Zodiac Elite

Dark Fae Academy #1

by Roxie Ray, Skye Wilson

Welcome to the Academy for powerful Fae students. You’re invited to stay, but only if you can survive “Dead Week”.

Ash, Heather and Lace don’t belong at the Academy. Until recently, they thought they were human. It wasn’t until the school’s cut-throat headmaster saved them from an untimely gruesome death that they learned they were changelings. Fae lost to the human world are rare, and so is their potential to master the power of all twelve zodiac signs.

Judging by the welcome from the staff and students, they don’t think the girls belong at the school either. Which will make surviving freshman “Dead Week” even more perilous.

When the young women discover they are taking the place of three recently murdered students who looked exactly like them, they begin to search for answers to their true origins. In fact, their survival may depend on it.

Even the bullies who are the most dangerous seem to know the girls are special. A cruel senior betrothed to another, a house master who enjoys punishment, and a headmaster with murderous intentions are all drawn to them.

And they’ll do anything it takes to get close…

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Fae, Enemies To Lovers

398 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 2022

About the author

Roxie Ray is a group of writer friends who love to write Sci Fi Alien Romance and Paranormal Romance. They love to talk, read and write this lovely genre. They hope you love their books and strive to make sure you have a steamy, wonderful experience!

Reviews

[Phuong ✯ · Rating 1 out of 5]

What in the Zodiac Academy ripoff is this

EDIT: Not me trying to download the second book in this series and not finding it anymore in the Kindle store, cause the first two books got taken down. 🤣🤣🤣


I have book 1 still in my library, cause I haven't returned it yet, otherwise I couldn't find it. I thought I might be reaching with the comparisons, but if this series was taken down so quickly, maybe there was some shady stuff going on after all. 👁👄👁


Let me elaborate a bit:

↳ Our three main heroines of this story are Ash, Lace and Heather. They were taken from earth and put into this new fae world
↳ There are three love interests in this series: a bully, a professor and a headmaster. The bully and professor one do sound familiar right?
↳ There was a war where the children of the King got kidnapped and his 12 concubines got slaughtered and no one knew what happened to the missing children. Guess who the lost princesses are? Of course Ash, Heather and Lace. The lost princesses came back to claim the throne. The only difference is that the King had 12 concubines so Ash, Lace and Heather are only half-sister (but this wasn’t confirmed yet, only that they are indeed the lost princesses)
↳ Instead of “The Awakening” there is a “Hearakening” and of course all three girls have the elemental powers + the power of all 12 zodiac signs. Meaning each zodiac sign has a form like vampire, dragon, phoenix, werewolves etc. and if you have the power of all 12 zodiac signs that means you can transform into each form.
↳ The Academy has 4 main houses (Ignis, Terra, Aqua and Ventus lol)
↳ There is a "Dead Week" the student need to survive
↳ Shadeling = Nymphs
↳ Instead of an Atlas like in Zodiac Academy, each student here has a book that keeps all their secrets, assets, timetables, etc.
↳ Some cryptic horoscope for each day
↳ mean girls, bullies, asshole professor that want to see the main characters fail

✦✧✦✧ COUPLES ✦✧✦✧

→ Student x Headmaster

Annalace ‘Lace’ Constantine:
💛 kind
💛 trusting
💛 can be quite clever if she wants to
💛 a little bit clumsy
💛 level headed
💛 blond hair
💛 Darcy Vega in blond and more into BDSM

Oberon Harshing:
🧛 vampire (and some other forms)
🧛 has lost a sister
🧛 saved the girls from a serial killer and gave them a place at The Academy
🧛 stoic
🧛 Headmaster of The Academy
🧛 Lance Orion with more power, but less personality and no moanable name

→ Student x Professor

Heather Blakely:
🖤 picks up fight with dudes in dive bars
🖤 foster home kid
🖤 wears a lot of black
🖤 drives a motorcycle
🖤 ‘foul’-mouthed & temperamental
🖤 black hair
🖤 Tory Vega

Dayne Blackford:
🥃 vaerpyre = vampire and werewolf
🥃 has a drinking problem
🥃 Professor for dueling
🥃 stubborn
🥃 gets into brawl fights
🥃 Lance Orion if he could transform into a werewolf

→ bully romance

Aisling ‘Ash’ Hargrave:
❤️ smart
❤️ was kidnapped by a serial killer and hold hostage for a year before she got rescued
❤️ has some degradation kinks or sth since she finds it hot if she gets bullied
❤️ the POV I could not distinguish at all
❤️ red hair
❤️ could be a mix between the Vega twins

