Zodiac Academy

Zodiac Academy is what happens when two indie authors, Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, write exactly what a certain corner of the internet wants with zero traditional publishing filter. The Awakening appeared in 2019, TikTok discovered the series a couple of years later, and it became one of the biggest self-published fantasy success stories ever, all glittering horoscope magic on the surface and absolute carnage underneath.

The main series runs nine books, published between 2019 and 2024: The Awakening, Ruthless Fae, The Reckoning, Shadow Princess, Cursed Fates, Fated Throne, Heartless Sky, Sorrow and Starlight, and Restless Stars. Read them in exactly that order. Every single book ends on a cliffhanger, several of them genuinely cruel, and the plot is one continuous escalation rather than episodic adventures. There are also novellas: Origins of an Academy Bully works best after you know the characters, The Awakening as Told by the Boys retells book one from the other side, and The Big A.S.S. Party slots in around book five. None are required, all are fan service in the best sense.

Two honest warnings. First, the early books are bully romance played straight: the four heirs are vicious to the twins in ways that go well past banter, including public humiliation and real cruelty, and if that dynamic is a hard no for you, this series will not talk you out of it. Second, the heat starts as slow burn and ends around a 4 on our spice scale, with the later books getting explicit. Add in violence, character death including one that broke the fandom in half, and a lot of grief in the final stretch.

What makes it work is the escalation. A petty academy revenge story quietly turns into a war epic with real casualties, and the last three books hit far harder than anything that starts with mean girls and horoscopes has any right to. The banter is great, the side couples earn their own devoted followings, and the twins' bond holds the whole thing together. Fair criticism: the books get enormous, the last few pushing past 800 pages, and the pacing would have benefited from a ruthless editor. Some plot turns exist purely to maximize pain. The authors know this. The fans know this. Nobody stops.

Our catalog currently lists the series starter, and the full order above is everything you need. If academy chaos is your thing, Fourth Wing is the polished traditionally published cousin. For more heirs behaving badly, browse our enemies to lovers and bully romance trope pages, and Throne of Glass is the place to go when you want an epic that treats its readers slightly more gently.