Nocticadia
By Keri Lake
TheStory
A struggling Lilia is offered a scholarship to study at Dracadia University after she writes a college paper about a hypothetical parasite. But for Lilia, the parasite is not hypothetical - it killed her mother. After being told for years that she was crazy, she is finally validated when Dracadia contacts her to inform her that the parasite does, in fact, exist.
The university sets Lilia up to study under professor Bramwell - also known as Doctor Death - a teacher at the university that is performing groundbreaking research on the parasite and the toxins it produces. As Lilia starts her studies at the university, she soon finds out that not everything is as it seems. Dracadia is filled with mysteries, secrets, and murders - some of which she soon finds herself entangled in. And that’s not all she’s wrapped up in. As she studies under Professor Bramwell, their relationship takes an unexpected turn and now the both of them must navigate the dark halls of Dracadia together.
TheReview
As soon as I started reading, I was intrigued. The story started off four years ago, when Lilia’s mother died from a mysterious illness. Then it jumped to the present, where Lilia was still dealing with the aftermath. That mystery turned into another and then another and another. So on and so forth. The whole book is filled with mystery.
It was slightly confusing in the beginning but that just intrigued me. The mysteries were so well spun that I was just dying to figure out the answers. So I was the perfect amount of confused, as is the purpose in a mysterious novel. Even though it was full of mystery, slowly but surely, you got your answers.
Because the storyline development was really well done, I didn’t have to focus too much on each little mystery because it was clear they would all be answered eventually. There were a few teeny tiny plot holes at the end but it didn’t detract from the story much - maybe just made it a smidgen less satisfying.
Devryck was dark and broody but also mysterious in his own right. Everything annoyed him. I loved his surly attitude towards everyone and everything around him. Except for Lilia, of course. She actually intrigues him. That intrigue didn’t feel manufactured at all. It made total sense.
Lilia was just a girl trying to survive life and college. She had a sad history but she was smart and focused. Between her mother’s death and her sister’s mental health issues, she just wanted answers to her past. Since Devryck seemed to hold the answers she wanted, she seeks him out. That’s what made their relationship seem natural. She needed him in order to get the answers she wanted. Frankly, he wanted nothing to do with her in the beginning, so the progress of their relationship was slow and easily understandable.
Perhaps it’s just me, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the one conversation that revealed almost all the answers at once. It would’ve been better to spread out the answers to flow a bit better into the storyline overall. Because the mysteries were dripped in slowly throughout the writing, the answers could have had a similar flow.
On that note, some of the reveals at the end seemed a bit far-fetched or - in the opposite direction - too simple. Considering what was going on throughout the book and the catalysts for the drama, some of the information could have been better thought out. But honestly, that could just be me being picky. Some of it just could have been deeper.
This book was one of my favorite reads so far. It was the epitome of dark academia - mysterious, spooky, murder-y, etc. etc. I absolutely fell in love with the characters and could not stand putting the book down. Even at the parts where I could take a breath and relax, I just wanted to keep going. 10/10 highly recommend.
