Rampant Reviews and Love Stories

There have been a spate of lovely new online mentions of RAMPANT recently. I thought I’d share some quotes:

First, from Caitlin at Addiction to Fiction:

“This book was most entertaining, and very original. I loved the idea of killer unicorns. Before I started the book, I was envisioning sprawling battles with swords and crossbows and majestic yet terrible beasts that are ravaging the unsuspecting population. And I was not disappointed in that regard. What I didn’t expect was how honest the book was going to be about teenage girls and sex. I had completely forgotten the old myth of unicorns being attracted to virgin females, but this book takes it and runs with it. And sex itself it talked about in such an honest and real way. It feels like teenage girls talking about sex. Not an adult having teenage girls talk about sex the way she wishes they would.”

From Lea at YA Book Queen:

“Unicorns totally kick butt. I never thought I could actually take ‘Killer Unicorns’ seriously, but Peterfreund makes it all believable. After the first chapter, I was hooked.”

“The fight scenes were awesome, and so well described. I felt like I was there, witnessing everything. Even the descriptions of the unicorns were awesome, because I could tell just how deadly they were (seriously!).”

Kate at Read This Book gives it a gold star and says:

“Wow! I could not put down this book and despite the fact that I was rather unwell when I read it. From the first chapter, you’d be enchanted by the world of killer unicorns. Rampant possesses a nice mixture of romance, action and adventure. Detailed gruesome battles, heart-pounding action, vivid desciptions of unicorns and fantastic dialogue. It’s no question that Diana Peterfreund is an amazingly talented writer.”

Liyana at LiyanaLand (on break from trying to guess the title of the sequel) named Rampant her book of the month for November and says:

“I loved the fighting sequences and the training scenes. As I’m writing this, I’m still in RampantLand, and goshdang it! The view there is amazing. The descriptions are breathtaking, the writing is superbly lucid and the characters are just fantastically detailed.”

And, last but not least, Angela at DarkFaerieTales has this to say:

“Overall, I think Rampant is an excellent read. These rabid and deadly unicorns will absolutely terrify you. This book has it all, from making out, to fight scenes, flesh eating mythical creatures, deadly kills, heartbreak, and downright gore. The pacing of the book is good and the premise is certainly engaging. I actually bit all of my nails off while reading this book. Many thanks, Ms. Peterfreund.”

And also:

“The love story between Astrid and Giovanni is actually pretty devastating. Astrid grapples with her physical and emotional reactions to Giovanni, and looks to him as a way out of the death and destruction. Giovanni is older and more experienced, and views his relationship with Astrid as more than physical gratification. Their relationship will certainly be fraught with difficulty and full of sacrifice for both parties.”

I save that quote for last because it really made my day. I absolutely love the response that Rampant has received from readers — I love Astrid, and Phil, and Cory, and Bonegrinder, I love the Cloisters and the battle sequences, and it means so much to me that readers love them too.

I also love Giovanni. I find the relationship between Astrid and Giovanni to be pretty devastating myself, and there are certain scenes with the two of them that make me cry every time I read them. I realize that he’s not a vampire or a fallen angel or any of those other enigmatic and enchanting boys YA heroines are wont to meet in their biology classes, He’s not a werewolf, a demon, a fairy, or a unicorn hunter. To me, this is not a downside. I like human boys very much. I married one. There’s a reason that Giovanni has been crafted the way he is.

I don’t believe love conquers all. Rather, I believe that love gives you a reason to attempt said conquering. And those who have read the secret society books and the five romances in that series know that sometimes, that’s not reason enough. I love that the Dark Faerie Tales review appreciated Astrid and Giovanni’s love story. I can’t wait for you all to read ASCENDANT and see where it takes them.