Books like Zodiac Academy: The Awakening

Zodiac Academy: The Awakening by Caroline Peckham reads as dark, emotional. These 12 books share its genome — matched by how they actually read, not just their shelf label.

What Zodiac Academy: The Awakening is like to read

A twin heir to a Fae throne is thrown into a dangerous supernatural academy where vampires, werewolves and rival heirs all want her dead or dethroned — brash, trope-forward BookTok fantasy romance with high drama and high stakes. Best for: BookTok romantasy readers who want enemies-to-lovers, academy politics, and multiple hot fae love interests.

The Serpent & the Wings of Night

Carissa Broadbent · 2022

A deadly tournament backdrop fuels a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers arc where every alliance could be a trap.

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The Bridge Kingdom

Danielle L. Jensen · 2018

A spy-bride infiltration plot that curdles into passion and moral crisis — plot-forward court intrigue braided with a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers arc.

high heatmildly eeriecliffhanger

Heartless Hunter

Kristen Ciccarelli · 2024

A fizzy enemies-to-lovers romance where the fun is in the double disguises and the dramatic irony of a witch hunter falling for the vigilante he's hunting — plot-forward and courtship-driven.

guaranteed HEAcliffhangerdeep cut

Onyx Storm

Rebecca Yarros · 2025

A fast, danger-soaked continuation of a dragon-rider war-college saga, driven by physical peril, political conspiracy, and a fraught romance under constant threat.

happy-for-nowmildly eeriecliffhanger

A Fate Inked in Blood

Danielle L. Jensen · 2024

Both explore romantasy

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Sarah J. Maas · 2015

A Beauty-and-the-Beast retelling that opens grim and hungry, warms into a lush faerie romance, then pivots into a trial-driven final act — propulsive, sensual, and unabashedly tropey.

happy-for-nowhigh heatcreepy, not gory

From Blood and Ash

Jennifer L. Armentrout · 2020

A forbidden-romance romantasy where a sheltered chosen-one heroine and her golden-eyed guard slow-burn through banter into betrayal and destiny.

happy-for-nowhigh heatmildly eerie

Powerful

Lauren Roberts · 2024

A quick companion novella set in the Powerless world, following Adena's scrappy street survival and a wary bond with a mysterious Elite.

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Once Upon a Broken Heart

Stephanie Garber · 2021

A fairy-tale-drenched romantasy of bargains and broken hearts, where a naive believer in true love tangles with a deliciously wicked immortal.

mildly eeriecliffhanger

Crave

Tracy Wolff · 2020

A fast, hooky paranormal-academy romance narrated by a mortal girl thrust among vampires and other supernatural factions, propelled by secrets, danger, and a brooding love interest.

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