6 Books Like Nocticadia by Keri Lake: Dark Academia Romance
Looking for books like Nocticadia by Keri Lake? These dark academia romance books deliver spooky campuses, forbidden love, and suspenseful plots for your next obsession.
6 Books Like Nocticadia by Keri Lake: Dark Academia Romance
Some books aren’t just stories, they’re a full-blown experience. If Nocticadia by Keri Lake left you haunted (in the best way), you’re probably still thinking about its gothic island setting, morally gray professor, and forbidden tension so thick it could resurrect the dead.
You’re not alone.
With its blend of dark academia, supernatural mystery, and intense romance, Nocticadia hits a sweet spot that’s hard to find. The atmosphere is rich and eerie. The romance is slow-burn but all-consuming. The secrets? Deliciously dark. It’s a standalone that reads like a fever dream in the best way, and BookTok has (understandably) lost its mind over it.
But for me, this one was personal.
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What Is Nocticadia by Keri Lake About
After her mother’s mysterious death, Corvina enrolls at Dracadia University, a secluded island school rumored to be haunted by the souls of exiled mental patients. The setting is eerie, the secrets run deep, and her new professor, Devryck Bramwell, aka Doctor Death, is brooding, brilliant, and very much off-limits.
As Corvina digs into her mother’s past, she uncovers something ancient, twisted, and impossible to ignore. The romance is forbidden. The history is cursed. And the obsession? Mutual.
Tropes & Themes:
Dark academia, professor/student, forbidden romance, haunted campus, secret society vibes, slow burn, morally gray hero, gothic mystery
Why Nocticadia Hit So Hard For Me
I was excited about Nocticadia from the moment Keri Lake started teasing it on social. Professor/student? Gothic university? Secret societies? Say less, I was in. Except when it finally came out… I didn’t read it for a year. I was in a slump and honestly not in the mood for anything dark. But once I finally picked it up? I was feral.
It’s packed with tropes, sure, but it doesn’t feel tropey. The romance is central, but the layers in this story are what set it apart. There’s a family mystery, a heroine piecing together her mother’s past, and a hero with a whole storm of secrets and guilt of his own. Add in tribal myth, ancient history, and that elite secret-society vibe, and it feels like every thread is pulling toward something darker and deeper than you expected.
And don’t get me started on Doctor Death. He’s easily a top-tier book boyfriend, the kind that ruins you for others for a while. There’s a reason BookTok is obsessed, and it’s not just the spooky setting or the slow-burn forbidden romance. He is the reason.
Since reading Nocticadia, I’ve been on the hunt for anything that gives me even a fraction of that vibe. These books aren’t carbon copies, but if you’re chasing that feeling—obsessive love, secrets lurking beneath elite campuses, a touch of the supernatural—they’ll absolutely scratch the itch.
Read my full Nocticadia by Keri Lake book review here.
Best Books Like Nocticadia by Keri Lake
If you’re searching for more books that serve up that same academic dread, doomed desire, and twisty tension, these are your next dark academia obsessions.
Nightshade by Autumn Woods
A murder mystery, a revenge plan, and one grumpy rugby player who wasn’t supposed to get under her skin.
Set at an elite Scottish university with castle vibes, Nightshade blends enemies-to-lovers banter with a slow unraveling of dangerous secrets. It’s gritty, atmospheric, and ends with a gasp-worthy twist.
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, murder mystery, dark academia, secretive elite campus, grumpy x grumpy, he falls first, slow burn
Grave Matter by Karina Halle
When Sydney gets accepted into a prestigious neuroscience program, it feels like a second chance. Until she arrives at a creepy, remote research lodge where things are definitely not what they seem. Snow in summer. Ghosts in the halls. And one very unsettling doctor she can’t stop thinking about.
This one blends science fiction, horror, and romance into a psychological gothic thriller. Expect mind games, unreliability, and plenty of sexual tension.
Tropes: Isolated setting, forbidden romance, unreliable narrator, haunted research lodge, morally gray love interest, psychological suspense
Need more horror romance vibes? Check out our horror romance guide →
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Gothikana by RuNyx
Corvina never expected the University of Verenmore to be tucked away in an old castle atop a mountain. And she definitely didn’t expect to fall for Vad, her mysterious professor who seems to know more about the castle’s deadly history than he lets on.
This is one of the most beloved dark academia romances for a reason, gothic atmosphere, slow-burn obsession, and a haunting mystery that unravels slowly.
Tropes: Age gap, professor x student, secretive mountain university, forbidden romance, mystery, slow burn
Explore more gothic romance picks here →
Enigma by RuNyx
Salem arrives at Mortimer University determined to solve her sister’s disappearance. Cazimir, a chaotic artist and TA with secrets of his own, is both a threat and an obsession. Together, they get tangled in a web of secret societies, forbidden desire, and academic madness.
If you’re into morally gray heroes and messy obsession, this one’s for you.
Tropes: Rivals to lovers, dark academia, secret society, obsession, TA x student, Hades x Persephone vibes
The Exorcism of Faeries by J.L. Vampa
This one leans more into paranormal horror but still brings the same academic tension. A botany student and her Morbid Anatomy professor are caught in a fae possession epidemic sweeping 1990s Dublin. The horror is creeping, the romance is forbidden, and the lore is original and lush.
Tropes: Professor x student, dark academia, fae possession, gothic horror, supernatural mystery
Grab The Exorcism of Faeries on Amazon
Half Truths by Claire Contreras
This one shifts away from the supernatural and into the realm of elite college conspiracy. When Reyna transfers to Ellis University, she’s not just chasing knowledge, she’s chasing the truth behind a secret society connected to her brother’s disappearance. And somehow, that search keeps leading her back to the hockey-playing golden boy with secrets of his own.
Tropes: Secret society, mystery, opposites attract, found family, hockey romance, obsessed hero, slow burn
Want more secret society drama? Try this list. And our favorite secret society books from the Novel Hour Live Show →
Final Thoughts
If Nocticadia had you spiraling, these books are here to drag you deeper into the dark because they each capture that same moody, magnetic energy.
Which one are you picking up first? Or do you have a favorite we missed? Tell us in the comments.
Read More
- Nocticadia by Keri Lake book review
- Secret society romance books
- Gothic romance books
- Check out more new adult romance set in college
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