Book one of Zodiac Academy. Twin sisters Tory and Darcy Vega learn they are Fae princesses with a claim to Solaria's empty throne, and the four Celestial Heirs at Zodiac Academy want them gone before the lunar eclipse.
Series guide · 9 out, 1 companion
Zodiac Academy Reading Order: All 9 Books in Order
The indie bully-romance juggernaut: twin heiresses, four cruel heirs, and nine books of escalating war. Complete, and the cliffhangers are legendary for a reason.
Zodiac Academy is a complete series by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti. There are 9 numbered books on our shelf. There is also one companion book, Zodiac Academy: Beyond the Veil, which sits outside the numbering.
It starts with Zodiac Academy: The Awakening (2019), and the newest numbered book out now is Zodiac Academy: Restless Stars (2024). The books came out in the same order as their numbers, so release order is reading order.
On our heat scale the books run from 3 (spicy) to 4 (very spicy). On Goodreads the books average 4.2 stars across 2,681,010 ratings.
Reading order
All 9 Zodiac Academy books in order
Every book, with release date, heat rating and what it is about. Signed in, tick the circle when you finish one.
Book two of Zodiac Academy. Tory and Darcy Vega survived the Celestial Heirs' first round of cruelty, and now they stop playing defence. The plan is quiet revenge, run so carefully the Heirs never see who is pulling their lives apart.
Book three of Zodiac Academy. Reckoning week has arrived, the seniors are making freshman life hell before the exam that decides who stays, and with the Lunar Eclipse coming the Vega twins have a darker problem than grades.
Book four of Zodiac Academy. A new year, shadow magic creeping into the Vega twins' lives, and four Heirs who still want them gone, though they have badly underestimated what the twins can do.
Book five of Zodiac Academy. After the devastating events at the academy, the Vega twins face a darker Solaria. Lionel Acrux wants them hurt, the Nymphs threaten every Fae alive, and staying alive is a daily job.
Book six of Zodiac Academy. The Vega twins are separated, the Shadow Princess is changing Solaria, and Lionel Acrux is ready to take the throne. Their only hope is to find the Imperial Star before he does.
Book seven of Zodiac Academy. On the run and cast out of society, the Vega twins hide from the man who stole their throne while a curse closes in on the people they love and the final battle draws near.
Book eight of Zodiac Academy. Bloody and broken after everything the stars took, the Vega twins are torn apart by shadow and grief, and it is time to take back their power and turn the war.
A Zodiac Academy bridging book set beyond the Veil, in the land of the dead, during the events of book eight. The characters the stars have already claimed watch the living struggle and look for a way to help.
The final Zodiac Academy book. The false king's shadow covers Solaria, the Starfall Legion rides at first light, and the Vega twins go into the last battle for the throne they were born to.
Heat across the series
Book 1 is Spicy (3), book 2 is Spicy (3), book 3 is Spicy (3.5), book 4 is Very spicy (4), book 5 is Very spicy (4), book 6 is Very spicy (4), book 7 is Very spicy (4), book 8 is Very spicy (4), Zodiac Academy: Beyond the Veil is Spicy (3) and book 9 is Very spicy (4).
Zodiac Academy gets spicier as it goes. The spiciest are Zodiac Academy: Shadow Princess, Zodiac Academy: Cursed Fates, Zodiac Academy: Fated Throne, Zodiac Academy: Heartless Sky, Zodiac Academy: Sorrow and Starlight and Zodiac Academy: Restless Stars.
How we rate heat →Zodiac Academy publication order
The numbered books came out in order. The companion book is slotted into the reading order above by release date. We do not list a separate in-world chronological order for this series, so we follow the author's numbering.
Publication order
- Zodiac Academy: The Awakening (2019)
- Zodiac Academy: Ruthless Fae (2019)
- Zodiac Academy: The Reckoning (2019)
- Zodiac Academy: Shadow Princess (2020)
- Zodiac Academy: Cursed Fates (2020)
- Zodiac Academy: Fated Throne (2020)
- Zodiac Academy: Heartless Sky (2021)
- Zodiac Academy: Sorrow and Starlight (2022)
- Zodiac Academy: Beyond the Veil (2023, companion)
- Zodiac Academy: Restless Stars (2024)
Where to start
Start with Zodiac Academy: The Awakening. It is book one, and every later book builds on it. Read the numbered books in order, which is also the order they came out.
Book one is Spicy (3 of 5), and the series reaches Very spicy (4) later on, so check the heat chart before you commit.
New to romantasy and want something gentler first? Try a Mild pick from our spice guide.
Where does Zodiac Academy: Beyond the Veil fit?
Zodiac Academy: Beyond the Veil is not a numbered book. It came out in 2023, after Zodiac Academy: Sorrow and Starlight, so read it after that one to stay clear of spoilers.
The Complete Zodiac Academy Guide
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 has all nine books plus Beyond the Veil, each with its own page, so you can follow the order above book by book. 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.
Series like Zodiac Academy
Picked by shared tropes. Each one links to its own reading order.
- Fae, Found Family
- Enemies to Lovers, Royalty
- Academy, Enemies to Lovers
- Fae, Forbidden Love
- Vampire, Enemies to Lovers
Zodiac Academy reading order FAQ
How many books are in Zodiac Academy?
Zodiac Academy has 9 numbered books. There is also 1 companion book: Zodiac Academy: Beyond the Veil.
What order should I read Zodiac Academy in?
Read them in this order: Zodiac Academy: The Awakening, Zodiac Academy: Ruthless Fae, Zodiac Academy: The Reckoning, Zodiac Academy: Shadow Princess, Zodiac Academy: Cursed Fates, Zodiac Academy: Fated Throne, Zodiac Academy: Heartless Sky, Zodiac Academy: Sorrow and Starlight, Zodiac Academy: Beyond the Veil (companion), then Zodiac Academy: Restless Stars. That is also the order they were published.
Is Zodiac Academy finished?
Yes. Zodiac Academy is complete at 9 books, so you can read it start to finish without waiting.
How spicy is Zodiac Academy?
Zodiac Academy runs from 3 (spicy) to 4 (very spicy) on our 0 to 5 heat scale. The spiciest are Zodiac Academy: Shadow Princess, Zodiac Academy: Cursed Fates, Zodiac Academy: Fated Throne, Zodiac Academy: Heartless Sky, Zodiac Academy: Sorrow and Starlight and Zodiac Academy: Restless Stars. Spice Guide
Do I need to read Zodiac Academy: Beyond the Veil?
Zodiac Academy: Beyond the Veil is not a numbered book. It came out in 2023, after Zodiac Academy: Sorrow and Starlight, so read it after that one to stay clear of spoilers. You can follow the main story without it.
Where should I start with Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti?
If you are new to Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti, Zodiac Academy starts with Zodiac Academy: The Awakening. Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti books
