Enigma by RuNyx Review Guide

“Caz van der Waal was an enigma, an unknown variable in her equation, an unsolved mystery, and she had always loved and hated those in equal measure.” – Enigma by RuNyx

Goodreads :  4.31 stars, 58,987 ratings, 8,604 reviews

Format : 466 pages, Paperback

Published : March 4, 2025

Genres : Dark Academia, Fantasy, Gothic, Romance, Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Enemies To Lovers

Tropes : Dark Academia romance, Psycology Major x Art Major, Unexplainable Deaths + Mystery, Secret
Society, Plot Twists, Rivals to Lovers, Plot Twists, Set in the Dark Verse World but not Connected

*Important – I don’t own all the pictures used in this post or on my edits, so I always mention the source and credits as all the rights go to respective owners. But I only claim the editing so please contact me if you have any problem. Thank you.

*Disclosure : Some of the links in this post are affiliated, which means if you make any purchase through the link I gain a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s a great way to support the blog so thank you!! <333

Related to Enigma by RuNyx :

• Enigma by Runyx, The Syndicater (Dark Verse #6) + More Runyx Book Updates (2024)
• The Firebird by Runyx, Enigma, Arkana, Drakonara Trilogy + More Runyx Book Updates (2025)
• The Syndicater by RuNyx | (Dark Verse, #6) Book Review + Guide
• Books To Read If You Like Runyx Books (50+)
• Author Guide : RunyX, About, Books, Reading Order, 7 upcoming books, faqs & more
• Gothikana by RunyX Review + Guide (Spoiler Free) – 2024
• Dark Verse Series by Runyx : Book Series Guide

About Enigma by RuNyx by Elsie Silver/ Summary

Enigma by Runyx is a dark academia romance novel with dark elements which is the main theme of Runyx books. It’s about Salem Salazar and Cazimir van der who are students of Mortimer University. Salem is obsessed with forensics and Cazimir with Arts. They are academic rivals and probably part of the secret society or solve mysteries together.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I had a hard time finishing this book because I have been in a long reading slump and nothing seems to be enjoyable reading these days. But I love Runyx but after the syndicator I had high expectations with this book.

And when I read the teasers and blurb I was so excited.I love gothic and dark academia books which is why I love gothikana and thought this book will have similar themes or.at least I will get the same vibes like when I read gothikana. Which was a bit what I liked.

But this book was very confusing, especially some things that did not make any sense. The romance, ughs that was quick I felt. I want the classic Runyx Slow burn and angst. Minus these I liked the book’s themes and aesthetic. The setting was nice, the suspense and story build up was also really good.

Blurb + Tropes

My Review on Enigma by RuNyx + Favorite Quotes (Spoiler Free)

“Caz van der Waal was an enigma, an unknown variable in her equation, an unsolved mystery, and she had always loved and hated those in equal measure.”

– I love mystery and thriller books. And minusing the romance, this book could be a really good thriller horror book. But right here, defining the MMC as a mystery is why I love Runyx writing so much. I liked Cazs character. How he was portrayed, the mysterious art major. Can be read, painted, part of a secret society and probably knows the unsolved mysteries of the campus.

“This incident reminds us of the lighthouse death two years ago, where the body of an unidentified male was found by the rocks. That case remains unsolved.”

– I love mystery and thriller books. When I first read the blurb I was so excited because the gothic dark academia setting was perfect. and there will be the mystery subplot. I think Runyx did a really good job building the suspense and how the story was kept up. But I found it really confusing by the end when everything was revealed. It felt like I skipped some chapters. 

“We are going to discuss selling the villa at Tenebrae Hills and…”
– I was not hoping to get some of favorite characters cameos because I thought these were set in different worlds. But mentioning Tenebrae and Blackthorne group references was the closest to that. And it felt refreshing.

“It had been her hair that had called him like a beacon that night at the beach, lit up by the flashlight in her phone as she hunched over the corpse. She had looked like a goddess, a mystical creature hovering over the dead, come to life from the sea behind her.”

– Alexa play Would that I by hozier. One of my favorite micro tropes is Quotes like this that keep reminding me why Runyx is one of my favorite authors. This book might have not met my expectations. But parts like this inspired me.to continue..

