Nocticadia
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4.6 • 180 Ratings
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- $24.99
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- $24.99
Publisher Description
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 received 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 tale of deadly secrets and forbidden love.
Customer Reviews
SO GOOD
Plot is amazing and reels you in!! Spice is perfect and delicious.. The voice actors had me believing every word and addicted to the story! I will be listening again!
Slow Start but Worth the Wait
This was pretty good. Not the best I’ve ever read, but not the worst either. I listened to it in under 48 hours—once I was in, I was in, and I didn't want to stop.
This had a dark Hogwarts feel to it early on. There's something about a shadowy, secretive academy setting that just works, and Keri Lake builds this world with an atmosphere that's equal parts eerie and intoxicating. It's got that gothic, dark academia feel with a supernatural edge that keeps you on your toes.
The narration is fantastic. Aaron Shedlock's voice is sexy as hell. Stella Hunter didn’t quite feel like the right fit for Lilia though. Stella’s narration was nasally and a bit robotic at times; it lacked the emotion Aaron brought to Devryk. Aaron Shedlock brings this gravitas and intensity to the story that fits the dark tone perfectly, and his voice during the spicier scenes? *Chef's kiss.*
And speaking of the spice—this was deliciously spicy. Keri Lake does not hold back. The tension builds in a way that makes the payoff so worth it, and the explicit scenes are written with the same care and intensity as the rest of the story.
The plot is good too—there's a mystery woven through the dark academia setting that keeps you guessing, and the world-building is rich enough to lose yourself in. My main gripe is that it started a bit slow. It took me a little while to fully connect with the story and the characters, and there were moments early on where I wasn't sure if it was going to grab me. But once it did, It didn’t let go.
There were also a few unresolved plot lines that left me wanting more. Not in a frustrating way, but in a "wait, I need answers" way. Some threads don't get fully tied up, and while that didn't ruin the experience for me, it did leave me feeling a bit underwhelmed.
Still a good listen. If you're into dark academia, morally grey characters, and a slow burn that builds to spice that delivers, this one's worth your time.
Amazing book!
Sooo, freaking good!! The best book I’ve read in a long time. True escapism done in the best way.