Accessible Worldbuilding Without Info-Dumps
Tori highlights that the fantasy elements are easy to follow because the reader discovers the magical academy setting alongside the twin protagonists.
Reviewed
Read Time
8 min read
Our age bandAdult
Reader rating
4.2 · 123,897 Amazon ratings
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Our review
Zodiac Academy
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti Review: Brutal Fae Academy Fantasy Romance Ignites
by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening is the first book in a twelve-part fantasy romance series by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, following twin sisters Tory and Darcy Vega as they discover their Fae heritage and fight to survive a cutthroat magical academy where star sign-based powers determine everything. A BookTok phenomenon from Amazon and Wall Street Journal #1 bestselling authors, it earns attention for its sharp blend of elemental magic, dark academy tension, and enemies-to-lovers heat.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Readers of New Adult and upper YA romantasy who want a dark, high-stakes magical academy with an astrological magic system, enemies-to-lovers tension, explicit romance, and morally grey characters — and who are ready to commit to a series from the start.
Worth it if
You thrive on brutal, competitive fantasy settings, enemies-to-lovers slow burn, and elemental world-building woven through with astrological lore — and you're happy to treat book one as the launchpad for a long serialised journey.
Skip if
You prefer cosy or warmly mentorship-driven magical school stories, want explicit content-free romance, or need a satisfying standalone resolution rather than the opening chapter of an ongoing saga.
What readers & critics say
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words rated the book 4.5 stars, placing it in a darker tradition of magical-school storytelling where the academy is far more brutal and damaging than comparable series. Young Creative Press offered a more mixed take, noting the series is loved not for polished writing but for its compulsively readable, fan-fiction-adjacent energy.
Sources: Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words, Young Creative Press, Bookish Goblin, Sadie Forsythe, World of Bai Blog, Darling Reader4.2from 123,897 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
Tori from Novel Life reviews Zodiac Academy: The Awakening
Tori from Novel Life reviews books one through seven of the Zodiac Academy series, discussing its strengths and weaknesses.
A BookTube review by Novel Life, 2023 · 18.6K views · 15.5K subscribers · Watch on YouTube ·
Their views, not ours. The points are our AI summary of what they say, each playing from where they say it.
Another view · loved it
Jess thoroughly enjoyed the book, noting that the captivating plot and intense slow-burn romance kept them up all night reading. Although they found the prose blunt, occasionally cringey, and weighed down by high school drama in places, the unique characters and immersive zodiac-inspired world-building more than compensated for the writing flaws. Jess strongly recommends the series to readers who enjoy fantasy romance and stories in the vein of Sarah J. Maas. Honest Fiction on YouTube
Addictive Banter and Tropes
Tori found the story fun and highly engaging, noting that the comedic dialogue and dark romance tropes made the early books difficult to put down.
Simplistic Writing and Co-Author Repetition
Tori describes the writing as very basic and notes that having two authors occasionally causes repetitive scenes and overlapping ideas.
Excessive Filler and Dragged-Out Plot
Tori criticizes the massive page counts of the later books, arguing that much of the content feels like filler with too many viewpoint characters when the series could have ended earlier.
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Zodiac Academy: The Awakening is the first instalment in a twelve-book dark academy fantasy romance series by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, following twin sisters Tory and Darcy Vega as they discover their Fae heritage and fight to survive a cutthroat magical academy built on star sign-based power and political brutality. Readers who thrive on enemies-to-lovers tension, morally grey characters, and explicit romantasy will find a richly constructed world that earns its darkness — but those seeking lighter fare or self-contained stories should know this is a committed, twelve-book journey from the first page.
- Is it worth reading?
- For readers drawn to dark academy fantasy romance — specifically enemies-to-lovers tension, morally grey characters, elemental magic, and explicit scenes — The Awakening delivers a tonal commitment and world-building depth that has fuelled a genuine BookTok phenomenon. Peckham and Valenti have sold over fifteen million books across their catalogue, and author Raven Kennedy has described the first book as 'dark, spicy, and completely addictive.' The key caveat is structural: as book one of twelve, it is a series launcher rather than a standalone, and readers who prefer resolved narrative arcs will need to commit to the long haul from the outset.
- Similar books
- Readers who enjoy The Awakening's blend of dark romantasy and morally complex characters may also want to explore The Book of Azrael by Amber V. Nicole, which shares the series' taste for high-stakes fantasy with intense romantic tension, and One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig, another dark fantasy romance with a brooding, atmospheric edge. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is a frequently cited point of comparison for its Fae world-building and enemies-to-lovers dynamics, and Ruthless Fae — the second book in the Zodiac Academy series by Peckham and Valenti themselves — is the natural next step for readers who want to continue Tory and Darcy's journey.
- Who should read this?
- The Awakening is squarely positioned for upper YA and New Adult readers who enjoy dark academy fantasy romance with elemental magic, enemies-to-lovers dynamics, morally grey characters, and explicit scenes. The strong twin-protagonist dynamic between Tory and Darcy Vega will appeal to readers who like dual perspectives anchoring a large ensemble world. This is not the book for readers who prefer lighter, cosier fantasy or who want a complete narrative in a single volume — but within its target readership, the series has built a massive and devoted following.
- What age is it for?
- The Awakening is best suited to readers aged 17 and up. The book is positioned as upper YA and New Adult fiction — students at Zodiac Academy are explicitly aged eighteen and older — and the content includes a reported heat level of four out of five for explicit romance, alongside a brutally competitive and at times abusive academy environment. Younger or more sensitive teen readers should be aware of the book's deliberately dark, unrelenting tone before picking it up.
- Do I need to read all 12 books?
- Those looking for a complete, self-contained story within a single volume will find that expectation unmet. For readers who do commit, the series has built a devoted and vocal following that suggests the long-form journey pays off for the right audience.
