“I really enjoyed this unique fantasy story of combining magic and trucking.”

Review by Rayleigh Setser

Winter doesn’t like the smuggler who’s come to Whistlestop. She doesn’t trust him, doesn’t want me to take this job.

Twice-orphaned Sylvi has chipped out a niche for herself on Layce, an island cursed by eternal winter. Alone in her truck, she takes comfort in two things: the solitude of the roads and the favor of Winter, an icy spirit who has protected her since she was a child.

Sylvi likes the road, where no one asks who her parents were or what she thinks of the rebels in the north. But when her best friend, Lenore, runs off with the rebels, Sylvi must make a haul too late in the season for a smuggler she wouldn’t normally work with, the infamous Mars Dresden. Alongside his team—Hyla, a giant warrior woman, and Kyn, a boy with skin like stone—Sylvi will do whatever it takes to save her friend.

But when the time comes, she’ll have to choose: safety, anonymity, and the favor of Winter—or the future of the island that she calls home.

I am 100% a mood reader and I accidentally deemed this book my "travel mood" by taking it with me on a flight...which meant that my weird brain wouldn't let me be in the mood to read it UNLESS I was in a plane ✈️ So it took me nearly a year to finish this book.

I really enjoyed this unique fantasy story of combining magic and trucking. My dad was a trucker for most of my life--and I accompanied him on a few of his runs--so it was easy for me to ride in the Sylver Dragon with Sylvi and feel quite comfortable with myself.

I loved the dynamics of the group too. All of the characters were unique in their own ways and I never felt overwhelmed by too many characters. I really liked Kyn and Hyla and even Mars...I wasn't a fan of Sylvi but I don't think we were necessarily supposed to "like" her for the majority of this book, as the entire focus was on her personal growth.

I think the main thing that kept me from going all-out fangirl on this book was that I had a very difficult time understanding the world and differentiating the groups that they talked about. For some reason, everything blended together in my head and no matter how many times I reread scenes or explanations about groups, I just felt lost. Until the very last story was told in literally the last chapter, so I feel like maybe I was supposed to be lost throughout the whole book, like that was an intentional thing, but it kept me from actually getting into the story because of how long I was left in the dark. Now that I understand the full origin story, I'm kinda hyped about book 2, but I feel like I need to reread this one first so I can fully understand and appreciate everything.

Overall, it's a fun adventure and if you're looking for something unique in the realm of fantasy, ice trucking is definitely not something that I've seen done before so it was an exciting ride!

Content disclaimer: Very mild cursing is present. No romance (not even a kiss). Action is mild. This book is definitely suitable for young teen readers.

Content Ratings:

6. Strong action & gore (most action sequences describe blood loss and the injury to a clear picture, albeit brief or infrequent).

1. Very mild content (feel-good vibes but nothing physical--not even kissing).

2. Frequent substitute cursing (commonplace "craps" etc. and book-specific words).

Other Trigger Warnings:

Our Reviews of Other Books by this author:

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With winter fast approaching, do you enjoy reading books set in the same season you’re in?