My review
My book review of Nocticadia
- Author
- Keri Lake
- Series
- Standalone
- Release date
- December 2, 2025
- Read from
- 09.06.2026 – 14.06.2026
Nocticadia summary (spoiler-free)
Nocticadia by Keri Lake is a standalone dark academia gothic romance published on December 2, 2025. In short: a medical student arrives at an isolated, decaying university on a remote island, is drawn into a secretive society called the Rooks, and slowly uncovers that the school hides experiments far darker than its rituals suggest.
The setup. Lilia Bourdain carries the weight of her family's history and a scholarship she cannot afford to lose. Dredmore-Nocticadia is beautiful and wrong in equal measure: fog, old stone, whispered rules, and students who disappear without much explanation. Her fascination with the campus and its secrets pulls her past every boundary she was warned about.
The romance. Devryck Bramwell is her professor, brilliant, cold and obsessive, and the attraction between them is forbidden from the first page. Their dynamic is possessive and morally grey rather than comforting, and the spice is explicit and frequent once the story turns.
The mystery. Beneath the academic setting sits Black Rock, hidden research, a parasite, and the Rooks — a secret society that decides who is initiated and who becomes material. Lilia's investigation into what happened to missing students, and to her own family, is what drives the plot toward its reveals.
How it ends (no spoilers). The final act answers the biggest questions about the experiments and the Rooks, resolves Lilia and Devryck's relationship, and closes the book as a standalone with no sequel required. My honest take: the reveals are creative, but the resolution arrives quickly and lets several characters off lightly — the full spoiler discussion of that is in "What didn't work" below.
Quick facts: standalone · dual POV · ~600 pages · high spice · dark academia gothic romance · rated 4/5.
Book facts
Archetype
- Primary: Dark Romantic (obsessive love, gothic atmosphere, morally black characters, dangerous attraction, romance wrapped in darkness)
- Secondary: Forbidden Flame (forbidden desire, intense chemistry, boundary crossing relationships, attraction that challenges moral boundaries)
Tropes
Spice level
High. The romance is a significant part of the story and the spice fits the dark, unsettling atmosphere of the novel. Several scenes are intense and explicit.
POV
Dual POV, primarily following Lilia and Devryck.
Vibe
Dark · Gothic · Atmospheric · Unsettling · Addictive. A haunting story filled with secrets, obsession, mystery, and moral ambiguity. The atmosphere is rich and immersive, creating a constant feeling that something is wrong beneath the surface.
What I loved
- The writing. Keri Lake's prose is beautiful, smooth, and effortlessly immersive. It feels polished and almost poetic at times.
- The atmosphere was incredible. The old, gothic setting felt alive and became one of the strongest parts of the entire reading experience.
- The mystery kept me hooked from beginning to end. There were always new questions, secrets, and discoveries waiting around the corner.
- The story constantly challenged my emotions and moral boundaries. Even when I disagreed with certain choices, I remained invested.
- The dark tone felt consistent throughout the novel and created an unforgettable reading experience.
The highlights
- The gothic atmosphere and sense of mystery.
- The constant feeling that something darker was hiding beneath the surface.
- The unique premise involving secrets, experimentation, and hidden histories.
- The way the story made me uncomfortable enough to think about it long after finishing.
- The quality of the writing itself. Even during slower sections, the prose kept me engaged.
Characters
- Devryck was fascinating, even when I disliked many of his choices. His moral ambiguity made him one of the most interesting aspects of the story.
- Lilia had potential, but I never felt as connected to her as I wanted to be. I often felt like I was being told who she was rather than being shown.
- The relationship between Lilia and Devryck often felt toxic. While I can appreciate morally complicated romances, some aspects of their dynamic, particularly the possessiveness, crossed the line from compelling to uncomfortable for me.
What didn't work
- The middle section dragged at times, especially when the focus shifted more heavily toward Lilia and Devryck's relationship. Readers who enjoy lots of spice will probably appreciate this section more than I did. I do think this was the weakest part of the story. Even so, the mystery and the constant questions kept me turning the pages.
- The lack of actual consequences for some characters' actions, especially Devryck's. I know this is a dark romance and morally black characters are part of the appeal, but we are talking about murder, human experimentation, and injecting people with parasites. At some point I expected the story to deal more seriously with the fallout of those actions. Instead, it felt like the narrative moved past them too easily, and I was disappointed by how little accountability there was by the end.
- Several loose ends left me unsatisfied. What exactly happened with Melisandre's underground group? What became of the Black Rock research outside of Devryck and Lilia's work? Some plot threads felt abandoned or underdeveloped.
- The Rooks were probably the biggest disappointment for me. The entire novel builds them up as this terrifying and powerful secret society, but by the end they did not feel nearly as dangerous as the story claimed. They seemed surprisingly easy to manipulate, and it felt far too easy for Lilia to become a member after all the mystery surrounding them. I kept waiting for them to live up to their reputation, but they never did.
- The book does feel long, which is understandable given that it's nearly 600 pages. However, despite its length, the ending felt surprisingly rushed. The revelations themselves were creative and satisfying, but the solutions came far too easily. After spending hundreds of pages building tension, mystery, and conflict, the resolution felt almost effortless, which weakened the impact of the finale for me.
- The sex scenes were spicy. They did fit the overall dark and unsettling tone of the story. But some of them felt a little weird and occasionally cringeworthy.
My final thoughts
This book tested my emotions and moral boundaries, which is something I always appreciate. I love when a story makes me uncomfortable in a way that forces me to think. Even when I disagreed with some of the choices the story made, I was still completely invested. Nocticadia challenged me as a reader, and I always respect books that are willing to do that.
The writing was easily the strongest part of the experience for me. Keri Lake's prose is beautifully smooth and immersive, the gothic atmosphere is unforgettable, and the mystery kept me hooked from beginning to end. There was always another secret to uncover and another question waiting to be answered.
Unfortunately, after such a fantastic buildup throughout most of the novel, the ending felt rushed and a little too easy. Major conflicts and revelations seemed to resolve themselves far too easily, and some of the tension built earlier lost its impact. After all that anticipation, the payoff felt weaker than I expected.
Still, I enjoyed reading it. The writing, atmosphere, and mystery carried so much of the experience. Even though I wasn't fully satisfied with the ending, I'm glad I read it and can absolutely see why this book has such a devoted fanbase.
Would I recommend it?
Yes, with some caution. If you enjoy gothic mysteries, dark academia, morally questionable characters, and atmospheric writing, there is a good chance you'll love this. However, readers who need strong accountability for character actions or prefer cleaner resolutions may find the ending frustrating.
