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Frost and Moonshine (Hellebore Academy Year One) REVISED VERSION
Not yet published
Expected 28 Feb 26“Hellebores are beautiful, but did you know they’re also extremely toxic?”
After getting kidnapped by vampires, and told she holds a dangerous ability, Millianna Grace escapes to the Otherworld, where she makes the mistake of saying the Winter Prince's True Name out loud. Now she’s bound to his Court for four years, labelled a threat to the Fae, and is sentenced to attend the infamous Hellebore Academy as punishment.
Her plan was simple—keep a low profile and try not to draw too much attention to herself—but things go awry when she manages to catch the attention of not only the Winter Prince, but the Dark Prince and the Lady of Summer. They know all her secrets and intend to use that knowledge to control her.
It only gets worse from there as human students start going missing and an ominous threat looms over the academy. Millianna thought being bound to three powerful Fae was bad, but once she learns someone wants her dead, her time at Hellebore Academy becomes a whole new nightmare.
The only way to survive this cruel and beautiful world was to gain power, and Millianna was determined to make every single Fae fall to their knees.
AUTHOR’S Please keep in mind, that this is a REVISED version of the 2023 publication of this book. Multiple changes have been made, but it is still, essentially the same book.
After getting kidnapped by vampires, and told she holds a dangerous ability, Millianna Grace escapes to the Otherworld, where she makes the mistake of saying the Winter Prince's True Name out loud. Now she’s bound to his Court for four years, labelled a threat to the Fae, and is sentenced to attend the infamous Hellebore Academy as punishment.
Her plan was simple—keep a low profile and try not to draw too much attention to herself—but things go awry when she manages to catch the attention of not only the Winter Prince, but the Dark Prince and the Lady of Summer. They know all her secrets and intend to use that knowledge to control her.
It only gets worse from there as human students start going missing and an ominous threat looms over the academy. Millianna thought being bound to three powerful Fae was bad, but once she learns someone wants her dead, her time at Hellebore Academy becomes a whole new nightmare.
The only way to survive this cruel and beautiful world was to gain power, and Millianna was determined to make every single Fae fall to their knees.
AUTHOR’S Please keep in mind, that this is a REVISED version of the 2023 publication of this book. Multiple changes have been made, but it is still, essentially the same book.
389 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication February 28, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
I adored this book! I was hooked from start to finish and wasn't expecting what happened. I loved all aspects of it as well as all the different characters! They were so so varied and all the personalities really worked well together, especially when it came to the main 4 characters!
I especially love Milliana and how different she is to other mortals! It was so intriguing.
I especially love Milliana and how different she is to other mortals! It was so intriguing.
Review of advance copy received from Author
{Urban Fantasy Academy Romance; FMMF; explicit but infrequent situations}
--I forgot to add that this is an ARC for review (my opinion is entirely my own!).
I think this book has promise, but there are some elements that leave me confused. Milliana has grown up as a human but demonstrates powers from the beginning. We know immediately that she is not a standard person. She is described as a fox shifter for a while, and it gets very confusing when she emits flames from her hands and later controls fae with her voice.
For years she has worked in a brothel aimed at fae, and her first meeting with two, Cillian and Nadja, starts a journey into self-realization. Since she has powers, Cillian enrolls her into the fae academy, where her best friend is also enrolled. Amazing luck! (Eye roll as I feel the author forced this).
Then the more emotionally engaged part of the story begins. Milli is bullied at the academy by the jealous fiancé. While the bullying scenes are appropriately horrifying, I keep thinking ‘why doesn’t she use her powers?’
“Has anyone ever told you that your attitude is very irritating?” She is. Milliana is renamed Darling or Jellybean by the fae, but I hate her snarky attitude. It doesn’t seem like a coping mechanism so much as word vomit. She even snarks after Cillian carves poison into her arms. It’s gratuitous violence he calls punishment, but it doesn’t stop her. Does she like masochism?
As part of the plot, demons have visited the campus, and it seems there might be a Hades/Persephone theme developing, too...and I haven’t given away the plot twists ☺️.
∞ THE ROMANCE ∞
“Cilli—”
My words were cut off the moment Cillian pressed our mouths together, his left arm snaking around my waist as his right hand tangled in my hair. I froze...” The romance consists of mostly kissing, with one week of heat mostly behind closed doors. I think it’s fine, but if you want smut, this book is plot-heavy.
∞ THE FAE WORLD ∞
“the entire left side of my body was covered in white, black, and gold designs, each swirling line twisting and twirling around my limbs like a ribbon.”
The fae have all the elements I like. Fae can, like vampires, enrapture humans into a bond. They are not slaves but have some kind of relationship that is not clear to me. The bonds show as tattoos of vines and leaves. Here they have no allergy to technology or iron and incorporate modern tech.
All in all, I am conflicted about whether I like the story enough to read book 2. Probably not, since I have turned into a standalone reader. I think the beginning needs work to make this feel less illogical.
--I forgot to add that this is an ARC for review (my opinion is entirely my own!).
I think this book has promise, but there are some elements that leave me confused. Milliana has grown up as a human but demonstrates powers from the beginning. We know immediately that she is not a standard person. She is described as a fox shifter for a while, and it gets very confusing when she emits flames from her hands and later controls fae with her voice.
For years she has worked in a brothel aimed at fae, and her first meeting with two, Cillian and Nadja, starts a journey into self-realization. Since she has powers, Cillian enrolls her into the fae academy, where her best friend is also enrolled. Amazing luck! (Eye roll as I feel the author forced this).