Romin Castillo:
🐉 dragon
🐉 has a bastard half brother
🐉 is a bully
🐉 is betrothed to another girl for political power
🐉 has a tattoo of a dragon on his back
🐉 Darius Acrux with less daddy issues

I don’t want to go that far and say that this series is a complete copy of Zodiac Academy, cause there are differences in the storylines and magic system, but all the similarities between the characters, tropes and even parallel between scenes can’t be denied and made me suspicious af. There was an almost underwater kiss between one of the girls and another professor who was not the main love interest or at the end of the book there was this scene where the bullies cut off all the hairs of the girls and I’m like ????? People who read ZA would understand, idk it’s was little moments like this that made me side-eying this book.

The first 25% of this book was actually 3 stars, because it was so fucking dumb and the heroines made so dumb choices that I was laughing my ass off and gave Lien chapter for chapter summaries, cause the plot was so all over the place. It was hilarious. But after that I was so bored and wanted to dnf after each chapter. These relationships felt like the 1$ thrift shop version of darcyorion at best and thanks, but no thank you. I can’t even pretend this is ZA fanfiction, cause all these couples are so flavourless.

Okay maybe it’s a bit unfair of me to call these couples flavourless since they aren’t even together yet, 2/3 of the couple only had one kiss so far an the other 1/3 not even that, but reading 400 pages of this book tells me enough what I want to know and so far it’s not delivering.

The best thing (not) about this book so far is that the faes can SMELL their soulmates, cause their soulmate smells delicious to them so our three dear couples already lowkey know that they are soulmates just by the scent. 🤣

"You are most yourself when you smell like yourself."

P.S. also can somebody explain to me why the second book of this series came out on the 27th Jan 2022 and the first book came out a day LATER on the 28th??? very shady if you ask me. 👀

┍━━━━━━━━»•» «•«━┑
DARK FAE ACADEMY SERIES

#1 Zodiac Elite – 1.5 stars
#2 Zodiac Sins – no ... okay maybe, when i feel curious enough to see how many similarities i can find between this book and ZA
#3 Zodiac Heirs – lol
┕━»•» «•«━━━━━━━━┙

[Cindy ✩☽♔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating ~3.5

Zodiac Academy + Harry Potter with minor dashes of The Hunger Games/Divergent and maybe a bit of Netflix’s Winx Saga vibes

Alright, so I am sure, like me, quite a few people clicked on this due to its potential similarity to another Zodiac-themed series. And while I do think there are some similarities, it is thankfully not the discount or the Wish version as some of us might have feared. I do think it is unique enough to stand on its own. After all, it managed to keep me interested enough to finish in one sitting and sideline the ARC I was originally planning to read this weekend. Whoops.

Anyways, without spoiling too much. Here is a quick breakdown of similarities to the other series I mentioned:

Zodiac:
⭐The mention/importance of Zodiac signs, obviously
⭐A daily horoscope
⭐The existence of order forms, but, interestingly enough, the powerful are not restricted to just one
⭐An academy setting, though, let's be honest there are more academy themed books out there than any of us will ever be able to read
⭐Fae children lost to the human world and rediscovered, again not Zodiac exclusive but it is a similarity they share
⭐Bully romance

Harry Potter:
⭐Magical, somewhat historical setting that exists parallel to the human world
⭐Purchasing/obtaining of magical items (for school): A familiar, a grimoire, and magical crystal (versus a wand)
⭐Arriving at said Academy via magical train
⭐A pair of twins with their own brand of humor/lack of filter
⭐The existence of a highly used point system. No house points, but the students get their rankings daily to see where they are on the totem pole

Hunger Games:
⭐It's basically a battle to the death. Legit students can just kill each other. No big deal. You get points for that. Like, oh you killed that student? 100 points to you!

Divergent:
⭐A testing system that manifests differently depending on the testers individual weaknesses/fears
⭐ The existence of an “other” class, one that doesn’t fit the general mold. But rather than divergent they’re called a transit.

Characters:
Ash - "The smart one"
After a life of struggles and foster care Ash thought she'd finally caught a break when she'd succeeded in getting into the school of her dreams. Too bad a crazed serial killer gets to her first. Trapped in a basement for over a year, I gotta give the girl credit. She doesn't lose hope. She continues to struggle and fight, making continued attempts to escape. Though it isn't until the day she meets the others that her luck starts to change. Thrust into a new world she doesn't quite understand, Ash does everything to learn and adapt to her new environment. If only a certain asshole senior would stay out of her way. Too bad she doesn't hate him as much as she should.

