Review: ‘Nocticadia’ by Keri Lake
Nocticadia
by Keri LakePublished by Self-Published on April 25, 2023
SubGenres: Dark Romance
Format: AudioBook, Paperback
Pages: 682
Narrator: Aaron Shedlock, Stella Hunter
Length: 18 Hours And 37 Minutes
Source: Purchased
Audience: 18+/Adult
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A dark, atmospheric tale of deadly secrets and forbidden love.
Mortui vivos docent.The dead teach the living.
After watching my mother succumb to a mysterious illness, I promised myself two things. I’d find the cure for what ravaged her. And leave the godforsaken city where she abandoned me.
Four years later, I receive an acceptance letter from Dracadia University, one of the oldest, most prestigious schools in the country. Nestled on a secluded island off the coast of Maine, it’s rumored to be haunted by the souls of the mental patients exiled there centuries before. Those whose bones are said to make up the island’s white sandy shores.
And restless ghosts aren’t even its most daunting peculiarity.
Devryck Bramwell, known on campus as Doctor Death, is a brilliant pathologist in charge of the midnight lab. He’s also my devastatingly handsome professor, who seems to loathe tenacious first-years, like me. Except, his dark and enigmatic gaze tells me all the ways he’d devour me if given the chance, and his stolen kisses burn my lips with forbidden jealousy.
I crave his authority.He aches for redemption.Together, we’re toxic. Delicious fodder for the prying eyes hellbent on exhuming the rotted skeletons of our pasts.
For the dead have much to teach, and it’s only a matter of time before Dracadia’s most depraved secret is resurrected.
Nocticadia is a standalone dark academia gothic romance.
Why did I wait so long to read Nocticadia? I have no idea, but I’m glad I made time to read it now for the Romanceopoly Reading Challenge. I’ve read Keri Lake’s books before, and she’s the author who actually got me into reading Dark Romance years ago. She tends to write some dark, gritty, angsty books, and Nocticadia was no different. The story and the characters alone for this one had me hooked. This book did give me nightmares after I finished reading it, but it’s all due to the worms that were mentioned in this book. It was well worth it, though, with having nightmares because, in the end, this book definitely is going on my favorite lists of all time.
I’m not going to go into detail about the storyline for this book because the synopsis gives you enough of what to expect from the book. I am going to gush over the slow-burn tale of a forbidden romance between a Professor and his student. I friggin’ loved Lilia and Devryck and how these two took a bit to give in to their desires for one another. Yes, it’s a slow burn, so it will take a while to get to the steamy parts between the two characters, but let’s just say Keri makes the wait worth it, especially with how jealous and possessive Devryck is with Lilia.
Devryck is not a sweet guy; he’s a morally grey character who is definitely top-notch book boyfriend/husband material, even if he’s known as Doctor Death to the students and staff at Dracadia University. I highlighted a lot of quotes from him because he had a way with words when it came to Lilia.
“And because I’m a selfish prick who has to live with the fact that I cannot have you to myself, I’m going to ruin you so that any boy who comes after me will leave you deeply unsatisfied, and you’ll be left fucking your own fingers, desperate to remember the time you had your professor’s face between your legs.”
I loved Lilia in this book, too, and how she was determined to find out what truly happened to her mother, and she wasn’t willing to give up until she had answers. She wasn’t going to let the rich kids at Dracadia University and the professors who didn’t want her there stop her from achieving her goals. She also didn’t listen to everyone when it came to Professor Bramwell (Devryck). She found him fascinating and so did I, especially with how Keri wrote his character. He definitely was who she needed in her life, and vice versa.
I loved the Dark Academia Gothic feels to this book and how descriptive Keri Lake went into the research of the Noctisoma, which made this biology/science nerd in me geek out. I loved science as a kid and loved it even more in college, so even when Keri tended to creep me out a bit with the worms and such, I still loved every second of it because I’m a science geek forever and ever.
The ending had me on the edge of my seat, especially with the twists and turns. My poor cat, Midnight, who tends to nap on me while I am reading, had to deal with moving a lot because I couldn’t sit still during the ending. She’s been my reading buddy for fifteen years and is used to it by now.
Nocticadia is one book I will never be able to forget, and it will live rent-free in my mind forever, especially the characters. (I just don’t want to dream about the worms anymore.) I wish I could give this book more than five stars because it definitely deserves more.
Audiobook Recommendation – If you enjoy listening to your books, then I definitely recommend the audiobook to Nocticadia. The narrators, Aaron Shedlock and Stella Hunter, did a fantastic job bringing the characters and story to life.
Trope(s)/Element(s):
🖤Forbidden Romance
🖤Professor x Student
🖤Age Gap
🖤Secret Society
🖤Slow Burn
🖤Touch Her and I’ll ☠️ You
🖤Morally Grey MMC
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About Keri Lake
Keri Lake is a dark romance writer who specializes in demon wrangling, vengeance dealing and wicked twists. Her stories are gritty, with antiheroes that walk the line of good and bad, and feisty heroines who bring them to their knees. When not penning books, she enjoys spending time with her husband, daughters, and their rebellious Labrador (who doesn’t retrieve a damn thing). She runs on strong coffee and alternative music, loves a good red wine, and has a slight addiction to dark chocolate.
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My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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