Review: The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden

I haven’t read any of Katherine Arden’s work, but I have heard nothing but good things, so when this one and its beautiful cover slid across my requests, I couldn’t help but jump at it!

So thank you to the author, as well as Del Rey via NetGalley for the review copy!

Anne of Brittany was a child when France invaded and drove her royal father to his death. Now she is a young woman, sovereign duchess of an occupied realm, and France means to crown their conquest by marrying her to their king. Such an alliance would put her title, her lands, and her body forever in the hands of her enemies.

But Anne refuses to be the last duchess of Brittany.

Her only hope of resisting conquest is another alliance sealed with marriage, so Anne arranges a daring last gambit: a secret betrothal to Charles of France’s greatest rival. But secrets are hard to keep in a world where rival courts spy on each other with diviners.

The forest of Brocéliande was once the haunt of Merlin the Enchanter and the long-lost faerie queen. But magic is long gone from Broceliande, except for the occasional sight of a unicorn and one critical quirk: This ancient forest is completely hostile to divination.

While pretending compliance with France, Anne plans a unicorn hunt in Brocéliande. A bit of pointless pageantry. A diversion so she can wed in secret.

Or so she thinks.

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The Unicorn Hunters is the story of Anne of Brittany, in a history of our world if it was just a bit more magical. Anne became the Duchess of Brittany when she was young, after a war that killed her father. Now she is hanging on to her realm as best she can but France is determined to marry her off to their king.

Anne devises a trick though, and she marries (by proxy) the king of France’s rival – in a secret ceremony in the forest of Brocéliande, where none of the King’s diviners can see it happening. Now she just has to stall France’s plans until her husband can make it to Brittany. Cue a Brocéliande Unicorn Hunt – surely they wouldn’t possibly marry until the wedding has been blessed by a Unicorn’s horn! But, as it turns out, there might actually be a Unicorn to hunt…

I really liked The Unicorn Hunters. Anne was a great character, and I had no trouble cheering for her to do whatever it took to keep Brittany out of France’s hands. I wanted her to get a happy ending, even though historically, girls like Anne didn’t really get to have happy endings. It was nice to see her be calculating and smart and thoughtful even though she was young and royal.

Katherine Arden’s prose was beautiful, and I found myself sinking into this story for hours and then realizing it was way too late to be awake. This was a story that it was very easy to get lost in… much like Brocéliande, I would imagine.

I would recommend The Unicorn Hunters to those who like alternate history, or authors like Juliet Marillier or Naomi Novik. I had 4/5 stars of a good time hunting unicorns.

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