Alice reviews Unicorn Hunting by Roya Hellbender

Emerging from the woods was a form so white it hurt Cal to look at it… The unicorn could never have been mistaken for a normal horse… Hardly noticing the tears that spilled down her cheeks a the purity of the creature, Cal  was shocked when the unicorn slowed to a walk and approached her.

This book is a 3* Fantasy Romantic Adventure.

Anyone who knows me will tell you I love unicorns. It was an affair that started when I was about four, and has manifested itself in me being an adult who will grab any book with ‘unicorn’ in the title or on the front cover. Needless to say when I saw a book called unicorn hunting, I heard that little voice in my head purr, and read it.

I’m so glad I did. The story is about a young woman, Cal, who lives in a world where unmarried women have two choices, become a Unicorn hunter, or join the nunnery. But Cal wants to know why, and in world of secrets that’s not an answer she finds easily. Living in a world where killing these beautiful creatures is the only way for a girl to make money, Cal and her friends have to figure out where they draw the line, and who’s side are they really on?

I enjoyed this story, it was a simple fantasy adventure with a couple of interesting ideas, a likeable cast, and a reasonable pace. The only gripe I had was the author seemed a little afraid of tension, giving the payoff as soon as she’d set an idea up, which whilst it does move the story along, can make things feel a little anti climatic. The story has one example of a hate crime against immigrants,  and yet the book showed no real cultural or racial diversity, with everyone fitting into a similar mold, despite the country being split into four distinct zones with four distinct languages.

I loved the main character though, I suspect she thinks a lot like me, and there was more to her than who she was in love with, which is a nice thing to happen in a ‘romance’ book. The unicorns, by the way, were great, and the author had some brilliant little ideas for them, and a flair for rich description. I enjoyed the love story, and the secrecy of the world Cal moved through.

Overall it’s an enjoyable book, that supplies what you’d expect from a Lesbian Unicorn story, however it is let down in places by underdeveloped characters with two dimensional motives, or a brilliant idea that is rushed into and away from far too quickly. It’s quick to read, and well worth the time, and certainly left me with a smile on my face.