- Who is the main villain?
- The presiding villain of the Zodiac Academy series is Lionel Acrux, who operates as a threat at both the campus and political level from book one. The authors themselves have described him as giving Voldemort a run for his money in the evil-dictator category, signalling from The Awakening onward that the political stakes are as dangerous as the academy's internal brutality. His presence establishes that the series' conflict extends well beyond rival students and into the power structures of Fae society itself.
Summarize this book
Is it worth reading?
Who should read this?
What age is it for?
Do I need to read all 12 books?
Who is the main villain?
Summarize this book
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening follows twin sisters Tory and Darcy Vega — Geminis who discover mid-story that they are heirs to a Fae throne — as they attempt to survive Zodiac Academy, a magical institution where elemental power, celestial lineage, and ruthlessness determine who rises and who breaks. The academy's star sign-based magic system is woven into every layer of Fae society, from combat to class hierarchy to political intrigue, and the presiding villain Lionel Acrux casts a shadow over both the campus and the wider realm. Originally published by King's Hollow in August 2019, the book functions as the launchpad for an ambitious series that blends dark academy tension with explicit enemies-to-lovers romance.
Follow up
How long is the full series?
What's the academy like?
How does the magic system work?
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Our Review
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A BookTok-fuelled dark academy fantasy romance that trades Hogwarts warmth for Fae brutality, and owns every bit of it.
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti front cover
What the Book Actually Is
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening opens on twin sisters Tory and Darcy Vega — Geminis, impulsive and headstrong — who learn they are heirs to a Fae throne they knew nothing about. The catch: claiming their birthright requires surviving Zodiac Academy, a school where students aged eighteen and older compete in a world where elemental power, celestial lineage, and sheer ruthlessness decide who rises and who breaks.
The book's own campus orientation sets the tone immediately — as one passage reads, "Vampire bites, loss of limbs or getting lost in the wailing wood will not count as a valid excuse for being late to class." This is not a comforting magical school story.
It is a survival narrative wrapped in astrological world-building, political intrigue, and dark romance, published originally by King's Hollow in August 2019 and later reissued in a print edition with a new cover and an exclusive bonus chapter.
World-Building and the Magic System
One of the series' most distinctive design choices is its star sign-based magic system. Each student's elemental abilities and personality are tied to their celestial archetype — Gemini twins receive a particular kind of volatile, dual-natured power — and this astrological framework shapes not just combat and class hierarchy but the social and political fabric of Fae society itself.
The world that Peckham and Valenti construct is richly detailed, integrating astrology into every layer of academy life rather than using it as surface decoration. The antagonist Lionel Acrux functions as the series' presiding villain — described by the authors themselves as giving Voldemort a run for his money in the evil-dictator category — establishing from book one that the political stakes are as dangerous as the campus ones.
Tone, Darkness, and Emotional Stakes
Where comparable magical-academy stories lean into mentorship or found-family warmth, The Awakening deliberately strips those comforts away. Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words characterised the series as one where the academy is "far more brutal, abusive, and deeply damaging than Hogwarts could have imagined," and that darkness is structural, not incidental.
The central themes — power, survival, trust, and resilience — play out through a brutally competitive environment where betrayal is commonplace and the twins must learn to rely on each other while resisting or navigating enemies on all sides. The romance threads are built on enemies-to-lovers tension and are explicitly spicy, with a reported heat level of four out of five.
Readers drawn to morally grey characters and slow-burn tension under genuine threat will find the tonal pitch deliberate and consistent.
Reception and Cultural Footprint
The Zodiac Academy series has grown into a genuine phenomenon, driven in large part by BookTok, and Peckham and Valenti — known to their fanbase as the "Twisted Sisters" — have sold over fifteen million books across their catalogue. The series carries Amazon and Wall Street Journal #1 bestselling status, and author Raven Kennedy has described the first book as "dark, spicy, and completely addictive."
The twelve-book scope of the series signals a commitment to long-form serialised storytelling, and the first instalment's job is specifically to establish the world, its hierarchy, and its central tensions — a function it performs as the launchpad for an ambitious continuing narrative.
Who It's For and Where It Challenges
The Awakening is squarely positioned as upper YA and New Adult fiction, and readers who prefer gentler or cosier academy stories will find the tone actively hostile to comfort. The dark academy setting, explicit content, and unrelenting competitive brutality are design choices rather than flaws — but they do mean the book self-selects its audience firmly.
Readers who enjoy romantasy with elemental magic, enemies-to-lovers dynamics, morally grey characters, and explicit scenes are the clear target, and within that readership the series has built a devoted and vocal following. As the opening volume of twelve, The Awakening is necessarily an introduction — readers looking for complete, self-contained narrative arcs within a single book will need to commit to the longer series journey from the outset.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
- Further reading
- 2
scatteredthoughtsandroguewords.com
- 3
- 4
starcrossedbookblog.com
- 5
youngcreativepress.com
- 6
bookishgoblin.com
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Age & Reading Level
Our age band
Adult
Our age band groups books for browsing; it isn't an age a review gave.
Heat level
Explicit · rated 4/5 spice (explicit) by Darling Reader; rated 0/5 spice by Smutty Girl Book Club
Tropes
enemies to loversmorally grey
From how readers describe it, not our own reading.
3 content notes · who it suits
Content to know about
explicit, on-page sex scenes
sustained physical and psychological bullying
abusive power dynamics
Best for: Ages 17 and up — the book is positioned as upper YA and New Adult, with explicit romantic content (reported heat level four out of five) and an unrelentingly brutal, at times abusive academy environment.
Skip if you're looking for a cosy or warm magical-school story with mentorship and found-family comfort.
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