Astrid and her cousin are descendents of warrior, unicorn huntresses. Descended from Alexander the Great, no less. The unicorns were thought to be driven to extinction, until recently when Astrid and others experience unicorn attacks. They are not the cuddly creatures from myth, but violent meat-eaters that can only be controlled by the huntresses which also draw the creatures to them. Astrid's mother has been training her in the lore since early childhood, hoping for a chance to promote her daughter as the premier huntress. Now is her chance, and she ships her daughter off to a training camp in Rome. A camp consisting of another girl like Astrid and her older brother, desperately looking to revive the huntress culture and kill off the unicorns. That whole scenario doesn't fit so well in the 21st century, though, and the arrival of cousin Philippa stirs the situation even more.

The two girls sneak out of the camp's fortress and juggle dating with training. Unfortunately, each trip out of the facility draws unicorns to them, with the possibility of another attack. To make matters worse, things are not as they seem. There is a spy mixed in and ulterior motives, and other girls have their own stories to complicate matters.

The story is not so much my cup of tea, but I found it interesting nonetheless. It is very much a YA book. Marketed strictly for teens with some sexual content and dating focus. It is also a bit violent. The unicorn lore is interesting, and I still would like to know where the author is going from here with the story, as there is a sequel. The unicorns are not all the same, nor are the warriors. We'll see if more complexity will be involved in the next.

related-unicorns, hunting, supernatural, dating, Rome, human-animal communication and relationships
RL=YA