Mini-Read Review: The Unicorn’s Tail by A.W. Exley

Source: Purchased
Publisher: –
Series: Artifact Hunters #2.5
Edition: Ebook, 100 Pages
Genre: Steampunk Paranormal Romance
Purchase: Amazon*
*I receive a small monetary kickback from Amazon purchases
Rating: 4/5

Amy Hamilton is a good girl. She always did exactly as society demanded, kept her eyes downcast, never spoke out of turn, and hid the myriad of questions swirling in her brain. In return for shutting off her intellect she landed an abusive fiancé and was cast aside by the ton.

Disgraced, she seeks refuge at the Lyons’ country estate. There she is given an artifact, a bracelet made from a unicorn’s tail and told it contains enough magic to grant one wish. She knows what she wants, someone to love the true her, and not the shallow image that smiles back from the mirror.

She never expected the unicorn to send her two men…

Lachlan Hawke – dashing airship pirate and notorious rogue.

Jackson Jackson – the scarred henchman and enforcer for the Lyons Empire.

The two men have a bet, who will be first to win a kiss from the delicate rose? The loser to be tarred and feathered. Loki is sure of a quick victory and that Jackson will be impersonating a chicken by the end of the week. Jackson doesn’t even know why he agreed to the stupid bet, the girl shudders whenever he enters a room.

Both men are about to learn you should be careful making bets when a unicorn is involved….

** If you have not read Nefertiti’s Heart or Hatshepsut’s Collar then this may contain spoilers*

Review of Book 1 – Here (5 Stars)

Review of Book 2 – Here (4.5 Stars)

The Unicorn’s Tail takes place between Hatshepsut’s Collar and the upcoming book Nero’s Fiddle and focuses on Cara’s best friend Amy Hamilton. We do get to see her a few times in the previous books and we know that she was in a rather unfortunate situation with her fiancee, so needless to say I was really curious to see what became of her. This novella is not quite as solid as Exley’s previous books but it’s still quite good and I’m so really to dig into Nero’s Fiddle.

Amy had a douche-canoe of a fiancee in the previous books and I was kind of hoping to see her break free in them but we don’t get more details until Unicorn’s Tale. After her experience with her fiancee she is desperate to feel loved by someone who actually likes who she is, the only problem is that she isn’t sure who she is anymore. After bending to the will of the ton she feels a bit lost and The Unicorn’s Tail is just as much a story of self-discovery as it is a romance novella. I loved seeing Amy find out who she is under the guidance of Cara, Loki and Jackson…of course not all of it is good guidance *cough* Loki *cough*. There is a bit of an isosceles love triangle here, meaning it involves three people but it’s rather obvious which two are more invested in the relationship. The artifact portion of this is more subtle than the previous artifacts and while it clearly has an affect on Amy’s life it doesn’t become a HUGE part of the actual narrative.

I’m super excited that I got to learn more about Jackson, who is a rather gruff and stoic fellow but has a surprising tenderness about him that we don’t get to see very often. Then of course is Loki, who is still my favorite character even though he acted like a royal jerk at times in this. I’m so happy that I get to look forward to seeing Amy in the next book.