Summary

When orphaned twins Darcy and Tory Vega turned 18, they were lured into the Fae’s magical and ruthless world, promising a great inheritance if they completed their studies at Zodiac Academy. In the Fae world, they discovered they were princesses and the rarest of all Faes, able to wield all four elements: fire, air, water, and earth. Not only do they discover magic, they are surrounded by shapeshifters, dragons, vampires, werewolves, and more. 

However, their royal bloodline and power seriously threaten the current celestial heirs, four guys set to rule the kingdom from birth. They are the most popular guys in school, treated as royalty, and the strongest of their elements. When word spreads of the powerful Vega twins returning to potentially claim their throne, the twins find themselves victims of ruthless bullying from everyone, and the target of death from a powerful dragon shifter that sought to see them both dead. 

Thoughts

Wooow. I discovered Zodiac Academy through Booktok and instantly binged the series until I was caught up and waiting for the remaining books to be released. It is dramatic, magical, sexy, and ruthless all at the same time. 

I loved the magical Fae world that Peckham & Valenti built. It’s a great blend of mystical magic and the modern “mortal” realm with fun takes such as Faebook, and Faeserati cars. In addition to world-building, the characters in the series are phenomenal. They are not flat and I enjoyed seeing how each character develops in every book. Every one of them has unique thought-out personalities, and the authors did a wonderful job providing enough POV chapters for readers to develop their favourite characters. Not to mention, I do love the take on zodiacs, especially the daily horoscopes!

If you’re a fan of sexy romance, this series does not fall short on extremely explicit and descriptive sex scenes. You’ve been warned! But, it also has a very warm heart enduring moments of love. Sprinkled in between all the drama and sex are funny bits reminding you that these are mere teenagers. 

It’s a strong series and I thoroughly enjoyed all nine books. I think what I enjoyed most is that it’s not like other fantasy books where the protagonist always wins in every book. There are a lot of curses and failures in this series, and close enough encounters that you almost roll your eyes because that means another book where they attempt to win again. But, as I mentioned, it’s refreshing to see protagonists losing their battles.

I do want to say – this series is not for everyone. It has trigging scenes relating to rape/non-consensual sexual acts, depression, bullying, and questionable relationships.

“The most important thing I’d learned in life? You can’t trust people. And you especially can’t trust boys with wicked smiles and equally wicked intentions.”

Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti, The Awakening

Rating & Recommendation

I rate this series a 5 out of 5. It’s a steamier, adult version of Harry Potter. If you like academies, sexy, hot, and passionate romances, and mythical magic, this series could be for you. It’s a well-thought-out, engaging, fun, and dramatic read. I felt each book was the perfect length – not too long, not too short. It’d take a while to finish the series, and when you can’t get enough of the Fae world, many spin-offs are published.

Check out the Zodiac Academy series on Goodreads or Amazon Canada.

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Rating scale:

1 out of 5 = Hated it!

2 out of 5 = Didn’t like it.

3 out of 5 = It was okay.

4 out of 5 = It was great!

5 out of 5 = Absolutely loved it!