Then the more emotionally engaged part of the story begins. Milli is bullied at the academy by the jealous fiancé. While the bullying scenes are appropriately horrifying, I keep thinking ‘why doesn’t she use her powers?’
“Has anyone ever told you that your attitude is very irritating?” She is. Milliana is renamed Darling or Jellybean by the fae, but I hate her snarky attitude. It doesn’t seem like a coping mechanism so much as word vomit. She even snarks after Cillian carves poison into her arms. It’s gratuitous violence he calls punishment, but it doesn’t stop her. Does she like masochism?
As part of the plot, demons have visited the campus, and it seems there might be a Hades/Persephone theme developing, too...and I haven’t given away the plot twists ☺️.
∞ THE ROMANCE ∞
“Cilli—”
My words were cut off the moment Cillian pressed our mouths together, his left arm snaking around my waist as his right hand tangled in my hair. I froze...” The romance consists of mostly kissing, with one week of heat mostly behind closed doors. I think it’s fine, but if you want smut, this book is plot-heavy.
∞ THE FAE WORLD ∞
“the entire left side of my body was covered in white, black, and gold designs, each swirling line twisting and twirling around my limbs like a ribbon.”
The fae have all the elements I like. Fae can, like vampires, enrapture humans into a bond. They are not slaves but have some kind of relationship that is not clear to me. The bonds show as tattoos of vines and leaves. Here they have no allergy to technology or iron and incorporate modern tech.
All in all, I am conflicted about whether I like the story enough to read book 2. Probably not, since I have turned into a standalone reader. I think the beginning needs work to make this feel less illogical.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
There are some brutal attacks in this book, i advise you to check the trigger warnings before reading this book.
So this book follows Milliana, an orphaned fox shifter who has some extra gifts too in a world that has essentially been taken over by the various Fae or Ethereals. It follows her as she goes from being just a high school drop out who works 2 jobs, to running fir her life and ending up being bonded to the winter prince Cillian and attending the prestigious Hellborne Academy.
Whilst attending the academy she meets up with an old friend Harriet, as well as some new ones Eli, Arden and Dana. We have 2 adorable sprites Spade and Lumi who adore Darling (as her nickname is with the Fae). We also have the interesting relationships with Cillian, Alasdair and Nadja, and let's not forget the hatred of Inara who wants Cillian for herself. We get to enjoy the drama of everyday life trying to navigate lessons, training and deadly encounters, all whilst trying to survive as a mortal in a Fae world.
The story was enjoyable, it was easy to read and follow, complete with some unexpected twists, whilst still having some classic clichés that are classic for a reason. The characters were well described and personable, enough that I may have wanted to slap one or two of them... There was no missing information, there were no random jumps, and it all flowed nicely.
Overall a good book, one that I am definitely looking forward to book 2 for. What craziness is going to befall our poor Milliana/Darling next?! Especially with all of the excitement at the end of book 1! 😉
There are some brutal attacks in this book, i advise you to check the trigger warnings before reading this book.
So this book follows Milliana, an orphaned fox shifter who has some extra gifts too in a world that has essentially been taken over by the various Fae or Ethereals. It follows her as she goes from being just a high school drop out who works 2 jobs, to running fir her life and ending up being bonded to the winter prince Cillian and attending the prestigious Hellborne Academy.
Whilst attending the academy she meets up with an old friend Harriet, as well as some new ones Eli, Arden and Dana. We have 2 adorable sprites Spade and Lumi who adore Darling (as her nickname is with the Fae). We also have the interesting relationships with Cillian, Alasdair and Nadja, and let's not forget the hatred of Inara who wants Cillian for herself. We get to enjoy the drama of everyday life trying to navigate lessons, training and deadly encounters, all whilst trying to survive as a mortal in a Fae world.
The story was enjoyable, it was easy to read and follow, complete with some unexpected twists, whilst still having some classic clichés that are classic for a reason. The characters were well described and personable, enough that I may have wanted to slap one or two of them... There was no missing information, there were no random jumps, and it all flowed nicely.
Overall a good book, one that I am definitely looking forward to book 2 for. What craziness is going to befall our poor Milliana/Darling next?! Especially with all of the excitement at the end of book 1! 😉
Review of advance copy
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars
Frost and Moonshine
I have read the revised version of the book that was previously released in 2023.
~ Academy setting
~ Fae
This book was good. The start of the book was slow but if you push through it does get better.
It has a good storyline. However I think it was rushed in certain parts.
I enjoyed the book more after she started attending the academy.
But was a little taken aback by the amount of torture in the book.
I think the “curse” could have been explained a bit more.
But with all that said I still enjoyed the book.
I was given an advanced reader copy for free in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to the author for sending me your book.
Frost and Moonshine
I have read the revised version of the book that was previously released in 2023.
~ Academy setting
~ Fae
This book was good. The start of the book was slow but if you push through it does get better.
It has a good storyline. However I think it was rushed in certain parts.
I enjoyed the book more after she started attending the academy.
But was a little taken aback by the amount of torture in the book.
I think the “curse” could have been explained a bit more.
But with all that said I still enjoyed the book.
I was given an advanced reader copy for free in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to the author for sending me your book.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I was given the privilege of receiving an advanced copy. Andi does a spectacular job of drawing you into this mesmerizing world of magic and Fae; referencing Celtic lore and seamlessly intertwines the world of today with fantasy. I immediately felt a bond with Milli as I followed her through the events leading up to her enrollment at Hellebore Academy, and I was enthralled by the array of characters she connected with along the way.
This is an enchanting first installment of what will undoubtedly be an exhilarating series.
This is an enchanting first installment of what will undoubtedly be an exhilarating series.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews