Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

Title:  Rampant
Author:  Diana Peterfreund 
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Publication Date: 25 August 2009
Stand alone or series:  Series
Book Length: E-book (E-book reader not reliable)
First Line: " 'I will never really leave,' said the unicorn.  Diamond sparkles floated from the tip of its glittering horn.  'I will always live in your heart.' "

 Synopsis (as per Harper Teen)
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 storries 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.

My Thoughts
I was a bit skeptical about the whole killer unicorns but I was willing to give it ago.

I found the start of this book a little slow to get going.  Although the author spent a fair bit of time building relationships with the other characters, I found it necessary later on.

Astrid is shipped off to Rome after she finds that there is a long history in her family of Unicorn Hunters.  I was still stuck in the concept most people believed, that unicorns were peaceful horned horses.  Once there the story begins to get more interesting.  There are more encounters with the unicorns and it becomes more believable for me that they are vicious and bloody thirsty creatures.

I did not like Lilith (Astrid's Mother) at all.  There seemed to be almost no maternal instinct from her, which I had trouble relating to.  The most interesting character of all is one that I'm unable to reveal without ruining the story.

The final climax in this book exceeded my expectations completely.  I was on the edge of my couch (literally) reading as fast as I could!

A wonderful book, where the storyline is one-of-a-kind, with fabulous strong characters, high stakes and some great action.  Worth a read!


There is a second book called Ascendant coming, but am not sure when to expect this on the bookshelves.