Royal Heirs Academy

By: Lindsey Duga

Narrated by: Sarah Beth Goer, Nick Afka Thomas

American Royals meets Elite in this contemporary YA set in a glamorous boarding school where four teens compete to inherit a European kingdom.

For fifty years, King Leander Eldana has ruled Ashland without naming an heir to the crown. After sending away his grandchildren to be raised out of the public eye, it’s finally time to secure his nation’s future by appointing one definitive heir. The best way to appraise his successor? In the halls of Almus Terra Academy, a boarding school infamous for breeding the world’s next generation of leaders—and liars.

Titus Eldana has always known he’d inherit Ashland’s future. Now he must prove he has what it takes. Alaric Eldana was not raised with a silver spoon. His secondhand clothes might not be fit for a king, but he knows how to rule: with his fist. Emmeline Eldana only wants to please her neglectful parents. If that means securing the crown, she won’t hesitate to destroy anyone in her way. Sadie Aurelia has no idea why she’s been given a chance to bring new blood to the throne. With nothing left to lose back home, she’s ready to take it.

Filled with competition, secret alliances, enemies-to-lovers romance, and cunning revenge, Royal Heirs Academy is a breathless, entertaining story set in modern-day. This gossip-filled school for the global elite is inspired by UWC of the Atlantic, which Vanity Fair has described as "Hippie Hogwarts."

For fans of the breakout television hits Elite and Maxton Hall—The World Between Us.

©2025 Lindsey Duga (P)2025 Christy Ottaviano Books

Critic reviews

"An intense rivals-to-enemies journey, in which four royal heirs must decide how far they're willing to go if they want to rule a kingdom. No one is who they first appear to be. Everyone has a secret. Filled with backstabbing and betrayal, this book will surprise readers in the best ways possible." —Jodi Meadows, New York Times bestselling coauthor of My Lady Jane