Nocticadia by Keri Lake

Four years after her mom’s mysterious death, Lilia finds her way to the elite and prestigious Dracadia University on a scholarship. There, she tries to find out how her mother was inoculated with the mysterious illness that lead to her death, and is quickly caught up in a series of university secrets, including some that includes the infamous Dr. Death.

Devryck, or Dr. Death, is not a hearthrob but he is alluring. Since Lilia Vespertine entered Dracadia his mind has not had a moment of rest. He thinks about her day and night, even though he’s a decade older than her and is burdened by secrets, he vows to never become close to her. That is, until she becomes his lab assistant…

I had a total of 0 expectatiaons for this book. I didn’t know much about it, as it was recommended to me after I read Phantasma. I wanted something that was exciting and dark and had its moments of surprise.

I was, indeed, surprised by this book. I thought the writing was strong, the characters had a rich background, but I wanted to connect with the characters more than I did. I wanted to know what their favorite food was, what they were afraid of and why, what they wished for. I know Lilia wanted to solve her mom’s murder, and, for the romance aspect, discover a cure for the disease that plagued her mother and put Dr. Death out of business, but I wanted to see more from the characters.

I’m starting to realize how romance works—I’m not used to reading romance without investing in the plot and characters—in there is enough about the characters to satisfy the romance but not enough to really pull them together. I find this infuriating, but I get it. There are just some information that readers wouldn’t be interested in or else it would be a different book. With that said, I longed to know the characters more but the characterization was enough considering the balancing act Lake had to do. This is one of the best dark academia romances I’ve read so far with enough drama to keep me on the edge of my seat.