The Soldier And The Unicorn by Helen Louise Caroll

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Ed is a simple farmer in a rural american small-town. But he is not a "normal" man: Ed saw an unicorn. Even if his family believes him nut, Ed is sure of what he saw and he treasures the memory. A soldier during the World War I in a battle field in Germany, mortally wounded, he was rescued by an unicorn. And when the unicorn lets Ed ride him in a safe place, the unicorn turned in an handsome man, blond hair and blue eyes like a prince charming and made love to Ed, only to disappear the morning after. Since that night, Ed, survived to the war and again at home, dreams of his unicorn man, and he feels himself estranged from his family and his land, he only yearns for his fairy tale man.

Michael is a German noblemen. For century his family hid their secret nature, of shapeshifter unicorn and leader. During the war he was an officer, like all the men in his family before, but when the war ends, he can't forget the enemy he rescued and made love to. With the aid of a forgotten book, Michael tracks down Ed in America.

Here is a story I for sure regret a lot that is so short, less than 50 pages. The setting is original, the World War I, the characters unbelievable real in their unreality. The first encounter between Ed and Michael has made me felt almost a pervert, with Ed sudden arousal for an unicorn, that, let us said, all in all it's an horse... imagine of cheeky porns appears in my mind struggling with the fairy tales of my youth... And then the unicorns have always had a certain reputation among the damsel in distress...

After overcoming my naughty mind, I actually enjoy a lot the story. Ed's character is very well written, it has a very good development, I have enough elements to like him and to want to know much about him. Instead Michael preserves a bit of secretiveness, actually he only "spoke" almost at the end of the book. Still I like him, since I feel that also him has a story and one I would like to know. For all this reason I almost screamed in frustration when the book abruptly ends, without telling me more on these two heroes.

One plea to the author: TELL ME MORE. What happens next? We are speaking of an American hero in love with a German one, we are speaking of a period between the WWI and the WWII, when America-German relationships were not so good, we are speaking of two male lovers at the beginning of the Twenty Century when homosexuality was still a crime. All right this is a fantasy romance, maybe I haven't to expect too much reality from it, but the author chose to setting it in an even too much real environment and in a very delicate period, so now, I want to know more.

http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/SoldierUnicorn.html

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