The Unicorn Hunters

Fanciful magic seeps into a historically grounded world in this immersive fantasy from Arden (The Warm Hands of Ghosts). The year is 1490, and Anne, duchess regnant of Brittany, is at an impasse: the duchy lost a war with France under her late father’s rule, and now the king is insisting Anne marry him, which would cede her beloved duchy to France. Instead, she secretly arranges to wed Maximilien of Austria. To keep the French envoy distracted while the marriage is finalized, she orchestrates a unicorn hunt in a local forest, a place that divination, the only kind of magic believed to be extant in the world, cannot reach. Much to her shock, Anne does find a unicorn in the forest, along with a mysterious man who apparently spent the past two centuries in the mystical Lost Lands and who teaches Anne that the world is vaster and more mysterious than she realized. What follows is a richly detailed and enthralling tale of political intrigue, folkloric creatures, legendary missing cities, and romance. It’s sure to captivate. Agent: Paul Lucas, Regal Hoffmann & Assoc. (June)