Nocticadia - Keri Lake

Nocticadia - Keri Lake

⭐ - 5

🌶 - 5

This book was absolutely amazing. It was addictive, it was fun, it was emotional and it was a great story with such interesting characters and plot twists. 

The story is based on our two main characters - Lilia and Devryck. Lilia is a poor girl who lives in a small flat with her mother's partner - her mother has been deceased for a while. Lilia believes she knows the real way her mother passed, however, no one will listen to her about this and she therefore has no one to confide in. Throughout this, her sister is in a special school that costs a lot of money, and Lilia has to find a way to pay for the funding. Her sister suffers from some traumas due to the loss of her mother and Lilia took on the role of her 'protecter', being the reason she was sent to this school as she wanted her to have a better, happier life. 

Lilia is then invited to become a student at Dracadia University, something she did not believe was in her future. However, she takes the offer and then begins to study what it was that she believes killed her mother, with the help of her teacher - Professor Bramwell. Also known as Doctor Death - the man who studies bodies for his work.

And then the fun starts. Lilia goes down a dark path and begins uncovering secrets within the University that she isn't supposed to know, which then begins to make her some enemies within and life at University harder than it is supposed to be. 

In a way, this could be classed as a dark romance fiction, and I understand how that would be seen, as it definitely has aspects of a dark romance. However, this wasn't really a 'dark romance' in the way that people envision a 'dark' relationship to take course in those types of books- such as Haunting Adeline, That Sik Luv, Little Stranger etc. The violence and the obsession that is usually heavily written between the main characters isn't something that is carried out within Nocticadia. 

It was a very dark book as it included a lot of death, gore and a whole lot of other things which added to the matter. And there was a possessiveness between the two characters, but it was given a more delicate practicality, which gave it a softer image.

I would say the book deserves the genre of a gothic romance. The whole story contained turns of a passion that was not right but yearned for, a background that was tragic and gruesome and was something only science could explain. It was full of death, but not in the "touch her and I'll kill you" manner, but more of the "I know how to make a death look like an accident, I literally work with dead bodies" kind of attitude, which to me, is a very significant difference.

The world building that was put into this story was simply fantastic and truly deserves a round of applause for the planning that was 100% put into it. The imagery that Keri Lake created really helped me in following the characters, whatever they did. And it helped more in bringing the darkness to life, being something I could see unfolding in my head with each word I read, thus helping to invoke different emotions within me, connecting me further with the characters, giving me that connection and wanting to continue reading their journey. 

The detail given within the science aspects of the book was incredible. It enhanced the imagery in the story and gave me something to research whilst reading. I wanted to know more about what chemicals they were talking about or state of matter a body was in and how all this tied together to give them answers in the questions they were conducting research on. 

The relationship between the main characters (Lilia and Devryck) was perfect. Drawn out and written incredibly! There was an introduction to both characters individually and a very slow burn that was lit from the beginning of the story and lasted until almost at least halfway through the book. It created an ache in my stomach because of how much I simply yearned for the two to finally give in to one another and I just LOVE when a book is able to make me feel so much frustration because of a relationship that needs to start blossoming. 

The relationship between Lilia and Devryck was so well planned out, that I myself had thoughts of "this is completely wrong and should not be happening" but I simply could not look away. The more I read about the two, the more I wanted them to be each others endgame. I needed them both to find their peace and have it with one another, for them to not have anything standing in their way. Even though he was her Professor and she was a first year student and that simply SCREAMS inappropriate - but we just love a 'wrong feels so right' story.

Lilia was an amazing FMC! I loved the strength she carried and her ability to simply not give a damn what was coming her way. She had a goal, and one way or another, she was going to find the information she was looking for. She never gave up on her Mum and that is something that is so beautiful to me. The hurdles she had to jump over were constant and once they started, it was just a repeated pattern for her, but nothing swayed her because it was showing she was getting close to something that was clearly being hidden away. And I loved it! I really got dragged in to Lilia's story and felt so much empathy towards her. I felt mad when she was done wrong, I was sad when she was dealt harsh cards, I was happy when she was happy. It was a contagious story and I will 100% be re-reading it in the future so I can see the details I missed in the first read because I was so obsessed with the relationship between Lilia and Devryck.

Speaking of. DEVRYCK BRAMWELL. THE MAN THAT YOU ARE.

Well done Keri Lake. Simply, well done and thank you. You created a man that was the perfect combination of grumpy, smart, witty, handsome and down right sexy. I would absolutely FUMBLE for this man. He sent me THROUGH it, throughout this book! At times, I would outright hate him and think he was just obnoxious, then the next page, I would skate the fine line between love and hate and begin falling for him again because bit by bit, I was starting to understand why he was rude and held within himself. And his character arch??? Applause. Keri Lake deserves applause for how she gave this man a full circle moment in his potential. I was enthralled by the character of Devryck Bramwell and I was certainly taken by certain scenes that had my cheeks heated and myself on the edge of my seat (🌶🌶).

The spice was spicing and it was amazing, unexpected and down-right hot as hell. 10/10, I was shook. And the perfect part is, the sex wasn't constant throughout the book. But when it came? (No pun intended) my goodness was I PRESENT in the moment.

All in all, I LOVED this book so much. It is in my top 5 reads and deserves the spot that it has taken. I have not read anything so brilliant in the ways of knowledge in science and delivery of a relationship between two characters. I cannot say enough how brilliant the plot lines were written and weaved together in to one. It was just brilliant and made for a fun read. It was plot twist after plot twist and extracts of information that eventually all fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. It was thrilling, fun and a journey that I would recommend anyone to take!

If you do want to read this book, then please check the trigger warnings before you do so! 

There are a lot of things mentioned within the book that are very dark and need to be given notice to before reading!

Please always check your trigger warnings and look after your mental health. You matter!

If you've read this book already then please let me know what you think! I'm always up for talking about books with others! Or if there are any recommendations that you have for me then please let me know! The more I can read, the better!

Happy reading guys and gals! x