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Anne was a child when her realm was invaded and her home besieged and she was anointed the orphaned duchess of a dying Brittany. Now her treasury is empty, her land is occupied by her enemies, and she is ordered — under threat of renewed war — to become queen of her conquerors and marry the king of France. Their marriage would mean her country’s annexation, but Anne promised her father that Brittany would never be conquered, and she intends to keep that promise by any means necessary.
In defiance, she secretly betroths herself to France’s greatest enemy. But in a world where courts spy on each other through magic, there is only one way to solemnize her union with the king of Austria.
Rumors spreads of a unicorn, a creature not seen in living memory, spotted deep in the forest. Anne forms a party, intent on hunting the unicorn. It’s a feint, of course. A lie. In the legendary forest of Broceliande, the court diviners’ skill cannot reach. She can marry there in secret, hidden from the eyes of France. It’s her only hope of salvation.
But when, against all hope, a unicorn appears and a stranger out of legend stumbles from the trees to fall at her feet, Anne is plunged into a world of enchantment and mystery. There is a power greater than France — greater than Austria. One that may allow even a doomed sovereign to change her fate and her country’s destiny. Not everyone can safely navigate the shadows, though, and if Anne is not equally reckless, cunning, and careful, she may find herself lost in them forever.
Katherine Arden, the author of The Bear and the Nightingale, once again brings magic to a historical setting, not just in her storytelling, but through her trademark atmospheric writing. This time, she reimages a pivotal time in the history of Brittany and France and adds an otherworldly spin, weaving both culture and myth into a tale as richly beautiful as a medieval tapestry. It’s clear The Unicorn Hunters was well researched. While little is known of the real-life Anne of Brittany beyond her titles and the path she was forced onto, Arden chooses to read between the lines and paint a memorable character who is clever, cunning, and stubborn and has plenty of agency despite the tense, unclear future of her life and her kingdom.
I expected to love the story for its atmospheric beauty and clever weaving of fact and fiction, but ultimately, I felt disconnected from the plot and even the romance. I suspect it’s more of a me problem. I don’t read a lot of historical fiction and I got lost somewhat in the court politics. It could also be a case of subverted expections. I absolutely fell in love with the cover, and because of it and the title, I expected an adventure through sun-dappled forests in search of long-lost magical creatures. Instead, the unicorn hunt is over within the first 20% of the book, and the legendary forest of Broceliande largely remains a mystery.
Overall, though, The Unicorn Hunters feels sweeping and archaic, filled with political trickery, supernatural encounters, forbidden romance, and creatures of myth. It’s the kind of story that will appeal most to readers of history and romantasy. And while it does set a slow place, its long buildup gives way to a ghostly otherworldly magic that is artfully layered over a real-world setting and will likely leave readers dreaming of castles, knights, and deep forests long after closing the book.
Rated: High. There are 18 uses of mild language and one use of moderate language. Sexual content includes two fairly detailed sex scenes (both between characters who are legally married via proxy or forced arrangement to others). In another scene, a man forcibly restrains and kisses a married woman. Violence includes brief depictions of battle, blood, and death and vague descriptions of the methods of several ghostly women’s murders.
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*I received an ARC in exchanged for my honest review.
