Enigma

Rating: 3 stars.So I was giving this book a 4 stars cause it is good but after thinking a lot, I was just like meh…yeah it was mid.I went into this book with such high hopes because the setup was so good creepy atmosphere, twists that actually had me second-guessing myself, and that delicious sense of “something big is about to happen.” For a while, it really felt like it was building toward something epic. But then… it just didn’t deliver. The pacing dragged, and when things finally did start to happen, it was messy instead of thrilling. The plot threads felt scattered, like the author threw too many ideas at the wall and didn’t tie them together. And that ending? Brutal in the worst way. Rushed, anticlimactic, and lacking any real payoff. What could have been a jaw-dropping finale ended up leaving me frustrated and unsatisfied.➛ Salem:Salem had me in the palm of her hand at the start. Cold, mysterious, trauma-wrapped, death 'obsessed' she was giving me everything I wanted in a heroine. I loved how unapologetically sharp she was, like she didn’t need to be palatable for anyone. But somewhere around the halfway mark… it was like a switch flipped. The moment she got with the MMC, all that sharpness dulled. She slipped into this generic, watered-down role, and it hurt because the version of her I met at the beginning felt so powerful and unique.➛ Caz:And then there’s Caz. Dark, tortured, broody artist with that obsessive streak—on paper, he should’ve destroyed me. That’s literally my kryptonite. But instead of slow-burn obsession that simmers, his fixation on Salem just hit out of nowhere and way too hard. His potential was right there, but without more depth and history to his character, it felt surface-level.As for the romance… oof. Those first crumbs of chemistry? GOLD. The banter, the subtle glances, the quiet tension, it had me ready for a feast. But instead, the tension evaporated the second they got together. No build-up, no angst, no fire, just insta-lust disguised as some kind of deep connection. Honestly, it left me questioning if Salem even knew Caz at all. What could’ve been electric fizzled into something flat and forgettable.“Every hallway whispers, every locked door hides a sin, and every kiss feels like a warning.”⋆.˚☁️⋆ Honestly, I’ve had my eye on this book for what feels like forever, but for some reason I just never picked it up. Now that I’m finally here, I’m kind of hyping myself up while also side-eyeing all those one and two star ratings everyone keeps giving it. Like…I want to be excited, and I am, but not as much as I thought I’d be. It’s giving cautious optimism vibes that I’m ready to dive in.But I’m bracing myself just in case it doesn’t live up to the dark, twisty potential I’ve been imagining.The Vibes? dark secrets with twisted romance.

I picked up this book because I read Gothikana by Runyx and loved the dark academia setting and the romance that was involved. This one while very similar to Gothikana in terms of being dark academia, solving murders, and a romance heavy added plot, Enigma had it's own quirks that I loved. Caz and Salem will hold a special place in my heart now.

Aunque me ha gustado la ambientación y reconozco que me ha mantenido enganchada con ese aire de academia gótica y unas vibras a la serie de "Miércoles", el ritmo es muuy lento. Casi no pasaba nada interesante en cuanto a la parte de misterio, y se centra en el romance que roza lo moralmente cuestionable entre la protagonista y el chico.El desenlace me ha dejado muy fría. Todo se "resuelve" demasiado rápido y sentí que me creó demasiadas expectativas para nada. (Mi opinión, totalmente personal).