This cover absolutely drew me in and from there I stayed hooked. I adore anything that explores mythology and as it winds through into the world building it is so lovely to read.

There were some cool scenes in this, but overall I found it surprisingly boring and bloated. It took me nearly 3 weeks to get through, hoping it would grab me harder but it just never did.

The mythology and magic system (such as it is) of the story-world didn't do anything for me, just seemed overcomplicated. It was disappointing that the main character Sylvi ended up being The Lost Princess and Most Special Girl with the Most Special Powers, and that that basically is what cliffhangs over to the next book in the series, which I won't be reading.

Most of the other characters never seem fully fleshed out, just there to plug into the plot. The only major exception is Lenore, whose absence is the only real driving force throughout most of the novel, and who when she's finally found, is the only person willing to talk down to main character Sylvi and call her on some of her shit.

Sylvi herself is supposed to come off as a sort of hardcore badass but instead reads like a bland cipher that things just kind of happen to, whether what's happening is romance, plot, or action sequence. Part of this may be intentional, if Sylvi's desire for her life to go back to the way it once was as a child is any indication, but her realization that life can't move backwards isn't taken so much as personal growth but again something that just kind of happens to her because of other people's decisions. And this is especially problematic given that there's a major plot point involving a traumatic sexual assault incident that Sylvi once went through, though we don't see a flashback until pretty late in the book (and it feels gross and by that point pretty gratuitous), and the whole novel ends up being A Book About Rape, which may seriously trigger a lot of readers, and while that's shown to affect some of her relationships, it's not shown as the reason she's always so annoyingly passive in general.

Frozen meets Mad Max in this really atmospheric book about a girl who has to choose between friendship and safety. 3 stars

This was another one that did not hit the mark for me at all. The world building was confusing and contrived and didn’t really make any sense.
Almost immediately things started happening but with absolutely zero backstory or reason for me to care.
The gist is that the main character is a rig driver like hauler trucks. So I was like oh is this just a normal world where some sci fi stuff happens? No, it seems to be a fantasy world but a modern fantasy world where they still have cars and it’s fantasy places but everything else is the same?
Also the main character refers to winter as if she knows winter itself like the emnbodiment but then winter also seems to be the reason why where she lives is literally a white hellhole of cold. I was confused as to what or who winter exactly was and how she communicated with our main character, why she had to use a truck, and why there were trucker gangs,
I feel like the world building needs some significant overhauling to get the plot started as otherwise it makes no sense and is just uninteresting.

3 stars. This is a hard rating for me to give. I wanted to love this book so much. The cover is gorgeous and it sounded like it would be great but it just felt really cliche, already done, extremely underpaced and overall just not original. I even tried book 2 and sadly dnfed it.

This was an interesting premise. In addition to being a forever cold world, the female character is in a profession that is usually reserved for me, giving the story a powerful perspective.

Initial Thoughts
I didn’t really know much about this book when I applied for it in NetGalley but after reading the synopsis, I was definitely intrigued.

Some Things I Liked
Unique mythology and world building. I loved the way Winter was personified here and I loved the world. It was different than anything else I had ever read.
Subtle romance. I also loved that this book had a bit of a romance plot. It wasn’t pivotal to the plot but I think I wouldn’t have enjoyed the book nearly as much without it.
The big reveal. My jaw was literally on the floor with the big reveal in the final pages.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About
The pacing was a little funky for my taste in this one. I think the story was a little all over the place at times.

Series Value
This book has a pretty open ended conclusion and it’s been out for a year with no announcement of a sequel. If it were to get a sequel, I’d want to read it.

Final Thoughts
This was good. Not super memorable but a solid 4 star read for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The worldbuilding of this book is definitely very unique. Sylvi, the main character, lives in an island with a very messed up political system and rules. There’s a dystopian vibe, with all the monsters and strange beings that appear throughout the story. But what makes this book stand out from others is the presence of Winter, the season-turned-spirit that talks to Sylvi in the story. Their interactions were something very interesting to read.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this book is the author’s writing style. Dittemore’s writing is beautiful and inmersive, her prose

Winter White and Wicked is full of action. There are many fight scenes and you barely get time to process what’s happening. Though I like action-packed books, I think the author should have given the reader a little more time to adjust to this original and very unique worldbuilding, to familiarize with the characters and terminology, before diving into the action. It can get a bit confusing because you’re just thrown into lots of fights and dramatic scenes right away.

Sadly, Sylvi wasn’t a character I could connect with. I think there’s a lack of emotion in the way she was developed, she was missing this fire and determination I’m used to see in female protagonists, especially in fantasy. Despite feeling that I didn’t get to know and understand her as I wanted to, I believe her character has the potential to be better and more complex in a sequel.

With vivid descriptions of a very messed up world, rebels, alliances and battles included, I think this book could be categorized as Dystopian, and it’s amazing to see authors bringing the genre back with a more complex twist. Winter White and Wicked is such an original piece of work, where the Winter has a voice of its own and the cold is more unforgiving than we anticipate. Dittemore did an amazing job at building a scary and icy world where some legends might be true after all…

The worldbuilding of this book was very unique. It was a fast-paced fantasy. Though it wasn'T the perfect book I did enjoy it.

I tried really hard multiple times to get into this book and I just never could. I could never get a connection with the characters and I wasn't super interested in the story. I did like the concept I just couldn't get into it.

Fun idea and story line. The writing is solid, the characters distinct and compelling, and the blend of technology. mythology and magic kept me wondering what strange turns Sylvi's ice road of adventure would take

A very mixed bag for me...it took me a long time to get into this and even once I'd got past my initial confusion about the background setting and history, I still didn't really care about any of the characters until about 70% of the way through. Even then it was only a few of them and Sylvi was definetely not one of them.

