutely yes.
Salem was a deeply relatable lead protagonist. She is deemed the ‘black sheep’ of her family and is quite the social outcast due to her interests and social behaviours. From the start, she is fiercely determined to uncover the mystery behind her sister’s death and I was rooting for her immediately. Caz was your typical, morally grey and deeply obsessive male love interest. The relationship between the two certainly had its moments, especially on the spicier side, though it still provided ample amount of growth and healing for both of the characters and helped further the storyline.
Whilst I enjoyed the plot and the romance, I did find the pacing made it hard to stay engaged at times and I’ll admit I was fairly underwhelmed by the conclusion of the storyline. It was all quite sudden and then suddenly it was the last page and I was left wanting more. I can definitely see why there’s a lot of mixed feelings on this, though for me this book was okay.
Thank you to Evermore books for sending me a physical finished copy of this book. This rating and review is entirely my own.
Bookstagram / BookTok
Dark academia meets dark romance, Enigma follows Salem Salazar, a new student to grace the halls of the prestigious Mortimer University determined and focused on one goal: to find answers behind her older sister’s sudden death. Salem soon finds out that mysterious dark forces are at play in the shadows of Mortimer, and she’ll have to risk everything, including herself, if she wants to uncover the answers she’s looking for. Alongside the gripping mystery, Salem gets caught in the web of Cazimir van der Waal, an elusive, dark and handsome artist turned teaching assistant with an even darker backstory on the hunt for answers of his own. In the midst of their explosiveness, Salem might just realise that their goals are one in the same.
As soon as Enigma was announced, I was SAT. I ate up RuNyx’s previous Dark Verse series, so a new standalone dark academia romance with secret societies? Yes. Absolutely yes.
Salem was a deeply relatable lead protagonist. She is deemed the ‘black sheep’ of her family and is quite the social outcast due to her interests and social behaviours. From the start, she is fiercely determined to uncover the mystery behind her sister’s death and I was rooting for her immediately. Caz was your typical, morally grey and deeply obsessive male love interest. The relationship between the two certainly had its moments, especially on the spicier side, though it still provided ample amount of growth and healing for both of the characters and helped further the storyline.
Whilst I enjoyed the plot and the romance, I did find the pacing made it hard to stay engaged at times and I’ll admit I was fairly underwhelmed by the conclusion of the storyline. It was all quite sudden and then suddenly it was the last page and I was left wanting more. I can definitely see why there’s a lot of mixed feelings on this, though for me this book was okay.
Thank you to Evermore books for sending me a physical finished copy of this book. This rating and review is entirely my own.
Bookstagram / BookTok
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No