The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden
The Unicorn Hunters
by Katherine Arden
Fantasy | Historical Fiction
368 Pages
Released June 2026
Rating: ★★★
Goodreads
Content Warnings
It’s no secret that I adored the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden. Then The Warm Hand of Ghosts came out and I was…well…disappointed. So when I heard this author was coming out with a new fantasy historical fiction, I was hesitantly excited to pick it up. I had no reason to worry because this book blew me away.
This book follows Anne of Brittany, the sovereign Duchess of Brittany. Vying for her hand in marriage is the King of France, who is eager to make the kingdom of Brittany his own. Determined to keep Brittany independent of France, Anne conducts a daring plan: delay the King of France by means of a Unicorn Hunt - while secretly wedding his greatest rival.
Please excuse me while I do my best to rave about this book without spoiling anything. This book is currently my favorite read of the year.
I’ll admit that this book did throw me off a little when I first started reading it! I’m not sure why but I assumed the synopsis kind of covered the story start to finish. In actuality, it’s only lining up the first couple chapters. So when the Unicorn hunt bit happened way early in the story, I quickly realized I was in for a treat. The story went above and beyond my expectations and felt like a historical fairy tale.
I’m normally not a big historical fantasy reader but there’s something about the way this author writes her books that I find really compelling. I loved the blend of history and fantasy and overall it just felt really well done. I feel like French folklore is also not something you see very often so I found that to be very intriguing as well.
I loved all the characters in this book but especially the women. I adore how Katherine Arden crafts her female main characters. Anne is arguably one of my favorite female protagonists (ever!). She's intelligent, perceptive, and cunning — but out of necessity and not because ‘she’s not like other girls”. But she’s flawed too, which made her feel realistic and relatable. The other characters are fantastic as well. Even the primary female antagonist is strongly written and interesting. There are more as well, but, well, spoilers.
Also there’s a cat. Did I mention there’s a cat? The cat is wonderful.
Finally, I was not expecting a romance and while it’s not central to the plot, it’s just enough to satisfy the craving. This book delivers some amazing yearning and the relationship is so refreshingly undramatic (seriously, more of this type of romance please!). Truly, it was just the cherry on top of an already fantastic novel.
Needless to say, you should run out and get this book immediately. Especially if you like historical fiction. It’s just an all-around amazing read.