Zodiac Academy is eight books long, Spicy throughout, emotionally devastating by book five, and starts with a bully romance that makes people throw their Kindle. We know. We read the whole thing anyway.
If you've seen ZA fans losing their minds online and wondered whether this series is for you, here's the honest breakdown: every book, in order, with what you're walking into. We're not going to spoil the plot, but we will tell you when to brace yourself.
The short version: Twin sisters discover they're fae royalty. They get dropped into a magical university where every powerful student wants to destroy them. The enemies-to-lovers (plural, one per twin) takes eight books. The bully romance in book one is intense and divisive. If you can get through the first two books, the series will own you.
Every ZA book is tagged with tropes, spice levels, and microtropes on Trope Hunt. See exactly what's in each one.
Start HuntingBook 1: Zodiac Academy: The Awakening
The Vega twins, Tory and Darcy, get ripped from the mortal world and told they're heirs to the fae throne. Problem: the four Celestial Heirs who currently hold power at Zodiac Academy are not interested in sharing. The bullying in book one is ROUGH. The Heirs are cruel, calculated, and relentless. This is where most people either DNF or become obsessed. There's no in between.
If bully romance isn't your thing, know this: the dynamic shifts. It takes time, but the enemies-to-lovers across the series is built on this foundation. The slow burn starts here and doesn't pay off for multiple books. Settle in.
Book 2: Zodiac Academy: Ruthless Fae
The twins start fighting back. Their powers are growing, and the dynamic between them and the Heirs begins to shift from pure antagonism to something more complicated. The fae court politics deepen, the shifter elements get more attention, and you start seeing cracks in the Heirs' united front. The slow burn is still burning. You'll start picking your twin's love interest around here.
Book 3: Zodiac Academy: The Reckoning
Things escalate. The FMCs' powers reach a new level, and the fated mates element starts emerging. The enemies-to-lovers tension is at its most agonizing here because both sides are starting to feel things they can't afford to feel. The academy stakes get darker. Characters you thought were background players become important. By the end of book three, you're committed. There is no walking away now.
Book 4: Zodiac Academy: Shadow Princess
The bully romance from book one has fully transformed. The Heirs are falling, and they're falling hard, and it's wrecking them. The angst ramps up significantly. The reverse harem element becomes more explicit. Multiple love interests, multiple timelines of longing, and the political stakes outside the academy start bleeding in. Clear your schedule before you start this one. You will not be putting it down voluntarily.
Book 5: Zodiac Academy: Cursed Fates
This is where the series breaks you. We're not exaggerating. The angst hits a 10/10 and stays there. Characters you love make sacrifices. Separation happens. Painful things happen to people who don't deserve it. Peckham and Valenti are not gentle with your feelings in book five. If you're someone who stress-reads, you'll finish this in one sitting. If you need emotional safety, prepare accordingly.
Book 6: Zodiac Academy: Fated Throne
The stakes leave the academy. This is war. The fated mates bonds are front and center, and the "touch her and die" moments hit harder when characters are fighting for survival. The possessive hero energy from multiple love interests is at full volume. The political intrigue that was simmering in earlier books becomes the driving force. The found family you've been building across five books gets tested.
Book 7: Zodiac Academy: Heartless Sky
Penultimate book energy. Everything is at its most desperate. The tension is at a 10. The hurt/comfort scenes in this one are devastating because the characters have been through so much and there's still one book to go. The reverse harem dynamics are fully realized, with each bond carrying its own weight. You will read this in one day. You will then stare at the ceiling. You will then immediately start book eight.
Book 8: Zodiac Academy: Sorrow and Starlight
The finale. Eight books of tension, heartbreak, bully-to-lover transformation, and war, all coming to a close. Peckham and Valenti wrote an ending that has generated more Reddit threads than we can count. Without spoiling it: the emotional depth is immense. The found family pays off. The twins' arcs complete. People have strong feelings about the ending. We had strong feelings about the ending. You will have strong feelings about the ending. But the journey to get here? Worth every page.
Spinoff: Zodiac Academy: Beyond the Veil
Read this AFTER Sorrow and Starlight. It's a spinoff that continues the story for certain characters, and it won't make sense without the main series ending. Second chance romance, reunited lovers, and the emotional aftermath of everything that happened. If the main series ending left you needing more (and it will), Beyond the Veil picks up threads that readers were desperate to see resolved.
Should You Read Zodiac Academy?
Yes, if: You can handle bully romance (at least in book one), you want a long series commitment, you like enemies-to-lovers that builds over thousands of pages, and you don't mind crying on public transportation.
Maybe not, if: Bullying triggers are a hard no regardless of payoff, you need your romance in the first 200 pages, or you prefer standalones. The investment is massive, and the early books demand patience.
Time commitment: Clear your calendar. Eight books averaging 500+ pages each. Most people who start don't stop, and most people who finish immediately want to reread.
Tell us what you love and what you avoid. Every book gets scored: how much of what you love is in it, and whether anything you avoid is hiding inside.
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