British · b. 1990
Caroline Peckham is a British self-published author who co-writes with Susanne Valenti. Together they are one of the most commercially successful romantasy duos in the genre, best known for the Zodiac Academy series.
Caroline Peckham is a British author who writes in collaboration with Susanne Valenti. Together they have built one of the largest self-published readerships in the romantasy genre, with the Zodiac Academy series becoming a cultural phenomenon on BookTok and through Kindle Unlimited.
The Zodiac Academy series — eight books following twin sisters Tory and Darcy Vega as they navigate a Fae academy, claim their royal heritage, and fall into deeply complicated relationships with their enemies — is the flagship series and the one that built the Peckham/Valenti readership. The series is set in the world of Solaria, a Fae realm where magic is governed by astrological powers. The combination of dark academy aesthetics, enemies-to-lovers romance, and an expansive political fantasy world proved a winning formula for a fanbase that discovered it primarily through TikTok recommendations.
The Zodiac Academy series reads in order:
Beyond the main series, Peckham and Valenti have written extensively in the extended Solaria universe, including the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series (retelling events from the Heirs’ perspectives), the Darkmore Penitentiary trilogy, and multiple novellas and companion books. The extended universe runs to over thirty titles for readers who want to remain in the world.
They have also written outside the Zodiac/Solaria universe, including the Harlequin Crew series and other dark romance and paranormal titles.
Both authors are British and write under pen names. The partnership produces books at a rate that reflects the demands of their readership — multiple releases per year, typically available through Kindle Unlimited as well as in paperback.
Peckham and Valenti are among the most commercially successful examples of the self-publishing model that has reshaped genre fiction in the 2020s — building an audience directly through social media and digital retail rather than through traditional publishing infrastructure.
Caroline Peckham is a British author who, together with her sister and writing partner Susanne Valenti, has become one of the most successful names in the booming “romantasy” genre. Writing both individually and as a duo, the sisters have built a vast and passionately followed body of work that blends fantasy world-building with intense romance, dark academia, and addictive serialised storytelling. Their books have found an enormous audience, particularly among readers who discovered them through social media, and Caroline Peckham has become a defining voice in the contemporary wave of romance-driven fantasy aimed at adult readers.
The cornerstone of her success is the Zodiac Academy series, co-written with Susanne Valenti, a sprawling saga set in a magical academy where students’ powers are tied to their astrological signs. Following twin sisters who discover their heritage and are thrust into a brutal, status-obsessed world of fae, the series combines magic, rivalry, enemies-to-lovers romance, and escalating drama across many lengthy volumes. Its immersive world, its slow-burning relationships, and its addictive, twist-laden plotting have inspired fierce devotion among readers, turning the series into a genuine phenomenon within the genre.
A central reason for the appeal of Peckham’s work is her mastery of the enemies-to-lovers dynamic, one of the most beloved tropes in romance. Her stories thrive on tension, conflict, and the slow, charged transformation of antagonism into desire, and she leans fully into the high emotion, the banter, and the simmering attraction that fans of the trope crave. This engine of conflict and chemistry, drawn out across long series, keeps readers deeply invested in the relationships and eager for the payoffs that her extended storytelling defers and rewards.
Peckham’s books are engineered for immersive, binge-style reading, with long page counts, cliffhangers, multiple points of view, and sprawling casts that encourage readers to lose themselves in her worlds for extended stretches. The serialised structure of her major series, unfolding across many substantial installments, offers the deep, long-term investment that her fans seek, and the result is a reading experience closer to an addiction than a casual pastime. This bingeable quality has been central to her popularity in the age of social-media-driven reading communities.
Like many of the most successful authors in contemporary romance and fantasy, Peckham has benefited enormously from the word-of-mouth power of online reading communities, where passionate fans recommend, discuss, and celebrate her books. This grassroots enthusiasm has propelled her work to remarkable commercial success, demonstrating once again how social media has reshaped the path to bestsellerdom. Her devoted readership and the viral popularity of her series have made her one of the standout beneficiaries and figures of the genre’s recent explosive growth.
Caroline Peckham, both in her solo work and her hugely popular collaborations with Susanne Valenti, has established herself as a major force in the romantasy boom that has reshaped the fantasy market. For newcomers, Zodiac Academy: The Awakening, the first book in her flagship series, is the natural starting point and the gateway into her most beloved world, though readers should be prepared for mature content and a long-term commitment to a sprawling saga. For fans of immersive, romance-driven fantasy with high emotion and addictive plotting, Caroline Peckham is one of the genre’s defining contemporary voices.
by Caroline Peckham
The penultimate book in the Zodiac Academy series — the battle for Solaria reaches its most devastating point, and the cost of the throne becomes almost unbearable.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)
by Caroline Peckham
The final book in the Zodiac Academy series — the Vega twins face their ultimate destiny in a battle that will determine the fate of Solaria and everyone they love.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)
by Caroline Peckham
The darkest instalment yet — as the prophecy surrounding the Vega twins comes into sharper focus, betrayals shake the alliances they have built, and the battle for Solaria approaches.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)
by Caroline Peckham
Alliances are forged and fractured as the Vega twins draw closer to claiming their throne — and the final confrontation with the forces threatening Solaria becomes inevitable.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)
by Caroline Peckham
As the Vega twins strengthen their powers and their alliances, darker forces move against Solaria — and the cost of the throne they were born to claim becomes terrifyingly clear.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)
by Caroline Peckham
The Vega twins face their most dangerous challenges yet as the threat from the Shadow Beast grows and the complicated feelings between the twins and the Heirs can no longer be ignored.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)
by Caroline Peckham
The Vega twins and their Heirs reach the final, explosive confrontation for the throne of Solaria as the Zodiac Academy saga races to its conclusion in a sprawling, emotionally charged finale of war, fate, and hard-won love.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)
by Caroline Peckham
The Vega twins return to Zodiac Academy for their second semester — and the Heirs' campaign to break them intensifies even as unexpected alliances and undeniable attractions begin to complicate everything.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)
by Caroline Peckham
Twin sisters Tory and Darcy Vega discover they are Fae royalty and heirs to the throne of Solaria — but they must first survive Zodiac Academy, where the four powerful Heirs will stop at nothing to drive them out.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)guide
Where to start with Caroline Peckham — whether to begin with Zodiac Academy: The Awakening or Ruthless Fae. A complete reading guide to the dark academy fantasy series.
guide
Every Zodiac Academy book in reading order — the main 8-book series, the extended universe, and where to start with Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti's Fae world.
Disclosure: Amazon links on this page are affiliate links. If you purchase through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.