Lace - "The pretty one"
The girl living in an ivory mansion/prison. She has spent her entire life cloistered by her highly controlling parents, who we never actually get to meet. Yet continues to remain optimistic. She accepts her circumstances and genuinely tries to make the best of things. Lace is kind and trusting. But as the book continues, we see she there is definitely more to her than meets the eye. You know, aside from her attraction to the Headmaster 😆

Heather - "The tough one"
She is a product of a shitty foster care system. And when things got bad, she got out. Having been on her own since fifteen, the girl is a survivor. She lives by the rules taught to her by a mysterious gray-eyed drifter she met at a gas station. I'll be honest. She is my favorite of the girls. I love her sarcasm and no-nonsense attitude. Sure she can come off as a little abrasive, but it isn't to the point that she is downright mean. The least trusting of the three she definitely takes on a more protective role in the trio. But she's not without her bad decisions and problems at the Academy as well. Such as her undeniable attraction to her professor and the other being an asshole alpha determined to make her his.

Oh, and let's not forget the fact that someone is clearly out to kill the girls. No big deal right?

One thing I will say that I thought was ridiculous about all the girls though? The fact they all fell prey to a killer because of their desperate need to save a cat! Call me heartless, but as someone who has been followed while walking on the streets of Detroit, if I was walking alone in the city at night and heard a distressed cat I would not follow the sound down a dark abandoned alleyway. Just no. Nor would I escape out of a second-story window, during a torrential downpour in search of a cat I heard in the night while I was sleeping. Lastly, when someone attempts to break into my motel room in the middle of the night and I narrowly manage to escape out of the window, I would not stop my fully started motorcycle, mid-escape. to pick up a cat.

Romin - This guy is a dick. There are a few moments where we get a hint that he might not be so bad, but then he reverts back to being an asshole sometimes mere moments later. That being said, he's not done anything beyond redemption. And I am interested in the mystery of who he really is since we've learned he isn't who he says he is.

Harshing - Headmaster of the Academy he is the one that rescues the girls from what I assume would've been their impending death. He has an obvious interest in Lace. But his intentions remain rather dubious. It was also a bit annoying that he kept initially getting angry at her for situations outside of her control, only to backtrack when he realized they weren't her fault. Listen to the reasons first sir!

Blackwood - Professor for Scorpios and Combat instructor, he is the one I probably like the most at this point. Though the man really needs to get that drinking habit under control. He rescues Heather when she nearly gets trapped in the Slade. Their brimming attraction to one another proves to be a challenge he isn't quite willing to face and he almost quits toward the end of the book. But once he learns of the mistake Heather made he decides to stick around to help her.

Sloan - An alpha asshole who can't seem to take no for an answer. And yet, even after all the shit he pulled, I don't hate him? I don't know I just think there's no to him as well. And like Romin, he hasn't done anything completely irredeemable as of yet. Though he did trick Heather into something that we'll likely see the results of in the next book.

Douglas - Creepy/stalkerish professor that I really hope died in that lake.

So, as I said, overall, this is different enough that I would not call it a carbon copy of Zodiac Academy. It has its own entertainment value and mystery going for it. So for those interested, I'd say give it a try.

[Caitlyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way to many similarities to Zodiac Academy.

I’m sorry but this whole thing was basically Zodiac Academy but they added another sister and took 2 guys out. But honestly there were way too many similarities for me to continue this. When this could be a copyright infringement issue. Sorry ladies but there are way too many similar plot points with little changes here and there that don’t actually change much.

[Linds (honeyy.fae) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Knock off brand of Zodiac Academy.

I said what I said. I can’t even believe this was able to be published. This is basically the book equivalent of someone forgetting their homework, so they copied another student’s but changed a couple words so it didn’t get flagged or caught.

Except… it did. 😬 it was painful how similar this book was to Zodiac Academy. And it wasn’t even done well.

So if you’re reading this review, don’t waste your time. Pick up Zodiac Academy by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti instead.

[Adricrisuruta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am very happy with this book. I didn't know what to expect when we started, but it has been exciting from the beginning.

Ash, Lace, and Heather are three young women for whom life had been unfair. None of them were happy with the fate that had befallen them, yet they didn't know that it could change so much more.

Their arrival in the Afterlife, the trials they had to endure, the mockery, the humiliation, the contempt, and the accusations are nothing compared to what awaits them now that they know their past and where they are destined to go.

