Nocticadia (Deluxe Edition)

By Keri Lake

Book Overview

*The limited deluxe edition will include gorgeous designed edges, foil, spot gloss, and an inside cover design*

From New York Times bestselling author Keri Lake comes a hardcover repackage of her TikTok sensation Nocticadia, a dark, atmospheric tale of deadly secrets and forbidden love.

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 receive 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.

Perfect for fans of Kaylie Smith, Briar Boleyn, and Rina Kent, Nocticadia is a standalone dark academia gothic romance.

Delicious tropes:

Dark academiaGothic romanceTeacher x studentForbidden romanceAge gapSlow burn

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1464261148
• ISBN13: 9781464261145
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Bloom Books
• Length: 608 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

4.5 Stars - Fantastic Read!!

This was a fantastic, highly indulgent read! I loved everything about it, and Keri Lake delivered on all she promised! The Dark Academia vibes were vibing (secret societies, ill-fated experiments, dusty libraries) and I loved the moody, mysterious and almost gothic picture she paints of Dracadia, both the island itself and its dark history as well as the university grounds. I loved the little bit of mystery we get with Lilia's mother, which unfolded beautifully as we discover along with Lilia all of the secrets of both her mother's and her own past. I feel the same way about Deveryk's family drama and his past and how he became the man he is when we first meet him. The spice was fantastically written and I really enjoyed the way some of my favorite romance tropes were included without being cringy. And while I found some of the ending to be predictable, I was also still surprised by a few twists I did not see coming, and I found the ending to be very satisfying. I can't wait to read more from Keri Lake.