Fresh New Voice of YA- Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

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.

Peterfreund's debut YA is a stunning overseas urban fantasy adventure and a wonderful read. The action scenes are extremely well-written and detailed and are balanced by the romance with an Italian boy and the friendships with the other female hunters that Astrid meets at the Cloisters. The story is fast-paced and hard to put down; I read 130 pages in one sitting and that's a big deal for me. The beginning hooks you and keeps the pages turning. Astrid is a wonderful, multi-layered character who is easy to relate to, despite the whole unicorn hunting thing. The ending was fantastic and leaves me wanting more, and I'm excited for the sequel.