Title: Fated Throne (The Zodiac Academy #6)
Author: Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti
Genre: Fantasy, fantasy romance
Publisher: N/A- Independent
Publication Date: 2020
Format: EBook, Kindle Unlimited
Length: 823 pages

Read if you like: fated mates, elemental magic, magical creatures, political scheming, heavy amounts of spice, soap opera style fantasy

Rating: 

After finishing the fifth Zodiac Academy book, I’m not going to lie, I was feeling a little burned out. I love this universe and the stories that Peckham and Valenti have created through so many rotating perspectives, but they have a real knack for squashing any degree of hope that you hold for the characters. I knew I wanted to finish out the series but wasn’t sure if I’d have the heart to do it.

Enter Fated Throne, which was an unbelievably wonderful surprise that restored my faith in this universe and has me so excited to finish out this series. This book wasn’t without its heartbreak, but there were so many storylines and plot twists that I was rooting for. I loved the direction that this book headed in and felt like the characters finally hit the major growth curves I’ve been hoping to see all along.

Zodiac Academy is such a weird and dramatic contemporary fantasy that I’ve grown to truly adore. I’m so excited to keep moving through these books and excited to see the conclusions. 

Fair warning: this is the sixth book in the series. It’s impossible for me to do a fully spoiler-free review, so if you haven’t read the other books in the series, proceed with extreme caution.

The Book: Fated Throne by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

Fated Throne picks up from the explosive ending of Cursed Fates. A whole summer has passed since Tory was forced into becoming Lionel’s Guardian and swept away to a secret location no one can find, and in a somewhat unlikely twist of events, Darcy has spent her time becoming close friends with the Heirs, battling Nymphs and searching for the Imperial Star. Darius has spent the entire summer trying to track down where Tory is being held and researching ways to break the bond between Lionel and her to no avail, but as they prepare to head back to Zodiac Academy, they hope that attending the school alongside Tory will provide them with the opportunities that they need to free her.

Unfortunately, when they finally come face to face with Tory, they discover that over the summer, Lionel has managed to break her. She’s a shell of her former self, completely obedient and obsessed with Lionel, with a detachment from anyone else in her life, Darcy included. Perhaps most heartbreaking of all, Lionel has also managed to condition her to fear Darius at all times. She can’t be in his presence without associating him with memories of excruciating pain, and it makes her lash out in anger and fear. 

Before the crew even arrives back at Zodiac, Lionel calls a press conference to claim the throne as King with Tory at his side. He claims that the shadows were gifted to him by the stars and only his loyal followers were provided with the gift as well. Wielding the shadows alongside Clara gives him enough power over the other councillors to force them to bend their knee, and he more or less effortlessly claims the seats that were promised to Tory and Darcy, even going so far as to stake his claim over their Palace.

When everyone returns to the Zodiac Academy, they come to find that Lionel has wasted no time in implementing new governing rules for the institution that include prohibiting orders from mixing and classifying some orders as higher than others. This causes a segregation between orders that is enforced ruthlessly by students he designates as his loyal servants, and anyone caught breaking the new rules risks expulsion.

From here, the Heirs and Darcy work tirelessly to find opportunities to free Tory from the slavery she’s enduring at Lionel’s hand. They also continue to desperately search for the Imperial Star, while fighting the orderist mandates that Lionel has implemented alongside the A.S.S. By the end of the book, every single person will be forced to choose a side, and Darcy, Tory, and the Heirs will all be offered opportunities to decide what they ultimately want their futures to be, and what they want for the future of their kingdom.

The Review

Holy crap I loved this book. So much happened and the characters developed so much that I found myself completely sucked in, totally unable to put the book down.

Let’s start with the plot. Oh man, was there ever a lot to the plot. When Tory was bonded in Guardianship to Lionel, I honestly wanted to revolt against this series. I was so endlessly frustrated at how the stars always seemed to screw her and the darkness that was overtaking everyone, but in this book, Peckham and Valenti finally give us some hope that they don’t immediately take away. It takes time, but eventually, a lot of the characters get either redemption arcs or access to information that allows them to improve their circumstances, and it made a huge difference for me. I also felt like this book had more action than any of the others, and more consistently. I loved how the action sequences rotated through all participating perspectives and I couldn’t stop turning pages.

In terms of the characters, there was SO much growth. Tory and Darius both evolve beyond what I was anticipating was even possible for them, and the Heirs had a surprisingly significant role that allowed you to see so much more of their personalities. Seth, for example, who I had always considered an irredeemable jerk, is somehow now my favourite. Any scene where I got to see Seth at work was endlessly entertaining and I now actively look forward to anything that involves him.

The arc of the story itself also took such a fascinating turn that I well and truly was not expecting. The major twist at the end?! Just mind-blowing. In some ways, it had my heart swelling in happiness, but in others, I also know that Peckham and Valenti have just pushed the heartache out a little further. Regardless, the major twists have me completely committed at this point. I absolutely must know how this story ends.

Fated Thrones still had all the signature drama, spice, and soap opera-esque qualities that I’ve come to love about this series, but it was perhaps a touch less cringe than the others. The characters are finally growing up and becoming whole (albeit flawed) people, and that’s well reflected in how the story is unfolding. This is such a wildly entertaining series, and I can’t wait to get my heart broken again.