Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund

After enjoying Rampant, the first book in Diana Peterfreund's Killer Unicorns series, I was particularly excited about Ascendant.  There are lots of dark fantasy YA books out there right now, but this strikes me as one of the most unique.

Rampant focused a lot on Astrid and her sisters-in-arms learning how to fight and kill unicorns, an art form that hasn't been taught for well over a century, so there is no one left alive who knows how.  The result is that the girls have to figure it out themselves by trial and error.

Ascendant takes a slightly different approach.  In the second book, Astrid starts learning other things about the lost unicorn hunter culture — things that teach her to appreciate the creatures, and may even help her save them in the end.

I wonder if there will be a third book?  I hope so!