Sins of The Zodiac · 2024
Never KeepSpice level, tropes & is it dark romance?
by Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham
Spice 4/5 (Explicit) · Darkness 5/5 (No light) · 11 trigger warnings flagged
From Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham, 2024: Never Keep, book 1 of Sins of The Zodiac. The pull here is academy and dark fantasy. We score it spice 4 (explicit) and darkness 5 (pitch black). The heaviest flags readers report are violence, bullying, murder. Our scores lean on what readers report, not on a full reread, so treat them as a guide. This note is ours. It is not a publisher blurb.
First published: 2024. Book 1 of Sins of The Zodiac.
Never Keep tropes
On this shelf, Never Keep is filed under Dark academy romance and Dark fantasy romance. Each tag opens more books with that trope.
Never Keep spice level
Is Never Keep dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Never Keep scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light).
Spice and darkness are separate scores. More no light books. How we rate.
Never Keep trigger warnings
Book-specific flags taken from reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 13 readers), grouped by us. Also on that list: death of parent, sexual content, fire/fire injury, injury/injury detail, misogyny, toxic relationship, cursing, ableism. See the reader-submitted list.
Graphic (9) — open before you read
Open this before you read. These are the flags most likely to be a hard stop.
Minor (0)
Present, and usually not the reason someone puts the book down.
None flagged in this band.
Full Never Keep trigger warnings
Sins of The Zodiac reading order
Never Keep is book 1 of 2 in Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham's Sins of The Zodiac series. Start here.
- Book 1 Never Keep (this book) · 2024
- Book 2 Echo Fort · 2025
Order checked against the StoryGraph Sins of The Zodiac series page on 13 October 2026. The Sins of The Zodiac series in order.
Who it's for
Shelf note written for this site. We do not copy reviews or publisher blurbs. Outbound links are search pages, not quoted ratings. Kindle Unlimited and endings are only flagged when we were willing to mark them. How we rate.
Missing a book? Suggest it.
Books like Never Keep
Matched on shared tropes, then the closest spice and darkness scores. Other books in the same series are listed above, not here.
- Psycho Academy
Psycho Academy
Jasmine Mas
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Dark academy romance, Dark fantasy romance
- Night Witch
Night Witch
Jaymin Eve
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●○○
Shared: Dark academy romance, Dark fantasy romance
- Academy of the Forgotten
Academy of the Forgotten
Eva Chase
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●○○
Shared: Dark academy romance, Dark fantasy romance
- Bound to Gods
Bound to Gods
Eva Chase
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●○○
Shared: Dark academy romance, Dark fantasy romance
- Broken Fae
Broken Fae
Caroline Peckham
Spice ●●●○○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Dark academy romance, Dark fantasy romance
- Dead Man's Isle
Dead Man's Isle
Caroline Peckham
Spice ●●●○○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Dark academy romance, Dark fantasy romance
- Shattered Omega: Part One
Shattered Omega: Part One
Marie Mackay
Spice ●●●○○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Dark academy romance, Dark fantasy romance
- Elemental Fae Academy
Elemental Fae Academy
Lexi C. Foss
Spice ●●●●●Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Dark fantasy romance, Dark academy romance
Books like Never Keep, with a reason for each
Questions readers actually ask
What is the spice level of Never Keep?
Never Keep spice level is 4 of 5 (Explicit). On-page sex, clearly written. Darkness is a separate score: 5 of 5 (No light).
What are the Never Keep trigger warnings?
Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Murder, War, Torture, Death, Grief, Blood, Sexual assault. Moderate: Psychological abuse, Abuse. Minor: none flagged. These are book-specific flags reported by readers on reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 13 readers), grouped by us. The author's own note may list more. Read it before you start.
Is Never Keep dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Never Keep scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light). The book is not interested in pulling the punch.
What tropes are in Never Keep?
On this shelf Never Keep is filed under Dark academy romance and Dark fantasy romance.
Who is Never Keep for?
For readers hunting academy and dark fantasy with explicit spice. Check the trigger warnings before you start.
What are some books like Never Keep?
Matched on shared tropes and similar spice and darkness: Psycho Academy by Jasmine Mas; Night Witch by Jaymin Eve; Academy of the Forgotten by Eva Chase; Bound to Gods by Eva Chase; Broken Fae by Caroline Peckham; Dead Man's Isle by Caroline Peckham. More read-alikes, each with a reason, are on zademasked.com/like/never-keep.
Is Never Keep a standalone?
No. Never Keep is book 1 of 2 in the Sins of The Zodiac series by Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham.
What order should I read the Sins of The Zodiac series in?
1. Never Keep; 2. Echo Fort.
How many books are in the Sins of The Zodiac series?
The Sins of The Zodiac series by Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham has 2 main books.
What is the Never Keep age rating?
We'd say 18+. Spice sits at 4/5 (explicit) and darkness at 5/5 (no light). That's our recommendation, not an official rating, so read the trigger warnings as well.
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