If I'm honest with a title like 'Melody's Unicorn' I wasn't expecting much, maybe some fluff for younger readers about a girl and her pet unicorn, I couldn't remember the original blurb from when I picked it... Just checking now it mentions Dryads and a prophecy and well prophecies are interesting so that'll be why I picked it.

Boy was I wrong to judge so early! A beautifully well-written novel with a creative storyline. Optimum age range 12 and up, some elements are a little darker for young readers although I'd say if they can handle the first two 'Potter' books then they'll be fine.

The writing was so descriptive and there was a vibrant cast of characters, a little short on women though, only 4 - 5 if you count Melody's unseen mother - and one of those had minimal page time, all the mentors and direct sidekicks were male. It was also a little unclear how old Melody is, she seemed mature at times and young at others. I admired how well she knew her own mind though, especially in the context of the Faerie world.

The story and all the characters enchanted me. Melody is special but no one really knows why. Her Mother disappears and she is told that wolves had taken her, but is this true? After she makes an error and harms one who has not hurt her, she is sent to London by her Father to be taught about her powers. Once she gets to London, she is able to see a dryad when no one else can. She sees a unicorn and follows it thru Faërie with permission of the King. Once she meets the unicorn, she finds that she must get back to London. Time has moved forward There is a darkness and Melody must find out what it is. This is the start to a series that I will be reading to my grandchildren. I believe that children of all ages will love it as much as I did. I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review.

Such a fascinating premise. London is a common setting for books, but rarely like this. As someone who loves the city, this was a great reading experience.

Full feature on the release date.

Full disclosure: I’m a 39 year old who usually reads realistic fiction and memoirs. I’m not one for fantasy or sci-fi, well really I’m not one to jump on an obvious fantasy or sci-if book. I don’t know why, but something drew me to Melody’s Unicorn by Richard Swan, and I’m glad it did. I’ve been reading a lot of really heartbreaking non-fiction lately, so it took me a few chapters to get into Richard Swan’s style seeing as it’s written for children (I would say tweens, but younger and older will definitely enjoy it too). But Melody’s Unicorn is just lovely. It took me back to my childhood when I loved to read about fairies, dragons, unicorns, and all of the other entities that we believe do not exist but secretly think they possibly do.

Melody has special powers and a need to find out her true identity. She arrives in London looking for answers to her questions and ends up discovering a whole new world that opens itself up to her. I am looking forward to reading the next books in the trilogy as it will be interesting to see where Melody and her friends go from here.

I love how Swan sets the scene in his novel, and how he describes Melody’s surroundings. I found myself mapping out London in my head and imagining myself in Melody’s place. Thoroughly enchanting! Melody’s Unicorn is definitely the type of book my bookish childhood self would have jumped on. And I have no qualms about saying how much I enjoyed it as an adult!

Melody’s Unicorn will be published by John Hunt Publishing - Our Street Books on May 31st. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy!