Where to Start with Caroline Peckham: A Reading 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.
Caroline Peckham is the British author (co-writing with Susanne Valenti under the Peckham name) whose Zodiac Academy series — a dark academy fantasy romance set in a world of Fae politics and elemental magic — has become one of the most commercially successful self-published fantasy series in the BookTok era, selling millions of copies through word-of-mouth recommendation and becoming one of the defining texts of the dark academy romantasy genre. Beginning with Zodiac Academy: The Awakening (2019), the series follows twin sisters navigating a magical school while reclaiming their royal inheritance and falling into complicated relationships with the very people trying to destroy them. Peckham and Valenti are among the authors most responsible for establishing self-published romantasy as a major commercial force alongside traditionally published series.
Where to Start: Zodiac Academy: The Awakening (2019)
The essential Peckham — the book that begins the Zodiac Academy story and introduces the world, the twins, and the enemies who will make up the rest of the series. Tory and Darcy Vega have grown up in the human world with no knowledge of their Fae heritage. When they discover they are heirs to the throne of Solaria — the Fae realm — they are enrolled in Zodiac Academy, an elite magical school where students receive powers aligned to the stars.
The four Heirs — Darius, Seth, Max, and Caleb — rule Zodiac Academy and have a compelling political reason to drive the Vega twins out: if Tory and Darcy successfully claim the throne, the Heirs lose their expected ascendancy. The novel establishes the dark academy dynamic: brilliant, powerful antagonists whose bullying is both genuinely threatening and, gradually, more complicated than it first appears.
Peckham and Valenti’s world-building is dense and inventive — the Fae magic system, the astrological powers, and the political structure of Solaria are all introduced without overwhelming the narrative. The dual perspective (alternating between Tory and Darcy) allows both twins’ romantic storylines to develop in parallel.
The first book sets up more than it resolves; it is designed as the opening of a long series rather than a standalone. Readers who respond to the premise and characters typically commit to the full eight-book arc.
Zodiac Academy: Ruthless Fae (2019)
The second book — the Vega twins return for their second semester and the Heirs’ campaign intensifies even as unexpected alliances begin to form. The series hits its stride here; the romantic tension escalates and the political stakes of the twins’ presence at Zodiac Academy become clearer.
Zodiac Academy: Shadow Princess (2020)
The third entry — the series expands its mythology and the consequences of the twins’ growing power within Zodiac Academy become more significant for the wider Fae world.
Zodiac Academy: Cursed Fates (2020)
The fourth book — the series continues to develop its central romantic storylines and overarching plot, with the Vega twins’ claim to the Solarian throne moving toward direct confrontation with those who oppose it.
Why Zodiac Academy: The Awakening Is the Ideal First Book
For a reader new to Caroline Peckham, who writes with her sister Susanne as Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, Zodiac Academy: The Awakening is the ideal first book because it is the opening of their hugely popular Zodiac Academy series and a fine introduction to their distinctive blend of dark academia, fae fantasy, intense romance, and high drama. Zodiac Academy: The Awakening follows twin sisters who discover they belong to a magical world and must navigate a dangerous, cutthroat magical academy ruled by powerful, ruthless heirs. As an entry point it is the natural place to begin, for it launches the series and a perfect introduction to their addictive, dramatic romantasy. It welcomes the newcomer with its magical academy setting, its high-stakes drama, and its intense enemies-to-lovers romance, drawing the reader into one of the most popular series in indie romantic fantasy. It begins their best-known series, so the new reader meets their world where it begins. For the newcomer, then, Zodiac Academy: The Awakening is the natural and ideal starting point, with mature content to expect.
What to Expect as a New Reader
As a new reader, you can expect Zodiac Academy: The Awakening to be an addictive, dramatic, and romance-driven dark-academia fantasy. You can expect a magical academy setting, for the novel is set in a cutthroat school of magic ruled by powerful, ruthless heirs. You can expect a fae and zodiac-themed world, for the magic and society draw on star signs and elemental and fae powers. You can expect intense romance, for the series is built on charged, slow-burning, enemies-to-lovers relationships full of drama and tension. You can expect high stakes and high drama, for the academy is dangerous, the rivalries fierce, and the conflicts dramatic. You can expect a propulsive, addictive series that grows across many books. You should expect mature content, including explicit romance and dark themes such as bullying and cruelty. Expect, in short, an addictive, dramatic, and romance-driven dark-academia fantasy, an introduction to the authors’ popular series.
Going Deeper After Your First Book
Once Zodiac Academy: The Awakening has drawn you into its world, the natural next step is to continue the Zodiac Academy series, following the twins through the many subsequent books as the drama escalates, the romances develop, and the stakes rise. The series is best read in order, for its story, characters, and relationships build across the books, and it is a long, sprawling series with a devoted following. Beyond it, the reader who has enjoyed the authors’ work can explore their other series, which bring the same addictive drama, dark academia, and intense romance to new worlds, including their other popular fantasy series. Their characteristic strengths, the dramatic stakes, the intense romance, and the addictive storytelling, run through their work. Building your reading journey is a matter of continuing the Zodiac Academy series and exploring the authors’ other series. The reader who begins here will find one of the most popular indie romantasy series to follow.
Reading Caroline Peckham
Begin with The Awakening and read the Zodiac Academy series in strict order — the story is fully continuous and cannot be picked up mid-series. The series rewards readers who commit to its full length; readers who enjoy books one and two typically find the subsequent entries satisfying in proportion to their investment in the characters and world.
For the full Caroline Peckham bibliography, reviews, and biography, visit the Caroline Peckham author page on Editors Reads.
Affiliate disclosure: Links to Amazon on this page are affiliate links. We earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should I start with Caroline Peckham?
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening (2019) is the only starting point — the first book in the Zodiac Academy series, in which twin sisters Tory and Darcy Vega discover they are Fae royalty and heirs to the throne of Solaria, and are enrolled in Zodiac Academy, a magical school run by the four powerful Heirs who will stop at nothing to drive them out. Peckham co-writes the series with Susanne Valenti; all books must be read in order as the overarching story is continuous.
What is Zodiac Academy about?
Zodiac Academy is a dark academy fantasy romance series set in a world of Fae, elemental magic, and political power. The Vega twins arrive at an elite magical academy as unknown heirs to a deposed throne; the four Heirs — powerful students who stand to lose their status if the Vega girls claim their birthright — make their lives as difficult as possible. The series is known for its dark tone, multiple slow-burn romantic subplots (each twin has her own love interest), and a long-running overarching narrative that rewards readers who commit to the full series.
How long is the Zodiac Academy series?
The main Zodiac Academy series runs to eight books plus additional novellas, making it a significant reading commitment. The story is continuous rather than episodic — each book ends on plot developments that require the next book to resolve. Readers who enjoy the first two books typically commit to the full series; the payoffs are described by fans as significant. The series was self-published by Peckham and Valenti and has sold millions of copies worldwide primarily through online and BookTok word of mouth.
Is Zodiac Academy suitable for young adults?
Zodiac Academy is marketed as new adult fantasy romance — it has darker content, more explicit romantic elements, and more graphic violence than standard young adult fantasy. It is aimed at readers 18+ rather than the traditional YA age range, though it has a significant readership of older teenagers. Parents should assess suitability based on their teenager's reading preferences rather than assuming it is equivalent to mainstream YA.
