Enigma: A Dark Academia Romance

Enigma ♥ RuNyx 

Published April 2025 ♥ Published by Bramble

❥ Narrated by : Aiden Snow & Jaclyn Kelso

❥ Trigger Warnings : explicit sexual scenes meant for adults only, graphic scenes of death, graphic postmortem, on page suicide, coercion, mentions of suicidal ideation mentions of sexual trauma, mentions of sexual grooming of a minor, social ostracization and consequent stigma, depression, post-traumatic stress, consensual non-consent and dubious consent.

❥ Secret Society

❥ Rivals to Lovers

❥ Slow Burn

❥ Secret Identities

❥ Forbidden Love

❥ Mysterious Deaths

❥ Standalone

It still tore at her sometimes, what she felt and what she was supposed to feel, the dichotomy sending her own moral compass spinning.

Little Asp

Enigma by RuNyx was all over my Instagram when it was released last month. I’ve been thinking about reading something by RuNyx for awhile now, so I decided to give this one a try.

If you have been reading or following my blog you likely noticed I don’t always read synopsis – Enigma is no exception. I’m essentially going into this one blind. All vibes baby.

I opted to listen to Enigma. Jump down to my Final Thoughts to avoid any possible spoilers.

1. His voice tingles her brain. 
2. The psycho-painter. 
3. Ohh so that’s what’s up with the dad. 
4. I might have a hard time hearing my name so much. *there is a character named Melissa.
5. Oh hello Aiden. *The Ritual by Shantel Tessier- his narration is one of the reasons it’s my favorite of the L.O.R.D.S series. 
6. His little muse. 
7. A murder board!
8. Ah yes, a creepy teacher. 
9. This little chat group doesn’t sound good. 
10. I want more Caz. 
11. Spit it out!
12. Touch her and turn to paint. 
13. Limp-dicked. 
14. Not worth the orgasam. 
15. Oh shit. Laz. 
16. With his pencil. 
17. Sketchy grandma business. 
18. What’s the mother know?
19. Super suspicious. 
20. Radical ideas you say.
21. Well finally.

Enigma Review

Enigma was not for me. And that’s okay.

I really liked RuNyx’s lyrical style of writing and atmospheric storytelling. The general vibes of the story were enjoyable and immersive. In my opinion, too much of the story was wrapped up in the vibes and setting though, leaving little left to enjoy.

The smile on his face was one that Caz wanted to punch, so the blood splattered on a canvas to create a painting that Caz could display in the halls as a warning. From the looks of his little muse, striking him like a bolt of lightning, freezing him on the spot, and he saw the vision of her in his mind painted on a giant canvas, an icy goddess with eyes of molten gold, brought back to life, one who had serpents for hair and could turn men into floundering fools with a gaze.

What I didn’t like was the actual story. I was almost half way through the book before I was even slightly interested in the plot. The pace was extremely slow for my liking. Our FMC, Salem, is attempting to uncover the truth surrounding her sister’s suspicious death at Mortimer University. As it turns out, Salem’s sister isn’t the only student of Mortimer University to suddenly show up dead.

She had started it all for her dead sister.
He had started it all for his missing brother.

Other than a few mentions of her murder board and an uncomfortable interaction with a teacher, we don’t really get to the plot until the back third of the book. The handful of twists throughout Enigma did little to make the story more interesting or exciting.

I liked Caz and Salem. 

I was so excited when I heard Aiden Snow’s voice come through my speaker as MMC, Caz- surprise, surprise, I hadn’t paid attention to the narrators when I started the audiobook. I loved his narration of Ryat in The Ritual by Shantel Tessier. I was very disappointed when I realized Caz had so few chapters. It’s quickly becoming a pet peeve of mine when books claim to be dual POV or narration, when one of the characters has only a handful of chapters throughout the book.

Enigma Spicy Chapters

21, 26, 30, & 34

“Try it. Try walking off a cliff, I will block you. Try making yourself bait, I will catch you. And try being with another man, I will use his blood and make you the canvas.”

“Beg me again, little asp,” he murmured over her lips. “Infect me with your poison.”

She couldn’t believe she’d just had her brains fucked out of her on an altar outside an old ruin in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night.

“I want to be the only villain you see. I want to be the only devil who drags you to hell.”

Salem had always thought nothing could beat death, that nothing could be immortal. She’d been wrong. Love, deep, true love, was immortal.

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❥ Purchase : Amazon ♥ Audible ♥ Barnes&Noble ♥ Chapters/Indigo ♥ Indiebound