[Lover Of Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zodiac

Not a bad book but I feel like it's a knockoff of Zodiac Academy. I'll read another out of curiosity sake .

[Denisa Claudia Raicu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mi-a plăcut maxim cum a început. Avem trei fete care aparent au o viata normală.
Pana când sunt răpite, toate cu ajutorul unor pisici, și apoi sunt salvate de la moarte.
Asa afla cele trei ca nu sunt oameni normali, afla ca exista Zâne și ca poveștile nu sunt doar povești. Ele au in comun zodiile și au parte de un nou început intr-o academie. Numai ca și acolo sunt secrete și ele descoperă ca nimic din ce știu nu e real.
Avem o harababură, cu un rege care a avut 12 sotii și care au omorâte și copiii i-au dispărut, copiii care se pare ca sunt cele trei prințese care sunt de fapt și surori vitrege.
Cartea avea potențial maxim, mi-a plăcut rau cum a început și prima jumătate. Am adorat ideea de puterea legata de cele 12 zodii si tot ce insemna acea putere. Apoi parca totul a fost forțat, se puteau tăia detaliile inutile, descrierile.
Avem vampiri, Zâne, vârcolaci, nimfe, dragoni, balauri 🤣criminali, lupte pentru supremație, avem traumele unei fete care a fost ținută ostatic un an.
As fi vrut poveștile alea de dragoste între cele trei fete și eroii care le ajuta sa descopere adevărul și am rămas foarte dezamăgită.
Deși fetele vor sa fie puternice și vor sa regăsească imposibilul, de multe ori par imature și naive, prostanace de-a dreptul.
Ash a fost cea mai cu capul pe umeri în timp ce Lace era doar o față drăguța si Heather era cea dură și periculoasa, impreuna un trio care ar putea avea succes.Pe alocuri m-a ținut în suspans, pe alocuri m-a plictisit groaznic.
Mi s-a părut prostesc și grotesc modul în care acceptul profesorii crimele din academie.
Am înțeles ca erau într-o competiției, dar totuși, la moarte sa reacționez ceva de genul: ați rămas 8 din 15, felicitări!... mi se pare de prost gust.
Clar nu voi mai citi continuarea. Nu ma interesează deloc sa aflu cine era criminalul și de ce le știa punctele slabe.

[Malischa Nijenhuis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Welcome to the Academy for powerful Fae students. You’re invited to stay, but only if you can survive “Dead Week”.
Ash, Heather and Lace don’t belong at the Academy. Until recently, they thought they were human. It wasn’t until the school’s cut-throat headmaster saved them from an untimely gruesome death that they learned they were changelings. Fae lost to the human world are rare, and so is their potential to master the power of all twelve zodiac signs.
Judging by the welcome from the staff and students, they don’t think the girls belong at the school either. Which will make surviving freshman “Dead Week” even more perilous.
When the young women discover they are taking the place of three recently murdered students who looked exactly like them, they begin to search for answers to their true origins. In fact, their survival may depend on it.
Even the bullies who are the most dangerous seem to know the girls are special. A cruel senior betrothed to another, a house master who enjoys punishment, and a headmaster with murderous intentions are all drawn to them.
And they’ll do anything it takes to get close…

I did enjoyed it a lot. its well paced great world building. easy to read. i love who the action came to life in this book. roxie and SKye did both a great job. defently want to read more. so i hope there will be more books soon in this world!!

[Booklover83 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. In this book we follow 3 young women, Aisling (Ash), Annalace (Lace), and Heather. All are Changelings that lived on earth with no knowledge of their Fae heritage. They are all forced into the Beyond by a serial killer great expectations and knowledge of the Fae realm. Once in the Beyond they are placed into a school to learn to wield their magical powers. It is exactly as described in part of the book, Hogwarts meets hunger games, with a side of bullies and deception on top of it. These young woman must stick together to learn how to harness their magic, uncover the truth of their pasts, and stay alive in the process. I couldn't put this book down and was sad when it ended, so i look forwarded to the next book which will continue their story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Judy Gittleson Hendrickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ash, Lace and Heather were all victims of The Slasher, killed but not dead. They are very much alive but in a fae realm at a school and learning what their true heritage is while all those around are conniving and plotting. The characters are intriguing with strong characteristics and powers, like changing into mermaids. The story is continued into the net books. Plenty of drama, danger, misconceptions, mistrust and hidden agendas. Loved the point system awarded to each student, like the Potter stories. Very entertaining world the three characters are working through. Learning a lot about the zodiac traits as well.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Christinaraven · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story and take on a mix of an academy story and the Fae. It was dark, steamy, full of danger and characters you do not want to meet in a dark alley. It centers around thee girls who end in Beyond and discover some crazy things about themselves and the Fae. Hooked from the beginning as insanity occurs and had my fingers crossed to see who would make it to alive to the end of the book. Hard to figure out who was good who was bad and how it all fit together. A lot of mystery suspense danger and secrets around to make the story interesting and fun to read. Entertaining and cannot wait to see what happens next. Not a light happy story but a good one.