It was pretty slow going in places and difficult to grasp what was always going on but despite this, I ended up weirdly enjoying it overall. And not very helpfully for a review, I can't quite put my finger on what it was that kept me going til the end and will probably see me read the sequel when it comes out.

Now that some of the information that I felt so overloaded with earlier on has soaked in, I can appreciate how interesting the premise is and unique too, I've certainly never read another book like it before.

Although I had mixed feelings about this book I think it would be perfect for alot of people and would definetely recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and Abrams Kids for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I now have a finished copy of this gorgeous title, and will provide my retail sites review based on that copy.

I was drawn in by the comp titles - mad max meets frozen? Yes! I loved the snowy setting and the dramatic plot.

I'm shocked and disappointed in myself to realize I hadn't reviewed this book earlier -- I thought I had. I've certainly been talking enthusiastically about it on Instagram since I read it, and even interviewed the author in a live IG chat back in September.

In any case, WINTER, WHITE AND WICKED is a breath of fresh (if chilly!) air in modern YA fantasy, with a unique and fascinating premise and world-building setup. The writing is solid, the characters distinct and compelling, and the blend of technology. mythology and magic kept me wondering what strange turns Sylvi's ice road of adventure would take. I'm excited to hear that this book has been contracted for a sequel, and eager to read more about Sylvi and her world!

I loved this book! Amazing imagery and I was lost in the descriptions and story.

Can’t wait for more from Shannon!

This title is wrong. It should have been Book, Slow and Cliche.

This reads like it's written by a tween who thought Mad Max: Fury Road and Frozen should be an AU crossover fic. And that crossover element is what initially got me excited about the book . . . until I started reading.

One of the first things that irked me about this book was that it tried too hard to match the Fury Road vibes The only thing that comes close to them is that there are rigs, a big-ass road, and they never seem to stop driving. But it also tries to throw some Frozen elements, which, Fury Road but ICY?? I can get with that and it sounds great, doesn't it??

AND YET IT WAS WRITTEN SO BADLY AND SO CLICHE IT INVENTED A NEW GENRE OF TROPES starting with how weirdly things were spelled. No, you do NOT need all those P's and L's and Y's to make names sound interesting.

Also, literally everything about this book was confusing, badly developed, rushed, and made about 0.001% in relation to story coherence. I could literally feel my brain cells flaking away as I stubbornly continued to read this because, surely, it would at least get a little better? BUt no, it did not get better . . . only worse.

Worldbuilding? This book knows no such thing. It's a haphazard tangle of tales and jumbled conversations IN THE MIDDLE OF BATTLE MOMENTS that is either zombified tropes or silly madeup words. Look, I enjoy "silly" made up words in fantasy . . . when it's done proper. This just reads like it was written on the fly and wasn't cleaned up much after. It's the worldbuilding and lack of characterization and lack of, well, anything worthy of publishing that makes me question HOW this even got published in the first place.

This is something I would expect from a fanfic, not a published book. The type of fanfic you read late at night, scraping the bottom of the fandom barrel because you're bored/desperate/feeling the insomnia.

So, overall, I was HIGHLY disappointed in this . . . and maybe a little bit disappointed in the publishing community for giving hype to something totally unworthy of hype?? The only thing this book has for itself is that it's a mostly "clean" read but, if there's nothing beyond that, what is even the point???

I'm just . . . tired. And upset. And salty that precious trees are wasted without taking the time to make sure what's printed on them is WORTH being printed.

Loved this book! Shannon sweeps us away into a harsh and beautiful world. The juxtaposition of the beauty of winter beside the perilous dangers it holds are where Sylvi lives. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride with this independent, thought provoking story.

Have you ever read a book where the plot confuses you yet attracts you? Where you have no idea what is happening, yet you can’t look away? That is how I felt when I read Winter, White, and Wicked.

The author amazingly wrote the story with lively characters. On one side, the story brims with adventure where Sylvi joins the crew to save Lenore. On the other hand, we have the mystery of how Sylvi communicates with Winter and how it connects to the rebellion. Moreover, I loved the backstory about Winter and how the war began between the two forces.

Sylvi stands out in the lead, and I enjoyed her interactions with Hyla, Kyndel, and Mars. However, the highlight was Winter. Hats off to the author for the way she constructed Winter as a prominent, invisible character. It truly makes the story memorable. Moreover, the characters are pretty complex and surprise you. For instance, Mars has his reasons for heading the mission that made the story exciting. Also, Lenore frustrated me after everything Sylvi does for her.

However, there were a few minor challenges I had in the book. For example, it took me a while to initially adjust to the theme. The author pushes you directly into the plot, where you familiarize yourself with the world while the action takes place. Also, I felt that there is a plethora of information in the last few chapters that the author could have evenly placed over the plot. Apart from that, this book was an adventure treat!

Overall, this was a gripping, twisted, and slightly gory Young Adult novel with a unique premise, and I enjoyed it.

I am heckin' surprised. As far as your "standard YA series with a chosen one saving a desolate world" books go, this one looked likely to be a stand-out, particularly from the way its setting was crafted and detailed. The author even managed to write a Young Female Loner who actually came-off as a competent loner with balanced and believable characterization. The potentially toxic elements that we're likely to find in the sequel just aren't worth subjecting myself to, however. I don't regret reading this one, but I think I'll be happier if I don't find out what happened next and just leave the story on the open-ended hopeful note of a burgeoning rebellion about to rise.

It's beautifully staged but not heavy and dry, with an engrossing plot and a complex main character that will have you sending your manicure bill to the publisher by the end of it.