Silver Pearl
3.75 stars--What a sweet, delicate, sugary fantasy short story...
MM unicorn shifter stories are just as rare as the magical beast. Or I should say good ones.
Don't worry, this isn't PWP. This is a romance between a unicorn shifter and his human mate.
Joel, a past rape victim (it's off page) has a calling to run into the woods one night, naked and alone. He goes in alone and leaves with a mate, Laburne. From that night, Joel gets a quick history lesson on unicorns.
Here are a few cool tidbits:
-Their tears are magical and turn into silver pearls when humans touch them.
-They give rides to only the ones they love.
-They are attracted to virgins.
Joel has had a solitary sad life with one positive (he's a young lottery winner) but he can't stand to be touched. The damage the author writes from Joel's perspective felt real. Laburne was very enchanted with Joel and it took some time to finally get a straight answer from him but he was forthcoming when it counted.
Points off for all the crying and weeping. Not just the MC's cried excessively, the other characters too. I get both men are damaged (though Laburne mentioned he's suffering but he never expanded upon that) but all the weeping could have been toned down. Aren't unicorn tears supposed to be rare and guarded? Quit giving them away then. Jeez.
There is one fade to black sex scene and I felt the ending could have been expanded. And while the time frame of Joel and Laburne being together can be called insta-love, I'm more lenient with fated mates because their mating was arranged. But overall it was an enjoyable short. I'm definitely checking out this author's work in the future.