[Corina Hochwimmer Andersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fae, changelings and magic all in one book, what is there not to like.
Ash, Lace and Heather are saved from one enemy, just to be thrown into a school of "wolves". It was ecxiting to follow them through all the different potholes and "traps" there are to being fae.

I love reading everything containing fae, and had therefore high expectations for this book, and I was not disappointed.
How Roxie Ray has managed to combine zodiac signs with fae abilities and shifting forms was just amazing, and I can't wait to follow the girls stories in the remaining books of this series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Randinicole_reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was one of the most unique books I’ve read. It reminded me of mortal instruments meets Harry Potter but add some bully spice in there! I haven’t read zodiac academy to compare the differences/similarities but I would assume if you liked that.. you’d like this. I need the next book.

There’s magic, politics, shape shifting, fated mates, angsty vibes through the entire book. I have a major theory about romin. It was amazing. Highly recommend!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jennifer Ehninger · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story, but for me it started very slow. Three human women are kidnapped and killed and then find themselves in the Seelie realm. It was a unique story, I'm hoping the future books are just as fun.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was... Alright.

Story and world were interesting and show a lot of promise... But there were a lot of inconsistencies that distracted and even contradicted other parts of the story. Overall, I just wanted more from this book , but I'll give book 2 a chance.

[Alex Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic collaboration between Ms's Wilson and Ray. Delightfully dark and sinful. Great characters, well written storyline. Would recommend. Cannot wait for the next book

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kathleen Bradbury (Bulfon) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid and enjoyable instalove book ! It is sweet, passionate, engaging, relatable, funny, steamy, and well written. The characters are likeable; the chemistry between them is instant and off the charts. Definitely recommended!

[Chrissi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I devoured this book! The characters are well developed and the storyline is interesting and moves at a consistent pace.
World building is on point and I definitely want to read the remainder of the series!

[Shweta · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series seems like a rip off of other zodiac themed series, but there are certain new elements and threads, that can give it a whole new dimension.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Ryon McBride · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!!

From the start of the book to the world that has been created it has been a great read! Couldn’t put it down I read it in under 24 hours. It’s a must read if you like sexy fantasy and murder mystery.

[Jenn Pernock-Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why, this book is totally a zodiac academy rip off it was very amusing reading it, because I knew it was a Zodiac Academy rip off. Also, I totally didn’t download the rest of the series to read it because they’re a horrible zodiac academy rip off and I’m using Reed if you want to laugh.!!

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a start to a new series by this author. Characters were fantastic, storyline was superb. It has all the elements to a superb book

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read through kindle unlimited

[Lottie Love]

Yes, it is a carbon copy of Zodiac Academy.
Do I care? Nope.

[Vev · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not know how fiercely I hate teacher/student trope until this series, so thank you, I guess?

[Zia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely similar to Zodiac Academy but not the same. I enjoyed it nonetheless 🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️

[Snow · Rating 1 out of 5]

Are you ripping off Zodiac Academy because you're Roxie? Or are you Roxie because you're ripping off Zodiac Academy?

[Vicky 🧚‍♀️ · Rating 1 out of 5]

literalmente no pasó nada, la mayor pérdida de tiempo de mi vida

[Loli Guindo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me alegro de haberle dado una segunda oportunidad, al principio no me gustó nada, pero al avanzar un poco tiene todo lo que me gusta, construcción de mundo, tensión sexual, malos malísimos...

[emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

hhhrghh it was actually so well written & the world was set up so well.... i was so excited after coming from whatever the hell zodiac academy was. but the relationship tropes got me so.... it's just me against the superior authority x student thing... like, ig i could've been ok w lace and the headmaster BUT HEATHER AND BLACKFORD (or whatever his name was)?!!?!,!&;8,&3'..... i was really intrigued w heather and the blonde guy... that storyline could've been so good (yknow, dead doppelgänger gf and all) ... and ash and that upperclassman.... that was the best of it, unfortunately..... oh well...