“Salem Salazar.
A girl who liked science, wasn’t scared of dead bodies, and was very new and very naïve about what she was doing. It wasn’t that hard to guess, not with the way she announced who she was everywhere”

I think I would have liked Salem a lot more thanI thought I would. The way she was described, she was not exactly portrayed I feel. I loved the description of her character, her aesthetic, major and everything she was interested in. But as the chapters went on I could not connect with her somehow. I know according to her character she was not supposed to feel anything or act according to anything specific. But it could have been better.

“They were coming to town, for the first time in a year. It seemed like things were getting very interesting.”

– The secret society trope! It’s been ages since I read a secret society trope in a book. Like not exactly in a dark academia book. This trope is one of the main reasons why the setting and aesthetic of the book felt perfect to me.

 Everything fitted like a perfect puzzle piece with this. I loved how everything was going but the ending was disappointing and all over the place I feel. It was kinda confusing and predictable I think but I wish it went in a different direction which would have made the book way better.

“Spending time learning about crime scene investigation and reconstruction was what she had always envisioned for herself growing up.“

– I wish we got some snippets of that. Like Pippa Fitz Amobi character from A Good Girl’s guide series. She had a murder board like her but I wish we could see her investigating and working on some of the chapters. For some reason I also thought Caz and Salem would investigate together.

“She began to struggle, to escape, and saw the rotting version of her sister come up behind one of the vultures, looking at her with her eyes plucked off, hollows left behind, screaming one word she heard clearly in the air.“

“DON’T!”

– I think Runyx could write a good horror book. This part was actually spooky. 

“Mortimer was changing her, making her somehow soft in a way she hadn’t been before. She didn’t know if it was her new friends and their influence, or Dr. Bayne and his steady guidance, or the back-and-forth with the bane of her existence.“

– As someone who recently experienced her first ever living on campus, I really enjoyed reading Salem’s journey. Her being kinda sheltered her whole life to get somewhere she could be free, a new different life, that’s slowly  shaping her as a person. This was the only part I could truly connect with her and I really enjoyed reading.

“I realized early on that you’re actually super cool and one of the smartest, most nonjudgmental people I’ve met. Sure, you’ve got baggage, but who doesn’t? It just makes you being here even more amazing, and I’m so proud to have you as a friend.”

– Female friendship! Literally one of my most favorite tropes. If a book doesn’t have the friendship trope it’s incomplete for me. No matter how good the book is. I loved Salem and Aditi’s friendship. Salem was a really hard shell to crack but Aditi made her way through it. For some reason I thought Aditi might not be a real one or be part of the secret society or there will be some betrayal but this part proved me wrong.

And I am so glad for that. Also there was Melissa , I think they could be a nice trio. Runyx tried her best to portray that but Melissa was mentioned I guess only 3-4 times? Like I could not could a proper scene minus bits and pieces from the bonfire scene and the epilogue. But it was nice to see their friendship being a nice part of the book.

“Why?”
The older lady leaned back in her chair. “Because his body was found a few weeks after he interviewed me. He had jumped down from the top of the damned lighthouse.”

– This book got better from the suspense and horror aspect and I really think Runyx should write a horror book. And she is actually writing it too. In her recent instagram post where she shared her books and writing updates, she is writing a paranormal duet and I am really excited after this book!!

“Salem was dreading leaving. Despite its secrets and mysteries and shitty weather, Mortimer felt more like home than any home she’d ever had. She had found herself here, found friendships that she was hopeful would last a long time, and found a connection so deep but that she didn’t really know how to define.”

– Me too, this part was very relatable and Runyx put together all the things I really loved in this book here. The main reason I fell in love with Runyx books is for her writing style and romance how uniquely she portrayed them in her previous books. But this was the first book I really enjoyed minusing. I know it is mainly a gothic dark academia rival to lovers’ books. But I considered it a bit differently and that way made the reading experience better.

“Reader, I married him.
—Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre”

– Lastly, I really loved that she added a quote at the end of every chapter. I’ve seen it in other authors’ books, mostly at the beginning but this was really unique and thoughtful. Like all the quotes matched the themes of the chapter and had a meaning to it too. And this is my favorite one, because it’s one of my favorite quotes and I was really surprised to see it too, maybe because I did not see it coming. But it was a really perfect way to end the epilogue!