After Reading

By: Meradeth Houston on 9:23 AM

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund


Forget everything you ever knew about unicorns...

Real unicorns are venomous, man-eating monsters with huge fangs and razor-sharp horns. Fortunately, they've been extinct for a hundred and fifty years.

Or not.

Astrid had always scoffed at her eccentric mother's stories about killer unicorns. But when one of the monsters attacks her boyfriend—thereby ruining any chance of him taking her to the prom—Astrid finds herself headed to Rome to train as a unicorn hunter at the ancient cloisters the hunters have used for centuries.

However, at the cloisters all is not what it seems. Outside, the unicorns wait to attack. And within, Astrid faces other, unexpected threats: from the crumbling, bone-covered walls that vibrate with a terrible power to the hidden agendas of her fellow hunters to—perhaps most dangerously of all—her growing attraction to a handsome art student ... an attraction that could jeopardize everything.

This was a fun read, and I enjoyed it, but I really, really wish there were a few things that got more attention. Like, I actually thought the fight scenes were somewhat lame--except for a few instances, the fights were bloody and epic, but I honestly couldn't see them happening. I wanted to have some good old-fashioned butt kicking (a-la Buffy) that allowed me to cheer Astrid on. Anyhow, that was my main gripe. Other than that, the book does have a kind of goofy premise, but it was also fun. I loved the descriptions of Rome, which is one of my favorite places. Some of the plot twists were obvious, and I really had a hard time believing that a lot of the parents in the book would be so willing to put their daughters into danger, but, eh, it was a fun read. Ascendant comes out later this month, and I'll definitely be checking it out!