This was not horrible, but it was not what the first book was to me. Mind you, I get it. I get it. I understand everything the story did. And I didn't hate the characters either. In fact, I think the characters are still the strongest part of this book. What you had to go through was a bunch of bollocks, but I understand entirely why we went through it all. It made sense. And I have definitely not been put off from this book even though it was not spectacular. There is a love in my heart even for this book, because it took the path that no one else wanted to travel. And I am glad I walked that path with Tanaquil. I truly am.

Gold Unicorn

“Who was she? She had no idea. Why did she cry? For herself or for her world?"    I found myself enjoying  Gold Unicorn  a good deal more than it's predecessor  Black Unicorn . Is it a better book? No, I don't actually think so. I'd rather think that this  Unicorn  trilogy only shows its full potential when read as a whole -  Black Unicorn  was a little underwhelming and I would have likely felt the same about  Gold Unicorn . But together, they deliver a solid plot - of course, I will still need to finish the third and final book before I can comment on the series as a whole.  In  Black Unicorn , Tanaquil has had a glimpse of a perfect world - now she travels her own world and mostly just sees the wrong in it. Eventually, she is tied up in a war and forced to bring life to a mechanical unicorn which stands in stark contrast to the previous volume's black unicorn. The war itself seems to confirm all the negative things that Tanaquil sees in her world, yet as a result, she also gets to see a world of hell which in return allows her to appreciate her own world again.   I've grown fond of Tanaquil in this book. I like her character, her sarcasm and most importantly, her growth. She still doesn't seem to understand her mending powers fully, and yet she has confidence in herself and travels the world boldly. The peeve is as likeable as before and there's a new creature introduced - the Mousp - a cross between a mouse and a wasp. It's definitely a very cute new companion. Other new characters are also pretty likeable - the mercenary Honj and his companions, the magician Worabex - all of whom I think and hope will make a reappearance in the final volume.  Although it is a fantasy novel and the titles suggest unicorns being at the centre of it, like the first book,  Gold Unicorn  seems to have its focus on character development and relationships. Worbarex points out early that Tanaquil seems contemptuous of men - something that often shows throughout both volumes - is this due to her odd or almost non-existent relationship with her father? The difficult relationship with her mother is also often picked up on and even the relationship to her sister Lizra takes a turn for the complicated. As she grows, Tanaquil begins to realise that she cares deeply for the peeve and that she can even love a man.   Lizra was a bit of a disappointment in this instalment. She has quite an extreme change of character that is never explained nor justified. She causes a lot of harm in this book and I didn't feel as though it was resolved or that she learned much from it. It was rather sad because I thought her relationship with Tanaquil was particularly nice in the previous book - on one hand, there was a lovely growing sisterly bond, but on the other, there was always a certain distance between them. In this volume, I felt as though the distance between them had taken over.  I enjoyed  Gold Unicorn  and think it rather unique. I liked the new characters and it didn't hurt that there was a sprinkle of romance. It's not going down as one of my favourite fantasies, but I certainly liked it well enough to have me looking forward to the next instalment.

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