Blog Tour + Review: The Unicorn Hunter

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The Unicorn Hunter By Rachel Kirkaldie
Publisher: Cedar Fort Publishing
Release Date: June, 13th, 2017
Format: Ebook review copy provided by publisher, 194 pages*
Summary & Author bio courtesy of publisher

My Rating: ★★★1/2 

Goodreads ★ Amazon ★ B&N ★ TBD

Princess Jessalyn's betrothal is the talk of the realm, but all she cares about is escaping her family's smelly fishing kingdom. As queen of Gontir, her life will finally be perfect. But her plans are shattered when she's kidnapped by a murderous unicorn hunter in a plot to destroy Gontir. With her dreams in ruins, Jessalyn must decide if the life she's always wanted is worth the price of her heart.

What I really enjoyed about this novel was the world building and the descriptive writing. I loved the fish kingdom of Sharadel, and I wanted to hear more about it! I loved this concept that they are a small kingdom, but there is a bigger more glamorous kingdom that Jessalyn longs to live in. In the story we do get to see Gontir, but at that point there was so much action going on I feel like I didn't get a good feel for Gontir. Although, honestly, I kind of preferred Sharadel. Kirkaldie's writing really gave me a feel for the setting that I could see this book in my head as I was reading. I don't know what it was, maybe the fact that one of the side characters in this novel was named Wesley, but I was getting some mad Princess Bride feels while I was reading this one!

So one problem I did have with this novel was that I just couldn't stand Jessalyn at first glance. I am actually more like her toyboy sister Ila, so I actually wanted to hear more about her adventures. In the first couple chapters it was clear to me that Jessalyn was a brat that was used to getting her own way, and her ideals about a good life came off as very superficial to me. The kingdom is having problems with sea serpents and at one point she actually thinks "Jessalyn was convinced it was some jealous peasant's attempt to take the focus off of her during her betrothal." That line really made me not like this character and I just wanted to shake her and go "NOT EVERYTHING'S ABOUT YOU!!". The Princess has led a very privileged life, and I think that was sort of the point in this novel because she had to find growth as a person. I think she does in the end figure out a few things about herself and I'm glad about the decision she makes, but I wanted to see a little more of that. There is supposed to be another novel, so I would be interested to see how she grows and changes for the better after this experience.

Me not liking Jessalyn that much didn't kill this book for me, because I got to see a lot of things through Erik's eyes, her former kidnapper and the person that is ordered to rescue her from the evil Torel. I think there is a lot more to Erik than what we actually see in this novel, but I liked that he was so level headed, even when having to travel with a bratty Princess and a very inexperienced Knight. I definitely ended up siding with him a lot. I feel like he's kind of a Han Solo character in that he's just out to make some money but when push comes to shove he's going to do the right thing. I was kinda hoping that maybe he and Jessalyn would get together, because I think they could so balance each other out.

I loved the plot line with Torel and Mud, but I feel like there are too many questions about what they are fighting for. I need to know more about about both of them, they are way too mysterious. I also don't think we've seen the last of Torel.

This book is a quick read, great for anyone looking for a fun adventure story. I enjoyed it, but I think I just wanted a little bit more from it. I highly recommend it for fans of The Selection Series and of course The Princess Bride!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel Kirkaldie earned a BA in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from BYU-Idaho in 2002. While she was there, she worked as a writing assistant in the student writing center, published poetry in the school literary magazine The Outlet, and attended multiple conferences and workshops. More recently she won "Publisher's Choice" for best Christmas story in a contest on ldspublisher.org. Although a full-time mother and a part-time state employee, she still finds time to dedicate to her writing, making it the best she possibly can. Find her online at: http://www.rachelkirkaldie.com/

*I was provided a review copy of this book by the publisher with no expectations of a positive review. All expressed opinions are my own. 

Happy Reads Everyone! 

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