nocticadia by keri lake, 4 stars
this one has been on my tbr ever since i discovered it boasts of all aspects of my favourite genre: dark academia. it encompasses everything i love about the chilling but cosy genre and suffice to say, it did not fail to impress on this front. i found myself grimacing and spooked at pages that detailed gory and horror whilst at the same time was made to yearn to be a student at the prestigious institution of dracadia. like our fmc, i wanted to walk its cobblestone streets surrounded by grandiose architecture, rich history, and what feels like the word at your fingertips whilst surrounded by nothing but nature and sea.
the story follows lillia vespertine as she ventures to dracadia, a university set on a remote island off the coast of maine, and investigates the mysterious death of her mother. it is here she discovers the existence of a parasite named noctisoma and uncovers secrets about her family, the university, and the island whilst engaging in a forbidden relationship with her professor, also known as doctor death.
the plot had me gripped throughout the entire book and whilst the concept of the genre was what pulled me in, it is the page turning and thrilling revelations that had me stay. my only hesitation was the writing, specifically the cringeworthy dialogue. whilst it was clear the intentions were for the fmc and supporting characters to come off as intellectual, it made the interactions seem unrealistic and almost pull you out of the story. as the story progressed, however, this either become less prevalent or easier to ignore.
i would 100% recommend this to anyone looking for their next chilling dark academia read for the season.
