This book is a collection of stories written and self-published by an international group of writers, and I liked their theme (and attitude) so much that I shrugged off my doubts about self-published material and bought the Kindle book. My reviews of self-published books almost always begin by saying "while the book could really have benefited from the services of a professional editor..." But in this case, I'm going to have to start by saying how impressed I am with the editing work done for this collection. It wasn't perfect - and one story suffered a little more than the others from some formatting issues - but far beyond having been read for spelling and grammar errors, it was clear this book had been edited for coherency, style, and readability. Thank you!

Overall, the stories in this collection could very well have been found among collections published professionally. As in any collection, some were a little stronger than others, and I had my personal preferences. A few comments, then, on each story:

THE ALABASTER QUEEN, by Angela Bamblett
This is not the story most people would have imagined, given a prompt of "unicorn." We find ourselves here in an almost post-apocalyptic world which is, itself, beginning to unravel. Who is the Protector? Why did she do what she did? Why do people both fear her and love her so? I loved how character-centric this story was, allowing me to try and understand the world through the eyes of those who saw it. A tale to make you think, and satisfyingly concluded. One of my favorites in the set.

THE FROG AND THE UNICORN, by Steve Hall
Here it is, a story much more along the lines of what you (I) might expect in a collection like this. Spells, evil (or IS he?) royal advisers, true love - everything you want in a fairy tale in a very enjoyable little package.

PUREHEART, by Arleen Barros
This is a heartbreaking and well-told tale about the consequences of our actions and how doing the thing that seems right isn't always actually right, and those who act out of love and justice do not always get the happy ending they deserve. If I didn't have a distinct bias for happy endings, this would have made my favorites list. As it is, the story was well-written and with a nice, tight plot.

ENTRAPMENT, by Anji Horst (SPOILERS in this particular review bit!)
This story was full of delightful twists and turns. Our heroine heads to the castle because the prince needs a wife. She makes a well-deserved impression upon the king, but ho! He wasn't looking for a wife for his son, he was looking for a fine young virgin to sacrifice in order to capture a unicorn. You just don't find many kings like that in fairy tales! And will the unicorn save her from her awful fate? Of course, but it isn't exactly the salvation you might have expected. I really enjoy being surprised in a story, and that was accomplished a couple times here. Since I've never minded being told the story I EXPECT, either, it took me some pondering after I finished this one, but the final conclusion is that this fun, twisty tale was just right.

AUTHENTICITY, by F. Ted Atchley
Where Entrapment was surprising, Authenticity was more solidly based in traditional themes: The king's wife is dying, and he must choose between saving her or endangering all the people in his kingdom. Sitting as the devil and angel on his shoulders are his wicked Vizier and the unicorn itself. The story has one of everything: inner conflict, selfless sacrifice, and ultimately, justice for all. I found it very enjoyable, but couldn't help wishing that Vizier Saimon had been a little less obviously evil from the beginning.

THICKER THAN WATER, by Amber Teasdale
As with The Alabaster Queen, I found myself enjoying a new world here through the eyes of the characters that lived there. The story concerned itself with why Plague had been killed, but I was at least as curious about our narrator, Oath. Throughout the story, I was never completely sure if Oath, Plague, Farli and... er, that other one were the *good* guys, or if they were actually the bad guys and the murder had been committed to bring about justice. That was an unexpected perspective, and I found it enjoyable. This was the story that suffered from some formatting issues, at least in the Kindle version: Oath communicated telepathically, which was occasionally signified by use of italics, but not always. I couldn't always easily discern where Oath was speaking to Farli, and where he was simply communicating as narrator.

WHAT YOU WISH FOR, by Bill Denise
I'm so glad this collection had a tale of power gone corruptively wild, leaving our protagonist to seek for redemption. I'm a sucker for those stories. Daivik the would-be sorcerer is power-hungry and kind of a jerk. He's done some really awful things in his life - in his original life especially, and then apparently on and on through history as he was doomed to repeat himself. But perhaps not all hells are meant to be forever...

THE TAXIDERMIST, by Taven Moore
This was my favorite story in the entire collection. The character of the Taxidermist was beautifully created. His wants, needs, and situation in life were cleverly revealed. Of all the elements I mentioned liking from the stories above, this one brought together very tidily some of my favorites: I wasn't sure who to root for at the beginning, redemption is offered for those who have failed, and ah, the twist! The beautiful twist at the end! Really, really nicely done.